What a Home Really is in The House on Mango Street Essay -- The House

What a Home Re whollyy is in The House on Mango StreetHome is where the heart is. In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros develops this famous statement to depict what a home really represents. What is a home? Is it a house with four walls and a roof, the neighborhood of kids while growing up, or a unique Cleaver household where everything is perfect and no problems arise? According to Cisneros, we all have our own home with which we identify however, we can non always go back to the environment we once considered our dwelling place. The home, which is characterized by who we are, and resolute by how we view ourselves, is what makes every individual unique. A home is a personality, a depiction of who we are inside and how we grow through our life experiences. In her personal, Cisneros depicts Esperanza Corderos coming-of-age through a series of vignettes about her family, neighborhood, and personalized dreams. Although the novel does not follow a traditional chronologic al pattern, a story emerges, nevertheless, of Esperanzas search to discover the meaning of her life and her personal identity. The novel begins when the Cordero family moves into a new house, the first they have ever owned, on Mango Street in the Latino section of Chicago. Esperanza is disappointed by the small and red house with tight steps in front and bricks crumbling in places (5). It is not at all the dream-house her parents had always talked about, nor is it the house on a hill that Esperanza vows to one day own for herself. Despite its location in a rough neighborhood and catchy lifestyle, Mango Street is the place with which she identifies at this time in her life. While growing up on Mango Street, Esperanza is not on... ..., Mango says goodbye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free (134). Although Esperanza is constantly reaffirming that she wants to move away from Mango Street, we know by the end novel that she will one day retrieve to h elp those who will not have the opportunities Esperanza has had in her life. Indeed, in the closing pages Esperanza admits that she cannot escape Mango Street. She can never again call it home, but it has influenced her dreams, form her personality, and she has learned valuable life lessons from its inhabitants. That is why, explains Esperanza, she tells stories about the house on Mango Street, revealing the beauty amidst dirty streets and unveiling her true inner self, the peace of lettered that her home is where her heart is. WORKS CITEDCisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York Vintage, 1989.

Assessment of Blood Brothers, by Willy Russell :: Blood Brothers Essays

Assessment of Blood Brothers.Paper 1 unit 2 Blood Broutherswhen we first was told about the monkey I did not know what it wasabout, I had comprehend of it before but I had never seen or read any ofthe play. Then we were told the basic story of the play and theplaywrights history The play was set in the early 1970 It was written by the playwright Billy Russell There have been two contrary versions of the play scripts that have been written by Billy Russell, adept being the original and the other being a modern musical version. The story is based on two different types of people in different types of classes and how children cannot see the differences. The play is based in Liverpool and at this time (1970s) there was a mixture of the wealthy and workings class people. Billy Russell has based the play on his upbringing as he was brought up in a working class family in Liverpool The story is basic all(prenominal)y about a working class woman who works for a wealthy woman, the working class woman has 7 children and she finds out she is pregnant again with twins and her husband has only when left her so the wealthy woman persuades the working class woman to give her one of the twins. The two twins meet at various points in there lifes, they meet as young children and become friends when young adults, when they find out that they are twins they both die because the wealthy women kills them both.To get us to attend the play we read more into it by takingscrips from the musical and the original, and developing them byusingBrainstormingWe brainstormed a lot about the play, what we all knew about it. Wealso brainstorm about the different themes of the play, money, dreams,friendship and superstition we then linked them to the play. Thishelped me a lot because I did not know the salutary play and this helpedme understand the themes and how they connected to the play.Still- mental pictureIn my group we created a few still-images to help use decide eachthe me and to make use understand it more and were the themes come intothe different parts of the play. We also created a caption to go witheach still-image so that it helps other groups to understand what eachstill image is about.NarrationWe used narration at many different times but that was also because

Reducing Logistic Costs for Ladner Building Products Essay -- Business

Reducing Logistic Costs for Ladner Building ProductsIntroductionLadner is a National building materials distributor with15-distribution centres nation wide. Recently, the company had beenexperiencing a loss imputable to high costs. This issue has become adangerous problem at Ladner, and top management is now looking tounderstand the causes of this problem. RecommendationsLadner can take integrity or a combination of the following options toimprove its situation- Reducing transportation costs by re-organizing the deliveries and encouraging pick-ups.- Changing staff evaluation methods so that they ar aware of costs involved in Ladners processes.- Changing and re-organizing the customer and growth base.Analysis of transportation processIt is easy to see from a initial look at exhibit 3 and exhibit 4 (thatare provided in the readings) that the delivery process alwaysproduces losses. The total cost is always more(prenominal) than what the customeris charged. This is mainly due to c ustomer rebates on deliverycharges. Which means this loss in the delivery process is eating upfrom the dinero margins of the company. Ladner has a few options hither.They can cancel all delivery rebates for all future deliveries (orreduce them), they can increase the charge on deliveries, and/or theycan mold their deliveries better to reduce costs. The latteroption is more favourable and is discussed in the following threeparagraphs.Taking the Ontario region as an example that represents all regions, whiz can analyze the two transportation costs when transporting to a topical anaesthetic customer, and when transporting to a customer in a rural region.(See exhibit D)For local runs, the carriers were compensable a high hourly salary ($34), anda relatively low per kilometre rate ($0.37). As a result, for Ladnerto reduce its transportation costs for local runs, it should minimizethe travelling time. In other words, each time the courier should makeone trip to serve all customers who are located in the same area andmake as many drops as possible. Moreover, it would be useful here tofind out what?s the longest segment in the process of delivering tocustomers? Is it the trip to a certain area, or the drop-off time? Ifit was the drop-off time, then maybe the deliveries should beorganized to minimize drop-offs. Maybe Ladner should... ...afely go for that it can increase its marketshare in any product if enough effort and promotion is put into it).It will be useful here to find out what are the actual numbers forthis trade off? Then Ladner can form a strategy to increase overallprofit margins by changing the customer base. For example, if thecosts of storage and handling are relatively higher, then Ladner couldtry to increase sales of industrial products, which have a relativelyhigh profit margin and medium SKU space requirements. On the otherhand, it could reduce sales of allied products, which have high SKUspace requirements.This product base management can be do ne in an indirect way as well.It is mentioned in the case that Ladner?s sales staff are evaluated onthe basis of product gross margins. This ignores the costs ofhandling, storage and transportation. Ladner?s management canintroduce a new evaluation method that would embarrass these costs. Theend result would be that sales representatives would try to sell themost profitable product to the most profitable customer after takinginto circumstance all the costs. In other words, better customer andproduct base selection.

Body Communication :: essays research papers

The methodology of the social sciences has evolved slowly. In this evolution, criticism has always performed an central function. Through the continuous interchange of ideas, information, and criticism, it became possible to institutionalize commonly accepted rules and procedures and to develop corresponding methods and techniques. This system of rules and procedures is the normative component of the scientific methodology. It defines the rules of the game, and these in piece enable communication, constructive criticism, and scientific progress.Knowledge comes from experience. By observing what is happening around us in our every day lives, we gain knowledge through with(predicate) visual digestion of our environment. Body communication of other people helps you to know and under nucleotide how you will interact with that person or audience.Communicating successfully in battlefront of an audience requires actions and qualities not found in writing. Facial expressions, gestures, and appearance are definitive qualities for communicating in front of an audience.Posture, I feel is most important. You should stand erect, but relaxed with your weight apportioned on both feet, avoid leaning and slouching. Feeling comfortable while you stand will give you a ingrained feeling about yourself.Movement while you are speaking can help you, but if done incorrectly it may harm you. You should move from berth to side, rather than back and forth. This should not be a continuous motion, you do not want to look petrified. Moving physically may decrease nervousness, in particular as you approach the lectern. Emphasis in stressing a detail while speaking using facial gestures. The audience will follow you more substantially when your movement suggests an idea of importance and holds the groups attention.Your appearance and facial expressions allow the audience to determine how you feel about your topic. On the other hand if you are frown or glaring you may convey non-ve rbal impressions that you are worried, angry, or not interested. Your enthusiasm will reflect upon your listeners.Gestures such as hand, arm, shoulder, and head movement are used to emphasize, such as a rejection by raising your hand or making a fist. You can also use your hands to point at an object or describe the size of something.Communication can be done without speaking. It is amazing how we can express ourselves in this carefree way. It is important to feel good when you speak, This will make you more relaxed and your words will flow with ease.

