The Hegemony Of Imperial Rule English Literature Essay

The Hegemony Of Imperial Rule English Literature Essay It shall be prudent to begin by giving a brief definition of what is meant by colonial discourse before looking at the texts. Colonial Discourse the way in which the hegemony of imperial rule is conveyed within the text as a set of values, representations and beliefs that reinforce the ideology. It is a term brought into currency by Edward Said who saw Foucaults notion of a disclosure as valuable for describing that system within which that range of practices termed colonial come into being.  [1]   George Orwells Burmese Days has an array of imperialistic views which are held in opposing views with the main character, Flory, branding it the lie that were here to uplift our poor black brothers rather than rob them. Flory describes imperialism as the lie that were here to uplift our poor black brothers rather than to rob them  [2]   Colonial discourse is key within the novel which as a result raises the question of identity and binary oppositions. None more so than in the case of Flory, in one breathe an honourable english gentleman enjoying the riches his new cultures has to offer and in the next berating the dirty nigger and bathing in the relief of being out of the stink for a time.  [3]   Flory is a contradiction who is torn between his British roots and his love of the Burmese culture, this love is shown via his friendship with Dr Veraswami. Flory is the personification of Gramscis idea of Imperial ideology as he believes that the discourse providing the hegemony is right yet he faces an ideological struggle within himself due to his love of his new culture. It can be argued that due to his steadfast dedication to the British Empire, for whom he works, he is a loyal imperialist and is comfortable using and exploiting the Burmese for his own gain aswell as trying to impose his superior worth and colonise the Burmese. With his desire to do this along with integrating himself into the Burmese way of life he succeeds merely in creating a juxtaposition coupled with binary opposition that ultimately leads to his demise. Heart of darkness Heart of Darkness is part of a colonial discourse in which the African is represented by the European as savage, exotic, cannibal, primitive they did not eat each other before my face page 93 critics such as Chin Achebe in his essay An Image of Africa looked upon Conrads Heart of Darkness as a racist novel. He believed Conrad was using Africa as a prop in order to create a foil for Europe (always viewed through Europeans eyes). Achebe believed that Conrad was making generalizations about Africa, therefore also assuming that Conrad was the character of Marlow in the novel (through Marlows narration). In the novel, Achebe believed Europe came across as well developed, industrialized, and articulate while Africa was uncivilized, underdeveloped, unintelligible and animalistic The term colonial discourse was coined by Edward Syiad, it is the habit of representation as colonial posers represent cultures they encounter through imperialism. The men who work for the Company describe what they do as trade, and their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of civilization.Kurtz, on the other hand, is open about the fact that he does not trade but rather takes ivory by force, and he describes his own treatment of the natives with the words suppression and extermination:he does not hide the fact that he rules through violence and intimidation. Kurtz on the other hand shows no remorse whatsoever. He holds the absolute essential view to exterminate all the blacks. He holds the ideology of making the black race extinct. Hes a ruthless ivory trader, and arranges for the dead heads to displayed on poles. The white race use crude violence, and brute force. Very occasionally the natives show resistance, but their left largely helpless against the overpowering military control of the Europeans. They have no authority or voice. The colonists have become corrupted. They are blinded by the notion that this is their sacred duty to uphold the superiority of the colonial empire and white heritage. Through Marlow disapproval, he shows and exposes the Europeans, is equally deameaning, offensive, and undermines their superiority. flabby white devils.. Critiques immoral European behaviour. Transcends such prejudice, shows him to rise above racism. Ridicules benevolent project of civilisation. Uses an