The Manufacture Of Military Munitions And The Development Of A Home Ma

? The manufacture of military munitions and the development of a home market were critical underpinnings of the first industrial revolution in Britain. Military manufacturing supported by the British Government contributed directly to technological innovation and spurred industrialization. This is because the companies that choose to fulfill the government contracts to make military munitions found money could be made if new processes and technology was developed to fulfill the huge contracts. Military manufacturing was one of the few industries where innovation was rewarded. In most other industries conservative investors were reluctant to invest in new manufacturing technology. But in military manufacturing the government was the investor and was unconcerned with the manufacturing technology as long as the product was delivered on time. Many technological advances were made through military manufacturing some of these were new ways to manufacture iron, conveyer belts, and the use machine tools . The technology developed for military manufacturing then spilled over into the civilian sector of the economy. And because it was now a tested technology investors who were normally cautious were willing to put their capital into these ventures which instead of pouring iron to make guns now made iron ore into stoves and pots. ? The second critical underpinning of the first industrial revolution was the development of a home market in Britain. The first British industrialists manufactured textiles; specifically cotton for the home market. The growth of the home market in Britain promoted industrialization in several ways. First, it was a steady market which able to cushion the export market which was very dynamic and had sudden fluctuations. This allowed a steady rate of growth even when exports fell. Second, the home market started the process of urbanization by causing people to leave the agricultural sector of the economy and move to the cities to work in the cotton and textile factories. This urbanization had a snowballing effect throughout the economy because it caused other business and factories to open in the cities to support this new urban class. Third, the home market caused investments to be made in improving infrastructure including roads, bridges and canals. This paved the way for industria lization which needed an efficient system to transport goods from factory to market. The home market also provided the base for other industries such as coal. This was because the home market created greater urbanization and thus the need for coal in urban England grew. The military sector of the economy provided some of the key technological innovations that promoted industrialization. And the home market that was produced by the cotton textile trade promoted improvements in infrastructure and spurred other industries to develop.

Reasons for Joining WW1 (DBQ) essays

Reasons for Joining WW1 (DBQ) essays To the winner go the spoils, to the loser goes humiliation, but if its not your fight, avoid either of those situations and stay out of it. That seemed to be Wilsons opinion in 1914. As World War I began and expanded to much of Europe, the US [mainly Wilson] decided to remain neutral. However, things dont always go as planned. Nationalism, financial interests, and past American connections with other nations caused the US to abandon its neutrality and enter World War I. Americas nationalism included the tendency to act in their own interest, such as protecting themselves from war. Once Germany started threatening force with their submarines, America had to take action to defend itself. If the US tolerated this international bullying, it would diminish its reputation as a great power. Instead, as document 5 shows; when Germany tried to act against America, America accepted it as a justified reason for going to war. Another one of Germanys strikes against America was the Zimmerman Note, explained in document 4. The note enraged Americans, who saw it as Germany going behind our back to set up an alliance incase things went bad. It also encouraged Mexico to take back certain parts of land that were now part of the US. Clearly this didnt please America, who once again saw this as a need to take a defensive standpoint. Perhaps the most influential but least honorable reason for joining the war, was the financial aspect. America had many commercial investments overseas, and this war threatened them. That was when Wilson proclaimed American a neutral country; this way keeping trade relations mellow with all countries. Some business leaders praised the choice of going neutral, others who had stronger connections with Great Britain, wanted to aid the country if necessary. After all, as document 2 shows, trade with Britain was at higher rates than trade with any other country. And when it was necessary...

