The experience of European administrators in Nigeria :: Essays Papers

The experience of European administrators in Nigeria The vast majority of administrators had little notion of what to expect in Nigeria. It appears as if their ideas of Nigeria were as vague as the Nigerians' views of England and Englishness, a fact well represented in Mister Johnson. Neither the coloniser nor the colonised had any real insight into the alien cultures they were faced with. A major obstacle to overcome were the huge distances involved. Yet the problem was not just coming to terms with the vast geographical distances involved, but also the huge cultural gulf. Britain and Nigeria were entirely different worlds, with nothing in common other than a history of slavery. One important area of postcolonial studies is establishing some status of relationship between coloniser and colonised, whether the relationship is manufactured, or whether it is naturally present and needing only to be developed. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the relationship between Britain and Nigeria was manufactured to suit British demands. It seems inevitable that Britain achieved more out of the relationship than Nigeria ever would. For European administrators, arriving in Nigeria in early colonial times was like stepping back into European history and encountering an almost medieval society of feudalism and patriarchy. Abdul JanMohamed has noted that it was ''an atmosphere of idealistic, paternalistic despotism'' (Manichean Aesthetics, 18). There was a completely different feel to Nigeria than Europe, and the administrators soon felt their king-like presence in this barbaric land. It seems inevitable that disillusionment would follow such elevated expectations. Due to problems of language and finances, many administrators ended their time in Nigeria disillusioned, isolated, and highly ambivalent in their opinions of both natives and the Imperial project. The language barrier presented problems to indigenous peoples and Europeans alike. It presents a potent reflection of the shortcomings of Europeans administrative training. As Abdul JanMohamed has noted, when Joyce Cary arrived in Nigeria as a colonial employee of the Nigerian Political Service, he understood virtually nothing the natives were saying. Ironically, before leaving England, he had confidently passed all his Hausa language courses. This rendered even simple conversations with the natives an immediate problem. Postcolonialists have often harshly criticised the European employees for making little attempt to interact with the Nigerians. Yet perhaps the language was a major factor in this apparent unwillingness. Achebe's Things Fall Apart is instructive in showing the real difficulties encountered due to language.

The Purpose of Education Essay -- Education Schooling

What is the purpose of education? What do we seek from it? How does it better our lives? What is the role of public schools? These are all important questions, but first I am going to give a brief summary of the text by Timothy McMannon entitled The Public Purpose of Education and Schooling. McMannon gives the reader plenty of reasons for why we need education and how it helps us and our society; he starts by explaining that in past cultures schooling was not done in a formal school but in â€Å"the community, the family, and the church† (McMannon 1). Some cultures even believed that education was something that took a lifetime. The essay then progresses into explaining how education has evolved through the centuries into what it is today and why it has become what it is. Everyone has his or her own take on what they believe education is and should be. Your parents could think of it as a day care facility until you get to high school and then they might think of it as a place to earn a degree and soon move out. Your grandparents might think of it as a place where you go to learn things that you aren’t going to need in life because they never did. Political leaders may think of it as an economical advantage over another country. The list goes on, but as a student, I believe that there are many purposes of education; it is more than one thing, but many things that combine into what education really is. One role of public schools is to promote the principles and standards of our society, which have been all but forgotten. Today we presume that school is a place where we go to learn history and mathematics, but it is much more than that. Schooling teaches us what our leaders are too busy to explain. By this, I mean that our teachers... ...u never acquired anything from becoming educated, why would you continue with it? In part, â€Å"education must be practical† (McMannon 8) and we need to recognize that. Works Cited Fulghum, Robert. All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986. Hudson, William E. and Robert H. Trudeau. "Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning." An Essay on the Institionalization of Service-Learning: The Genesis of the Feinstein Institute for Public Service 2.1 (1995): 150-158. McMannon, Timothy. "The Changing Purposes of Education and Schooling." McMannon, Timothy and John Goodlad. The Public Purpose of Education and Schooling. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997. Nussbaum, Martha. "Cultivating Imaginations: Literature and the Arts." Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.

