African Literature Flashcard

African Literature

The Red Badge Of Courage Essays - The Red Badge Of Courage

The Red Badge Of Courage Essays - The Red Badge Of Courage The Red Badge of Courage The Red Badge of Courage is now universally recognized as a masterpiece, although when it first appeared in book form in 1896 (two months later in England than in the United States) it provoked mixed reactions. The English critics, in fact, brought it to the attention of the American public, which had generally ignored it. Those early readers who approved saw in it a "true and complete picture of war," a book which "thrusts aside romantic machinery" in favor of dramatic action and photographic revelation. Its critics attacked it for what they considered its utter lack of literary form - its "absurd similes," "bad grammar," and "violent straining after effect." Edward Garnett, however, praised its "perfect mastery of form," and Conrad, who had known Crane, said in 1926 that The Red Badge of Courage was a "spontaneous piece of work which seems to spurt and flow like a tapped stream from the depths of the writer's being," and he found it "virile and full of gentle sympathy! " while it was happily marred by no "declamatory sentiments." Throughout the first four decades of the century the book was variously praised and condemned for its naturalism or "animalism," its realism and its extraordinary style. V. S. Pritchett, writing in 1946, may be said to represent the prevailing opinion when he declares that Crane's "verisimilitude," his grasp of "human feelings," and his "dramatic scenes and portraits" give The Red Badge of Courage a place in the literature of war. It is only in the forties that serious literary analysis of the book begins. It had of course long been recognized that novels such as Zola's La Debacle and Tolstoy's Sevastopol and War and Peace had had some influence on Crane, and that he had made use of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (which had first appeared serially in the Century Magazine) as well as accounts of particular campaigns; his brother William, for one thing, was an expert on the strategy of the Battle of Chancellorsville, and there are many parallels with this battle to be found in The Red Badge. But scholars like Pratt, Webster, Osborn, and Stallman began to call attention to the possible role played by less significant factors, like Crane's personal acquaintance with General Van Petten, an instructor at Claverack College, who might have provided him with a first-hand account of the Battle of Antietam. Crane may also have derived some less important conceptions from Civil War potboilers like Hinman's C! orporal Si Klegg or Kirkland's The Captain of Company K. Although Crane himself acknowledged an early influence by Kipling's novels, it was S. C. Osborn who pointed out that the famous "red wafer" image at the close of Chapter 9 probably had its source in Kipling's The Light That Failed, and who thereby inaugurated a discussion (maintained chiefly by R. W. Stallman) about the meaning of this image. The "wafer" may be a wax sealing wafer or it may be, as Stallman suggests, an allusion to the Christian communion wafer, but it lies at the center of the controversy concerning the alleged Christian symbolism of the novel. Discussions of the structure and total meaning of the novel date from about 1950. John Schroeder believes that Crane has not achieved a successful accommodation of antithetical elements: "War as man- made blasphemy" is not "distinguishable from nature's pattern of serene wisdom"; and he feels that the "putting off of the Old Man [by the youth] . . . is largely a matter of accident." R. W. Stallman, on the other hand, asserts that a consistent, meaningful pattern unifies the story. The Red Badge "is about the self - combat of a youth who fears and stubbornly resists change and spiritual growth. . . . Henry's regeneration is brought about by the death of Jim Conklin." Psychological and mythic criticism of a book whose action centers mainly about a "wound" was perhaps inevitable, and Maxwell Geismar (1953) explains that "Fleming's shame at his psychic wound . . . led him to yearn for the physical wound." The basic pattern of the narrative conforms to that of "acceptance after a t! rial by ordeal." Geismar further sees this as all a reflection of

