Paper 2

Discuss the portrayal of insanity in Wide Sargasso Sea. 

Wide Sargasso Sea is a post-colonial novel published by Jean Rhys in 1966. Publishing this book is a prequel to Jane Eyre that allows the reader to view Bertha’s experiences prior to her life in the attic. Jane Eyre is a gothic fiction tends to focus more on social criticism and draws away from Bertha’s character who has been locked up in Rochester’s attic and been viewed as an animalistic creature with little to now information into her background or what led to her madness. Hence, Rhys closely explores the life of bertha, known as Antoinette in Wide Sargasso Sea. Rhys criticizes the divisions inherent in European social structures and addresses this issue by means of depicting all those typical characters and stereotype which even after the end of slavery and colonialism decide people’s identities and values on the basis of their skin color. The relationship between men and women portrayed within society is often unequal and reflects a particular patriarchal ideology. This is a direct link to the historical context during which the book is set in. Rhys sheds light on the mental stability of Antoinette which is factored by various things in her life. Also, allowing the readers to read different narrations as well as experience Antoinette’s life from a young age, one has the ability to see the development of her mental state deteriorating throughout the novel. Therefore, providing a strong sense of time and historical context as well as a power structure, Rhys is able to depict the various factor that justifies the decline of Antoinette’s mental stability. Antoinette is worried and anxious about her identity or even the absence of identity thus affecting her mental and spiritual health.

From the start of the novel, we are introduced to Antoinette as a young white girl, daughter of an ex-slave owner living in Jamaica with her mother and brother. After her father’s death, they were left financially unstable and at the time during the Emancipation Act which freed all the black slaves leading to a stronger barrier between both races. Rhys focuses on part one of the novel primarily through Antoinette’s narration where we gain a deeper insight into her life. One sees an evident absence in an emotion relationship between Antoinette and her mother who is the only other person who could relate to her regarding their situation. She drives her to complete to complete isolation, resulting in her having to seek comfort in her garden, her escape from reality, as well as seek comfort in Christophine, the house maid. This leads to her becoming more of an outsider which is more visible with the racial dynamic present at that time which is presented through her relationship with Tia and her longing desire to fit in with the black community. Yet they disregard her and refer to her as “white cockroach” and a “white nigger” devaluing her and making her feel even more like she doesn’t belong. Antoinette is trying to find her true self and origin and people of her kind which she seeks to find within the black community but is rejected. This identity crisis along with her lack of motherly care and consolidation leads to a serious identity crisis for Antoinette which in turn leads to her slowly becoming unstable. After the fire in the Coulibri Estate, Antoinette is left in the convent and is met by other kids who call her mad and tell her that her mother is mad too and nearly killed her husband (Mr. Mason) and even her own daughter. Yet Antoinette experiences this when she meets her mother and she shouts to get her away but Antoinette doesn’t revisit this moment again which is obvious from the beginning of the book: “I thought if I told no one it might not be true” Rhys portrays her of having a tendency of denying the events and situations that occur in her life. Almost as if she stores all her emotion and anxiousness leading her to slowly shutting off and leading to a loss of her sanity. Due to the fact that Antoinette is a response to Bertha’s character, part one of the story allows the readers to see what has led to the madness of Antoinette and her identity crisis and Rhys characterizing her as an outsider contributes to her portrayal as an insane person.

Part 2 of the novel is a vital contribution to the overall story and the insanity. It moves away from the idea that insanity is influenced by only identity but also by the oppressive colonization that is presented in the patriarchal system that is evident. This oppression is visible between Antoinette and Rochester’s relationship where Rochester is the colonizer and Antoinette is the colonized. Rochester's marriage contract with Antoinette becomes  a type of colonialism in itself. Antoinette is economically powerless and emotionally enslaved all due to Rochester actions. He is conflicted between his desire for Antoinette and his power status that he wants to maintain. When he first arrives in Jamaica, he views everyone as primitive and the place being exotic. Antoinette is seen going through all odds to make him happy. Rochester receives a letter from Daniel Cosway informing him that Annette and her daughter Antoinette is a mad family, he tells him Antoinette “is worthless and spoilt, she can’t lift a hand for herself and soon the madness that is in her, and in all these white Creoles, come out” then this is further portrayed when Antoinette seeks help from Christophine who gives her a love poison in order to deceive him with it and make him love her more. When he finds it out he begins to question her insanity.

Part 3 is the final section of the novel presented through Antoinette’s narration where we see not only her transition from Jamaica to England, but rather the transition of her mental health. In this part of the book, Rhys evidently creates moments that portray Antoinette as a madwomen locked up in Rochester’s attic. Antoinette is seen continuously hallucinating and at some point seeing her own mother. Antoinette's narrative in Part three works to humanize the perception portrayed of the Creole madwoman. Given the emptiness of Antoinette's days and her isolation from the outside world, she loses track of time and place and starts to mentions a woman that haunts the place but not realizing it is her. Throughout part 2 of the novel one sees how Rochester takes over a dominate role, he rejects Antoinette, leaving him with the satisfaction of having greater power as he wishes, therefore, part 3 of the novel emphasises the power he gains as he drives Antoinette to complete insanity. There is a significant contrast between the third part of the story and the beginning of the second part, where Antoinette being in her home and comfortable setting shows a healthier mental stability whereas being locked up in an attic in England contributes to drive her to insanity.