Preliminary Reference Procedure in Ensuring Uniformity and Consistent Essay

Preliminary Reference Procedure in Ensuring Uniformity and Consistent Development of European Union Law - Essay Example This paper stresses that the European Union preliminary ruling procedure places substantial vested interest in the national courts; it is the national courts, after-all, who are the first guarantors of Union law. One notes that the all-consuming nature of this ruling is parallel to the United States Supreme Court interpretive mechanism of law, wherein this judicial body represents the ultimate view on the subject matter. Indeed, the very name preliminary ruling procedure is slightly misleading as it seemingly indicates the origination of the interpretive process when in reality it is the endpoint of law. this essay has contained a discussion of the procedural nature of the ECJ's interaction. However, it should not be forgotten that the preliminary reference procedure is instrumental in allowing the ECJ to lay down new substantive legal principles. One need look no further for an example than the case of Van Gend. This was the first case in which the doctrine of direct effect was articulated. Today it has come to represent a seminal ruling in terms of preliminary procedure for its exploration of the limits and potential expansive nature of the process itself. At the time only Treaties were held to be directly effective, subsequently however, the principle has expanded and can now, stated generally, include virtually any form of EU legislation, so long as these are unequivocally articulated, not dependent on outside understanding, and grant a unique right to the claimant. Van Gend, as described above was a case brought to the ECJ under the preliminary reference procedure on a question of the interpretation of Article 30 TFEU. ... icle 110 TFEU occasioned the ECJs shift to primacy over national courts 5 Article 30 TFEU and the Preliminary Reference Procedure – the development of EU precedent 7 Preliminary Reference Procedure and the substantive development of the law 9 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 10 Introduction European Union preliminary reference procedure functions as the predominant interpretive mechanism in Union Law. Indeed, the preliminary reference procedure has been referred to as the ‘jewel in the Crown of the ECJ’s jurisdiction’ for this central position to the development of Union law (Barnard 2010, p109). It is a procedure that provides a vital contact point between the jurisdiction of the ECJ and the national courts, allowing legal issues relating legal issues that are correlated with the interpretation of Treaties to be mitigated throughout the European Union (Blackstone 2011). This preliminary ruling procedure is a unique element of the European Union legal structure. W hile interpretive and appellate processes are regularly aspects of most Western legal system, the European Union preliminary ruling procedure places substantial vested interest in the national courts; it is the national courts, after-all, who are the first guarantors of Union law. One notes that the all-consuming nature of this ruling is parallel to the United States Supreme Court interpretive mechanism of law, wherein this judicial body represents the ultimate view on the subject matter. Indeed, the very name preliminary ruling procedure is slightly misleading as it seemingly indicates the origination of the interpretive process when in reality it is the endpoint of law. This process emerged with the formulation of the European Union judicial system and is specifically described in the Treaty on the

Golden Fleece Hotel , case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Golden Fleece Hotel , case study - Essay Example This report contains multitude of examples, through scholarly and pragmatic articles, researches and surveys that prove the point that information systems and internet applications in today’s world are all the tools you need to succeed in a business if you have proven yourself in the skill you excel at, or the business you work in. This business report can serve as a persuasive read for the owners of the Golden Fleece Hotel, who will benefit greatly with the installation of information systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness of their strategy. Having the state of the art information system can help them gain on the competitive front as well. Business operations in the hotel management business can make or break the business. Branding and maintaining quality is the way to move forward (Ralph, 2008). This consultancy is being provided by the IM consultants who are an Information Systems Consultancy firm. They provide information systems solutions to business all over the world. Methodology: This report incorporates a lot of secondary information. Secondary information is the data collection from the researches that have already been conducted and articles that have already been written. ... All references have been cited towards the end of the report. Academic sources and journals have been used where necessary to validate the theoretical framework of hotel management. Real life examples have also been employed that further validate the recommendations made towards the end of the report. Golden Fleece Hotel: The Golden Fleece boasts of a rich history; it is relatively new in the hospitality industry and has made its mark through the exceptional service they provide their customers. Since its inception in 1999, it has been moving upwards and seeing success; however, times changed as the hotel entered its 8th year of operation. A number of factors can be attributed to this change. According to research it has been proved that organizations can plan all they want; if they are unable to act according to the changes that take place in the external environment, their strategy will not work. The strategic plan should keep in mind the forecast of changes that may take place in consumer preferences, economical conditions, political environment etc. Therefore, environmental analysis serves as the key to making the right decisions. The management of Golden Fleece was not able to predict that changing nature of business and technology and has suffered duly because of it (Ralph, 2008). According to Silver, information systems are implemented to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the work processes in an organization. There are many types of systems that can be utilized, according to the decision making and information needs of the organization. When it comes to hospitality management the biggest need for the hour is to assimilate

