Interview Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interview - Research Paper Example He is now staying with his daughter Mary Slater in the same city. It seems that he is of 90 years now. I got acquitted with him by one of my friends, Alex. Actually Mr. Anderson is a relative of Alex. Last month I had visited the aunt of Alex, Mary Slater and from there I got acquainted with Anderson who talked a lot about his period when he was a boy. He was very friendly with me and so when I thought of such an assignment I had no other choice, but Anderson. I went to his house and I showed the list of choice of assignments on which he would have to talk a little of his experience. He chose the topic ‘silent motion picture’ that he had seen when he was a boy. Actually his father was a dramatist and who had acted in many plays. Anderson too had deep interest towards the making of films. He had seen the film ‘The Kid’ by the greatest comedian of all ages, Charlie Chaplin. Anderson was much excited to speak on the first film that he had seen in his life. He navigated me through the film: the comedies and at the same time the pathos associated with it. How the child in the film happened to be parentless and how the Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) tried his level best to return the baby to its mother. This aroused much laughter among the audience. As he failed in this attempt he had taken the pain of looking after the baby. Their attempts to earn a living by breaking windows and mending the same made the audience roared wit h laughter. He remembers that people laughing together at the farce of the characters created a sense of unity. For ‘little Anderson’ the play of the Tramp and the Kid seemed to be real and he associated it with his father. He remembered that situation of the period was also the same as in the film. The poor had to struggle a lot to earn their livelihood, and he was familiar with the Tramps in his surroundings. Mr. Anderson admitted that he had seen the same film in a second time in the Chaplin’s festival at New York City. And this time

Mumbai-the City of Dreams Essay Example for Free

Mumbai-the City of Dreams Essay Mumbai – the city of dreams, the city of broken dreams. Millions go unnoticed like sand castles washed away at the beach, millions are attracted by the skyscrapers of Elphinstone, and millions are immortalized like the Elephanta-s. From Haji Ali to Siddhivinayak, from local trains to the Vada Pav, from the boulders of Bandstand to the sands of Juhu, from Mangeshkar to Tendulkar, from the Khans to the Bachchans, it is ‘Aamchi Mumbai’ all the way. From the trawlers’ struggle for fresh catch to the country’s top CEO-s’ meetings, India’s business capital doesn’t seem to sleep. With fruit juice at Rs. 5 a glass outside railway stations, to Rs. 200 a cappuccino at the Trident, life in Mumbai sails smooth with all its diversity. The night remains young from DJ jamming sessions to ek chaalis ki last local. Almost a hundred Bollywood movies have had as their opening scene a long shot of Victoria Terminus, introducing Mumbai as sapno ki nagari. Arvind Swami’s lovelorn ‘Tu Hi Re’ on old fort reminds us of Bombay, whereas Ranbir Kapur’s ‘Wake up Sid’ sketches Mumbai on a realistic canvas. Dreams come true here, dreams shatter here, but life doesn’t go off the tracks. The locals move on, carrying few lakh dreaming hearts every day. The Churchgate slow local arrives on platform 3 of Lower Parel station at 11am with about a dozen hanging on each footboard; the ladies compartments have decked up corporate women in formals and topknots to Marathi fisherwomen rushing to the markets to sell their fresh catch. In fact, Mumbai traffic compels few office goers to park their cars at stations and take the reliable local to office everyday! ‘Bombay to Goa’ to ‘Saathiya’, the local train has repeatedly come on the silver screen. Even the Oscar winning Indian movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ had one of its popular songs shot at the famous Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus platform. Over the decades, it has turned out to be Mumbai’s lifeline. The tracks take a three hour daily break from 1:40am to 4:45am, CST to Khopoli, Churchgate to Dahanu. There are three main lines — the Western, Central and the Harbour line. Life in Mumbai revolves around local trains; the truth about which was felt when the Motormen strike on May 3rd, 2010 had left Mumbai chaotic and overturned. Another thing that raises tourist’s eyebrows is the ‘on-track’ vendors and their items. The ladies on their way buy household items to earrings to kurti-s. There is trial option also; anyone can try a kurti before choosing to buy! Another familiar face in the 9:01am Ambernath-Lower Parel II class ladies compartment is a lady who sells home-made sweets. She has an amazing style of calling out the names of the sweets, a shrill loud voice coming unexpectedly out of her frail structure, and women indeed go berserk buying her delicacies. It is perhaps correctly said, â€Å"You will find answers to all the mysteries of the world, except one— What does a woman want?† The engine siren pierces through the silence of the night, the bogies rattle on the tracks, the signals go red and green, the pebbles on the fishplates turn and overturn, and the Mumbai locals go on and on.