Conclusively, Jean Rhys has a purpose of writing back to the empire, follows the postcolonial trend of writing back to the powerful empire. In postcolonial discourse, this is the deconstructive approach to retell a narrative from a different perspective and thus look for the earlier erasure and deliberate gaps in the original narrative. Through portraying Antoinette as insane she establishes the cause and effect of a colonized empire and in a sense, Antoinette also represents the suffering of a marginalized community during colonization. Rhys focuses to disallow the specific traits of the literature of the empire as well as its principles is the hallmark of postcolonial literature. Rhys wants to disrupt, disassemble or deconstruct the kind of logic, ideologies of the West. This is Jean Rhys approach and her use of the language shows her unusual power to challenge the colonial canonical text, Jane Eyre, therefore challenging the hegemonic tendency of the imperial powers. 

Outline

Prompt B

How is prejudice in its various forms evident in Wide Sargasso Sea? How does it contribute to the novel’s tragic outcomes?

Introduction:

·         Discuss the concept of prejudice and integrate it with the time this novel takes place as well as the characters

§  Including historical context

§  Antoinette as an outsider doesn’t really understand or fit in with the other communities

·         Thesis: As an aim of voicing the identities of marginalized cultures, Jean Rhys depicts the struggle and effects of prejudice throughout the novel in forms of race, culture and gender seen by the interactions of the characters.  Providing a strong sense of time and historical context, Rhys is able to justify the prejudice used criticizes the divisions inherent in European social structures and addresses this issue by means of depicting all those typical characters and stereotype which even after the end of slavery and colonialism, decide people’s identities and values on the basis of their skin colour.

Body paragraph 1 –

v  Topic Sentence: Race plays a major role within the story as Rhys establishes that people decide other people’s identities and their values due to their skin colour which is also easily visible through their interactions.  

• ·   Antoinette maintains the racial prejudice against black and mixed race people that are characteristics of her class and culture 
• ·   Antoinette demonstrates their prejudices. She names only her black servants, the other blacks all look alike to her
• ·         At dinner, Mr. Mason speaks of importing workers from the East Indies and is warned by Aunt Cora not to speak about this in front of the black employees whom he’d be replacing. Mr. Mason again expresses his belief that black people are too childlike to be a real threat.
  §  Mr. Mason’s insulting and prejudiced remarks as potentially quite damaging to their safety
•   Rochester’s prejudice and racial superiority
  §  When he sees Antoinette’s eyes and states that she can’t be of pure white descent hence he voices his racist suspicion that her ancestry might

Body paragraph 2-

v  Topic sentence: Throughout the novel, gender is a prevalent dynamic which causes a lot of discrimination between the characters, specifically Rochester who comes from a different societal norm

·         The relationship between Rochester and Antoinette can be seen as a relationship between a colonizer and a colonized

·         Antoinette is economically enslaved and all the money left her, for now, becomes Rochester’s fortune

·         Rochester deceives his wife and commits adultery – portrays his eager desire to be in control and take the actions he wishes to

·         Doesn’t appreciate Christophine being such a highly ranked and essential life of Antoinette and his life

·         The letter from Daniel and Rochester’s suspicion of Antoinette’s madness

Body Paragraph 3

v  Topic sentence: In relation to the historical context of the novel, Rhys draws a lot of focus on the identity/culture of the characters along with the social dynamic represented by the characters.

·         Rochester marries Antoinette due to his financial state and seeking approval from his family not because he loved her

·         He views himself as higher and educated as the other he surrounds himself with

·         There is an obvious cultural difference between them and this also stems from Antoinette’s limited understanding of the world  

·         Christophine’s character is more dominant than usual female characters, she likes to be

·         “All women, all colors, nothing but fool.”…”no husband I thank my god. I keep my money. I don’t give it to no worthless man”

·         Her relationship with Rochester isn’t good because she doesn’t conform to the idea of a servant

·         He doesn’t like the broken English used by the people 

• 
  

In what ways does Jean Rhys characterize Antoinette as an outsider in Part One of the novel and to what effect? 

Part one of the novel begins with Antoinette’s narration and introducing us readers to her childhood with some background on the historical context. We start to grasp knowledge on the complication of the racial dynamic at that time. Antoinette and her family become socially isolated from the community they live in. Antoinette fails to identify with a particular identity as the Jamaican and black society refuse to acknowledge them as one of them due to her skin colour and they are financially too poor to be considered of the higher white society. She has a deep desire to fit in with a society and feel as though she is a part of it as her mom, the only other person which such identity crisis, ignores her daughter and doesn’t pay much attention to her daughter. In part one of the novel, Jean Rhys introduces Tia, a young black girl who befriends Antoinette. Yet her character is greatly significant as she helps further shed light on Antoinette being an outsider. This is seen as their growing friendship comes to a halt. As they argue one day, Tia tells Antoinette: “Plenty white people in Jamaica. Real white people they got gold money…Old time white people nothin but white nigger now, and black nigger better than white nigger.” There is a clear racial tension visible between the two girls which causes a feud between them. This feud reflects the social and financial discrepancy between the whites and the blacks which drives a growing resentment between the races. Another particular moment in the book takes place when the servants set the Coulibri estate on fire and Antoinette sees Tia and runs towards, in hopes of staying with her as she viewed herself equal to Tia. But in that moment Tia throws a rock at Antoinette, hitting her head. At that moment, Antoinette comes to the realization that she isn’t the same as Tia and won’t ever be, she describes it as looking in glass- her reference to a mirror image is essential as a mirror is both the same and opposite, familiar yet inaccessible. This further characterizes her as an outsider.

