Immigration Reform Essay Example for Free

Immigration Reform Essay Immigration reform is a widely debated topic that affects the lives of every citizen whether they are for, against or indifferent to the issue. The United States needs a new immigration policy that is based less on wishful thinking and more on realism. Spending vast sums of money trying to enforce arbitrary numerical limits on immigration that bear no relationship to economic reality is a fool’s errand. We need flexible limits on immigration that rise and fall with U.S. labor demand, coupled with strict enforcement of tough wage and labor laws that protect all workers, regardless of where they were born. We need to respect the natural human desire for family reunification, while recognizing that even family-based immigrants are unlikely to come here if jobs are not available. And we need to create a pathway to legal status for unauthorized immigrants who are already here so that they can no longer be exploited by unscrupulous employers who hang the threat of deportation over t heir heads. The impact on ethics regarding immigration reform is that there are many Americans who object to providing health care to those who are in this country illegally and they make the principled point that people who violate the immigration laws of this country have forfeited any moral claim to assistance and should not benefit from their illegal behavior. They also argue that providing those here illegally with access to regular health care will as a practical matter have the undesirable effect of increasing illegal immigration. On the other hand the principled argument in favor of including illegal immigrants in health reform is that decent health coverage is a basic human right. A just nation should support that right for everyone, regardless of why or how a person is in the country. There are also practical reasons to support including undocumented immigrants in health reform. Ethics aside, there is no pragmatic way to deny emergency care to illegal immigrants The impact on morals regarding immigration reform would be how does the issue of immigration reform sits with your mores and values. Should the Christian Values of treating others how you would like to be treated be used? Many Liberals would like to change the laws on immigration to strengthen border security and be fair to taxpayers but also include a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country illegally. Conservatives would like  to strengthen the existing laws and see that the immigrants that entered the country illegally are deported even though in most cases it would cause the break-up of families as some members may be here illegally and some may be either naturalized or citizens by birth. The things to consider when reviewing how Immigration Reforms would impact our lives is: What are the costs of securing our borders? The current estimate in the costs of securing the borders is $40, 000 per illegal immigrant and the impact it would have on the families and economy of those that live in the border cities would be devastating in terms of loss jobs and revenue. This does not take into account the amount of money spent to hire and train new Border Patrol Agents and drug dogs; using the National Guard and their equipment, and building a fence which places the cost at about 90 billion dollars a year. What are the costs of detaining immigrants? According to the American Civil Liberties Union the cost of detaining an illegal immigrant is between $122 -$164 a day. Should illegal immigrants receive help with medical and food? This is an ethics and moral issue concerning decent human treatment. Though it would place a heavy strain on resources and the economy some type of system should be set up with a limit on how often an illegal immigrant could use the services until citizenship is granted and a repayment plan is instituted.

Ethnic minorities in Britain

Ethnic minorities in Britain Ethnic Minorities in Britain Introduction (Mis)labelling identity signifiers bespeaks underlying histories of power structure(s). Indeed, however a case is made based on political, social, economic, cultural and ethnic grounds, an identity signifier remains central to sustain, if not to justify, existing power structures. Further, one specific identity signifier can be employed by contestant parties within a given discourse universe and even in exchange. As contestants struggle over meaning-making, moreover, exchanging (mis)labelled identity signifiers between and within groupings of contestant parties gain particular significance when (mis)labelling practice reaches out for outer frames of contested discourse, beyond a more usual practice of (mis)labelling contestants. Islamophobia, if any, especially as contested within a U.K. context, is just such an instance of an active (mis)labelling practice in which (Jeudo-Christian) Occident vs. (Islamist) Orient as possible (mis)labelled parties to contest exchange exact same (mis )labelled identity signifier i.e. Islamophobic not only in order to frame parties to contest but for an appropriation of what ultimately defines frames of contest per se. Indeed, much literature is dedicated to question the (mis)appropriateness of Islamophobia as a labeller of phobia generated, presumably, from an increasingly visible presence of Islam / Muslims in the U.K. in recent years. 1,2,3 The case for / against Islamophobia, depending on which party holds argument, is, in fact, made blurry given the ambiguity of what constitutes a Muslim identity in the first place. 