Mark Twain Racist Or Realist Essays - Picaresque Novels,

Mark Twain Racist Or Realist Mark Twain, Racist or Realist? Introduction This paper examines Mark Twains work to determine whether or not he was racist. Racism is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as the belief that one race is superior to others. Unfortunately the issue of race isnt black or white. There are many shades of gray in racism and even the most progressive thoughts of old seems conservative as progress enlightens new levels of thought. During his time, Twain was a forward thinking author who championed many causes, one of them being fair treatment of the downtrodden and oppressed. The only example of potential racism is his treatment of the Goshoot Indians in Roughing It. The main body of his work points to innovative anti-racist themes. Even if one admits that Twain fosters some derogatory stereotypes labeling his work scabrous, unassimiable, and perhaps unteachable to our own time is shortsighted and revisionist. Even if Twain was racist the process of learning is supposed to combat backwards teaching from our past through exposition and discussion (Wonham 40). I even learned from Mein Kampf and objections to Mark Twains potential racism pale in comparison to Hitlers crimes against humanity. Mark Twain certainly wasnt as politically correct as contemporary newsmen or politicians but his primary occupation was as a satirist. Even today successful comedians, from Saturday Night Live to The Tonight Show, use techniques similar to Twains irony, satire and burlesque. Every serious Twain scholar knows of Twains reputation as a burlesque humorist/satirist as well as his anti-imperialist and anti-religious tendencies. The scholar must be careful when labeling or categorizing Twains work because of his frequent use of sarcasm but Twain definitely liked blacks and abhorred slavery. His treatment of Natives and the Chinese was questionable when looked at apart from his work as a whole, but he slammed the white race more mercilessly than he ever condemned any other race. Sadly, the cynical and sarcastic Mark Twain can never be fully understood because only he knew what thoughts he was trying to convey. Twain often used burlesques to get a point across by showing the ignorant how ignorant they actually are. In Huck Finn, Twain linked religion and slavery by showing how the former can pervert knowledge and cause acceptance of the latter over objections of conscience. When Huck is born again, he forgets his vow to aid Jim, and his euphoria as being born again resembles the feeling of being light as a feather that he experiences after deciding to turn Jim over to the slave-catchers (Fulton 83). This commentary is as much about the sorry state of slavery as it is about slaverys Biblical foundation. James L. Johnson dedicated Mark Twain and the Limits of Power to outlining how, like Emerson, Twains solipsism is a fundamental ingredient in much of [his] best work (Johnson 8). Twains characters had or wanted an extraordinary ability to dominate the worlds in which they find themselves (Johnson 1). Twain had little faith in a Christian God so he put more faith in the self. Johnson also thought Twains bitterness increased as he unearthed that the larger and more masterful the Self became, the less benevolent he was likely to be (Johnson 7). Although Twains life was common because it had limits he envisioned a character who might not have to make those accommodations, a hero who might break out of the prison of limitations into a brighter life (Johnson 187). Frustration with the world, hence a caustic temperament, arose as time wore on but Twain never lost sight and hoped for mastery over it and freedom (Johnson 189). In 1907 Bernard Shaw remarked to Archibald Henderson that, Mark Twain and I find ourselves in the same position. We have to make people, who would otherwise hang us, believe that we are joking (Clemens 5). This point is well illustrated by the fearless Twain in this excerpt from Mark Twains Jest Book: In the spring of 1899, I was one of a crowd of some 1200 who attended at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York to hear a lecture on his adventures in the South Africa War given by a Lieutenant of Huzzars, one Winston Churchill

Michael Klare Journal Responses Essay

Michael Klare Journal Responses Essay Michael Klare Journal Responses Essay Michael Klare Journal Responses Essay 1. Michael Klare describes what he calls a new â€Å"Thirty Years War† that is now developing that has similar outlines of the earlier conflict (1618 – 1648) discussed in class. What are some of the similarities and differences between the two? According to Michael Klare the most important future problem on our planet will be connected with the energy pre-eminence. Such fuels as coal and oil will plummet as those, which contaminate the atmosphere with carbon dioxide. As a result of the impossibility to preserve the existing level of energy output, there will begin a struggle between the energy supplying corporations. According to his prediction the contest between those, which supply different forms of energy to humanity, will put some countries into a dominating position but have a devastating effect on the