Piero Gobetti On Liberal Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Piero Gobetti On Liberal Revolution - Essay Example In the book, Gobetti identifies two Italy. One of the Italy comprises of the enlightened and focus on modernity but it is small while the other comprises of the premodern is dominant and is characterized by traditionalism. Gobetti associates liberalism with other revolutionally movement. This essay focuses on my understanding of Gobetti’s ideologies in the book On Liberal Revolution. Gobetti live in the period after First World War when Italian liberalism had been abandoned and substituted by the great desire for power. The political figures were ready to hold to power at all costs. Gobetti criticizes this kind of life and advocates for revival of true liberalism. Gobetti addressed fascist political culture. This is because there had been quite a number of liberal governments but they had not put much effort in establishing liberalism. This had led to failure of liberal economics and culture. He felt that Italy had failed in its efforts of establishing a middle class that bene fited the nation as it had happened in Great Britain and France. He felt that the middle class had played a great role in establishing successful liberal societies. However, the middle class in Italy was ineffective. Gobetti valued class liberalism since he believed that it was capable of to bring radical change (Gobetti, Urbinati, & McCuaig, 2000). Gobetti was opposed to the decline of liberalism in Italy and his book is an agonistic reformulation of liberalism. In Gobetti’s opinion, conflict and not consensus is the foundation of social and political regeneration. He considered liberalism to entail continuous ethnic struggle against transcendental beliefs (Gobetti, Urbinati, & McCuaig, 2000). Gobetti insisted that liberalism was adaptable to different classes. Gobetti opposed fascism and claimed it was an accretion of all the iniquities facing the Italian society. Throughout the book, Gobetti defends the right of people to operate without the interruption of the state. He t hus directs his revolution liberalism to the political scenery in Italy. He opposes the negative and positive conceptions of liberty. He argues that political liberty is closely linked to political liberty. He advocate for liberalism, which allowed the entire society to make their decisions without arbitrary interference from the state (Gobetti, Urbinati, & McCuaig, 2000). However, he feels that the political environment in Italy was inappropriate for liberalism. Gobetti advocates for political education on historical them accept the spirit of liberalism. Gobetti’s ideas are greatly influenced by the struggles of workers in Turin and Gramsci’s vision of a factory based democracy. The liberal Revolution was greatly influenced by his disapproval of fascism. Gobetti adopts Mosca’s idea of the political system characterized by struggles by elites to attain offices of power. Gobetti uses this idea to explain disagreements over ideas between the different social force s in relation to the different forms of power (Gobetti, Urbinati, & McCuaig, 2000). He believed that the workers would lead successful liberalism. This was based on the significance he associated with the struggles of the workers. In Gobetti's opinion, Fascism was indicative of the historical failure of Italy’s political life. He believed that there had to be transformation in the economic as well as moral culture of the society for effective liberalism to

Data Set Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Data Set - Essay Example What is the range of a set of data? Refers to the difference between the highest and the lowest data values of a given data set What is another name for the lower quartile? The first quartile What is the lower quartile? It divides the lower fourth of the data set from the upper three fourths What are the other two names for the middle quartile? The median, the second quartile What is the middle quartile? It refers to the overall median term of a given data set What is another name for the upper quartile? Third quartile What is the upper quartile? It is the median of the data values in the upper half of a data set What is the 5 number summary of a set of data? low value, lower quartile, median, upper quartile, high value What is a box plot? Refers to plot that shows the five number summary visually with a rectangular box enclosing the lower and upper quartiles, a line marking the median and whiskers extending to the minimum and maximum values. The term standard deviation sounds really scary, but it is not really a horrible monster what is it a measure of? It is a measure of spread or variation What is the formula we use to find the standard deviation of a set of data? standard deviation=√(sum of (deviations from mean)^2/total number of data values-1) What is the range rule of thumb? It is the relationship between the standard deviation and the range given by