4 Considering potentially multiple identities of U.K. Muslims 5,6, contestation between and within concerned parties holds a fluid ground more so based on or as a result of fluidity of what makes up Islamophobia. This paper examines multilayered manipulations of Islamophobia as contested within a U.K context. The argument, first, discusses literature on race relations and immigration policies, more emphasis being laid on policies pertaining to Commonwealth subjects in Indian Subcontinent. An examination follows of how race-based (addressing ethnicity, assimilation and multicultural ism issues) as opposed to faith-based (addressing religious practices, rights, and interfaith relations) protections have much influenced and/or mixed up contestations over Islam, Muslims and, most importantly, Islamophobia, if any, within a U.K. context. Finally, Islamophobia is placed in a wider European context in which contestation over Islamophobia as such is connected to Continental debates on modern nation-states and multiculturalisms. Race, race relations and immigration policies Historically, Britain has received waves of immigrants of diverse descent for a multitude of reasons. Yet, post-World War II period, particularly during mid-1940s, 1950s and 1960s, witnessed unprecedented influx into major industrial cities for reconstruction efforts. 7,8 Up until late 1960s, no specific laws addressed inter-ethnic violence and conflict. Ironically, ex-colonies subjects were regarded, after all, as second class citizens. 9 Only when families of Asian (primarily Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi) works started to flood English cities and ports in what is referred to as chain immigration (i.e. residents invite close family members and friends and, once settled, relatives and friends invite their own families and friends) did local acts of ethnic violence give prominence to and raise public awareness on a national level of alien citizen status as part of British reality. 10 Still, post-World War II period is one characterised more by inflammatory statements made about nationals of non-British blood and descent 11 rather than about citizens whose allegiance to British values and way of life is questionable because of a different creed such as in case of South-Asians. Indicative of an increasingly racialised public discourse pertaining to immigrants and naturalised subjects is: When individuals like the Marquis of Salisbury spoke of maintaining the English way of life, they were not simply referring to economic or regional folk patterns, but explicitly to the preservation of the racial character of the English people. We have developing here a process of subjectification grounded in a racialised construction of the British Subject which excludes and includes people on the basis of race/skin colour. 12 Indeed, race remains a fundamental subtext of British hegemonic discourse during colonial era, in post-World War II period and beyond. For one, one staple justification for subjugation of nations, groups and individuals is race. 13 Further, in case of a South Asian minority, presumably British Subjects, race is invoked as a justification for inequalities at workplace, housing, education, let alone political rights. 14 In essence, race and racism essentialise subjects of racist acts. Similar to all hegemonic practices which maintain specific power relations within an overarching power structure, racism emphasises superior vs. Inferior duality in order not only to maintain existing power relations but also to morally justify excesses of inequalities. 15 In British context, South Asian workers predominantly from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh particularly during first mass immigration waves of 1940s, 1950s and 1960s were, like a gear fit into a larger wheel, brought in as props, imported, used, and returned. Initially, South Asians workers performed and acted as underdogs much to masters delight. Later, however, as familiarity of British System and Administration developed amongst workers of non-British blood, riots and protests became noise (racist) masters needed to work on. Thus, successive legislations regulating immigrants status within U.K. borders were, apparently, meant to control influx of immigrants and to align British Subjects along well-defined ethnic boundaries.16 As U.K.s ethnic makeup diversified over time and across localities, states insistence on ethnic markers between and within ethnic groups grew by leaps and bounds. The racism formula, endorsed by laws and working brilliantly in a colonial era and slightly so within borders during early days of mass immigration, turned out problematic if not unstabilising given growing pressures of growing minorities in pocket cities, minorities now capable of tipping vote balance. Ultimately, a multi-ethnic / multicultural society is not based on a goodwill, all-accommodating multiculturalism discourse one meant to acknowledge ethnic / racial / cultural differences per se by way of minority rights but, rather, one emphasizing ethnic markers for further state control. 17 In fact, state control, in so far as British Muslims are concerned, represents a clear instance not only of an ethnicity manipulated (at multiple layers of discourse in government, media, and education) but, further still, of an identity (i.e. BrMislim / BrAsian) manipulated (at just same layers) and hence fluidity of what constitutes Islam / Muslim and, probably in turn, Islamophobia. Understanding an emerging Islamophobia requires, however, an examination of evolution of race relations politics from one based on race to one based on faith. Race, faith, Islamophobia, and multiculturalism By definition, political discourse is one characterised by manipulation and is, largely, subject to voters sway in democracies. 