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall Essay -- Plunkitt Tammany Hall

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall1. Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft- When Plunkitt was tipped off about something in the city or someone wanting to built a park or something, he sees the opportunity and he takes it. He buys up the land forrader they do. When they see that they are going to need the land, he sells it to them at a much higher price than what he paid for it, giving him a pleasant profit. That is honest graft. Several politicians are accused of stealing dollars from the states treasury, this is an example of dishonest graft.The condemnation commissioners came along and found gear up after piece of land under the name George Plunkitt of the Fifteenth Assembly District, New York city. They wondered how he knew just what to buy. Plunkitt sees the opportunity and he takes it.2. How to Become a Statesman- If you want to make a fame and fortune for yourself in politics, do not come at them with all of your book smarts and citeing how smart you are. That is a big mistake. Ge t a psyche to follow you, even if it is only one person and say that you want to join the organization. Do not go at them with your book smarts because they will say that they have no use for you here.3. The Curse of the Civil Service Reform- Men who have patriotism get it blasted away when they take the civilian operate examination. The civil service law is the biggest fraud of the age. There are ten thousand good offices, but we cannot get no more than a few hundred of them. When we cannot place these men who cherished to serve their country, they become an Anarchist. There is nothing in the game.4. Reformers Only Morning Glories- Many reform movements were started during PLunkitts 40 years in politics, but none have lasted more than a few years. Morning glories looked great in the beginning but folded in gyp time. These reformers have been going into things without much practice while the politicians, have been practicing all of their lives and know ever fine poi nt of the game.5. New York City Is Pie for the Hayseeds- New York farmers wanted their taxes lowered because they were too high. The Republican Legislature will make a rush for the farmer and tell him that if he does not see what he wants to accept for it. After they cut the farmers tax , they raise taxes on liquor and some other taxes in New York City. They take half of the proceeds from th... ...he Nation- New York City owes pretty much what it all is today to the bosses of Tammany Hall in the last 20 years. With bosses everything runs smoothly, like noiseless machinery.21. Concerning Excise- Every time there is an increase of the tilt in The Raines Liquor Law, there is an increase in the suicide record of the city. If it is a right to tax a saloonkeeper $1000, its right to put a telling tax on dealers in other beverages- in milk, for instance- and make the dairymen pay up. If the Raines law gave the money extorted from the saloonkeepers to the city, there might be some excuse for the tax. 22. A Parting Word on the Future of the Democratic Party in America- One issue that would set this country on fire is the abolition of the civil service laws which are destroying patriotism and taking away good jobs from people that have earned them.23. Strenuous Life of the Tammany District Leader- Plunkitt plays politics day in and day out with no rests. He helps feel the hungry and bury the dead. Plunkitt keeps watch on men, women, and children of his district. He knows their needs, likes and dislikes, troubles and hopes, and helps them to get what they want or need.

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall Essay -- Plunkitt Tammany Hall

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall1. Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft- When Plunkitt was tipped off ab erupt something in the city or someone wanting to built a park or something, he sees the opportunity and he takes it. He buys up the land before they do. When they see that they be passing to need the land, he sells it to them at a more than higher price than what he paid for it, giving him a nice profit. That is honest graft. some(prenominal) politicians argon accused of stealing dollars from the states treasury, this is an example of dishonest graft.The condemnation commissioners came along and found piece after piece of land downstairs the name George Plunkitt of the Fifteenth Assembly District, New York City. They wondered how he knew just what to buy. Plunkitt sees the opportunity and he takes it.2. How to Become a Statesman- If you want to make a fame and fortune for yourself in politics, do not come at them with all of your book smarts and saying how smart you are. That is a big mistake. Get a person to follow you, level(p) if it is only one person and say that you want to join the organization. Do not go at them with your book smarts because they will say that they have no use for you here.3. The Curse of the Civil Service Reform- Men who have patriotism get it blasted away when they take the civil divine services examination. The civil service law is the biggest fraud of the age. There are ten thousand good offices, but we cannot get no more than a few hundred of them. When we cannot come out these men who wanted to serve their country, they become an Anarchist. There is nothing in the game.4. Reformers Only Morning Glories- Many reform movements were started during PLunkitts forty years in politics, but none have lasted more than a few years. Morning glories looked great in the beginning but folded in short time. These reformers have been going into things without much practice while the politicians, have been practicing all of their li ves and know ever fine point of the game.5. New York City Is Pie for the Hayseeds- New York farmers wanted their taxes lowered because they were likewise high. The Republican Legislature will make a rush for the farmer and tell him that if he does not see what he wants to ask for it. After they knock the farmers tax , they raise taxes on liquor and some other taxes in New York City. They take half of the proceeds from th... ...he Nation- New York City owes pretty much what it all is today to the bosses of Tammany Hall in the last 20 years. With bosses everything runs smoothly, like noiseless machinery.21. Concerning Excise- Every time there is an increase of the fee in The Raines hard liquor Law, there is an increase in the suicide record of the city. If it is a right to tax a saloonkeeper $1000, its right to put a heavy tax on dealers in other beverages- in milk, for instance- and make the dairymen pay up. If the Raines law gave the money extorted from the saloonkeepers to the city, there might be some excuse for the tax. 22. A Parting book of account on the Future of the Democratic Party in America- One issue that would set this country on fire is the abolition of the civil service laws which are destroying patriotism and taking away good jobs from people that have earned them.23. Strenuous Life of the Tammany District Leader- Plunkitt plays politics day in and day out with no rests. He helps feel the hungry and bury the dead. Plunkitt keeps watch on men, women, and children of his district. He knows their needs, likes and dislikes, troubles and hopes, and helps them to get what they want or need.

Hofede in China Essay

School of Business, Saint Marys University, Halifax, Canada Shen Cheng, Business School, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China Abstract Questionnaires were completed by 554 respondents in cities in east-central China and in eastern Canada to compare the levels of Hofstedes five cultural dimensions in the two countries and to examine the effects of gender and age on these levels.Country differences were order with four of the five dimensions. Differences in the evels of power-distance, masculinity, and somebodyism were observed across classes of gender and age. Introduction Hofstedes (1980) dimensions of culture have become the about widely used model for explaining various effects across cultures (Yoo and Donthu, 1998). Stedham and Yamamura (2004) describe culture as stable and enduring but also somewhat incertain due to external forces. Hofstedes five dimensions include the following. a.Power Distance. The power distance dimension has to do with inequality in a s ociety. In a high power distance environment thither would be greater tolerance for, nd expectation of, inequality in prestige, wealth and power. b. Uncertainty Avoidance. Hofstede focuses on uncertainty at the organizational level looking at the use of rules and strategies to reduce exposure to an unsure future. c. Individualism and Collectivism. This dimension has to do with the relationship the individual has with the group and more generally with society.Hofstede points out that the nature of this relationship determines not only how people think about themselves and their immediate group but the organise and functioning of many institutions aside from the family (p210) . Masculinity and Femininity. There seem to be two elements to this dimension. One deals with the values held and the other with role expectations. Hofstede (1980) notes that in a give way setting, males value advancement, earnings, training, up-to- dateness while females value friendly atmosphere, position sec urity, physical conditions and manager cooperation (p281).The second aspect of this dimension culture, shake up roles would be differentiated while in a feminine culture wake up roles would be more similar. e. Long Term Orientation (L TO). This is a recent addition to the Hofstede model, dded as a unseas cardinald dimension to the model in the second edition (2001). It is based on the philosophy of Confucius and has to do with persistence, thrift, personal stability and respect for tradition (p351). It describes a endless term, higher level view of life.China was not included in the Hofstedes original study (1980) as the sample for that study was from the offices of IBM and, in the 1970s, there was none in mainland China. Its scores were not reported in the second edition Hofstede (2001) either. There have, however, been some efforts to study the Chinese using Hofstedes dimensions. Pheng and Yuquan (2002) canvass the Chinese in the Wuhan area of China, comparing construction em ployees there to those in Singapore.Taking a workplace focus similar to that of Hofstede, they found that, compared to Singaporeans, Chinese had let down levels of power distance and individualism, and higher levels of uncertainty avoidance and masculinity, but their scores are different from those of Hofstede and therefore are of limited use in predicting how the Chinese scores will compare to those of other countries. Culture has been observed to vary deep down Chinese areas. Huo and Randall (1991), for xample, used the framework to examine the differences among Chinese in Taiwan, Beijing, Hong Kong and Wuhan and found sub cultural differences.Just as there are differences seen in the dimensions between countries, it could be expected that there would be differences expected between groups of individuals within countries. Differences between attitudes and behaviors of males and females are extensively studied and well documented in Western culture. Similarly, individuals have be en observed to change in their attitudes and behavior as they age. Variations in Hofstedes cultural dimensions across age and gender have been tudied by some researchers.Stedham and Yamamura (2004), for example, examined the cultural differences between Americans and Japanese with a focus on sex and age differences. They found no differences due to age and differences between males and females on the power distance dimension in Japan (mf), individualism (mf) in two countries. In the current paper, differences in the levels of the four dimensions of Hofstedes model are examined between Canada and central China. As well, differences in the levels of the five dimensions across age groups and sex category as well as nteraction among these three variables are studied.Hypotheses Main Effects was settled by Chinese several centuries ago and was the target of an influx of several million more Chinese around 1950. It seems likely that the culture of Taiwan would be similar to that of mainla nd China. As none of Hofstedes scores were operable for China, perhaps those of Taiwan would be useful for the purpose of hypothesis formulation. A large difference on the individualism score is apparent where Taiwan was one of the lowest of all the countries studied while Canada tended to be toward the top of the individualism scale.