Journal on Ch4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal on Ch4 - Essay Example I tend to believe that the module of inquiry-based instruction also enables teachers to make the learning (of science mostly) easy, not only conveying it. It is because the learners are enabled to bear responsibility for their knowledge and understanding of what they study and construct. I strongly agree with the information provided in the chapter, that it is difficult to conduct the analysis of these studies. It is true that the variations in the terms used to define the instructional methods (BSC 2006). I don’t think other contemporary instructional techniques are superior to inquiry-based approaches unless they are evaluated wholly. The assessment of superiority among various instructional techniques should be based on the effectiveness of the variables involved and the level of interest the study mode invokes. The comparison should also involve the feelings of success and the level of excitement each instructional technique awakens. In also have the conviction that inquiry-based instruction technique can contribute significantly to the effectiveness of my teaching. It is for the simple fact that the technique engages both the teacher and the learners in the learning activity and to bear responsibility for making their knowledge and understanding (BSC 2006). Though the inquiry levels may vary, learners can prioritize evidence, compose explanations, evaluate their descriptions, and justify their proposed descriptions. As a teacher, the method is, therefore, helpful in facilitating my teaching

Writing In A State Of Siege English Literature Essay

Writing In A State Of Siege English Literature Essay The ten years between 1948 and 1958 recorded the bustle and disturbance of social life and exhibited the necessity and possibility of a united fight against racial discrimination. The wide spread resentment at the pass-laws, liquor raids and inadequate amenities in 1950 resulted in the suppression of Communism Act. The word communist it self meant unlawful. In 1952, eight thousand people were imprisoned for opposing the apartheid regulations. Chief Albert Luthuli, the President General of the African National Congress was banned for his commitment to a democratic and inter-racial future in South Africa. Things were in oblivion and in 1958, as the whites did not require any permits, the Fugards were advised to go to Sophiatown, a freehold township, a place which combined magic and smut, respectability and crime, black and white and the most lively and crowded of all the African townships, where the blacks and the whites could move freely, with certain social constraints. As Jurger Schadeberg observes, There was poverty in Sophiatown. There were areas that were somewhat slummy. There were gangs. There were crime and there were cutthroats, but it was a real suburb. It had all the facilities a normal suburb has. Whereas when people moved to Orlando or Meadowlands, or whatever, there was nothing there. Sophiatown was romanticized afterwards. Sophiatown was a symbol because it was a place where people were not mixed than in other places. And people owned their own property. (Schadeberg, 2002: 111-112) Sophiatown was predominantly black and also predominantly poor. The greater part of Sophiatown was a sickening slum. As Don Mattera observes the little Chicago of Johannesburg was essentially known for its cosmopolitan flavor and every conceivable space was occupied by a living thing man or animal. (Mattera 1987:49). Derek Cohen also observes, The small corner of the world, the all but forgotten township of the 1950s, Sophiatown, teems with the variety and vivacity of the world itself. Deep in the bowels of this house of hunger, where men and women tread a diurnal mill of deprivation and indignity, lie, as Fugard reminds us, humanity and strength3.(1984:273-284)) The township also had a surprisingly stunning intellectual atmosphere as the black journalists were trying to express their feelings. Jim Baileys Drum magazine covered the township life. Drum ran articles almost every month, reporting on crime figures, the circumstances forcing ordinary citizens into a life of crime, and the shebeen culture, which fed these offences. Benjamin Pogrund, a liberal friend of the Fugards advised Fugard that he would find the right atmosphere in Sophiatown for his play. The only job Fugard could find was that of a clerk in a Native Commissioners Court where offenders of the pass-laws were tried. The cruel conditions gave birth to his pessimism and his earlier incomplete novel (Tsotsi) found its voice in the two plays of his apprenticeship years, No-Good Friday and Nongogo which represented the travails of the black township. Though they were his early plays and though they lacked the dramatic charm and vision of his later plays, they indicate the struggling mind of Fugard to represent his stance as a dramatist. If No Good Friday projects the impact of bad economic conditions on the individuals who aspire for better social conditions and education, Nongogo reflects the aspirations of the people who dream for better living and individual dignity. These two early plays belong to the formative stage of Fugards maturity as a dramatist. No-Good Friday and Nongogo both represent the apartheid trauma of the South African Society. An exploration (Gray,1981:56-63) into the manuscripts of the first novel of Fugard, (which