Throughout the first part of the book, we are provided with a deeper insight into the complex identity crisis Antoinette faces, leaving her to become an outsider. This is heavily influenced by Jean Rhys’s own life and childhood. She is continuously referred to as a “white cockroach” regarding her as something that doesn’t belong, which leads Antoinette to feel the racial hatred and seek refuge in her garden- her place of escape and freedom. Jean Rhys also effectively uses secondary characters to portray Antoinette’s eager desire to fit in and shows how they influence her identity. Yet her struggle with alienation and absence of an identity is critical in leading to her emotional breakdown and later her mental state.

·         The novel is an account of the identities of the previously marginalized communities, Creole individuality, race relations, displacement and the group’s different relationships with home

·         The novelist highlights the fact that the individual identity of the people is constructed by the society itself and Rhys uses Anoinette to represent this. Jean Rhyscriticizes the divisions inherent in European social structures and addresses this issue by means of depicting all those typical characters and stereotype which even after the end of slavery and colonialism, decide people’s identities and values on the basis of their skin colour.

Sheikh Junaydi

What does Sheikh al Junaydi represent in The Thief and the Dogs? How is he significant to the characterization of Said Mahran? How does he contribute to the themes of the text?

Although Sheikh Junaydi doesn’t show up a lot in the book he is a vital character throughout the book and we still learn many things from his character and view a different perspective that he sheds light upon. A Sheikh is basically like an Islamic leader- directly translated a Sheikh is a man of great, high power and nobility. The character of Sheikh Junaydi is a Sufi Muslim- he represents a protector or a helper who has a particular way of order and spiritual teachings in order to reach ultimate truth. With Sufism, a Sheikh takes on quietism and self-reflection in aims of approaching Allah and has no interest in materialistic items or in wealth yet stays intact with their meditative and peaceful nature. This can be clearly seen when evaluating Sheikh Junaydi’s character in The Thief and the Dogs.

Sheikh Junaydi therefore represents the morality in the book. He seeks to help Said Mahran find the right path but in the first encounter between him and Said, we already see that Said doesn’t want that. After Sana rejects Said, he seeks the Sheikh, but before he has even started to interact with him we travel into Said’s mind and explore his thoughts: “ Said found himself bending over his hand to kiss it, suppressing tears of nostalgia for his father, his boyish hopes, the innocent purity of the distant past. "Peace and God's compassion be upon you," said the Sheikh in a voice like Time. What had his father's voice been like? He could see his father's face and his lips moving, and tried to make his eyes do the service of ears, but the voice had gone.”  We learn that Said feels more connected to the Sheikh only due to his father and how he sees the Sheikh as a fatherly figure because his own father used to be good friends and practice Islam in the same mosque leading him to feel nostalgic for his father. We see how Said describes the Sheikh’s voice as Time, already representing his high and greatly power. But as they continue to converse, we see the Sheikh is telling Said to start praying but Said finds many reasons and tries to justify not praying by saying things such as: “"She committed adultery with one of my men, a lay about, a mere pupil of mine, utterly servile. She applied for divorce on grounds of my imprisonment and went and married him." The Sheikh would keep repeating for him to go “wash and read” as Said continued to justify not praying. The Sheikh then tells him to repeat the verse: “Say to them: if you love God, then follow me and God will love you" which reminds him of his father, knowing that it’s the right act to do but he knows that he is truly only there in order to seek a roof over his head.

We observe how the Sheikh tries to lead Said into a better path, take his mind off his hard time and instead put faith in Allah but Said fails to accept that guidance. The Sheikh contributed to the idea of morality and justice which helps us see how he and Said serve as foils to one another which is more visible in Chapter 8 where Said goes back to the Sheikh after having killed the wrong man. At this point, Said is justifying his actions while the Sheikh is telling him riddles that are words of wisdom in order to advise him. The Sheikh believes that Said should not be too obsessed with the world around him but rather focus on his own wellbeing and follow his own free will which in turn contributed to his own downfall. 

PASSAGE ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 15

"I did not kill the servant of Rauf Ilwan. How could I kill a man I did not know and who didn't know me? Rauf Ilwan's servant was killed because, quite simply, he was the servant of Rauf Ilwan. Yesterday his spirit visited me and I jumped to hide in shame, but he pointed out to me that millions of people are killed by mistake and without due cause."

Yes, these words will glitter; they'll be crowned with a not-guilty verdict. You are sure of what you say. And apart from that, they will believe, deep down, that your profession is lawful, a profession of gentlemen at all times and everywhere, that the truly false values--yes!--are those that value your life in pennies and your death at a thousand pounds. The judge over on the left is winking at you; cheer up!

"I will always seek the head of Rauf Ilwan, even as a last request from the hangman, even before seeing my daughter. I am forced not to count my life in days. A hunted man only feeds on new excitements, which pour down upon him in the span of

his solitude like rain."

The verdict will be no more cruel than Sana's cold shyness towards you. She killed you before the hangman could. And even the sympathy of the millions for you is voiceless, impotent, like the longings of the dead. Will they not forgive the gun its error, when it is their most elevated master?

"Whoever kills me will be killing the millions. I am the hope and the dream, the redemption of cowards; I am good principles, consolation, the tears that recall the weeper to humility. And the declaration that I'm mad must encompass all who are loving. Examine the causes of this insane occasion, then reach your judgement however you wish!"

