Six feet of the country by Nadine Gordimer and No witchcraft for sale by Doris Lessing Essay Example for Free

Six feet of the country by Nadine Gordimer and No witchcraft for sale by Doris Lessing Essay What do these stories tell us about being black in Southern Africa at this time? What techniques do the authors use to convey their ideas to us? Both of the stories studied, Six feet of the country by Nadine Gordimer and No witchcraft for sale by Doris Lessing, contain similar views about being black during this time, including the racial tension that existed between black and white people. This tension also caused difficulties in the relationships held between master and servant. The opinion of the inferiority of black servants and black people in general is also addressed in both of the stories. The inferiority of black people during this time is a big issue that is addressed in these stories. In No witchcraft for sale one of the first instances showing black inferiority was when Teddy, only six years old, showed disrespect towards Gideons youngest son shouting, piccanin, at him and racing around him on his scooter, intimidating him, then excusing his actions stating that; Hes only a black boy. Therefore implying that the boy was inferior and unimportant to him because he was black. This created a barrier in the normally trusting relationship that Teddy and Gideon shared, forcing Gideon to distance himself from the boy becoming for the first time in the story as black and white,. Teddy also changed and realised superiority over Gideon; If he came into the kitchen to ask for something, it was in the way a white man uses towards a servant, expecting to be obeyed. This concept of blacks being inferior was reinforced in Six feet of the country when Petrus and his father were sent the wrong body to be buried, none of the authorities were able to help even when the white master tried to gain information about where Petruss brothers body was. He had the impression that the authorities didnt care; It was as if at any moment they might conduct me into their mortuary and say, There! Lift up the sheets; look for him your poultry boys brother. There are so many black faces surely one will do? Also highlighted in this story is the existence of racial tension, this sentence describes it indisputably; Guns under the white mens pillows and the burglar bars on the white mens windows. They mean those strange moments on city pavements when a black man wont stand aside for a white man. The expectance of a black man to stand aside for a white man shows the accepted inferiority of black people at this time, although it also depicts the tension caused by the black people in the city refusing to be inferior any longer. Racial tension was also a factor in the difficulties that arose between Gideon the servant and Mr and Mrs Farquar when the white scientist came from the city with his preconceived notions that he wouldnt find anything, to ask for the root that saved Teddys eyesight when a poisonous snake spat in his face. The Farquars, who were normally very fond of Gideon even allowing him to live in the compound with his family instead of going home to his kraal like most black servants, still favoured the white scientist over Gideon. They didnt understand why he would not tell them of the cure, thinking that he was just being unreasonable; They went on persuading and arguing, with all the force of their exasperation. Gideon felt betrayed by the Farquars asserting their authority over him, showing their superiority over him because the scientist was there, and, because this was his knowledge, black knowledge; He could not believe his old friends could so betray him. Gideon appeared to give in to their persuading, however, instead of taking the Farquars and the scientist the short ten-minute journey to find the root, he took them a tortuous six miles from the house in the blistering heat Before passing a handful of flowers to the scientist; He walked them through the bush along unknown paths for two hours. In that melting destroying heat. Gideon was punishing them for betraying him, while they felt angry and the scientist thought that he was being proved right, that the medicines didnt exist, which was what he was supposed to think; The magical drug would remain where it was, unknown and useless except for the tiny scattering of Africans who had the knowledge. In Six feet of the country, Lerice and her husband, like the Farquars, display and informality with their servants that in the midst of Apartheid would have been extremely unusual. They often cared for them when they were ill, however when Petruss brother travelled the hundreds of miles from Rhodesia, without the relevant permit, to find work, the servants were afraid to inform Lerice and her husband, causing Lerice to feel offended and hurt. Differing values are another idea presented to us by these stories, including the significance of burying Petruss brother because the land that he was buried in would be the only thing that really belonged to him and couldnt be taken away. Gideons cures are also the only thing that truly belongs to the black medicine man and not the white doctors, therefore Gideon being stubborn and not revealing the medicine, is really just preserving a piece of the native culture. The authors use various techniques to convey their ideas to us; both use language to communicate the inferiority of the black servants calling them boy no matter what age they are, quite literally addressing them as junior to or lower than the whites and then in contrast to this the black servants call the white men baas, therefore enhancing the superiority of them. Descriptive language is also used to emphasize certain points in the stories. In Six feet of the country the funeral procession is depicted as being peculiarly suited to the two donkeys pulling the cart, describing them as having an air of submissiveness and as being downcast. This is particularly effective in communicating the mood of the servants not just at the time of the funeral but in general at the time of Apartheid. This also shows how dignified the servants were, although they were extremely poor they still managed to give their dead a formal funeral. Doris Lessing presented the themes of racial tension and difficulties in a normally pleasant relationship between master and servant. The tension was brought on by the Farquars themselves, describing the scientist as the Big doctor from the big city, adopting a racist attitude on account of the scientist. To be black in Southern Africa at this time would mean being a second class person to be inferior to white people and would spend their lives serving white people. According to the authorities in Six feet of the country a black person living in South Africa would have no identity. I believe that the tension illustrated in both of these stories was caused by a lack of understanding the white people had of the black culture and traditions, I also believe that Doris Lessing and Nadine Gordimer have effectively conveyed the themes that I have highlighted, racial tension, difficult relationships or relationship barriers and differing values with the use of language, the way they presented the characters and the presentation of the themes. The title No witchcraft for sale was used because the black witchcraft was something that Gideon possessed that the white man did not, this is very similar to Six feet of the country as the six feet represent the land that Petruss brother was buried in, it would be all that he owned that couldnt be taken from him.