he threw into the Fiji lagoon) Tsotsi, which was published in 1980, reveals Fugards anxiety during his apprenticeship years to present the problems within the existing conditions. Fugards early plays, No-Good Friday and Nongogo also share some of the aspects of Tsotsi as they were set against the same milieu. Stephen Gray5(1981:56) feels that the characters of Tsotsi appeared in the subsequent plays of Fugard like The Blood Knot, Hello and Goodbye, People Are Living There, Boesman and Lena and in many of his plays written during the 1970s. Fugard presents the burning zeal of an incipient black revolutionary against the exploitation faced by the blacks in No-Good Friday (1958). This play works at two levels at the surface level, it appears to be a mere representation of the conditions of the blacks; but at deeper levels, it records the helplessness of the blacks in the face of exploitation by their own fellow men during the conditions of the apartheid. Fugard presents the oppressive politics working on the life of the township in various forms. Crime by African against African was an everyday reality in Sophiatown. For example an article in the November 1951 issue of Drum, The Birth of a Tsotsi, describes the classic circumstances under which a young boy takes the wrong turning: With grinding poverty and the sea of squalor that surrounds the Gold City, it is not difficult to understand the rest. There is a struggle for existence, and the individual intends to survive. Fugard records this struggle in a naturalistic manner in his early plays like No-Good Friday and Nongogo. Willie Seopela, the independent and stubborn protagonist is an aspiring youngman and he stays with Rebecca, his lady love. Willie, an intellectual in the making, with hopes for a brighter and better living, is a student pursuing his undergraduate studies through correspondence. He represents the image of the desperately stubborn black young men of South Africa. Despite hard circumstances, Willie is optimistic and highly independent. He is liked by Father Higgins, the white humanist who visits the black ghettos to offer solace. Father Higgins introduces Tobias, an innocent villager, who comes to Sophiatown for a better living, to Willie and asks him to fix him somewhere, as he is badly in need of money for his living. Willie, aware of the catastrophic situation that awaits black people in the township, asks Tobias not to entertain big dreams. He does not make any promise to Tobias. The residents of the black township are frequently nagged by Shark, a black gangster who appears every Friday, the day of their weekly payment. The innocent residents ought to offer a share from their pay packets either to Shark or similar other gangsters in trains and on roads. They cannot even make a complaint against them to the police, for, they do not have the pass-books to stay in that town. In a way, they buy their protection from Shark, their fellow black South African. Even the independent Willie makes a passive living allowing the share for Shark from his Fridays pay-packet. Tobias, unaware of these facts innocently argues about the share and gets killed in the hands of Shark. It is only after the death of Tobias, Willie realises the gravity of the situation, the result of their passive attitude and decides to oppose Shark in spite of the murderous consequences. In the process, he sacrifices his love for Rebecca. The play ends with Willie getting prepared for the challenge. The play projects a story of loss of relationships, loss of values and loss of security or protection in the white repressive world. Willie, the protagonist condemns the situation in Johannesburg and very often he appears to be the mouth-piece of Fugard. We are frequently reminded of the life-situation described in Peter Abrahams Mine Boy ,Alan Patons Cry, the Beloved Country and Alex La Gumas A Walk in the Night and And a Threefold Cord. Life is not easy there and it has become unbearable, as observed by Father Higgins, a character in No Good Friday. The grim situation of an unprotected life is summed up by Guy very well. Speaking about Shark, he says: Dont you understand? Hes got shares in the police station. . . . . . You can forget about the police. They protect a fellow like Shark. You see they are only interested in our passes. But a Kaffir laying a charge against a criminal-that would be a joke. We are all criminals. Look, Father, do not be hard on us. You know what I have just said better than any other white8. (1977: 146) As in The Blood Knot and other plays here too Fugard arranges his scenes and the protagonist to present the conditions which reflect their predicament. Asked by Guy to explain their sad life, Willie says that the music of their life is a song of melancholy, loneliness and despair (1977:125) and this is reflected in every scene, every chapter and every dialogue. The play portrays the hard realities of the life in Sophiatown, especially on Friday, which is a fertile acre for troubles (1977:126). Father Higgins, though aware of the all pervading nature of sorrow, expresses his helplessness when Willie asks him if he wants to plant a daffodil in his yard. As Don Mattera describes: The ghetto-like township was unpredictable and dangerous. There were times of searching for a loved one in some alley; finding him or her wounded in a hospital or jail, or dead in a morgue. Or checking for husband or father, a brother or a son who had never returned home from work. Or waiting for a mother, an aunt or sister who did not get off the bus or tram where you usually waited for them. Then the anguish and anxiety that would follow reports of a woman raped, beaten and robbed by the jobless and wont work brigades of tsotsis who owned the days and ruled the nights.'