His dizziness increased. Then the verdict came down: that he was a great man, truly great in every sense of the word. His greatness might be momentarily shrouded in black, from a community of sympathy with all those graves out there, but the glory of his greatness would live on, even after death. Its fury was blessed by the force that flowed through the roots of plants, the cells of animals and the hearts of men.

Analysis

This passage is an extract from chapter 15 and at this point it’s reaching towards the end of the book where the readers are almost fully exposed to Said true identity. This passage focuses significantly on Said’s interior monologues which are leading the readers to believe that Said is mentally ill. The passage takes place at the cemetery where he offers his own defense in his imaginary hypothetical scenario of his murder trial. The interior monologue occurring gradually shifts to a second person narration, seeming as though Said is talking to another person even though he is conversing with himself hence this further leads the readers to expect him to be mentally unstable. Through the interior monologue, one is able to see how Said doesn’t consider himself guilty but rather sees himself as a great man: “Then the verdict came down: that he was a great man, truly great in every sense of the word” and he views himself as “not like the others who have stood on this stand before.”

Mahfouz creatively implements this section onto the chapter in order to portray the development of Said’s character after having committed two failed crimes- it’s an opportunity to dig deeper into Said’s mind and to explore his inner thoughts to these incidents. At this point, having killed two innocent people, one would assume Said would suffer from agony and regret but is rather surprised to see that he dismisses these accidents and continuous to plot.  In the section “Whoever kills me will be killing the millions. I am the hope and the dream, the redemption of cowards; I am good principles, consolation, the tears that recall the weeper to humility” and especially the personification of the tears constructs the impression that Said sees himself as the savior of the country and everyone else is a coward and ignores his crimes as he seeks to justify them. He does this repeatedly as he says: “Rauf Ilwan's servant was killed because, quite simply, he was the servant of Rauf Ilwan” and he continues to be hungry for revenge stating: “A hunted man only feeds on new excitements, which pour down upon him in the span of his solitude like rain." The use of this metaphor closely examines how Said has truly become obsessed with seeking revenge and sees it as something exciting and thrilling. He goes on to mention his daughter, Sana who had previously coldly rejected him as he says: “The verdict will be no more cruel than Sana's cold shyness towards you. She killed you before the hangman could. And even the sympathy of the millions for you is voiceless, impotent, like the longings of the dead” Said equates her rejection to be more cruel than himself and having caused him endless pain as he exaggerates by saying “she killed you before the hangman could” using past tense in order to discuss their first encounter after his jail release. 

The Thief and the Dogs: Stream of Consciousness

In the book The Thief and the Dogs, Mahfouz draws a lot of focus onto the main character’s stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness is a technique that depicts the numerous feelings and thoughts within the minds characters. This is seen through Said’s characters, as we the readers travel through his mind as he develops within the story and we explore how the hatred and his need for revenge grow throughout the book. Being able to do this, Mahfouz allows the readers to not only follow the characters mind like in first person narration but rather to be one with the mind. This, in turn, creates a complex dynamic throughout the story, making it more intriguing and an exhilarating read. To signify the importance that stream of consciousness plays, the sections where we see inside Said’s mind are represented by italics which is important as it differentiates the different types of stream of consciousness that are presented- mainly between an indirect and a direct interior dialogue, this helps to create a sense of awareness and clear switch. At this point, the readers feel as though they’re a part of the situation and the book itself, hence it constructs a sort of connection between Said and the readers.

Within the Arab world, Naguib Mahfouz is very well known for his creative writing style which led to his win of the Nobel Prize for Literature. His book The Thief and the Dogs differs from his other works when it comes to the focus of stream of consciousness. Yet Mahfouz manages to portray the book from many different perspectives as he switches from third person narration to either direct or indirect interior monologue or even a soliloquy and he does so exactly according to the situation that is presented such has when Said is expressing his love for this daughter, Sana and we see his true feelings when he realizes his daughter no longer wants him. The indirect format is also seen when Said first emerges from the jail and describes the place and his feelings at that moment but it is rather expressed through the narrator. This helps create a very powerful connection as well as interesting touch to the book making the readers explore different perspectives.

Mahfouz creates an important sense of appreciation for the language that is being used throughout the book. Although in the Arabic writing certain words and phrases have a deeper and a different connotation that aren’t always properly communicated through translation, the English version nevertheless uses a high degree of language and style to portray the themes within the book as well as the stream of consciousness throughout. In general, the language is significant to the cultural context as well as the historical setting of the book which in turn creates more of an appreciation of the language used. In relation to the stream of consciousness, language is also used as a powerful tool. In chapter 2, when Said visits the Sheikh, one sees how the Sheikh speaks in the language of old times where he has a double meaning to his words/sentences in order to emphasize and bring attention through repetition, the importance of his message which causes confusion to Said and through his stream of consciousness we see how he feels about this and how he feels alone : “I am alone with my freedom, or rather I'm in the company of the Sheikh, who is lost in heaven, repeating words that cannot be understood by someone approaching hell. What other refuge have I?"
As well as that, the stream of consciousness is a revolutionary modern technique hence when used my Naguib it introduced new style into the Arab literature world as created an appreciation for the style used.

In a way stream of consciousness is of course very effective and creates a bond in which readers are able to experience and have more significant access to the feelings and thoughts of the characters and hence this makes the experience of the story more genuine and real. Yet at times, it can be too focused within the feelings and thoughts of particular characters that it diverts from other characters and the main storyline. As well as that, using stream of consciousness can disregard the outer realities that are happening within the book -  the author concentrates only on the consciousness of his characters and therefore he shows no interest in events.

