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Table of Contents |
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| My student exchange to England | Ideas of evil exist in everyone's mind | ||
| Educating Rita - a story of an unfulfilled love | Bob Seger´s "American Storm" | ||
| To what extent is "Educating Rita" an autobiography? | A strong Europe could create a "European Dream" | ||
| Higgins´s presentation of Eliza in Pygmalion, Act III | Multicultural Society: Media and Reality | ||
| The ideas of topical relevance in "Pygmalion" | Capital Punishment: The Mass Media’s Influence | ||
| "Lord of the Flies", Start of social and moral regression | America´s problem of education and ghettos | ||
| How much does Holden reveal about his feelings ? | Must one be like everybody else ? | ||
| Flora reveals her frustation and desires | Alan Ayckbourn: No time for each other ? | ||
| Agatha Christie: Murder as Entertainment | Characterization of Hammett´s detective | ||
| My own formula of a good crime story | Hemingway, The Doctor and the Doctor´s Wife | ||
My student exchange to England There are certainly some facts which I would consider worth writing about but those events might be quite mind-numbing for the reader so I will try to focus on my stay in England which was probably a factor that changed my life most during the last few years. For a period of two terms I attended a British Boarding School near the Channel. The city closest to my college, called Lancing College, was Brighton, which we were allowed to visit only during weekends. Lying on the biggest hill for several miles especially the college chapel appeared to be quite monstrous so that I was quite impressed as were were approaching ( I was being told that this chapel was the biggest school chapel in the world). It was one of those enormous buildings that were built at the zenith of the British Empire. However, I did take a while to integrate, get to know people and, most important, to get to know the country's "characteristics". Life and especially school (life) was rather different from the one in Germany. As I already mentioned I found it a bit difficult do adapt myself into the community, probably because I was German. I am typically tall, blue-eyed and had blond hair. It was particularly hard to tell them how tall I actually was. They measured that I was about 6"3' which didn't mean anything to me as well as the eighth of an ounce. But once I had found my way it was much easier to communicate to people and to get an knowledge of the British culture. Then I even enjoyed sports I had just heard of before like rugby. Although I would never have thought of playing that kind of sport I was fascinated by it because it was different to all sports I had known before. Of course, it was tough and I hardly knew any of the rules; nevertheless it was great fun. I was pretty surprised that no one had ever heard of handball, which I have been playing for eight years, but at least they knew my second-favourite sport (table-tennis). To sum it up I would say I learnt much about the British culture and there is one bank holiday I won't forget. On Rememberance Day the entire nation wears poppies and honours the dead of all wars the Brits ever fought. It was quite an emotive day. When leaving Britain I was quite familiar with its customs and had made some friends. It was difficult to settle in back in Germany. It was the same strange feeling I had when I arrived in England. It was definitely the greatest time I had had in my life. (Sep 2000)
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Educating Rita - a story of an unfulfilled love Reading the drama "Educating Rita" by William Russell it appears to be rather complicated to define whether it is some kind of love between the two characters Frank and Rita. At first sight there would certainly almost be no one who could definitely claim to state that this is a love story. Approaching the play one could have slight difficulties to say if Frank is just fascinated by Rita's behaviour or immediately fell in love. As he himself announces he thinks that she is marvellous . But reading further on through the passage it appears as if he just showed some interest because of her spontaneous acting which is exactly the opposite of Frank's manner. To be precise they got contrasting characteristics. That does not necessarily mean that there cannot be an existence of love at all. Particularly opposing human beings (as far as it concerns their way of acting) tend to feel attracted to each other. However, if there is love I would dare saying that that love is not mutual love. From my point of view only Frank gives the impression that he feels affection for Rita. This problem might occur, as the reader would surely expect both of them to fall in love. Russell himself says that he tried to write a love story though he cannot say with certainty that he managed to do so. During one of their first meetings Frank asks her why she did not walk into his office twenty years ago. Although her reply is not that kind of answer one would expect if she loved him his question clearly indicates that he shows some interest for her. He is fascinated by her behaviour not being influenced by any rules of middle-class restraint, which gives her independent thoughts to a certain extent. He admires her, thinking that she is clever in her own way. He asks her why she had not chosen a course in politics meaning that she is intelligent and capable of recognizing complex structures although she interprets them in quite an unorthodox way that would not be accepted by examiners. As I already mentioned Frank is willing to get to know her better than just during their lessons. In the middle of the first act he does not care about the books having been burnt by Rita's husband but apparently wants to find a way to get more of Rita's company. He says "Let's leave it for tonight. Let's go to the pub and drink pots of Guinness and talk." He looks for an opportunity to date her and find out more about her. He makes compliments trying to make clear that he is quite keen on her saying that she is an irresistible thing. He appears to be rather disappointed when she does not turn up for the dinner he had invited her for. As the play goes on he gets less interested in teaching her than in getting to know her. From the end of the first act onwards he tries to avoid teaching several times. When she gets thrown out by her husband he obviously attempts to talk about something else but literature. He has not got an explanation why he is not so keen on teaching though Rita gets more and more exited about it. Rita looks as if she just wants to be friends with Frank. She tells him about her new life, her flatmate and the dramas and tragedies she has read. Frank does not want to accept that she does not want to begin a relationship. He says that he cares for her, gets upset when she tells him about a student called Tiger. In the end he indirectly compares her with Frankenstein as if he created a monster a Rita that is completely different to the one at the beginning of the play. Looking at the last few pages one could conclude that Russell did not manage to write a typical love story. To some wide extent it certainly could be interpreted as one but it is not a love story which results in a relationship of the two characters. It is an unfulfilled love as far as Frank seems to adore Rita. He maybe even gets addicted to her, as he is quite upset about her "growing up" and getting educated. Metaphorically the passage in which he announces that he will travel to Australia marks that there is nothing that he can do for her any more.