(1987:50) No-Good Friday portrays all these problems in Sophiatown, absence of care by the government, unemployment, frustration, poverty, insecurity, gangsterism, evils of pass-laws, broken bonds of love and the cheapness'() of life seen through the lives of various characters. Despite the hard work, they can hardly reach homes safely with their Friday pay-packets. Reflecting the problems of township life, the play is presented in the back yard of Willie and it indicates their poverty amidst iron shacks. The play has black as well as white characters, like Father Higgins, who resembles Rev. Trevor Huddleston, who made a crusade against the stringent laws of the apartheid in the townships. It also records the migration of the innocent youth to the townships to find employment. The play records the raging gangsterism, a social evil, an oppression by the notoriously stronger ones, which has no opposition. It also shows how the underprivileged ones are victimised. The race-laws worsen the condit ions of living and the Group Areas Act had restricted the blacks in the name of the pass-books. The pass laws had been a permanent threat to the African people. As observed by Edward Roux: The pass laws held the people in conditions of abject poverty and subjection à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ were the cause of sharp racial friction between the peoples of South Africa upheld the cheap labour system which resulted in malnutrition, starvation and disease and filled gaols with innocent people, thus creating wide-spread crime19.(1964:320). Fugard also projects the hidden social angle the White police mans hidden understanding with the black gangsters like Shark. Speaking about the crime of Sophiatown Bloke Modisane writes, I learned there in Sophiatoown,that one looked at the killing and never at the faces of the killers; one also knew that the law is white and justice casual, that it could not protect us against the knives of Sophiatown, so we tolerated the murders whilst the law encouraged them with its indifference.( 1986:63) The residents of Sophiatown cannot approach the police, who are obviously on the side of law. The blacks continue their survival in hellish conditions. These and similar conditions are portrayed in a more powerful manner in Sizwe Bansi is Dead. If Tsotsi traces both gangsterism and the realisation on the part of the protagonist in a single individual, No-Good Friday projects the evils of gangsterism through Shark and the realisation appears in the protagonist, Willie. Having understood the significance of life and the way it is being shattered in Sophiatown, Willie mourns over the misery of their lives and the impossibility of living. He realizes that life is not a fairy tale with a happy ending. The absurdity of living forces him not only to be away from Rebecca but from his own life itself. To make his life more purposeful and less mundane, he wants to oppose Shark by informing the police. His dreams of living happily ever after get shattered and he says: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.I gave up dreaming. Tobias reminded me of too much, Guy. He was going to make some money and live happily ever after. Thecosy little dreamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ like this, Willie and Rebecca lived happily ever after! Thats how the fairy stories end and its stupid because, out there is life and it is not ending happily14. (1977:155) He feels that life is vain and useless without a protest against the problem. He blames the individuals within his society including himself for allowing such problems. Willies opposition to Shark and the words of the cunning politician Watson project Fugards anger against such conditions. When life becomes dreadful and unprotected, it becomes meaningless. The death of Willie is not the end of the sequence, but it makes a bold beginning of opposition against gangsterism. It is also the frustration and struggle for a better life. The action of the play takes place between two Fridays and the play carries various emotions like humour, satire, shame, anger, frustration and tragedy, the representative feelings of an impoverished, fragmented and violent society20. (Sheila Fugard: 1993:408).Watson, the politician stands as a satirical portrait of the townships black politicians, who demand a sacrifice from the innocent blacks, for their own betterment. The ironical dedication of the song of Guy, Friday Night Blues itself speaks about the theme of the play. Shark, the gangster with a significant name swallows people like Tobias and ironically praises those who pay him regularly. The play brings out the fact that the people of the township should not have cosy dreams about comfortable living. Going against the tradition of depicting the gangsters from the romantic viewpoint, as was done by other writers of his time, Fugard presents Shark, the gangster, as a cruel reality. As observed by Don Mattera, No story about gangsterism or violence in the townships of Johannesburg can be complete without that of Kort Boy- real name George Mbalweni the five-foot-nothing knifeman from Benoni, a former mining town on the East Rand near Johannesburgà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Kort Boy was a legend in his day much hated , much loved it all depended on which end of knife you were at.(1987:102) Characters in No-Good Friday are many, representing the unlimited problems of his society. Each character stands for a problem. Fugard does not offer any solution but he represents things as they are, for an understanding of what was going on in South Africa. As a symphathising white liberal he expresses his sense of helplessness in the wake of events and the act of writing itself becomes an act of courage and commitment as an individual and as a writer. Despite the removal of the apartheid condition, they enjoy their validity, for, these plays stand as records of the 1950s. Fugard brings out his message best the problem of survival in the wake of hopelessness, dejection and destruction. No Good Friday had its premiers on 30th August 1958 after ten years of the initiation of apartheid in South Africa on the primitive stage of the Bantu Mens Social Centre and Fugard was praised by the African monthly Zonk for giving his unknown actors, a wonderful opportunity to