Skrzynecki and Lord of the Flies Essay Example for Free

Skrzynecki and Lord of the Flies Essay ‘A feeling of belonging depends on a strong relationship, developed over a period of time. ’ To what extent would you support this viewpoint? In your essay refer in detail to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing. According to sociobiologists, the need for human connection and belonging is hardwired and genetically dictated. It defines ‘who’ and ‘what’ we are, and how we fit into the world around us. An individual’s sense of connection may be influenced by many factors, but one of the strongest of these is a strong relationship or relationships, which have been developed over a period of time. This human connection is instrumental in defining an individual’s place in the world as well as his or her sense of belonging. The notion that a feeling of belonging depends on a strong relationship is explored in Peter Skrzynecki’s prose poetry anthology Immigrant Chronicle (1975) – in particular the poems ‘Migrant Hostel’ in which the persona and his family struggle to gain lasting relationships at the hostel, and ’10 Mary Street’, the persona’s childhood home, in which strong familial relationships were forged – and William Golding’s prose fiction text Lord of the Flies (1958), in which a group of school boys stranded on an island gradually lose any strong relationships they may have had as their civilisation descends into violence and savagery. Both these texts memorably and distinctively explore how relationships and acceptance can shape an individual’s perceptions of belonging and not belonging. Set in the context of a post-war assimilationist culture, Migrant Hostel represents the immense sense of disconnection experienced by the persona and his family, given both their dislocation from their European homeland and their lack of strong relationships with the other members of the hostel. The migrants transitory existence is emphasised through the use of a migratory bird simile For over two years we lived like birds of passage, always sensing a chance in the weather while through the use of connotative language to highlight the personas disconnection, the poem provides an overall sense of helplessness and lack of autonomy in determining their own future Sudden departures from adjoining blocks that left us wondering who would be coming next thus constructing the hostel as a place of impotence and impermanence. This evident transience is perhaps symbolic of the migrants own fleeting sense of connection as they instinctively seek out members of their own culture, efficaciously conveyed through the use of a familiar analogy – â€Å"nationalities sought/each other out instinctively – like a homing pigeon/circling to get its bearings†. These superficial relationships thus serve to hinder the development of any lasting sense of belonging – regardless of a common history and identity – as, whilst for some migrants, their time in the hostel represents a new beginning, for others the sustained sense of alienation and despair, due to a lack of strong relationships, becomes too difficult to bear, as the final lines of the poem poignantly suggest through juxtaposition – â€Å"lives/that had only begun/or were dying†. Thus a feeling of belonging depends on a strong relationship, developed over a period of time. Standing in stark contrast to ‘Migrant Hostel’ is the poem ’10 Mary Street’, which portrays the persona’s strong feelings of belonging to his childhood home as a result of the strong familial relationships which were forged during his time there. The family’s domestic routine is depicted and their unity of existence is simply, but effectively conveyed in the first stanza through inclusive language â€Å"We departed/Each morning, shut the house/Like a well-oiled lock†, alluding to their sense of family security. The beginning of the second stanza alludes to the fact that, despite the family’s integration into mainstream society, their socioeconomic marginalisation continues. Through the simple use of connotation and onomatopoeia, the responder is positioned to recognise the mundane nature of the menial labour the persona’s parents nevertheless stoically endure – â€Å"From the polite hum-drum/Of washing clothes/And laying sewage pipes†. Consequently, it is in the context of the Skrzynecki family’s ongoing marginalisation that the sense of belonging afforded by the family home gains deeper significance. Feelings of nourishment and well-being are generated through combining a simile and cumulative imagery as the persona’s parents extend their nurturing to the family garden – â€Å"My parents watered/Plants- grew potatoes/ And rows of sweet corn:/ Tended the roses and camellias/ Like adopted children†. Thus, the persona’s strong sense of belonging as depicted in this poem is a result of the strong relationships with his family which were forged during his time there. While similar to Immigrant Chronicle on a superficial level, to the extent that both texts represent individual’s experiences of alienation and dislocation, Golding’s text Lord of the Flies explores representations of belonging, in terms of relationships, differently. Composed in the context of the Cold War nuclear arms power race, Golding’s text can be read as an allegory of the impossibility of human civilisation in which individuals are able to coexist without ultimately resorting to violence and savagery. The character of Piggy represents the scientific and rational side of society – portrayed in this text as a minority. From the beginning of the novel, Piggy has little by way of close relationships – â€Å"A storm of laughter arose and even the