18 Political Correctness (PC) is just one example of political machination. In essence, a politically correct expression is a euphemism meant (and, for that matter, meaning) less to fulfil felicity conditions required for an actionable statement and more as instrumental. Thus, British policies on race and ethnicity has marked a shift since installation of race relations acts of 1965 and 1968 19 from an emphasis on racial discrimination to an emphasis on religious extremism and bigotry as a basis for incrimination only selectively, excluding BrMuslims. Indeed, incitement to hatred based on affiliation to Islam is one major legal anomaly scholars continue to point out to. 19, 20 Interestedly, given papers purposes, racial discrimination against BrAsians has not, in fact, been eliminated by virtue of progress in legislation on racial relations but only diverted to another (unprotected by law) dimension, significant as is, of a BrAsian subjects identity. That is, being Muslim. That multilayered public discourse has, moreover, shifted from race to faith is indicative not of actionable (as opposed to pronounced) change but of power structure(s) embedded in race relations discourses in the U.K. Thus, in place of a racialised discourse based on BrAsian intrusion into Britishness, same racial group, now British Muslims, comes out as anti-British. Typical of a manipulative political discourse a game of labelling and re-labelling underprivileged, underrepresented groups (except in prisons) is enacted such that power relations as engineered, largely but not always by, state are maintained within and between different ethnicities in a multicultural community which is, Britain. Unsurprisingly, a set of composite metrics has been developed in order to measure Britishness. 21 That such metrics combine gauges of loyalties at intra-national (i.e. Britain), national (i.e. England, Scotland, etc), or local (e.g. Bradford) levels is, indeed, indicative of an ethnic identit y crisis, particularly so in case of BrAsians / BrMuslims. As a consequence, a group diverse as BrAsians / BrMuslims and framed as inassimilable 22 into wider and mainstream community is bundled up altogether, labelled and made alien. Islamophobia is, one argues, an expression of an anxiety over ethnicity identity. Indeed, Islamophobic sentiments are, upon close examination, aimed not at Islam per se but at Muslims. 23 In fact, literature repeatedly points out that people, rather than faith, is phobes trajectory. 23, 24,25 A broad overview of British media is indicative of who is meant and labelled: If you doubt whether Islamophobia exists in Britain, I [Gordon Conway, Head of Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia] suggest you spend a week reading, as I have done, a range of national and local papers. If you look for articles which refer to Muslims or to Islam you will find prejudiced and antagonistic comments, mostly subtle but sometimes blatant and crude. Where the media lead, many will follow. British Muslims suffer discrimination in their education and in the workplace. Acts of harassment and violence against Muslims are common. 26 Thus, Islamophobia, a label gaining currency in media and academia thanks to Runnymede Trusts much publicised report Islamophobia, a challenge for us all 27 has acquired such a canonical status as to render alternative neologisms unrepresentative of responses to Islam / Muslims. According to Halliday, Islamophobia indulges conformism and authority within Muslim communities. One cannot avoid the sense, in regard to work such as the Runnymede Report that the race relations world has yielded, for reasons of political [emphasis added] convenience, on this term. 28 Moreover, The use of Islamophobia also challenges the possibility of dialogue based on universal principles. It suggeststhat the solution lies in greater dialogue, bridge-building and respect for the other community, but this inevitably runs the risk of denying the right, or possibility, of criticisms of the practices of those with whom one is having the dialogue. Not only those who, on universal human rights grounds, object to elements in Islamic traditions and current rhetoric, but also those who challenge conservative readings from within, can more easily be classed as Islamophobes. 29 Thus, Islamophobia is employed in such a politically correct fashion such as to silence criticisms, on one hand, and to maintain good neighbourhood relations, on another. The former stance is framed, in right-leaning perspective, as militant, jihadist, terrorist, uncivil, anti-modern and anti-Western. 30 The latter is framed, in Islamist perspective, as accommodating, assimilative and hegemonic. In between is media, an arena for meaning-making and shifting perceptions. Alternatively, Islamophobia can be employed not as a politically correct euphemism in order to silence internal criticisms or to maintain law and order but, rather, to militate against an other. This could take a shape of dismantling politeness courtesies essential not for a politically correct dialogue but for one based on critical questioning. Still, Islamophobia could be further employed such as a cover up for supposedly hidden hegemonic agendas. 31 One peculiar shift for Islamophobia as contested within a U.K. context is how instead of imported aliens made citizens being instigators of hate, violence, unrest, and, ultimately terror an enemy within image is constructed and maintained such as to, apparently, pass Islamophobic sentiments, if any, from one generation onto another. 32 For some now increasingly most, credit to media rivers of actual blood running London streets following London 7/7 (Ã   la 9/11 codification) attacks are reminiscent of symbolic blood as invoked by Enoch Powell in his Birmingham speech in 1968: As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood. The tragic and intractable phenomenon [i.e. immigration] which we [emphasis added] watch with horror on the other side of the Atlantic, but which there is interwoven with the history and existence of the States itself, is coming upon us here by our own volition and our own neglect. 