Ways Groups of People Are Identified Essay Example for Free

Ways Groups of People Are Identified Essay Introduction This paper explores how ethnic restaurants could be a stepping stone towards both sides of the spectrum of in? of multicultural society. A Home to people of manymuch different ethnic backgrounds, Britain is certainly a multicultural place. ContempoaryContemporary Britain has been one of the countries that have experienced a rapid growth of population through the process of international immigration(Piccolo and Thomas 2001). This increases the population diversity, generating a variety of different cultural communities; reshaping the socio-cultural and economic structure of the nation. Britain has arrived to the Age of migration and minority. The ‘differences’ of different cultural groups can coexist in an environment with joyously embrace, celebrated and harmony, or in an environment with disagreement, mistrust and clashes (Thompson 2003). Hypotheses Many different variables can affect the progression of multiculturalism; the ethnic restaurants industry is only part of the bigger picture. Hence, both the internal and external variables from the ethnic restaurant industry will be study. However, this paper will be more focus to the following hypotheses: (this line doesn’t make sense) 1) Does the role of ethnic restaurants acts as a barrier or a stepping-stone on the process of multiculturalism?. 2) At whatich level of the society does ethnic restaurants plays athe largest role on the process of multiculturalism. These hypotheses will be explored and in depth, with theories and ideas supplying the foundation of the paper and the findings will be examined with a case study to test out the findings in relationship with the reality. Methodology The methodology will be based on research on the ideology of multiculturalism in terms of food as a symbol of multiculturalism, and the relationship of ethnic restaurants with multiculturalism. The research will consist of both primary and secondary research; the background knowledge about the ethnic restaurants industry is mainly based on relevant journals and other resources, the ideology of multiculturalism and its relationship with the ethnic restaurants will be split into two separate sections. This allows the ideas of the theories to have equal weight. Following this, will be distinguishing the main factors that have the prime impacts on the progression of multiculturalism and at which level of these factors have the most affect, which is my hypotheses. With adequate amount of ideas and theories in similar field written by a range of authors from different background been examined and explored, a self-constructed case study will be mounted. Investigating how the ideas from the secondary research relate to the reality. An ethnic restaurant will be chosen, the restaurant have to be a restaurant that are similar to the type of restaurants that have been studied from some of the authors that have been researched in the literature review section. The type of primary research will be through observation and interviewing some of the main players within the restaurants, both the staffs and the customers. By interviewing the different players of the ethnic restaurant, I can start building up some of the insight of the kind of knowledge the stakeholders of an ethnic restaurant have on the idea of multiculturalism. The paper will be concluded with a summary of the main findings from the research and how the findings tie in or contradiction to reality, the case study. This is an important part of the paper, as this will prove if the theories behind do or do not occur in reality. It finishes off with some personal insights and any further improvements that could be useful if this paper is to be research in the future. The personal insight s based on the findings of the paper, and further improvement includes some of the difficulties that have arises during the course of the research and the case study constructed. It will be useful for any research if they were to be interested in this topic. Literature Review General Background Since the 1970’s there has been a rapid increase in ethnic entrepreneurship in Britain. This had been argued as a survival strategy for ethnic groups toward deindustrialisation, many immigrants which were initially recruited for low-skilled manual jobs have to adapt to the changes of economic structure from manufacture to service based economy(Jones and Ram 2003). With the ever increasing upward trend of eating out in the British economy (Ram, Sanghera et al.2000; Ram, Jones et al. 2002), many ethnic groups have eyeds this as an opportunity in order to survive the transitional phase of the nation. , Thisthe trend of a more diverse diet of the British economy helps the ethnic minority, as ethnic minority with the knowledge of unfamiliar food have a comparative advantage in entering the ethnic cuisine business (Ram, Sanghera et al. 2000). However, the speed and growth of ethnic entrepreneurs entering the market exceed the market potential, hence creating a market that is overcrowded (Ram, Jones et al.2002) or a market with hyper-competition (Jones and Ram 2003). As we progress to the 21st century there have been periods of time that the growth in the number of the ethnic cuisine market to slow down, however, there have been an increase in the quality of goods and services provide with ethnic cuisines (Ram, Sanghera et al. 2000). We take the Italians for example, when the Italians first started their catering business in Britain; at the beginning they started with pizzeria or dinner, as the start-up cost to the business is relatively low., Today, and nowadays this has progressed to white-tablecloth restaurants where the return of investment is much greater. There have been similar patterns of creating a more upscale business where returns are greater (Ray 2005), also known to some as the bottom-up theory in the catering industry(Riello 2006). Another argument to the shift from quantity to quality in ethnic cuisine is that of the increase in expertise in the business sector from the second generation of the ethnic minority. As mentioned before the rapid growth of ethnic cuisine market is one of the survival strategy adopted in the period of deindustrialisation. With the growth of the second generation from ethnic groups, some of the barriers of the first generation of entering the market are removed. (For example, language/communication barrier removed) Second generation ethnic entrepreneur eyes the ethnic catering industry not as a survival strategy, but rather a strategy to climb the income ladder(Ram, Sanghera et al. 2000; Ram, Jones et al. 2002; Jones and Ram 2003; Riello 2006). Ethnic cuisine have been embedded into the modern society this is partly due to the dynamicity of the economic structure of the nation, the ethnic cuisine industry have also adopted with this dynamicity and restructure itself to establish into the restaurant industry. With the second generation of the ethnic minority becoming more skilled and well adopted in the economy, the nature of the industry have also changed. Food as symbol of culture The importance of consumer behavior in the western society is the contribution in the creation and adaptation to the level of acceptance to new commodities and social habit. The idea of a changing pattern of consumerism