others. Marking out such energy resources, which would replace oil and coal, as natural gas, nuclear power, wind and solar, biofuels and algae, hydrogen, and some other, which are unknown yet, he believes that the future competing technologies would define the fate of the nations. Therefore, the reason for the war will be not only profitability of the winners, but also the survival of the nations, unlike the Thirty Year s War of 1618-1648, which was entailed by the territory claims. Though the brutal conflicts, which took place between the European countries at the period from 1618 to 1648, have brought much bloodshed, which will not be brought by the energy contest, Klare draws a parallel between these two events because both should be momentous for the future. The struggle between the vital resources will cause the armed violence and, consequently, numerous environmental disasters on the planet. Another common feature between the two events is its endurance of thirty years, exactly this much are necessary for the experimental energy systems to fullscale the industrial development. Nevertheless, if the old â€Å"Thirty Years War† resulted in the Treaty of Westphalia it is difficult to predict the results of the new one. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the winners will profit enormously and define the way the people on the Earth will live while the losers will be disremembered. 2. Concerning the text reading and the film, do you agree with Machiavelli that it is better for the Prince to be parsimonious, rather than generous? Feared or loved? Do you agree or disagree with his analysis of leadership with regard to our foreign policy towards Iran? The power of the country is a great responsibility, and, I support Machiavelli’s idea that state leaders and politicians must consider the final result more important than the means. The actions of the ruler must contribute the overall goals on the national or international level rather than consider the details. Moreover, it is widely known that the better decisions are mostly made when the mind is cold and calculating; therefore, I believe that the ruler should always calculate the positive and negative aspects of the decision and, finally, make a decision. The emotions rarely lead to making the right choice; therefore, compassion and generosity are not good advisors for a leader. Moreover, I also agree that fear of punishment is more effective than love. If a diligent Christian must be generous and filled with love, it necessary to emphasize that such model of behavior is not appropriate to ruling a big country. Consequently, it is better for the Price to be parsimonious ra ther than generous and feared rather than loved. Such priorities are more likely to bring the country to stability and order, which is to be the main aim of the Prince. Love and respect of the population is less important. Nevertheless, it is worth to avoid cruelty if there is a possible way to do it, and the first aim should not be harmed because of it. Regarding the foreign policy of the US towards Iran, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the primary aim of the United States is to prevent the nuclear weapons falling into the hand of the terrorists. Iran is one of the most volatile regions in the world; therefore, if it gets the nuclear power, this nation can become even more aggressive and bring impunity to the cruel terroristic acts. Consequently, according to Obama it is appropriate to use the most crippling sanctions towards Iran and, to my mind, such position is right because on such example preventing the growth of terrorism and disposing it from the peaceful i nhabitants must be the primary aim of the leaders. 3. Do you believe that Keohane’s use of the phrase â€Å"informal violence† is a useful alternative to the term terrorism? Has the term terrorism become too politicized to be useful as an analytical term? If so, why? Acts of terrorism are shocking, hurtful and can influence different societies. One of such examples described by many researchers, among which one can find Robert Keohane, is the one, which took place in the US on September, 11, 2001. Numerous scholars try to find out the reasons, which can explain the terrorism and ways to avoid it. Referring to Keohane’s point of view, using the term â€Å"terrorism† does not contribute to the right representation of the problem. The term â€Å"informal violence† is used to free the notion of terrorism from the negative connotation, which hinders one to understand and analyze it properly. He marks out that this connotation makes people doubtful about highlighting the difference between terrorism acts as enemies’ ones and not their own ones. This proves that the term â€Å"terrorism† has become too politicized and negatively marked. At the same time the analytically neutral term â€Å"informal violence† is m ore likely to be defined as deliberately targeted attacks on civilians, aimed to frighten other people. Such definition pushes one to reflect on the reasons, which can possibly cause the above mentioned attacks. Robert Keohame, for instance, regards globalization as the factor, which carries terrorism while the underlying reasons can be not only cultural hate, but also jealousy to what the others have It is also important to pay attention to the implications of the formal and informal violence globalization as the formal violence one is profound for traditional foreign policy conceptions in the earlier generation while the informal one is peculiar for the latest attacks on the peaceful citizens. Moreover, the word â€Å"informal† in the chosen phrase acknowledges that the violence is not wielded by the formal state institutions, but is unexpected and sudden. Consequently, this highlights the difference between formal and informal actions and defines the origin of the terroris tic acts as those of non-state actors. 