ambivalent tone to show the violent colonial enterprise. Kurtz the ultimate satanic, racist. Has the heart of darkness. However if he is showing Africa to be the reason for the deterioration of the European mans morale, it merely becomes a backdrop which eliminates the African as human factor. They have become marginalised. This marginalisation shows further through Kurtz mistress. He is racist towards her, but not so to his white woman. It can be argued that Heart of Darkness participates in an oppression of nonwhites that is much more sinister and much harder to remedy than the open abuses of Kurtz or the Companys men. Africans become for Marlow a mere backdrop, a human screen against which he can play out his philosophical and existential struggles. Their existence and their exoticism enable his self-contemplation. This kind of dehumanization is harder to identify than colonial violence or open racism. While Heart of Darkness offers a powerful condemnation of the hypocritical operations of imperialism, it also presents a set of issues surrounding race that is ultimately troubling. The noble and idealistic Kurtz situated in darkest Africa submits to alcohol, isolation and megalomania and ends up radiating darkness.  [4]   It seems improbable that a rule which now rests on avowedly upon force can endure.  [5]  E.M. Forster Critics have debated whether Conrads novel perpetuated colonialist views of the alleged inferiority of other peoples, or it questioned the entire colonial project, dissenting from colonial discourses.  [6]   In 1975 Chinua Achebe controversially denounced Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness on the grounds that it proved how Conrad was a throughgoing racist.  [7]   Fin de sià ¨cle as Marlow links britains contemporary imperialist drives to the uncivialised.  [8]  

The Film O brother, where art thou? Essay -- Film Movies Movie Art T

The Film "O brother, where art thou?" The film O brother, where art thou? is set in the Great Depression of the 1930’s and emphasizes the struggle between the upper and lower classes by using a variety of cinematic devices. Through the use of these cinematic devices and comedic relief the realities of the Depression are viewed without creating a stark, melancholy, documentary-styled film. Examples in this film of these cinematic devices used to show these realities include: bleak colors, contrasting of light and dark colors, long shots, high-angle shots, and spherical camera lenses. These particular devices provide a glimpse at the realities of the oppression, poverty and despair of many of the American people during this time. From the start of the film it is apparent what time frame it is taking place in and the differences in the social stratification through the lack of colors. One of the most obvious portrayals of the bleakness and desperation of the era is the overall faded and washed-out look of the whole film, due to manipulation of the film saturation; the heaviness of it almost cries out to the audience. Though the film was shot during the summer, cinematographer Roger Deakins and Cinesite colorist Julias Friede were able to use digital technology to change the appearance of the colors. â€Å"Together, they worked on manipulating the [digital] saturation of the images, and in particular selecting the greens of the trees and grass and turning them into dry browns and yellows† (Escaping, 2). These dry brown and yellows enhance the audience’s impression of the desperation of the characters and the time period. Brown is a prominent color shown not only in the overall appearance but in the sp... ...ts was very distinguishable. This film captures this class distinction without subduing the atmosphere through the use of a variety of cinematic devices, â€Å" A good film is not a bag of cinematic devices but the embodiment, through devices, of a vision, an underlying theme† (Barnett, 274). The audience can see this theme of the realities of the oppression, poverty and despair of this time period through the use of the things mentioned, but also through the character development that is driven by the character’s hopelessness. Each of the characters associated with the lower class is motivated by the conditions, which are viewed through the cinematic devices mentioned above: color, spherical lenses, long shots, and high angle shots. Sources Cited: â€Å"Escaping From the Chain Gang.† October 2000. 25 July 2002 <http://www.theasc.com/magazine/oct00/brother/pg1.htm>.