tiniest child joined in. For the moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy on the outside. † It is in this moment that both the extent of Piggy’s alienation is highlighted while the disintegration into chaos and disorder is also foreshadowed through the breaking of Piggys glasses, a symbol of rational civilisation. When Piggy’s glasses are broken during a major battle between Ralph and Jack towards the end of the book, this destruction symbolises the ultimate desolation of civilisation on the island, and, with it, any sense of belonging that the boys on the island had attempted to inculcate. This destruction can be viewed as a decimation of any strong relationships that the boys may have had – particularly between Piggy, Ralph and Jack – and can be read as reason for the poignant lack of belonging on the island. Jack Merridew, who begins as the head hunter, comes to embody the spirit of chaos and destruction on the island. While it can be argued that it is Jack’s lack of a strong ‘familial’ relationship with Ralph and Piggy that incites his search for power, Golding implies that the human instinct of barbarism greatly outweighs that of civilisation. When Jack first realises how much power he has, any sense of belonging he feels to the other boys is annihilated, the moment when Jack and his hunters finally manage to capture and kill a pig, marking Jack’s descent into bestial savagery, – â€Å"Look! We’ve killed a pig – we stole up on them – we got in a circle –†. The hyphenation utilised in this dialogue is subtly indicative of Jack’s inevitable loss of any sense of civility as he develops a warped relationship to his barbaric activities, ultimately seducing the majority of the boys off to a separate camp, where their descent into primitive barbarism becomes evident – â€Å"The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him. While giving Jack a sense of power and self-importance, this new ‘tribe’, built on a mutual savage desire for food, has diminished the boys’ sense of friendship and camaraderie. It is this lack of a strong relationship developed over a period of time which is cause for their lack of a strong sense of belonging. Evidently it is clear, upon examination of Immigrant Chronicle and Lord of the Flies, that a feeling o f belonging relies heavily on a strong relationship developed over a period of time. In Skrzynecki’s poem ‘Migrant Hostel’, the persona’s evocative sense of isolation is due to his lack of any strong relationships as well as any attempts at establishing them. In contrast to this, ’10 Mary Street’ clearly provides a strong sense of belonging as a result of the persona’s strong familial relationships. In Lord of the Flies, the boys stranded on the island attempt to cling to their superficial relationships to each other, but, in the face of dwindling food supplies, eventually descend into savagery, diminishing their relationships and ultimately their sense of belonging.

The High Enlightenment and the Low-Life of Literature Essay -- Literar

Today, as historians look at the enlightenment they look at it through the eyes of the great thinkers.â€Å"The philosophic spirit itself took refuge in the writings of some great men†(D’Alembert,7).They helped create knowledge in how it is viewed today. However, the question remians what is the category that these men fall into. There are many different names and definitions of what these men can be called and who qualifies to fit in this group. It is said that many of the men that were classified in the category were not actual philosopher thinkers that expanded the mind and challenged thought. In the essay â€Å"The High Enlightenment and the Low-Life of Literature† by Robert Darnton he discuses the status of these philosophes that were being produced during the High Enlightenment. He argues that â€Å"the summit view of eighteenth-century intellectual history has been described so often and so well that it might be useful to strike out in a new direction, t o try to get to the bottom of the Enlightenment, and try to penetrate into its underworld...from below†(Darnton,57). He decides to look at the status of the enlightenment thinkers during this time to see the social standing that they had and the influence upon the world around them, not from the overall philosophes. Not from their works that were produced or the social responses to them; from the actual men of letters themselves.Darnton criticizes other historians for having looked at the Enlightenment â€Å"only through the eyes of this elite and proposes that, instead, we examine it from the perspective of those who failed to break into this closed elite of ‘literary aristocrates’†(Who were the Philosophes, 44). Darnton discusses, in his essay, the stance of the men of letters during the ... ... impoverished. The members of Grub Street now needed the change that was happening in thought during the Early Enlightenment. â€Å"It would seem to be necessary, therefore, in looking for the connection between the Enlightenment and the Revolution, to examine the structure of the cultural world under the Old Regime, to descend from the heights of metaphysics and to enter Grub Street†(Darnton, 65). These ideas of the old Enlightenment were seeping down into the lower classes because of what was happening to the Men of Letters. These members needed a change. â€Å"[W]hile they grew fat in Voltaire’s church, the revolutionary spirit passed to the lean and hungry men of Grub Street, to the cultural pariahs who, through poverty and humiliation†(Darnton, 66). This is what was happening in France during the High Enlightenment that led down into the Revolution for further change.