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To what extent is "Educating Rita" an autobiography? When I read the autobiography by William Russell I could not detect many facts indicating a similarity to his play "Educating Rita". After having read it a second time I found some points in his life that could be considered as parallels to Educating Rita. However, it is not unusual for authors to integrate some events of their own lives in their books, e.g. Erich Maria Remarque. William Russell states in the first sentence of his autobiography "Educating the Author" that he was born in a small town not far away from Liverpool. This is one of the basic factors that he has got in common with Rita. He spent his childhood in the same class , which Rita is in; he even grew up in the same area. By the age of five he moved to an estate full of Liverpudlians who taught him to speak correctly as far as they thought. This being an excellent example for the behaviour of lower-class people shows that even the accent mattered and Oxford English would probably not have been accepted by typical Liverpudlians. From my point of view the connection to Rita is that that kind of society does not allow differences in terms of behaviour, language or dress. Rita's husband is quite furious about her attending an Open University, which hardly any member of the lower class would do. However, Russell as well as Rita wants to escape their current situation. After visiting a bottle factory he decided not to end up like the workers in there and made a decision to do everything to get more out of life. In order to solve that immense difficulty he made every effort to flee from the social background and begin a new life by attempting to gain a place at a university. Having cleaned oil from girders he not only jeopardized his own life he not only showed that he was keen on earning much money, but also that was determined to leave his first life behind even if he had to risk his life. That is the same behaviour, which Rita shows when being thrown out because she had refused to stop attending Frank's lessons. Besides, there is one thing that can be related to the change of their lives. In Russell's biography the excursion to the bottle factory he did marks a hard turn of his life. When he saw what the life of those workers consisted of he realized that he needed to choose whether he wanted to waste his life in a factory making bottles or do other brainless labour or to give his life a new shape and meaning and become something he had always wanted to become since he had read a book during silent-reading lessons: a writer. In the play Rita comes to that crossing when she comes to the pub spotting her friends singing and her mother complaining that they could sing better songs than that. At that point of the play she becomes conscious of what her life had previously been about. Therefore she had to decide if she either wanted to come to an dead end, get pregnant and live her life the way her husband had always wanted her to or to depart her first life and start a new life which is exactly the same experience that Russell had. The only difference that would be recognisable relating play to autobiography is that the decision that Rita had to make was more significant as she, in fact, had to start a new life by finding a new home and making new friends (e.g. Tyson, Trish). Beside these relations there is one event most obviously being autobiographical which is his job as ladies' hairdresser. Both Russell and Rita worked as a hairdresser and did not particularly like it. Furthermore he attempted to write songs while he was working but kept being interrupted by customers. Although Rita did not write songs she did her essays for her upcoming lessons, too. I think he especially intended to relate Rita's job to his life in order to make it more authentic and probably to show the audience that the play was, in fact, part of the social problems and was not an invention of Russell's mind. Because of that this passage deserves special interest by the reader or the spectators as it shows the connection to reality. In addition to those facts I would state that there are direct and indirect indicators for a drama with autobiographical elements. A direct example is that they both worked as hairdressers and an indirect example is that in Russell's as well as in Rita's life there is one central event that made them change their lives. For Russell it was his visit to the bottle factory, for Rita it was the night when she came into the pub and found her friends and relatives singing. Finally I would make the point that some events that Russell included in his drama are autobiographical. Nevertheless one would be wrong to call it an autobiography as that would assume that many novels, dramas and plays would have to be considered as autobiographical. As I already mentioned it is common usage for authors to include some events of their life. Particularly in dramas one can always find facts that are similar to episodes of the author's life. Therefore "Educating Rita" could be called a drama with autobiographical influences but certainly not an autobiography.
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Higgins´s presentation of Eliza in Pygmalion, Act III Although Eliza has worked hard, the test turns out to be a failure
Eliza's immediate appearance is undoubtedly impressing not only because of her look but also because of her speech. Analysing her usage of words and her pronunciation (to the extent given) one would hardly be able to identify her as the girl who sold flowers near Covent Garden. Her language is the result of endless hours of hard work, her pronunciation demonstrates perfection and precision. As it is said in the stage directions she pedantically watches the correctness of her words . She particularly emphasizes her speech to make clear that she belongs to the professional class. Considering her language it quickly becomes clear that it is the small differences that matter, e.g., saying "is it not" instead of "isn't it". From my point of view she seems to even overemphasize this detail of speech considering that even Miss Eynsford Hill contracts two words to make them one. Nevertheless, she applies the things she has learnt during the last few months to the statements she gives. There is one crucial part in which she tells her audience her "weather forecast". This sentence is central as it reflects her achievements so far although it has to be said that she undoubtedly has practised very hard. She certainly does her best to show the listeners her advancement but she incidentally tells them that she still has difficulties, which I do not regard as major ones, but which make all the difference between a genuine lady and a flower girl. Considering Eliza´s stage of training it is understandable why Higgins tells his mother to stick to subjects such as weather and common health. Though Eliza has indisputably made great progress she is still stiff as far as the fluency of her language is concerned. She still has slight difficulties in expressing herself and hesitates or gasps . There are two probable answers to explain that behaviour. Firstly she could just be nervous because the company is is in is from a different class or secondly, and more likely, she is not used to that kind of language and does therefore have problems. She basically collapses from the point when she starts the topic of her aunt's death and does not follow the rules of small talk about the weather. This is a turn of 180 degrees as she returns to her former colloquial tongue. She starts mixing up singular and plural, using the incorrect tense , speaking informal language . and changing the meaning of the sentence by saying "never no" . Her words as well as her grammar get more and more slang-like (though she never completely returns to it). Besides, the more she attempts to speak accurately the more Freddy laughs at her and the more she gets unsure. That is shown by the fact that she asks Freddy whether she has said anything she oughtn't . At that point it becomes clear that she is by far not presentable in order to pass as a duchess. She still lacks confidence and would not be able to have a proper talk. Of course, she has changed her speech (as well as her manners), but there are still some small but crucial passages that she gets wrong, and which would betray her. Finally, I would like to state that she has achieved very much considering the fact that she hardly knew how to speak properly some months before. Nonetheless there is much to be done to reach Higgins´s ambitious aim. She would undeniably have failed pretending to be a duchess and would have revealed her true origin. The mistakes she made are too serious to be unnoticed by a more critical company.