Discuss the techniques Gaskell uses to present Margaret, Thornton and workers in the riot scene Essay

North and South is set in the mid nineteenth century at the time of the industrial revolution. It is an industrial novel, which means that it portrays the difficult lives of the working class during the industrial revolution. This was a genre with few female writers; due to the â€Å"seriousness† of the work, it was not considered appropriate for women. The riot scene is a watershed, a turning point, much like the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The themes are †¦ It is a book of contrasts. Mr Thornton represents the business-minded north and is juxtaposed with Margaret Hale who represents the rich, delicate south. The violence of the riot scene causes understanding and what the characters have done wrong. It shows us that our impressions of the characters are wrong and their impressions of each other. Everyone has misjudged each other. Gaskell is challenging her Victorian readers’ black and white stereotypes and asking them to revaluate their views. The North-South divide exists in Great Britain. It refers to both the economic and the cultural differences between South England and North. The North is usually seen as poorer and more left wing, and the South as richer and more right wing. The South can be seen as much more comfortable, and a place where a better class of people live, shown in the contrasting descriptions of Helstone and Milton. Helston is deascribed to be, â€Å"it really sounded like a village in a tale rather than in real life.† And the sky in Milton is described to be darker than Helston’s wintry blue, foreshadowing the later storm. This was particularly so in the Victorian period, that North and South is set right in the middle of, when the North became increasingly industrialised and polluted. In the novel the place that Margaret has grown up in, the fictional village of Helstone is in the South. It is a gentle place and is described as â€Å"like a village in a poem† which tells the reader how beautiful it is. However, Margaret’s first view of the industrial Milton (The Northern town that she moves to) is the â€Å"deep lead-coloured cloud hanging over the horizon† She dislikes Milton at first, but slowly falls in love with the spirit and enterprise of the people. She realises that behind the machines that seem to run Milton there are real people and families. Her friend Bessie helps her understand this. That’s why her views change. North and South argues that the Industrial North represents the future, with Margaret gradual conversion from Helstone to Milton. Milton is based on Gaskell’s knowledge of Manchester. At the time Manchester was the â€Å"jewel in the crown† of the industrial north. Mr Thornton is a factory owner in Milton who Margaret eventually falls in love with. He is described as having a sharp and angular face, making him appear chiselled, as if he is made from stone. This accentuates his tough inflexible nature. â€Å"as if they were carved in marble.† He is described as an â€Å"iron man† which could suggest his machine like qualities and industrialist nature which was common in the north during the Industrial Revolution. He represents the hard working Northern factory owners, business and shows that there were real men behind harsh masters. He is the opposite of Margaret. The riot scene is where Mr Thornton and Margaret are thrown together. This represents the union of north and south, and how they should work together and protect each other. In the riot scene Thornton changes from cold (before the scene) to caring â€Å"Miss Hale is hurt!† to romantic â€Å"You are the only woman I have ever loved! The women in the extract depend on him and his instructions, making them all typical of the time â€Å"Shut down the windows instantly mother† When Margaret is hit by the pebble it is like a wall between them (Margaret’s pride) has been broken, and it allows Thornton to step forward and take control. Another thing that allows us to see another aspect of him is that he takes lessons from Mr Hale, which shows us he is a sensitive man, and he is an unusual factory owner. The workers hate him, and view him as cruel and harsh. This is because most of his actions are fuelled by wanting more money, not humanitarianism. For example, when he installs a new fan in the factory. It makes the workers more comfortable because it reduces the amount of cotton in their lungs, but Mr Thornton did it because he wanted them to live longer, to maintain an experienced workforce. . He altered his chimneys which reduced smoke emission but this was to save fuel, not the environment. In the workers’ view they have an unfair deal. This is why they strike. After the riot scene the workers and Thornton better understand each other, because the workers see that he is human because of his love for Margaret. He is proud of Milton’s industry and he realises the extent of their desperation. Margaret is a very proud and strong woman. Other people view her as overly proud and judgemental. â€Å"always gave strangers the impression of haughtiness† â€Å"Her quiet coldness of demeanour he interpreted into contemptuousness.