Value of Literature in Translation

Literature is an artistic form of expression in which authors present their aesthetic excellence of writing in different forms as well as languages. Literature itself and in translation serve a lot of values and purposes that can teach a variety of things to people. Through literature, we are able to place our mindset into that of someone else’s and sympathises with other people's situations. It helps people develop skills that are applicable outside their range of schema and explore beyond their usual capacity. Hence, when looking into literature in translation, there is so much more that can be taught. It opens doors for developing a new understanding as well as a cultural appreciation for cultures that are being studied and might not be known about. 

It provides perspectives and emotional insights to topics and cultures that might not be familiar to certain people but expands their knowledge.

Yet as beneficial and valuable it is to learn and study texts in translation, one must also be aware of the challenges that occur from it.  

Each writing and writer has their unique was of expressing them self and their ideas in a way that best resembles them and their culture and therefore when translating such a text a lot can be lost through translation and in certain times there is a loss of cultural context that isn't necessarily expressed thoroughly for instance when reading Chinua Achebe's things fall apart, Achebe would sometimes express his sentence or certain words in his native language that cannot be directly translated and  he actually explains it in order to allow the readers to obtain a more in-depth understanding of what is happening. As well as Naguib Mahfouz's Thief and the dogs, having only read a couple pages in Arabic, I can already distinguish the difference. Naguib Mahfouz is known in the Arab world for his amazing  and outstanding writing as well as his creative way of using language and his use of Arab expression that are visible when seen through the Arabic text but are  lost in the translation. The language itself has a great use of flourishing language and expressions that have strong meanings to them but when directly translated seem exaggerated or not right and hence are translated in another form to suit the understanding of the audience and lose their intentional meaning.  

A text read in class of an interview showed the perspective of two different translators and their approach to their technique. One proposed that translating is impossible and it is rather a create way to express yourself though the author to your approximate level, unlike the other translator who thought that the cultural ambience was key when translating texts in order to make people fully understand the approach the author is making. 

Overall studying translated texts is truly an eye opener to another side that people aren't well aware off. This relates back to the learning outcomes of part 3 of this course which requires students to consider the changing cultural and social context as well as understand the attitudes and values expressed by the texts and their impact on readers.  This, in turn, demonstrates the importance of studying a translated text and consider the cultural and social context of it. 

Paper 2

Discuss the significance of social status in at least two literary texts that you have studied, and comment on its contribution to characterization

Thesis statement : Achebe explores the structure of social status in Things Fall Apart to further enhance the theme of respect and reputation in order to exemplify the way characters develop within the story and signify the importance of social status within the Igbo culture which can be seen with Okonkwo’s prideful character which is contributed to by his father’s failure and low social status.

Topic 1: the characterization of Okonkwo - he gains titles and is known to be one of the greatest men:
-  Okonkwo cares about his masculinity and titles
- Looks down at people with no titles or achieved less
- Ashamed of his lazy father
- Leads to his prideful and violent character 

Topic 2: Okonkwo's father had no titles and had a bad reputation and social status which not only lead to his characterization but also contributed to the characterization of Okonkwo:

- There is a very visible and powerful contrast between Unoka and Okonkwo when examining the social status and this, in turn, has a major influence on Okonkwo's character over the years.

- They had different visuals as to what they prioritise and whats important, for instance, Okonkwo cared about hard work, dedication and having pride in achievements and always act masculine whereas his father was lazy and dedicated to music

- This lead Okonkwo to resent his father and do anything to avoid himself or his sons to end up like him 

Paper 1

This paper 1 essay will focus on two different texts that are grounded on a similar basis. The first text is a very visual ad published in 1922 hence centers itself through a colonial lens. It is trying to sell their audience an ideal and tropical holiday. Unlike the first text, the second text draws away from pictorial elements and is rather portrayed through a news article published in the business section of the Miami Herald in 2007. These two different text types already portray major differences as the news article develops a more serious tone than the pictorial and encouraging ad. This is also seen through the paramount importance of the time period of each text which creates a heavy influence on the interpretations and situations during these times, consequently leading to a post-colonial and colonial viewpoint from the different texts. This paper/essay will concentrate on comparing and contrasting both these texts through the elements they portray, specifically the audience which is not only the same but it also grounds the underlying foundation of both these texts which then develop the content, tone and mood and style in which each portray their piece according to their audience and what message they’re trying to bring across to them. Both texts have the same audience but contrasting purposes in order to persuade their point of view to their audience.

When establishing the audience, both texts target a similar audience in a sense that is more upper class people who obtain power within society and are hence able to prevent or make a change, in the case of the second text or being able to purchase a summer vacation in terms of the first text. The advertisement aims wealthy and social elite as it also says “Only First Class Passengers Carried.” The second text targeted towards American and European retirees coming to the Caribbean islands yet because it is an article at a local newspaper in the business section, one can determine that it also targets the general readers who are interested in business in order to inform them about the issue.
Yet the purpose of the texts differ greatly especially when identifying the fact that both texts have almost over 90 years apart hence setting a colonial and post-colonial perspective as well as that both the text are of different types which usually means they have different purposes towards their audience. The first text focuses on persuading and to advertise the Fleet Ship and trips to people of higher class and thereby marginalizes the middle and lower classes. Consequently, the second text tries to persuade the readers in order to reveal the plights of the islanders and evoke a sense of sympathy for the seeming colonialism that is occurring in that particular region.