33 Unsurprisingly, Powells xenophobic pronouncements just as all xenophobic pronouncements -gain further inertia as an apparently self-fulfilling prophecy comes true. Admittedly, most, if not all, far-right politics tap into a well-rehearsed repertoire of phobias not least Islamophobia. Moreover, whole political careers are created and enhanced based on precautions from an other: now of colour, now of race, and now of different faith. Across Europe, ballot boxes speak volumes of Islamophobia tapped into as a final recourse against an imminent green menace within. 34,35 Islamophobia: European context Placed in a wider context, Islamophobia is not exclusive to U.K. As a matter of fact, for Europe in which U.K. is situated and to which it is historically affiliated Islamophobia is a common currency. Indeed, each European country has a distinctive narrative to tell of Islam / Muslims. Yet, for all differences, European nations especially former colonial powers share common narratives of home-grown terrorists and phobias. 36 Interestingly still is how European nation states follow a similar pattern of state controls over flow of (now particularly Muslim) immigrants as well as controls of modes of conducts of minorities within. 37 In fact, U.K.s, and for that matter Europes, current immigration laws and policies cannot be fully understood in isolation of European conception of nation-states. Historically, European nation-states evolved into democratic polities in which upholding order and rule of law required consistent policies. 38 As European countries grew increasingly into political, economic and scientific powerhouses, an increasing influx of immigrants required subtler means of control. Typically, in major European countries such as U.K. enacting multiculturalism policies meant, at least apparently in so far as actual practices are concerned, less room for truly diverse communities and more for accommodation, assimilation, and full integration of an increasing alien presence posing, allegedly, menaces to established European Enlightenment canonical values of reason and secularism. 39 Probably understandably, far-right currents in European politics manipulated political machinery inciting violence and hatred at times creating, only in voters minds, all sorts of phobias. The case for Islamophobia is one, consequently, which can be understood primarily based on power relations established and maintained in a wider power structure of Europe. This is particularly significant if one is to grasp global (i.e. Western) war on Islam, which is not. For all long-established and nourished power structures need a signifier, a marker, which, presumably , contains, defines, and tags an assumed other only to maintain law and order in an endless historical power struggle over hearts and minds. In conclusion, Islamophobia is, ultimately, a (mis)label slapped onto bottled up power relations within a marked power structure. In U.K. context, Islamophobia is used, as has been demonstrated, not to mark a shift in discursive practices towards a truly multicultural community but to maintain embedded power relations in which specific groups are assigned definite space within ethnic markers. Initially, race is used to maintain power structures but upon introduction of race acts and laws, subtler formers of control and manipulation are employed by which focus is shift from race per se to faith not as a creed but as another boundary of control. Within (i.e. in BrMuslims community), Islamophobia is employed by Islamic leaders such as to appropriate an exclusive definition of Muslims and Islam, on one hand, and in order to silence internal power struggle over meaning-making of Islam and, probably, anything else. Finally, in a broader context, Islamophobia is employed as a means of control and manipulation of Muslim communities within, multiculturalism policies aside. Notes 1. Nasreen Ali, Virinder S. Karla, and S. Sayyid, eds. A post colonial people: South Asians in Britain. London: Hurst, 2006. 2. Taher Abbas, ed. Muslim Britain: Communities under pressure. London: Zed, 2005. 3. Peter Braham, Ali Rattansi, and Richard Skillington, eds. Racism and antiracism: Inequalities, opportunities, and politics. London: SAGE, 1999. 4. Afifa Hussain and William Miller. Multicultural nationalism: Islamophobia, Anglophobia, and devolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 5. Ibid. 6. Stephan May, Tariq Modood, and Judith Squires, eds. Ethnicity, nationalism, and minority rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 7. Peter Braham, Ali Rattansi, and Richard Skillington, Racism and antiracism 8. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, ed. Muslims in the West: from sojourners to citizens (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 19-36 9. Ibid. 10. Peter Braham, Ali Rattansi, and Richard Skillington, eds. Racism and antiracism 11. Ibid. 12. Quoted in Peter Braham, Ali Rattansi, and Richard Skillington, eds. Racism and antiracism, 12. 13. Ernest Cashmore and Barry Troyna. Introduction to race relations. Basingstoke: The Falmer Press, 1990. 14. Ibid. 15. Robert Miles. Racism after race relations. London: Rutledge, 1993. 16. Nasreen Ali, Virinder S. Karla, and S. Sayyid, eds. A post colonial people: South Asians in Britain 17. Ibid. 18. Peter Braham, Ali Rattansi, and Richard Skillington. 19. Ibid. 20. Stephan May, Tariq Modood, and Judith Squires, eds. Ethnicity, nationalism, and minority rights. 21. Afifa Hussain and William Miller. Multicultural nationalism: Islamophobia, Anglophobia, and devolution. 22. Nasreen Ali, Virinder S. Karla, and S. Sayyid, eds. A post colonial people: South Asians in Britain, 183. 