Experiential Knowledge versus Intellectual Knowledge Essay

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has for a long time stirred the issue on the tug between experiential knowledge (the sort of knowledge that is gained in the â€Å"streets† and practiced mostly by Huck) and intellectual knowledge (the kind of knowledge being taught in schools and by people like Widow Douglas and Miss Watson). The issue can most of the time be phrased as that between being logical and following the practical consequences of one’s logic as opposed to following the dictates of society. This is a theme that was developed early on in the book and extends up to the end. Huck, for example, defies society and chooses his own logic in Chapter 1 when he told Widow Douglas that he would prefer to go to hell since this would mean a change of scenery and being with Tom. It is known for a fact that â€Å"heaven† should be the de facto choice of destination for everyone. To choose to go to hell, with our without reasons for wanting to do so, plainly means going against what is conventional. Time and again, Huck has dealt with the part of his conscience that told him that keeping and cuddling Jim, a â€Å"property† of Miss Watson versus his natural sympathy for the man (Bennett 3). These and many other instances in Huckleberry Finn illustrate the clash between the obviously wrong societal teaching that racism and slavery is good and having sympathy and compassion for the slaves as bad versus the instinctive knowledge that sympathy and compassion towards a slave is worthwhile. In this paper, this clash between experiential knowledge, i. e. , knowledge gained by oneself through the exercise of personal logical induction and deduction gathered through experience, and intellectual knowledge, i. e. , knowledge gained through different societal instruments, shall be dealt with. More specifically, this paper shall address the issue of which of these two â€Å"knowledges† has more importance. Being an issue that is of no light matter, this paper would need to look beyond Huckleberry Finn for aid. As such, Philosophy, Ethics, and Education seem to be the most promising areas of knowledge that address the issue. Hence, this paper shall look in these directions to settle the issue. Specifically, this paper shall have the following parts: on wisdom and knowledge as personal or societal; morality as inauthentic or authentic; and educations as geared towards making the person â€Å"fully† come out versus education as socialization. The paper shall end with a conclusion. Wisdom as Personal or Societal Philosophy has dealt with the question on the source of wisdom a number of times and through different thinkers. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle are known to deal extensively about this issue, and as such, their philosophies shall be utilized. Since Aquinas is known for extensively working on Aristotle’s works, merging the works of these two thinkers shall not pose any problems. Before anything, it would be best to first give a definition of wisdom. At least in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition, wisdom is a kind of knowledge that is â€Å"of paramount importance in directing human existence towards its purpose or end† (Artigas 17). It is that kind of knowledge that aids man to be a better human being, not only by providing particular knowledge, but most specially a universal knowledge that speaks of the human being’s nature, purpose and end. In the end, wisdom ought to lead to the human being’s happiness, happiness defined as a life that is flourishing. All these ideas seem to be abstract, so it would be best to concretize a bit. At least for Aristotle, living a life that is full of human flourishing means living a virtuous life in a community that allows for the continuous development of the individual. According to the Aristotelian philosopher Martha Nussbaum, this refers to a life wherein virtues, human relations, reason and other physical capabilities are allowed to flourish by the society (Nussbaum 76-78). More concretely, this means experiencing real friendship, practicing justice, exercising prudence and a host of many other virtues that Aristotle spoke of in the Nicomachean Ethics in a society that value and nurture these. It is allowing a person to have meaningful relations, to engage in activities that nourish one’s â€Å"senses, imagination, and thought,† to have bodily health, to engage in play, to have autonomous control over one’s environment and so on (Nussbaum 76-78). So far, it seems that wisdom ought to be acquired for the benefit of the individual that would most probably emanate into the good of society. That is well and good, nevertheless, we still have not answered the question as to how wisdom itself is acquired. In this respect, Aquinas has an answer. Thomas Aquinas is known for the Natural Law Theory. The theory states that â€Å"man is born with the natural facility to know the basic truths or principles or the moral order as ‘the good is to be done and promoted and the evil to be avoided’† (Panizo 56). In this respect wisdom, i. e. , knowledge about what is good and what is to be avoided that ought to lead to happiness and human flourishing, is not only something that man is capable of; in fact, man is born with this natural facility. Human beings are born with the disposition to want what is good and to avoid what is evil. Thinking about it, this medieval theory seems to make a lot of sense. Is it not true that no human being ever does something which for her/him is plainly without good or any sort of benefit? Even actions that may be considered as evil by many still have some sort of perverted â€Å"goodness† in it. Actions such as murder, drug