The first text is a very straightforward advertisement named “The Great White Fleet” which was originally a battle fleet hence by using the name it sells to the audience and makes the fleet sound reputable and also includes some sort of nationalism and as well as relating to using this name of the Great White Fleet as creates an ethos in terms of persuading them through using a credible and historical source. The advert then goes on to discuss the summer and cool weather and mainly includes visual to express their message. In contrast with the first text, the second text is an article that focuses on the particular case of a man named Jiménez who has lost his home. The main message of what they’re trying to get across with the whole idea of squatters vs. developers and their stance on swaying the audience towards a more liberal viewpoint. Also title referring to squatters take on developers already sets the theme of a competition between the two groups of people, one pitted against the other.

The tone and mood of both texts differ greatly due to their purposes and content of each other. For the first text, one sees how they’re clearly speaking to their specific target audience which in this case is the higher class making it very accessible for them unlike for the middle or lower class which sets an exclusive tone. It sets a happy and enthusiastic mood in order to encourage their audience to go on these summer trips.  When naming countries such “Jamaica” and “Panama”, a very foreign and “touristy” tone is used making them want to explore and see new places also they’re targeting people who usually go on these sort of trips. Unlike with the article where we see the tone consisting of two main aspects; when in regards to the “squatters” one sees an indignant tone at the situation and when looking at the companies of developers and real estate agents, we see a tone of annoyance at their money grubbing actions that have displaced and harmed so many less fortunate. For readers who in some relate to this or are emotionally evoked by this set a mood of rage and annoyed. Additionally the diction throughout the article such as “squatters” or “poorest” creates a very pitiful and sympathetic attitude from the readers.

In order for adverts or articles to appeal to the readers, the persuader has to be able to use elements in order to engage and persuade them with what they’re trying to say. When looking at the first text, one sees it’s very visual and the pictorial elements take up at least 2/3 of the page. The title “The Great White Fleet” is the name of the cruise ship. It uses ethos as it is named after a popular US Navy Battle Fleet therefore illustrating a sense of patriotism.  It also emphasizes the word “White” by making the word itself in white, in contrast to the black background which could also be a reference to the white community as during that time period they had the power and wealth (higher class) to afford this. The image placed at the bottom of the advert is of women and men put across as very elegant with the women wearing fashionable hats and arched necks which plays on the intention which is so that audience can visualize themselves in that position and actually be persuaded by what is being sold to them. Like in present days, this ad uses marketing techniques by placing “Reduced Rates for Summer Cruises” in bold, making it eye catching and considering that the tie is summer the font is emphasized which is easily appealing to the consumers. “Sailings, every week, from New York, Boston and New Orleans” highlights the accessibility of the cruise ships. Furthermore, serving from top capitals only emphasizes the exclusivity of this cruise. Moreover the ad uses techniques such as glittering generalities almost in a sense to create a “brotherhood” towards the specific targeted audience. In addition its uses ethos – “United Fruit Company” - reliable company. In opposition to the first text, the second text is structured merely as an article. The title of the text is “QUATTERS TAKE ON DEVELOPERS” thus setting the theme of a competition between the two groups of people, one pitied against the other. Throughout the article, certain negative diction such as “shacks” “scavenged” “rough” “cracks” is utilized to convey imagery of the poor and urban setting. The newspaper article then gives a testimony which appeals to the audience’s sense of pathos as it elicited empathy for a man who seems to deserve rightful ownership of his property. The article overall creates an overwhelming sense that the story is being perceived from a post-colonial perspective; multiple indicators of this are in the diction “occupy these once-isolated isles”, “threaten to displace hundreds of low-income residents”, “charges of colonialism”, “homes have been burned and been torn to the ground” which are all techniques in order to evoke the readers emotions.  It also uses statistics to its advantage; especially the statistic of $1 billion dollars greatly contrasts the $1 wage cited earlier in the passage that greatly emphasizes the lack of wealth they obtain. Throughout the article, many techniques are visible such as testimonial, plain folk, card stacking, source manipulation, and glittering generalities as well as using literary devices such as Imagery, weighted diction, Alliteration, hyperbole. All of which were used in order to sway the reader towards a more liberal viewpoint and be able to inform and persuade the audience of the issue.

Overall, summing up, one sees how both texts are essentially grounded on a similar basis but have different approaches based on their purposes. Through the stylistic features each individual text has used, one sees how they are able to persuade the audience. Therefore it is visible how their tone&mood, purpose and structure contrast to convey their particular message. 

English Paper 1

Paper One- Commentary Structure 

English Paper 1

1^st Paragraph: Introduction

•          Give a broad overviews/ background
• -          Establish both the text that will be examined
• -          Touch on how/what they essay will focus on+ from which stance

2^nd Paragraph: Audience and Purpose

•      Text 1: audience and purpose
•    Text 2: audience and purpose e.g. reveal the plights of the islanders and evoke a sense of                        sympathy for the seeming colonialism occurring in the area
•     Links between both and how the audience that is targeted is the same/similar but the purpose     in the message they’re conveying differs between the two texts
•    Also make address the time periods that each text was produced in and the effect it has on the   purpose and audience – post colonial vs colonial perspective

3^rd Paragraph: Content and Theme

• -          Text 1: main message it tries to convey and if takes on certain stances – tries to sell their audience an exotic place for vacation home
• -          Text 2: main message and what they’re trying to get across with the whole idea of squatters vs. developers and their stance on swaying the audience towards a more liberal viewpoint. Also Title referring to squatters take on developers already sets the theme of a competition between the two groups of people, one pitted against the other

4^th Paragraph: Tone and mood

• -          Text 1: uses target audience as a clear way to establish tone and because they’re trying to sell an idea or vacation home and as well as through the visuals it sets a happy and enthusiastic mood in order to convince their audience to purchase these vacations. Tone also mainly focuses specifically and narrowly to their target audience- closer sense of communication
• -          Text 2: regards to the “squatters” we see a tone of indignancy at the situation we have forced them to. This results in a mood of pity. Annoyance at their money grubbing actions that have displaced and harmed so many less fortunate. Also with a mood of rage from the audience.