4. How does Lenin explain the evolution of imperialism from capitalism? The transition from capitalism to imperialism has happened in the end of the nineteenth century – beginning of the twentieth century. One of the most important features, which differs these two economic systems is free competition, which is a characteristic of the first one, and domination of the extensive monopolistic capital, which does not exclude, but complicates the free competition, in imperialism. According to Lenin the imperialism is not a new way of manufacturing, but a special, â€Å"high† stage of capitalism. The basic capitalistic manufacturing methods are also efficient in imperialism, but some new essential features appear. The first is the concentration of production and of capital has attained the level, where the monopolies, which play a definitive role in the economic life of the country, are created. The second feature is that bank capital shares with the industrial one, and, as a result, a new financial capital of the financial oligarchy appears. One more definitive feature is that the export of the capital unlike the export of goods becomes exceptionally important by the monopolistic production. The next one is the division of the whole world by monopolistic unions of capitalists. The last definitive feature is that the territory division by the biggest capitalistic countries is finished. Nevertheless, Lenin has finally come to the conclusion that imperialism can be regarded as a dying capitalism. The further historical events have proven that he was right about it. The main reasons of the decline of this economic system were the numerous contradictions, which have brought imperialism to the uttermost limits. The labors oppression by the monopolistic capital is the central contradiction of capitalism and, therefore, imperialism. The number of exploiters, who plunder and depress not only the working class, but also the middle class, the lower middle class, decreases while the number of the labor class increases. As a result, th e young developing countries stand against the imperialistic ones; and the national liberation movement, which leads to imperialism decline, is originated. 5. According to Tickner, why does a feminist perspective on international relations continue to remain outside the mainstream of traditional approaches to IR theory? How would a feminist analysis of global terrorism differ from that of a realist? According to Tickner’s view the gender discourses play a great role in creating the hostile atmosphere and reinforcing it in the world politics. Though some terroristic leaders labeled the US as â€Å"feminized†, the American citizens mostly do not think so. Moreover, many scholars and politicians even do not understand the gender theory properly and finally do not refer to it by handling the conflicts. Most of the conflicts on the international level are managed with â€Å"a masculine approach†, or â€Å"hegemonic masculinity† as Tickner calls it. The gender identity is mostly associated with an accepted type of behavior. Men are encoded to be reasonable, powerful, independent and strong; women should be vulnerable, weak, passive, and bring peace. These are the identifying characteristics, which are regarded by Tickner as unfair and erroneous. Such stereotype of masculine behavior does not coincide with the real one and the feministic approach tends to qu estion such gender coding, which is taken for granted, but in reality is not the truth. The war in Iraq or the acts of terrorism are also regarded by her as a masculine approach. Though the military response is regarded as masculine approach, female representatives also supported this war. Nevertheless, the feminists doubt about comprehending the war with terrorism as the fight of the good against the evil. The dichotomous thinking is apprehended as quite problematic by the feminists as ambiguity is considered by them as quite dangerous. Regarding the terrorism from the feministic point of view it is important to emphasize that killing of innocent people must be brought to justice. Regarding the feminist geopolitics it important to mark out that the state security and militarization are regarded as the main point, which would help to keep peace in the country and as such approach is critical and does not provide a new political or geography theory, but the alternative view on the pr oblems from another point of view. 6. Fukuyama contends in â€Å"The West Has Won† that radical Islam does not constitute a serious alternative to Western liberal democracy. Do you agree or disagree? Why? According to