plays an important role in the general acceptance of different culture. Food can be assumed to be a commodity to an economy, and different ethnic cuisine supplies different cultural based ‘product’, hence ethnic food to an certain extents is known as an cultural commodity (Ray 2005), and ethnic restaurants, with the increasing trend of eating out acts as a catalyst towards a general acceptance of different cultural social habit(Riello 2006). Catering has been seen as a symbol of culture, this is due to the fact that different ethnic foods have its own identity, quality and traditional attach to it(Ram, Jones et al.2002). Similar to other culture symbols: such as places of worship, ethnic restaurants share some of the fundamental purpose that occurs in places of worship. They both provide a gathering place for groups with common believes, and educating its users to get a feel of the message it is trying to get out. In addition, there are different symbols of culture in different method of eating, similar to different methods of praying. The symbol of cultural relating to the method of different method of eating is very strong., Examples includesuch as the usage of different cutlery, generally in European catering, the main usage of cutleryscutleries are knifes, forks, and spoons, and in the south-east Asian the main usage of cutlery is chopstick. These different methods of eating can be seen as different symbols of food or culture. (Bruckner 2006; Hussain and Miller 2006) Food culture is also associated to class differencest; there have been a long history of catering in relation to class, this is due to the history of strong class separation in the western society. For example: in the 18th century, during the north European renaissance the Italians culture has played an important role in every aspect of living, Italian food and catering included. The taste of Italy has soon become the cultural leader in western society. During that period, the Italian food industry all around Europe was experiencing an increase of acceptance of the Italian catering. However, this surge in the interest of Italian food is not totally due to the taste and quality from superior of skills in catering, but also the cultural associations. (Riello 2006). These long histories of food in association with culture and class have repeated itself with different culture depending on the trend and fashion with the leading culture group. Should I do into class segregation or should I concentrate on culture? In recent history, there have been increasing trends of a more diverse style of catering; this is due to the fact that, the numbers of choices of different ethnic restaurants have increased dramatically, especially south-eastsoutheast Asian cuisines. This is due to the effects that south-eastsoutheast Asians cuisines have been seen as a health diet, hence creating a brand for Asians catering to be a symbol of healthy diet. I will find reading that will support this point. Food in relationship with multiculturalism Multiculturalism has been an increasingly popular ideology to modern society. This is caused bye the increase in convenience of international migration due to the increase in technology that enable people to move around the world with less significant amount of effort. Furthermore, the general reshaping of social and economic structure with the aid from processes such as globalisation. One can say that today’s societies have become more diverse than any other time in history. With such as diverse groups of people with different ethnic, religion, and social background, people have came up with different ideas and models that will accomplish with the increase in diversity of culture group living in the same society. One of the main ideologies of multiculturalism is the balance of power of similar and different groups interacting in close proximity to each other. (Jesudason 1997; Ram, Jones et al. 2002) Should I expand or try to put the arguments of multiculturalism together? Diffusion of different groups One of the main aspects of multiculturalism is how the process of the diffusion of different groups merges into the same society. The advantages and disadvantages of the level of diffusion of different groups merge together. merge. (Thompson 2003; Ray 2005) Advantages: Groups of different culture background merging togethermerging will stimulate an environment of a richer sense of culture. The learning and teaching of different culture meanings will benefits and enhance the standard of living and the standard of well-beings of all the different groups within in the society. With the increase of acceptance and tolerance of groups of different ethnic, religion and social background will reduce or remove any chances of discrimination or racial riotrivet, which, which in history have results in some of most devastating and dramatic historical events. Disadvantages: The losst of identity and beliefsve of different cultural groups will eventually create a society of ‘no difference? t’. Reducing the varieties of identity within a society will damage of possibility of a multicultural society. I have difficulty trying to explain this following idea, I do understand the 2 different approaches, but putting it on paper is difficult. Differences of Groups The most difficult ideology behind multiculturalism is how to verify the differences of groups. In general there are two approaches in verifying the differences of groups: An indifferences approach towards different: The indifferences approach towards different is that instead of identifying different groups in the level of differences in relation to other groups. One will try identifying different groups with the amount of similarity of the members. This approach strongly emphasis on the idea of equality, assuming everyone is equal. This sounds like a more appropriate approach; however it eliminates the importance of different identity in every single member of the group. A differences approach towards different: The differences approach towards different is identifying the level of differences between groups. Opposite to the indifferencesindifferences, approach towards different. This approach shows that all members of a group will still have individual personal level of different. It also takes into consideration that cultural do not follows the rule of universalism, meaning everyone will be different no matter what culture group they are in. Tool or Barrier? In the restaurant industry there is a very strong ethnic based pattern of recruitments, part of the reasoning behind this is the strong cultural background behind ethnic restaurants. Firstly, catering is one of the classic niches traditionally occupied by ethnic minority, since the cultural identity is of the utmost operational importance. In the case of the operation within the kitchen, it is surrounded with a working environment that consist frequent activities with rushed orders, since in most ethnic restaurant the type of food produced are catered with ethnic chefs. The importance of communication inside the kitchen is essential. This is one of the push factors for any workers with different language skills to operate in this working environment(Ram, Sanghera et al. 2000; Jones and Ram 2003; Ray 2005). Secondly, similar to other service based businesses, the working hours for employees in the restaurants industry can