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A play of ideas: What are the ideas of topical relevance in "Pygmalion"? People still depend on others and their favours Bernard Shaw, author of "Pygmalion", was a man who was interested in politics. He sympathised with socialism as the form of government and wrote essays on the society of his time. He probably mainly criticised the contemporary system and favoured a socialist state established by evolution without any military aggression involved. His plays therefore partly also characterise its author who obviously attempted to make them an example for the problems of his contemporary society. His critical view of that time expressed in his dramas could be applied to our time. Particularly the British society hardly changed during the last century. An extraction of his basic criticism is simple as the social order is still the same. His ideas remain of great importance and relevance even today because the conditions and causes for those problems (not only in Britain) have not changed. It seems necessary to say that every single argument that Shaw gives could be applied to our modern society. There is only one thing that is different. There are some ideas that could easily be found in our contemporary civilisation and there are other ones that one would hesitate to accept because they are less likely to happen. Shaw points out that there are two main categories in the Victorian age. On the one hand he puts honesty, which would apply to Freddy's and, may be, even to Mr Higgins's character; on the other hand there is superficiality that characterises Mrs Eynsford-Hill. Honesty is certainly one point that is valued by almost every human being. Nevertheless it sometimes leads to controversial opinions which differ so much that the person who openly says what he or she thinks is treated badly by others as it is rare to criticise people (by the means of helping them). Therefore it is quite common not to tell fellow human beings his or her actual point of view. This could be regarded as superficiality, which is always complained about (mainly by people who are superficial themselves). Especially the middle-class in Britain as well as in other countries is superficial these days. Small Talk is probably the best indication for that. Nearly everyone associates topics like the weather with superficiality. From my point of view every single human being is superficial to some extent, which is defined by his or her actions, by social background and current social position as well as by the view that colleagues have about that specific person. Though he is very cruel, Mr Higgins could be viewed as a direct person who says what he thinks and more importantly hates the Victorian society with all its pretenses. It can clearly be seen that Mr Higgins is isolated not only by his own choice but by the fact that his technique of communication with other people is unacceptable for them. Besides Shaw points out that there is no perfect class in any society. Having changed classes Alfred Doolittle criticises his new life as henow has several relatives he has not even heard of before he became rich. He insults the middle-class which is expressed by his term middle-class morality and represents a criticism that weighs positive and negative aspects of both classes. Generally, it is true that nowadays, by particularly referring to British culture that class-problem still exists and remains to be one of the major difficulties. Looking closely at Mr Dolittle and Eliza one should easily be able to see that people are treated differently because of their origin. Nevertheless that can just be applied as long as his or her background is apparent. Mainly members of the middle-class humiliate fellow human beings of the working class. Recently there has been a case that emphasizes and characterises the problems that men and women who grow up in a poor environment. England is known for its famous public schools, which cost a lot of money to attend. A young woman who could not afford the fees of a public school, finished her A-levels at a state school with excellent results. She applied to Oxford but was not accepted although pupils who by far had worse results but had attended a public school were admitted to study there. She was finally accepted at Harvard University in the USA. Although claiming to be a democracy Britain shows signs of non-democratic attitudes. As a parallel to the play, in which Eliza states that she just is a lady because she is treated as one, the woman stands representative for that problem. One always depends on others and their favours. It is astonishing that there is no guarantee of equal treatment between the three classes. Despite the superficial respectability that was apparent the Victorian age was the time when prostitution flourished . The situation has improved since then but particularly youths act superficially prudish, which is shown by the fact that England has most teenager pregnancies in the whole of Europe (about 90,000 per year). Bernard Shaw had some reasonable ideas that were true but revolutionary at his lifetime. His points of criticism stayed the same and were always topical throughout the last decades. His aim to make the spectators think about their morality was immensely successful, partly just by the fact that his plays were mostly authentic. Today it would not be likely to change one's entire character just by changing one's accent as it is assumed in Pygmalion, because there are several other factors that complete this metamorphosis, e.g., behaviour, topics of conversation or manners. Shaw probably only wanted to show accents made out a great part of the character of a human being. Apart from that it appears to be quite realistic to state that the story of Pygmalion could always happen again, mainly because the very nature of individuals hardly changes. Thus people like Freddy who incarnates the ideals of Shaw will always be "outlaws" or outsiders because they lack the toughness required to get through life.