† She is an atypical Victorian woman because she is strong and complex, but in the riot scene she becomes a typical Victorian woman, who needs someone to protect her. She lets Mr Thornton tell her what to do. As a southern gentlewoman she views Milton as â€Å"regularly built† meaning everything is the same, and dull and boring. She sees the â€Å"hopeless streets† and regrets moving to Milton. She usually contrasts to Mr Thornton’s sister, Fanny, but in the riot scene she becomes more like her, being defenceless and acting on instinct, without careful measured thought. She is described as â€Å"far from regularly beautiful† which could also mean that she is far from regular in her actions and demeanour. When she does move to Milton she tries to make the most of it, instead of complaining about it. She tries to help people, and offers charity even though they don’t want it. This is different to Thornton, but it doesn’t necessarily make her better than him because it can seem condescending to whoever she decides to help. She doesn’t understand the Milton way of life and feels she doesn’t fit in, but when she visits Helstone again she realises she has changed, and she no longer belongs there. The reader sees, along with Margaret, that Helstone has always been to her a mythical place linked to her more closely with idyllic romantic dreams than with the realities of nineteenth-century life. When Thornton gives her the dead rose from Helstone it symbolises that Helstone doesn’t mean anything to her now, because she used to talk about the roses, but the rose is dead now, symbolising that her life in Helstone is no more. The workers are considered by the factory owners to be animalistic and unthinking, represented by Gaskell’s use of language, â€Å"fierce growl† â€Å"troop of animals†. Higgins is the atypical character in that group because he is clever. He is a union leader and naturally takes control. He is the voice of the workers. He is not in the riot, and is very angry that the strike has broken. He represents change, passion and aggression. He is bullying. In the riot scene Gaskell uses descriptions of the weather to represent the idea of the workers as a gathering storm â€Å"roll of the tempest† The riot scene is a turning point in the novel. It is the point where Gaskell makes her main point about society at the time. The characters weaknesses and strengths are showcased and Margaret and Thornton become symbols of society at the time. The characters that before had all been so complex and unusual become more archetypal and in keeping with the more common character type. They all change and become more human, allowing them to connect. Only when they let their guard down can they understand. It is hot at the beginning of the extract because a storm is brewing, both metaphorically and physically. The feeling of the extract changes a lot, one of the more important and obvious place is where Thornton runs downstairs to the workers. The section is in short segmented sentences so it’s a list and reads really quickly. It creates the effect of a rush and the reader feels the anxiety of the characters. Another point where the tension and atmosphere change is where Mr Thornton makes his declaration of love to Margaret when she has been hit with the pebble. The symbolic value of this is that the wall between them (their cold exteriors) has been damaged and so their emotions can leak out. It becomes much more romantic. Metaphors are a key part of the riot extract. One of the ongoing ones is of the workers being animalistic, with them being referred to as â€Å"brutes† and â€Å"fierce†. They also â€Å"growl†. This makes us fear for the safety of the characters, as animals are unpredictable. The workers contrast to Higgins because he acts rationally, in a carefully thought out way but the rest of the workers act on instinct, like animals. We feel sorry for them because of their unthinking nature and we feel scared of them because of the threatening vocabulary used to describe them. There are constant references to a storm, for example â€Å"the first slow-surging wave† This is referring to the workers and makes the reader think of them as powerful and unstoppable. â€Å"towards one point† means the workers are focused on Thornton, and that there is no going back. This makes the reader feel worried for Thornton. The feeling of going past the point of no return is perhaps Gaskell referring to Victorian society, and what may occur if the misunderstanding carries on. Symbolism is used a lot in the riot scene. There are symbols of division â€Å"mighty fall of the ponderous gates†, desperation â€Å"unearthly groan†, and passion â€Å"you are the only woman I have ever loved!†. It is evident that the idea of division becomes more pronounced in the riot scene. For example the gate being broken is symbolic of the divided breaking down the walls of society. Many conflicts happen in North and South. Some of them are ongoing, like with Margaret and Mr Thornton. Some of them burst suddenly, like in the riot scene between Mr Thornton and the workers. These two conflicts are linked by the cold feelings, which change after the riot scene. Conflict is one of the main themes of the book. The riot scene causes conflict because it forces people together and forces debate between people. There is no fight between the workers and Margaret but still she is hurt. They have stepped outside of the set conflicts and so Mr Thornton is angry. This prepares us for reconciliation because their anger has peaked and will now decline to a flat and will become steadier. Margaret’s brother Frederick is involved in a mutiny, and is held responsible for it and exiled from England. It is a similar situation to the workers, which is one reason why Margaret understands their point of view. Gaskell uses many techniques to present Margaret Thornton and the workers. She is commenting on Victorian society that this misunderstanding of North and South is wrong and that they should try harder to understand each other.

