Research Presentation free essay sample

Materialism – Jhingur judges himself by the value of his property as if this defines his character Quote: â€Å"Whenever Jhingur looked at his cane field a sort of intoxication came over him. He had bighas of land which would earn him an easy 600 rupees. And if God sawto it that therates went up then who could complain? Why should he worry about money? The merchants were already beginning to fawn on him. † From the beginning we seem to focus on the character of Jhingur that seems to value wealth over what may be for himself and his community. Instead of focusing on how his work can positively affect his life, he focuses on the negative. His focus is on his need to make money from his fellow farmers as possible, believing himself to be the better person. Social Issues Explotation Both men are propelled into acts of vengeance that it ultimately destroyed both of their fortunes. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Presentation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This derived from a primitive need for the characters to compete against each other. The material desires at the end have blinded them, and they may never see the true value of life. They brought about their own destruction. The core of this story lies a lesson on how materialism can impair our ability to see what is best for our life. In the period during which India evolved from colonial domination to independence, Tagore and Premchand were pioneers in Modern Indian literature. Their literary works pioneered social issues and the social structure of India that concentrated on the oppressed, human emotions, destruction, oppression of women and life. These authors proved that they can focus on the psychology of the characters instead of social realism. We will explore the context of the stories through the characters journey’s and struggles and unfortunate consequences in the end. â€Å"Punishment† portrayal of the complex relationships among the members of the Rui family and how tragedy can delve into real issues that we have hidden. â€Å"The day on which our story begins was like this†¦.. That day, Dukhiram and Chidam had been working near the zamindar’s office. On a sandbank opposite, paddy had ripened. The paddy needed to be cut before the sanbank was washed away, but the village people were busy either in their own fields or in cutting jute: so a messenger came from the office and forcibly engaged the two brothers. As the office roof was leaking in places, they also had to mend that and make some new wicker wood panels: it had taken them all day. † (p. 893) Two peasant brothers and their wives share a house together. The short-tempered, sloppy wife, Radha, is killed by her husband, Dukhiram, in a fit of anger for failing to prepare the evening meal. The village chief intrudes on the scene immediately following the murder, and the other brother, Chidam, unintentionally identifies the beautiful wife, Chandara, as the killer. Chidam instructs Chandara to lie to protect her brother-in-law. Now, we start to see the divison in the male and female hierarchy. Before this revelation, despite their love for each other, Chandara and Chidam had trouble in the relationship. Chandara suspected her husband of infidelity, and began flirting at the watering hole. Chidam then threatened her stating, â€Å"I’ll break every bone in your body† (p. 896) and locked her in the house. She escaped to a relative’s house, but was persuaded to return only after Chidam â€Å"had to surrender to her. † (p. 896). When we examine this relationship, it great to point out that Tagore states, â€Å"It was as hard to restrain his wife as to hold a handful of mercury. † (p. 896) Chandara has achieved a sort of power by submission; we tend to question where the balance of power lies in this relationship. The chain of events after the murder further explores the complexity in the relationship of Chidam and Chandara. When discussing the murder they agree that Chidam will save Chandara from execution, if she agrees to his lie. Chidam expects Chandara to relate that her sister-in-law attacked her and that Radha was killed in self-defense. After being taken into custody by the police, Chandara defies her husband by telling the police that the attack was unprovoked and puts her own life at risk. She was so angry with him that she refuses to see him before her execution stating, â€Å"To hell with him. †(p. 899). She accepts the punishment for a crime she did not commit in order to punish Chidam. She will not give him the satisfaction of saving her. Chidam gets her to take the blame for the crime but loses in the end by not getting his wife back. The story is unique by telling a story about the complex nature of human behavior and the unjust social set up of how women had no social status and importance in a family. Evidence of how the oppression of women is shown when Chidam states, â€Å"a wife can be replaced but a brother cannot be replaced,† (p. 894) clearly points out women are not valued. Tagore touches on women being oppressed and how social injustice was a common thing issue for women in rural Bangladesh during that time.

A Reaction To Uncle Toms Cabin Essays - African-American Culture

A Reaction To Uncle Tom's Cabin Lauren Richmond History 201 April 1, 1999 A Reaction to Harriet Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin So this is the little lady who made this big war. Abraham Lincolns legendary comment upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe demonstrates the significant place her novel, Uncle Toms Cabin, holds in American history. Published in book form in 1852, the novel quickly became a national bestseller and stirred up strong emotions in both the North and South. The context in which Uncle Toms Cabin was written, therefore, is just as significant as the actual content. Among other things, Stowes publication of her novel was stimulated by the increasing tensions among the nations citizens and by her fervent belief that slavery was brutally immoral. While she was still young, Harriets family moved from Hartford, Connecticut to Cincinnati, Ohio. At the time, Cincinnati was a battleground for pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces, as well as being a city of religious revivalism, temperance conflicts, and race riots. Her father was a congregationalist minister and her oldest sister, Catherine, was a writer on social reform questions. It is not surprising, therefore, that because of her environment, Harriet became involved in movements emphasizing the moral injustice of slavery. Probably the most significant influence on Harriets writing Uncle Toms Cabin, however, was the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1950. Under the law, people who assisted a runaway slave could receive a fine of $1,000 and six months in prison. Naturally, the statute broadened the slavery debate by involving the northern states in the apprehension of runaway slaves. The North, who had previously adopted a not-our-problem attitude toward slavery, now was forced into a direct role in its propagation. These influences were directly responsible for Stowes creation of Uncle Toms Cabin and its characters, which in her final chapter are revealed to have been, in one sense or another, factual representations. The separate instances that compose the narrative are, to a very great extent, authentic, occurring, many of them, either under (my) own observation or that of (my) personal friends. (Myself or my friends) have observed characters the counterpart of almost all that are here introduced; and many of the sayings are word for word as heard myself. (p. 475) Her motivation for writing the novel, however, was thoroughly rooted in Christian indignation. In Stowes preface to the novel she said that under the allurements of fiction, (we) breathe a humanizing and subduing influence, favorable to the development of the great principles of Christian brotherhood. (p. 3) She sought to correct a cruel practice and to bring to the knowledge of the world the lowly, the oppressed, and the forgotten. (p. 3) The unexpected success of the novel was partially due to innovations in printing, which made possible the mass production and distribution of inexpensive editions. Also at this time was a wave of educational developments, driving the literacy rate upwards into unprecedented numbers. Because of the availability of the novel and the great increase in the reading population, there was no corner of the United States that was not reached by Stowes moral voice. Uncle Toms Cabin was written in a rather empathetic tone, forcing the American public to view the black slaves as human beings, at least for the purpose of reading the novel. A southern slave-owner who read the book would be compelled to slip into the lives of his slaves, perhaps unwillingly, and view the institution from the opposing angle. In this respect was Stowe unfailingly successful. She appealed to the maternal emotions of her readers, and characterized the black population with qualities similar to that of innocent children. This characterization, therefore, made for a powerful argument against slavery. Stowes characters were perhaps too dynamic, but this is a literary technique designed to further arouse the emotions of her readers. For the most part, many of the white women in the novel act as (an exaggerated) moral authority, thus compensating for the abominable sins of their husbands, fathers, brothers, etc. Likewise, the characteristics of the slaves were also exaggerated. They were represented as overwhelmingly loyal, clever, and pious, with Stowe therefore creating an implicit tone of victimization. The novels tone was rather significant, because although many people did consider