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"Lord of the Flies", Chapter 4: Start of social and moral regression Some older boys discover the fun of tormenting younger ones.
The first indication of a rising aggression is demonstrated by the bigun Maurice who destroys the sand castle Percival and two other littleuns play with. Accidentally Percival gets some sand in his eyes and begins to cry, but Maurice forms "the uncertain outlines of an excuse" although he has been punished for doing exactly the same thing. As a matter of fact there is not any parent who would discipline him. The apology therefore remains half-hearted. The absence of grown-ups causes another boy to copy Maurice's behaviour because there is noone who would teach him what is right or wrong. Later on in the chapter one more boy realizes that the fun of tormenting younger ones will not be persecuted and starts throwing sand as well. The loss of civilisation given in this chapter comes to a first climax. It begins with Maurice throwing sand at Percival and escalates in excitement to kill. Golding obviously intends to show how easily evil in human beings can appear and how fast the progress is which causes the boys to feel hostile towards one another. He also wants to point out that evilness can exist in children who are usually associated with innocence. The process that makes the boys forget manners, behaviour and rules has to be classified in several parts. The way they start acting and treating one another becomes more and more clear the more steps they do towards an uncivilized life. Golding creates a story which is full of excitement and tension. As he wants to make clear the social change he tells short episodes that are exemplary for the conduct of the entire community. Filling one's eyes with sand is not anything kind but is an expression of childish behaviour that is usually suppressed by parents´ punishment. In Golding's novel the lack of parents first of all causes the boys to continue throwing sand and not to apologise. When Roger throws stones at Henry it is obvious that some rules do not exist any more as far as it concerns him. Despite the fact that his "arm …[is] conditioned by a civilisation" and he intended to miss he throws them, a thing that endangers and jeopardises Henry's life in case Roger miscalculates anything. The change becomes clear when Jack and his hunters manage to kill the long-desired pig. They sing "kill the pig, cut her throat spill her blood ", dance and are proud to have killed a living being. They are so excited and full of pride that "they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink. " Obviously, they do not think of the pig as an animal but something human-like, the nick that Jack wants to make in his hilt symbolises an actual parallel to killing people; before the Charta of Human Rights existed men (for instance, in the Wild West) shot each other for minor reasons or just for the sake of it, thus behaved savage-like. They certainly had to show off to demonstrate their cruelty and skill by shooting fellow human beings. The boys appear to have lost the ability to distinguish between common sense and hunting. Particularly Jack is obsessed by his hunting-skills and therefore the first to show that he forgot human behaviour. Even his laugh becomes inhuman, a "bloodthirsty snarling" . Having been criticised by Piggy, who is the outsider of their group, he starts beating him up for the reason of respect. He wants to be feared by the other boys and be accepted as their leader and so he shows what he is able to do. Earlier on in this chapter Golding gives some indications that mark the moral and social regression. The illusion of mastery that the littleun Henry feels when plays with the creatures on the ground clearly shows how far away the boys are from the civilisation they were used to. The seek for power that is strong in an ordinary civilisation is now even stronger as there is noone who would be able to hinder any of the boys to erect a hierarchical system. Chapter four marks a sharp change in the boys' behaviour. It shows that one could forget his or her own civilisation quite quickly and demonstrates what the results will be.
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Ideas of evil exist in everyone's mind Golding makes the point that evil potentially rests in any society "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding is considered as one of the best novels written in our century. It is about some boys stranding on a lonely island who attempt to form a stable community. Golding intended this book to explain the essential illness of mankind by displaying how easily one can turn evil and savage-like. In order to avoid his book to be called moral he included his comments on the basic structure and problems of society in a book. Thus "Lord of the Flies" indirectly criticises our civilisation and makes an attempt to explain why it often fails to work properly. Golding himself is both an analysist of politics and its consequences and a psychologist.
The only one who can stop him is Ralph because he is tall, strong, intelligent (although he needs Piggy to decide things) and objective. Piggy states that Ralph is the only one who can prevent Jack from beating people up: "If you stand out of the way he'd hurt the next best thing." Jack hates people who stand in the way and could defeat him. It is obvious that the seek for power is one of the most dangerous characteristics of human beings. Golding wants to explain how easily society can break down because of a few men. The situation of Jack and the boys is an allusion to Hitler and the Second World War. Golding shows how easily a man like Hitler could rise to power and construct a system based on fear and treason. Jack always manages to convince the other boys and to contradict Ralph successfully and in the end does not shy away from breaking the rules that he himself has helped to be made. He argues that they "don't need the conch any more" as he would now know how things should be done. He ignores Piggy'sand Ralph's arguments and makes a kind of revolt by remaining on his feet although he has been told to sit down. When the boys climb the rocks because they want to find the beast Ralph wants them to go up the mountain. Jack and not Ralph leads them back. Jack achieves his aim to take over the leadership. He shows how easily one's mind can be twisted and changed by influencing one by speeches and rebellious behaviour. Golding makes the point that evil potentially rests in any society and particularly reveals the darkness of man's heart. This statement is emphasised in chapter four when one boy does not apologise for "filling a younger eye with sand." As the chapter goes on Golding gives more examples which point out that it is part of every single human being to hurt, injure or kill a fellow human being. It just depends on how society and civilisation reacts when the first signs of such behaviour appear. If that kind of behaviour is tolerated or remains unpunished many people will follow that example until the entire community is destroyed by anarchy. Furthermore, the fact that human beings like to torture living things is shown by Henry who, at least, does just play with creepers but becomes "absorbed beyond mere happiness as …<feels> himself exercising control over living things." It gives him an "illusion of mastery". Jack is so proud of having killed a pig so that he wants to nick the hilt of his knife, something that is usually done by adults during wartime who record their number of killings. He is excited about pigs so that he becomes possessed by that and appears to be savage-like as his laughter a "bloodthirsty snarling." Concluding these facts that are of importance today because the very nature of mankind does not change, it is apparent that the issues discussed above are expressed by politicians and by nearly everyone else who is ambitious. The ideas of evil exist in everyone's mind and can turn out easily. Thus jack's behaviour is not a unique case. The difficulty to recognise our problems is the most important one. "The understandable and lawful world" can slip away quickly, hope will be abandoned more easily than one thinks it would. "Lord of the Flies" certainly is a fable which describes many aspects of one's mind. Thus this book will always be reference for those who want to know what life is all about and why people act evilly.