5^th Paragraph: Style and structure + (Literary devices/ features)

• -          Text 1: the ways the text has been structured- visuals are the main focus and attention of text in order to relate in a more direct way with their audience. Certain diction used and the main reference to “The Great White Fleet” -> use of ethos
  
        Emphasis made using certain fonts and colors- more appealing to the audience
        Techniques used such as empty claim, ethos, glittering generalities etc
• -          Text 2: unlike the first one uses imagery in a verbal manner also due to the fact that it’s a news article in the business section also therefore the style and structure follow one of a news article. It uses Testimonial, Plain Folk, Card Stacking, Source manipulation, and Glittering Generalities to manipulate the viewpoint of the reader
  
        Lit devices included- Imagery, weighted diction, Alliteration, hyperbole

6^th Paragraph: Conclusion

• -          Justify the introduction
• -          Establish how the task was examined
• -          Restate the thesis made at the beginning

Introduction

                           This paper 1 essay will focus on two different texts that are grounded on a similar basis. The first text is a very visual ad published in 1922 hence centers itself through a colonial lens. It is trying to sell their audience an ideal and tropical holiday. Unlike the first text, the second text draws away from pictorial elements and is rather portrayed through a news article published in the business section of the Miami Herald in 2007. These two different text types already portray major differences as the news article develops a more serious tone than the pictorial and encouraging ad. This is also seen through the paramount importance of the time period of each text which creates a heavy influence on the interpretations and situations during these times, consequently leading to a post-colonial and colonial viewpoint from the different texts. This paper/essay will concentrate on comparing and contrasting both these texts through the elements they portray, specifically the audience which is not only the same but it also grounds the underlying foundation of both these texts which then develop the content, tone&mood and style in which each portray their piece according to their audience and what message they’re trying to bring across to them. Both texts have the same audience but contrasting purposes in order to persuade their point of view to their audience.

IB Learner Profile Propaganda: Open-Minded

Rationale

This propaganda poster aimed to promote open-mindedness and and portray it as a key basis in order for the succession of this world. This was done by using techniques such as glittering generalities whereby we tried to appeal to the audience through pathos through diction such as "embrace" "globalize" and "value" all of these words would portray good ideals, it is a way to bring people and make them appreciate our different identities and how all of this leads to the globalization of the world hence the globe at the top of the page. The main image of the poster is one that associates to the brain and the mind and it has rays coming out of it which in our case represent our ideals, value and identities etc. that we have to embrace as a whole world again shown through the use of a globe. A quote was placed towards the top of poster stating: "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open" this was said by a famous and well known American musician and although might not have too much credibility, his name is still recognized and the quote itself is very creative. A rhetorical directed at the audience is placed at the bottom right above OPEN- MINDED written in massive caps, the question is also written in red to stand out more and really make the readers question themselves. Different fonts are also used to stand out more.

Propaganda 4 Corner Reflection

“The term propaganda always refers to a negative message”

Before exploring the actually statement in depth it is essential to understand the definition of propaganda. In Latin propaganda  meant “things to be propagated and which ought to be spread” and a general definition of propaganda is a specific type of message that is presented in order to directly influence opinions or behaviors of people rather than providing an objective statement or information.  The term itself has been through quite a lot of history, because in original state, propaganda was a neutral reference and used in a more positive connotation in order to promote more favorable and affirmative influence on the audience such as creating propaganda on public health or encouraging people to vote or encouraging people to report crime and like the article given to us in class about the British and Russia, we see how they used propaganda in order to promote peace rather than encourage war.

Hence, I disagree with the statement above but I do believe that as time passed on, many people took advantage of the influence propaganda can make on people and started using  it to promote more negative concepts and therefore it acquired a more negative connotation by association to its manipulative nature. Now in the world of media, propaganda is seen as a political and bias use of techniques in order to promote a certain set of beliefs and ideas. Such as when watching the documentary in class of Americans depiction of the Iraq war, one sees how different types of propaganda had been used to implement their own ideologies and influence the audiences’ perception of the situation.
As well as when examining the article of Jessica Lynch, the US perception of the war was presented in a more positive light by the means of that propaganda used of her rescue.
So overall I disagree with the statement because I don’t believe that it has to be referring to a negative message but nowadays I do believe that people use it to mislead and deceive people through promoting negative message in order to convince them or influence their perception of a certain situation. 