show their talents. Apart from the shows in Bantu Mens Social Centre, the play was also staged amidst church walls in the townships, to black audiences and in the White suburbs. Fugard was refused permission to see even the productions he directed. During the run of No-Good Friday Fugard established friendship with important directors like Barney Simon and Tone Brulin. Not only to the actors, but to the people (both blacks and whites) of Sophiatown, it offered a scope to see themselves and their problems on the stage. Although the play has its own technical faults, as observed by critics -like heavy plotting, unlimited characters etc, the play brings out the shaping mind of Fugard as a dramatist with social concerns. The characters apart from representing the troubled people of South Africa become potential images if Willie, Tobias, Rebecca and Guy stand as the victims, Shark and Watson stand as the wicked political images of the cruel exterior of South Africa. The repeated use of the fairy-tale image with its reference to the impossibility of comfortable life speaks about the predicament of the life of the blacks in South Africa under the pressure of the cruel racist law. Fugard does not present this drama as a mere piece of entertainment. It is a realistic document about the sorrowful living of the black people of Sophiatown who suffer from inter-and intra-racial oppression. Fugard recognises that to be black in South Africa is to be poor, and that black existence is imbued with the struggle to find release from the cycle of poverty and the mean quality of life indigence creates. (Albert Wertheim:) It provokes us to think and Fugard makes his observations and statements come alive through the characters he brings on to the stage. As observed by Sheila Fugard19, the germinative ideas of a nascent playwright got fortified in his later plays like The Blood Knot, Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, The Island, Master Haroldand the boys. Fugard incorporates his intellectual and individual stances of rebellion in Willie the black protagonist. Through him, he voices out his feeling, which necessitate the reason for opposition against the dreadful forces like gangsterism which bear the impact of several cruel racist laws; but according to Nkosi, the play had very little concern with the politics behind the chronic violence and gangsterism in the ghetto. (Vandenbroucke,Russell). Nkosi feels this as a limitation. On the other hand, white writers like Alan Paton and Fugard had observed moderation in depicting their conditions. As analysed by Albert Wertheim it was their moderation that drew world attention to the outrages of apartheid. The final speech of Willie is universal in its appeal, as it explains the reasons for the birth and growth of such evil forces within a society. By making the apartheid tragedy ACT on the stage, Fugard has achieved the theatrical and political meaning of two words acting and imagination. Although Fugard sets many of his plays in South Africa and more specifically in Port Elizabeth, he is not writing specifically South African tragedy, for he uses his South African setting and this presentation of South African life under apartheid rule to define a tragic situation imbued with meaning far beyond the geographical boundaries of South Africa.21 (Albert Wertheim) The play is not restricted to South Africa alone; it appeals to the living conditions of all common people who live in poverty ridden slums and ghettos of all parts of the world. As observed by Albert Wertheim, the play is set against a realistic background-it is a statement against oppression, a feature that is found everywhere in the world. REFERENCES Schadeberg,Jurger(ed).2002. Intervies, Johannesburg 15 March 2002:105-108(Transcript) Mattera,Don.1987.Gone with the twilight: A Story of Sophiatown. London,Zed Books. 3.Derek Cohen, Beneath the Underworld: Athol Fugards Tsotsi, World Literature Written in English, Vol. 23, No.2, (1984) 273-84. 4. Stephen Gray, The Coming into the print of Athol Fugards Tsotsi, Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Vol. XVI, No.1 (1981) pp 56-63. 5. Ibid.P.56 6. Athol Fugard, No-Good Friday, Dimetos and Two Early Plays, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1977. All subsequent references are to this edition. 7. No Good Friday, p 144. 8. ibid, 146. 9. ibid, 152. 10. ibid, 152. 11. ibid, 154. 12. ibid, 155. 13.Modisane,Bloke.1996.Blame Me on History, Goodwood,Western Cape: A.D.Donker 14. ibid, 155. 15. ibid, 160. 16. Albert Wertheim 17. No Good Friday, p 155 18. Mattera,Don.1987:50 19. Edward Roux, Time longer than Rope, 2nd ed. (Madison: University of Winconsin Press, 1964) p. 320; Quoted by Mbulalo Vizikhungo Mzamane, Sharpeville and its Aftermath: The novels of Richard Rive, peter Abrahams, Alex La Guma and Lauretta Ngcobo, Ariel, Vol. 16, No. 2, April 1985, pp. 30-44. 20. Sheila Fugard, The Apprenticeship Years, Twentieth Century Literature, Ed. By Jack Barbera, Vol. 39, No.4, Win 1993, p. 408. 21. Mattera,Don 22. Albert Wertheim 23. Russell, Vandenbroucke, Truths the Hand can Touch, p. 24. Albert Wertheim, ************** b) NONGOGO (1959) Like No-Good Friday, Nongogo also, but in a different way exposes the travails of the black people in Sophiatown. It exposes the anguish of the women who ran shebeens for livelihood and who longed for decency, though impossible. If Willie of No-Good Friday gets ready to face death with existential courage, Queeny of Nongogo laughs in the face of indecency and shame after a stubborn struggle against them. Nongogo, like No Good Friday also deals with the external and internal aspects of the troubled individuals against the backdrop of troubled economic conditions and suppressive rule. The unique quality of Sophiatown was further enhanced by its shebeen culture. Although blacks were not allowed to drink in the 1950s, they were not stopped by the prohibition. The Sophiatown shebeens sold illegal booze, both store-bought European liquor as well as home brewed skokian. But the shebeens were not merely informal drinking clubs. They were homely places where everyone knew each other. As apartheid ceased to exist, intellectuals like Can Themba, Nat Nkasa and others used to spread circles of literature in these shebeens. As Anthony Samson recalls: The shebeens, however, were another story. Here was what Nat Nakasa called that noble institution, those hospitable homes. Here was a place outside of apartheid as the names reflected: Back Othe Moon, Cabin in the Sky, Little Heaven, The Sanctuary, Kind Lady.