Coloplast Organizational Structure Essay

Coloplast went from a production structured organization to a functional structured organization. In the production structure the focus was on the products wish were divided into 3 product divisions. In the functional structure the company focus on specialization of tasks. Before: the production organization The production organization structure also called Division Structure is divided into 3 production division; skin, wound care and continence care, and ostomy care. Each division beyond having its department for research, development, sales and marketing, contains all the necessary resources and functions. By applying the production organization, a company gains the followings benefits: A structure where it’s easy to define the objectives and word work assignments can simply be coordinated, within each division. Another Benefit Coloplast can gain on this structure is the flexibility among workers. Workers from one department can be put on assignments in another department within the same division, if needed. This’s made possible by the fact that most of the workers are not specialist in any specific field. Should any problem occur in the division structure the causes are quickly detected and solved. This type of structure allows local leaders to make small locale adjustments to meet the challenges in there division. But this system holds its own weaknesses. It can harm communication flow between different divisions. This may result in loosing the overall focus on the objective of the organization. It may happen that each local division create its own culture witch may not necessarily be compatible with the company’s culture as a whole. The limited communication between divisions makes it hard for them to exchange experience and expertize. This system by nature is heavy and costly. In order for the company to have all the necessary resources and functions within each division, they can’t afford the best expertize on every field. After: the functional organization The new organizational structure focuses more on functions. Unlike the previews structure that focused on the product. This new structure pulls functions out of the different divisions and put them in centralized units, each specialized in respectively Globale Maketing, R and D and Global Operations. As a consequence, the former divisions are reduced to production units and subsidiaries; that receives instructions from the top. To assure communication between top and bottom, Coloplast place Commercial Excellence above the whole new structure. With the three functional divisions, Coloplast makes sure that there a clear purpose that goes all the way through the whole company, when it comes to their global marketing, innovation and how new products should be developed. As a result Coloplast becomes a unified company with no duplications of tasks. The greatest advantages of this functional centralized structure is its lightness and affectivity. It gives the opportunity to hire highly specialized staff. As Coloplast CEO puts it; â€Å"The subsidiaries have a huge, but simple, responsibility: they ? ll have to sell like the dickens† meaning that Coloplast now can headhunt exact talents for each function. The workforce those talents brings is not only promoting a single product but the company as a whole. Employees have the opportunity to learn from their superiors. They also have the opportunity to work alongside colleagues who relate to their professional interests and abilities, thus making for a more productive and enjoyable environment. By moving the production responsibility from all division to the Global Operation in cheap-labor countries, it’s possible for Coloplast to reach the point of an Economical of scale. Like any other organization structure, the functional organization has weaknesses. Because of the decision-making within the functional works from top to bottom, it’s a constant challenge to make sure that the organizations objectives are integrated at the bottom. Another disadvantage is that units may have limited flexibility in problem solving, making changes or responding quickly to customer demands and needs, since the final decision-making authority rest with the top level of management. So how does Coloplast solve these challenges? Commercial Excellence/Business Excellence For solving the challenge of implementation of the organizations objectives and assurance of a two-way communication, Coloplast places â€Å"Commercial Excellence† above the entire new structure, which acts like the strong arm, that’ll prepare budgets and make sure that objective are achieved. Commercial Excellence or Business Excellence is the systematic use of quality management principles and tools in business management with the goal of identifying improvement opportunities, area of strength and