Discussing a play based on Mary Shelleys book Frankenstein Essay Example

Discussing a play based on Mary Shelleys book Frankenstein Essay Our drama group watched a play based on Mary Shelleys book Frankenstein on 29th November 2006, which took place in the Regents School, Pattaya. It was directed by Paul Stebbings, an artist director of TNT theatre Britain and The American Drama Group Europe. The production Frankenstein was about a young and mad scientist who tries to create a life form from dead human body parts. He tries to do what no other human being has never achieved before. Once, he had completed his objective, Frankenstein was terrified by the resulting look of his creation. The innocent, child-like monster was abandoned by his master and subsequently misjudged by the community. This tragedy that the scientists creation suffered under, turned him into a killer-monster. In the end of the play, the scientist was punished: his beloved wife dies through a bullet that was meant for the monster. Frankenstein was devastated due to the loss of his partner, therefore he tried to bring her back to life as he did for the monster. He succeeded. However Elizabeth had the same features as the monster: she had no idea how the world is functioning she was as a newborn. Elizabeth had a choice to make between Frankenstein and the monster. As the punishment for his actions, Elizabe th chooses the monster. We will write a custom essay sample on Discussing a play based on Mary Shelleys book Frankenstein specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Discussing a play based on Mary Shelleys book Frankenstein specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Discussing a play based on Mary Shelleys book Frankenstein specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The director makes the old-fashioned myth futuristic through using machinery as props. This kind of equipment could have not existed hundreds of years ago. On the other hand the machinery wasnt very convincing either, because it looked more like a white small paper box with some buttons. In order to achieve an outstanding effect on the audience, the mechanism shouldve been larger with several different coloured switches. However, even though the equipment was simple, the basic effect was achieved. Paul Stebbings has modernized the play also by the appearance of two scientists in white gowns carrying syringes in the beginning of the play. This instantly created a very rationalized and futuristic atmosphere. The director used cloning in order to modernize the Mary Shelleys play Frankenstein. The genre of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein is tragedy, but Paul Stebbings, the director of the play, has added elements of farce, making this serious issue with difficulties understandable to many different audiences. After looking more in detail of the content of the play, I realize that Frankenstein myth is not about a mad scientist above mortality and who is out of control. The myth is rather about a scientist, a man who creates a supernatural life-form. This creature looks hideous with his inhumanly yellow eyes and callously black lips. The sight of him created pitiless and disgusted feelings in Frankenstein he instantly abandoned the monster. He was thrown to the ferocious community that changed the unaffected creature into a killer-monster. This play is about human folly, which is put across by comedy and melodrama. The actors never make jokes; the comedy rather arises from the situation. The physical theatre and expressional performance appear very amusing to the audience. I find it to be a very smart technique, because it keeps the audience concentrated. This technique also refers to the fact that the play is addressed to different audiences the situations and events are clearer and easi er to understand, because the action and feelings is emphasized. This perfect example for this would be when Frankenstein and Elizabeth were flirting in the beginning of the play. Strong physical theatre was used in this scene, which immediately suggested to the audience that they were in love. However, I thought that it was over exaggerated. I think it made the performance look too comedic. Its very interesting how the farce is created only in the beginning of the play towards the end the atmosphere takes a rather tragic direction. It symbolizes the fact that until the birth of monster, everything was liberated, almost as if Frankenstein had no responsibilities, and exciting. For example Elizabeth was playing with the animals, Frankensteins name was given to a monkey and, Frankenstein and Elizabeth were flirting with each other. However, when it was time to take care of his actions, he failed to do so. This recalls the content of the play, the human folly: as soon as the experiment ended, he disliked the outcome and deserted the monster. This is, I believe, what the director wanted to achieve with the production: leave the audience thinking. Is it right to create supernatural human beings? Why? Did Frankenstein act reasonably not taking the responsibility? Why did the supernatural life form develop into a killer-monster? The director has broken up the scenes by lights fading black. This is an element of tragedy leaves the audience wondering and awaiting for something more dreadful to happen. The slow blackouts also indicate the time passing by, which gives clearer understanding of the timeline to the viewers. As the days, weeks go by, the monster develops his intelligence and the acknowledgement of the world. The stage in the Regents School Pattaya is based on Shakespeares theatre in London, The Globe. About 2/5 of the stage is surrounded by the audience and the set up of the auditorium is Elizabethan theatre, including one stair case on left and right. The lights were placed in the middle and in the two sides of the ceiling, surrounding the stage. The stage itself is rather small, but very suitable for this play, because it did not require too much space. When we first entered the hall, nobody was concentrated on the stage, because the play hadnt started yet. From the very beginning of the play actors made good use of the area that they were given: they walked amongst the audience and interacted with them. This efficiently grabbed the attention of the viewers and made them feel more involved, as well as showed the directors unique style and space use. Throughout the whole play, the set was quite simple, symbolic and naturalistic. There was more than one set throughout the production. The changes were handled by the actors within the scenes (when smaller adjustments took place) and between the breaks (in case when the set changed completely). The set of the first scene consisted of a cage (multi-functional), two stools, a machine (which was multi-functional also used as a table) and a bucket. All the items were satisfactorily spaced out. In the beginning of the play, the cage seemed very simple, but as I further examined it had many uses in different situations. It was used as laboratory equipment, where they carried out an experiment with the monkey. Elizabeth, Elizabeths father and Frankenstein wanted to kill the monkey with the machine and bring him back to life. But unfortunately they failed. The cage was also used as a prison, when Frankenstein was captured and accused for the murder of the laundry lady. But the main application of this item was cage itself