(Nicol: 1991:97) Modisane recalls how his mother, after the death of his father, was forced to become shebeen queen in order to keep body and soul together. Her customers, he remembers, drank for one reason only to get drunk, as for them, getting drunk was a purposeful destruction of the pain of their lies, a drowsing of themselves in this orgiastic expenditure. They were breaking out, escaping from themselves. (1986:39) The bad economic conditions forced the black women to take up beer-brewing and shebeens to support their families and to send their children to schools. Apart from the naturalistic portrayal, Fugards play focuses light on the hidden ugliness of evil economic backdrop. As observed by Gerald Weales (1978:) both plays deal with the enervating force of the black situation in South Africa, but they do not so directly as an agitprop would. As in the novels of Peter Abrahams we watch shebeens, drunkards, squalor, hunger, and prostitution- as results of oppression. Dennis Walder(1993:414) in The Genesis of the Township plays observes: The Sophiatown plays nevertheless reflected the aspirations, violence, and vitality of urban black people,offering a window into the world of the correspondent student, Shebeen Queen, Tsotsi (gangster) and rural migrant for predominantly white, liberal audiences.They may now also be seen to have helped to legitimate everyday urban black experience the experience of the majority of South Africans as a subject, for blacks as well as whites. Nongogo presents the conflict between hope and despair, the celebration of life in all its beauty and the devalued existence without virtues. As observed by Russell Vandenbroucke Nongogo is a play about the actuality of the past and forlorn hopes for the future (: 22). The conflict is the result of victimisation. The play has two acts-with the first act getting prepared for decency and respectability, the second act plays a dirge upon the death of these two qualities decency and respectability. The play as a whole exposes the guilt-racked victims of South Africa in both physical and psychological terms. Their physical destruction culminates in their psychological crisis, where their souls wail with the anguish for being the victims of the rough exterior of South African society. The play Nongogo exposes two individuals who experience such angst and a sense of guilt. Both of them are spoiled by social conditions of South Africa. Johnny is badly used by the masochistic, sex-starved mine workers and Queeny-is exploited by the carnal appetite of the South African masculinity, during her fight to eke out a living. Both of them dream for betterment -for a life of decency and respectability which remain to be dreams-the dreams of impossibility. Johnny and Queeny both stand as the physical images of destruction of the psychological self. Like La Gumas A Walk in the Night this play projects the brutalisation that has corroded the moral faculties of the poor.(1973:55) As Fugardxx himself observes, man is more concerned about hunger physically and mentally. Johnny and Queeny become the victims of the hunger of loins and of the poor conditions of the neglected lot. There are other characters like Sam, Blakie and Patrick, who make a parasitic living and work against decency; and who are also in a way, the helpless victims of the poor conditions which can not be bettered, and they in turn victimise their fellow beings-Johnny and Queeny and their dreams of better living for their selfish purposes. The process of victimisation here as in No Good Friday, is the result of both the internal and external aspects of South Africa. Queeny, a nongogo a woman for two and six- the proprietress of a shebeen gets enthused by the arrival and speech of an unexpected salesman Johnny at her door-step. His mode of address makes her feel that she should regain her lost sense of decency. His legitimate living makes her think of dispensing with her shebeen and make a cleaner life with a sense of decency and respectability which remain to be dreams- the dreams of impossibility. Her trust in Johnny encourages her to start a legitimate cloth-business. Her idea of legitimacy creates distaste in Sam, her business partner and her earlier pimp and Blackie, her attendant. With the help of Patrick, a way-ward drunkard, Sam and Blackie spoil the mind of Johnny by sowing the seeds of suspicion. Johnny and Queeny come face to face and compelled by Johnny, Queeny unwillingly digs into her past and in this process, hates Johnny for his inability to understand a womans heart. The play ends with Queeny re-opening the shebeen. Fugard has taken care in portraying the character of Queeny. Her desire for better life with a sense of decency and her despair for not finding it form the crux of the plot. If No-Good Friday presents the process of victimization on the physical plane, dealing with the death of Tobias and of Willie, Nongogo deals with the same process, on the mental plane, indicating the death of the self, when there is the sense of guilt and helpless acceptance of the past life of filth. The crisis of Johnny and Queeny, the victims of the South African society gets interiorized in Nongogo. As Robert M. Post observes, in other plays of Fugard too we find these victims(1985:3-16). Morris and Zachariah in The Blood Knot, Frieda and Errol in the Statements; John and Winston, the political brothers in The Island; Gumboot Dhalami in Tsotsi; Sizwe Bansi in Sizwe Bansi Is Dead; Boesman and Lena in Boesman and Lena; Piet in A Lesson from Aloes and