Profound book Essay

In his profound book on Theism, J. L. Mackie, who is widely considered a champion of the atheistic nurture discusses the various bases on which the concept of idol is founded, perceived and practiced the world over. In so doing, he touches upon the various approaches that get hold of either necessitated God or have described God. In chapter 9, which Mackie has aptly named the Problem of Evil, he chiefs the base of the description of God provided by almost every(prenominal) the religions of the world and whole told the theistic philosophies at one point of time or another.God is described according to traditional theism, as omnipotent (and omniscient) and wholly up reformly. Mackies question starts with the poser .. and yet on that point is evil in this world. How can this be? (Mackie, 150). The question that Mackie poses and the logic he supplies are wholly satisfactory to the intellect to envision and appreciate his question, to say the to the lowest degree. Mackie ar gues that according to the initially plausible and widely admitted premise, Good is opposed to evil that being skilful eliminates Evil.Proceeding with the same logic, a good and potent being eliminates Evil as far as he can and God being Omnipotent and, there being no limits to His capacity, there should be no Evil at all. Mackie goes on to point out (rather gleefully) then we do have a contradiction. A wholly good omnipotent would eliminate evil completely if there really are evils, then there cannot be any such being (Mackie, 150) A very hearty made argument indeed. However, the proponents of Theism and Religion have addressed the problem of evil and this logical paradox on the make upential basis for ages together.But sadly, those arguments have neer been to counter a clever poser as Mackies. However, it is not entirely impossible to adopt those answers to this obvious rejection of God on a quirky basis of a logical exemption. In most Theistic concepts, read Religion, God has indeed been described as omnipotent and completely good. But all Religions have taken note of eh fact that God did not will his creation to be a static equilibrium. It has been ordained to be a Dynamic equilibrium. all in all dynamics as logics permit can happen only when there are at the least two opposite directions and two contend forces. globe has been described as the collusion of two opposing or differing forces giving birth to new . All religions envisage creation as such. Heightened awareness of the violence of two different, (not necessarily opposing) and individual powers have been found in the deification of the Shiva Linga (the phallus) in the (rather primitive for some) Hindu religious symbols and the concept of Ying and Yang that pervades the ancient Chinese philosophy and medicine.More than attributing Good as a characteristic to God, most Religions have described God as an omnipotent being who is beyond description or a being from whom Definitions originate. The refore a creation that has good, as perceived by Human mind and the inherent logic and Evil, as held outrageous by civilization are both creations of God. God is described as a singularity that is beyond the grasp of any man made attempts to get it including Logic.More over all religions hold central the belief that the Universe is a desperate picture (and some religions which provide ample space for religious mysticism in their practice call it a Game God created to have got himself). Consciousness is an ability God has provided Human being to be able to entertain the thoughts of quest for honor and try to decipher the secrets behind the creation. If consciousness is provide by God, then the entire capabilities covering the gamut of good to evil are all provided by god so that man can continue his (most probably, the ordained) task of quest for truth and die trying.( Let us imagine God gave tiger Woods his prowess in Golf, he also gave him his handicaps so that Woods can just ify his life by trying continuously to overcome them and conflagration himself against several other god given powers of other golfers and justify his attempts at perfection) To Him, He being the singularity beyond the grasp of logic, reasoning and justice, He, who is the source of all definitions, Good and evil are part of the equilibrium he has provided Man with, to play out his life and continue the evolution of Civilization as per the endeavor of God.Therefore, it is entirely possible to have God who is fondly defined as omnipotent and the personification of unending Good and kindness to allow Evil to exist as a small counter force to help establish the dynamics in the world. Though there are mythological stories that abound with the stories of prosopopoeia of God triumphing over one form of evil or another, it is entirely the manifestations of the Theological concepts which use stories of God to guide man in his quest for moral philosophy which again is an underlying concep t of the happening Universe, God must have envisaged.The existence of Evil is like the directions along a road on a long journey. If there is a signal, which entrusts the person on the journey to take right, drive east or any other direction, it is understood that by victorious the opposite direction, he would go away from his goal. The presence of the opposite direction is not proof enough to say that the correct direction is not the right direction.It is the supreme power which has conceived both directions and stands aback amused to see if in its grand design, its creation, the man on the undertaking the journey, uses its consciousness and the powers of reasoning (again provided by Him) in making the correct judgment or not. Therefore the argument (which is precisely that, an argument) does not stand that the presence of Evil nullifies the probability of having an Omnipotent, omniscient being, which is wholly good called God. Let us take the analogy of the Games, which we had br iefly touched upon in the case of Tiger woods.Why does a man create opposing teams with opposing goals and efforts in the opposite direction to entertain himself, say as in Football? It is to provide the necessary conflict that can make the game evoke and entertaining. By the same token, God provides for opposing moralities to see if the being he created (most religions fondly believe in His likeness) exercises his god-given prowess of understanding, logic and reasoning to make the right choice and comes out victorious in his quest.Armstrong made a strong reference to Relativity when he said that his small step was a freak leap for mankind. Similarly a giant leap for mankind might just be a speck of a movement in the grand and long journey God has planned for his creation towards the ultimate Truth. Einstein had proposed in his Relativity theory that as the rush inches towards the ultimate threshold of the speed of light, the energy required to accelerate towards it gets close to infinity.If Einstein has stumbled on a profound truth of the universe, then mankinds each step towards unraveling of the truth about God, only makes his next step that much more or infinitely difficult. It is the opposing force of Evil, also part of Gods design that makes for the interesting conflict. It is but the duty of mankind to justify his existence by making his own judgments at every step to dodge the evil, so strategically keyd to further his quest for a living God would have ordained him to live, not in an easy manner but in a difficult and interesting manner.Greatest factor of Gods creation is the seeming Choice for human being at every step, always accompanies with the dubiety of not knowing the result of his choice. For a choice to be present there need to be two opposing or at the least different factors- if one is Good, the other has got to be Evil. For the omnipotent, Evil is not as evil as it is for us. It is another factor of his creation, which he has put in pla ce to help his chosen being, the mankind to exercise his judgment. It is with admiration for the intellectual virility of J.L. Mackie, one must reject his theory that the presence of Evil negates the presence of God, because God as felt (and not described) by the miraculous attempts of Theists and religion is not just beyond description and definition, in fact He is the basis and the head teacher of all the definitions and in whom all dissimilarities merge, unite and find their roots.Book citedMackie, J. L. The Miracle of Theism Arguments for and against the Existence of God Oxford Clarendon Press, 1982

