Drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Drama - Essay Example ?The Piano Lesson† defines the history of African-Americans, which is a history that is painful and problematic to all ethnic groups in this country because of the conflicts and dispersion of traditions and values that African-Americans have a right to keep. The plot follows the Charles family and the symbolic and literal piano that maintains the centerpiece of their lives. Every aspect of the play revolves around the piano, past and present, and a reader is left to wonder at the intensity with which the Charles family values music in their lives. At its foundation, however, the play isn’t about a piano; it is about the need for stability and heritage that is inherent in all of their lives. Neither brother nor sister can live without what that particular piano represents, and that, in itself, highlights the purity of the metaphor that Wilson has crafted for his audience. Wilson’s cannon of plays on the African-American perspective may be â€Å"more thematic than theatrical; the plays are rich in their variety of characters and conflicts, and in the resolutions to these conflicts† (Boan 263). Even a casual reader of his plays, specifically â€Å"The Piano Lesson,† will come away feeling like they have been granted access into the African-American dynamic and struggles that African-Americans as a culture have to deal with in all elements of their lives. Culture, to any race, is a specific understanding and implementation of their heritage, and it’s easy to lose that in white America, where the dominant culture has become a melting pot of ideologies that are inconsistent with any one race or heritage. Many of these ideologies are often incompatible with the heritage and beliefs that certain races may want to uphold, which makes balancing life with personal traditions more complicated than it seems. Further, â€Å"beneath the diversity within the dramatic framework of the plays lies the assertion that the present for black America has been invariably shaped

Compare the two soliloquies of Act 2 scene 2 Essay Example for Free

Compare the two soliloquies of Act 2 scene 2 Essay In these two substantial speeches, the character of Hamlet Junior is revealed, and portrays a lot about the made-believe characters state of mind. Shakespeare, who has shown Hamlet to be aberrant, in a sense that he makes absurd remarks which no other character seems to understand, but in actual fact has a lot of meaning in them. At the beginning of the first soliloquy, Hamlets self hatred is exposed and Shakespeare emphasiss his isolation. He starts by saying, Now I am alone which is a cleaver use of language by Shakespeare, because it is a sort of pun. One meaning being that he is saying it literally and telling the audience he is talking to them, or he could in fact be referring to his close friends and family, trying to say that he is alone in society and doesnt have nobody he can rely on, or trust. This is because the only people in his life he thought he could trust have let him down. Gertrude, Ophelia and most importantly Claudius sit on top of his list. Hamlets self-hatred is shown when he says, o what a slave am I! He feels like he has betrayed his father for not believing him. Shakespeare shows the audience that he has low self-esteem for not taking his much promised revenge to the spirit of Hamlet Senior. This is because he asks the players to act out the death of his beloved father, and wait to see the reaction of Claudius. For this reason he starts to question his devotion to his father and goes on to say, Am I a coward? At this point he has no self-belief and has very negative thoughts of himself. This is merely due to him not taking action against Claudius. All this self-hatred and negative thoughts makes the character of Hamlet seem melancholy. Shakespeare shows Hamlets anger towards himself, just simply as his anger for the king switched onto himself. Hamlet goes on to say, who calls me villain plucks off my beard I should take it (lines 567-572). This is basically the character saying that, he should accept all the insults thrown at him, because he deserves it for being a coward. This makes the audience feel sorrow towards him and pity him. Shakespeare here has made Hamlet in the space of a few lines switch from sorrow to anger towards himself, because afterwards he goes on to say but I am pigeon-liverd, which is a person who is scared, this shows how much anger he has towards himself. He then goes onto taking the anger towards himself and turning it on his uncle. He refers to Claudius as remorseless treacherous lecherous kindless villain. Here Shakespeare releases Hamlets fury and rage by using curse words towards Claudius. This also shows that Gertrude and Claudius marriage frustrates him, and is a way for him to get it all off his chest. Before he unleashes his fury, his mind is suffocating as he has too much to keep to himself. Because as he releases all of his fury instantly he comes up with a plan and he starts to think straight. Shakespeare makes Hamlet end his soliloquy with two excellent lines as they rounds up the whole soliloquy; the plays the thing, wherein Ill catch the conscience of the King. This explains his idea because if the Kings guilt shows hell have more proof, and is also a positive sign as he starts to get a more stable state of mind. Also the last two lines are rhyming couplets and this is a technique used a lot by Shakespeare, as it is a sort of cue point for the actors and is used on long speeches. The second soliloquy Hamlet starts to question his existence. He again has a negative insight of himself, to be, or not to be. This is Shakespeare making Hamlet question his existence. It relates to the theme of seeming and being. Where Hamlet is asking himself if there is any point of him existing. This seems to be the case when Claudius and Polonius are spying on him. But when scrutinized it could be that Hamlet knows of the spying and is saying this just to confuse Claudius and Polonius more. This is very cleaver because although it seems like he is mad he is in actual fact not. This shows a lot about his state of mind because if