The effectiveness of business information Essay Example for Free

The effectiveness of business information Essay Evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its communication as key contributors to the success of an organisation In order to grow and expand, a business needs to a good communication and information management that will help them apply their different strategies and reach their goals and objectives more efficiently. Tesco is big business that has excellent communication and information management system within their organisation. They use information and communication method efficiently in the way they operate and that is why they are one of the biggest retailers in the UK. Methods of written communication Letter Tesco uses letters as a form of written communication, to get in contact with various types of people who include staff members from the other stores, customers or staffs who are unable to attend work for health issues. An advantage of using letters is that they can easily reach and communicate with their customers about financial issues or bills. A disadvantage of using letter is that the letter might not get delivered to the specific place you want it or on time, this could cause problems. Another disadvantage of using a letter is that it might get lost in the post and never get in to the destination. Reports Tesco use reports as a form of written information to communicate with between staff members within the company. The advantage of them using reports is that they record and show information of what happened during an entire week or month in a store for example. A report often contains information, sales figures and bar graphs to show the overall performance of something. Tesco use report to convey information about how they performed annually every year to show people their profit/sales etc. A disadvantage of using reports is that writing involves gathering a lot of data sometimes and they are quite time consuming. It would take a lot of time to produce reports because you have to record every that has occurred and sometimes doesn’t provide the full information it is hard to acquire all information and note them down. Newspapers Notices Tesco use notices as a form of reminder of tasks that needs to be completed during the day, in a week or sometimes in the near future. An advantage of using notes it that it can help save time as well as reminding member of staffs efficiently and tell their employees/staff on upcoming events/activities The disadvantage of notices is that it can create a waste of paper and a mess when they are too many notes accumulating in one place all at once. For when the all the notes from the past days and future are all stacked in one place. Leaflets Tesco mostly use leaflets communicate to their customers by informing them and keeping up to date about what changes within Tesco. For example, they could use leaflets to inform customers about offers, competition, sales, special deals and bundles. Another advantage of Tesco using leaflets is that they can inform customers any new products or services they bring out. A disadvantage of Tesco using leaflets is that their customers might misunderstand the information they convey. Another disadvantage of using leaflets is that Tesco will have to spend time and quite a lot of money to design and make leaflets. Emails Tesco use E-mails to contact customers as well as other employees with the company. An advantage of this written communication method is that Tesco can contact the person whoever they want to contact efficiently knowing that the person they are trying to reach will receive the message. They can also use is as a way to keep in contact with their customers and update them about things like special offers and promotions to avoid losing them. The disadvantage of Tesco using E-mails is that some people don’t use their E-mail regularly and therefore won’t be able to respond to the message that has been sent to them on time. Another disadvantage to of using E-mails is that some customers will see Tesco messages and offers as a sort of spam which could be inconvenient sometime. Magazines Magazines are also another way for Tesco to communicate information to their customers such as promotional information about offers, deals, bundles and others. They can also use magazines to convey information about the latest product and services they bring out. An advantage of using magazines as written information is that it allows them to reach their customers easily and efficiently regularly. Another advantage of magazine is the cost of it, it is cheaper for Tesco to publish and communicate information through magazine than do it on TV and radio adverts. A disadvantage of Tesco using magazines as a written communication tool is that they may not reach all customers that way because not all customers like to read magazines. Methods of non-written communication TV Tesco use television as a method of on-screen information to advertise new products or services to their customers. The advantage of Tesco using television as a way of communication is that they can easily reach they target group through such technology since everyone own and watches the TV nowadays. The disadvantage of Tesco using television as a method of communication is that they will have to spend a lot of money for advertisements to be shown on TV for an adequate amount of time so that their target group can easily perceive it. Presentations Tesco uses presentation as a tool for verbal to share information about carious things concerning the company, their competitors, their plans and strategies for the future and the market they operate in. During these presentations, specific strategies to reach future goals are discussed and established. Plans to overcome competition and threats are discussed as well as ideas for future promotions are discussed. A disadvantage of presentation is that not all the staffs working at Tesco will take part to the presentation. This could pose problems because staffs who haven’t attended the presentation will be uninformed and therefore won’t be aware of the changes being made. Radio Tesco uses Radio as a tool for verbal communication to share information to their customers about things like offers and promotions. The advantage is that they are more likely to reach their target groups by doing so. The disadvantage of using radio is it might not be clear when you try contact someone and also you may contact the wrong person this is because radio had different channels. Face to face Tesco uses verbal information like face to face conversation because it allows them to communicate important information easily with each other within the company. Using face to face communication is the best way of communication Tesco can use to communicate verbally because there is less scope for miss-understanding in it. They also use face to face communication to communicate information with their customer personally to which they will obtain instant reply. One disadvantage of this non-written method of communication is that people don’t always get the time to meet and discuss thing face to face. It would also cost a lot of money for people from different place of work to meet and have face to face communication. Telephone Tesco uses Verbal information on the telephone to contact their members of staffs when there is a problem or it can be to check and clarify something for example. The advantage of using telephone for verbal communication is that staffs and colleges at the company can get in contact with each other when they are outside of work. Another advantage of using telephone for verbal communication is that customers can contact them for enquiries about products or complaints. One disadvantage of using telephone as a verbal communication tool that when the customer calls, the employee answering to the phone might not be trained to answer the phone, this could create complications between the company and the customer Video conference Tesco use videoconferencing as a tool of verbal communication to contact members of staffs from other stores across the country or even in different countries. The advantage of this is that they will be able to reach the colleges they are trying to join easily and without having to pay much which will save them the coast of travel. The disadvantage of this method is that when they contact other stores in other countries, there may be some connection problem which will cause understanding problems for both groups trying to communicate. Voicemail Tesco uses voicemails as a way of communication because they are another way to get in contact with other within the company when the phone can’t be answered or when the person being contacted is absent for example. Tesco use voicemail as a communication tool to contact their customers or even other staffs within the company. They use voicemails to contact