Ancient Greek Deities and Their Human Characteristics Essay

The antediluvian classic idols and their myths shake up existed in the hu humans imagination and spirit for as long as man has had the top executive to pass down their fables. Since before the dawn of recorded events, when man was limited to oral communications, the people of ancient Greece recounted to each otherwise and to succeeding generations a medley of myths and legends surrounding the everlasting anecdotes of these magnetizing heroes. Some of these stories were told for pure entertainment as shepherds would do to pass the time while tending to their flock. Others were etiological in nature, as celebrated philosophers, such as Socrates and his prize student Plato, would discuss debating their meaning or interpretation of life, be intimate, and existence.There argon even present day university courses macrocosm held in order to discuss the lives of these supernatural worlds. These deities have been passed around for thousands of years, and have yet to cease capturing the interest of the human spirit. Man has always been fascinated by these ample immortals and moreoer by the stories surrounding them, and since universities based their coursework on the Latin and Greek, it was natural for psychoanalysis and medical diagnoses to create names from these fables.Their charm and entirelyure is accentuated by their recognizable human attributes. Ancient Greek gods, like man, have been known to go to bed and lust, to be jealous and seek revenge, to be bitter and even petty, characteristics common to habitual man, making them memorable. The Greeks would relate the stories of these omnipotent entities who act capriciously, frivolously, and even immorally, making them unforgettable, their legends transcended time and culture. They were nothing like any deity known to man then or now. The ancient Greeks would seek haven and ask for forgiveness from these familiar sorts of Gods because the Gods understood the problems that plagued man.They assumed that if a mere mortal succumbs to the seduction of revenge, and seeks refuge in the Gods and Goddess, the Gods would have nothing but understanding since they themselves made the very equivalent mistakes. The ancient Greeks began using the stories as an explanation for mans eccentric and erratic behaviour using stories such as Pandora to explain evil in the macrocosm, and womans inherent curious nature. Though they lack the religious seriousness unmatchable and only(prenominal)(a) might expect from a god, the sort of seriousness found in the Judeo-Christians image of God, they are n unitarytheless still omnipotent, in the eyeball of ancient Greece.Of course the Judeo- Christians commitd in sensation god, monotheism, while the ancient Greeks believed in many, polytheism. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, are three of the oldest, and most popular religions in the world today. The majority of the worlds view on how a deity would or should behave comes from these three faiths. These religions are monotheistic, believing in one and only one God. These religions are also considered to be Abrahamic, explained by the Encyclopedia Britannica to mean that all three identify with and emphasize that they trace their common origin back to Abraham, or descry a spiritual tradition identified with him.The majority of the worlds population, 54% according to the ranking of the world religions by Preston Hunter (Hunter) identify with these religions, they believe in the scriptures brought down by their creator, and related back to them by a prophet, or in certain sects of Christianity, the Lord himself. In every one of these scriptures God is described as pure, divine, all knowing, all seeing, and moreover, unlike any human, God is not petty or jealous. His love for his creation is merely platonic, the way one might love a creation of his own.There is no gender God is not male, nor female. In both Judaism and Islam, the word God is replaced by the genderless wreak Allah or Ellah, both meaning The One. He has no flaws, or errors, he does not mingle or mix with lessor beings, most of all he does not procreate with his creations. In some sects of Christianity, God has a son, Jesus, but even then it was defined as a conception like no other from the womb of the Immaculate Conception (Mary, daughter of Amram) herself, and only to prove His existence and platonic love for His creations.For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 316. King James Bible Islam and Judaism argue that He has no family, no sons (except a Trinity-form Jesus), no daughters, no mother, and no father. There is none that came before Him, and none shall come later on him. He is the one and only creator of the area and earth.The Torah, the Hebrew bible bestowed upon Moses, the leader (and prophet) of the chosen people of Israel, mentions in chapter 45 verses six through seven I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the Lord, that does all these things. (Is. 456-7) Also described in chapter 112 verses two through five, of the Quran, the holy scripture of the Islamic faith sent down upon Mohammed peace and blessings be upon him the last prophet, Say Oh Mohammed He, Allah, is One.Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten and none is like Him. (Surah 112 Ikhlas Unity vs. 2-5) In all of these religions the theory of God is that he is alone, without gender or partner, but in ancient Greece, the gods were many and of both genders, every aspect of the heavens and the earth were split among cardinal deities. Some overlapped, somemultiplication causing feuds while others were alone in their ruling. Before the twelve Olympians ruled there were other gods, and a beginning before the beginning.The mystery of how the universe was created is a challenging question that has been puzzli ng man since man startle pondered upon it. Various explanations have been given throughout ancient measure. Rhoda A. Hendricks, author of several books on classic civilization, recounts Hesiods (a Greek oral poet thought to have been springy between 750 650 B.C.)Version which closely resembles Gneisses First of all Chaos came into being, and then Gaea, the broad Earth, the ever certain support of all the deathless gods who dwell on the summit of snowy Olympus, and also dark Tartarus in the innermost part of the broad-path earth, and also sexual desire, the fairest of the immortal gods, who relaxes the limbs and overpowers the resolution and thoughtful determination in the hearts of all the gods and all mankind Gaea, Earth, united with Uranus, heaven, creating the Titans, six gods and Goddess.Among them was Cronus, their youngest son and the cause of the Titans downfall. Destroying his father and taking the crown Cronus became the supreme ruler. With his sister Rhea as his new br ide, Cronus fathered six of the major Greek deities genus Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, and Hestia. The tradition for takeover was set, for Zeus followed in his fathers steps of killing the current ruler, Cronus, and marring his sister, Hera. From Hera and Zeus came Ares, the God of war, Hephaestus, the god of fire, and metal work, and Hebe, the Goddess of Youth (Hendricks). Being the philanderer he was known to be, Zeus had father many other Gods, and Goddess.Though the Greeks say Chaos was get in order, and the Earth was settled, I believe it had only begun, for these twelve Olympians (two more to be born later from Zeus) would create chaos like no man has ever known. Being Gods, supreme rulers of all that is supernatural and earthly, one would assume that humans were beneath them, but that was not the case for some of the gods. Instead of being above mankind they acted as though they were among the vulnerable constantly battling each other in petty con visitations, than seeking a mortals approval. They would monkey and mingle with the fate of man just to satisfy their egos.For casing the story of Helen of troy was set off by a chain of events caused by the Gods being petty and narcissistic. Some might think of the downfall of Troy with the Trojan horse was the fault of Paris for being selfish, taking Helen away from Sparta and back to Troy with him. But poor Paris had no control of fate, but Zeus did. The story of Troy and also the bang contest is a good example of how the human-like behaviors are involved. Helen of Troy was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, an earthly woman married to the king of Tyndareus. Zeus, the king of the Olympians and ancient Greeces very own Casanova, was infatuated with this royal woman.Ignoring the fact that she was married, and that he would be committing adultery, Zeus came down from Mount Olympus in the form of a swan and took advantage of unsuspecting Leda. From that night she bore his half-immortal children, one of which was Helen. Helen was said to be a beauty that no man had ever seen. She was compared to Aphrodite herself, the Goddess of love and eternal beauty being part immortal didnt trauma either. She was the bride of Menelaus the king of Sparta, and she was soon to be the love interest of Paris. But Paris wouldnt have been able to take Helen from Menelaus if not for Aphrodites assistance. Paris, Prince of Troy, was asked by Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite to enounce a beauty contest.Again this was the doing of Zeus, for he had instructed Hermes, the messenger to the gods, to lead the Goddess to Paris to be the judge. Each of the Goddess promised him a reward if they chose them as the winner. Hera offered to make him the ruler over all man if she were chosen Athena ensured him victory in all his battles, but it was Aphrodites offer that had won him over.The Goddess of beauty had promised the hand and heart of another(prenominal) beauty, Helen. And so as the story goes, Paris sweeps Hel en off her feet and brings her home to Troy, focusing Menelaus to seek his brothers aid in avenge his honor and cultivate his bride. The story does not end there, the Gods continue to meddle in the lives of their subjects Athena, Hera and Poseidon frequently helped the Greeks, while Aphrodite and Ares defended the city of Troy (Hendricks), but sadly Troy is defeated in the end. In that one story along, we fetch the Gods behaving in petty and vengeful ways. Theyve ruining the lives of hundreds to satisfy their own selfish psyche. Zeus takes his way with Leda, knowing amply what this will cause.Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena put Paris in a predicament he cannot win, and later Athena and Hera go against him and his people for simply disagreeing with them. At times the gods were simply selfish, and other times they were genuine. Some gods honestly and truly loved the mortals that prayed to them. These sympathetic gods would defy their elders and find ways to make their love immortal so they may join them in Mount Olympus. In the story of Psyche and Eros, (Cupid) Eros fell in love with Psyche, a mortal princess whose astounding beauty earned the anger of Aphrodite. Cupid, the son of Aphrodite and Ares (the god of war), was the god of desire, affection, and erotic love.Annoyed with Psyche, Aphrodite sent Cupid to prick her with one of his arrows which would have forced her to fall in love with the most hideous man in all of Greece this only shows another great example of the gods petty jealousness. Cupid went to do as he was instructed, but instead of putting Psyche under a spell, he accidently pricks himself and he is bound by the love spell of his own arrows. Aphrodite had forbidden Eros to be with mortal woman, which was hypocritical considering she herself had many affairs with mortal men, and so had her father Zeus.Of course Eros defies his mother and goes off to see Psyche anyways. The myths and legends from those times had done more than fascinate man they in spired us to name medical and psychological terms after them. Things like phobia, which is usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in order to avoid their fear.Typically this was disproportional to the developed danger posed, often being recognized as irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided entirely the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities. A famous and common phobia is arachnophobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids, such as scorpions. This came from the story of Arachne and Athena.Arachne was a great mortal weaver who boasted that her skill was greater than that of Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy. Arachne refused to ac companionship that her knowledge came in part from the goddess. offend by Arachnes arrogance, Athena set a contest between the two weavers. According to the recordings by Ov id, a Roman poet and collector of classic ancient Greek myths, the goddess was so envious of the magnificent tapestry and the mortal weavers success, and perhaps offended by the girls choice of subjects (the loves and transgressions of the gods), that she washed-up the tapestry and loom and slashed the girls face.The brown haired goddess Raged at the girls success, struck through her loom, tore down the scenes of wayward joys in heaven. Ultimately, the goddess turned Arachne into a spider. A commonly used term of psychology is narcissism, the love and interest of only ones self. This comes from the story of Echo and Narcissus as it is written in Thomas Bulfinchs Stories of Gods and Heros.Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As punishment, he was unsaved to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus lay gazing enraptured into the pool, arcminute after hour (Graves), and fi nally changed into a flower that bears his name, the Narcissus. According to the American Psychiatric Associations (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, narcissistic personality unhealthiness is defined as an individual who is excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity.In other words cant see anything past ones own problems. Thanks to the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, the story of Oedipus has become one of the most widely known psychological Greek myths in the modern world. However, because of Freuds Oedipus Complex, many modern readers focus on his apparent love of his mother and hatred for his father this in fact is not true to the Greek mythological tradition of Oedipus. As told by Robert Graves in The Greek Myths part II, Oedipuss birth father Laius was married to Iocaste and ruled over Thebes. Grieved by his prolonged childlessness, he secretly consulted the Delphic Oracle, which informed him that this seeming misfortune was a blessing, because any child born to Iocaste would become his murderer.In an attempt to foreclose this prophecys fulfillment, upon the birth of the boy Laius had his ankles pinned together so that he could not crawl ( causing his ankles to swell and giving him his name Oedipus, translated to be sleeveless ankles) he then gave the boy to a servant to pass onto a shepherd from Corinth and then to another shepherd so on till he was in Polybus. Eventually Oedipus was adopted by the King and Queen of Polybus because they two were childless they decided to raise him to be their own. Several years later Oedipus go forth Polybus in search of his birth place and parents. Soon he came upon a road and was rudely told off by his biological father, which he had no knowledge of at the time.The two engaged in a battle resulting in the death of Laius, unintentionally fulfilling the prophecy of his fathers death. Upon arriving in the city of Thebus after solving the sphinxs riddl e Oedipus was crowned king and was given the mourning queen as a bride He again unaware of their biological connection. He continues to rule as the King of Thebus, but once he found out that he married his mother and killed his father, he gouged his eyes out and wandered the forego for ages. As the story goes on we find elements of psychological disorders but, Oedipus himself did not suffer from Sigmunds theory of what Oedipus complex was. In all this one can find the contrast between the Greek deities and the Abrahamic Gods. The contrast between the Abrahamic and the Greek gods has been shown to be extreme. The Abrahamic religions had the monotheistic God who was all-powerful and all-knowing. Although the Torah and Bible describe him as jealous, it was seen as meaning that he expected a strict following of the laws that he gave to the people. The Abrahamic Gods reasons behind the love and punishment were unclear to the followers, this was a test of their faith. God was not underst ood completely but was followed wholeheartedly. The Greek gods had behaviors that were very easily understood by the people.They acted in very human ways, although the lightning bolt of Zeus could not be defended against. Their stories relay their human like personalities. They would get angry over insults made by their subjects (Athena) they let their lusts carry them away (Aphrodite, and Zeus) they engage in petty feuds with one another (Aphrodite, Athena, Hera). Moreover, the Greek gods appear to humans and mingle with them, helping or hindering them and at times, making love with them. The Olympic Gods had the same physical and emotional characteristics as us. Mortal women could compare to Aphrodites beauty and Zeus could be out witted and fooled. Jealousy, anger, bitterness as well as love and compassion were signature characteristics of the Gods personalities.WORK CITIED SOURCES1. According to Greek Mythology Pandora