he was still in denial and not thinking straight he would not be able to cleverly confuse Claudius and Polonius. Hamlet carries on talking about the theme of death and although he has got a lot of his problems off his chest he still is not totally focused and still has problems. He talks of taking arms against a sea of troubles which is an excellent metaphor used by Shakespeare as it gives the audience a picture in their minds. This basically means that problems are never ending and will go on forever. Hamlet is questioning weather one should take on all their troubles or just give up and die. Although Hamlets state of mind seems to be unstable it is actual fact at its best as he manages to make Claudius believe he is mad by talking of if he should die or not. Shakespeare makes Hamlet talk of this to deceive Claudius and although it seems like this is the only reason, it also refers to his life. Hamlet says, what dreams may come which means that if people knew what the afterlife was like would they suffer the whips and scorns of time. This is an excellent metaphor as it describes life by referring to time as being able to whip and having scorns. This builds up a strong image in the audiences head of a bad perception of life. This shows Hamlets intelligence and strong state of mind as he manages to express his feelings as well as making Claudius think he is mad. In conclusion Hamlet in the first soliloquy was emotionally unstable. Shakespeare has portrayed him like this to make the audience feel sorrow towards him. But towards the end of the speech he gets an idea after expressing his feelings aloud clearing his head, which allowed him to think straight. In the second soliloquy Hamlets state of mind is still a bit unstable because although he has expressed his feelings he still has the problem of Claudius to deal with. He felt a lot of self-hatred and anger and didnt know who to focus it on.

Analysis Of The Malaysian Communists

Analysis Of The Malaysian Communists The emergency was introduced to Malaya as a mean to eradicate communism. Without communism, the emergency era will not come about. This shows that communism played an important role during this era. Communism was first introduced by Karl Marx in the mid-19th century in his book The Communist Manifesto, Das Capital and The German Ideology. Communism is against feudalism and imperialism and it is determined to change this administrative system to communism trough violence and war. According to Columbia Encyclopedia, 2008, communism is a socio-political movement that aims for a classless and stateless society structured upon common ownership of the means of production, free access to articles of consumption, and the end of wage labour and private property in the means of production and real estate. Communism is followed by several countries that time, for example China and Russia. 2In July 1919, Communist International (Comintern) instructed its party to spread communism to the whole world. In Malaya, communism is spread through Kuomintang (National Peoples Party, established by Sun Yat-sen and Song Jiaoren in 1912) and Nanyang Communist Party. As both the party is from China, it is easier to spread communism among the Chinese. Communism was spread through labour union, political parties, night classes and through publications. Communism was spread among the Malays by Indonesia Communist Party throughout 1924 till1930 but the attempts failed as communism was against Islamic beliefs and their culture. This ideology does not acknowledge the presence of God but in Islam, the God is considered as the highest power of the whole universe. Besides, this ideology uses violence to get their way while in Islamic studies, violence is strictly prohibited except when forced to and to claim ones right. Communism is also not accepted by the Indians. One of the main reasons i s that MCP consists mainly of Chinese which raise the suspicion of the other two races. They were therefore more ready to help the British in bringing down MCP. Karl Marx Father of Communism 3 MALAYA COMMUNIST PARTY In 1930, the Malaya Communist Party (MCP) was established with the objective of forming Republic of Communist Malaya. MCP had recruited a lot of cadres (new members of a political party trained to become loyal followers) and even seeped into most of the labour union. MCP also tried to spread communism to Sarawak but in vain as the people there does not have enough knowledge for politics. In the year 1935, MCPs attempts became more violent. More and more strikes and labour unrest occurred with the greatest strike occurring in a charcoal mine in Batu Arang, Selangor where as much as 6000 workers participated in the strike to take over the mine. As a result, the British sent 300 police to end the strike. Most of the leaders involved in the strike were sent back to China and following that incident, MCPs leader was arrested. When Japan attacked Malaya, MCP offered help to the British to fight off Japan. MCPs members were trained in Sekolah Latihan Khas 101 in Singapore on guerilla war tactics. This school then became the guerilla team headquarters in fighting the Japanese army in Malaya. MCP then formed the Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) and the British supplied them with firearms through another force named Force 136, also one of the anti-Japanese army but mainly consists of Malay members. 4When the war is over, a political vacuum occurred in Malaya.MCP took this opportunity to rule Malaya through its army, MPAJA for 14 days. The MPAJA troops are known as the Three Stars, symbolizing the three main races in Malaya-Malay, Chinese and Indian. MCP ruled Malaya inhumanely, torturing and killing anyone who had cooperated with the Japanese before this. They also imposed high taxes on the citizens making them suffer from poverty. Other than that, villages were burnt at night with its people still inside their houses and mosques were destroyed. Their actions angered the Malays and as most of the members of MPAJA were Chinese, racial tensions occurred. The villagers stood against MCP causing chaos over the whole Malaya. This issue was resolved when British came back to rule Malaya again through the British Military Administration (BMA) in September 1945 as the British thinks that military administrative system was required to restore peace to the country. BMA wanted MPAJA to be disbanded and the firearms to be returned to them. MCP agreed to close down MPAJA but they did not surrender all of the firearms. Instead, they kept part of it for themselves just in case they will have to use it again in the future although the British government paid each of them who returned the firearms $350 and a bag of rice, hoping that this would encourage the MCPs members in returning the firearms. MCP, which had already seeped into the labour union started to be active in political movements. 