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| A strong Europe could create a "European Dream"
The original American Dream is no unique characteristic of America Since the creation of the expression "American Dream" by James T. Adams in 1931 these two words characterize the attitude of America’s citizens towards life and success like nothing else. Most immigrants whishing to live in the USA go there with the thought of the American Dream in mind. They think that they will automatically lead a better life if they work hard. America might well be a great country but I severely doubt if the American Dream exists. As the word already states it is just a dream, something one visualizes when asleep. My point of view is that everyone who claims that there is something like the American Dream is naïve, arrogant and should face reality. Adams defines the Dream as a notion that offers the same opportunities for everyone with complete disregard to class or influence. He intended America to be a special place in the world in which everything should be better and more equal, something that seemed strange in the days of Hitler’s rise. Today the USA provides better chances concerning one’s career and is more open-minded and looks perfectly nice and welcoming for an immigrant. However, if you look behind the mirror you will see that they have to deal with the same problems most other industrial countries have. All those people who consider America as a god-given land which is special among others are thus wrong. When mostly English emigrants began to colonize America it could well have been some promising place far away from the problems, wars and intrigues on the old continent and could therefore have appeared to be god-given. This was that very time when the Dream was founded, built up in people´s minds as a counterpart to Europe, because one could start all over again and avoid all the faults and mistakes that had led the old continent into a political crisis with several wars and vendettas. This "Dream" is theoretically possible everywhere in the world. Nowadays a united Europe with a strong EU could well form a European Dream that promises equality and good jobs. It would certainly take some time to establish such an ambitious project but after some years’ time it could have become reality. In order to do this changes need to be done and this can be achieved if European politicians begin to believe as strongly in the new dream as to make it reality. My point of view is that the crucial points of Adams’s dissertation should be part of every democratic nation. Despite the fact that equality and the same chances of self-realization at the moment just happen to exist on paper because of many prejudices against minorities, it still is essential for all democracies as this is the essential difference to ideologies such as communism. And if we think of prejudices we should remember that especially America still has problems with minorities such as Blacks and Hispanics who are disadvantaged as far as it concerns their job opportunities and acceptance within the American society. These racial conflicts are surely not mentioned in the Dream, neither are the ghettos that many Blacks live in (e.g. Harlem/New York). It is also a small minority that fulfills their dreams. About 2% actually manage to "live" it, whereas about 10% of the US-population need to work in four or five different jobs because they don’t earn enough. Hence the question is if the USA really is so special and unique that it could be said that the American Dream as formulated by Adams is real? I think it isn’t. The original American Dream is either impossible to achieve or no unique characteristic of America, but should be controversially discussed anyway. |
Does the multicultural society presented in the media differ from reality? Multicultural society. These two words have probably been the most controversial topic under discussion lately. Germany as well as Switzerland, England, America and the rest of the world have to face the same problems of immigration which are closely linked to society. It is problematic as members of the extreme right would use any mistake for their own advantage. If you think of the problem, it becomes clear that there are two groups. First of all there are politicians who are supposed to regulate immigration and govern a civilisation with members of many countries. When they talk about that topic they usually make the appeal that residents and immigrants should find a way to live together happily and respect each other’s culture. This might sound quite good to a politician and to well-educated people who believe them anyway, but to working-class people it appears to be a joke. Uneducated people, at least in Germany, tend to be uninformed about foreigners coming into their home country and are therefore likely to be prejudiced against them. They view those people as competitors for good jobs. Parties of the extreme right wing manipulate them consciously and subconsciously, which increases their dislike towards foreign people. Hence the kind of multicultural society that is proposed by politicians does not reflect reality. In addition to that one has to make the point that the lack of knowledge about immigration, foreigners and their connection to a country is related to lack of information. Considering that it should quickly become apparent that mass media such as radio, TV and print media, especially in Germany, do not show both sides of the problem. Most contributions on TV usually show how tough it is for immigrants to integrate into the society. Of course, there are also articles that show how foreigners misbehave and become criminals but one should see that these persons only represent a small minority that is not willing to accept the rules of the state they live in. Nevertheless you must not forget immigrants can hold on to their rituals and culture but should become a part of society to a certain extent. That does not necessarily mean that civilisation should be a melting pot or a salad bowl but something in between. It should not be the case that in some parts of a major city a teacher cannot communicate with his pupils because they do not speak his language, although they live in a foreign country. To me reports on TV are euphemistic that in Berlin-Kreuzberg people of