Theme of Sexuality in Andre Brink ‘s Other Lives

brinks Other Lives A Rewriting of accounting through eroticism The dissident writers preeminent routine, as margin sees it, is to search and fracture the roots of the human condition as it is lived in South Africa (.. ) With the fundamentals of human experience and relationships(Mapmakers 152).That is to say, he aims, through narrating and referring to kinships, mainly sensual ones, at submission the racial practices of the past a calveheid system which is, according to Merriam Websters Dictionary and thesaurus, defined as a former policy of segregation and semipolitical and stinting secretion against non-European groups in the Republic of So. Africa in doing so, he makes use of erotic scenes amidst subdued and white people of both sexes. This essay tackles borders prime(a) to make use of erotic fiction as an inventive way of writing history.Also, it deals with familiarity, in this particular refreshing, which stands as an epitome for racial, colonial and political rel ationships between black and white people, as well(p) as the numerous interpretations of the coitus either through symbolizationism or feminism or psychoanalysis. jibe to doorway the authors reinvention of history would involve a choice between two kinds of concepts, two ends on a sliding scale namely, history as fact and history as fiction. He opts for fiction in this novel to rewrite the history of South Africa In forthcoming novels I shall be exhausting to get to a greater extent and more of an imaginative grasp on reality, to invent history, so that he lays naked the remainders of the post-apartheid system in an modern style, skilfully inserting here and there several incidents, including sexual relations, that may be real or even personal, encompassing and resuming the aftermaths of the colonial experience. Brinks process to the needed question Why re-sort to fiction?Why reduce history to storytelling? is summarized in Russell Hobans famous dictum We make fiction bec ause we ARE fiction. Brink lucubrate on this idea explaining that Whether one composes a c. v. for a job application, or reviews a day or week or year or a brio traversed, or relates a crucial experience to someone else, or writes a letter, or describes an event-however one sets about it, it is inevitably turned into narrative. The go forth to power, to drop the other race and prove one self to be superior has its links with sensuality and chauvinism.At first reading, some sexual acts in the novel seem to be scenes of consummate(a) passion, merely then, they turn out to be mere longing for annihilation. For instance, In the second part Mirror, when Steve, a black man, is provoked by the utterances of the teasing newfangled white cleaning woman named Silke telling him your skin, I like very much how it feel, how it look he becomes infuriated since he considers her words as a racial Remarque that echoes past memories of racial insults that he heard earlier in the novel such as jou ma se swart poes (=your mothers black cunt) and these kaffirs think they own the bloody place.Consequently his reaction may be depicted as an attempt to free the rein of his wrath and strike back himself on the white race embodied in Silke, by conducting violent sexual intercourse saying that for the first time I become aw ar of what is happening inside me. Not passion, non lust, non ecstasy, but rage . A terrible and destructive rage. Moreover, racism is deeply rooted in sociable institutions such as marriage. As A. J. Hassall argues In Brinks South Africa blacks and whites are seen as natural equals separated unless by the uncompromising racism of the whites.In all his books Brink explores sexual relationships between blacks and whites and he portrays them as natural sexual partners who might be natural political and social partners if only the Afrikaner establishment would include it. This is perfectly illustrated in the example of the love relationship between a white man and a black woman in the first part The morose Door, David Le Roux and Embeth, which is, even after the apartheid regime, still considered as a taboo kinship, completely rejected by Davids family why should we allow our lives to be primed(p) by the unreasonable reasonableness of my family?If we love each other.. as David puts it. Added to its consideration as a racist attitude, Steves degradation of the white woman Silke may be read, as an act of political defiance, nevertheless, it fits only too well into the traditional master narrative of colonialism (Natives stimulate a rape-utation, says Modisane, 1986), as well as the master narrative of sexism the male who, in order to justify his aggression against and his possession of the female, blames her for provoking the attack, and for deserving what she gets ecause of her innate libidinal provocation. This is best illustrated in Steves words to Silke if this is what youre after, this is what youre going to get. Fucking little white bitch. Speaking of colonialism, Mellor suggests that men are attempting to penetrate deep foreign regions where they do not rightfully belong.Ninas hair color turning into black, and the repetitive use of the words dark and black in the final paragraph depiction Derek pressing his caseful into the fragrant and fatal darkness between her legs distinguishs to mind the notion of the exotic land bring down to the symbol of the female pubic hair which testifies for the mysterious entropy Afri nookie jungles which should be discovered by white colonizer Derek. Feminists disapprove to the depiction of women, in any respect, as a degraded sex, Objectified and reduced to deal the basic function of shoring up a mans ego.This machismo attitude is evident in Dereks utterancesCome what may, Nina Rousseau, youre going to end up in my bed. Symbolically speaking, it is widely k todayn that white women represent power, so the more that you have of them the more you absorb th at power into yourself. They also, of course, represent repression, so the more that you fog them the more you are fighting the battle and winning as Nicol puts it.This idea brings to mind Steves state of mind when copulating Silke, putting it into words now it is turning into pain, she becomes terrified while I feel myself growing in strength and rage. This is further illustrated in Modisanes words Through sex, I be myself to myself. I am a man When the trance of sex had passed and the pleasure exhausted itself out of my system there remained only the anger and the violence to bear and cocker myself into a more lasting satisfaction Furthermore, the stereotypes of the chaste white woman and the potent black man who acts violently, with or without a reason, are challenged by Brink. The continual characterization of the black male is that of a virile man including the assertion of one of the crudest myths of sexist racism, the size of the black penis and his manhood to which i t is alluded in Steves discourse bloody black stud (=virile). This racial cliche is set off in contrast with that of the white womans ghostly transcendency and absolute pureness as Steve puts it.The terms in which the white woman is broadly described are based on an archetypal image borrowed from Camoens the symbol of purity and light, saintly flesh, raped, violated by the brutal force of a dark continent. In order to criticize this cliche, Andre draws an image of the alloyed Silke who surrenders herself to Steve plead him to fuck her. Psychologically speaking, Lacan perceives the other as the creative force in shaping the consciousness of the I.When joined at the hip with Sarah, David ponders you are my wife, but who are you? Who am I? He feels compelled to know her in order to know himself and apprehend his existence, in other words, as feminists assert, sexuality is the pillar of identity. To boom on this idea, Mans swear, according to Lacan (1977), finds its essence in the desire of the other, not so much because the other holds the key to the object desired, as because the first object of desire is to be recognized by the other. Steve is inventing himself through the Other, Silke, who is, herself, a projection of his consciousness his own identity, the raison detre of his actions and of his life, depends on the girls approval and affirmation. Accordingly, he desires her so he can be recognized by her, and since she is looking at him. She is seeing him. As he is now. As he is. But there is no shock or denunciation in her face, meaning that she does acknowledge him, he realizes his true identity.Contrary to Silkes sexual attraction to Steve, he notices his cats repulsion. The widely known meaning of the flop or scratching cat in dreams, is that this person feels rejected by women or that his current relationships with women are strained or that he feels the women in his life are unappeasable, not to be trusted, overbearing, or just downright mean in which case the dream may mean it is time to evaluate his relationships. This is merely the case with Steve and the female cat Sebastian which draws her slender back into an arc and hisses at him. This may be explained by the fact that, when metamorphosed into a black man, Steve fall a prey to self-depreciation and speculates his wife Carlas rejection of his new black self. So, when he realizes the impossibility of achieving any human or even nonhuman connectedness, he chooses to look for throw overboard through the powerful emotion created by the suffering of Silke, an emotion which simultaneously produces his sexual arousal. This can be proved psychoanalytically in Bersanis control analyzing Freuds Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality in which he dentifies a counter argument running through Freuds essays that sexuality is not sooner an exchange of intensities between individuals, but rather a condition of broken negotiations with the world, a condition in which others merely set off the self burst mechanisms of sadomasochistic jouissance Regarding Dereks unsatisfied and unstoppable longing for the sadistic Nina, The last erotic scene of the novel, when he gets stuck between her thighs, seems to be quite predictable, inasmuch, wipeout ordain be the consummation of his passion.Bersani explicates Freuds theory of the death drive by arguing that if sexuality is constituted as masochism, the immobilization of fantasmic structures can only have a violent denouement masochism is both relieved and fulfilled by death.Isidore Diala refers to Andre Brinks viewpoint about the writers role in the post-apartheid South Africa, saying that The dissident writer must awaken the Afrikaner to a sense of his potential for greatness and struggle aiming at liberating the blacks from oppression by whites, but also a struggle for the liberation of the Afrikaner from the ideology in which he has come to negate his better self. main(prenominal) References -Reinventin g a Continent (Revisiting History in the Literature of the New South Africa A Personal Testimony) By Andre Brink 2-Constructing Connectedness Gender, Sexuality and Race in bloody shame Shelleys Frankenstein by Jessica Hale 3-CONCEPTUALIZING SEXUALITY FROM KINSEY TO QUEER AND BEYOND 4-An Ornithology of Sexual Politics Lewis Nkosis Mating Birds by Andre Brink 5-Andre Brink and Malraux by Isidore Diala - carbon black ( VS) tickling FICTION (aka Why I Continue To Do What I Do) By Jess C Scott, 9 Mar 2011 1 . In her article vulgarism VS. sexy FICTION, Jess C Scott gives a definition of erotic lit saying that it comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. The emphasis of each is quite different.Porns main purpose is to make money via adult entertainment erotic literature tells a story. Stories that are realistic. Stories that make one think. Stories that dive into the depths of navigating gender, sexuality, and the lines of desire (blurb from myfirst erotic anthology,4Play). She illustrates her viewpoint by referring to Nabokov in the same Article explaining that Mr. Vladimir Nabokov state so succinctly inan essay onLolita, . . . Lolita has no moral in tow.For me, a work of fiction exists only insofar as it affords me what I shall call aesthetic bliss. . . He also writes that in pornographic novels, action has to be limited to the copulation of cliches. Style, structure, imagery should never distract the reader from his lukewarm lust. The novel must consist of an alternation of sexual scenes. Ultimately, She draws this conclusion Lolitais more than a pornographic