Investigating the Possibility of a Developmental Trend in the Way That Children Describe Themselves Essay Example for Free

Investigating the Possibility of a Developmental Trend in the Way That Children Describe Themselves Essay This version of Rosenberg’s research into children’s self-descriptions analysed data from semi-structured interviews with two children; Annie (8) and Kirsty (16). The data was interpreted to ascertain whether, as in Rosenberg’s research, children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental progression and whether locus of self-knowledge shifts from other to self as children get older. Substantial support was found for Rosenberg’s theory that children’s self-descriptions become more complex with age and demonstrate a developmental trend. Some support was found for the idea that the locus of self-knowledge shifts from other to self with age but some of the children’s responses ran counter to expectation. Introduction A child’s sense of identity begins to form at a young age and develops throughout childhood. Eleanor Macoby (1980) pointed out that a sense of self emerges gradually as a child develops more complex understandings. Research shows that children differ in the way that they describe themselves at different ages. Bannister and Agnew (1977) and Harter (1983) found that as children get older they use more complex descriptions and include more references to emotions and attitudes. Younger children rely more on physical attributes, activities and preferences. Bannister and Agnew (1977) proposed that as children get older they become better able to ‘distinguish themselves psychologically’ from others (The Open University, 2009, p.20). Harter (1983) proposed that the way children describe themselves follows a developmental sequence which reflects the notion that identity develops in increments throughout childhood. Rosenberg (1979) focused part of his research into the self-concept on investigating this idea of a developmental trend in children’s sense of identity. He interviewed a sample of 8-18 year olds and created categories in which to sort the children’s responses. In keeping with the findings of Bannister and Agnew and Harter, Rosenberg found that younger children used mostly physical descriptions of themselves while older children relied more on character traits. As a result he concluded that ‘the self becomes less and less a perceptual object and more and more a conceptual trait system’ (Murphy (1947), as cited in The Open University, 2009, p.21). He found that, as children get older, they focus more on interpersonal traits and refer more frequently to relationships and inner qualities. Rosenberg also investigated what he called the ‘locus of self-knowledge’ – the extent to which children develop an ‘independent, self-reflective sense of self’ (The Open University, 2009, p.22). This was measured by asking children who knew them best, themselves or someone else. He found that younger children were more likely to claim that another, usually a parent, knew them better. Older children were more self-reliant when it came to judging themselves. Therefore, Rosenberg concluded that the locus of self-knowledge shifts with age from another to the self. Increased self-knowledge would result in more psychological self-descriptions so this relates to the idea of developmental progression being demonstrated in children’s self-descriptions. This study is based on Rosenberg’s research and is an analysis and interpretation of interview data. Children’s responses are allocated to Rosenberg’s categories in order to answer the research question: Do children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental trend? This study will focus on answers to the ‘Who Am I?’ statements but will also pay attention to further interview responses to understand differences in the way children of different ages self-evaluate, view themselves and others and conceptualise an ideal self. This study also examines the concept of a locus of self-knowledge and asks: Does a child’s locus of self-knowledge shift from other to self with age? Method Design Rosenberg’s research design is employed in this study the responses from a semi-structured interview are compared. Participants The participants are Annie (8) and Kirsty (16), pupils from schools in the Milton Keynes area. They were recruited by the ED209 course team who asked school teachers for help in identifying willing participants. Materials A microphone and a video-recorder were used to amplify and record the interviews. Rosenberg’s semi-structured interview, with questions on self-description, self-evaluation, self and others, ideal self and locus-of self-knowledge was used. A sheet of A4 with the words ‘Who Am I?’ printed at the top and ten numbered lines beginning with ‘I’ was provided to enable participants to complete the written exercise. Adaptations of Rosenberg’s categories were used to analyse the responses to the Who Am I? exercise. The analysis of the ‘Who Am I?’ statements was presented on category analysis forms (appendix 1). A consent form was provided for the parents of the children to sign. Procedure The interviews took place in May 2005 during the day. Both children were interviewed by members of the ED209 course team in familiar rooms used by the schools. Annie was accompanied by a classroom assistant. The participants were told that they could stop the interviews at any time and were briefed as to the purpose of the research. A sound recordist and producer were