numerous different races live together in harmony. Publicity like that does not support the attempt to form a multicultural society because it encourages people to be dissatisfied with the way it is represented. All media known to me fail to draw an exact copy of our current society wherever we live. Instead of changing that, schoolbooks just partly show the problems that arise from immigration. Most of them just give general statements and describe the current situation of some individuals. They lack the examples of integration; positive as well as negative ones. They focus on some specific topic and give a short text with a history chart. All problems of multicultural society are too complex as to explain on a few pages. Therefore the message of many schoolbooks remains undifferentiated The problem of how to present multicultural society in the media is certainly one of the most difficult topics. However, it is always presented superficially as the most important things are being left out. If you want to know what the multiculture of one country actually is you should not try to get information from any kind of media, you have to get your own experience of it, you have to live in it. |
| Capital Punishment: The Mass Media’s Influence
Live executions would not have a deterring effect Being a non US citizen, it is difficult for me to comment on the media and the attraction they cause for capital punishment. Fortunately, new media like the Internet make it possible to collect different views. Given the emails from a public forum it appears to me that the public opinion in the USA is split. One part of the people thinks that showing executions on TV and the Internet would make people oppose it. They only seem to represent a minority. According to that public forum, most people believe that live executions will not affect people in a negative way but desensitise them. Furthermore they reason that it would lead to an increase of agreement on capital punishment considering the blood lust of the average citizen. From my point of view it is right to say that killings live on TV will not be a sensitising factor on people: one email reminds us that "public hangings were a festive event". Following their nature human beings generally tend to like or at least tolerate cruelties that are committed to fellow people. Of course, executions in the USA have become an every-day matter so that most of them do not get as much attraction as , e.g., in Germany. Nonetheless, extraordinary crimes or murderers like women or Timothy McVeigh can catch the attention of many Americans. These executions will get high quotas whereas the average execution will probably just be mentioned in the news but not cause much disturbance.
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| America’s problem of education and ghettos
Is there a key to a real management of crime ?
If one wants to find a way to decrease crime rates it is necessary to consider the NRA and its role and control in America. In a country that gives everyone the right to carry pistols the power of such an organisation is immense. Take the rifle exhibitions all around the country, which offer small guns even for children so that they can safely grow up and defend themselves. It is essential to pass a law similar to the Clinton one, but in order to achieve this the National Rifle Association (NRA) needs to lose power. That can only be done by politicians who are willing to change the current situation. Another important thing is that the government has to find a way to limit the number of illegal immigrants coming into the USA. Border controls should become more efficient and prevent the countless groups of illigals from coming into the USA. Most of them are uneducated and thus find it especially difficult to find a job because they are not qualified enough. These people often tend to become criminal for several reasons. Unemployment causes anger, people living in poverty commit a crime for money, some others, particularly teenagers of different cultural backgrounds, see violence as the only way to fight for their rights if they feel discriminated against. Nevertheless, it will be impossible to check all ways to enter the USA. Therefore many people will manage to slip through the net. In this case, it is necessary that foreigners get integrated very fast. If this does not happen people will look for others of the same culture and form a community of its own. Examples for that exist in most big American cities: Harlem in New York, Chinatown in San Francisco and large parts of Miami for Hispanics. The government has to prevent the building of those "ghettos". Many ethnic conflicts arise from that ethnic segregation as peole do not really know one another’s behaviour or even language. In addition to that education in general needs to be improved. Statistics and polls show that uneducated people more often commit crimes than people with a higher education. The more educated people are the less they are likely to become criminal. Hence an education programme is crucial in order to reach a lower crime rate. Schools have to be supported and pupils need to be supported not to break off high school. It would certainly be good to introduce a law that compels children and youths to spend a certain amount of years at school. Nonetheless a better education should just be part of a wider project. Currently there are too many people falling through the social net because the federal administration does not manage to build a secure one. The US-American social system lacks several points which ensure people to get more money. Once again, the fact that poor people are more likely to become criminal comes into play. Some very poor people have to take up to six jobs to earn enough money to live of. Fewer people living in poverty will commit crimes if something like a reasonable minimum wage existed. Additionally, more money from the state in case of unemployment would assist in the fight against crime. Crime is not just a question of violence, but also a result of social disorientation and instability. It therefore has to be seen in relation to several other factors but never alone. It is difficult to find a perfect solution to oppose criminals, but certainly social security is one key to it. |
| How much does Holden reveal about his
feelings?