novel. Erotic literature is more than pornographic writing. Theme of Sexuality in Andre Brink s Other LivesBrinks Other Lives A Rewriting of history through eroticism The dissident writers preeminent role, as Brink sees it, is to explore and expose the roots of the human condition as it is l ived in South Africa (.. ) With the fundamentals of human experience and relationships(Mapmakers 152).That is to say, he aims, through narrating and referring to kinships, mainly sensual ones, at unveiling the racial practices of the past apartheid system which is, according to Merriam Websters Dictionary and thesaurus, defined as a former policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of So. Africa in doing so, he makes use of erotic scenes between black and white people of both sexes. This essay tackles Brinks choice to make use of erotic fiction as an inventive way of writing history.Also, it deals with sexuality, in this particular novel, which stands as an epitome for racial, colonial and political relationships between black and white people, as well as the numerous interpretations of the coitus either through symbolism or feminism or psychoanalysis. According to Brink the authors reinvention of history would involve a choice between two kinds of concepts, two ends on a sliding scale namely, history as fact and history as fiction. He opts for fiction in this novel to rewrite the history of South Africa In forthcoming novels I shall be trying to get more and more of an imaginative grasp on reality, to invent history, so that he lays naked the remainders of the post-apartheid system in an innovative style, skillfully inserting here and there several incidents, including sexual relations, that may be real or even personal, encompassing and resuming the aftermaths of the colonial experience. Brinks answer to the inevitable question Why re-sort to fiction?Why reduce history to storytelling? is summarized in Russell Hobans famous dictum We make fiction because we ARE fiction. Brink elaborated on this idea explaining that Whether one composes a c. v. for a job application, or reviews a day or week or year or a life traversed, or relates a crucial experience to someone else, or writes a letter, or des cribes an event-however one sets about it, it is inevitably turned into narrative. The will to power, to dominate the other race and prove oneself to be superior has its links with sensuality and chauvinism.At first reading, some sexual acts in the novel seem to be scenes of pure passion, but then, they turn out to be mere longing for annihilation. For instance, In the second part Mirror, when Steve, a black man, is provoked by the utterances of the seductive young white woman named Silke telling him your skin, I like very much how it feel, how it look he becomes infuriated since he considers her words as a racial Remarque that echoes past memories of racial insults that he heard earlier in the novel such as jou ma se swart poes (=your mothers black cunt) and these kaffirs think they own the bloody place.Consequently his reaction may be depicted as an attempt to free the rein of his wrath and avenge himself on the white race embodied in Silke, by conducting violent sexual intercour se saying that for the first time I become informed of what is happening inside me. Not passion, not lust, not ecstasy, but rage . A terrible and destructive rage. Moreover, racism is deeply rooted in social institutions such as marriage. As A. J. Hassall argues In Brinks South Africa blacks and whites are seen as natural equals separated only by the uncompromising racism of the whites.In all his books Brink explores sexual relationships between blacks and whites and he portrays them as natural sexual partners who might be natural political and social partners if only the Afrikaner establishment would allow it. This is perfectly illustrated in the example of the love relationship between a white man and a black woman in the first part The Blue Door, David Le Roux and Embeth, which is, even after the apartheid regime, still considered as a taboo kinship, completely rejected by Davids family why should we allow our lives to be dictated by the unreasonable reasonableness of my famil y?If we love each other.. as David puts it. Added to its consideration as a racist attitude, Steves degradation of the white woman Silke may be read, as an act of political defiance, nevertheless, it fits only too well into the traditional master narrative of colonialism (Natives have a rape-utation, says Modisane, 1986), as well as the master narrative of sexism the male who, in order to justify his aggression against and his possession of the female, blames her for provoking the attack, and for deserving what she gets ecause of her innate libidinal provocation. This is best illustrated in Steves words to Silke if this is what youre after, this is what youre going to get. Fucking little white bitch. Speaking of colonialism, Mellor suggests that men are attempting to penetrate mysterious foreign regions where they do not rightfully belong.Ninas hair color turning into black, and the repetitive use of the words dark and black in the final paragraph depicting Derek pressing his face into the fragrant and fatal darkness between her legs calls to mind the notion of the exotic land reduced to the symbol of the female pubic hair which testifies for the mysterious south African jungles which should be discovered by white colonizer Derek. Feminists object to the depiction of women, in any respect, as a degraded sex, Objectified and reduced to serve the basic function of shoring up a mans ego.This machismo attitude is evident in Dereks utterancesCome what may, Nina Rousseau, youre going to end up in my bed. Symbolically speaking, it is widely known that white women represent power, so the more that you have of them the more you absorb that power into yourself. They also, of course, represent repression, so the more that you defile them the more you are fighting the battle and winning as Nicol puts it.This idea brings to mind Steves state of mind when copulating Silke, putting it into words now it is turning into pain, she becomes terrified while I feel myself growi ng in strength and rage. This is further illustrated in Modisanes words Through sex, I proved myself to myself. I am a man When the trance of sex had passed and the pleasure exhausted itself out of my system there remained only the anger and the violence to repeat and indulge myself into a more lasting satisfaction Furthermore, the stereotypes of the chaste white woman and the potent black man who acts violently, with or without a reason, are challenged by Brink. The recurrent image of the black male is that of a virile man including the assertion of one of the crudest myths of sexist racism, the size of the black penis and his manhood to which it is alluded in Steves discourse bloody black stud (=virile). This racial cliche is set off in contrast with that of the white womans spiritual superiority and absolute pureness as Steve puts it.The terms in which the white woman is broadly described are based on an archetypal image borrowed from Camoens the symbol of purity and light, sain tly flesh, raped, violated by the brutal force of a dark continent. In order to criticize this cliche, Andre draws an image of the impure Silke who surrenders herself to Steve pleading him to fuck her. Psychologically speaking, Lacan perceives the other as the creative force in shaping the consciousness of the I.When joined at the hip with Sarah, David ponders you are my wife, but who are you? Who am I? He feels compelled to know her in order to know himself and apprehend his existence, in other words, as feminists assert, sexuality is the keystone of identity. To elaborate on this idea, Mans desire, according to Lacan (1977), finds its meaning in the desire of the other, not so much because the other holds the key to the object desired, as because the first object of desire is to be recognized by the other. Steve is inventing himself through the Other, Silke, who is, herself, a projection of his consciousness his own identity, the raison detre of his actions and of his life, depen ds on the girls approval and affirmation. Accordingly, he desires her so he can be recognized by her, and since she is looking at him. She is seeing him. As he is now. As he is. But there is no shock or disapproval in her face, meaning that she does acknowledge him, he realizes his true identity.Contrary to Silkes sexual attraction to Steve, he notices his cats repulsion. The widely known meaning of the hissing or scratching cat in dreams, is that this person feels rejected by women or that his current relationships with women are strained or that he feels the women in his life are unappeasable, not to be trusted, overbearing, or just downright mean in which case the dream may mean it is time to reassess his relationships. This is exactly the case with Steve and the female cat Sebastian which draws her slender back into an arc and hisses at him. This may be explained by the fact that, when metamorphosed into a black man, Steve falls a prey to self-depreciation and speculates his wif e Carlas rejection of his new black self. So, when he realizes the impossibility of achieving any human or even nonhuman connectedness, he chooses to seek release through the powerful emotion created by the suffering of Silke, an emotion which simultaneously produces his sexual arousal. This can be proved psychoanalytically in Bersanis work analyzing Freuds Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality in which he dentifies a counter argument running through Freuds essays that sexuality is notoriginally an exchange of intensities between individuals, but rather a condition of broken negotiations with the world, a condition in which others merely set off the self shattering mechanisms of sadomasochistic jouissance Regarding Dereks unsatisfied and unstoppable longing for the sadistic Nina, The last erotic scene of the novel, when he gets stuck between her thighs, seems to be quite predictable, inasmuch, death will be the consummation of his passion.Bersani explicates Freuds theory of the de ath drive by arguing that if sexuality is constituted as masochism, the immobilization of fantasmic structures can only have a violent denouement masochism is both relieved and fulfilled by death.Isidore Diala refers to Andre Brinks viewpoint about the writers role in the post-apartheid South Africa, saying that The dissident writer must awaken the Afrikaner to a sense of his potential for greatness and struggle aiming at liberating the blacks from oppression by whites, but also a struggle for the liberation of the Afrikaner from the ideology in which he has come to negate his better self. Main References -Reinventing a Continent (Revisiting History in the Literature of the New South Africa A Personal Testimony) By Andre Brink 2-Constructing Connectedness Gender, Sexuality and Race in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein by Jessica Hale 3-CONCEPTUALIZING SEXUALITY FROM KINSEY TO QUEER AND BEYOND 4-An Ornithology of Sexual Politics Lewis Nkosis Mating Birds by Andre Brink 5-Andre Brink and Ma lraux by Isidore Diala -PORNOGRAPHY ( VS) EROTIC FICTION (aka Why I Continue To Do What I Do) By Jess C Scott, 9 Mar 2011 1 . In her article PORNOGRAPHY VS. EROTIC FICTION, Jess C Scott gives a definition of erotic literature saying that it comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. The emphasis of each is quite different.Porns main purpose is to make money via adult entertainment erotic literature tells a story. Stories that are realistic. Stories that make one think. Stories that dive into the depths of navigating gender, sexuality, and the lines of desire (blurb from myfirst erotic anthology,4Play). She illustrates her viewpoint by referring to Nabokov in the same Article explaining that Mr. Vladimir Nabokov said so succinctly inan essay onLolita, . . . Lolita has no moral in tow.For me, a work of fiction exists only insofar as it affords me what I shall call aestheti c bliss. . . He also writes that in pornographic novels, action has to be limited to the copulation of cliches. Style, structure, imagery should never distract the reader from his tepid lust. The novel must consist of an alternation of sexual scenes. Ultimately, She draws this conclusion Lolitais more than a pornographic novel. Erotic literature is more than pornographic writing.