ideas for future organizational development. It’s a support function that’ll help ensure â€Å"best practice† so that the organization can avoid those complications. Conclusion This new organizational structure is a natural step for the entire group, not only does it outsource to cheaper-labor countries but it has also given Coloplast improved profitability and an organic growth of 7%. The sustained competitiveness Coloplast has gained is due to the change of organization structure where they went from a production organization to a functional organization. With the transformation came the opportunity of standardization of tasks, this leads to efficiency and expertise in the related fields. This was something they lacked in the production organization. By implementing the Business Excellence, Coloplast shows that it’s aware of the weaknesses of the new organization design and intent to avoid them. Lars Rasmussen, Coloplast CEO, emphasizes how important it’s that this supporting system doesn’t end up like a police maneuver, keeping subsidiaries in an iron grip. â€Å"Instead it shall ensure â€Å"best practice† and set such high standards, that where that is difficulty, it’ll become natural to draw on headquarters†. It’s all about motivation, contributing to people and relying on each other. This serves as a great factor for self-actualization for the individual employee witch is not only contributing to the fulfillment of personal potential but also to the work-environment. The new organization has great potential; they have cut production time by half, they went from 13 factories to 10, constantly stimulating innovation by supporting Coloplast Incubator. Coloplast current strategy placed a great deal of responsibility on the shoulders of their employees, as well as implementation of some standard guidelines and the right motivation. There are no doubt about the new structure is more complex than the previews one. Annex

An Issue Of Gulf War Rhetoric - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1885 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/10/31 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Gulf War Essay Did you like this example? Strategic misrepresentation through war rhetoric is typically subject to change, meaning a presidents rhetoric will often modify throughout the course of the war if it means gaining more support and swift action, as showcased in Bushs war rhetoric. Strategic misrepresentation gives the president the upper hand in war rhetoric due to their access of privileged information that is not readily available to anyone who might challenge their claims such as Congress (Campbell and Jamieson, 2013). Within war rhetoric multiple themes typically arise as discussed previously. A trending theme found frequently in presidential war speeches is the demonization of the opposition. This theme can fit within the characteristic of narratives or strategic misrepresentation. Two other themes that tend to arise within war rhetoric and fit within these characterizations are human rights concerns and defeating aggression. Synonymous with these themes is a unique facet of war rhetoric the rhetoric of atrocities (Ben-Porath, 2007). According to Ben-Porath, this dynamic of rhetoric builds on presidential crisis rhetoric and enemy construction described in narratives of specific atrocities, building the case for imminent war. It is important to note that when presidents use this rhetorical theme of atrocities, they turn to narrative form rather than factual description (Ben-Porath, 2007). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "An Issue Of Gulf War Rhetoric" essay for you Create order Themes within presidential war rhetoric emerge from the idea of America being humane and the other being savage. Presidents that desire support for a war will often use rhetoric of atrocities due to the empathetic reaction to the suffering of the helpless it produces, that consequently garners support (Ben-Porath, 2007). This is typically successful through the demonization of an individual or group of people as illustrated within Bushs speeches that surround The Gulf War. The two themes, human rights concerns and defeating aggression, can be umbrellaed underneath the rhetoric of atrocities, too. Both themes evoke empathy by shining a light on Americas values as a moral contrast to the oppositions barbarity.   