23. John E. Richardson. (Mis)representing Islam: the racism and rhetoric of British broadsheet newspapers. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2004. 24. Christopher Allen, The impact of the Runnymede Trust on Islamophobia in the UK, BOÉCE, no. 6 (2003): 51-69. 25. Ali Mohammadi, ed. Islam encountering globalisation. New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002. 26. Quoted in Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed Noorani. Islam Jihad: prejudice versus reality (Bangladesh: The University Press, 2002), 41. 27. Christopher Allen, The impact of the Runnymede Trust on Islamophobia in the UK. 28. Quoted in Ali Mohammadi, ed. Islam encountering globalization, 24. 29. Ibid. 30. Robert Spencer. The politically incorrect guide to Islam (and the Crusades). Washington, DC: Regnery, 2005. 31. Ibid. 32. Roger Ballard and Marcus Banks, eds. Desh Pardesh: the South Asian presence in Britain. London: Hurst, 1994. 33. Quoted in Peter Braham, Ali Rattansi, and Richard Skillington, eds. Racism and antiracism, 18. 34. Raphael Israeli. The Islamic challenge in Europe. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2008. 35. Roger Ballard and Marcus Banks, eds. Desh Pardesh: the South Asian presence in Britain 36. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, ed. Muslims in the West: from sojourners to citizens. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 37. Ibid. 38. Nasreen Ali, Virinder S. Karla, and S. Sayyid, eds. A post colonial people: South Asians in Britain 9. Ali Mohammadi, ed. Islam encountering globalization. Bibliography Abbas, Taher, ed. Muslim Britain: Communities under pressure. London: Zed, 2005. Ali, Nasreen, Karla, Virinder, and Sayyid, S., eds. A post colonial people: South Asians in Britain. London: Hurst, 2006. Allen, Christopher, The impact of the Runnymede Trust on Islamophobia in the UK, BOÉCE, no. 6 (2003): 51-69. Ballard, Roger and Banks, Marcus, eds. Desh Pardesh: the South Asian presence in Britain. London: Hurst, 1994. Braham, Peter, Rattansi, Ali, and Skillington, Richard, eds. Racism and antiracism: Inequalities, opportunities, and politics. London: SAGE, 1999. Cashmore, Ernest and Troyna, Barry. Introduction to race relations. Basingstoke: The Falmer Press, 1990. Haddad, Yvonne, ed. Muslims in the West: from sojourners to citizens (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 19-36. Hussain, Afifa and Miller, William. Multicultural nationalism: Islamophobia, Anglophobia, and devolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Israeli, Raphael. The Islamic challenge in Europe. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2008 May, Stephan, Modood, Tariq, and Squires, Judith, eds. Ethnicity, nationalism, and minority rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Mohammadi, Ali, ed. Islam encountering globalisation. New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002. Noorani, Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed. Islam Jihad: prejudice versus reality Bangladesh: The University Press, 2002. Richardson, John. (Mis)representing Islam: the racism and rhetoric of British broadsheet newspapers. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2004 Spencer, Robert. The politically incorrect guide to Islam (and the Crusades). Washington, DC: Regnery, 2005

The Voice of the Sea in The Awakening Essay -- Chopin Awakening Essay

The Voice of the Sea in The Awakening  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many different symbols were utilized in Kate Chopin's The Awakening to illustrate the underlying themes and internal conflict of the characters.   One constant and re-emerging symbol is the sea.   The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.   The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.   The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace (Chopin 25).      In the novel, â€Å"the ocean symbolizes Edna's "awakening" to a life filled with freedom and independence† (Nickerson). On a hot summer evening Robert and Edna go bathing.   Although Edna does not wish to go and initially declines his offer, something inside is compelling her to go down to the water.   It is there in the seductive ocean that Edna's awakening begins.      A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her... [she] was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her (Chopin 25).      That warm ocean environment is in direct contrast to the responsibilities and rules of the cold, hard city.   And it is there in that relaxed and   forgiving atmosphere that Edna can explore her new found freedoms.  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While relaxing on the beach with Mrs. Ratignolle, the sight of the endless ocean brings back memories from Edna's childhood.   She suddenly recalls a summer day in Kentucky and "a meadow that seemed as big as the ocean to the very little girl...and I felt as if I must walk on forever without coming to th... ... on, thinking of the bluegrass meadow...believing that it had no beginning and no end" (Chopin 190).   It is there in the ocean that she first realizes her physical, mental, and emotional potential. It is only natural that the water, which has seduced her with its sound reclaims her.    Throughout the story the ocean represented Edna's constant struggle for self-realization and independence.   From her first flow of emotion on the beach to her last breath of life in the sea, the ocean beckons her.   The voice of the sea lures her onward in her journey toward liberation and empowerment.    Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Kate Chopin. New York : Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Chopin, Kate.   The Awakening.   1993: Bedford Books, New York. Nickerson, Meagan. "Romanticism in The Awakening", The Kate Chopin Project. America On-line. February 2000.   