present but efforts were made to ensure that neither they nor the equipment used inhibited the participants. Background noise was occasionally intrusive and recording halted. The final recording of the interviews was edited to ensure a smooth flow. The recorded interviews were listened to several times. The ‘Who Am I?’ statements were identified and transferred onto a pre-prepared category analysis form (appendix 1). The categories, Physical, Character, Relationships and Inner, were adapted from Rosenberg’s (see appendix 2). Each sentence read out by the interviewer was taken to constitute one statement. The statements were then coded. To ensure coding consistency, each statement was reviewed against the criteria for the inner category, then relationships, then character and then physical. Only if there was no way it could be said to fit within the ‘higher’ category was it pushed down. Even if it may have fitted within two categories, the fact that an order of review was applied meant that it would not be considered for a second category if it had already been allocated. Once the categories had been applied, the responses in each column were added up and the percentages calculated so that the results could be compared with Rosenberg’s findings. Next the detailed responses to the interview questions, including the locus of self-knowledge questions, were analysed in the context of Rosenberg’s research findings. The responses of the children were analysed to see if the same patterns were present. Ethics The data collected by the Open University ED209 course team was intended to comply with the BPS ethical code and principles. The children agreed to take part and their parents signed consent forms on their behalf. At the start of each interview the children were informed of their right to withdraw from the research and were told that they could ask for the recording to be stopped at any time. The purpose of the research and they way in which the data would be used was explained to them before the interviews began. Results The first research question was: Do children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental trend? The second research question was: Does a child’s locus of self-knowledge shift from other to self with age? Table 1 shows a comparison between Annie and Kirsty’s self-descriptions. It shows that the majority (60%) of descriptors used by the younger child are about physical characteristics and activities and the remainder are character descriptors. She makes no reference to relationships or inner qualities. The majority of the older child’s responses relate to inner qualities (50%). She spreads the remainder of her descriptions across the physical, character and relationship categories. Self Evaluation When discussing their strengths and weaknesses, Kirsty focused far more on character and relationship descriptions than Annie, who focused on physical attributes, particularly for her weak points (‘my ears my legs’). However, Annie counted her friends as a strength and the fact that she likes ‘being myself’. Self and Others Annie’s awareness of similarity to others in her age group was centred on having the same likes and dislikes. She also identified differences between herself and others in this way. Kirsty talked about having the same experiences as others her own age but identified character and inner traits as distinguishing her from others. Ideal Self Annie’s notion of herself in later life was focused upon what job she might do and how else her time may be spent. Kirsty focused on the character traits that she hoped to have developed. Locus of Self-Knowledge The locus of self-knowledge responses were not straightforward as both participants gave ambiguous answers at times. Annie conceded that in some ways her mother would know her better than she knew herself and Kirsty insisted that her mother knew her just as well as she did herself. Discussion In the ‘Who Am I?’ data, it can be seen that, in accordance with Rosenberg’s findings, the majority (60%) of descriptors used by the younger child are about physical characteristics and activities. Rosenberg found that older children are more likely to use character traits to define the self. In this analysis, Kirsty actually uses a lower percentage of character descriptors than Annie, but this is influenced by the large percentage of inner descriptors used. The data in this study supports Rosenberg’s finding that older children referred more frequently to relationships. He also noticed that older children were more likely to reference inner qualities, which can be seen by the high percentage of Kirsty’s inner descriptors (50%). For the main part, the analysis of the self-description data supports Rosenberg’s findings. Rosenberg found that older children focused on interpersonal traits when describing their strengths and weaknesses. Kirsty’s responses follow this pattern but Annie also mentioned the large number of friends she has as a strength. She also said that ‘being myself’ was a strength which was interesting. The interviewer explored this a little more and she seemed to revert back to describing preferred activities. Further prompting, however, may have ascertained that by ‘being myself’ she meant that she was confident about who she was, which would be a character description. It is difficult to tell at this point if Annie lacks the ability to explain what she means which may affect the results. Rosenberg found that only 36% of 8 year olds mentioned interpersonal traits when