5MCP openly joined the political process, branching out and concentrating on labour activities. The MCPs legal activities started by becoming a member of the Governors Advisory Council in Singapore in 1945 and were involved in groups like the Malayan Democratic Union and the Malayan Nationalist Party. Their plan was to cause serious disruption and chaos to the economy through strikes and labor agitation and ride the tide of discontent to power. Communist had fertile ground through Chinese schools for recruitment and agitation. Due to the abandonment of BMA, many young Chinese were convinced that the Malay leadership planned to relegate Chinese to permanent second class status. Their future seemed bleak and the communist offered hope. When the Japanese left Malaya, economy was disrupted. Malayan people faced many challenges including low wages, unemployment, scarce and expensive food. Due to the revenue from Malayas rubber and tin industry that was important to the Britishs own recovery, BMA was attempting to repair Malayas economy quickly while there was a large number of strikes and a considerable labour unrest during 1946 through 1948. Harsh measurements such as arrest and deportation were used in dealing with protestors causing them to be increasingly militant. A temporary rubber price drop in the world at 1947 caused employers to seek government action to restrict union operations as the Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions (PMFTU) directly controlled 80-90 percent of the unions in Malaya. Increasing violence especially against European planters convinced the government to strengthen the already stringent law of 1940 to govern the trade union activities. New measures were introduced which requires registration of all unions and condition for registration, certain terms on the eligibility of union officials to hold office were imposed. Situation for workers generally improved however, diminishing influence of the PMFTU and hence the MCP in the labour unions of Singapore and Malaya. 6The MCP was also experiencing serious difficulties within its own organization. The Secretary-General Lai Tek disappeared in March 1947 and later MCP revealed that he had been a double agent. This was a strengthening faction which had consistently argued for an armed struggle. It was decided at the Fourth Plenary Session to prepare for this struggle by moving all party activities underground. Trade unions were encouraged to not only improve welfare of workers but also to lead them to the road of violent action. The authorities were alerted to the change of direction on MCPs policy after a spate of murders and attacks on the European estate managers. BMA did not last long and as soon as MPAJA is disbanded, the British came up with a new administrative system known as Malayan Union. However, the locals did not agree with the system as it threatens their status quo by having jus soli citizenship and due to other factors as well. On the contrary, MCP very much support this kind of administrative system as that will means citizenship for all of them. Furthermore, this system will also not be controlled by the rajas and the Malay officers. This is why, in 1948, when the British decided to change Malayan Union to Federation of Malaya, MCP stood against it. 7In February 1948, a few representatives of MCP attended the Asian Communists Youth Conference in Calcutta, India. The conference encouraged the communist parties to have an armed rebellion to achieve their objective, which is to overthrow the British government and establish the Communist Republic of Malaya. This caused the MCP, led by Chin Peng to form a guerilla unit known as Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA) and as most of the firearms not returned are kept in the jungle, this guerilla unit was formed in the jungle itself. MCP started the rebellion by attacking the colonial resource extraction industries, which in Malaya were tin mines and rubber plantations owned by Europeans. (extracted from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_Emergency) Besides that, they also attack the police station, set factories and buses on fire, damage railway tracks, one of the most important means of transportation essential in sending products from factories to the port, and kill people they think works with or cooperate with the British. . Their plan was to cripple the economy in Malaya, conquering big cities, and towns in the outskirts and finally driving the British out of the country. Damaged railway tracks 8 MPAJA cap-shown by the red star THE EMERGENCY ERA MEASURES TO COMBAT THE COMMUNIST THREAT The climax of the MCP violence was on 16 June 1948, when three European estate managers were killed. This incident appalled the British government and spurred them into action to eradicate the communists and their activities. Among the measures taken were the declaration of emergency, enlarging the security force, the Briggs Plan, military steps, psychological warfare ( the Templer Plan), and through the declaration of amnesty. DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY Following the death of the three European estate managers, the British High Commissioner, Sir Edward Gent declared Perak and Johor as emergency areas. A state of emergency was declared on the whole of Malaya a day later. This action is to protect the economic interest of British in Malaya. MCP was finally outlawed on 23 July 1948 followed by all of the leftist parties. 