be argued to beas unsociable. , Tthis is due to the fact that in the catering industry the ‘rush hours’ are the hours that can be assumed to be the most ‘sociable hours’ (Ram, Sanghera et al. 2000). Due to the natureal of the catering industry of being serving users for their social activities, This can be deduce as the opportunity cost for people related to the catering industry of forgoing their own social time for the return that they get, in this case wages for working. (this line is too long and I cant see how to make it smaller cos I don’t understand it!! ) A And a lot of ethnic restaurants are is supported with strong family ties and cultural support. , Iit is very common for an ethnic business to operate with a high level of family involvement, and this could be part-time of or full-time involvement. These high levels of family support have been adopted by the ethnic group in their survival strategy that has kept them in the businessThe ethnic group in their survival strategy that has kept them in the business has adopted these high levels of family support. , FAas family support do not only offers support financially, but also physically and morally, and it is the physical and moral support that have kept the ethnic entrepreneurship to stay in the competitive market rather than the financial support. The idea of converting culture or loyalty into capital capital, thatthat can be use as an advantagesan advantage in order to stay competitive against much better resourced organisations. With these reasons, the pattern of the employment in ethnic restaurants has a much higher concentration of ethnic group than most other type of organisations. This can act as a barrier for different ethnic minorities working in restaurants to diffuse into the society. Firstly, the language barrier will be harder to break, as the language used in the workplace will most probably be their native language. The language barrier should be the first barrier to break in order for people to diffuse into the surrounding society, as communication is one of the fundamentals of any kind of social interaction. In the case of working unsociable hours, this is also another barrier for employees related to the catering industry to diffuse with the society, as the ‘timing’ to interact with people are limited, reducing the chance and pace of which they can diffuse into the society. Finally, with the high level of family involvement in the restaurants industry, this is a ‘micro’ scale compared to the other two examples mentioned before. By this I mean, the higher the concentration of family involvement in the business the more isolated the group is to the surrounding society. , Tas the only people that they will be in contact is their family members again creating a barrier by reducing the level of interaction to the surrounding society. As mentioned before one of the functions of restaurants is to bring people of similarity together, acting as a gathering point and educating its users. , Inin this instance,case it is the culture and the traditional of the ethnic food they can trying to educates it users. Ethnic restaurants like other businesses are located in areas of high demand of the product (Jesudason 1997; Ray 2005; Riello 2006), as ethnic food is a cultural commodity, most ethnic restaurants are located in area of higher concentration of ethnic population, this is to increase the number of possible customer of the ethnic restaurants, which makes economic sense. As in some casescases, an ethnic restaurant is focusing on a niche market. By having an distinctive focus group of potential customers, they can become an ultimate ethnic monopoly (Ram, Sanghera et al. 2000). Again with the increasing trend of eating ethnic food, and the increase of the level of acceptance of ethnic food, an ethnic restaurant will be a gathering point of both similar and different groups. This can act as a tool as an opportunity for similar and different group to congregate together, both learning and teaching about they culture background, achieving one of the theory of multiculturalism, which is people from dissimilar groups gather together in an environment with joyously embrace, celebrated and harmony(Thompson 2003). (cut this sentence into two) The idea of going to restaurants with a different ethnic background is that it offers a taste, quality and an environment that is different from ordinary cuisine. The experience of been in an environment of different culture background is one of the main attraction of ethnic restaurants and the reason behind the surge in the popularity of ethnic restaurants(Ram, Jones et al. 2002). Taken the theory of consumerism into account, if there is a higher level of consumption in any goods or services, the general acceptance of the particular goods or services will also increase. Hence the increase in the consumption of ethnic food will increase the general acceptance of ethnic food (Riello 2006). As catering can be seen as an art, meaning catering and art both share some common proprieties such as producing a product that will educate and sent out an message to the user, with the increase in the level of general acceptance of ethnic food, the user will become more and more aware and appreciate the artist (in this case the chef), and similar to a piece of art, user will also start to appreciate the cultural background and the historical aspect behind the method and ideology of catering as the same as they admire the food. (Hussain and Miller 2006; Pickett 2006) (cut this into 3 sentences) Does this final part make sense? Case study Case study will be constructed after the x’mas holidays; this is due to the fact that the time just before x’mas is the high season for any restaurants. After the x’mas period they will ‘hopefully’ give me an interview more willingly which I can have better answer/results. The Case Study will be based on a modern Japanese restaurants situated in the city, where there is a high concentration of Japanese oversea organisation near by. The main focus of the case study will be on the awareness of people in the catering industry on some of the ideas that I have mentioned in the paper Some stats on the recruitment pattern, try to find evidence that will support the ideas I have mentioned * And find any points that will go against my ideas, and then try to find the reasoning behind the disagreements. This is a self-constructed case study; the aim of this case study is to test out some of the findings earlier in thisof the paper. Firstly, does the role of the ethnic restaurants acts as a stepping-stone, or barriers towards the progression of multiculturalism. , Ssecondly, at which level of this in the society does ethnic restaurants, have the most impact towards multiculturalism. The case study is carried out in order to test out some of the main findings from the literature review. It is based on interviewing and talking with the different actors in the chosen restaurant, this is the best way to know what different actors feels about ethnic restaurants, questions will include general conception of ethnic restaurant and the relationship with multiculturalisms. Observation of the restaurant will also play an important role in my case study. This is due to the fact that is difficult to talk to all the different actors of the restaurant, as a high percentage of the actors will be the customers