where they kept and created the monster. The machine symbolized the futurism of the play as it was full of electricity and represented high technology. Whereas the costumes and the basic views on life in the play, suggested a rather historical set. Further in the play, the machine had another sub-use a table. The set combined with the props created a good image where the action was taking place. It was very clear to the audience that stage was meant to be a laboratory. The general colours of the set were grey and white, which created a rather cold feeling towards the play and suggested that all the surrounding and action is going to be concentrated on science. Contrasting with the colours, the set included wild animals. The lighting was provided from three different directions. They were set out in the middle and on the two sides of the stage, so that the audience couldnt actually notice the illumination source. In addition some extra lights were supplied from the back of the auditorium to give some better light to the audience in order to be see the action on the stage in a clearer way. All through the play the colours as well as the focus and direction of the light on the stage changed. This drew the audiences attention on the main action, wherever it occurred on the stage. In the beginning of the play, the spotlight is on the narrator. The rest of the lights are off. This highlights the narrator and the audience focuses on her. There is also the flashing lightning used to create an impression of storm, during the creation of the monster. Storm creates a frightening and terrifying atmosphere to the audience. It emphasizes the fact that bringing a dead body alive is against human nature and should not be done, because usually during storms terrible accidents happen and it always has negative effects on environment. Special colours of the lightning were used during the play. All of them created a different impression on the audience. The red light was used when Elisabeth had a dream. The futuristic colour suggested that she was hearing and envisioning the upcoming events. As the light was red, which is commonly known as the colour of blood, it emphasized a negative future, somebodys death. During the scene, where the monster was threatening and alarming Frankenstein, the lightning was set up only on one side of the stage where the action was taking place. It was a wise decision because there was neither large amount of movement nor the props to cover the whole stage. The lights were blue in colour, which emphasized the relationship between the monster and Frankenstein. It was cold. There was no love or caring feelings between the two main characters. The change in the lightning also represented the different times of the day. The dim, more concentrated on the action lightning in present suggested that it was an evening. For example, when the monster was dancing with the blind woman, full lights were illuminated on the stage. This suggested that the action was taking place during the afternoon or morning. Therefore bright light suggested that it was daytime. Blackouts helped the actors to change the set of the scene as well as showed to the audience that more time has passed (meaning days or weeks). Just before and during the scene where the monster was pressuring and threatening Frankenstein, the other actors, Elizabeth and the backstage staff were removing one of the man props, cage, from the set. Most of the sound effects used were recorded sounds. The acoustics of the auditorium was reasonably good, because it was heard until the end of the audiences sitting area. It felt as if it is all around me, not coming from only one source the sound was echoing in the auditorium. The loudspeakers werent visible for the audience, which is positive point to mention. The music used in the play was very modern, upbeat/dance and rhythmic. Its other evidence of the futurism of the play. It contrasts greatly with the characterization of the actors, which is rather old-fashion. Elizabeth was wearing a red Victorian dress, which is another significant comparison of the music. At Victorian time such music did not existing. Even though the director wanted put across the idea of cloning, but at the same time maintain the old roots of the myth, through contrasting the music and costumes, I think that it ruined the atmosphere. The mood was mixed with nineteenth century and modern fresh and busy life. The serious and technical illustration of the stage was combined with the upbeat/dance music. The stage had a scientifical image: it included machinery, for bringing the monster alive, and it was quite simple (meaning that it wasnt packed with props). I found it quite unnatural mixture, because the common and usual image of any laboratory is quiet, efficient in work and even if there is any music heard at all, then it would be classical style. I think the upbeat music was a too large contrast with the situation, and therefore lost its meaning. An offstage sound of thunder, which also referred to the sound of lightning, was used quite often: when the monster was created and when Frankenstein tried to bring Elisabeth back to life. It created a horrifying and frightening atmosphere to the audience. The sound joined with the lightning created the perfect effect of storm I personally think that its a very good technique, because during storms the major disasters occur. And this creation was going to be one of the biggest catastrophes of humankind: a man has stepped against the God and defeated Him. The stormy sounds already suggest that the result of it will terrible and extremely unsuccessful. In the beginning of the play, the actor of the monster doesnt use his voice to talk, he only murmurs and grunts. This suggests that he has a baby-like nature as a newborn it has been shown through the fact that he doesnt know any words. He is innocent in his characteristics and never means to harm anybody. Whereas his curved and yellow eyes and terrifying black lips disgust his master, this results in abandoning the monster. Frankensteins creation is hiding himself from society and observes human life. He tries to copy the actions of the habitants. This indicates that the monster had good intentions from the beginning of the play. The actor is using a little bit robotic and stiff movements to show that he was created from different body parts. This also symbolizes the fact that he really is not a human, although he is created entirely by a human hand. This creates fear in the audience, they are frightened by the fact that such creature can be alive. He was created from dead body parts, which is terrifying because now those pieces are formed as one human being. Its very unnatural and unusual for normal human being to see this, and therefore it is creating terrifying atmosphere. The pace of the actors voice is slow which suggests that he is in the phase of learning how to speak. He studies slowly so that he could learn all the words correctly and accurately. This creates sympathy in the audience towards the character, because he is presented as extremely blameless and immature ( in the sense that he doesnt know how to act upon events) The scene with laundry womans death is an excellent example of the infantile behaviour of the monster and the actors good performance. The laundry lady screams in the sight of the monster. He looks confused hearing the high notes, which is