My Favorite Movies

Today, I am going to talk about my favorite movies. I like to watch movies very much; especially I like foreign films lots than Japanese films, because I like to study foreign languages. I watch movies with English subtitle, and it is good how to learn English. Do you know the film titled â€Å"BIG FISH†? That is my best favorite movie. The story is human drama, and I can see the love between father and the son. And the story is not only human drama, but also fantasy. It is most beautiful story that I have ever seen. Every time I was questioned â€Å"what is your favorite movie? † I tell the story of this one. When I watch this movie, I feel my heart warming. Not only foreign films, I like the films made by Hayao Miyazaki. He is one of the most famous Japanese animator in the world. Every films that he made have some messages to the world. For example, he said â€Å"stop deforestation† in the film titled â€Å"the princess of mononoke. † And men characters that appear every film are all cool and good-looking. Also I can feel love in all films made by Hayao Miyazaki. He got an Academy Award in 2003 for the great film titled â€Å"Spirited Away. † That was the greatest achievements for him. But he always says that he never want to be a veteran. I am very impressed his words. And what the biggest point for his movie is everyone can enjoy the story even child, even adult. To watch movies is very good habit for us. Movies give us many impressions and knowledge. I want to watch a lot of movies through my life.

The Others-Movie Review

Nurul Hazwani Bt Hatta M12L THE OTHERS Movie Review The Others is one of the psychological horror movies that impress me with its good story plot and suspense elements. It was written, directed and scored by Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar, starring Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston. It is inspired partly by the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw. Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is a Catholic mother who lives with her two small children in a remote country house in the British Crown Dependency of Jersey, in the immediate aftermath of World War II.The war was playing vital role in being contributing factor that cause depression in Grace. The stress is the triggering element that cause phychology disorder in her. The children, Anne and Nicholas have an uncommon disease, xeroderma pigmentosa, characterized by photosensitivity, so their lives are structured around a series of complex rules designed to protect them from inadvertent exposure to sunlight. The new arrival of three se rvants at the house — an aging nanny and servant named Mrs.Bertha Mills ,an elderly gardener named Mr. Edmund Tuttle, and a young mute girl named Lydia — coincides with a number of odd events, and Grace begins to fear that they are not alone. Anne draws pictures of four people: a man, a woman, a boy called Victor, and an old woman, all of whom she says she has seen in the house. A piano is heard from inside a locked room when no one is inside. Grace finds and examines a â€Å"book of the dead,† which shows mourning portraits taken in the 19th century of recently deceased corpses.I was so shocked when the doors which Grace believes to have been closed are found mysteriously ajar. Grace tries hunting down the â€Å"intruders† with a shotgun but cannot find them. She scolds her daughter for believing in ghosts — until she hears them herself. Eventually, convincing herself that something unholy is in the house, she runs out in the fog to get the local priest to bless the house. Meanwhile, the servants, led by Mrs. Mills, are clearly up to something of their own. The gardener buries a headstone under autumn leaves, and Mrs.Mills listens faithfully to Anne's allegations against her mother. Outside, Grace loses herself in the heavy fog, but she miraculously discovers her husband Charles who she thought had been killed in the war, and brings him back to the house. Charles is distant during the one day he spends in the house, and Mrs. Mills is heard telling Mr. Tuttle, â€Å"I do not think he knows where he is. † Grace later sees an old woman dressed up like her daughter. Grace says, â€Å"You are not my daughter! † and attacks her.However, she finds that she has actually attacked her daughter instead. Anne refuses to be near her mother afterward, while Grace swears she saw the old woman. Mrs. Mills tells Anne that she too has seen the people, but they cannot yet tell the mother because Grace will not accept what she is not ready for. Charles is stunned when Anne tells him the things her mother did to her. He says he must leave for the front and disappears again. After Charles leaves, Anne continues to see things, including Victor's whole family and the old woman.Grace breaks down to Mrs. Mills, who claims that â€Å"sometimes the world of the dead gets mixed up with the world of the living. † At last, I know that actually, it is Grace’s family who is dead, not the intruders. The intruders are the living people who bought the house after the death of Grace’s family. Grace and her children cannot accept the fact that they are dead. Grace may have some mental illness when she killed her children with pillow and then kill herself with a rifle.She was suffering from stress as she was feeling isolated and lonely as her husband didn’t come back from war. I love the suspense element and the twisting plot story. At first, I thought that the intruders are the bad guy, but actuall y Grace’s family is the one that possess the house and reluctant to leave their mansion even when they are dead. From this story,I learn that it is important to control our emotion and be patient in facing any difficulties in our life to lead a healthy and happy life.