of the company, and the interview will be main be done during the operational time of the restaurant. The findings will be first be analysed? is in the sections, and some of the ideas from the case study will be concluded in the conclusion section at the end of the paper. Saki Bar and Emporium is located at Farringdon, at the heart of the city of London. One of the main selling points of the restaurant is to integrate modern Japanese technology into the design of the restaurant. This have acted as one of the main attraction to both Japanese and non-Japanese customers. â€Å"Some of these technologies are very common in Japan†¦for Japanese customers coming here, I hope that this will make them feel closering to home, and for European customers it is simply an attraction point. † Manger Director of Saki Ms. Ayako Like many ethnic restaurants, the staffs are mainly with the same ethnic background. The kitchen staffs in Saki are also the same, most of them are Japanese, expect for one or two, however, these non nativesexceptions can speak fluent Japanese. The waiting staffs have a more diversity in terms of ethnic background, ranging from Japanese, Chinese, to Spanish and English. However, the concentration of Japanese waiting staff still contributes more than 50% of the total. The communication within the kitchen is through the language of Japanese, and the communication on the floor is through English. Thaned the communication between the floor staff and the kitchen staffs is mainly Japanese, hence a translator is often used to communicatein the progress commutating to one another. In terms of customers, around 50% of the customers are Japanese, however, this is still a very high proportion, as the population of Japanese in London is relatively much lower than that. â€Å"Is always good to walk in a Japanese Restaurant surrounded with Japanese, this means that the restaurant can’t be too bad†¦I much prefer Japanese chefs, it will be strange having a European cooking Japanese for me† European customers of Saki. For customer with a different ethnic background this is an opportunity to learn the culture and some of the traditional relating to catering. For example, the greeting of the Japanese culture is very strong. Hence, by entering and exiting the restaurant, customer can experience the shouting of welcome and thank you in Japanese, which in the western society can be assume to be rude. â€Å"I always wonder what exactly do they say to me when I enter her†¦I guess that is what their culture is. † European customer of Saki. This high concentration of Japanese customer can be cause by the cultural loyalty that have been mentioned before, this loyalty can be converted into capital that can be used in order for a more successful ethnic based restaurants. This culture loyalty aids the idea that ethnic restaurants can be used as a general gathering point for people with similar ethnic background as food is a culture commodity â€Å"I haven’t got used to eating sandwiches for lunch yet, I prefer having rice as part of my meal†¦also coming here sometimes I see my friends† Japanese Customer of Saki. To surmise, several of my findings from the literature do relate in reality. Firstly, ethnic restaurants have adapted to the changes of the economic structure of the nation, and moving from quantity into quality dinners. Secondly, in terms of food in relation to culture, the general acceptance of the Japanese food culture for Europeans is relatively high, for example, the idea of eating raw fish is general accepted. Ethnic restaurants can act as a gathering point for groups of similar background. Ethnic restaurants in terms of multiculturalism as expected do play an important role in both as a stepping-stone and a barrier. The recruitment pattern of ethnic restaurant follows the trends of other ethnic restaurants that have been studied in my literature review, as the kitchen been mainly of staff with the same ethnic background, and the floor been a more diverse. The culture support is higher than expected as the culture loyalty was very high in Saki Bar and Emporium. As expected from the case study, it shows that ethnic restaurants can be both a stepping-stone and a barrier in the progression of the multiculturalism, and these two occur simultaneously and it is difficult to determine which side of the scale it tilts. Depending at which levels and groups one look into, the result of ethnic restaurants can be determined, however this depends on how one verify the groups, with a difference approach or an indifference approach towards differences. Conclusion This paper looked into some of the issues that have been under researched by scholars and academicsresearchers in this field; however there has been an increase of interest of some of the ideas explored in this paper. More and more scholars are in the process of examining and exploring the idea of the restaurant industry in relation to issues of culturalism. The first point to note is that the idea of the progression of a society towards multiculturalism is indefinite, it is still an ideology. Also there a numbernumerous of different definitions of a multicultural society, some can argue that there are already societies that followssocieties that follow the same characteristics of a multicultural society and via versa. The aim of this paper is to explore some of the issues that are surrounding the restaurant industry in contrast to the progression of a multicultural society. In the paper I have examined why the restaurant industry can act as a barrier and a tool towards the idea of multiculturalism. However, the levels of effectiveness of each of these variables have not been examined, nevertheless I can conclude that the different variables are acting on the issue of multiculturalism simultaneously, acting as a barrier and tool at the same time. (this sentence doesn’t make sense) However which way of the balance restaurants will have on the idea of multiculturalism will be very difficult to measure.; Thisthis is due to the fact that there are too many different variables both internal ad external with the catering industry that can have an effect on the progression of a multicultural society. (Reuck, A Knight, J 1966) In the case study I have found out that the recruitment pattern of ethnic restaurants do apply in reality, as staff with similar ethnic background is preferred not only in the operation of the restaurant, but also it is more appealing‘pleasing’ forto the customers, as they prefer an environment with a higher concentration of people in an ethnic restaurants. This factor reduces the langue barrier within the restaurant; on the other hand it also reduces their skill to speack the English language. OneWhich is one of the largest barriers that a foreigner hasve inon a foreign country is, as communicating with people. It is is essential to communicate fluently but in, without this essential skill, especially in the restaurant industry, where the working hour is both ‘unsoicalise’ and long, withhich produces a relatively smaller social sphere, one can live without this essential communication skill much longer than other professions. TheWith the recruitment pattern within the restaurant industry is heavily concentrated with the same ethnic background from various reasons, the restaurants industry follows some of the theories that the paper have been explored. The