Seven Samurai :: essays papers

Seven Samurai Kurosawa creates a masterpiece with the Seven Samurai. This film was created in 1954, it is a Japanese film and it has English subtitles. The Seven Samurai is a story about a small farming village in 16th century Japan that is under constant threat from traveling groups of outlaw bandits. The elders that live in the village decide to hire a defense force to protect them from these outlaws. They enlist a variety of samurai for hire and samurai are willing to work for their food. The mission of the seven samurai is to protect the village against almost impossible odds. These people who live in the village need the samurai, but they also fear the samurai. What is really interesting about this film is the difference between the simple farming people and the more experienced samurai. The samurai have lived a life of violence and confrontation and the farming people have lived a very simplistic lifestyle. The farmers and the samurai must now depend on one another to survive which forces them to have relationships that would not normally take place. This film had spectacular performances from the actors, especially Takashi Shimura, who plays Kanbei. Kanbei is a seasoned samurai and he was first chosen by the elders of the village. Toshiro Mifune’s plays Kikuchiyo who is an abrasive samurai who bridges the gap between the warriors and the people who live in the village. Kurosawa’s final battle scene is climatic. Kurosawa helps the audience to understand the battle. This film was completely filmed in black and white and the sets, costumes, acting and cinematography all created in this battle scene to show us how a battle scene should be portrayed.

Free YGB Essay - Formalistic Approach to Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown :: Free Essays on Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown:   The Formalistic Approach In reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, I found many of the formalistic approach concepts in this short story. The concepts in this short story were simple to see and to understand. There was much discussion about the symbolism, allegory, and allusion, along with the ambiguity, and form.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The formalistic approach to reading is one of the most common approaches to reading literature. The formalistic approach has three main points to it: symbolism, allegory, and allusion. However these are not the only criteria that belong to the formalistic approach. Ambiguity, form, and organic form are also a part of it. Symbolism can refer to an image. "When an image takes on meaning beyond its objective self, it moves into the realm of symbolism (86)". Allegory is "a one to one equivalence between the surface meaning and a higher meaning(101)". An example of this is a man named Christian that is christian. Allusion is a reference to something else, maybe another piece of literature or another movie. Allusion can lead to the reader's knowledge of the rest of the story. Ambiguity is the use of a particular word, but yet the word itself has many different meanings. Form is the way the reader identifies a story whether it is a story or a poe m. The organic form has two parts: the local texture and logical structure. The local texture is the specific metaphors while the logical structure is the basic idea or argument of the story. In Young Goodman Brown, symbolism is displayed in many areas. The first obvious one is the use of the word faith. Young Goodman Brown has a wife named Faith and in the later part of the story he actually loses his faith. The pink ribbon can also be used as a symbol. This is also a demonstration of ambiguity. Red often refers to sex while white refers to purity. However since pink is a mixture between red and white this leads us to think that there can be suspicion in this story. Other symbols from this book are the names of the people. In our class discussion we talked about the Puritans and the way they named their children. They name their children after things that are very important to them such as faith, purity, and chasity. Throughout this book there are many names used such as Faith and Goodman Brown.