9Following the declaration of emergency, the British government reinforced the Emergency Law of 1948. The Emergency Law of 1948 enabled police and soldiers to arrest and detain communist suspects without a trial. It also allows the police force to ransack houses, move citizens to a new area or quarantine a certain location suspected to be involved in communism. Roadblocks and curfews in areas where communists activities were rife were also imposed. It was called an emergency, not a war so that it was possible for businessmen to claim insurance for damage to property from insurance companies, Lloyds insurers in this case. ENLARGING THE SECURITY FORCE The government also took action in increasing the number of soldiers and police in the country. The police force was reorganized and enlarged until it reaches an amazing number of 70000 people. To increase its military troops, the British brought in soldiers from Commonwealth countries, especially from Australia, New Zealand, East Africa and Fiji to eradicate the communist threat in Malaya. In addition, the government also established the Home Guard troops in the village to assist the police and military force. Members of the troop are of both genders and the establishment of the Home Guard troop heightened the spirits of the locals to defend the country from communists. The willingness and courage of the Malays to fight the communists awed the British High Commissioner, Sir Henry Gurney. Besides that, as much as 24000 Special Constables were trained and sent to isolated estates and mines to prevent the attack of communists against them. The military force also bombed and ambushed areas that nested the communists with the help of the British Air Force. 10 BRIGGS PLAN Sir Harold Rowdon Briggs introduced the Briggs Plan to eradicate communist activities through a strategy that relocate the squatter areas from the edge of the forest to a new village and by launching starvation movement in 1950. He himself became the operation director of the plan. The relocation plan started on 1 June 1950 in Johor. Towards February 1952, more than 400,000 Chinese squatters were relocated to approximately 400 new villages. This plan was aimed at restricting the Chinese from supplying food, medicine and information to the communist guerrillas who were hiding in the jungle. This plan was effective in eradicating communist violence because it weakened Min Yuen activities and forced the communist out of the jungles. The new villages were fully equipped with basic amenities such as houses, schools, medical facilities, electric and water supply. The new village was also fenced with barbed wire and guarded by Special Constables to monitor the movements of the villagers. 11In the new village, each family head is given a food ration card to ensure that all of his family members obtained sufficient food supply. The in and out of the villagers within the new village was also supervised at all times. All these fall under the British plan, the Starvation Movement to ensure the communist will not get any food, weapons, information and medicinal supply from the villagers. This is what that weakens the Min Yuen activity which is formed by the communists to provide food and medicine to them. Most of the MinYuen members are mine and estate workers, either forced in or are involved voluntarily. With the help of road blocks, it will be impossible for the communists to get any supplies from the villagers. They were forced out of the jungle to get the supplies themselves and this made it easier for the British to demolish them. Other means to eradicate communism includes introducing a new registration system that is the same for the whole Malaya whereby citizens above 12 years of age are required to register themselves to the government to be given an identification card to be differentiated from the communists. Briggs also supports the formation of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) in 1949 that helps Chinese squatters lead their lives in the new village. MCA has conducted fund raising through the sale of lottery tickets. The lottery proceeds were then donated to the Chinese settlers in the new village to help them lead a more easy life. The Briggs Plan was a success in crippling the MCP networks. MCP started to feel the pressure on them and the downfall of villagers towards them that in their Central Committee Meeting in Pahang, they decided to reduce violence against civilians and to retreat to southern Thailand. MILITARY STEPS Sir Gerald Templer was appointed the High Commissioner of Malaya in 1952 to replace Sir Henry Gurney, who was shot dead by communists, on 6 October 1951, while on his way to Fraserss Hill. 12 As a military general, he used firm military force to fight the communists. His military tactics included the use of 13 battalions of English soldiers, Gurkhas and Malays training 67 000 special Malay soldiers and forming home guards system with 210 000 of them in 1953 and recruiting assistance from the Commonwealth military, such as from Australia, New Zealand and Rhodesia. The strength of the military team enabled the government to launch more aggressive attacks on the communists and ensured that food was not smuggled out for the guerrilla communists. PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE Sir Gerald Templer also launched psychological warfare upon the communist terrorists by the campaign winning the hearts and minds of the people as he realized that the use of force and weapons alone will not be enough to eliminate the influence of communists. Campaigns like Malayans Against Communism Month were held successfully in which the villagers of all three races held banners condemning violence of communism. They also burnt dolls of communists to show their hate towards them. Pamphlets opposing the communists were also distributed throughout Malaya. The psychological warfare implemented by the government starts to grow hate towards the cruelty of communists in the villagers that they volunteered themselves in joining security forces and in the police force to defend their land. 13Besides that, Templer also introduced the system of white and black areas. The