working environment of ethnic restaurant act as a barrier for its staff to merge with the rest of the society, due to the nature of the working hours of the industry, along side with the high concentration of the ethnic groups, changing minority to majority. This changing from minority to majority within the working environment makes the environment of the industry unique. (Bensman, J Arthur, J 1975) Referring back to the ideology of multiculturalism, either depending on which approach one might use to tackle the restaurant industry, by differences, or indifferences approach towards different. The outcome will be different. In addition, the level of scale of the issue will also change the outcome. For example: an ethnic restaurant can aid the progression of multiculturalism in the wider society, but at the same time, it acts as a barrier to the progression of multiculturalism in the society created in the working environment. Finally, this section will examine some of the difficulties occurred during the course of the paper, and suggestion of improvement if some of the ideas from this paper is to be explored in the futurerther. Firstly, due to the limited time, and manpower, some of the ideas have only been examined on the surface; each sections of the paper can be explored in more detail. For example, due to these restrictions, the case study is only based on one restaurant; one obvious improvement is to look into a more and diverse range of ethnic restaurants. This paper looks at only one ethnic group, but, ifwith more restaurants werebeen look into, one can start to identify similarities and differences in different ethnic groups. This would be a interesting topic to look into as the similarities and difference might or might not follows the culture of the ethnic background. Further more, one of the main difficulties is the limited sources that are available for my literature review research that is directly related to this paper. However, as mentioned before this is a field that is becoming more popular among scholars and researchers, one can only imagine the number and quality of the sources are increasing everyday. more conlusion on the case study Biography Bensman, J Arthur, J (1975). Metroplitan communities; new forms of urban sub-communities. New York, New Viewpoint. Barrett, G. A. , T. P. Jones, et al. (1996). Ethnic Minority Business: Theoretical Discourse in Britain and North America. Urban Studies 33: 783-809. Barrett, G. A. , T. P. Jones, et al. (2001). Socio-economic and policy dimensions of the mixed embeddedness of ethnic minority business in Britain. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 27: 241-258. Bruckner, P. (2006). Multiculturalism: Nationalism of the Minorities. New Perspectives Quarterly 23: 23-25. Collins, J. (2003). Cultural diversity and entrepreneurship: policy responses to immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia. Entrepreneurs.

Mythology in Oedipus Rex Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Mythology in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In â€Å"The Oedipus Legend† Bernard M. W. Knox talks of the advantages accruing to Sophocles as a user of myths in his dramas:    The myths he used gave to his plays, without any effort on his part, some of those larger dimensions of authority which the modern dramatist must create out of nothing if his play is to be more than a passing entertainment. The myths had the authority of history, for myth is in one of its aspects the only history of an age that kept no records. . . . the myths served as typical patterns of the conduct of man and the manifestation of the gods (85).    This essay seeks to explore the life of the flawed mythological person, Oedipus, as protagonist of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.    E. T. Owen in â€Å"Drama in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus† comments on the mythological beginnings of Oedipus Rex:    Professor Goodell says: â€Å"Given an old myth to be dramatized, Sophocles’ primary question was, ‘Just what sort of people were they, must they have been, who naturally did and suffered what the tales say they did and suffered?† That was his method of analysis (38).    In his essay â€Å"Sophoclean Tragedy† Friedrich Nietzsche searches out the mythology in this drama, and finds that the story originates in Persia:    Oedipus who murders his father and marries his mother. Oedipus who solves the riddle of the Sphinx! What does this mysterious trinity of fateful deeds tell us? An ancient legend, occurring in purest form among the Persians, relates that a wise magician is born only as a result of incest – which, looking back to Oedipus, riddle-solver, wooer of his mother, we cannot hesitate to explicate. . . .(17).    Nietzsche’s tracing of th... ...s, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    E. T. Owen in â€Å"Drama in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus.† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.    â€Å"Sophocles† In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi    Van Nortwick, Thomas.   Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.          Mythology in Oedipus Rex Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex Mythology in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In â€Å"The Oedipus Legend† Bernard M. W. Knox talks of the advantages accruing to Sophocles as a user of myths in his dramas:    The myths he used gave to his plays, without any effort on his part, some of those larger dimensions of authority which the modern dramatist must create out of nothing if his play is to be more than a passing entertainment. The myths had the authority of history, for myth is in one of its aspects the only history of an age that kept no records. . . . the myths served as typical patterns of the conduct of man and the manifestation of the gods (85).    This essay seeks to explore the life of the flawed mythological person, Oedipus, as protagonist of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.    E. T. Owen in â€Å"Drama in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus† comments on the mythological beginnings of Oedipus Rex:    Professor Goodell says: â€Å"Given an old myth to be dramatized, Sophocles’ primary question was, ‘Just what sort of people were they, must they have been, who naturally did and suffered what the tales say they did and suffered?† That was his method of analysis (38).    In his essay â€Å"Sophoclean Tragedy† Friedrich Nietzsche searches out the mythology in this drama, and finds that the story originates in Persia:    Oedipus who murders his father and marries his mother. Oedipus who solves the riddle of the Sphinx! What does this mysterious trinity of fateful deeds tell us? An ancient legend, occurring in purest form among the Persians, relates that a wise magician is born only as a result of incest – which, looking back to Oedipus, riddle-solver, wooer of his mother, we cannot hesitate to explicate. . . .(17).    Nietzsche’s tracing of th... ...s, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    E. T. Owen in â€Å"Drama in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus.† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.    â€Å"Sophocles† In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi    Van Nortwick, Thomas.   Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.         