The Supernatural in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider Essay -- Lovecraft

The Supernatural in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider One of H.P. Lovecraft’s many short stories, â€Å"The Outsider† has been praised since its publication as his most profound and meaningful. This story has been interpreted many different ways, varying from an autobiography of Lovecraft himself to several different philosophical analyses. One such interpretation, by Dirk Mosig compares the plot and settings of â€Å"The Outsider† to Lovecraft’s own doubtful views of religion and an afterlife. Mosig supports his interpretation with many facts from the story, I believe he pinpoints one very possible meaning of the story. His argument successfully uses the plot and details to convince the reader that his hypothesis is correct. In order to understand Mosig’s interpretation, one must first understand â€Å"The Outsider† and its general themes, from an unbiased viewpoint. The story begins with the narrator explaining his origins. He, a nameless creature, tells of his environment: a dark, decaying castle amid an â€Å"endless forest† of high, lightless trees. (Lovecraft) He has never seen light, nor a single living human being. He lives among crypts lined with decomposing bones and rats. He never mentions eating, but lives alone, with only the thousands of books that the castle holds as a mental way to escape from the boredom of his prison-like home. Everything he know has come from his reading of the â€Å"antique books† that line the walls of his castle. (Lovecraft) There is no escape from his world save one tall tower which seems to reach above the soaring treetops. He explains that he had once tried to escape through the forest, but became scared in the endless woods and returned before he became lost. He has... ... It seems strange that H.P. Lovecraft, who made his fortune from stories about the supernatural, would be seen as not believing in the subject which made him famous. This may subtract from Mosig’s arguments. Also, other sources suggest that this should be read as a horror story; not just for the people who saw the outsider, but also for himself, when he realized his own fate and past. Dirk Mosig’s arguments are convincing however, and his interpretation makes good sense with the complex story that is â€Å"The Outsider.† Works Cited Lovecraft, Howard Phillips. â€Å"The Outsider.† H.P. Lovecraft Library. 1921. 6 Nov. 2002 . Mosig, Dirk W. â€Å"The Four Faces of The Outsider.† Discovering H.P. Lovecraft. Ed. Darrell Schweitzer. Mercer Island, Washington: Starmont House, 1987. 6754

Margret atwood

In the book The Penelopiad, Margret Atwood gives the 12 hanged maids a voice throughout the novel. She tells the story of the odyssey and Penelope's voice is powerful while also truthful and honest throughout the story. There is a reason and a purpose of why Margret Attwood chooses to give the maids a voice and let them be heard. In the story, Margret Atwood talks and discusses the maids for a specific reason. I believe that she thinks that the maids had no voice, they are all females, and there eath was not explained.That leaves one explanation that Margret Atwood is a feminist and thought that it would be important to include the maids and give them a much bigger part to show that its not 0k to treat women that way. In the first telling of the story, it was never stated that the maids had restrictions as to who and whom they couldn't sleep with. What also was not explained was why they slept with the suitors in the first place.That is why Margret Atwood found it to be intriguing to write bout what actually happened and give the maids a voice. Another reason for why Margret Atwood chose to give the maids a voice is because women didn't exactly have a say back in that time period and were also looked down upon. I think that Margret Atwood The last reason why Margret Atwood chose to include the maids into the story is because she wanted people to see and understand the daily life of a maid back then and what they had to go through. Margret atwood In the book The Penelopiad, Margret Atwood gives the 12 hanged maids a voice throughout the novel. She tells the story of the odyssey and Penelope's voice is powerful while also truthful and honest throughout the story. There is a reason and a purpose of why Margret Attwood chooses to give the maids a voice and let them be heard. In the story, Margret Atwood talks and discusses the maids for a specific reason. I believe that she thinks that the maids had no voice, they are all females, and there eath was not explained.That leaves one explanation that Margret Atwood is a feminist and thought that it would be important to include the maids and give them a much bigger part to show that its not 0k to treat women that way. In the first telling of the story, it was never stated that the maids had restrictions as to who and whom they couldn't sleep with. What also was not explained was why they slept with the suitors in the first place.That is why Margret Atwood found it to be intriguing to write bout what actually happened and give the maids a voice. Another reason for why Margret Atwood chose to give the maids a voice is because women didn't exactly have a say back in that time period and were also looked down upon. I think that Margret Atwood The last reason why Margret Atwood chose to include the maids into the story is because she wanted people to see and understand the daily life of a maid back then and what they had to go through.