white area is an area that is announced free from communist activities, while the opposite is the case for a black area in which Templer introduced curfews as the communist activities were still active and the soldiers were hunting for the communists. By 1954, Templer had announced Malacca, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis and Negeri Sembilan as white areas. To draw support from the Chinese in supporting this psychological warfare, Templer made it easier for the non-Malays to obtain citizenship that allows 1.2 million Chinese and 1.8 million Indians became the citizens of Malaya. The leniency of state requirements showed the sacrifice of the Malays in creating unity and welfare of all citizens. In the psychological warfare campaign, Templer also increased the value of the prizes offered to citizens who manage to capture or give out information regarding the communists guerillas. Whoever manages to catch Chin Peng, whether dead or alive will be rewarded with $250, 000 while those who capture or kill his assistants will be rewarded with $200, 000. Templer had successfully made Chin Peng the public enemy in this way. The Malay Sultans and officers also played an important role in this warfare by telling their people that those who helped the communists will be considered as a national traitor. The Malays were also reminded of the cruelty of the communists during the takeover of the country by the Three Stars army after the surrender of Japan. The Malays were urged to help the government eradicate communism in the country. The government also made efforts in producing hate towards communists in the citizens by calling them terrorists. 14The government then reinforces the food ration rule which force the communists who cannot obtain food to plant their own food. However, the government failed their plan by spraying poison all over the crop area, leaving them to starve until they surrender. At the same time, pamphlets calling the communist terrorists to give up their fight were also given out with the help of the Air Force. Templers psychological warfare can be said to be one of the factors for the success of the government of the Federation of Malaya in ending the communist revolution. This encouraged the people of Malaya to work together with the government to eliminate the communist terrorists. DECLARATION OF AMNESTY The government offered amnesty to encourage communists to surrender themselves to the government. About 40 000 pamphlets and 12 000 amnesty pass were given out in Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The Malaya Radio will also broadcast the conditions of the amnesty offer daily. Posters were put up everywhere and advertisements and movies are used to help citizens encourage communism terrorists to surrender. 15= Communists who surrendered. THE MEETING IN BALING In the federal legislative council election in 1955, the Alliance Party had come up with a manifesto which promised immediate independence and ending the emergency. Tunku Abdul Rahman also promised that if given credential, he will negotiate with the communists. Chin Peng then wrote a letter to him confirming the negotiation and the negotiation was held in an English school in Baling, Kedah on the 28 and 29 of December 1955.Tunku Abdul Rahman, David Marshall and Tun Tan Cheng Lock represented the government while Chin Peng, Chien Tien and Rashid Maidin represented MCP. In the meeting, Tunku Abdul Rahman requested Chin Peng to disband MCP, lay down their weapons and to surrender themselves. Chin Peng agreed to surrender and to lay down their weapons with the condition that MCP is to be recognized as a valid political party by the government. As Tunku Abdul Rahman realized that communism is not suitable for our multi-racial society, he turned down the offer and the meeting was considered a failure. As a result, the conflict between the government and the communists increased causing other Commonwealth countries to send troops to Malaya to aid British in ending communism. 16 Although the negotiation failed, Tunku Abdul Rahman stated that he is ready to negotiate with the communists again under the condition that it is the communists desire to meet him and that they are prepared to surrender themselves. Although many attempts were made by the communists to resume peace talks with the government, they will not surrender and therefore was not entertained. On 31 August 1957, Malaya gained independence when the emergency law was not over yet. With the independence of Malaya, MCP lost its influence in the people. The last serious resistance from MRLA guerrillas ended with a surrender in the Telok Anson marsh area in 1958. The remaining MRLA forces fled to the Thai border and further east. (Extracted from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_Emergency) The Malayan government declared that the emergency was over on 31 July 1960. Chin Peng moved to Beijing where the Chinese authorities placed him in the International Liaison Bureau, where many other Southeast Asian Communists Party leaders were accommodated. 17 THE EFFECTS OF EMERGENCY IN MALAYA The British government declared a State of Emergency throughout Malaya on the 18th of June 1948. This state of emergency ended officially on the July 31st 1960 and its effects were seen politically, economically and socially. POLITICAL ASPECT The British granted citizenship to the non-Bumiputeras particularly the Chinese who made the bulk of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). Chinese citizenships were bestowed to over half of the Chinese population in Malaya and they were able to enter the Malayan Civil Service for the first time. Since the government had stressed the need for a united Malayan nation, the creation of communal parties had been viewed. Communal parties such as United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) successfully contested in the Kuala Lumpur municipal elections of February 1952. Subsequently the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) comprising of the Indian community formed a coalition with UMNO and MCA into the Alliance Party in 1954. This was cited as a positive step towards the creation of a united Malayan nation. The victory of this unity was demonstrated in the federal elections of July 1955 where the Alliance won 51 of the 52 contested seats. As a result of this vi ctory, the Alliance partys views were given prominence by the Reid Commission, formed in 1955 to prepare a constitution for an independent Malaya. 