A first impression based on chapters 1 - 7 The protagonist of J. D. Salinger’s novel, Holden Caulfield, appears to show no feelings at all. As the reader is guided by Holden’s experience, he learns the plot from the protagonist´s point of view. It is the more surprising that Holden does not mention any personal things. Due to that reluctance and the fact that he seems to have an apathy towards most people it becomes more exciting to come across a passage of intimate emotions of himself. The first impression one gets is that he feels anger and dislike for other people. His feelings are mostly negative. He criticises other peoples’ behaviour although he acts the same way. Holden sometimes has the ability to analyse himself quite well, but does not realize his faults, which are virtually the same. As he himself states he does not have a good vocabulary and therefore finds it difficult to express his feelings. Thus we often have to guess what he feels as he just indirectly mentions his feelings. An average teenager like him often believes himself not to be understood by anyone, particularly older persons. Holden makes the point that he sometimes acts older than he is but is annoyed that nobody ever seems to notice that. That fact serves as an example of what appears to be a big part of his personality. Because he very often has this kind of dislike it becomes the clearer when he mentions a person that he has or had a special relation to. He actually has no friends and therefore feels lonesome. He sometimes realizes that he unconsciously shows his feelings just by a short sentence as if he wanted to hide his character as much as possible. The feeling of sadness and loneliness is a rare occasion to reveal something that troubles him. Holden’s conduct is dominated by his continuous lying, which is another thing that he seems to know about himself. It is not quite clear whether he does that just to amuse himself or to please other people, but it makes clear how ambiguous a character he is. However, up to this point of the book all his good feelings are related to persons, his brother and sister and Jane Gallagher, to whom he appears to have had a close relation. He becomes very nervous and excited when Stradlater’s date turns out to be her. That is emphasized when he recalls what "a sexy bastard" Stradlater is. It looks as if he cares for her and thus thinks that she deserves someone better than Stradlater. One could interpret it the way that he is a guard that watches her so that she is not harmed. Still he is unable to express his thoughts and hence just describes his situation superficially. Beside Jane there is Holden’s deceased brother Allie who must have played a significant role in his life. His behaviour in the night of Allie’s death is crucial when he breaks all windows displaying the outrage about the loss of a very close relative, although he still does not know what he was doing. He usually exaggerates in order to point out how important something is and to emphasize it. Calling Allie fifty times as intelligent as him characterizes the attitude towards his brother and his admiration to have a brother like him. Although Holden does not reveal much, it is clear that he does have many feelings but is too reluctant to show them. He expresses his feelings just in a descriptive way as he cannot put them into words very well. |
"A Separate Peace" or "Must one be like everydody else?" If someone wants to be left alone that should be accepted Mr Brown, the main character of Tom Stoppard’s play "A Separate Peace", appears to be quite strange to the people he has contact with during his stay in hospital. In the end he is "forced" to leave the nursing home because his nurse Maggie helped to call his relatives. He asks her how she could know what was good for him? Maggie actually just wanted to help him as he always seemed to be on his own. Besides she is not sure whether he knows his family or not because his surname is Brown, a very common name. Thus Maggie intended nothing bad by finding out his identity and telling his relatives about it. Most people would appreciate if something like that was done for them, but Mr Brown does not due to his individual character, which differs pretty much from the one of an average person. Maggie does not understand what drives people like Mr Brown to loneliness. Therefore she concludes that, in fact, he does not want to be alone and just does not admit that. Although not really knowing what is good for someone like him she wants to give him support. That is due to the fact that she likes him pretty much; Maggie is the only one who calls him Brownie. She makes the decisions which society expects without knowing the actual reason why he stays in a nursing home. She concludes that everyone must desire to live with family and friends and not run away from them. When Mr Brown says he could have found his family if he had wanted but did not come to the hospital for that, his problem becomes clear. From Maggie´s point of view Mr Brown would be reluctant at first but then be pleased to see his family. It is unusual to run through life without anyone as a companion. That is a new situation Maggie does not know how to deal with. In a nursing home people do not tend to make their own decision because they are not capable. Generally speaking it could be said that it was not bad intention what Maggie did but could not work out with someone like Mr Brown. He himself states that he is not ill, which makes it more complicated for her as that emphasizes to what extent he differs from a regular patient at that nursing home. If someone wants to be left alone that should be accepted. |
Flora reveals her frustation and desires The matchseller serves as a catalyst for the state of her marriage Harold Pinter is considered to be one of the best contemporary writers of absurd theatre. In "A Slight Ache" he describes an old married couple that invites a matchseller who is standing at their back gate. Because her husband did not manage to make the matchseller talk, Flora convinces Edward to give her a try. She seems to be quite anxious to talk to the matchseller. During the discussion between the woman Flora and the matchseller she becomes intimate. During her encounter with the matchseller she more and more indirectly reveals the state of her relation to her husband and her desires. One has to look to the end of it in order to understand the beginning. She reckons that sex means nothing to the matchseller but adds that it is very vital for some people. Although she says some people she means herself. The marriage of Edward and her appears not to be going well lately. She could well be sexually frustrated and therefore look for someone she can touch. Edward’s coolness towards her causes her to tell a complete stranger about herself being raped. When she asks the matchseller if he was the rapist Flora wishes someone who loves her and she can take care of. That is the reason why she is being seductive to him. She wants a toy to play with, a person that is close to her and treats her kindly. The name she gives the matchseller, Barnabas (son of consolation), signifies what he represents and means to her. He supports her in the way that someone listens to her and does not contradict her statements just for the sake of it as Edward does. The conversation is basically a mirror of Flora’s unfulfilled wishes. She seems to have longed for a person who "understands" her, who she can watch over. Everything she reveals to the matchseller is something that she would like her husband to do for her, but apparently does not. He does not give her attention, otherwise she would not turn to a complete stranger. He obviously does not even allow her touch him. The matchseller serves as a catalyst for the state of their marriage. |