Chapter 6 The Portkey

Harry felt as though he had barely lain down to steep in Ron's room when he was being shaken awake by Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Time to go, Harry, dear,† she whispered, moving away to wake Ron. Harry felt around for his glasses, put them on, and sat up. It was still dark outside. Ron muttered indistinctly as his mother roused him. At the foot of Harry's mattress he saw two large, disheveled shapes emerging from tangles of blankets. â€Å"‘S time already?† said Fred groggily. They dressed in silence, too sleepy to talk, then, yawning and stretching, the four of them headed downstairs into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, while Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as the boys entered and spread his arms so that they could see his clothes more clearly. He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt. â€Å"What d'you think?† he asked anxiously. â€Å"We're supposed to go incognito – do I look like a Muggle, Harry?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry, smiling, â€Å"very good.† â€Å"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?† said George, failing to stifle a huge yawn. â€Å"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?† said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. â€Å"So they can have a bit of a lie-in.† Harry knew that Apparating meant disappearing from one place and reappearing almost instantly in another, but had never known any Hogwarts student to do it, and understood that it was very difficult. â€Å"So they're still in bed?† said Fred grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge toward him. â€Å"Why can't we Apparate too?† â€Å"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test,† snapped Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"And where have those girls got to?† She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs. â€Å"You have to pass a test to Apparate?† Harry asked. â€Å"Oh yes,† said Mr. Weasley, tucking the tickets safely into the back pocket of his jeans. â€Å"The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a license. It's not easy, Apparition, and when it's not done property it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I'm talking about went and splinched themselves.† Everyone around the table except Harry winced. â€Å"Er – splinched?† said Harry. â€Å"They left half of themselves behind,† said Mr. Weasley, now spooning large amounts of treacle onto his porridge. â€Å"So, of course, they were stuck. Couldn't move either way. Had to wait for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to sort them out. Meant a fair old bit of paperwork, I can tell you, what with the Muggles who spotted the body parts they'd left behind†¦..† Harry had a sudden vision of a pair of legs and an eyeball lying abandoned on the pavement of Privet Drive. â€Å"Were they okay?† he asked, startled. â€Å"Oh yes,† said Mr. Weasley matter-of-factly. â€Å"But they got a heavy fine, and I don't think they'll be trying it again in a hurry. You don't mess around with Apparition. There are plenty of adult wizards who don't bother with it. Prefer brooms – slower, but safer.† â€Å"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?† â€Å"Charlie had to take the test twice,† said Fred, grinning. â€Å"He failed the first time. Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?† â€Å"Yes, well, he passed the second time,† said Mrs. Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers. â€Å"Percy only passed two weeks ago,† said George. â€Å"He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can.† There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy. â€Å"Why do we have to be up so early?† Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table. â€Å"We've got a bit of a walk,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Walk?† said Harry. â€Å"What, are we walking to the World Cup?† â€Å"No, no, that's miles away,† said Mr. Weasley, smiling. â€Å"We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"George!† said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped. â€Å"What?† said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody. â€Å"What is that in your pocket?† â€Å"Nothing!† â€Å"Don't you lie to me!† Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, â€Å"Accio!† Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand. â€Å"We told you to destroy them!