18The Emergency Law implemented by the British was also seen as a way to curb the left-winged radical parties. As a result of this rule, it gave rise of what we have today that is the Malaysian race which means a single nationality in which all persons qualify as citizens of this country. This is so either by birth or by fulfilling requirements of residence, language and oath of loyalty. This further induced the Chinese and the Indians in particular to cooperate with the government so as to have a win-win situation. ECONOMICAL ASPECT The economy took a downturn. The countrys wealth was spent to suppress the communists activities in Malaya. The government spent about 250,000 to 300,000 a day during the Emergency Rule. This was with regards to upkeep the peace and safety of the people during that time. The money used was to further enhance and expand the police force as well as the home guard. On the contrary, the development of the rural areas was neglected. The governments focus was on the New Village, hence failing to raise the living standards of the people of Malaya. 19The state of emergency which was declared to deal with the danger revealed some of the serious ethnic divisions existing within the community. This happened during the struggle of the British government trying to attain economic goal in the export earnings coming from rubber and tin industry. The Chinese were initially recruited for work in the tin mining industry; the Indians were assigned the task of working on the rubber estates; and the Malays were directed towards providing food for the growing economic machine. These considerations allowed a few privileged members to rise above the economic functions allotted to their particular ethnic groups. By 1957, when the independent Federation of Malaya was announced, the communist threat had faded. But the communal threat remained a legacy of colonial rule which would determine the unity and the survival of a new nation. SOCIAL ASPECT The Emergency Rule saw the destruction of about 21,230 lives which included the general public, whereas 6133 dead were communists. This rule also jeopardized the lives of many. They lived in fear and poverty because of the communist threat. The farmers could not plough their lands due to the laws. Rationing of food forced people to depend on food like tapioca and yam, just like what happened when the Japanese ruled. A new body known as Communities Liaison Committee (CLC) was established to foster unity and close ties among the different races in Malaya. The government also introduced a new national education syllable which is Malaya oriented in hope that it will produce patriotic young generations. Besides that, the usage of the same national language was hoped to be able to produce understanding among the multi-racial society. 20 CONCLUSION From this emergency incident, we can see how important it is for the citizens to not only work with each other but also to cooperate with the government in achieving an aim. Without the support of its people, Malaya will never be able to get free from communism. Malaysians today should keep this in mind and be grateful to the sacrifice made by our ancestors in order to get us here today, in this peaceful society. 21

I Want to Become an Educator Essay -- College Admissions Teaching Phil

I Want to Become an Educator Why is education such an essential part of our culture? We, as a society, are extremely materialistic and view education as a ladder to a higher socio-economic plateau, which consists of better job opportunities and a better lifestyle. Education is at the core every career imaginable and, regardless of technological advances, there will always be a need for teachers. Teachers touch lives every day. I am becoming an educator because I feel that I can positively influence the lives of others. I am confident in my ability to interact with others as I look forward to improving students’ lives through education. I feel that in order for students to prosper they must be comfortable with their learning environment. I plan to have an well-organized classroom with various bulletin boards highlighting current chapters of study, as well as announcements and assignments. I also believe that you must keep students both interested and involved to achieve successful learning. Desks in my classroom will be organized in one large â€Å"U† formation facing my desk in the front to create a feeling of unity and coherence. To further promote this goal I will assign a seating chart (possibly alphabetically) to aid in the diffusion of cliques and to avoid exclusion of these who may have the tendency to be isolated. Individual and group projects will be incorporated into my curriculum to provide students the opportunity to work both independently, as well as a team member. My teaching style, although eclectic, will be predominantly pragmatic. The class (with my discretion) will establish our classroom rules and penalties in a democratic fashion. I will be teaching vario... ...aming. This issue is of particular relevance to me because my 6 year-old nephew was recently diagnosed with mild autism. Mainstreaming is a very difficult subject that teachers must face. Placing students that are physically, socially or mentally challenged into a fast-paced learning environment is extremely adverse for the student, as well as the teacher. In conclusion, the ideas presented here are an overview of my personal beliefs regarding education. I expect that experience may cause me to add to, delete or otherwise alter some of these views. It is my desire to continue to learn from my instructors, peers and ultimately my students so that I may become a well-rounded and effective educator. Someday soon, I would like to be able to describe my classroom as community of learners, having produced good citizens as well as educated individuals.