Five Pillars of Islam

According to teachings and beliefs of Islam, the mission is to reform society, making it moral and good. In the traditional practices of Islam, as a child one is taught to memorize the Qur’an. It is said that as one gets older the power of these words helps them in shaping their lives. The Qur’an teaches that there is only God that should be prayed and worshipped to. There belief is also that when humans wrote down some of God’s original messages the true message was somehow altered and not written correctly. A chant, which is the first thing that infant hears is whispered â€Å"La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammad-un Rasulu-llah† which means (â€Å"There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God†). Islam teaches that Muhammad was God’s messenger hear on earth. Muhammad is said to be the true deliverer, because his scriptures were direct from God. The Qur’an is said to be authentic, the words that God said have not be been changed, but are direct and not translated. One can only find peace and harmony if they believe and surrender to Allah (God). There are two major sins according to Islam. One is called shirk, it means to only worship one God. The other kufr, to be ungrateful to God, or atheist. Islam teaches that one must be fearful and love God. The unseen life show’s that Muslims believe in angels of God, here on earth with specific responsibilities, some recording our every deed. There is also the belief in the after life and hell. The Five Pillars of Islam are considered God’s commandments. The beliefs of Muslims are reflected in these Pillars. The first Pillar, the Shahadah, is believing and professing the unity of God and the messengership of Muhammad. Secondly, it is required that one prays five times per day, facing Mecca. Thirdly, the zakat, which is the donation of at leas two and a half percent of one’s yearly accumulated wealth. Fourth, is fasting, and finally the firth Pillar is hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is expected of every Muslim at least once in their lifetime, performing traditional rituals and practices. Following these commandments are required of all that practice the Islamic religion, paying homage to God. These help to bring one closer to God and all his glory.

Grave of the Fireflies My Personal Reactions Essay

Yet again this is another war movie. But unlike so many American blockbusters that treat brave soldiers as heroes (such as Pearl Harbor, We were soldiers, Windtalkers, etc.), this one addresses war’s brutal impact on innocent civilians, especially children. With the war on Iraq now undergoing, this point has all the more relevance. Under the same American bombing, innocent Iraqi children are now suffering just as much as Seita and Setsuko in this movie have suffered, and even more, for the Iraqi people and land have long known the horrors of poverty, hunger and dictatorship. This essay, with at the beginning a brief summary and an elaboration of three classic scenes in the movie, is going to present to you the three dimensions of the complex feelings that the movie provokes in my heart on a personal level and thus tries to offer an individual yet hopefully worthy viewpoint for those interested in the movie. Summary and Three classic scenes Grave of the Fireflies is based on a semi-autobiographical book by Nosaka Akiyuki about the death of his sister, and is a very well known book in Japan. The movie itself is about a teenager boy named Seita and his 5-year-old sister Setsuko, and how they try to survive in mainland Japan after the entirety of their port town, Kobe, is destroyed by American fire bombings. Their mother dies shortly after the fires are put out, in a graphic and poignant scene at a community hospital. Their father is in the Navy, and unbeknownst to them, has already died in battle. Unable to tell Setsuko that their mother has died, Seita takes her with him to live with their Aunt. The Aunt, however, cares little for them, and barely feeds them. Seita eventually takes Setsuko, and leaves their aunt’s house for a dug-out shelter by a pond, where he struggles hopelessly to find money and items to trade for food. It all spirals downward in a tragic, yet foreseeable, path to a heartbreaking end, which is slow-suffering death for both brother and sister. There are three scenes in the movie that I find particularly striking and believe do most in delivering the themes of this movie. One is when after  the siblings use the fireflies to illuminate the cave, Setsuko is seen the next morning burying the dead insects, and as she tells that she knows her mother has died and is now also in a grave, she asks with her two large sparkling eyes shadowed and barred by the horrors of war, â€Å"Why do fireflies have to die so quickly?† Another comes after Seita carries his little sister to the hospital and is informed that his sister is starving and needs food, he is somber for a moment murmuring ‘food’, then in a sudden burst of desperation, cries out: â€Å"Where am I supposed to get food?† These two questions stabbed my heart like spears the moment I heard them. These are questions that never really need to be answered but they nevertheless need to be remembered. In the last scene, the ghost of Setsuko lays sleeping comfortably in the lap of her older brother, while he gazes at the night sky over the skyline of a fully modernized city. As one critic elaborates on this last shot, and here I quote, â€Å"They live on, though the world has forgotten them, and will continue to live on forever, reliving their story. They have not forgotten the past; they cannot. And neither should we.