Arizona Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Arizona Law - Essay Example I shall use general information about the law and its open discussions as culled from various magazines, newspapers, and journals online in order to help persuade the reader to rethink their position should they be in full support of the law. After all, every law is subject to political discussion. Those who support the controversial law do so on the basis that the senators and other politicians in Washington are incapable of passing effective anti-immigration laws. That is why the state of Arizona has chosen to enforce its own version of an anti-immigration law. After all, who better to know the effects of illegal immigration into their state than the state politicians? They are familiar with the immigration problem of their state and therefore, should be the most authoritative when it comes to finding methods of keeping these illegal immigrants out of the country. Let us not forget the most important aspect of anti-immigration law enforcement, it must be based upon a law that was p assed by consensus on a national level over at the Capitol. The enforcement of the nitty gritty points of the law is the responsibility of those deputized by the national senate. The budget for anti-immigration law enforcement is also worked into the country's budget every year. But under the Arizona anti-immigration law, the budget for enforcing the law as stated in SB 1070 should come from the federal government. Under no circumstances should the enactment of such laws be done under the supervision and authority of the state under a localized anti-immigration law. (Navarette Jr., Ruben â€Å"The Truth About Arizona's Anti-immigration Law†) If Arizona is allowed to breakaway from the law as defined by Washington, then all the other states must be given the same freedom to enforce their anti-immigration laws. There is also the local and national economic and agricultural aspect to consider at the moment while the law is in effect. Although it is true that Washington has a har d time coming up with a cohesive anti-immigration plan that both sides of the political spectrum can get aboard on, they have to first consider the local economy and workforce of the state before passing such laws. These state legislators seem to have forgotten that the reason that illegal immigrants proliferate in the state is because there are jobs to be had. Jobs that our fellow Americans frown upon or refuse to do under the scorching heat of the sun. (Kain, Erick â€Å"Why Arizona's Controversial Immigration Law is Bad for Business†) Without these illegal immigrants to do the job without complain, is there anyone else who would willingly come forward to do those menial jobs? Let's face it, only the migrant workers who work illegally in the country would be willing to do those jobs in exchange for far less than they should actually be paid One of the key points that is being addressed as an explosive issue when it comes to the enforcement of this bill is that certain secto rs of society believe that the law will encourage racial profiling. The belief stems from the fact that the law is far too broad and open to interpretation that those enforcing it will not have any qualms about asking for citizenship identification papers because he is exposed to various races every â€Å"single day of his working life. It is believed that SB 1070, in its original content may : ...unlawfully

Analysis Of The Rate Of Unemployment As Related To Inflation Rate Essay

Analysis Of The Rate Of Unemployment As Related To Inflation Rate - Essay Example Low standard errors help to infer that the sample drawn for estimating is truly representative of the population and gives a power to the statistical inference to a study (Vassilis, 2008).If there is no significant difference between the standard errors of the two samples we can consider that they belong to the same population or in the other way the test results are same with respect to a particular parameter.  This curve is a historical inverse relationship between the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation in an economy. This means that lower unemployment in an economy is correlated with a higher inflation rate. When high levels of both inflation and unemployment also take place then it is called stagflation and violates the principle of the forecast of the curve. To consider this anomaly various modifications of this curve has taken place. For example, New Kenysian â€Å"Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium† models based on macroeconomics has been developed wit h sticky prices it is reflected that there is a positive relationship between the rate of inflation and the level of demand and thus a negative relation between the rate of inflation and rate of employment occurs. In the context of this article, we concentrate on the money wage Phillips curve given by the equation gW= gWT – f(U) where g is the equivalent of the percentage rate of growth of the variable, W is the money wage rate and signifies the total money wage costs per production employee, which includes the benefits and the payroll taxes. Hence the focus is on the production workers money wages as these costs are crucial to a firm for making financial decisions. The equation tells us that the growth of money wages rises with the trend in growth of the money wages (T) and falls with the unemployment rate(U). The function (f) is assumed to monotonically increase with U so the dampening of money- wage increases by unemployment is reflected by the negative sign.