The Importance of Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic Essays -- Plato Rep

The Importance of Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic   Ã‚      Dr. Malters’s comments: This student does two things quite remarkable for an undergraduate student. In his compact essay, not only does he display an in-depth understanding of complex perspectives on justice put forth by the protagonist Socrates, he deftly explains how Plato has artfully made rude objections by a seemingly minor character early in the dialogue function as a structuring device for nearly all the important ideas examined thereafter. In Plato's Republic, the character Thrasymachus provides an intense yet short-lived appearance in the discussion of justice early in the story. Though he seems to almost completely withdraw from the discussion for the remainder of the book, his early arguments provide a major impetus in Socrates' search for justice and prove to be an ever-present force contributing throughout the entirety of the work. After Socrates refutes the primary arguments of Justice from Cephalus and Polemarchus, Thrasymachus jumps into the discussion as a "wild beast" "as if to tear [Socrates] apart." He quickly insults the interlocutors and shows a high disdain for philosophy. He claims to know what justice really is without having to go through all the "asinine" arguments, simply stating it as "the interests of the stronger." He is clearly basing this view on simple observations of various rulers of his time. After Socrates refutes this argument by using examples of doctors and captains working for the benefit of their patients and sailors, respectively, Thrasymachus comes back with the argument of shepherds fattening sheep up for their own profit instead of for the benefit of the sheep. After this, Thrasymachus seems to w... ...onceived notions of philosophy determined by the mere appearance of things. After Socrates examines the five regimes of the soul as they move from aristocracy to tyranny, he is eventually able to show how the tyrant becomes a slave to his own appetites and proves most wretched of all leaders. This finally completely refutes Thrasymachus' argument that the unjust is better off than the just. He sums up the matter when he says that they "break away smartly.. .but [in the end] trot off uncrowned. "He goes on to say "as for the unjust, at the end of the race, most will be caught and whipped." Thrasymachus is indeed "caught" by Socrates in the beginning of the Republic, and by the end is whipped into wisdom of true justice from Socrates' enduring argument. Work Cited Plato, the Republic, translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1991.

Life Is Not Fair

There seems to be a lot of talk these days about what is fair, and what is not. President Obama seems to believe life should be fair, that â€Å"everybody should have a fair shake. † Some of the 99% seem to believe life has treated them unfairly, and some of the 1% percent feel life hasn't treated them fairly enough. I would probably be one of those 99% people because we all know we have are moments where life Just sucks. My questions are these: What is fair? Is life fair? Should life be fair?We clearly have no choice about how we come into this world, we have little choice early in life, but as we grow older choices abound. I have long believed that while we have no control over the beginning of our life, the overwhelming majority of us have the ability to influence the outcomes we attain. Fair is a state of mind, and most often, an unhealthy state of mind. I recognize that throughout life I will continuously develop and learn. I will continue to introspect and question mysel f.I recognize there is always room for improvement and that I will never be perfect. It would be ridiculous to assert that those who fail over and over again eventually succeed as leaders. Success in any endeavor isn't a process of simply buying enough lottery tickets. The key that unlocks the door to opportunity is learning. Leaders are constantly learning from their errors and failures. Try, fail, and learn. Try, fail, and learn. Try, fail and learn. That's the leader mantra. Leaders are learners.You need to learn from your failures as well as your successes and to make it possible for others to do the same. You can say life is unfair all you want but the ones who listen to the people that say get used to it never step up and do something about it. They let life keep treating them unfair and eventually Just blame life on all of their problems. So yes I do believe in the saying â€Å"Life is not fair: get used to it. † Sometimes we Just have to let it roll off are shoulders and say it's Just a part of life.