Creativity and Bipolar Disorder Essay -- Bipolar Creative Creativity E

Creativity and Bipolar Disorder History has always held a place for the "mad genius", the kind who, in a bout of euphoric fervor, rattles off revolutionary ideas, incomprehensible to the general population, yet invaluable to the population's evolution into a better adapted species over time. Is this link between creativity and mental illness one of coincidence, or are the two actually related? If related, does heightened creative behavior alter the brain's neurochemistry such that one becomes more prone to a mental illness like bipolar disorder? Does bipolar disorder cause alterations in neurochemistry in the brain that increase creative behavior through elevated capacity for thought and expression? Is this link the result of some third factor which causes both of the two effects? Centuries of literature and innumerable studies have supported strong cases relating creativity--particularly in the arts, music and literature--to bipolar disorder. Both creativity and bipolar disorder can be attributed to a genetic predisposition and environmental influences. Biographical studies, diagnostic and psychological studies and family studies provide different aspects for examining this relationship. A 1949 study of 113 German artists, writers, architects, and composers was one of the first to undertake an extensive, in-depth investigation of both artists and their relatives. Although two-thirds of the 113 artists and writers were "psychically normal," there were more suicides and "insane and neurotic" individuals in the artistic group than could be expected in the general population, with the highest rates of psychiatric abnormality found in poets (50%) and musicians (38%). (1) Many other similar tests revealed th... ...ay Redfield. Touched with Fire. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. 2) Journal of Memetics, an article addressing creativity, evolution and mental illness. http://jomemit.cfpm.org/1997/vol1/preti_a&miotto_p.html 3)Bipolar Disorder, an educational resource about bipolar disorder. http://216.239.57.100/search?q=cache:Hac5G2R_ezsC:faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bipolar.html+serotonin+bipolar+disorder&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 4) Manic-Depressive & Depressive Association of Boston, an article discussing the genetics of bipolar disorder. http://www.mddaboston.org/lect020900.html 5) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an online version of the resource book. http://www.psychologynet.org/bipolar1.html 6) From Neurons to Neighborhoods, a book that addresses early development of the brain. http://books.nap.edu/books/0309069882/html/187.html#pagetop