Fukuyama’s view, which has been challenged by many scholars, the evolutionary process regarding liberal democracy and free markets is not going to bring the world to something larger than the end. This means that, as a result, only one system will dominate in the world politics, and this system is the modern western liberal democracy. I support his view, and find many of his arguments quite logical, philosophical, and, finally, correct. The existing economic systems are closely connected with the cultures of the countries; therefore, two different examples should be marked out – the Islamic and the Christian one. Regarding their opposition on the example of the modern US and Iraq society, it is essential to highlight that the representatives of the Muslim community are obviously more cruel, aggressive and inclined to terrorism. On the contrary, for the Christians democracy and sympathy towards others can be marked out as the highest values, which make peopl e more kind and supportive.   As the most successful attacks on the global capitalism were evidently committed by the Islamic extremists â€Å"the clash of civilizations† described by Huntington is not likely to have place because two cultural groups, which are so different are not likely to co-exist in one community peacefully. Nevertheless, if the Muslims radically review their views, it is possible to change the lifestyle of their community. Regardless the success of the radical Islam in some cases, the representatives of it have no appeal to dispose the liberal form of living as nowadays there exist many examples, which prove that a great part of the younger Islamic generation already prefers to have a similar to western lifestyle. At the same time there exist no data about the American inhabitants, who support the behavior of the Muslim community representatives. Though many people do not support the policy of the US, this does not make them angry and violent, only sym pathizing the soldiers, who go on missions and sometimes even the terrorists. 7. What are some of your thoughts and observations on the Weimberg / Ryan documentary? How does it support, or undermine, the tenets of human nature or cognitive theory? The documentary True Rarity: The Amazing Story of Irwin Weinberg was based on the historical event of 1980 described inThe New York Times. It tells the story of the entrepreneur Irwin Weinberg, who followed his dream and built a profitable career on selling stamps. From the first view, the story seems to tell about a single individual and chronicles of his life, and a rare British Guiana stamp, which was finally sold for $850,000 from the auction. However, it becomes obvious that the film emphasizes the life experience of the main hero and shows that it finally had a global influence on other’s deeds. The cognitive theory emphasizes that the internal thought process is of great importance for the behavior of the person, in the same way the documentary acknowledges this idea. Therefore, one can follow not only that the reflections of Irwin Weinberg has brought him to success, but also that the example of his story gives birth to the other’s thoughts, as a result, inspire s them to follow their dreams till the end and believe in luck. Showing how the man has built a career on selling various rare items and stamps let a person analyze how the plans can be fulfilled if one is ambitious and self-oriented. Consequently, it is possible to state that the documentary True Rarity: The Amazing Story of Irwin Weinberg depicts not only the story of some businessman, but human nature in general. It offers the view that people’s thoughts and, therefore, behavior and life are closely connected with various changes in the environment. Nevertheless, there exists self-control of a person, the inner world, which predetermines the behavior of an individual and the reaction on the outer-directed struggles and obstacles. Consequently, as it was shown in the documentary, the person makes the decisions according to his or her inner beliefs, and according to feelings as the main hero followed his dream, which shows that the documentary supports the cognitive theory o f human nature. 8. What does author Robin J. Crews mean by the phrase â€Å"images of truth†? What are the fundamental values associated with peace studies? Speaking about the peace studies comprehension at least three issues are of great importance: the prevention of war and violence, social change and community impact. The image of the world, which is more just and peaceful than the existing one, becomes a desirable eventual result of the studies. Referring to the international relations and sociology, peace movements and non-violent struggles become the means of fight against the negative social changes, wars, acts of terrorism, and must bring the positive results to the society and to its members. Nevertheless, the justice can not be ignored by these actions as it is one of the most fundamental values associated with peace. This concept is obviously very important when settling the conflicts, and makes one deal with the differences in views, beliefs between the individuals, and is closely connected with the notion of the moral obligations. Therefore, peace studies should to be aimed to contribute to people’s understanding of à ¢â‚¬Å"good† and â€Å"bad†, and show how the peace is built. Moreover, it is important to differentiate between the notions of â€Å"negative peace† and â€Å"positive peace†, which separate the types of violence. According to Galtung the term negative peace is referred to the â€Å"direct† violence and the absence of war while the term positive peace is referred to the presence of social justice and absence of â€Å"structural† violence. According to Crews the same terms can be replaced by â€Å"essential peace† and â€Å"shadows of peace†.   