Agatha Christie: Murder as entertainment The reasons for the success of Agatha Christie’s crime stories lie in the books themselves. Some consider them the best crime riddles ever written in England. That is due to Christie’s style of writing, which leaves out confusing signs that irritate the reader and by which they are not given the chance to solve the crime. The major difference to other authors therefore is that the reader is treated fairly and is enabled to pick out the culprit. Additionally, what makes her novels and stories specifically interesting is that all the clues needed are given but usually misinterpreted, which again creates an incentive for the reader. Furthermore Christie’s novels have an ingenuity of plot and structure that makes them so special. They also possess a certain simplicity so that it is easy to understand for everyone. It is due to that simplicity that many people enjoy reading her novels. They thus are not only accessible to a certain age group but to people of all ages. The setting of a crime story by Agatha Christie is a closed world with a limited environment meaning that the culprit and the evidence for his crime are within the reach of the investigator in the book as well as the reader, which makes her novels more exciting to read. In addition to that there is the fact that Christie always writes about the murder and the actions connected to it in some humorous way, the murder itself is never cruelly done (people are never shot) but rather originally. It is presented as entertainment and loses the frightening effect a crime of that kind usually has on people. In every book the characters involved represent persons in the real world and have characteristics which can be found in any place at any time. That puts the reader in a position of identifying with one or several of those persons, a relationship is established between reader and fictional character. In my opinion, all those aspects contribute to her immense success. |
| Characterization of Hammett´s detective
Dashiell Hammett has created a person that one can identify with Considering the time when the story was written the detective in "The Main Death" brought some new aspects and another role of the main character into play. In comparison to Sherlock Holmes the detective created by Dashiell Hammett possesses a greater personality despite the fact that he is nameless. Whereas Holmes is the superior investigator who is always a step ahead and solves the crime on his own the detective tells the story from his point of view so that the reader is allowed to watch him and draw own conclusions. Furthermore his character has more facets, thus is more authentic and could really have existed (Holmes just appears to be a robot considering his characteristics). He represents the typical clever and intelligent who works without a partner like Watson. His colleagues just gather the information and follow the commands he gives them; he also appears to have no friendship whatsoever to either of them. The detective always manages to surprise his interlocutor by coming up with an unexpected solution or fact. That gives him an advantage over his counterpart who then behaves unsure and reveals that the detective´s guess was right. He confronts people with a reality that the persons affected do not consider likely to be found out. He does so with Mrs Main. What makes the detective cool is that he is totally aware of his abilities and has the self-confidence to apply them to every situation. It is also a sign of coolness that he himself does not talk much but rather lets people tell their stories in order to find out more as the person he interrogates might forget who he is and accidentally say something important. He does so during the conversation with his employer Gungen when he tells the reader "I kept quiet, waiting." In that way he is very calculating and pre-plans his actions and sometimes even lies in order to achieve something:" I concocted a wonderful series of lies to be told my client’s wife". Apparently seems to consider it fun to confuse his interlocutor and to basically control his actions when he reacts to his allegations. Many great detectives use the method of confusing other people, which brings them in the position of finding out something that is kept hidden. Hammett’s detective enjoys to play games, he appears to be a gambler who often pretends to take some action that could get the person he is talking to into a difficult position; he can anticipate what is going happen and in which way he is going to profit from it. It is remarkable how well he knows human behaviour. Speed as far as combining several facts is probably one of his best attributes. His actions are a result of evaluating his chances to get something new out of a conversation. For that reason he simulates to call the police when he talks to Mrs Gungen and forces her to react. He tells the reader he was "pretending I wasn’t watching her carefully" although he takes a close look at her. When he talks to his employer Mr Gungen another characteristic of him becomes apparent for the reader. He does not differentiate much between people as long as it brings him further on. Mr Gungen asks him to tell some more details but the detective does not pay that wish much attention. He rather continues questioning his employer which displays that he is used to order people. The detective commands him and does not show any respect; additionally he seems to talk with a disregard to position although most other people probably would have been friendlier to their clients. To make it more precise: he appears to have no respect for "authority" whatsoever but is straight and direct to everyone without acknowledging their status. The detective nevertheless is a professional who shadows people like Rose. He realizes when there will not be any chance get much out of her by following and therefore chooses to tail her friend who later on indirectly presents him more hints. Intuition and instinct are his major assistants during the investigations, when he decides to shadow Rose’s friend he completely relies upon his experience and his skills (like intuition). In addition to that he is totally aware of why he was hired and what he was hired for. Although the detective knows Mr Gungen wants him to find out whether his wife had an affair, the detective replies that he was employed to find out about the circumstances of Mr Main "and for nothing else." He is self-confident and not shy to criticise his employer and makes it clear that he will not permit him to use him for his purposes. Nevertheless the detective is indifferent as far as the profession of Mr Gungen is concerned and also does not want to get involved into Mr and Mrs Gungen’s personal affairs. When Mrs Gungen asks him whether he was going to ask if she was Mr Main’s mistress he answers "No - though of course I’d like to know", another example for his professional behaviour. He puts the necessary objectivity involving the case before his personal interests and avoids that both get mixed together. Moreover the detective is very trustworthy particularly in comparison to the other persons involved in this case and their credibility. He did not only keep his promise and did not tell his client how he was able to track down the culprits who had robbed Mr Main but also lied by announcing that Mrs Gungen’s maid and not herself had an affair with him. Moral notions play a big role in his acting; he basically decides what is justifiable to be told without interfering in personal matters. That includes lying but this one is different from the lying to convict someone insofar as it is meant to protect. Although Hammett did not name his hero and thus some people could argue he did not have any characteristics the detective has more personality than investigators like Sherlock Holmes. The image of the lone fighter for the right and the truth is popular, even nowadays. That proves that Dashiell Hammett has created a person that one can identify with and people like to read about.. |
Ralph blowing the conch
Piggy