Feminist critique on a street car named desire Essay

Although the play itself would have made huge strides in the feminist movement at the time the message behind the play brings out a crucial and relevant message to the audience today, and asks bigger questions to young people in a generation that questionably has made very few steps forward in the past few decades. It questions how gendered stereotyping controls our society and how little both sexes care to amend it in an apathetic civilisation. Blanche as a character although resembling, at times, the potential to be of more substantial character and command the recognition she deserves, is trapped into a bubble of what can be considered feminine and is convinced by her own sub conscience and those around her that the only way to get what she wants is to act within certain stereotypes to find herself any man to provide the stability she craves, Stella alike takes the role in a less exaggerated manner but this in some ways is more powerful as she has the power over Stanley to conduct him as she wishes but herself deems it only acceptable to run back to him every time he calls. Self-destruction in its simplest form because society has condemned her to our four walls of femininity. A Streetcar Named Desire presents a sharp observational critique of the way the institutions and attitudes of postwar America placed restrictions on women’s actions and lives. Williams uses Blanche’s and Stella’s dependence on men to expose and evaluate the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. Both Blanche and Stella see male companions as their only means to achieve happiness, Blanche and Stella throughout the play remain in the mindset that to acquire a male companion is their only true and justified path to happiness, consequently they form a dependency to men for both their sustenance and their self-image. Blanche criticizes Stella for staying in a physically abusive relationship with her brooding husband Stanley, thus in turn criticizing Stella for depending on Stanley for emotional support and sexual relief, Stella declares she is ‘not in anything she wants to get out of’ this moment in the play shocks Blanche as she realises that someone she loves and respects so completely could choose this life for herself . However the way Blanche leads her life—contacting Shep Huntleigh for financial support—still demonstrates a complete uncompromising dependency on men. At the end of the play, when Stella makes the conscious decision to remain with her husband, Stanley, she has chosen to rely on love, and put her faith and reliance in a man instead of her sister. Williams chooses not to present this decision as a mistake or a female falling as it is clear that Blanche’s behavior does not offer nor demonstrate a secure future for Stella or for her newly born child. One of the most prominent communications within the play is that posed by Blanche, as a character we find it incredibly hard to sympathize with her, she appears on the surface manipulative and unhinged masked clumsily by nauseating girlishness . She comes across in so many ways barely a woman at all with her shrill demands and constant awkward giggling, however her past reveals she is far more of a woman than Stella or Blanche would ever like to believe, her shaded life in Bellereeve leaves trails of fragmented womanhood behind her which later manifests itself in the form of vicious gossip that consequently sparks Blanches downfall. Within herself, Blanche views a quick marriage to Mitch as a manner of absconding destitution. Blanche’s sexual exuberance is criticized by Stanley and exploited by all the other men in her life excluding Mitch, tarnishing her name, and providing her with a promiscuous reputation. This reputation, by nature of society, brands Blanche an unfit and unattractive marriage prospect, however, as she is destitute, Blanche perceives marriage as her only probability for survival in a bible belt that condemns women be pure in order to be a possibility for wedlock. When Mitch discards Blanche based on the slander painted by Stanley about her licentious past, Blanche instantaneously turns to another man—the millionaire Shep Huntleigh—in hope of another miraculous rescuing. Because Blanche is blinded by her dependence on men, she loses sight of a realistic concept of saving herself from being pushed down, this view has been embedded in her by humanity condemning her to believe her only discharge will be if a good honest man will wed her, thus somehow erasing the shadows of her past in Bellereeve. Blanche fails to come to terms with the fact that by putting so much emphasis and reliance in men she no longer controls the outcomes of her future as she puts her fate in the hands of a man, thus ultimately leading to her descent into insanity. One of the most important aspects of feminism is that gender is a social construct and if womanhood is defined purely through the chains of society rather than through natural causes, few societies have enforced it more forcefully and with such vigour as the American South. The saga that is the southern woman began in the mid 1800’s which saw a white woman of a certain standing put on a pedestal. The southern gentleman and society enforced that a woman be a non-sexual creature, helpless and fragile, this is concentrated and highlighted in Blanche’s behaviour as she believes the only way for her to appear attractive to the opposite sex is to manifest herself as pathetic and incapable. As a Southern lady, Blanche’s narrowly defined social role has kept her from admitting her natural appetites and pursuing them forthrightly. She has felt obliged to lie to herself and to others. However throughout the play these hidden desires have revealed themselves in private company, for instance her heavy drinking would be seen as impure by southern society and this is evident by both Mitch’s and Stanley’s reaction to this trait. Blanches greatest scandal from belle reeve is that she let her sexual nature control her actions thus ‘spoiling’ her and rendering her a ruined woman. To express one’s sexuality or desires instantaneously reduces a woman to tainted and impure. Williams has said that he considers Blanche’s character liberated, she has lived such an autonomous life in such a repressive time she could almost be considered heroic were she not so ashamed of her fierce former independence. In the play she seeks stability after the tragedy of her life in Belle reeve – ergo her attraction to Mitch – his incessant and ceaseless tedium results in Blanche being capable of fulfilling her central hunger in this time of her life, to find a good husband. She regularly discourages masculine behaviour in Mitch, rendering him the submissive co-part of the relationship, Blanche subconsciously maculates herself by doing this. Both sisters have felt the full force of marrying for love (Stella through the physical abuse omitted by Stanley and Blanche through the affair of her bi-sexual late husband) it could be argued that Allan’s sexual ambiguity led Stella to choose an overtly heterosexual working class man. Some criticise Williams writing of Stella as she fails to release herself from the grasp of her abusive husband, expressing that Williams presents Stella (and blanche) as weak and incompetent however this criticism is unjust as Williams would have been writing before any form of feminist movement arose, meaning that Williams himself was writing purely from observation of his Southern America. Williams himself as a homosexual male experienced the same struggles as these women being considered a second class citizen or an ‘other’ The ending of the play, finishes controversially for feminists addressing the issue of rape, however Williams does not present Blanche as victim, although the tone of sympathy primarily lies with the women of the play Blanche manifests herself as a worthy opponent, she has allured Stanley with provocative comments and engaged in verbal battles with him throughout the play. She has not proved a weak adversary at any moment and at the climax of the play smashes a bottle and threatens to ‘’twist it into his face’’. Stanley does not rape Blanche in order to re-instate his power in the house rather than as a battle for position of alpha-male, as from the beginning of the play Blanche has threatened this position, she has drunk his alcohol, manipulated his wife and this pinnacle marks the end battle of this ongoing power-struggle. Stanley is not belittling Blanche or women in general by raping her rather he feels it is his last resort in order to have victory thus proving he sees her as a genuine intimidation. Stanley says ‘we’ve had this date with each other from the beginning’ showing that she was a direct threat from the beginning and the fact that it could imply that the act was pre-meditated is the only indication of deliberate cold- blooded cruelty on Stanley’s behalf. Williams challenges the traditional view of marriage as posed by cultural standing, assuming that marriage is the end of the story, and that marriage is synonymous with a lifetime of joy, erasing all pain from behind that moment. Williams sees marriage as the start of a life for a man, far from the bliss that is advertised. Mitch and Stanley represent realistic portraits of men who will constantly cram their women into gendered stereotypes and Stella and Blanche will always oblige to protect their own stature and (in the case of Stella) to shelter their children.