shown by facial expression and very small gestures. The monster was moving stiffly toward the laundry lady and was wondering how to stop her cry. Finally he strangled the woman in order to just stop her screaming. It was an innocent mistake because the monster wasnt aware of his power and he didnt know that this will kill the lady. He showed this through running away in confusion. Before running away he was looking help in desperation and his eyes were widened, which created sympathy towards the character. The actor show levels of power in the bedroom scene. The monster was blaming Frankenstein for not taken responsibility of him. All the way through the act, the monster is in higher position and the creator of him is lying on the bed. This situation was very ironic because Frankenstein was the scientist, who created him, extremely smart and part of the wide community. Whereas the monster was dumb, child-like and very lonely. However, at that situation the monster was in control and wanted revenge on Frankenstein. The scene was effective for its use of levels, but on the other hand the monster was using a low, normal voice. This included expressions in his voice and quite large vocabulary this made the monster look too intelligent. I think that the actor shouldve still used murmuring and grunting in his speech. This wouldve created sympathy towards the monster as his child-like features would have been maintained. In the same bedroom scene the monster was wearing a torn bodysuit, which suggested that he was without home. It shows that the monster is inhuman, because his clothes are too big for him, therefore it has several holes in it. The holes in the shirt make him look muscular and very big in size. This helped to create the effect of the monster as the actor was a normal human being. The character seemed larger in size that he really was. This also created fear in the audience and an expression that he has lots of power and he is extremely strong. The monster looked wild and mad, due to the torn suit, which again created terror in the audience.. In the beginning of the play Elizabeth was wearing peasant like clothes: brown skirt, grey shirt. This suggested that her life was very simple and she had no worries. The character was also jumping happily up and down while playing with the snake. This is another example of her simple life, which was without any worries and full of happiness: she was playing with animals as if theyd be her only friends. This also suggests that she spent lots of time in the laborotory with his father. On the other hand it shows her considerate and gentle side. Her movements were free and dance-like all through the play (except in the end, where she was brought back to life). She was also well aware of the space on the stage and therefore used all of it that was provided. Elizabeths gestures were smooth, which made her look feminine and described her character as gentle and caring. She used slow motion, when fighting with Egor (who wanted to chop her head for the monster). This shows the good control over her body and described her excellent acting skills. Elizabeth used a wide range of her voice, which indicated her developed vocal skills. She had a Northern-English accent in the play, which became thicker when flirting with Frankenstein. This shows the various ways that she can put her character across in different situations. She also makes animalistic sound in the flirting scene, which indicated Elizabeths and Frankensteins physical attraction towards each other. This suggested that their feelings were wild and that both of them really sense the connection. Their attraction becomes very obvious through the audience through the various techniques. Elizabeth wore pyjama clothes in her dream. This helped the audience understand that she was actually sleeping, not awake. In this scene she showed her knowledge of the stage moved widely up and down as well on both sides of the stage in order to show desperation and fear of what might happen. She was also screaming, which indicates that she wanted to escape and she knew that something horrible is going to take place. This also gives hints to the audience and makes them more concentrated on the play. Towards the end Elizabeth was wearing red Victorian dress. The colour red suggests that there is danger that something terrible was going to happen. The Victorian dress was contrasting the situation which was all about modern cloning. It referred back to the old myth that has been existing for centuries. After Frankenstein brings her back to life from her sudden death, Elisabeth is a transformed character. She acts like the monster did in the beginning: she murmurs, grunts and has robotic movements. She changes quickly from Frankenstein wifes character into the newborn Elizabeth. She is very convincing in her role change and the audience is able to understand the situation, because of her outstanding acting skills. I find the play overall excellent. I think that one of strongest points was the Elizabeths character. I found the actor really good and her role was very well played. She used wide range in her voice, also she was perfectly aware all of the stage space and she put across the explorative strategies with high-quality acting. I also think that some of the interpretations were excellent as well. Such as adding the monkey to the play, especially calling him Frankenstein was very effective. Frankenstein, Elizabeth and her father killed the monkey and tried to bring him back to life. They failed to do it, which is like a warning to them, that none of those characters should play with life and death. This game wouldnt have a positive ending, but even though the caution was given, Frankenstein continued. This expresses well the human folly and not learning from our own mistakes. Humans are eager to go for what they believe, not for what is actually right. I found some of the weaknesses to lay also in the directors interpretations. The flirting scene of Elizabeth and Frankenstein was, I think, too comedy-like. Though it was a very amusing scene, I think that it was over the top, because cloning is such an important and serious issue. The physical theatre helped the audience to understand the situation quicker and clearer, but I think that if the scene would have been less obvious, then the audience would have been wondering more. The relationship would have been more secretive, therefore the audience would have more been concentrated, rather that laughing loudly. I think that the lightning was very well done. The use of different colours was very effective and symbolizing various things. The flashing-lights created horrifying and a very scary atmosphere, which created tension in the audience. But I find that there could be done some improvements on sound. I think that more sounds of nature should have been used, such as innocent bird sound when the monster is killing the laundry lady to symbolize that his intentions were always good and that he never actually meant to kill the lady. During the bedroom scene, where the monster is threatening Frankenstein, his vocabulary should have been rather poor and his voice not fluent. Grunting and murmuring would have added more sympathy toward the monster, because then he would have been presented as child-like and innocent character. Whilst in the present play he seemed very civilized and used to the world and environment.

The Leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

The Leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Introduction The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is a movement that was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna (Tadros 23). Its main objective is to indoctrinate the Quran and the Sunnah as the source of the principles that should guide the life of a Muslim at the individual, family, community, and state level. Thus, it articulates religious, political, and social issues that face the Arab world. Even though the MB originated in Egypt, its ideologies have since become popular in many Arab countries.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Concisely, members of the MB are the main opposition leaders in most Arab governments (Zahid 43). Even though the movement discourages the use of violence to achieve its goals, it has occasionally been involved in acts of terror. Nonetheless, the group is still popular in the Arab world due to its quest for social justic e and democracy. This paper focuses on the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. In particular, it will discuss the movement’s ascent to power, and the possible benefits of its leadership to the Egyptians. Additionally, the paper will discuss the relationship between the media and the MB. The Muslim Brotherhood’s ascent to power in Egypt is one of the most controversial political events in the history of the country. The debate on the legitimacy of the movement has polarized the Egyptian community and political scientists. Political analysts and scholars who support the movement believe that it rose to power through honest and legitimate means. Those who oppose the movement, on the other hand, believe that it rose to power by tricking Egyptians to vote for its presidential candidate. Generally, some scholars support the Brotherhood’s leadership, whereas others are skeptic of its ability to lead Egypt (Intelligence Analysis). In this context, it is impor tant to analyze the factors that led to the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 2012 presidential elections. The major factors that led to the movement’s victory include the following. To begin with, the Muslim Brotherhood believes in democracy. The past regimes in Egypt, especially, President Mubarak’s government did not believe in a democratic system of governance (Rutherford 69). The presidents had too much power that enabled them to serve their interests at the expense of the public. This involved corruption, limiting the rights of the citizens and discouraging divergent political opinions. Due to these malpractices, the MB launched its political activism to sensitize the public on the need to establish a democratic system of governance. The political ideologies of the movement rapidly gained popularity among the citizens. However, the incumbent regimes were not happy with this development. Thus, they repressed the movement’s activities. Nonetheless, th e movement became the first opposition party in Egypt after winning more than 20% of the parliamentary seats in the 2005 elections (Sharp 13).Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since 2007, the movement has been pursuing a democratic political agenda rather than a theological one (Tadros 74). In particular, the movement opposed the extension of Egyptian emergency law, which eliminated the citizen’s constitutional rights, legalized censorship, and gave the police unlimited powers. Moreover, the movement lobbied for the transformation of the parliament into a real legislative institution that represents the citizens, and ensures accountability within the government (Tadros 75). These efforts clearly indicate that the Muslim Brotherhood was committed to serving the interests of the public rather than pursuing a secret Islamist agenda. The Muslim Brotherhood has also gained popularity among Egyptians due to its social agenda. Inequality has always been high in Egypt in terms of the distribution of wealth and access to basic services (Hansen). Generally, the ruling elite controlled the largest percentage of the country’s resources. Consequently, the Muslim Brotherhood focused on charity work in order to improve the living conditions of the poor. This involved constructing schools and hospitals, as well as, donating funds to the needy (Hansen). In this regard, most Egyptians considered the movement as an organization that was committed to fulfilling their needs and aspirations. Concisely, Egyptians became convinced that their socio-economic conditions would improve if they voted for the Muslim Brotherhood. Apart from charity work, the movement has made deliberate efforts to promote gender equality and to eliminate religious discrimination. In the run up to the 2012, presidential elections, the movement promised to include women in its leadership. Concisely, women were to play an integral role in decision making by being members of the cabinet and holders of key positions in the government. However, only one woman is serving in the current cabinet (Saman). Additionally, the law does not allow a woman to become the country’s president. Nonetheless, the current President promised to appoint one woman and a Copt Christian as the country’s vice presidents (Saman). The movement has clearly stated that it will protect the rights of women and children in the society. The Muslim Brotherhood has also discouraged discrimination against Christians. In this regard, Christians will no longer need to acquire permits in order to build their churches. Finally, most citizens identify with the Muslim Brotherhood because of its close association with Egypt’s history. The movement has successfully positioned itself as a pragmatic entity rather than a fanatical organization (Zahid 81). Since its inception, the movement has f ocused on teaching its religious principles. It has been determined to ensure socio-economic change despite recurrent persecution and torture of its members by past regimes (Al-Kheleej). Moreover, the leaders of the movement are not associated with the corrupt practices that were rampant in the previous regime (Zahid 83).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These characteristics improved the popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood and led to the election of its candidate as Egyptian president. The aforementioned factors indicate that Egyptians made an informed decision to elect the Muslim Brotherhood regime. The movement is yet to fulfill all its pre-election promises due to the limited time in which it has been in control of the country. In this context, the movement came to power with honesty rather than tricking Egyptians to vote for it. Even though the Muslim Brotherhood through its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), rose to power on a change platform, its leadership might not benefit the Egyptians. After its first 100 days in office, the FJP regime is yet to fulfill most of its pre-election campaign promises (Saman). One of the most important promises that have been broken by the regime is the formation of an independent Constituent Assembly (CA) to draft a new constitution for the country. According to FJP’s pre-election promise, the assembly would consist of representatives of all interest groups in the country. Furthermore, Egyptians would be given amble time to discuss the criteria for joining the assembly, as well as, the laws to be included in the new constitution. On the contrary, the Muslim Brotherhood has since amended the laws that constitute the interim Constitutional Declaration so that it can have monopoly in the selection of the