† said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably more Ton-Tongue Toffees. â€Å"We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!† It was an unpleasant scene; the twins had evidently been trying to smuggle as many toffees out of the house as possible, and it was only by using her Summoning Charm that Mrs. Weasley managed to find them all. â€Å"Accio! Accio! Accio!† she shouted, and toffees zoomed from all sorts of unlikely places, including the lining of George's jacket and the turn-ups of Fred's jeans. â€Å"We spent six months developing those!† Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away. â€Å"Oh a fine way to spend six months!† she shrieked. â€Å"No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!† All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they took their departure. Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek, though not nearly as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her. â€Å"Well, have a lovely time,† said Mrs. Weasley, â€Å"and behave yourselves,† she called after the twins' retreating backs, but they did not look back or answer. â€Å"I'll send Bill, Charlie, and Percy along around midday,† Mrs. Weasley said to Mr. Weasley, as he, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny set off across the dark yard after Fred and George. It was chilly and the moon was still out. Only a dull, greenish tinge along the horizon to their right showed that daybreak was drawing closer. Harry, having been thinking about thousands of wizards speeding toward the Quidditch World Cup, sped up to walk with Mr. Weasley. â€Å"So how does everyone get there without all the Muggles noticing?† he asked. â€Å"It's been a massive organizational problem,† sighed Mr. Weasley. â€Å"The trouble is, about a hundred thousand wizards turn up at the World Cup, and of course, we just haven't got a magical site big enough to accommodate them all. There are places Muggles can't penetrate, but imagine trying to pack a hundred thousand wizards into Diagon Alley or platform nine and three-quarters. So we had to find a nice deserted moor, and set up as many anti-Muggle precautions as possible. The whole Ministry's been working on it for months. First, of course, we have to stagger the arrivals. People with cheaper tickets have to arrive two weeks beforehand. A limited number use Muggle transport, but we can't have too many clogging up their buses and trains – remember, wizards are coming from all over the world. Some Apparate, of course, but we have to set up safe points for them to appear, well away from Muggles. I believe there's a handy wood they're using as the Apparition point. For those who don't want to Apparate, or can't, we use Portkeys. They're objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time. You can do large groups at a time if you need to. There have been two hundred Portkeys placed at strategic points around Britain, and the nearest one to us is up at the top of Stoatshead Hill, so that's where we're headed.† Mr. Weasley pointed ahead of them, where a large black mass rose beyond the village of Ottery St. Catchpole. â€Å"What sort of objects are Portkeys?† said Harry curiously. â€Å"Well, they can be anything,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Unobtrusive things, obviously, so Muggles don't go picking them up and playing with them†¦stuff they'll just think is litter†¦.† They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Harry's hands and feet were freezing. Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch. They didn't have breath to spare for talking as they began to climb Stoatshead Hill, stumbling occasionally in hidden rabbit holes, slipping on thick black tuffets of grass. Each breath Harry took was sharp in his chest and his legs were starting to seize up when, at last, his feet found level ground. â€Å"Whew,† panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. â€Å"Well, we've made good time – we've got ten minutes.† Hermione came over the crest of the hill last, clutching a stitch in her side. â€Å"Now we just need the Portkey,† said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses and squinting around at the ground. â€Å"It won't be big†¦.Come on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  They spread out, searching. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout rent the still air. â€Å"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it.† Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop. â€Å"Amos!† said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed. Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand. â€Å"This is Amos Diggory, everyone,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?† Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts. â€Å"Hi,† said Cedric, looking around at them all. Everybody said hi back except Fred and George, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating their team, Gryffindor, in the first Quidditch match of the previous year. â€Å"Long walk, Arthur?