Thomas Hardy

About the author Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in Dorset, a rural county in the south-west of England. His father was a stonemason and the family were not well off. Hardy showed an early interest in books, however, and when he was sixteen, he began training as an architect in Dorchester. In 1862, he went to work in London, where he was able to compare city life with the customs and timeless ways of the country village where he grew up. He began writing in his spare time.In 1870, he met and fell in love with Emma Gifford, but they could not afford to marry. His fourth novel, Far From the Madding Crowd, published in 1874, was a big success. This allowed him to become a full-time writer and to marry. Hardy wrote several more novels, among them The Mayor of Casterbridge, published in 1886. He and Emma lived in Dorset, but they spent part of every year in London, where they mixed with literary people and Hardy was much admired. Although Hardys books were very popular, when Jude the Obscur e appeared in 1896, people hated it.They thought it was an attack on marriage, and ound it shocking and immoral. Hardy turned to poetry and never wrote another novel. He died in 1928. Some biographers portray him as snobbish, mean and hateful towards women. Others believe he was a sensitive man who cared deeply about the human condition. Summary Young, poor Michael Henchard feels trapped by his wife and child and one night gets drunk at a fair and sells them to a stranger called Newson. Horrified by what he has done, he swears not to touch alcohol for twenty years. Eighteen years later he is the mayor of Casterbridge and a successtul businessman.Believing Newson is dead, is wife, Susan, and daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, arrive in c Pearson Education Limited 2008 Casterbridge to find Henchard because she has no money. He marries her again and they have a short happy life together. Farfrae, a young man with modern business ideas, arrives at the same time and becomes Henchard's farm manage r. Susan dies, and Henchard learns that Elizabeth-Jane is really Newson's daughter. Henchard falls out with Farfrae, who sets up a rival business, and soon outdoes him. A woman from Henchard's past, Lucetta, comes to Casterbridge. Henchard now wants to marry her, but she and Farfrae fall in love.Henchard's business fails and he loses his house so he starts drinking again. Lucetta dies of shock after the local people make fun of her and Henchard in public. He sees that he will now lose his ‘daughter' as well as everything else. He leaves Casterbridge on foot. He is penniless and has lost his family – Just as at the beginning of the story. ElizabethJane remains loyal to Henchard, but he dies before she can find him. Chapter 1: Henchard, a farm worker aged twenty, has a family, no Job and no home. He gets drunk and sells his wife and child for five guineas to a sailor named Newson t a fair.Devastated at what he has done, he looks for them without success. Henchard makes a solemn promise not to touch alcohol for twenty years. Chapter 2: Susan, widowed and poor, and her eighteenyear-old daughter, Elizabeth- Jane arrive in Casterbridge to find Henchard. She is relieved to find he is now the Mayor and a businessman who needs a corn manager for his growing business. Chapter 3: Henchard employs Farfrae, a handsome innovative Scotsman as corn manager and the business improves. He also meets Susan and devises a plan so that the townspeople do not find their marriage strange.He draws closer to Farfrae and tells him about his past; including a woman in Jersey he promised to marry. Chapter 4: Henchard marries Susan, but she is reluctant to have her daughter's last name changed. He and Farfrae disagree publicly over a worker. Henchard is Jealous and organises a rival entertainment day to Farfrae's, but it fails. Farfrae leaves him and sets up a rival business. Susan dies but leaves a letter with the truth about her daughter. Chapter 5†² Hencnard tells Eliza beth-Jane what happened at the fair twenty years ago but reads in Susan's letter that she is really Newson's daughter.He begins to treat her coldly, and even encourages Farfrae to see her. ElizabethJane meets a woman at her mother's grave who is friendly and offers her to share her house. The Mayor of Casterbridge – Teacher's notes of 5 Chapter 6: Lucetta, the woman from Jersey, has inherited property in Casterbridge and has employed Elizabeth-Jane as a housekeeper. Henchard tries to see her but they fail to meet. Farfrae calls in to see Elizabeth-Jane, who is out. He likes Lucetta and she loses interest in Henchard. Chapter 7: Henchard goes bankrupt because of the weather and his own impatience while Farfrae's business ucceeds.Henchard realises he and Farfrae compete for Lucetta's love, so he threatens her with making their past public so that she accepts his proposal of marriage. Chapter 8: Henchard agrees to postpone their wedding if Lucetta helps him buy some time to repa y a debt to Grower. She cant because she has secretly married Farfrae and Grower acted as witness. Chapter 9: Henchard claims the letters from his safe, and reads them out to Farfrae without disclosing the sender. He promises Lucetta to give tham back to her and asks Jopp to deliver them.Chapter 10: Jopp asks Lucetta to help him become her usband's manager but she refuses. In a pub, he reads out the letters to two women and they plan a skimmity-ride in town to scorn Lucetta and Henchard. Chapter 1 1: A member of the Royal family visits the town but Henchard is not allowed to greet him. Hurt, Henchard fghts Farfrae in a barn but cannot bring himself to kill him. Chapter 12: Henchard is back in town to see the ride. Farfrae does not see the ride because he is lured away from town but Lucetta dies of the shock. Chapter 13: Henchard and Elizabeth-Jane live together happily.Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae renew their relationship and get married Newson returns and te s daughter the truth, whi ch makes her very happy. Henchard leaves the town. Chapter 14: Elizabeth-Jane marries Farfrae and tries to find her father to take care of him but he dies before she can find him. The original text The novel first appeared serially, in twenty instalments, in 1886 in The Graphic, an English periodical and simultaneously in the United States. The book appeared as soon as the serial publication was complete but it differs a lot from the serial novel. It has been adapted for TV as a miniseries.Background and themes Where the story came from: Hardy claims the story as inspired by three actual events: the sale of a wife by her husband reported in a local newspaper, the uncertain harvests and the visit of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, to Dorchester, the town upon which Casterbridge is based, in 1849. Fight with self: The main theme of the book is Henchard's fight against two things: his own character and chance. As he fghts with himself, his actions and decisions affect other pe ople's lives, usually badly. He often allows negative feelings to overwhelm him – at the beginning when things seem so bad he sells his wife.He is lways honest in business, but not always kind; he is often impatient and quick to anger, but he is capable of great love and great loneliness. His complex character creates uncertainty in the reader – should we feel sorry for him or does he deserve everything that happens to him? Chance: Chance plays an important part throughout the story: the chance appearance of Newson in the tent when Henchard is trying to sell his wife; the rain that spoils Henchard's fair; the August weather that ruins Henchard's business; the chance meeting between Farfrae and Lucetta when they fall in love.Hardy believes that although Henchard is a powerful character, he is never fully in control of his life. Alcohol also has a role here. Henchard's life improves when he stops drinking; as he devotes himself to work, builds a successful business and e ventually becomes mayor. Once ne starts again, ne loses his pride and his Judgement. Traditional versus modern: The two men represent contrasting ways of life in the country. Henchard is traditional and old-fashioned. Farfrae is young and modern. Hardy was always fascinated by country customs and ways.He often includes strange country rituals like the skimmity-ride in his novels. They make useful plot devices and allow him to paint pictures of colourful but less important characters. He also uses them to reveal the conservative side of society, which can be very cruel to people who fall outside its strict rules of moral behaviour. Lucetta dies because of the skimmity Joke. This breaking of the moral code becomes a very important theme in Hardys later novels, which shocked the reading public and ended Hardys novel-writing career. Discussion activities Before reading 1 Group work: Students work in groups.Each group chooses an important person in their local community, e. g. factory ow ner, the mayor, the chief of police, a magistrate. They then decide on a terrible secret in the past of their character. They discuss the details of the secret without other students overhearing. The class then questions each group in turn to try and find out what the secret is. Groups have to answer as truthfully as they can. 2 Read carefully: Read the Introduction on pages Ev'ii. Make a chart of the events of Thomas Hardys life. Use these dates: 1840 1871 1886 1895 1913 1914 1928 Example: 1840 Thomas Hardy is born in Dorset.Chapter 1 While reading Pair work: (atter page 4) Michael is ottering his wite or a little money at the fair. Ask students in pairs to make a list of the things they could say to persuade Michael to keep quiet. 4 Discuss: (page 6) Michael makes a formal promise not to drink alcohol for twenty years. Ask students to discuss the following: How hard will this be for Michael? Have you ever made a promise that was hard to keep? After reading 9 Pair work: Henchard wa nts to persuade Farfrae to stay and work with him. How can he do this? Ask students in pairs to write down reasons why Farfrae should stay in Casterbridge.Then they prepare a short speech and give it to the rest of the class. Finally, have a class vote for the most convincing speech. 10 Discuss: Ask students to discuss the following: How do you think people in Casterbridge would react if they knew that the mayor had sold his wife twenty years before? How has this changed in present days? Are citizens' decisions influenced by the private life of their authorities? Chapters 3-4 11 Discuss: Ask students to discuss the following: What about Farfrae has attracted Henchard? Why would he be interested in him? Guess: Tell students that eighteen years have passed after Henchard's promise not to drink for twenty years. Ask students to guess what has become of Henchard's life. Will he ever find his family again? 12 Write: (after Chapter 3) After he learns about Lucetta and Henchard, Farfrae ad vises him to write a letter to the young woman explaining to her why he is no longer available to keep his word and marry her. He even helps him do so. Ask students in pairs to write the letter from Henchard to Lucetta. 13 Role play: (page 21) Ask students to pretend they are ordinary townspeople at Henchard and Susan's wedding.They are very surprised by the wedding. Ask them to role play the conversation in pairs. 4 Guess: (page 23) Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane receive notes for a secret meeting in a barn. Neither of them has written the note for the other. Ask students to guess who may have wanted them to meet and therefore written the notes. What motive might that person have? 15 Discuss: (page 24) Henchard and Farfrae argue over how to treat a worker. Ask students to discuss how different their approaches to management are. How can they be described? If they were a worker, who would they prefer as a manager? Role play: Susan leaves the fair with the sailor. How do they feel? What do they say to each other as they alk along the road? Ask students to role play the conversation between them. Chapter 2 7 Discuss: (page 9) Ask students to discuss how Susan's life might have been different if she had not left with the sailor eighteen years before. Would her life have been better? 8 Role play: (after reading aloud the first paragraph on page 15) Casterbridge was a very quiet town in Hardys day. Communications with big cities like London and Portsmouth were slow and difficult. So when Farfrae arrives, a visitor from Scotland, it is a big event.Farfrae is in the bar at the King of Prussia. One student is Farfrae. Other students are customers. What do they ask him? Ask them to role play the conversation in small groups. 