† Troubled, Moved, and Pity In fact this is a feeling any human being would have after watching this movie. The story the movie tells is heart-rending enough, as could be well seen from the above description and elaboration. However, the movie’s strength is not in the story, but in the untold. From the time Seita’s ghost appears after his death in a train station at the beginning of the movie, the viewer is haunted by the remembrance of what is to come as he retells his story. There are times when the viewer is allowed to forget about the future, but only for a little while, as Seita and Setsuko’s reappearance brings them back to the sad reality of their impending deaths. A feeling is created that some ghosts (like Seita and Setsuko) are still living, breathing people, and are cursed to watch their agony over and over again. In a scene where Setsuko cries violently for her Aunt not to take her mother’s kimonos and sell them for food, the screen pans slowly and deliberately out of vie w of the main characters, where the orange glow of Seita’s ghost appears. He covers his ears and cringes at his sister’s tears, almost crying himself, but can do nothing to stop them. Even the few heart warming scenes in the movie are interrupted by the truth of what the brother and sister face. There is a scene about a half hour into the movie where Seita takes Setsuko to the beach for the first time. It is a beautiful display of sibling love, and flashbacks of warm memories from their family enter the story. They are all too brief, however, as Setsuko soon discovers a dead body from the war wrapped in straw. Seita tells her the man is asleep, and they do not go to the beach again. Another disquieting scene is of Seita’s ghost watching himself carry his sleepy sister on his back, about to enter his Aunt’s house for the first time. He watches, knowing full well what will come of it, but unable to stop it. Indeed, as Roger Ebert, the famous critic for Chicago Sun-times, wrote in his review essay of the movie, one of Grave of the Fireflies’ greatest gifts is its patience; shots are held so we can think about them, characters are glimpsed in private moments, and atmosphere and nature are given time to establish themselves. The movie does not try to create a dramatic plot or atmosphere; rather it narrates the story out simply and directly, giving the animation an amazingly realistic touch and mood. There is time for silence in almost every scene and between scenes. And in these silences allowed for meditation we the audience are deeply troubled by the horrors of war, moved by the beauty and spirit the siblings display while confronting these horrors and at the same time we feel great pity for their tragic fate. Being a Chinese†¦ Being a Chinese, I found myself at times revolting to the movie in the course of viewing, mainly because, I think, it narrates through a Japanese military family’s point of view and takes a great pity upon the Japanese people. I thought to myself: â€Å"How about the cities you bombed and the villages you burned down? You deliberately invaded other countries and you massacred other peoples at will. During World War II, thousands upon thousands of Chinese people not only died from poverty and hunger, they died as victims to your soldiers’ barbaric slaughtering-for-fun-and/or-competition craze, and as experimenters in your notorious chemical weapon labs. You raped our  women and murdered our children, what right have you got to make such a movie and complain to the world about your miseries in a war largely initiated by your own government’s greed for power and resources?† Some of the characters’ remarks in the movie I find offending, like â€Å"Daddy will make them pay for this†, â€Å"†¦defend our country and motherland†, â€Å"We surrendered? The great Japanese Empire surrendered?† etc. Also the portrait of the impression of the boy’s father being loving, upright and brave somewhat angers me. In this movie, the father is the only soldier of the characters involved, and therefore to some extent he represents the Japanese military. This has some effect in creating the false impression that the Japanese military is upright and is only defending their homeland. Moreover, I cannot help thinking that if Seita was but a dozen years older, he would have been fighting somewhere in the Asias or the pacific, tormenting innocent people of other countries and serving the fascist greed of the Japanese government. Nostalgic Mood Still I admire many of the movie’s beautiful scenes. I believe that the scene of numerous fireflies dancing in the dark and around the brother and sister will remain one of animation’s most memorable scenes and it tickles every child’s heart with wonder. The way that the siblings capture fireflies and set them free inside their net is the most peculiar yet fascinating way of illuminating I have ever seen. The effect it produces is overwhelming: imagine sleeping inside such a net! —- Just as the movie shows, it is just like sleeping under the starry sky in the open air! In fact many of the movie’s scenes ring familiarly with my childhood memories. I remember vaguely when I was small I also went out after dark with my peers to capture fireflies; I also crushed the firefly the first time I tried to hold one in my hands. To me, many of the movie’s displays of natural landscapes and field views accord to South China’s beautiful countryside scenery. It resembles my hometown as I remembered. Nowadays things are unfortunately different. Industrialization and modernization have robbed today’s children the privilege and pleasure of swimming in little ponds and catching fireflies and grasshoppers on summer nights. In fact I have never ever seen a firefly when I go back every summer since I came to Beijing. For  me personally, thereof, the movie in some respects counts more as a nostalgic one remembering good old days than a war movie with profound meanings.