† Cedric's father asked. â€Å"Not too bad,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"We live just on the other side of the village there. You?† â€Å"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still†¦not complaining†¦Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons – and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy†¦.† Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. â€Å"All these yours, Arthur?† â€Å"Oh no, only the redheads,† said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. â€Å"This is Hermione, friend of Ron's – and Harry, another friend -â€Å" â€Å"Merlin's beard,† said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. â€Å"Harry? Harry Potter?† â€Å"Er – yeah,† said Harry. Harry was used to people looking curiously at him when they met him, used to the way their eyes moved at once to the lightning scar on his forehead, but it always made him feel uncomfortable. â€Å"Ced's talked about you, of course,† said Amos Diggory. â€Å"Told us all about playing against you last year†¦I said to him, I said – Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will†¦.You beat Harry Potter!† Harry couldn't think of any reply to this, so he remained silent. Fred and George were both scowling again. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed. â€Å"Harry fell off his broom, Dad,† he muttered. I told you†¦it was an accident†¦.† â€Å"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?† roared Amos genially, slapping his son on his back. â€Å"Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman†¦but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!† â€Å"Must be nearly time,† said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. â€Å"Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?† â€Å"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets,† said Mr. Diggory. â€Å"There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?† â€Å"Not that I know of,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Yes, it's a minute off†¦We'd better get ready†¦.† He looked around at Harry and Hermione. â€Å"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do -â€Å" With difficulty, owing to their bulky backpacks, the nine of them crowded around the old boot held out by Amos Diggory. They all stood there, in a tight circle, as a chill breeze swept over the hilltop. Nobody spoke. It suddenly occurred to Harry how odd this would look if a Muggle were to walk up here now†¦nine people, two of them grown men, clutching this manky old boot in the semidarkness, waiting†¦. â€Å"Three†¦Ã¢â‚¬  muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, two†¦one†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It happened immediately: Harry felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward. His feet left the ground; he could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of him, their shoulders banging into his; they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; his forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then – His feet slammed into the ground; Ron staggered into him and he fell over; the Portkey hit the ground near his head with a heavy thud. Harry looked up. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground. â€Å"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill,† said a voice.

Free Essays on A “Great Speech“ On Winston Churchills Iron Curtain Speech

Great Speech: Winston Churchil â€Å"The Sinews of Peace† (the â€Å"Iron Curtain† speech.) â€Å"An iron curtain has descended across Europe, all of her famous cities and populations around the line in what I might call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.† When Winston Churchil delivered a speech to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri on March 5th, 1946, he was not thinking about destroying the Soviets, or trying to threaten them. Churchil named this speech â€Å"The Sinews of Peace† in order to call for peace. He spoke to contain communism, and to form a strong union between American and Great Britain, that would last for â€Å"centuries to come.† â€Å"The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. With the power of democracy, comes responsibility for the future. It is important that we inscribe nothing less than the safety and welfare, the freedom and progress, of all the homes and families of all the men and women in all the lands. To give security to these homes, they must be shielded from the two gaunt marauderswar and tyranny. Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war. We are all agreed on that. We must be certain that our temple of peace is built not upon shifting sands or quagmires, but upon the rock. Anyone can see, with his eyes open, that our path will be difficult and also long, but if we persevere together as we did in the two world wars I cannot doubt that we shall achieve our common purpose in the end.