16 Group work: Put students in small groups. Ask them to discuss how these sets of relationships change in this section of the book: Susan and Henchard; Hencnard and Fartrae; Elizabeth-Jane and Fartrae; Elizabeth-Jane and Henchard. After their discussi ons, groups report back to the class. Chapters 5-6 17 Discuss: Ask students to discuss these questions with a partner. (a) Who is the Woman in black? b) The next chapter is called ‘Love at First Sight'. Which two characters will fall n love at first sight? 18 Group work: (page 33) Henchard has Just been told that he will not be offered the position of mayor again. Farfrae has been chosen instead. Ask students in groups to discuss which candidate would be a better mayor and to give reasons for their choice. Then they share their ideas with the class. 19 Role play: (page 35) Elizabeth-Jane is sitting by her mother's grave, reading. A woman she has never met before approaches and they start talking. She tells her about her life before and after Casterbridge.Ask students in pairs to role play this conversation. Remind them the woman ends up hiring her as a housekeeper. 20 Discuss: (page 40) Will the new planting machine be good for the people of Casterbridge or bad? Ask students t o take a minute and write arguments for and against new machinery. Then they share their ideas with other students. 27 Group work: Wealth (or the absence of it) plays an important role in the novel. For example, Hencnard's interest in Lucetta grows now that she is wealthy and independent. Ask students to work in groups. Assign each group a character (Henchard, Susan, Lucetta, Elizabeth-Jane, Farfrae).Students discuss how money nd wealth have changed their character. Are they better off with money? Are they happier? Then they share their views. 21 Discuss: Elizabeth-Jane wonders why Lucetta did not trust her with the truth. Ask students in pairs or small groups to try to respond to this question. Then they compare their views with other students. Chapters 7-8 22 Guess: Ask students to discuss who the title of the chapter may refer to, when it comes to love. Who are the women involved? 23 Group work: (page 44) Ask students in small groups to list the mistakes or miscalculations Hencha rd made as regards his business.What did he do wrong? What shouldn't he have done? What should he have done instead? Encourage them to give reasons for their answers. Then they share their lists with the rest of the class. Do they have similar ideas? 24 Discuss: Invite students to read aloud the incident on page 45 between the two drivers. Discuss with students how this incident reflects the wider situation between Henchard and Farfrae. Record ideas on the board. 25 Discuss: (page 47) Ask students to discuss the following questions: How does Henchard force Lucetta to agree to marry him? Was she right in accepting the proposal?Did she have any other way out? How will Farfrae feel about this? 26 Discuss: (page 53) Ask students to discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups: What emotions does Henchard feel when he learns of Lucetta's marriage to Farfrae? Will he keep quiet about their past relationship? Then they snare their ideas wit n the rest ot the class. Chapters 9-1 0 28 Guess: Ask students to guess how Henchard might react to Lucetta's rejection. 29 Pair work: (page 55) Ask students in pairs to discuss the following questions: How do Henchard's and Farfrae's management styles differ?What kind of manager would you like to have if you were an employee? 30 Role play: (page 59) Elizabeth-Jane stops Farfrae in the street and warns him about Henchard's feelings but he does not take her seriously. Ask students to role play this conversation. 31 Discuss: (page 66) Mrs Cuxsom and Nance Mockridge plan the skimmity-ride after they listen to Jopp read out the letters. They want to teach Mrs Farfrae a lesson using an old tradition. Ask students to discuss the following: How would people in your country shame others today? 2 Group work: Students compare events in the lives f Henchard and Farfrae by making a good/bad list for each of the two men. Divide the class into four groups. Each group takes and completes one section of the list. Groups report back to the class, writing their ideas in list form on the board. As a follow-up, students write a paragraph comparing the fortunes of the two men. Chapters 11-12 33 Discuss: Farfrae has Just been offered the position of mayor. Ask students to discuss these questions: Do you think he will agree? Why/why not? 34 Role play: Ask students to imagine that they are standing in the crowd watching the royal visit.

Essay The Hamlet Paradigm - 4539 Words

The Hamlet Paradigm Central Question of the Play How does an individual react when he develops an obsession with destroying the powerful force ruling his country, yet risks experiencing psychological estrangement, occurring at multiple levels within himself, if he attempts to destroy that force? This is the central question that Shakespeare explores in his play Hamlet, which is a character study of an individual harboring just such an obsession, entailing just such a risk. Introduction That Hamlet is obsessed with destroying the powerful force ruling his country (Claudius) is plainly evident in the play. But while this obsession initiates Hamlet’s behavior, it is his additional realization, that he risks psychological†¦show more content†¦Moral estrangement: Hamlet is also principled in a moral, or more generally a normative, sense. To kill a king would mean violating his internal conviction against committing crimes that might harm the hierarchical order of a state’s government. His generally principled nature is shown by his refusal to gather together a mob to oust Claudius, as Laertes attempts to do later in the play, even though he knew that he had the ability to do so. The fact that he knew this is shown by the fact that Claudius explicitly knew this of Hamlet. One may safely assume that Hamlet’s understanding of how politics works is virtually identical to that of Claudius and Hamlet Sr. The general similarity in how these blood relatives think and feel emerges from both of them professing their psychological reliance on Gertrude’s support of them. 3. Estrangement from countrymen: It is true that Hamlet has both the capacity to organize a mob of supporters to overthrow Claudius and is loved by most of his countrymen (to the point where, as Claudius admits, Claudius cannot openly think, feel or act in a hostile manner towards Hamlet). 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