Analytical Essay On The Monsoon Wedding - 869 Words

Maddie Weir Monsoon Wedding Analytical Oral: ‘The Many Facets of Love’ We all have our own opinions on love. Some of us may be hopeless romantics who believe in meeting the ‘one’ and being swept up into a romance that will last forever. Others may think that all of that is rubbish and that love is something that people must work on in order to get right. Either way, love is something that affects all of us. The 2001 film, Monsoon Wedding, follows the lives of a Punjabi family as they prepare for the arranged marriage of the oldest daughter of the Verma’s, Aditi. This marriage is anything but simple, with the film containing several subplots of different couples and families who are all connected by this wedding. Mira Nair, the director,†¦show more content†¦Lalit would do absolutely anything for his children. After he discovers that Tej molested Ria when she was a child, he’s placed in an extremely difficult position. In the scene, ‘Smile’ Lalit makes his decision and tells Tej and his wife ‘to leav e my family and my home’ and that he’d ‘protect them [his children] from myself even if I have to’. A close-up of Ria’s face as she hears that Lalit has chosen her over Tej, places Ria in a state of disbelief that the choice is being made in her favour, that she is being prioritised over Tej, an elder who the family owes so much to. Lalit is clearly exhausted by what he’s just done but by removing Tej from the wedding he’s cleared the tension and has allowed Aliyah to be a child again and has given Ria the closure she needed. One of the subplots of the film follows the blossoming romance of P.K Dubey and Alice, the Verma family maid. All it really took was one look at each other in ‘The Marigold gate’ for them to develop feelings and to notice that what they had was special. Marigolds are used as a symbolic prop in the film and are an important symbol in the relationship between Alice and Dubey. When they first meet, Alice puts a marigold behind her ear and Dubey eats on that lands in his pocket. When Dubey proposes to Alice he has a heart of marigolds and offers it to her. When they get married, they have a small ceremony and are protected from the rain byShow MoreRelatedThe Layers And Cycles Of Writing. Like The Layers On An1487 Words   |  6 Pagesbetter analysis. Additionally, through the reflection that naturally happens between each layer of writing, I have discovered a few thoughts of my own that have continued to resurface in my pieces. Though I have always incorporated drafts into my essays, it wasn t until my college English 1101 class did my papers begin to shine as a result of them. Our professor showed us that, more often than not, the strongest pieces always included revisions that were much lengthier than the actual writing, not