Constituent Assembly members (Tadros 113). More over, the MB excluded the representatives of trade unions, academic institutions and the judiciary from the assembly. The regime decided to select its loyalist to draft the new constitution (Saman). In this regard, the opinions and aspirations of the citizens are not likely to be included in the new constitution. FJP has tried to dispel these fears by claiming that Egyptians will have a chance to adopt or reject the constitution through a referendum. However, most Egyptians believe that the government might fail to fulfill this promise too. The Muslim Brotherhood promised to punish the members of Mubarak’s regime who tortured rioters during the 2011 revolution. However, the government has since released all the suspects from detention without any charges. These acquittals have led to violent protests in Cairo. In response to the public’s concerns, the president promised a retrial of the suspects in order to ensure justice (Zahid 152). The president has also released th e political activists who participated in the 2011 revolution. However, the public is still dissatisfied with the president’s efforts to ensure justice.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The decision by the president to control the judiciary is also a sign of a bleak future for Egyptians. The president has the ultimate power that enables him to control all arms of the government (Saman). Following the dissolution of the parliament by the judiciary, the president has the freedom to formulate and to enact his own laws. These laws cannot be overturned by the judiciary or any other organ of the government. Additionally, the president has quashed the judiciary’s power to dissolve the upper house of the parliament. Consequently, the Brotherhood that dominates the upper house has great control of the legislative arm of the government. In this regard, Egyptians are not likely to realize the constitutional reforms that they need. The Muslim Brotherhood is yet to demonstrate its commitment to strengthen the relationship between Egypt and the international community. For instance, the government was not able to control the September 2012 protests that were caused by the anti-Islamic video (Saman). The president did not issue any order to end the riots that led to the destruction of the American Embassy in Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood, on the other hand, encouraged the citizens to continue with the violent protests. Some leaders of the Brotherhood are pushing for the dissolution of the 32-year peace treaty with Israel (Sharp 21). However, some leaders believe that Egypt should only respect the peace treaty if Israel improves the socio-economic conditions of the Palestinians. These tensions are likely to have negative effects on the relationship between Egypt and the external community. Some of these effects include trade sanctions and withdrawal of foreign aid (Myers). These effects will have severe impacts on the economic development of the country. Economists and political analysts believe that the Muslim Brotherhood will facilitate moderate improvements in Egypt’s economy. The MB is pursuing two contradicting economic ideologies. On one hand, the government is pursing interventionist policies by increasing its investments in prime sectors of the economy. On the other hand, industry and trade leaders who belong to the Brotherhood are calling for a liberal and market-oriented economy that promotes free trade (Hansen). These leaders are also in charge of the strategic plan that will facilitate the transformation of the country’s economy and public sector. One factor that is likely to ensure rapid development is the implementation of effective economic policies. These policies include export substitution, reducing budget deficits, rationing public spending, and raising the minimum wage. Furthermore, the government intends to strengthen the anti-trust laws and to introduce a progressive tax system. These policies will promote rapid economic development and equal distribution of wealth (Hansen). Similarly, the free-market tendencies have improved the confidence of investors in the financial sector. Concisely, the Brotherhood is not likely to replace the conventional banking system with Islamic finance since the later accounts for only 4% of the country’s financial sector (Shubber 191-193). Finally, the government has promised to improve tourism by opening new markets and developing new infrastructure in the industry. Despite making efforts to improve the country’s economy, the media portrays the Muslim Brotherhood as a dishonest organization whose main intension is to oppress Egyptians (Kheiry). For instance, in August 2012 a local newspaper accused the Muslim Brotherhood of intending to create an ‘emirate’. The newspaper also claimed that the Brotherhood was planning to massacre innocent Christians and influential public figures. In this regard, the newspaper advocated for the strengthening of the military’s power in order to prevent these atrocities. The Brotherhood considers most media criticisms to be propaganda whose authors intend to destabilize the go vernment (Kheiry). This is because the media often fails to substantiate its criticisms to the government (Kheiry). Furthermore, journalists have periodically made inflammatory statements to insult the president and his regime. In some cases, the media attacks the government by inciting the citizens rather than using facts to criticize it (Kheiry). Generally, the Muslim Brotherhood dislikes the media criticisms. It has always reacted to the criticisms by detaining journalists and controlling the freedom of the press. Critics believe that the current crackdown on journalists is an indication that the Muslim Brotherhood is determined to control every aspect of Egyptians’ lives. Political scientists believe that attacking journalists is part of the Brotherhood’s plan to threaten and to censor the media from disclosing its Islamist agenda (Saman). Additionally, they accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of using propaganda to cover its malpractices and to gain public sympathy. Con clusion The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the most influential political movements in the Arab world. The movement combines Islamic religious teachings with political activism and charity work, thereby making it attractive to most Muslims (Rutherford 34). In Egypt, the movement rose to power in 2011 after the fall of Mubarak’s regime. The Muslim Brotherhood ascended to power on a platform of social, political, and economic change. Concisely, the movement had promised to promote democracy and to protect the rights of women and the minority communities. However, the MB is yet to fulfill most of its pre-election promises. In this regard, most political analysts believe that the Muslim Brotherhood regime might not be beneficial to Egyptians. These sentiments are shared by the media, which has always portrayed the movement as a dishonest entity that is not committed to fulfilling the needs of Egyptians (Kheiry). Al-Khaleej, Khaleej. Behind the Muslim Brotherhoods Rise to Power. Al -Monitor, 4 Feb. 2011. Web. Hansen, Suzy. The Economic Vision of Egypts Muslim Brotherhood Millionaires. Business Week, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. Intelligence Analysis. Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Context of the Egyptian Revolution. Intelligence Analysis. 12 Apr. 2012. Web. Kheiry, Amina. Ominous Signs in Egypt Suggest ‘Brotherhoodization’ of the Media. Al-Monitor, 5 Aug. 2012. Web. Myers, Steven. U.S Move to Give Egypt $450 Million in Aid Meets Resistance. New York Times, 28 Sep. 2012. Web. Rutherford, Bruce. Egypt After Mubarak. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Print. Saman, Moises. Muslim Brotherhood: Egypt. New York Times, 14 Sep. 2012. Web. Sharp, Jeremy. Egypt: the January 25 Revolution and Implications for US. Boston: Palgrave, 2011. Print. Shubber, Kadom. Islamic Finance: Principles and Practice. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management 2.5 (2010): 191-193. Print. Tadros, Mariz. The Muslim Brotherhood in Contemporary Egypt: D emcracy Redefined. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print. Zahid, Mohammed. The Muslim Brotherhood and Egypts Succession Crisis. Lond: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