† In this last excerpt, Churchil puts responsibility on the shoulders of America and the allied forces. He establishes characteristics of peace: safety, welfare, freedom, and progress, as the necessities to achieve, and maintain peace. This foundation alludes to a later portion of the speech, when Chu... Free Essays on A â€Å"Great Speechâ€Å" On Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech Free Essays on A â€Å"Great Speechâ€Å" On Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech Great Speech: Winston Churchil â€Å"The Sinews of Peace† (the â€Å"Iron Curtain† speech.) â€Å"An iron curtain has descended across Europe, all of her famous cities and populations around the line in what I might call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.† When Winston Churchil delivered a speech to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri on March 5th, 1946, he was not thinking about destroying the Soviets, or trying to threaten them. Churchil named this speech â€Å"The Sinews of Peace† in order to call for peace. He spoke to contain communism, and to form a strong union between American and Great Britain, that would last for â€Å"centuries to come.† â€Å"The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. With the power of democracy, comes responsibility for the future. It is important that we inscribe nothing less than the safety and welfare, the freedom and progress, of all the homes and families of all the men and women in all the lands. To give security to these homes, they must be shielded from the two gaunt marauderswar and tyranny. Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war. We are all agreed on that. We must be certain that our temple of peace is built not upon shifting sands or quagmires, but upon the rock. Anyone can see, with his eyes open, that our path will be difficult and also long, but if we persevere together as we did in the two world wars I cannot doubt that we shall achieve our common purpose in the end.† In this last excerpt, Churchil puts responsibility on the shoulders of America and the allied forces. He establishes characteristics of peace: safety, welfare, freedom, and progress, as the necessities to achieve, and maintain peace. This foundation alludes to a later portion of the speech, when Chu...

Post-Colonial Literature for Children Essays

Post-Colonial Literature for Children Essays Post-Colonial Literature for Children Essay Post-Colonial Literature for Children Essay Essay Topic: Literature As members of the culture that has colonised Aboriginal Australia, how can European Australian writers possibly represent Aboriginal experience and perspectives? Through a discussion of 3 key texts outline what you consider are important issues for making these judgements. Australian Literature has come a long way since the arrival of European settlers in 1788. As a nation, we have become a nation in our own right with an identity separate from the British Empire (Huggan, 2007). It is only in the last few decades however, that Aboriginality in a postcolonial context has become prevalent in our literature (Bradford, 2001 and Huggan, 2007). In recent times an issue has arisen: who exactly has the right to tell these stories. In this essay I will be exploring the important issues to consider when making these judgements. I will be referring to the following texts: Deadly Unna? by Phillip Gwynne, Children of Mirrabooka by Judith Arthy and My Girragundji by Meme McDonald and Boori Pryor. I will also make references to other texts where appropriate. Before judgements can be made about who should write Indigenous stories, we need to work out whom the story actually belongs to. There are those stories that are personal biographies that celebrate the indigenous culture through first hand knowledge for example, My Girragundji. Then there are those stories that are set in a wider context, that have indigenous themes as part of the plot for example Deadly Unna? The difference between the two is crucial when making judgments over the custodianship of the literature. The former is a work of fiction. However, it is certainly a personal account of the life of author and Indigenous Australian Boori Pryor (Scan, 2000 Scutter 2001). There is no question here about Pryor being entitled to tell this story after all it is his. Deadly Unna is also in some respects, an autobiography. It belongs to Phillip Gwynne (Ridge, 2000 French, 2002). It tells the story of Blacky, a young boy growing up in a small country town. There are Aboriginal themes, although they tend to be based on perspectives from Blackys narrative point of view rather than assumptions made about the cultural of indigenous people. With reference to the Aboriginal boys on the football team Blacky makes statements such as Its like theyre playing a different game with completely different rules (Gwynne, 1998, p. 5). This shows he is merely noting differences in the two cultures. So, it can be said, that although Australian European authors are known to write about indigenous matters, they can, in certain situations have as much right to tell the story as their indigenous counterparts provided they write with sensitivity to indigenous cultural