Rationale

The article that has been chosen is one published by Fox News clearly showing a negative image of Islam and portraying them as a threat and uses false statics to prove its point, especially coming from a news outlet that considers itself bias towards the Republicans. This will all be examined through Bill Maher who has a strong perspective on Islam and this article shows support towards his beliefs.
This pastiche will hence alter the perspective and rather show Islam in a more/too positive light and bias to Islam because it wont show their flaws and it'll use correct statistics to prove that people shouldn't be generalizing a whole religion and that the Western media plays a big part to the reason there are such problems with Islam and showing negative image of western culture,

LOOKING INTO BILL MAHER

William "Bill" Maher is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, media critic, and television host. As a TV host, he is known for the political show Real Time with Bill Maher(2003–present). Maher previously hosted a similar show called Politically Incorrect

The article that will be examined is by Fox News:

Important notes from article:

•  Published by Fox News- a very known American news outlet that is known for its bias and promotion of the Republican Party.

• Discusses the young school boy Ahmed, who produced a homemade clock and brought it into school and justifies the action of him being arrested as normal because it’s natural to be more scared of a Muslim holding a case and how thinking like that only leads you to be called an “Islamophobe” or a “racist”

• “According to Pew, a majority of Muslims in several countries consider stoning a woman to death a legitimate punishment for adultery.”

• “Muslims surveyed in 24 of 37 countries where the question was asked believe abortion to be morally wrong.”

• “Three quarters or more in 33 of the 36 countries where the question was asked believe homosexuality to be morally wrong.”

OWN PASTICHE 

Islam- A misunderstood perspective of a peaceful religion influenced by the westerns and their media 

Islam, one of the world’s youngest religions putting it at about 1400 years of age has had a lot of criticism during the last couple of years, specifically after the tragic incident of 9/11. Looking at tragic events, recently an intelligent and eager 14 year old with high ambition produced his own homemade clock to take into school to present to his teacher who immediately felt threatened by his actions and called the police on him. Quick background check… the young boy was named Ahmed Mohamed, he was a dark skinned boy, Sudanese (Arab) and most importantly, Muslim. The teacher did not bother to communicate with the boy before having him arrested and quickly rushed to the assumption that he was a “threat” to the school.

When looking at the portrayal of Islam in Western media, there are so many misconceptions on their behavior and their Islamic actions. After the slaughtering and beheading in Saudi, there have been a lot of talk about the stance of whether Islam is actually a religion of peace or rather a religion that promotes violence. When talking about the stoning of woman only 14 out of 50 major Muslim countries still follow this old fashioned action but that doesn't mean it is supported. The majority of Muslims are against these actions even within these 14 countries and have started organisations and protests to stop these inhumane actions. Not all Muslims promote such actions!

When looking at abortion and homosexuality, many people manage to make it seem as though Muslim takes an evil uptake to these issues when in fact the majority of anti-homosexual protests occur by Christians and the western culture because like the majority of religions in the world, Islam is not the only one that disagrees with homosexuality and abortion! Also looking at a topic that was of great talk was genital mutilation, again, western media portrayed it as a Muslim ritual when in fact it has nothing to do with Islam, it is a cultural problem that does not reflect on the entire population of Islam or any part of it.

When referring to ISIS or other attacks thought to have occurred by Muslims, the Western media has the tendency to generalize a religion of 1.57 BILLION PEOPLE as terrorists or rather correlate Islam to a religion of violence and threat yet when a white man shoots children in a school or people in a cinema or three Muslims at a parking lot, this clearly doesn't reflect the Christian or the white culture but rather is seen as a "psychological illness"
As well as that, a report released by the FBI showed that out of all the terrorists attacks that have occurred in America, 6% only were perpetrated by Islamic Extremists and hence over 90% of terrorist attacks were actually carried out by non-Muslims ....Talk about threat.

LADY LAZARUS IOC

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw3nhRM-4pXxcFk4ZVpfeUQwMlk

This is Water- David Foster Wallace

In his essay 'This is Water' David Foster Wallace suggests that true freedom acquired through education is the ability to be adjusted, conscious, and sympathetic. He continues to progress this thesis by stating that "Learning how to think" is actually a way in which we control how we think and what we think. He implies that being conscious and having awareness helps us as humans make sense and meaning of different situations and pay attention from experiences. For instance in the video we see people irritated at the woman who's taking too long at the cashier yet no one there knows what she's been through or what’s causing her all these troubles. He asserts the concept that we as humans focus on ourselves as individuals and view the world to be revolving around us and hence don't see or pay attention to what’s happening front of us. He discusses out default- setting and how in every experience we've had we've been the center of it and thereby fail to understand other people's experiences and their emotion and thought process. We go along thinking that our immediate needs and feelings are the most import thing and should be addressed as a priority.  To be able not to do so we must acquire knowledge and intellect in order to start understand and seeing different perspectives. 

David Foster Wallace also goes on to discuss how freedom involves different matters such as attention, awareness, discipline, effort and truly caring about others. this is real freedom and once we have acquired such freedom then we are able to understand the world we live in and understand the way others work and be conscious of others.

Once we have a clearer understanding of real freedom and we truly relate to the proper kind of freedom then we start develop real emotional intelligence in a sense that we have more awareness and are more conscious to other people’s problems and situations. We start to grow empathy for people other than ourselves which contributes to our mental advancements. We need to be able to shut off our default setting and see beyond ourselves. Literature like many other works as a way in which we can place ourselves in other peoples shoes and see what they experience and feel empathy for the life and situations. Literature has the capability to teach us emotional understanding and intelligence through the deeper sense of empathy that it allows us to experience. It explores different themes which help us have a better understanding of the societal norms we live and appreciate the struggles of other people around us. Like David Wallace states, we need to adjust our minds in a from in which we are able to approach different matters with a different mindset which further also further establishes the work of literature and its aims.