customers when they need to remind them about their product deliveries for example or even to arrange a date to pick up an item for return. The disadvantage of voice mail at Tesco is that the voicemail system might have a failure and delete the voicemails or might just auto delete itself if the message left has been left untouched for too long. Audience requirements Age and Attention span Tesco in stores for example do have age restrictions on products targeted to mature or older audience. The y also require an id to purchase things like alcohol and cigarettes. The advantage of this is that it allows taco to protect minors from purchase adult materials. Gender and Ethnicity Gender and ethnicity is about representing people from all background when and all ethnicity with both gender equally when targeting an audience for products or services. When aiming advert at an audience, the audience is more likely to respond well if they feel included and connected to the message the business is trying to pass on. This is an effective method of communication for Tesco because when they produce adverts for their new products, they make sure the advert represents a balanced cross-section of their audience. This in turn helps them reach and attract more people from the target audience regardless of their gender or race. Special needs and Accessibility The advantage of Tesco adapting their communication to special needs and accessibility is that it helps anyone from the target audience to efficiently perceive the information being communicated by Tesco. This in return encourage a great response from the audience to communication being shared. Reading ability This is communicating information in a way that everyone can read and understand the information being communicated to the audience. The advantages of Tesco using simple language to communicate with their audience is that they can easily and efficiently reach them the audience and obtain good response in exchange. The disadvantage of Tesco using simple language is that more sophisticated and educated audience would expect information to be communicated through more technical language and terms. Legibility This refers to the material that makes the business information being communicated to audience easier to read and to properly understand the information being communicated to them. An advantage for Tesco using this method is that the will be in a better position attract customers with the information they communicate to them. Interests This is about grabbing the attention of the audience to which the information of the business is being communicated to. This can be achieved by the business through getting straight to the point of what they want to say so that they can keep their audience attention. The advantage of this method for Tesco is that they can easily attract the interests of their audiences when they are communicating information. A disadvantage of this method is that the business might need more effort to try and grab the interests of audiences straight away because it is not always easy to win the attention of people quickly. Distraction avoidance This method is about minimising distraction during a verbal presentation to an audience. To do so, before giving a presentation, you can ask the audience to switch their mobile phones off so that it doesn’t distract during the presentation if someone tries to call. Industry related experience and knowledge This a about know the audience to which to you are talking to when addressing an audience for your presentation. This is important to know because when you are talking to an experienced audience they will not need too much explanation whereas if you’re talking to people with no experience, you will have to explain the information you are communicating or they will be confused. An advantage of his is that it will help save tame and allow to prepare before the presentation as to how much explanation you will need to do during your presentation. Communication skills Formal /informal Formal /informal information refers to the format in which the information communicated within the business is in. When communicating information to audiences such as customers or even for business reports, information is communicated in formally and uses professional and technical language. Between staffs at Tesco, information is mostly communicated informal. An advantage of communicating information formally / informally is that share information efficiently to different types of audiences. Verbal/non-verbal Most information is often communicated verbally or non-verbally, verbal communication usually involves the voice and non-verbal information doesn’t. The most common for of b=verbal communication is phone, face to face, presentation, meetings, video conferencing etc Non verbal information is usually done through paper, screen or emails. An advantage of verbal communication is that it is always clear and cannot be misunderstood by any audience. A disadvantage of verbal communication is that it might coast money for it to be possible sometimes, for example when people from different places of the organisation need to meet and discuss about the business. Listening understanding Listening is mostly bout hearing and understanding the information and message that is being communicated to you. The advantage of listening to information and messages is that it allows people to understand. Seeking Clarification Seeing clarification is about making sure you fully understand the information that is being communicated to you. To do so, you can ask question and ask for more explanation if you are not sure. The advantage of seeking clarification is that it helps understand information properly which makes it to easily put t in practices later on. A disadvantage of that is that it can sometime be a waste of time going and over some information. Another one is that it can be tiring sometimes. Responsiveness Responsiveness is about making sure that the audience to whom you are communicating fully understand the message you are communicating to them. As a communicator if you feel that your audience does not understand your message, you need to respond by giving them more detailed information. An advantage of this method is that it helps audience to understand the message you are giving them which will lead to a successful communication. Eye contact Facial expressiveness Facial expressiveness is about the impression you face is giving to the audience to which you are communication information. The advantage of having a good face expression when communicating information is that it helps convince your audience. A disadvantage of not having the right face expression is that it can mislead the audient to which you communicate information even if you don’t intend to. Body language When presenting information, body language can help understand the message you are trying to communicate by giving away your thoughts and feelings. An advantage of using body language is that it allows information to be communicated and understood easily and efficiently. A disadvantage of body langue is that it may be misleading sometime. Use of appropriate professional language Formal and informal communication needs to be shared through different ways to be efficient sometimes. The advantages of Tesco using simple language to communicate with their audience is that they can easily and efficiently reach them the audience and obtain good response in exchange. The disadvantage of Tesco using simple language is that more sophisticated and educated audience would expect information to be communicated through more technical language and terms. Ability to adapt communication techniques to audience requirements This is about finding the right method to use when presenting information so that your audience will be suited to and to which they can easily connect. This is due to the fact that not all communication techniques will suit all audiences. An advantage of choosing a suitable communication method for your audience is that it will help you communicate successfully. A Disadvantage of this is that by choosing the wrong communicating method for your audience could lead them to be disinterested or misunderstand your message. Presentational skills Presentational skills refer to the things you can do in order to enhance the presentation you will be giving to your audience. Preparation and notes could help structure and improve presentation. An advantage of presentational skills is that they enhance the information being shared to audience in an efficient way. Ability to invite Commitment to shared goals This is about adding information and interests that will help persuade and convince the audience. To make sure this approach is done successfully, you need to make sure you clearly articulate arguments you make, demonstrate your information honestly and to be ready to answer any questions.