practices (Clancy, 1997). This being said, when a European author wishes to take on subject matter as sensitive as indigenous issues, things need to be considered regardless of who the story belongs to. Some might argue that it is an authors job to get inside the characters they are writing about. John Marsden for example, writes many of his stories from the perspective of young female characters (Prain, 1997). The same could be said about a white author writing about a black character in the first person. The difference, in my opinion, is the sensitivity of the issue. As a woman, I am not offended by the writing of Marsden in fact I generally relate easily to his methods of story telling, but it has been clear, that the same cannot be said for the writing on the behalf of Aborigines by European Australian authors. Take for example this statement made by Aboriginal writer Ruby Langford (Clancy, 1997) in Old neighbours New Visions (1997, p. 52) Aboriginal people are sick of the bullshit of non-aboriginal people attempting to define and identify the origins of Aborigines. This statement suggests that there are frustrations within the indigenous community, with non-aboriginal people speaking on the behalf of Aboriginal people. To confront the issue of custodianship, authors such as Gwynne chose not to write in the first person from an Aboriginal perspective. Bradford explains in Wielding a black Pen, that it is generally the more culturally experienced authors and those more aware of indigenous issues, that often take the most ethical approaches to representation while others are more foolhardy (2002). Pat Lowe, an author who has done extensive work and research into the Walmajarri culture, says I cant get in the mind of an Aboriginal person (Bradford, 2002 p. 21). This is an important point to look at when making judgements about the telling of a particular story. She tells her stories from a white persons perspective rather than attempting to understand something she believes is out of her ability to comprehend. Gwynne also resembles this attitude in his writing of deadly Unna? This can be seen in Blackys narrative explanation of his Aboriginal mate Dumby. For example: Nukkin ya is Nunga talk for see ya' (Gwynne, 1998, p. 25). This is a cultural observation made by Blacky. Dialogue such as this reflects Gwynnes stance of telling the story from the white perspective rather than make possibly inaccurate assumptions from the point of view of a black character. Not all non-Aboriginal authors writing Aboriginal themed stories take this stance. Take for example Diana Kidd. Kidd is a white author that choses to write in the first person from the Aboriginal perspective. In her book The Fat and Juicy Place, Kidd delves quite deeply into the character of a young Aboriginal child. The use of language is the most identifying feature of this story. For example: Me and Fleabag had a deadly time hunting in the Fat and Juicy Place. We saw this real giant goanna (Kidd, 1992, p. 54). This is culturally identifiable language and poses the question: What gives Kidd the right to take this first person stance? Like with My Girragundji, as I will explain in more detail further on, there is an extensive list of external involvement in the making of the story take for instance the endorsement of the New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (Kidd, 1992). This is what helps give Kidd her credibility and integrity as a white author writing from the perspective of Aboriginal characters. According to Linda Burney who is an Aboriginal educator (Clancy, 1997) it can be okay for non-aboriginal authors to tell the stories of Aborigines as long as authors and publishers become more attuned to Aboriginal involvement in the production of the material (Clancy, 1997, p. 39). Lets now look at My Girragundji. The story belongs (at least in an autobiographical sense) to Boori Pryor who is an Aboriginal man. His wife, Meme McDonald is white and worked with Pryor to write this book. It can be seen when reading the long list of acknowledgments in the book, that there were many stories and many people involved in its production. The thanks Pryor and McDonald give to Joe and grace for inspiring My Girragundji also to the Pryor family for so many memories (1997, p. 81) shows this. It is clear from these expressions of thanks and approval that great cultural sensitivity was taken to complete the book. The fact that Pryor deems it as integral to gain approval from his family highlights just how important it is for authors to understand what it is they are writing about on a deep level. Sometimes despite their best intentions, authors struggle to shake the constraints imbedded in them by the colonial power. This can work as a negative in terms of their ability to capture the postcolonial context from the indigenous perspective. I will look now, at Children of Mirrabooka. It is generally safe to say that Judith Arthy is writing in the postcolonial context. After all, the themes in