He also believes that different kinds of conflicts are to be learned on both interpersonal and global levels; this is the best way to perceive the truth. As he read lectures on peace studies to the students, he regarded the images as the best educational method. Consequently, the issues of justice, human rights, peace making and conflict resolution were regarded and analyzed on the life examples of his students. Such education of the peace fundamentals through â€Å"images of truth† is quite effective and widely available. live CHAT

Are New and Old EU Members Becoming More Financially Integrated A Essay

Are New and Old EU Members Becoming More Financially Integrated A Threshold Cointegration Analysis - Essay Example 1999; Fratzschner, 2001etc).This approach mainly uses the uncovered interest parity2 condition. The main limitation with this approach is that if data on financial instruments with similar characteristics are not available, then the interpretation of results based on the price or approach can be problematic. It is very difficult to get financial instruments of exactly similar characteristics in reality. Further, there is an argument that interest rate convergence need not necessarily occur in financially integrated markets. This is because of the possibility of similar response of the markets to common factors even under non-convergence of interest rates also (Poghoshyan and Hann, 2007). The second approach is based on the cross border flows of capital. This approach estimates quantitatively the various legal and other barriers, which may affect financial integration through different angles of the decision process regarding investment (Bekaert and Harvey,1995;Adam etal, 2002; Baele etal, 2004 etc). However, cross border capital flows need not always be indicators of financial integration only. It can be due to many other policies like monetary, fiscal, exchange rate policies and other circumstances (Eichengreen, 2003).In addition to this, according to European Commission (1997), the harmonization and coordination of various legal procedures for capital markets have become less important for their integration after the introduction of Euro. However, this is not the case for other financial markets according to the Commission. The third approach is based on the news-based indicators (Baele etal, 2004; Capiello etal, 2006). According to this, under integrated financial markets, the prices of financial instruments will be affected more by the global news than the local news. This is because there will be well diversification of portfolios in the financially

Critical Analysis Of The Great Rulers' Reign Assignment

Critical Analysis Of The Great Rulers' Reign - Assignment Example The reason can be deemed as the aggressive and the strict decisions that they had taken in order to maintain law and order during their reign. As the approach was rough and rude, it often generated rebels from his countrymen. The same case was with Martin Luther King who was a clergyman, humanitarian, activist and the great leader of the African-American Civil Rights. He is famous for the role that he played in the development of civil rights by use of nonviolent civil disobedience. Thus by his works he has become a renowned national icon in the history of American progressivism (Bruns, 2006). During his reign, he was faced with many allegations and conspiracies which had acted as barriers in the course of his leadership. He had encountered surveillance by the FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover who had intended to weaken the power of King as a civic leader. The National Security Agency had monitored the communication of King so as to take account of the steps that are being taken by the a ctivists. Since King was penetrating deep into communism, the FBI conspired to discredit him through some revelations of his personal life in form of candid information about his many supposed extramarital affairs. Thus, it can be stated from the above situations that he had faced many obstructions during his reign (Gosman, 2011). Question 1 a. Early Life of King (born, society in which he grew up) Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, and has taken his last breath on April 4, 1968. The King’s initial name was Michael but it was later changed to Martin. His grandfather had begun his career as the pastor in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where he has served the nation from 1914 to 1931. Thereafter, his father has served until his death and in the year 1960, Martin Luther became the co-pastor (Gosman, 2011). In his early days, King used to attend a segregated public school in Georgia.