How George Psalmanazar Escaped From History :: History Historical Essays

How George Psalmanazar Escaped From History Moravagine is an idiot, but he is also an idiom...a term whose meaning is established by usage, and not deducible from the meanings of its constituent parts. Idioms are the place where language shows signs of wear: those phrases have been said so many times they have fused into a single unit and can no longer be pried apart. -- Paul La Farge, "Idiots!," The Believer 1. In early 1703, a man named George Psalmanazar arrived in London and had a few discreet conversations. Within a year, he had a publishing contract and the ear of the British royal courts; not long after that he was given a post at Oxford. Psalmanazar's book, An Historical and Geographic Description of Formosa, describing the virtually unknown East Asian island society from whence he came, was read throughout Europe, and his beliefs - among them, that false accusations were worse than cannibalism, Jesuits were the ruin of pure societies, and the blood of snakes could keep a man alive for a century - were repeated as ethnographic dogma. In keeping with the traditions of his native land, Psalmanazar ate only raw foods and recorded the Lord's Prayer in an alphabet unknown to Western civilization (Aldington 44). His conversion from pagan heathenism to the Anglican Church fueled a thousand heated theological debates in learned society. Once ingratiated into European literary circles, he use d his unique firsthand knowledge of Formosa to help compile one of the greatest encyclopedias British society had to that point seen (Stagl 186). When at last Psalmanazar passed away in 1763, leaving behind a small estate, a room of empty laudanum bottles, and a request to be buried in a pauper's grave, it seemed that the idiom would never be pried open. The man from another world was modestly interred and there the matter appeared to rest. In 1764 his papers were given a more thorough examination, and the following facts were discovered: - The deceased man's name was not George Psalmanazar. - In almost no way did the actual island of Formosa resemble Psalmanazar's celebrated account of it. - Psalmanazar had, in fact, been born in Europe, and never left it in his lifetime. - The society, language, history, belief system, and culture of Formosa, right down to the calendar, were products of his own invention. The strange case of George Psalmanazar lies somewhere at the uncomfortable intersection of truth and credulity.