The rhetoric of atrocities is marked by emphasis on the experiential component and the personalization of horror (Ben-Porath, 2007). Critical Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   President George H. W. Bush conveyed a strong narrative and strategic misrepresentation using supporting themes within his rhetoric to publicly influence The Gulf War or Operation Desert Storm. Its important to note this rhetoric differed from the past due to the pervasive presence of an international media able to provide both real-time coverage and instant analysis of both his actions and their consequences (Stuckey, 1992). Preceding allied military action in the gulf Bush delivered a speech titled Address on Iraqs Invasion of Kuwait on August 8, 1990. In this speech, Bush satisfies all five of the characteristics Campbell and Jamieson discuss. This speech is merely constructed as an argument to gain support for war sited in a narrative that indicates the best interest of humanity. Following this speech was the announcement of war against Iraq titled Address to the Nation Announcing Allied Military Action in the Persian Gulf and was delivered January 16 , 1991. While both speeches satisfy the five war rhetoric characteristics that were previously described, they slightly differ in theme emphasis. While Bush began his rhetorical justifications of The Gulf War by expressing his economic concerns in reference to the oil in the middle east (Hurst, 2004), the rhetoric shifted ultimately toward the themes and characteristics that have been discussed throughout this paper- arguments that carried more weight than the prior. Bush heavily played on fear appeals when striving for support of the war within his rhetoric, demonizing Saddam Hussein and Iraqis in the process. Bush painted a picture of Saddam Hussein and Iraq as being a hub of mass destruction weaponry, inhumanity and savagery. Bush called Iraqs invasion the rape of Kuwait and looked forward to a new world order where the rule of law supplants the role of the jungle (Ben-Porath, 2007). Throughout Bushs rhetoric in 1990, prior to the American invasion of the gulf, Hussein is demonized by being compared to Hitler: Saddam Hussein must pay for the pain and the hardship that he has caused. The world will hold him accountable, just as it held Hitler accountable in the wake of the destruction of World War II (Stuckey, 1992). Bush also said, theres a direct parallel between what Hitler did to Poland and what Saddam Hussein has done to Kuwait and theyve tried to silence Kuwaiti dissent and courage with firing squads, much as Hitler did when he invaded Poland (Hurst, 2004). This Hitler analogy was successful in gaining support in respect to the mass of the American public knowing very little about the context of events in the Gulf (Hurst, 2004). Bushs rhetoric through stereotypes and comparisons demonizes not only Hussein but also the entirety of Iraq and its people and implies the need for elimination. Iraq is often not regarded as a nation of human beings with a social str ucture supporting theme. So obsessed are our media and governments with Saddam Hussein that one gets the impression that no one else inhabits Iraq. The dehumanized men, women, and children of Iraq thus appear as blank spaces characterized by ontological emptiness (Muscati, 2002). Bush carried over the rhetoric of demonizing the nation of Iraq to focus on the demonization of Hussein, making it an easier pill for the public to swallow that we were at war with one individual rather than an entire [far-away] country: Hussein is the archetypal evil Arab/Muslim so it is now a fight against Hussein, and all that his persona represents (Muscati, 2002). This narrative shift was successful, gaining Bush more support for Operation Desert Storm. Bush took advantage of the use of narratives and demonization by framing Iraq as a brutal aggressor for twice invading its neighbors in the past ten years (Muscati, 2002). The demonization of Hussein was furthered when discussing his nuclear weapon intent. The use of narrative through demonization is demonstrated when Bush argues that every day that passes brings Saddam Hussein one step closer to realizing his goal of a nuclear weapons arsenal (Hurst, 2004). Bush dramatizes the notion of Hussein desiring more nuclear power by concluding if we dont take action now then Hussein will reach his nuclear goal. Another unambiguous demonization example is showcased through exhortation to unified action when Bush discusses the horrible nature of Hussein and his peoples violent acts as defying the values of human rights and freedom: While the world waited, Saddam Hussein systematically raped, pillaged, and plundered a tiny nation, no threat to his own. He subjected the people of Kuwait to unspeakable atrocitiesand among those maimed and murdered innocent children. The terrible crimes and tortures committed by Saddams henchmen against the innocent people of Kuwait are an affront to mankind and a challenge to the freedom of all (Bush, 1991). Bushs appeal to human rights concerns is magnified when noting his comment that the reports out of Kuwait tell a sordid tale of Brutality (Bush, 1990) and furthered when telling what became the medias favorite s tory: Bush claimed that Iraqi soldiers unplugged the oxygen to incubators