trafficking, etcetera, still give â€Å"pleasure† to those who engage in them. But, does this mean that these actions are morally good? Aquinas would not agree. He would say that though nature has granted man the capacity to know what is good and evil and to want good over evil, still, error may happen. Error occurs once the basic principle, â€Å"good is to be done and sought after, evil is to be avoided† (Aquinas 197) is applied. In fact, there is a hierarchy of difficulty when it comes to the application of this basic principle, the most difficult application of it called â€Å"remote conclusions† are described as â€Å"not easily drawn by ordinary people, for they involve education in theology and philosophy, and deep reflection† (Panizo 59). These involve judgments on issues like euthanasia, divorce, abortion, etcetera. We have reached a point then when natural wisdom, i. e. , wisdom depending on reason alone, becomes insufficient. Life is so full of instances when â€Å"remote conclusions† are needed and called for. The sad thing is, this knowledge is hard to come by and a human being is left with no option but to listen to the dialogues of the people in the academe. For Aquinas and Aristotle, experiential knowledge is not enough. It could only get us so far. This then brings us to the discussion of the place of â€Å"intellectual knowledge† in Philosophy. According to Aristotle, human beings need a role model to live a flourishing life. An excellent person is considered the standard for most of us who are still aiming for human flourishing, for a life of virtue. An excellent person is defined as he/she whose wishes â€Å"will be what is wished in reality† (Aristotle 65), i. e. , the wishes of the excellent person is that which is truly good for the human being. An excellent person is the exact opposite of the base person to whom â€Å"pleasure would seem to cause deception since it appears good when it is not† (Aristotle 65). Thus, modeling is Aristotle’s system of knowing what is worth imitating and what is not. To add to this, it must be recalled that for Aristotle (as with the other Greek thinkers), education has an indispensable role in bringing an individual to perfection. This is the very reason why the Academy and the Lyceum were established. In these schools, individuals from different cities merge to further their knowledge, to share each other’s knowledge and in this sense socializing each other. Hence, at least in Aristotle and Aquinas’ philosophy, though natural wisdom or experiential knowledge may be the starting point, this is not enough. Intellectual knowledge is still necessary since remote conclusions are always called for to ultimately be happy and live a flourishing life. Authentic and Inauthentic Morality Beyond the epistemology of Aristotle and Aquinas is the perspective that morality or ethics may be inauthentic or authentic. This is the very idea of Michael Moga in the book, Toward Authentic Morality. According to Moga, one’s sense of right and wrong can either be wholly dependent on one’s culture (i. e. , inauthentic morality) or it could come from one’s personal choice (i. e. , authentic morality). This is the very same clash between the self and the society that we have been talking about. According to Moga, most people ascribe to inauthentic morality. This is the sort of morality that gives in to social pressure, that kind of pressure that forces us to act and think in a particular way without exactly knowing why such an action or thought should be considered moral. We would not have to go very far to understand inauthentic morality. Most adolescents and teenagers are susceptible to peer pressure when it comes to many facets of their lives. The very persistence of racism and discrimination speak of a poorly reasoned morality that rest on social acceptance. In fact, Moga sets out the characteristics of inauthentic morality. The following are the characteristics of this type of morality. Inauthentic morality is characterized by being based on certain rules and values affirmed by culture; it is universal in its application, i. e. , it is valid for everyone; they impact individuals as set of morality that is external, i. e. , the source of morality is something outside the self; these laws are anonymous; the individual is haunted by fear and shame; the moral obligation is something that comes from authority; and it is fluctuating in influence (Moga 35-39). This is the sort of morality experienced by the typical teenager who follows his/her group’s choices. Such an individual follows rules not her own, a set of rules she may find difficult to follow since it is something external, nevertheless the breaking of such group rules result to fear and shame. This teenager considers the lead of the group as the one vested with authority to enforce such rules. Though this morality is most stark among teenagers, adults may very well be living this sort of morality. We would only have to look around shopping malls to see how many adults go with the flow without thinking why. Supposedly at the other extreme is authentic morality. This morality results from one’s personal decision to accept a set of values and morals after necessary reflection. Again, this sort of morality has characteristics: it is personally chosen and accepted; it is based on a rational appreciation; it is not based on fear or shame; morality as an expression of one’s freedom; and it is based on what one personally cares for, i. e. the very principles that one values (Moga 39-41). This is the sort of morality of individuals who have taken enough time to think over his/her morals. This would be represented by an individual who does an action and could very likely explain and be personally