A written report on ICT within the secondary curriculum Essay

A written report on ICT within the secondary curriculum - Essay Example Although educational institutions have been slower than most to embrace this technology (Aviram and Richardson (2004) p.2), over the past few years it has been seeking to catch up. With funds now being provided for computers, software, Broadband Internet connection, television and other ICT resources, the government is committed to move towards total integration of ICT within education. To further this they have introduced regulations, which cover most of the curriculum subjects. As ICT is an every changing environment, this creates difficulties, especially within education. These manifest themselves in how the technology is perceived and the levels of training provided. Graham Davies (1992) observed that most educators perceive ICT as a means of automation and cost cutting, and to a certain extent, this view persists. Training is one of the weakest points in the intended incorporation of ICT into education. As can be seen in table 1 (see appendix 1), although there was a small improvement between 1998 and 1999, less than 40% of teachers received updated training within a two-year period. The ICT statutory requirements in modern foreign languages target the learning in set areas (National Curriculum in action 2006). In terms of Key stages 3 and 4, ICT is to be used to help students improve the standard of their work, including its correctness, presentation and interpretation. In addition, it will test their skills in language communication and accessing of information from a number of ICT sources, including the Internet. The result is that they should be able to work with and understand actual data, such as newspapers, videos and TV output in original languages. The aim is to provide the student with the skills that will enable them to use their chosen language in real life, such as future employment situations. For such a strategy, secondary schools will

Crime Causation and Diversion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Crime Causation and Diversion - Essay Example As they are young they can be physically and mentally provoked easily than adults. California is a highly crime prone area and men as well as youth indulge in crimes day and night in this state. Here more violence can be seen among children as they imitate the criminal acts performed by adults in real life or movies. Mostly the youths are under the addiction of drugs and have knowledge as towards their violent action. Most of the children who are having single parent or parents who are psychologically disturbed can provoke the child to do more criminal actions. Organized crime and criminal networks in many California cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento have a base in Russia. These people can even make children as their prey to perform crime .So in order combat this social evil the government has organized juvenile intervention, diversion and prevention programs. Juvenile prevention programs rather two intervention programs practiced in California is analyzed in detail further below. These two are California Youth Outreach and Juvenile Intervention & Prevention Program (JIPP). Youth are the ones, who get easily diverted in to drug, alcohol and crime and they are the ones who require utmost caring and intervention at the right age. Young children get some drugs, money or other facilities in return to their criminal act. But California Youth Outreach reaches out to young people who are victimized to the youth gangs and their aggressive behavior of violence and weapon usage. This intervention program is extremely careful in imparting education to the youth who are in juvenile restriction. Along with juvenile youths, their families are also educated regarding gang violence, drugs, alcohol and weapon usage. JIPP is an intervention program which is founded by Stephen Koffman who resides in Southern California and has masters in social work to his credit. Stephen

The Women, Infant's and Children programs Research Paper

The Women, Infant's and Children programs - Research Paper Example The researcher states that WIC was founded in 1973. But its history stretches back to the 1960s. Studies and national television programs were discovering that starvation, malnutrition and other forms of caloric deficiency were preventing many Americans from having enough to eat. The Poor People's March on Washington and major documentaries focused the issue and brought it to the attention of policymakers. A 1969 Conference was convened, which included in its report a recommendation to focus specifically on the needs of low-income women, pregnant women, children and infants, whose gaps between nutritional needs and opportunities were often most dire. A Commodity Supplemental Food Program was created that targeted women and children under 6, but studies found that it and the Food Stamp Program were not dealing with the special needs of the groups in question. An amendment of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 finally created the WIC department as a two-year pilot. The department was desi gned to work with the USDA, who would provide the food support and commodities. The WIC program differed itself from the CSFP by coordinating food relief with health care and other aid programs. USDA resistance to coordination required a federal court order to force them to comply. The WIC proved successful enough to be established permanently on October 7, 1975, by PL 94-105. Eligibility was expanded to nonbreastfeeding women, and while inadequate income was an eligibility requirement, it was not specifically defined, giving the program flexibility. In 1999, the USDA implemented standard measures of food security and, after two years, published a report that indicated what food scholars had been saying for years: Malnutrition and caloric deficiency were reaching epidemic levels. The standardization of food insufficiency metrics has transformed the debate around food provision entirely and galvanized public interest and support. Mission Statement The WIC's mission is as follows: â⠂¬ ¢ Protect women, children and infants †¢ Improve nutrition and health of poor and disadvantaged women †¢ Provide education, support and information †¢ Support women with post-partum depression The WIC themselves define their goal as, â€Å"To safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care†. They define their mission completion mechanisms as, â€Å"Food, nutrition counseling, and access to health services are provided to low-income women, infants, and children under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, popularly known as WIC. WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children who are found to be at nutritional risk...Most State WIC programs provide vouchers that participants use at authorized food stores.