Comparison: Minority Report and 1984 Essay

Is it inhumane to arrest and convict a person of terrible crimes, even if it is not yet committed, if it is certain that it will be? Utopia is an imaginary place in which everything is perfect; in comparison, dystopia is an imaginary state in which the condition of life is extremely bad as from deprivation, oppression, or terror. George Orwell’s 1984 (1949), is a novel based on life in a dystopian setting, with a totalitarian government centered on war and hatred. Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report (2002) is a film in a futuristic setting with a system which predicts future murders so that citizens live a homicide-free utopian life. Winston Smith is the main character in 1984. His rebelious views on his society and government cause his arrest for ‘thoughtcrime,’ for which he is brainwashed until he complies to his society’s views. In Minority Report, John Anderton (Tom Cruise) begins by completely trusting the system which allegedly predicts murders before they happen. In fact, Anderton is an officer of precrime himself, and is responsible for figuring out the specific details of the murders. However, when it is revealed in the film that Anderton will murder a man he has not even met, he tries to fight the system to prove his innocence. The idea that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is the central message of both 1984 and Minority Report. This is because technology is used to enforce power, it is purported to be infallible, and the result of the misuse of power is corruption. The use of technology to enforce corrupt power is comparable in both 1984 and Minority Report. Firstly, in both societies technology is used to give the citizens statistics about how much the state of living has improved since the source of power was created. In 1984, the announcer on the telescreen reads, â€Å"‘Attention comrades! We have glorious news for you†¦ the standard of living has risen by no less than 20 per cent over the past year. ’† (Orwell 61). Similarly, in Minority Report, the Precrime service announcer proudly boasts that â€Å"‘within three months of the precrime program, the homicidal rates in the District of Columbia had reduced 90%’† (Minority Report). In both societies, statistics are manipulated to citizens to encourage them to appreciate the government. Also, technology is used in both of these works so the government always knows where each individual person is. In 1984, this is done by the use of telescreens, which â€Å"received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard† (Orwell 5). In Minority Report, retina scanners are in every public place, and eye-scanning spiders can crawl into houses and apartments at any given moment to locate everyone. In both 1984 and Minority Report, technology is used to monitor people. The people in the novel 1984 are monitored so any thoughtcrime or illegal behaviour is detected by the use of telescreens in every room, as well as devices hidden in the outdoors which record sound. Similarly, the citizens in the film Minority Report are monitored to detect any sign of potential murder. In 1984 and Minority Report, technology is used by the government to enforce power reinforces the corruption of the government itself. As well as the use of technology, the believed infallibility of power in both 1984 and Minority Report leads to corruption. In 1984, as well as Minority Report, the leaders of the government system hold unquestionable authority. The god-like figure, Big Brother, in 1984, is loved by all his loyal followers: â€Å"Big Brother seemed to tower up, an invincible fearless protector† (Orwell 17). In Minority Report, the ‘precogs’ which predict homicide are the guardians of the people; â€Å"in a way†¦ they give us hope†¦ hope of the existence of the divine† (Minority Report). Secondly, the power source is purported to be â€Å"perfect†. In both societies children are brainwashed by the system so they grow to be adults with full faith in it. The children’s Spies program in 1984 â€Å"turned [the children] into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party† (Orwell 26). Comparably in Minority Report, children are seen touring the ‘Department of Precrime’, on a school field trip to learn more about the system. When people are brought up with only knowledge of one system, it results in generations of loyal supporters. Lastly, the systems in both societies continue to be foolproof due to their control of people by fear and influencing their daily lives. In 1984, the Party does this by the fabrication of the war, as well as pessimistic propaganda. An example of this is the poster that is plastered all across the city for ‘Hate Week’: â€Å"from whatever angle you looked at the poster, the muzzle of the gun magnified by the foreshortening, seemed to be pointed straight at you† (Orwell 156). The method is more subtle in Minority Report, but it is still present; the show â€Å"COPS† is shown on television to emphasize the horror of crimes, so the public will support the Precrime program. Due to these factors the source of power is impossible to be fought against; consequently, corrupt governments maintain complete control. A source of power which is infallible has the same effect on its citizens in 1984 and Minority Report alike. In both, the main characters are forced by their society to do whatever they can to survive. As Iris Hineman (Lois Smith) in Minority Report says, â€Å"‘When the chips are down, when the pressure is on, every creature on the face of the Earth is interested in one thing and one thing only—its own survival’† (Minority Report). This is relevant in 1984 when Winston is discussing with Julia what will happen when they get caught; Julia says, â€Å"Everybody always confesses. You can’t help it. They torture you† (Orwell 173). Similarly, in Minority Report, John Anderton is being hunted down for the crime he has not committed and he says, â€Å"Everybody runs† (Minority Report). The source of power has the same effect on the citizens in the different societies. Secondly, the offenders of crime in 1984 and Minority Report are sent to similar places. In 1984, â€Å"thoughtcrime† offenders are sent to the Ministry of Love, which is â€Å"a place impossible to enter except on official business, and then only by penetrating though a maze of barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine gun nests† (Orwell 7). In Minority Report, ‘precrime’ criminals are sent somewhere which resembles this; in both places people are essentially brainwashed so they cannot commit any more crimes. Lastly, the people in power by the government are corrupt because they use unethical tactics to arrest ‘supposed’ criminals. In 1984, the children are turned against their parents if they suspect them of ‘thoughtcrime’ and they are rewarded for this: â€Å"‘child hero’ was the phrase generally used† (Orwell 32). In Minority Report, the government is in the wrong because they arrest people who may have no, or little, intention of carrying out the murders that have crossed their minds. The people in power are corrupt because they use unethical tactics to keep the society as they believe it should be. The result on the people exposed or involved in the government’s power is similar in both works. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely; Orwell’s 1984 and Spielberg’s Minority Report are two works which support this, due to the similar uses of technology to enforce power, the way power is seemingly flawless, and the effect the corruption has on the people. The idea that power corrupts can directly relate to occurrences in real life, such as Hitler taking over Germany and effect that had on the whole world. Corruption means to act dishonestly in return for personal gain, specifically power. Power and corruption are an endless cycle with fatal effects on society.