involved in the very principle of one’s actions. This would be the individual whose sense of morality is not dependent on â€Å"what others will say† but rather on a clear set of personally chosen moral principles. Though individuals must all aim for authentic morality, Moga insists that both moralities are important. In the first place, all human beings undergo the inauthentic morality stage where parents become the sole authority from whom morality emanate. Nevertheless, we should not stay this way. After being exposed to different sets of moralities, it is the individual’s responsibility to think and chose which of these moralities shall be made personal. Thus, at least in the Ethical perspective, the social and the personal ought to go together, though in the end, the social should be for the personal. Conclusion We have seen that at least in Philosophy and Ethics, there really is no real clash between the personal and the social, between intellectual knowledge and experiential knowledge. Clashes happen in Philosophy when error exists in the mind and nothing is done to correct the error. This error may of course exist not only with individuals but also in groups such as those in the academe. Nevertheless, we have clearly stated above that intellectual knowledge is there not to ram down society on the throats of individuals but rather to further perfect experiential knowledge for the sake of human flourishing. The same may be said in the field of ethics. Both authentic and inauthentic moralities are there and both have uses in society. Nevertheless, in the end, inauthentic morality ought to be the material source of inputs for the eventual authentic morality of a person. Morality only becomes stagnant when there is no interaction between the inauthentic and authentic. To answer the question which of the two knowledges is more important, we could qualifiedly say that both are important as long as there is minimal error and that the ultimate purpose is human flourishing.

Capital markets Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1393 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Level High school Did you like this example? Introduction This paper will examine the capital markets which a source of channel between suppliers and users of capital to gain greater profits. Main purpose of capital markets is to create an environment where the buying and selling of various instruments like equity and debt take place. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an avenue where savings and investment facilities provide capital from retail and institutional investors and its users of these capital markets are different businesses, government and individuals. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Capital markets Example For Free" essay for you Create order Capital markets are vital to the functioning of an economy, since capital is a critical component for generating economic output. These markets consist of primary markets, where new stock and bond issues are sold to investors, and secondary markets, which trade existing securities. Another way to classify financial markets is by the maturity of the claims. For example, a financial market for short-term financial assets is called the money market, and the one for longer maturity financial assets is called the capital market. The traditional cutoff between short term and long term is one year. That is, a financial asset with a maturity of one year or less is considered short term and therefore part of the money market. A financial asset with a maturity of more than one year is part of the capital market. Thus, the debt market can be divided into debt instruments that are part of the money market, and those that are part of the capital market, depending on the number of years to matu rity. Because equity instruments are generally perpetual, they are classified as part of the capital market. A third way to classify financial markets is by whether the financial claims are newly issued. When an issuer sells a new financial asset to the public, it is said to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“issueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  the financial asset. The market for newly issued financial assets is called the primary market. After a certain period of time, the financial asset is bought and sold among investors. The market where this activity takes place is referred to as the secondary market. One of the company that use capital market practices is Wells Fargo. It is a publicly traded company which was established in March, 1852 by its founders Henry Wells, William G. Fargo, and associates. It started out as resource to monitor its transportation of its money but as the time changed Wells Fargo used that stagecoach image it created as its backbone and a symbol for its marketing strategies. In the fall of 2008, Wachovia bank faced a near collapse of its share price and weakening confidence because of its exposure to troubled mortgage assets. Wachovia Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, was incorporated in 1967 and was registered as a financial holding company and a bank holding company. These events marked another shakeup for the troubled U.S. banking sector saddled with heavy losses from the bursting of the real estate bubble. The merger of the former Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) and First Union Corporation was effective Sept. 1, 2001. In October of 2007, Wachovia and A.G. Edwards Sons, Inc. (NYSE:AGE) announced an agreement under which Wachovia would acquire A.G. Edwards, which will be combined with Wachovia Securities, LLC to create a retail brokerage firm with $1.1 trillion in client assets and nearly 15,000 