Reviving Mother Nature Essay

I can feel the cool breeze touching my pare down as I sit on the big rock, mesmerized by the greenest mountains, my heart is somersaulting by the beauty of the calm water stretching by dint of the river. The chirping of the birds, the soft hush of the grass as it sways with the wind. This beautiful scenery makes me feel happy, finding peace in nature as the sun sets in the horizon. barely these are just my illusions, and my senses are persistent in drifting me back into reality. And what reality is that? Its the reality that our M separate Earth is dying.We were born in this human beings completely provided with everything food, air, water, natural resources and a beautiful nature that serves as our home. Our mother nature is like a cosy womb which provides us security, protection and nourishment. However, we neer saw the real extent of how precious this planet is to us. We went out the world as a successful species but completely a failure as sons and daughters of Mother Earth . We people tend to destroy everything we have in nature. We are all after for our own comfort, not realizing the damage we cause to our Mother Nature. We incessantly want to live an easy life, even if this means exploiting our resources.Global warming is the major concern that we are facing right now. The continued rise in the global temperature will lead us again to another resulting factor, the humor change. There have been a lot of question if what really causing the climate change. Skeptics are voicing out their opinions, saying that its just due to natural variability, that Mother Earth has its own agenda in warming the earth. besides I would certainly disagree to that. There is stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is due to human activities. Ice cores taken from deep in ancient ice of Antarctica show that carbon dioxide levels are higher now than at any time in the past chiliad years. This carbon dioxide plays the major role in warming the ea rth, thus creating climate change.We humans are the main contributing factor in the destruction of our environment. It has been inform that it is to a greater extent than 90 percent likely that the accelerated warming is due to human contributions. Such contributions include increased levels of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide in the air. One of the biggest ways we contribute greenhouse gasses is by burning fossil fuels. We use coal, oil, and natural gas to generate electricity, heat our homes, power our factories, and run our cars.Trees and other plants use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, planting to a greater extent of them can save us from our damnation. But nobody seemed to care. We are all aiming for globalization and modernization, number lush green forests into industrial sites, building factories that destroy the environment and killing many animals. We brilliantly invented new materials but took so long to reach that they would in the future become non-biodegrad able trash that would accumulate in the environment, we throw our trash everywhere and most of all, we do not value wildlife. Along with our success as a species came the extinction of many animals thus wreaking havoc on ecological system. What we are un informed of is that all of our abuses to the environment would affect us largely in the long run. Now friends, can you still say that its just a natural variability or a devastated Mother Earth fetching its revenge?Just recently, we experienced a heavy downfall. Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon had been flooded heavily, destroying properties and killing number of individuals. We can hear our fellowmen egregious for help and save them from adversities. It has been forecasted that we will be experiencing another El Nino as the summer approaches. We will expect more of this ladies and gentlemen, with the climate change, floods and drought would be more severe and frequent.Change. This is the one we need to reverse all the conseq uences of our actions. Change in our attitude, personality, outlook and actions. This change should start within each of us. Be vigilant in whats happening in our environment, take a stand and start caring and nursing our Mother Nature. It is the best time for us to plant more trees, stop illegal logging and other human activities that destroys our environment. Learn to sacrifice to lessen the use of fossil fuels and other chemicals that harm nature.I am aware that there is no way for us to totally eradicate activities that affect the environment to some extent because that would mean that the human civilization would have to conk out backwards and embrace its primitive ways. I understand that modernization comes side by side with human advancement and progress. What I just want is for everybody to realize that along with this progress also comes our responsibility to protect our environment. Start now, act now, its not too late for my illusions and of the next generations ambitio usness turn into reality.

Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Foods Essay

Our ancestors first cultivated sics some ten thousand years ago. They domesticated animals later and then selectively bred two plants and animals to meet various requirements for human food. Humans discovered natural biological processes such as fermentation of fruits and grains to make wine and beer, and yeast for baking bread. treatment of foods is not a new story, therefore. The latest agricultural breakthrough uses communicable engineering science technology to modify foods. Farmers and plant breeders have been changing crop plants to mend characteristics such as size, resistance to disease and taste.Plants which grow well, have a higher yield or taste better atomic number 18 selected and bred from. This is still the near widely used technique for developing new varieties of a crop, and is limited by natural barriers which stop different species of organisms from breeding with each another(prenominal). Genetic change is very different to these traditional plant breedin g techniques. Genetic modification is the insertion of DNA from one organism to another, usually by molecular technologies. inheritedally Modified sustenances (GMF) are animals or plants that have had genic modification. This changes the characteristics of the organism, or the way it grows and develops. Jim Maryanski from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, had the following to say in an interview published on the FDAs website. ?There are hundreds of new plant varieties introduced every year in the United States, and all have been genetically modified through traditional plant breeding techniquessuch as cross-fertilization of selected plantsto nurture desired traits.?(Robin)Current and future GM products includea)Food that can deliver vaccines bananas that produce hepatitis B vaccineb)More nutritious foods rice with increased iron and vitaminsc)Faster growing fish, fruit and nut treesd)Plants producing new plasticsIn so many respects, genetic modification is perfect for to days society. It would dish up agriculturalists overcome all headaches associated with growing large crops, and basically tailor the food growth industry to mass consumption by the general population. The famous frost- tolerant love apple example is perfect in illustrating this point.With a tomato that resists frost, the season for growing them would be longer and therefore a farmer would be able to produce more tomatoes in one year than they were able to do in the past. Gene technology not only gives us the emf to select the look at characteristics we want in an organism, tho it also enables us to cross species barriers. For example, we can take an insecticide-producing gene from a bacterium and insert it into a plant, making the plant resistant to insect approach. This new-found ability to cross species barriers is what makes gene technology such a powerful tool.Producing enough food for the worlds population without exploitation up all the available land is an enormous chal lenge. One solution is to develop crops that yield more with fewer inputs that are more resistant to diseases that mishandle less during storage and transport that contain more useful nutrients and that can grow in agricultural land that has been degraded. Gene technology gives us the potential to do this. Genetically modified foods have been available since the 1990s. The principal ingredients of GM foods currently available are derived from genetically modified soybean, maize and canola.The first commercially big(p) genetically modified food crop was a tomato created by Calgene called the FlavrSavr. Calgene submitted it to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for assessment in 1992 following the FDAs de landmarkination that the FlavrSavr was, in fact, a tomato, did not constitute a health hazard, and did not need to be labeled to indicate it was genetically modified, Calgene released it into the market in 1994, where it met with little public comment. Considered to have a poor flavor, it never sold well and was off the market by 1997.However, it had improved full-bloodeds contents which made it an lovely new variety for canned tomatoes. Transgenic crops are grown commercially or in field trials in over 40 countries and on 6 continents. In 2000, about 109. 2 zillion acres (442,000 km? ) were planted with transgenic crops, the principal ones being herbicide- and insecticide-resistant soybeans, corn, cotton wool, and canola. Other crops grown commercially or field-tested are a re unspoiledful potato resistant to a US strain of a virus that affects one out of the more than 89 different varieties of sweet potato grown in Africa, rice with increased iron andvitamins such as golden rice, and a variety of plants able to survive extreme weather. Between 1996 and 2001, the total climb area of land cultivated with GMOs had increased by a factor of 30, from 17,000 km? (4. 2 million acres) to 520,000 km? (128 million acres). The value for 2002 was 145 mil lion acres (587,000 km? ) and for 2003 was 167 million acres (676,000 km? ). Soybean crop represented 63% of total surface in 2001, maize 19%, cotton 13% and canola 5%. In 2004, the value was about 200 million acres (809,000 km? ) of which 2/3 were in the United States.In particular, Bt corn is widely grown, as are soybeans genetically designed to tolerate glyphosate herbicides. Future applications of GMOs include bananas that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B, fish that hop on more rapidly, fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier, and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties. The next decade will see exponential progress in GM product development as researchers gain increasing and unprecedented access to genomic resources that are applicable to organisms beyond the scope of individual projects.Biologist Stephen Nottingham explains the risks of GMF? data- ground trials with transgenic organisms are usually conducted strict r egulations to minimize the potential spread of genetic material? Even given these regulations, however, no field trial can be said to be 100% secure. This was illustrated when flooding struck the American Midwest in July 1993 and an entire field of experimental insect-resistant maize was swept away in Iowa. ?once released accidentally into the environment, plant material may prove difficult to recover.(Bragi)Unique ecological risks have been associated with virus-resistant transgenic crop plants?leaving crops more vulnerable to virus attack and risking the spread of virus susceptibility to other plants. Genetically modified foods are unlikely to present direct risks to human health. There are two principal(prenominal) areas of concerna)The possibility of supersensitised reactions to genetically modified foods, andb)The possibility that bacteria living in the human gut may acquire resistance to antibiotics from grading genes present in transgenic plants. Proponents claim that a ge netically-modified potato is as safe as one modified the old-fashioned way, through generations of selective breeding ergonomics just gets the job done more quickly.Critics are concerned that mixing together genetic material from different species king produce unexpected allergic reactions in the person who eats or drinks it. For instance, if an individual consumer who is allergic to broccoli eats a banana that just happens to have a little broccoli DNA under the peel, that person might get sick. Some studies on animals indicate that consuming genetically-modified foods may cause allergic responses, compromise immune systems and repress organ growth, although no proven cases of widespread reactions have been definitively documented.Opponents of biotech foods want other questions answered, as well. Will re-engineering a plant or animal to serve a specific end, such as improving taste, decrease its nutritional value? Will consuming genetically-modified food products make a person mo re resistant to antibiotics, which are widely used to treat bacterial infections? Does consuming milk or meat from livestock that has been injected with growth hormones (a form of biotechnology that is different from genetic modification) subject consumers to early puberty, cancer, and other ailments?Since neither side has been able to provide definitive answers, the jury is still out on food safety later on all, genetic technology itself is barely decades old. So one can condense the issue into a single question should we move forward with new technologies that might help provide higher crop yields, new and interesting types of food products, and more turn a profits for the companies that own the technology or play it safe and custody until we better understand the health and environmental consequences of manipulating life forms that took generations to develop?Multinational Corporations benefit because GMF can be very profitable. GMF have taken hold quickly because multinationa l corporations with the resources to make large financial investments in research and development can profit directly. Multinational companies can spread out the benefit and profit to many branches of their businesses. Many such corporations combine the following an agrochemical company, a seeded player company, a pharmaceutical company, a food processing company and sometimes businesses complex with veterinary products.Developments in one part of the corporation can be used to sell products in another branch. Farmers benefit in the short term because they can grow and sell more crops with fewer problems due to weeds, pests, fungi or frost. The genetically modified seed is designed to resist these traditional enemies. Food processing companies benefit from a ready supply of raw food ingredients designed for specific processing needs. Genetically modified tomatoes and potatoes, for instance, have higher solid contents and yield more sauces and French fries.These foods take longer t o ripen and rot. Thus less food is spoiled and more gets processed. Supermarkets benefit for the same reasons. The fresh produce lasts longer on the shelves and is more profitable. Consumers, to date, havent benefited. GMF have been developed for the convenience of the producer and processor. Yet they cost more to produce and the be get passed along to the consumer. Eventually there will be some kind of designer novelty foods for shoppers to try.Nottingham adds that there are many other concerns including good questions involving animal welfare, whether DNA is actual life, and intellectual property rights and genetic resources from the Third World. (Bragi)The worlds poorest nations account for around 95. 7% of the worlds genetic resources. Traditional farming practices involve farmers retaining seeds, from the harvest of one years crop, for planting in the following year. This practice saves money on buying seed and in itself represents a continuous selection for yield and resista nce to pests and diseases.However, with genetically modified seed, royalties are payable to the companies holding the patent for the seed. Under world parcel out agreement rulings, farmers have to make substantial royalty payments to multinational companies if they keep seed for replanting, even if the crop happens to be native to their particular country. Genetic engineering is a valuable new technology that can develop more plentiful and nutritious foods, with great potential benefits for humanity and the environment, and this new scientific discovery needs to be implemented as quickly as possible for humanitarian reasons.As with every new scientific technology, harmful side cause of genetic engineering are inevitable and great care should be taken in its implementation, including carefully controlled long-term tests on human health and environmental impacts. All genetically engineered foods have been thoroughly tested and demonstrated to be safe before they are released into th e marketplace. However, this testing is typically conducted only on rats and other animals, by the companies involved. Very little of this research has been reviewed by independent scientists and then published in scientific journals.Genetically engineered foods are usually substantially like to other foods, with no increased risk to human health, and no need for the lengthy and expensive human testing demanded of, for example, new food additives. However, the freakish disruptions in normal DNA functioning caused by genetic engineering can produce unanticipated and unknown side effects for human health, including unknown and unpredictable toxins and allergens, and these possibilities can only be definitively assessed through human testing.Genetic engineering is a scientific and technological process, and its evaluation and governmental regulation should be based on purely scientific and objective criteria. To have a purely scientific evaluation of genetically engineered foods, we need more science, especially human studies and environmental studies. Moreover, purely scientific assessment of genetic engineering ignores the fact that, for many people, food has cultural, ethical and religious dimensions that must also be considered.Alan McHughen, author of Pandoras Picnic Basket The Potential and Hazards of Genetically Modified Foods, in the introduction he statesMake no mistake I am in estimation of an orderly and appropriately regulated introduction of some GMOs into the environment and marketplace, and I adamantly oppose others. There are good reasons to ban certain products of genetic technology, and good reasons to allow, with management, certain others some may require no extraordinary regulation at all. If your opinion differs from mine after reading this book, I hold you will be able to justify, if only to yourself, why we disagree.My philosophy is to be skeptical, be critical, even cynical of claims by business interests, government agencies, and act ivist groups. alone also keep an open mind and then decide for yourself. (Internet 7)There? s no doubt that the GM food supply should be closely monitored and regulated, but that doesn? t mean it should all be banned. I believe that genetic engineering of plants, animals, and humans has much to offer as long as we are aware of potential benefits and side effects. And that? s true even for more traditional methods of farming, animal husbandry, and medicine.Work Sited1. Cummings, Michael R. , and Williams S. Klug. Concepts of Genetics. New Delhi Pearson Education, 2004. 2. Dubey, R. C. A Textbook of Biotechnology. New Delhi S. Chand, 20063. Kumar, H. D. novel Concepts of Biotechnology. New Delhi Vikash Publishing House, 20034. Purohit, S. Agricultural Biotechnology. India Agrobios, 20055. Purohit, S. Biotechnology Fundamental and Applications. India Agrobios, 2004Internet.Reference1. Bragi, David. ?Food Savior Or Frankenfood? The Debate Over Genetically Modified Foods?. http//www. sf access.com/cgi-bin/article. cgi? f=/gate/archive/2001/06/25/healthwatch. DTL2. Robbin, Adria. ?What Are We Eating http//serendip. brynmawr. edu/biology/b103/f00/web1/robbin. html3. Schultz, Norman. http//www. beyondintractability. org/essay/fact_finding_limits/.4. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. http//www. wikipedia. org/wiki/genetic_engineering5. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. http//www. wikipedia. org/wiki/genetically_modified_food6.? Genetic Engineering The Controversy?. http//www. genetic-id. com/prosncons/index. htm7. http//www. foodmuseum. com/issues. html.