supporting twenty-two premature babies and shot the hospital employees (Hurst, 2004). In addition, Bush claimed that dialysis patients were ripped from their machines and that two children handing out leaflets had been shot in front of their parents (Hurst, 2004). Bush rhetorically implied that human rights concerns in Iraq meant war was necessary and that it was necessary now. As discussed previously, defeating aggression was another common theme found within Bushs speeches in regard to The Gulf War. According to Hurst (2004), Bush made reference to aggression on 113 occasions. This tendency to use aggression as an alibi for war falls within the rhetoric of atrocities. Bush asserted that there is no place for this sort of naked aggression in todays world and that what Iraq has done violates every norm of international law (Hurst, 2004). By using this rhetorical strategy Bush is emphasizing the transcendent values that are being threatened, such as freedom, focusing on this being a violation of people rather than the international law (Hurst, 2004): Protecting freedom means standing up to aggression. You know the brutally inflicted on the people of Kuwait and innocent citizens of every country must not be rewarded (Bush, 1990). Bush incited wa r through his rhetoric by strategically misrepresenting multiple elements of Iraq in regard to the situation at hand. Bush accused the Iraqi regime of being separated from the civilized world . by centuries (1990), implying that Iraq belongs in a pre-civilized world. (Muscati, 2002). This strategic misrepresentation allows for more public support due to the conceptualization of Iraq being distance spatially, temporally, and morally from the West taking on the narrative of defending an entire worldview of humaneness and moral righteousness (Muscati, 2002). Due to the dramatic narrative Bush illustrated throughout his Gulf War rhetoric it was implied that being in support of the war was supporting the values of an American patriotism. This led to anti-war protests being perceived as anti-patriotic (Reese and Buckalew, 1995), framing the Gulf War as an indisputable patriotic decision. Bush narrates the necessity of The Gulf War as good vs evil America vs Saddam Hussein. Pearce and Fadely illuminate this conception: Bush found it easy to represent himself as a liberator and protector in comparison: a champion of values and beliefs of the United Nations; a harmonizer whose goodwill was tried and pushed to the threshold by a renegade bully who ruled his own nation wi th terror and coercion (1992). Bush cabinets the characteristic of thoughtful deliberation by testifying Now the 28 countries with forces in the Gulf area have exhausted all reasonable efforts to reach a peaceful resolutionhave no choice but to drive Saddam from Kuwait by force. We will not fail. (Bush, 1990) and by expressing that This military action, taken in accord with United Nations resolutions and with the consent of the United States Congress follows months of constant and virtually endless diplomatic activity on the part of the United Nations, the United States, and many, many other countries (Bush, 1990) (Pearce and Fadely, 1992). Bush repeatedly alludes to values within his speeches inciting the war is driven by those values, commonly characterized as unified action. Bush exhorts to unified action when literally stating I am convinced not only that we will prevail but out of the horror of combat will come the recognition that no nation can stand against a world united. (Bush, 1990) and by identifying wi th the American Audience asserting that No president can easily commit our sons and daughters to war. They are the nations finest. (Pearce and Fadely, 1992). Ultimately, Bush rationalizes his role as commander in chief by the intent to protect values and to unify by serving as a patriotic diplomat. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Presidential war rhetoric strongly influences the support of war especially through the implementation of characteristics and themes, as exhibited in this paper. George H. W. Bush employs common war rhetoric themes and characteristics throughout his rhetoric in effort to gain support for The Gulf War. Bush used the rhetoric of demonization, atrocities, human rights concerns, and defeating aggression to shape the narrative of disparity and hopelessness of Kuwait inciting the inevitability of American assertion in Iraq Operation Desert Storm. Bushs rhetoric shifted from the original intent behind the war (economical oil concerns) to rhetoric that emphasizes American values like unification and patriotism. The support for The Gulf War continued to increase as Bushs rhetoric further intensified the characteristics and themes.   Bushs war rhetoric exemplifies the pivotal role that rhetoric plays in influencing the support for a war.