financial advisors. The company indicates that the combined entity has a national footprint of 3,350 brokerage locations, including 1,50 0 retail offices in 50 states and in Washington D.C. Founded in Winston-Salem, N.C. as Wachovia National Bank on June 16, 1879, Wachovia grew to be one of the largest diversified financial services companies in the United States. It traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WB. Wachovia provided a broad range of retail banking and brokerage, asset and wealth management, and corporate and investment banking products and services to customers through 3,300 retail financial centers in 21 states, along with nationwide retail brokerage, mortgage lending, and auto finance businesses. Globally, Wachovia served clients in corporate and institutional sectors and through more than 40 international offices. Wachovia is acquired In 2008, Wells Fargo Company acquired Wachovia Corporation to create North Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s most extensive distribution system for financial services, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and comme rcial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet, and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. The integration of Wachovia and Wells Fargo is complete, and all Wachovia accounts have been moved to Wells Fargo. Wachovia was burdened by a sagging $122 billion portfolio of option-adjustable-rate mortgages it took on with its purchase of Golden West Financial Corp. in 2006. (Wells Fargo, 2015) Capital markets are consists of the stock and bond markets which are followed on their daily movements and analyzes the economic situation on the world stage as every market in the world is effected by each other. We furthermore, look into the various institutions that operate on capital markets like stock exchanges, commercial banks and different types of corporations, which include non-bank institutions such as insurance companies and mortgage banks. Operating in the capital markets institutions are granted a wide range of access which helps in generating more capital for long-term purposes, for example in a merger or acquisition, to develop a line of business or go into a new business and various other capital projects. Entities that are raising money for these long-term purposes come to one or more capital markets. In the bond market, corporate bonds are used by companies to issue debt. And on the otherhand governments like local or federal issue similar bonds know as government bonds. Since governments are not publicly held so they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t issue equity. Following the same pattern, companies are able to raise money by issuing equity in the stock market. They are considered as the seller in the market for issued equity or debt. Now, the buyers or investors usually invest in the stocks or bonds of the sellers in the market and then trade in them. There are two types of market entities:- Primary Market- here ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a first time issuer of the securities on the market. Secondary Market- here on the securities are already issued and being traded among different buyers. For sellers, make money off the sale in the primary market is more profitable then equity in the secondary market. Wells Fargo best services its clients by following its vision, of providing financially sound advice to its customers for them to achieve a satisfied and successful venture on the capital market. Their belief that different customers across all business segments can be better served, and save time and money, if they bring all their financial services to one trusted provider that knows them well, provides trusted guidance and advice, and can serve their full range of financial needs through a wide choice of products and services. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s about building lifelong relationships one customer at a time. The impact of Wells Fargo, on its competitors, and the industry are that there is always a need to watch consumer behavior to see how people will spend their money and why they choose a certain bank or lender to help them make the decisions to spend or sav e their money. Banks always have to see what motivates consumers to pick the banks they pick. Technology can play a major role in that decision, so banks always need to find ways to be up to date on technology as well as given that to the public securely. These trends pose opportunities to the banking industry because the more a bank like Wells Fargo can keep up with the trends of society, the more business they will receive. (Frank J. Fabozzi Franco Modigliani, 2009) Conclusion This paper looks at the Wells Fargoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s weaknesses include confusion due to large-scale activity. Being an enormous company it is hard to personally know all individuals within the banking community. They are often the targets of fraud, and counterfeiting due to how large they are. Other weaknesses might include ability to obtain brand loyalty. In todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s society, with so many other large scale competing banks, getting brand loyalty from individuals can be compli cated. Many people have accounts in more than one bank, and several individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ change from bank to bank depending on offers they are given at different times. References Frank J. Fabozzi Franco Modigliani (2009) Capital marketsÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¯: institutions and instruments (4th edition). Wells Fargo. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.wellsfargo.com/