Comparative Analysis of English and Bade Proverbs

Comparative Analysis of English and Bade Proverbs COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND BADE PROVERBS: EXPLORING FORM AND CONTENT It is believed that there is no language without proverbs. Vulic and Zergollern in Valiulyte (2010), corroborate this notion that ‘each nation or country has its own proverbs†. Therefore, every language has its own proverbs which are used by its own speakers through many media as in literature like poetry, prose and drama and other forms of daily communication. Nevertheless, some advanced languages like English have a rich tradition of proverbs, because its proverbs have been collected and analyzed academically. This is probably due to the early civilization of the English people, and their awareness of literature and publication. Consequently, English proverbs have become richer and more widespread, unlike the ones of Bade (a local language in Yobe State, Nigeria) whose proverbs have not received any study worthy of academic recognition. The term proverb has been defined by different scholars in different perspectives. Norrick (1985) defines proverbs as self-sufficient, brief, traditional expression with advisory content and secured poetic form. Meider (1985) sees it as a short, generally known sentence which contains wisdom, truth, with memorable form and which is handed down from generation to generation. According to Tatar (1998), proverbs are concise common expressions with literal and figurative meaning. It can be understood from the above definitions that the term proverb is a terse saying that represents matters of universal truth, with a literal, figurative, or poetic structure, preserved through discourse, and passed on from one generation to another in human society. According to Meider (2004), in Dabaghi, Pishbin and Niknasab (2010), it is hard to identify the origin and history of proverbs. Nevertheless, he adds that proverbs ‘†¦ do not fall from the sky’. Therefore, he observes that there is a similar trend of emergence of proverbs in Europe, Asia, Africa and other linguistic and cultural groups. He traces the origin of European proverbs ‘back to the classical times of Greek and Roman antiquity; the Biblical era; the Medieval Latin, and the mass media’. In tracing the origin of proverbs in Persian languages, religion and literature have been recognized as two sources (Moosavi, 2000, in Dabaghi, Pishbin and Niknasab, 2010). In a rather more specific manner, Ridout and Witting (1969) link the source of modern English proverbs to popular sayings of the common man; borrowing from the Bible and other languages; wise saying of famous literary scholars; turning highly idiomatic expressions into proverbs; and, modern edu cation. Over the years, scholars have agreed that geographical location has some effects on the nature of proverbs. Brown (1983) observes that proverbs emerging from the same zone tend to have common features. The same idea may be noticed in Schuh (2005), stating that indigenous languages in Yobe State share ‘a large number of idioms, lexicon-related expressions’, just like how West African languages share ‘proverbs and riddles, songs and folktales’. Nevertheless, this does not mean that those languages may not have distinct properties that can separate them from one another as different language. Because Bade is one of the focus languages in this research, some characteristics of proverbs that are peculiar to African languages will provide the researcher with some rich data to work on. One very inconvenient aspect of this research is that while available resources on English proverbs are not hard to come by, Bade, being the other target language is badly lacking in literary resources particularly on proverbs on the one hand. On the other hand, it looks interesting that this research will set a precedent in such an area with a serious academic intent. Recently, studies on Verbal Arts posted on Yobe Language Research Project have presented a few collections of proverbs of indigenous languages, with Bole (257 proverbs),Ngizim(230 proverbs), Karekare(32 proverbs),and Ngamo(14 proverbs). In the case of Bade, its collection deals with songs and folktales, with no single proverb attached (Schuh, 2004). Other non-indigenous languages like Kanuri, Fulfulde and Hausa which Schuh sees as widely spoken in the state, are the most widely studied, with the last one topping the list with several pieces of researches about proverbs including a dictionary titled Dictionary of Hausa Proverbs. Hence, these few collections of proverbs on the indigenous languages of the study area will benefit the researcher greatly, by providing him with a platform upon which to study the Bade proverbs easily. The basic aim of this research is to analyze the form and content of English and Bade proverbs. To achieve this, the research aims to address four main questions. Firstly, it tries to determine whether English and Bade proverbs have different form. Secondly, it will address the question of whether there are similarities between the content of English and Bade proverbs. Thirdly, it seeks to establish how English and Bade proverbs are preserved .Fourthly, it will ascertain whether there are differences in terms of cultural materials involved in the construction of English and Bade proverbs. Such questions are directly linked to the main aim of this research. By looking at these differences and similarities, it will be possible to justify this analysis correctly. In order to answer these research questions correctly, theoretical framework is proposed. Initially, there is the need to clarify the variables of this research. This research has two dependent variables-form and content, which depend on the independent variable- English and Bade proverbs. It is often possible that in a piece of research like this, two theories may present better analytical ground. Therefore, I have chosen to be eclectic in method, by using more than one theory in a single research. I will use two Semantic theories: Classical Metaphor will be used to analyze form; and, Topic-Comment Structure Theory to analyze content of all the proverbs in my