the story relate to issues such land rights and the stolen generation and the stance is pro Aboriginal. When one looks deeper at the story however, there are traces of an in ground loyalty to the colonial power. For example, it could be said that Arthy places the Aborigines in an inferior position that are in need of being saved by Jenny the white girl. It was her role to unravel the mystery surrounding the rock pool (Arthy, 1997, p. 105). This is reflective of the general plight of Aborigines in our country for the past two hundred years (Bradford, 2001 McLaren, 1996). Throughout the novel, the truth of the ghost children at the rock pool is discovered and the children are left in peace all thanks to Jenny. In spite of all the themes relating to land rights Jenny is the one that ends up owning Mirrabooka Mirrabooka was mine. All mine (Arthy, 1997, p. 166-167). This Euro centric attitude towards ownership is contrary to the Aboriginal attitude of belonging to the land. This evidence suggests that despite the best intentions of authors, it is difficult to be completely post colonial when writing stories such as these. It is important for non-Aboriginal authors to be aware of issues such as this. Stories like Children of Mirrabooka although it is unintended, dont always reflect the postcolonial theory of emphasizing their differences from the assumptions of the imperial power (Ashcroft, Griffiths Tiffin, 1989, p. 1). Our culture is born from the British Empire; therefore we cannot ignore the stronghold it has on our postcolonial context. This leads me to my next point. We live in a country where Aborigines and European Australians (not to mention immigrants from all over the world) must live together and work towards reconciliation and cultural understanding. Childrens Literature has an important role to play in this issue. As Saxby explains in Images of Australia (2002) it has been argued strongly in recent years that Childrens Literature places readers in a position where they are forced to form a particular world-view. It is for this reason that it is important to teach the new generation the importance of cultural understanding and identity so we can move one step closer to reconciliation. For this knowledge to be developed in Childrens Literature, it is important for non-Aboriginal as well as Aboriginal perspectives to be told. The two are often very different in terms of their political points of view but they both can offer much in terms of their purpose. Take for example The Rabbits by John Marsden. I could go into a critical analysis of the book as a postcolonial text, but that would take another essay entirely. These books raise discussion about topical issues and this is how children learn. Stories told from the Aboriginal perspective are often about the land, and relationships with the land and each other. They dont tend to be politically loaded like the European contexts. They are generally a celebration of indigenous life and culture rather than an attack on white people. In fact, often there is little mention of white people at all not as a point for discussion at least. An example is in My Girragundji where there are virtually no references to white people at all. The story revolves around a boy and his Girragundji who he shares his problems with our spirits always together you are strong no matter what (McDonald and Pryor, 1998, p. 70). It is important to acknowledge the western and indigenous cultures at play in My Girragundji. There are two authors Meme McDonald and Boori Pryor, non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal consecutively. Using the European literary skills of McDonald and the oral story telling traditions (Van Toorn, 2006) of Pryor (Scan, 2000), the two work together to come up with a successful combination that displays cultural sensitivity as well as diversity. This is an example of how different cultural perspectives can combine to reflect the hybrid lifestyle of many Aboriginal people. Wharton and Pryor refer to this hybrid upbringing in Scutters article Writing the Childhood Self (2001). We require both of these perspectives in childrens literature so that reconciliation between both cultures can manifest (Clancy, 1997, p. 52). It is clear that this issue is an extensive one. Each portion of this essay could have a lengthy analysis of its content. What I have done though, is to point out some of the main issues that non-Aboriginal authors face when taking on the task of conveying Aboriginal stories, points of view and themes. Questions I have touched on ask: Is the story solely an Indigenous one? From whose perspective is the story being told? Is the author unintentionally upholding colonial attitudes in the text? Has there been sufficient Aboriginal involvement in the story? Finally, I looked at the importance of this literature in terms of its role in society and highlighted the fact that both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal can be heard with potentially equal merit.