Marketing an Australian Wine to Hong Kong Wine Market Essay

Marketing an Australian Wine to Hong Kong Wine Market - Essay Example The growth in Hong Kong wine market is attributed to the abolishing of the duty on wine by the Hong Kong government. About 40% of the US$ 1.3bn worth of wine traded annually in London is bought by consumers in Hong Kong and China (Franz, 2008). Similarly, according to Parker (2010) a glass of wine raised by a Hong Kong resident is likely to have come from the Australian vineyard. The Australian wine industry considers Hong Kong as a major market. Because of the abolition of duties and taxes on wine in Hong Kong, exports from Australia to Hong Kong has increased manifold. Australia is an important source for high quality beverages including wine for Hong Kong’s restaurants. Hong Kong’s strategy to become the hub for wine trading in the Asian region presents opportunities for the Australian wine producers and for providers of wine-related services, like storage and auctioning (Dfat, 2010). Hong Kong enjoys locational advantage as far as wine auctions in the region are con cerned. The total wine auction sales in the region reached $160 million and now along with the United States, Hong Kong has become one of the two most important centers for wine auction (Hong Kong Digest, 2011). This is the reason that Australian wine makers, Brown Brothers, are eyeing Hong Kong to market its products. Hong Kong has the potential to influence trends in the region through events such as Wine and Spirits Fair which attracts audience from mainland China and other countries. Brown Brothers offers the most seasoned and diverse ranges of quality wine. Decrease in taxes makes cheaper wine popular (Asia Travel Tips, 2011). The Hong Kong youth between 21-28 years would prefer cheaper wines as they are yet to be established in life. Thus this study aims to evaluate marketing of wine to this segment. An external environmental analysis would help Brown Bothers understand and formulate the marketing strategy for Hong Kong. The external environment can be analyzed based on the po litical, economical, socio-cultural and legal environment, along with the wine sector in Hong Kong. Wine sector in Hong Kong Hong Kong’s alcoholic beverage market faced distortions because of the excessive duties on wines and spirits (APCO, 2010). The prices were artificially high and the local residents as well as the expatriates were forced to choose lower-quality beverages which impacted consumer choice. Hong Kong had very high level of taxation on wines compared to its neighbors and this increased illegal smuggling of alcoholic beverages. This caused loss of government tax revenue. The Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Industry Coalition (HKWSIC) used the services of APCO to represent the views of the consumers and the industry. Study and presentation of the results by APCO forced the Hong Kong government to abolish the taxation on wine products. External environment analysis Political environment Hong Kong is governed by the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regio n of the People's Republic of China (Dfat, 2010). Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region and is a capitalist society enjoying high political stability. It has an ‘executive-led’ system inherited from the British Colonial Administration. The Chief executive is appointed by Beijing after election and has the power to initiate legislation (Dfat, 2010). There is limited democracy as it still follows the Basic Law approved in 1990.

Introduction To The Pragmatics Discourse Analysis English Language Essay

Introduction To The Pragmatics Discourse Analysis English Language Essay As cited in Blakemore, Schiffrin pointed that Harris was the first linguist who proposed the term discourse as the following stage of morphemes, clauses and sentences. In other words, it can be inferred that Discourse Analysis deals with kinds of text above sentences. The study of Discourse Analysis has been widely developed lately; Linguists analyze discourse in several different ways using several interesting approaches, such as: Interactional Sociolinguistics, Ethnography of Communication, Pragmatics, and etc. One of the most challenging approaches to analyze a discourse is in the Pragmatics point of view. Pragmatics, a study of language explaining language use in context, according to Moore (2001), seeks to elaborate aspects of meaning which cannot be explained by semantics. In line with that, in modern linguistics, Crystal (2008) stated that Pragmatics has been studied in applied linguistics from the point of view of the users, especially of the selections they make, the boundaries among the use of language in social interaction, and the consequences of their use of language on the other members of communication. Concerning with speaker meaning and how utterances are interpreted by listeners, Pragmatics draws much attention of many linguists. This new discipline in language science, Pragmatics lies its roots in the work of Herbert Paul Grice on conversational implicature and the cooperative principle (Moore, 2001). Languages have developed continually in the along with the user based on the need of communication. People involved in a conversation want to be able to communicate their messages properly. In the process of communication, people do not create isolated sentences, but try to obey the rules of a general set of norms in which their sentences are organized to make up their entire messages. Grice (1975) defined The Cooperative Principle and the maxims of cooperation as the principles that people abide by for successful communication. Highly