House Cleaning

Keeping a house clean is a problem quite a few single working parents have, between taking care of children and working a full time job, house work seems to get the short end of the stick. Activities can be hectic upon the return from work and school for the parent and children. During preparation of dinner and completion of homework, vacuuming the carpet doesn’t seem that important. Too often homes fall into disorder, due to tiredness or busyness with other things. When all is said and done â€Å"Cleanliness is next to Godliness† and should never be ignored.House work can be made simple by cleaning as you go. Getting into the habit of putting things where they belong, instead of leaving them where they were used is a one way to stave off a mess. Allowing little messes to grow into large ones creates an environment no one wants to deal with. Take advantage of down time. While watching television, get some clothes folded and put away, dust tables and clean glass. While h elping with homework, start washing the dishes and sweeping the kitchen floor, mop if you have time. Thirty-minute clean-up should be established for every person able.Use appropriate motivators to energize cleaning sessions. Play upbeat music or listen to a digital book for an energy boost. Cleaning as a team with family members can help to stay on task and ease the boredom of cleaning. This concept is to do a quick clean, in addition to chores done throughout the day, leaving the house looking and smelling better. Simple concepts can be applied to keeping the house clean. Washing dishes when you are done with them only takes about ten minutes. Everyone should pitch in to put away leftovers, wash dishes, clean counters and stove.When something hits the floor, get it up immediately. Put clothes away after wearing, if they are clean, put them away. Create a place for keys, shoes, backpacks, and umbrellas; be sure to always put things where they belong. Before going to bed give the ho me a second look. Anything that can be tidied quickly, get it done. More tips on house cleaning would include reducing and recycling. Reducing the amount of waste accumulated in a household can be accomplished by purchasing cloth towels, cooking appropriate amounts of food, and tossing mailings immediately.Donating books magazines, clothing and shoes, and toys to Goodwill or other second hand stores will reduce clutter. Getting organized, an organized home is a quick and easy home to clean. Develop a cleaning schedule. Assign each member a room and task to be done daily. Tools and supplies should be in the room or in a closet or cabinet near-by. The task should have a time frame to be completed. Every two to three months, you should do a deeper clean. This would include cleaning out the refrigerator, the oven, closets and cabinets. Developing the habit of keeping a clean house won’t be easy at first.Don’t expect to be perfect at clean-as-you-go right away. It’s a new habit you may have problems with. Try one thing at a time for a while, then two things. Starting with the kitchen sink staying clean is good beginning. Once the entire kitchen has been added to your routine, adding something like the bathroom sink would be an appropriate addition. While getting into the habit of cleaning-as-you-go the rest of the home still needs attention. Utilize your, everything has a place, rule. Things like shoes, backpacks, mail, umbrellas, and books and magazines should always be in the place selected for them.Children being involved in the cleaning process in always good. Teaching children at an early age the importance of cleanliness is a lifelong lesson. Maintaining a tidy room as well as getting good grades is something to be proud of. Children should never perform tasks that require chemicals. When chemicals are used in the wrong concentration, they can be very harmful. Chores like making the bed, sweeping or vacuuming the floor and putting clothes away will put a dent in daily tasks and give the kids a since of responsibility.