the title character of Dimetos-all of them have been victims in various ways. Queenys curiosity in shaping her life as she had wanted gets shattered. She stands helplessly alone before her own life, a testament of time, as a victim of circumstances. Her disappointment as a living being against past, present and future life is made explicit through the use of two images indicating time the singing wall-clock and the wrist watch. Fugard very keenly exhibits the absurdity of human living against the unchanging nature of time in the South African context. Johnny and Queeny remain as the victims of their conscience. The two plays Nongogo and No-Good Friday exhibit the emotional involvement of Athol Fugard in the problems of the township. The pathetic predicament of man and woman in the South African townships comes alive on the stage. Fugard displays no political purpose in his portrayal of the characters in this play. His artistic involvement as a writer and his personal reaction as a liberal individual made him represent them in a realistic manner. As he observes No-Good Friday and Nongogo are inflated verse dramas by a liberally-informed white-but both the plays are in prose. (Quoted by Russell, Vandenbroucke, THCT, p.25) The gold mines stand as a contrasting back drop to represent the cruel exterior of South Africa. As in No-Good Friday, in this play too, we find the process of victimization. Johnny and Queeny stand as the victims of external conditions with a battered conscience and shattered inner self. Johnnys extreme craving for pure life makes him blind to his circumstances. He fails to treat Queeny as a human being like himself with a yearning for perfection and for a life of decency. Queeny dominates the whole scene with her knowledge of life and an awareness of the nature of men. Her shrewd thinking and her mature opinions about womanhood against the backdrop of her unfortunate murky past as a nongogo elevate her. She says: There is now. But there was a time I thought I had all I wanted when I got this. But when I had it that was the end. There has been times I never knew what day it was in hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I never needed to know. Id wake up and think is it Monday or Tuesday, be Friday? It did not make any difference. Giving it a name did not make it any different from the rest. (p.91) She exhibits a dignity in the climactic scene when she is found re-opening the doors of her shebeen. Her poor conditions had made her a nongogo; her desire for betterment made her think of the life of decency and respectability and the presence of Johnny had made her once again the Queeny of shebeen. Her resurrection as the proprietress of shebeen makes her a tragic figure. She bursts out: What do you think Ive been doing for five years? It had ended Johnny, it was dead and buried when you walked in here. But you wont let it stay that way, will you? Youd be worse than Sam, who just sighs when he passes the grave. Youve dug it up. Youve performed a miracle, Johnny. The miracle of Jesus and Dead body youve brought it back to life. The warmth of your hate, the breath of your disgust had got it living again. Im not too old . . . not too fat . . . even you looked at me like you never looked at another woman. Gods put a lot of streets Ive not walked, lampposts Ive not stood under, faces Ive not smiled at. (p.11

Abortion Must be Illegal Essay -- Argumentative

Oliver Wendell Holmes was born on March 8, 1941 and died on March 6, 1935. He was a vigorous political figure during his life time. He served as associate justice in the US Supreme Court from 1905 to1982. He was a great political philosopher of his days and his ideas are still remembered. According to Holmes, â€Å"the nature of legal language can obscure and hide the social interests and social advantages to some that a law promotes.† Holmes view about legal language is that law promotes social goodness for people but the manner in which the language of law is interpreted can be a block to providing equal justice to all human beings. Holmes says the interpretation of law makes it hard for others to actually enjoy the benefits law provides to all mankind. Holmes classifies the interpretation of law into rhetorical theory. He emphasizes that a law which is constructed as a principle or in a statute form reduces the likelihood of change. Again he says the language of law when interpreted tends to define or apply to only specific behavior or situation at a specific time. Legal language is constructed in complex forms that make it difficult for people without the knowledge of the laws to interpret their meaning. In addition, the language of law always depends on fi xed interpretation. In actual sense, if a law is not interpreted and therefore is not in statutes or has not being generally considered as a law then, no one can be considered a criminal for that offense. Though in reality, that offense may be morally wrong but it is yet to be discovered and entered as a legal principle thus, representing the prediction of the future consequences. Holmes further says that the interpretation of the law in a universal notion as morally obligated... ..., Holmes says legal language should be based on amendment or changes to suit current situations and not be measured from old or fixed legal principles. Indeed, Holmes’ theory that â€Å"the nature of legal language can obscure the social interests and hide the social advantage to some that a law promotes† is a very important philosophical thought. The fact is that legal language denies some people the right to social advantage or equal justice. For this reason, we should look at laws as they ought to be based on current situations at hand. We should not be predominantly obligated to follow fixed statutes as if they are holy books that have been handed down to us from our predecessors and therefore, cannot be altered or amended. Legal language should be used to serve the interest of current social treads and we should not favor legal rhetoric and traditions over change.