interested to cooperative principle, the writer is going to use the theory to analyze a text entitled Dr. Flannel as the case of the final assignment of the discourse analysis class. Furthermore, in this paper, the writer is trying to find out whether or not the principle is used properly in the text. Paul Grice (1989) proposed that speakers and hearers share a cooperative principle in ordinary conversation. Utterances are shaped by the speaker to be understood by hearers. Grice considers cooperation as involving four maxims: quantity, quality, relation, and manner. In the other words, Grices cooperative principle is a set of norms expected in conversation. Followings are four sub-cooperative principles expected in conversation which are proposed by Grice as the maxims of conversations: Quality: speaker tells the truth or something provable by adequate evidence Quantity: speaker tells something as informative as required Relation: speakers response is relevant to topic of discussion Manner: speaker tells something in a direct and straightforward way, avoids ambiguity or obscurity According to Yule (1996), when we communicate each other, we exchange information. Furthermore, when a conversation is taking place, the persons involved are depending on some common guiding principles in order to have a successful communication. In line with that, Levinson (1987) stated that the cooperative principles four basic maxims of conversation denote what the participants have to do in order to converse in rational, efficient, and cooperative way. In the other words, it can be said that to put across a message successfully, those who involved in the communication should share the same common grounds on what is being talked about. Considering the maxims, it is suggested that there is an accepted way of speaking which we all receive as the standard behavior. When we generate, or perceive an utterance, we believe that it will generally be based on fact, have the precise amount of information, be relevant, and imply understandable terms. However, when an utterance does not appear to conform to this model, then we do not consider that it does not have meaning; an appropriate meaning is there to be inferred. Discussion In this part, the writer is going to analyze a text entitled Dr. Flannel based on the theory of cooperative principles proposed by Grice (1989). The text to be analyzed is a kind of daily conversation between three people named Bill, Mavis, and Alex. Analyzing the text, it is found that, instead of following all of the four maxims proposed by Grice (1989), some violations are presented. Obeying the quality maxim, we should tell only when it is true, and we also need to have the adequate evidence about it. To make it clearer, consider this example taken from the text: Dad must have worn them because Im almost sure Mum used to always wash them in the same temperature water like. In the sentence, the speaker is aware of the quality maxim so that he only tells something that is true or that he has the evidence for it (Mum used to always wash themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). The evidence in this sentence is strong enough for the speaker to make his claim about the topic. Violations toward the maxim of quality are discussed as the first case in this paper. Some parts of the discourse are not fully adhering the maxim of quality. I cant remember whether Dad wore them but I think == he did. In the sentence, the speaker is not sure that his statement is true. Another example of the violation is also taken from the text. I think if you wash them in cold water. If you wash them in warm water youre supposed to rinse them in warm water or something or other sos they. Maxim of quality is flouted in this utterance. In the example, we can observe that the speaker did not have enough evidence to confirm his statement. However, it seems that the speaker was aware about the maxim that he should tell something that is true. Therefore, because of the lack of evidence, the speaker put what it is called hedges in the utterances. As we can observe, the speakers used I think as the signal that he was aware about the maxim. Another interesting violation of quality maxim to observe is in another Bills utterance, Do ya wanta have a look at the hairs on me chest? It is found that this is a totally lie of Bill in fact that he does not have any hair on his chest. However, it is pragmatically explainable that in the purpose of the utterance is to make a joke. On the other hand, we can see that Bill was somehow not adhering the maxim of quantity. The maxim tells us to say something as required, and not more than that. The example can be seen from the first line, the opening speech I had to laugh. I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice people in there, you know. In this example, the speaker actually does not need to add the phrase in italic (people in there, you know). The meaning of the sentence is already clear without the additional phrase. Reading further, the writer also found another sentence flouting the maxim. In one of the dialog, Mavis said And I mean even in those days you didnt have washing machines and everything. Maxim of relation is the third maxim to be flouted in the text. It can be observed that in one part of the text the maxim is violated. Bill said I had to laugh. I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice people in there, you know. The utterance opposed the maxim telling us that what we said should be relevance. As we can observe in the text, Bill said I had to laugh. From the utterance, it is hoped that the speaker will tell a joke or something funny right after