corpus. These analyses, upon which the remaining questions and objectives will be answered and achieved, will be used to explain the form and content of both English and Bade proverbs. The decision to propose Metaphor is very much connected to its history as having positive effects on literary studies. Norrick (1985) confirms that the essence of metaphor in studies of proverbs can be traced back to Aristotle. Saeed (2004) classifies two approaches of traditional metaphor as Classical and Romantic. He ascribes classical metaphor to Aristotle, as it describes metaphor from figurative and rhetorical perspectives. Romantic metaphor is linked to ‘eighteenth and nineteenth century Romantic’ periods, which define metaphor as possibly common material in language use (Saeed, 2004). To set a focus for the research, the researcher has chosen to position it on classical perspective which directly relates to proverbs studies. Based on classical view, it seems likely that metaphor is a universal feature of proverbs. And since proverbs are characterized by ‘rigid form’, (Norick, 1985), metaphor will be of great advantage in analyzing all the proverbs tha t have figurative form in the corpus of this research. The second theory is called Topic-Comment Structure as stated above. According to Norrick (1985), this theory is attributed to Dundes(1975).He adds that the theorist proposed it due to the disagreement of paremiologists about a unified formula to analyze the content of proverbs. Using some English proverbs such as ‘Like father like son, No rose without a thorn, and Better late than never’, Dundes suggests substitutable variables such as ‘like X like Y, no X without Y, and better x than Y’ respectively. Norrick observes that these variables can be used to substitute any expression in a proverb. Therefore, this researcher will use this theory to interpret the real content of all proverbs in the corpus. This kind of research is not rare in literary studies. Different kinds of proverb research have been conducted by many literary experts in English and other languages in the world. Shariati and Teyabi (2012), in their study A Comparative Study of Proverbs Characteristics of Mesopotamian Language, and Local Dialect of Persian indicate that research in proverbs has been carried out since ‘about 2500 BC’. However, this may not discredit this research as a mere repetition of previous works of experts. Certainly, it will make it even more interesting since so far, I have not found any serious research into Bade proverbs. With this fast growing interest in literature and publication in the age of globalization, the importance of proverbs is realized not only in literary contexts but also in media, politics, religion and several other social transactions. Meider, in Dabaghi, Pishbin and Niknasab, (2010), notes that ‘proverbs obviously contain a lot of common sense, experience, wisdom, and truth, and as such they represent ready- made traditional strategies in oral speech and writing from high literature to the mass media’. Thus, it seems reasonable that for literature to be meaningful, studies of proverbs ought to be taken as important as any other aspect of literary studies. Therefore, through this analysis, this research is set to achieve certain objectives which include the following: to define the formal pattern of English and Bade proverbs; to determine the content of English and Bade proverbs; to unveil the ways of preserving the proverbs of English and Bade; to explain the different cultural material involved in the construction of English and Bade proverbs.

Comparing The Murder of Duncan in Macbeth and The Assassination of Kennedy :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing The Murder of Duncan in Macbeth and The Assassination of Kennedy There is a man who is a head of state. He is a very powerful man and is well liked by his subjects. The people love him. Then he is suddenly, inexplicably murdered. Someone is blamed for the murder, but the entire country knows the accused are innocent and are tools used in a cover-up. Does this situation sound bizarre? Does it sound like some work of fiction? Well, it is. It is the beginning of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. However, it is much more than that. It is real life. It is the circumstances that surrounded one of the most surreal periods of time in United States history. It is the situation surrounding the assassination of one of the US's most revered Presidents, John F. Kennedy. These circumstances suggest that the events which occur in the play Macbeth are still possible. It is possible for the circumstances surrounding Macbeth to be repeated in modern day America because no protection provides absolute safety, some men are still willing to do what Macbeth did, and the ac t could still be covered up. No amount of protection provides absolute safety. In today's world, it is easier than ever to kill someone. Any person can buy a cheap pistol and kill someone. It is also easier to kill without being caught. There are long range rifles and remote control explosives that can be used as the murder weapon while the actual perpetrator is far away. Also, it is easier than ever to find a professional assassin who will kill anyone for the right amount of money. These latter methods could allow a person to commit murder and easily get away with it. Even though the actual murderer may be caught, the person financing the operation could get away untouched. In Macbeth, Duncan was well protected by his guards. However, he was still murdered. The guards were overcome through a simple trick. "The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugged their possets..." says Lady Macbeth. She had drugged their drinks, and instead of guarding Duncan, they were asleep. Macbeth was easily able to sneak past them and kill Duncan. Every precaution available had been taken to insure Duncan's protection. It is not an easy task to get past two armed bodyguards in a cramped area. However, through some deceit, Macbeth was able to accomplish this. This reaffirms the statement that no protection is absolute. Perhaps the best example that no protection is infallible occurs in the