A History of Arabian Music

Henry G. Farmer illuminating book A History of Arabian Music seeks to provide readers with insight of the historical influences that influence Arabian medication and the culture that nourished and gave rise to variances and interpretations dealing with the theory of music and the practices that further consolidated and supported these theories. The book was published originally in 1929 and covers musical theater comedy work over several centuries. The book st prowesss with the factors that helped to shaped Arabian music culture. These include political and social factors which were instrumental in shaping Arabian music theory.The book starts with a look at the long time of Idolatry in the 6th century (Farmer, 1929). According to Farmer, this was a time which was referred to by Muslims as Days of ignorance based of the fact that at that time much of the knowledge relating to Arabian civilization and the attending economical, political and cultural practices, was lost. Farmer argue s that on that point were many musical instruments in this Islamic time, whose instruction were linked to Southern Arabians and these instruments include MiZaf (Barbiton) and the Kus (A Large Kettledrum) (Farmer, 1929).Factors Migration of plurality from the southern region to Al Hijaz resulted in a thawing pot of the Arts and musicians and poets flourished and shared their talents with others. Farmer also stated that the Musicians and poets in Ukaz competed fiercely for ascendency in their respective arts and this may have helped to shaped the music of the times. Farmers reports that singing girls were famous during that time and musicians gained further recognition from singing at the courts (Farmer, 1929).The author states that during the time of Idolatry, music was found in all areas of edict and pervaded, religious, public and private lives. Arabians were known to sing while at work and play and they often express joy by enagaging in music. Dispite the many musicians and si ngers of that time, altogether a few names have been preserved for modern society. Farmer states that with the advent of Islam during the time of Mohammed the Prophet and subsequent to his death, legists have been debating if music was lawful although there is no reference in the Quran as to any showdown.Farmer argue that the opposition to music may have developed by those theologians who decryed the attention organism paid to music and popular musicians of the time (Farmer, 1929). Arabian music would also be influence by the Khalif, Muawiya who during his reign in the 7th century eventually gave recognition and a present to a musician in his court and this was in direct contrast to what were popular expressions of disapproval of musicians at the time.Yazid II (720-24) a ruler, was also said to have been instrumental in bringing back music to the courts and public life because he enjoyed the arts Farmer illuminatingly states that eventually during what he termed the Orthodox Khal ifate there arose serious competition between the musicians of two major Arabian cities Mecca and Al Medina and he argues that it was Mecca that gave the Arabians the musician Ibn Misjah who was stated to be the first schooled someone in Arabian music.Farmer stated that Arabian music was influenced by both Greek and Persian musicians and composers and the Greek influence gained ascendancy with the work of Greek theorists such(prenominal) as Ptolemy, Aristoxenos and Euklid prominently taking center stage to shape Arabian music. Farmer also looks at two Khalifs who were avid supporters of music and these were Al-Amir (1101-1131) and Al-MustaH (1094-1101). Farmer argues that the afterward Khalifs helped to support and shape musical development and enjoyment.In Farmers eyes the development and growth in appreciation of music in the Arabian culture was not without opposition and controversy. In his eyes, and based on his research, it was the Khalifs, especially those from the 8th to th e 12th centuries that brought back music to public and private lives and encouraged a growing appreciation of this art form. He viewed the work of the great philosopher, Al-Ghazali, as organism enormously influential pertaining to musical development and cites the Principal of the Two Nizamiyya colleges in Baghdad and Nisapur as being one who came out in defense of the music.Farmer has been able to shed light on a period in Arabian history that shows how music development evolved and developed and the forces that acted to restrain the emergence of musical theory. His book shows the triumph of those who overcame adversity and opposition to music in public and private citing religious teachings and the book ends with a look at the work and lives of those who actively sought to make music a part of daily lived of Arabians.Farmers work shows that the development of the music did not pop off overnight, but was a result of centuries of struggle and erudite contemplations. No single indiv idual can lay claim to the developing theories of music for the Arabian people and the development was due to a multitude of music lovers who defended the art and practices and eventually left a rich heritage. References Farmer, H. G. (1929). A History of Arabian Music. Luzac.