that. On the other hand, what is said by the speaker is not funny at all (I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice). The other example of the violation toward relation maxim was presented when Bill told Mavis about his experience, I said ah Good Morning ladies and one of the girls said Thank you. Youre a thorough gentleman. The conversation between him and the counter girls seems irrelevant. Naturally, when someone greets the other using good morning, then the hearer will answer with good morning too. In the text, the hearer answered with thank and appraisal because he called them ladies (a respectful addressing for women). Last but not least, it is also found in the text that maxim of manner was also violated. Instead of being orderly and briefly, it is observable that some utterances are too much prolixity in them. I had to laugh. I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice people in there, you know. And there was two girls behind a counter and I didnt know which where to go, to go to ahh She said. You know the two of them, they said Youve made our day Oh well ah. Oh ah the men. I remember Dad and all the miners wore them. Intake air the air coming trough is colder à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ ss From those two examples above, it can be seen that the words in italics are not necessarily in the text. She said DR FLANNEL! She said Whats that? I said Oh yeah. I said Im not gonna == show you where it ends! I said Well, I said Youre not == gonnna feel it, I can Those three examples above violates the maxim of manner, it is wordy with too much prolixity. In order to follow the maxim of manner, the three utterances above can be shortened. For example, the first example may become (She said DR FLANNEL! Whats that?). The second can be (I said Oh yeah. Im not gonna == show you where it ends!). Furthermore, the last example can be shortened (I said Well, I said Youre not == gonna feel it, I can). Conclusion Analyzing the text, it can be inferred that cooperative principles are not always obeyed in the real communication. However, we can observe that although the utterances are not following the maxims, the meaning is still understandable. The violation of a maxim does not mean that the utterance is meaningless. Furthermore, it is also found that some overlapping occur in the maxims violation. An utterance may violate more than a maxim. References Blakemore, D (2002). Relevance and Linguistic Meaning: The semantics and pragmatics of discourse markers. New York: Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. 6th Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole J. Morgan (Ed.), Speech Acts (p. 41-58). New York: Academic Pres. Grice, H. P. (1989). Studies in the Way of Words. Harvard University Press. Levinson, S. C. (1987). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Moore, A. (2001). Pragmatics and speech acts. http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/pragmatics.htm Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Philip Roth- Master of the Double Identity :: essays research papers fc

Philip Roth - Master of the â€Å"Double Identity† because he suffers from one What influences one's identity? Is it their homes, their parents, their religion, or maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they get it when they understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or are they born with it? Everyone has one and each identity is unique, or is it? In literature, (or life) religion plays a large role in a character's identity. However, sometimes the writer's own religion and personal experiences shapes the character's identity more than his/her imagination does. A person's religion can play a big role in one's identity. Throughout his works, Philip Roth explores the theme of identity doubles. Roth's portrayal of identity formation in his characters is directly inspired by his own identity; his life. One of the most obvious examples of Roth's art imitating life is in two of his books naming the main characters after none other than himself. It was among some of the many startling gestures in his career; in Deception (1990) he referred to the main character as Philip and in Operation Shylock (1993) he made reference to the main character as Philip Roth. In her article titled, â€Å"Philip Roth's Fictions of Self Exposure†, Debra Shostak remarks how odd it is for an author to outwardly make reference to themselves when most authors want avoid any personal association with their work other than writing it, she further points out that Roth intentionally writes this way, making his career out of his reader's inclinations toward â€Å"biographical interpretations†: Few writers dare to name themselves at the center of their inventions, which is why it is so arresting to find a work of fiction that pronounces its author's name within the text. Because readers are frequently tempted, from either prurient interest or more impartial motives, to discern autobiography in a fictional narrative, most writers of fiction seem to labor out of modesty , a sense of privacy, or a display of imaginative capacities to erase the traces of their own lives from their work. Not so Philip Roth. Especially since his invention of Nathan Zuckerman, Roth has encouraged readers to interpret the narrative voice of his fiction as a self-revealing "I," a Roth surrogate who, by the time of Deception and Operation Shylock, is no longer a surrogate but is "Roth" himself†¦ What I argue here is not that Roth is, strictly, writing autobiographically, but rather that he makes capital out of his readers' inclinations toward biographical interpretations of his work.