talking about the person they would like to become, compared with 69% of 14-16 year olds. Annie and Kirsty’s responses fall into the majority pattern for their age group. Analysis of the data provides a positive answer to the research question, Do children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental trend? The developmental trend as identified by Bannister and Agnew, Harter and Rosenberg, is characterised by younger children relying on physical attributes when describing themselves and older children being able to use more sophisticated and complex descriptions that focus more on psychological characteristics. The data in this study largely supports this theory. The evidence for the locus-of-self-knowledge shifting from other to self with age (as Rosenberg found) is less obvious. When asked about who knows her best at school Annie identifies teachers and parents as being the best judge of her performance, which supports the idea that the locus of self-knowledge in young children rests with another. However, when questioned further about who would be right if they had different answers about Annie’s maths performance, Annie’s responses indicate that she is the best judge of her ability. However, when questioned about her behaviour at home she places the locus of self-knowledge with her mother. Kirsty, somewhat surprisingly given her high percentage of references to inner qualities (indicating high self- knowledge), believes that her mother would know her just as well as she knows herself and explains that her mum has ‘pretty much figured me out’. She decides that any differences in answers about how she would behave at home would be a matter of different interpretations. It is possible that Kirsty is unsure about what is being asked and a reformulation of the questions might provoke different responses. Although Kirsty does not exactly place the locus of self-knowledge within herself, she does not place it with someone else either, and so the data does not, in itself, contradict Rosenberg’s theory. The analysis of the locus of self-knowledge responses produces some support for Rosenberg’s findings but it is not conclusive. However, it is important to remember that this is a sample of only two participants and so the data is not enough to prove or disprove his theory. Another limitation of this study is that the coding reliability was not checked. Coding was applied according to one person’s interpretation. Had the coding of the data been interpreted differently results may have been different for the self-descriptions data (see appendix 3 for alternative coding of Kirsty’s responses. In this instance the evidence in favour of a developmental trend in self-descriptions is present but less compelling). Another consideration lies with the ethics of the research. The issue of informed consent is often difficult in research with children. In the case of a young child, such as Annie, it is not clear that she fully understands the nature of the research, despite the fact that it is described in simpler terms than those used to explain it to Kirsty. It is also possible that the power-imbalance between the interviewers and the participants may prevent them from withdrawing from the interview, even if they are told that they can. Conclusion The results of this study provide support for the idea of a developmental progression in the way that children describe themselves, particularly the analysis of the ‘Who Am I?’ data. Qualitative analysis of the other interview questions, however, while showing some support for Rosenberg’s theory, also presents some deviation from expectations.

Political Comedy In The Government Inspector

Political Comedy In The Government Inspector The Government Inspector was written by Gogol in 1835 during a time when government surveillance and censorship was at its height. Tsar Nicholas was in power and his fear of revolution forced a lot of writers at the time to limit what they intended to show and in some cases stop altogether in works they were producing. The play has since been interpreted in many different ways but Gogol tells us he simply hoped to collect into one heap everything à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ that was bad in Russia à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and laugh at the whole lot in one go  [1]  . The outcome of the play is no doubt comical, but Gogol himself was very interested in politics and I do not think he set out to denounce the system completely but to pick fun at it, among other things in Russia. There are a lot of characters and events in the play which could be interpreted as having underlying meaning to them. It does appear therefore that Gogol was satirising the imperial bureaucracy of Russia by highlighting the corruption and deception that are so apparent in the story. Gogol employed the use of humour in the story for many possible reasons. One reason was to cloud the real message that he was trying to send out, so that he could get The Government Inspector past the censorship regulation that were put in place by tsar Nicholas and enforced by the third section. The fact that The Government Inspector was allowed to be preformed at the time, despite its apparent mockery of the political system and the hidden messages was surprising. It becomes clear throughout the play that Gogol is criticising more how people treated one another. The final tableau at the end is used to show the audience that the characters in the play resemble them, and that people needed to rethink thei r moral values. It seems that Gogol thinks that the corruption and deceit which occurs in the play is happening all around him in real life, as he tells us through the governor theres nobody who hasnt got some sin on his conscience.  [2]  I believe that Gogol chose to write a comedy but on serious issues, in order to shed some light on the wrongdoings, but also to entertain his audience. The protest that arose after its first night at the Alexandra Theatre in St Petersburg in 1835 was not welcomed by Gogol, who fled from the clamour and went to Rome  [3]  . There remains much debate on Gogols intentions in creating The Government Inspector, but nevertheless by making these serious issues and denunciations of the government comical it helped him get his play past the censors and onto the stage. The political humour is presented in many forms in The Government Inspector. Many of the characters in the play provide the audience with much comedy and not one is depicted as being without fault; indeed there does not seem to be a hero. Instead Gogol presents to us very corrupted town officials, vain, naÃÆ' ¯ve women and the deceitful Khlestakov who is mistaken as the government inspector sent to the country from St. Petersburg. This mistaken identity is particularly humorous, especially when the governor greets Khlestakov in the inn where he is staying following his bankruptcy as a result of gambling. We quickly gather that the governor has the most to fear from an inspector, for his corruption is deep and his neglect of the townspeople is often highlighted. Despite this Gogol tells us in his notes that he has come up on hard work from the lowers rank of the service,  [4]  and we can infer that he is not especially a bad man. In acquiring position and status, and perhaps se eing how other men have benefited from it before him, he has been spoiled by greed and luxury. Gogol, renowned for his realism, would have been speaking directly to his audience, criticising their behaviour and their apparent readiness to give into temptation. The governors sycophantic behaviour towards Khlestakov at their first meeting in the inn is comical, and made more so by Khlestakovs belief that he has come to arrest him for not paying his bills. The use of dramatic irony throughout the play is key to the effectiveness of the humour, but also the ridiculing of the audience, who are essentially laughing at their own ignorance and folly. The town officials are portrayed by Gogol as fraudulent simpletons, and the effortlessness in which Khlestakov is able to deceive them only highlights this. It can be inferred from this therefore that Gogol is suggesting that perhaps many officials were incompetent and interested only in bettering themselves like the governor. The character of the postmaster is one who is very obviously depicted as abusing his station, as it is revealed that he often opens and reads the mail as a form of entertainment. Like many of the others he accepts bribes but is characterised as being ingenuous to the point of naivetà ©.  [5]  This character may also be representing the current state of government censorship, as he is disregarding peoples privacy and human rights by reading their private correspondence. Interestingly, it is the postmaster who uncovers Khlestakovs real identity later in the play, as he reads a letter that Khlestakov has composed to a friend revealing the whole charade in mos t mocking and humiliating language. Khlestakov, although deceiving the townsfolk, is portrayed by Gogol in a much better light than the governor and his and web of associates, including his narcissistic wife and immature daughter. The governor, it is revealed, has ignored his responsibilities in the town, taking bribes from various people and therefore allowing all the wrongdoing to continue. It would seem that this disregard of equality and justice is more offensive to Gogol than Khlestakovs taking advantage of their foolishness. Indeed Khlestakov is presented more as an opportunist than a malevolent deceiver. This criticism directed at the failure of the people in higher ranks to look after those below them is initially hidden from the audiences immediate understanding by the use of comedy. In this way the comedy utilised in the play could be seen as serving as a smoke-screen, making it more light-hearted by protecting the real messages of corruption and inequality. It became apparent to me in my study of the play that Gogol was asking his audience to examine their own moral code by presenting them with such dishonest and shady people and events and mocking the intense bureaucracy of the Russian Government at the time of writing. I found the main message was to be introspective of yourself and re-evaluate your moral code, for the characters represent the people who hold the power to protect those below them in rank, but in their greed have become the ones who others need real protection from. Gogols derision of the Russian bureaucracy is made most obvious in Act five when the governor, upon realising that he has been duped by Khlestakov, asks the audience directly What are you laughing at? Youre laughing at yourselves!  [6]  Essentially The Government Inspector serves the audience as a warning about the future of humanity if the government and its officials continue to treat the people they are supposed to be helping with disregard and unfai rness. In addition, the epigraph of the play sums up Gogols ridiculing of the political structure in nineteenth-century Russia; If your face is crooked, dont blame the mirror.  [7]  He is saying to his audience that it is your responsibility to be a good person and to uphold your morals, and you can not blame anyone else when you are also taken advantage of and humiliated, like the governor and his other roguish associates are in the play. There are many examples in the play of Gogol using humour to criticise the contemporary political system. The title itself does not suggest a comedy because Gogol chiefly has a serious point to make, but he achieves the humour by creating ridiculous characters and placing them in laughable situations. It is made even more comical because the themes which are being displayed are so normal in human existence that many can relate it to their own experience. A good example of this is shown by the character of Anna, the governors wife. Gogol describes her in his notes as a provincial coquette and the audience sees her flirt outrageously with Khlestakov throughout the play, believing him to be a man of power and money. She is vain and uppity and these features provide the audience with much humour. For example in Act Four, after she allows Khlestakov to surround her with false flattery despite her being married, she declares to her daughter that she stands as the kind of example she ought to be following.  [8]  Her vanity and foolishness is also demonstrated in a humorous way when she believes her daughter is to be married to a high ranking government official; she tells her overwhelmed husband that she always knew she would be related to someone as great but he would not because he has have never seen decent people.  [9]  Clearly this statement holds a double-entendre, as Annas own statement encompasses herself, pointing out that neither her, nor any of the people in the governors company are decent people. The fierce satire of the Russian bureaucracy in the nineteenth century was a common theme for Gogol in his works, and The Government Inspector, interpreted by many in this genre, was only permitted to be staged thanks to the interference of Tsar Nicholas. Although realising that everybody caught it, most of all me,  [10]  he managed to observe the light-hearted nature of the play, supposing it to be harmless. It was original in its time of publication as there was no sole character who would wholly entice the sympathy of the audience, as they were all presented as individuals who were flawed by their own making. As a result of Gogols explicit criticism, the reactions following its performance were explosive despite the tsars approval. Many members of the audience, the majority of whom would themselves have been civil servants, were personally offended by the overt similarities between themselves and the visibly corrupt characters on stage. Gogol imposed upon himself a state of ex ile and fled to Rome in the late 1930s following the uproar caused by his play and the themes he chose to incorporate in it. In addition to the play being interpreted as a political comedy, The Government Inspector was seen as a piece of didactic literature, to ask the people to put an end to their own venality. This satirical approach towards the imperial bureaucracy can also be seen in many of Gogols other works, particularly in The Nose. In this story the protagonist Kovalyov wakes to find his Nose has assumed a life of its own; it refuses to be re-attached to Kovalyovs face because it now holds a higher rank than him. His vanity is highlighted throughout the play, and his greatest fear in losing his nice is that he might not be able to advance up the social spectrum. Indeed, In the outwardly crazy story lurks a serious idea: what matters is not the person but ones rank.  [11]  Again we can see evidence of an official most concerned in bettering his own position. The only character who Gogol describes without criticism is Ossip, Khlestakov servant, who we are told is cleverer than his him and therefore quicker on the uptake  [12]  than any of the other characters. He is the only serf in the play, yet he shows much more intellect than any of his superiors, and is the one who warns Khlestakov to leave before he is foiled. In his private life Gogol was similar to Dostoevsky in his beliefs in politics and religion and I do not think that he set out with the intention of denouncing the role of government. Clearly however the provincial town that is depicted in the play has been neglected by the powers from the city, and the corrupt officials have been allowed to take advantage of the people under their authority. This thought in particular peaks in scene Four, when the townspeople come to appeal to Khlestakov and tell him of the many offences the governor has committed, believing that he will be able to help them receive justice. Gogol was more concerned about the role of the individual, and the dumb tableau which appears at the end of the play, capturing the fear and surprise of the characters, helps to convey this message. Gogols instructions to hold the tableau for almost a minute and a half  [13]  would have forced the audience to really examine what was been shown to them, and then perhaps exami ne themselves in relation to it. The play therefore was intended more as a teaching tool, revealing the lack of spiritual guidance and morals in his characters than a complete mocking of politics. The use of comedy in the play was to make the performance more enjoyable for an audience and to avoid it seeming like a lecture or a sermon. In addition to this, the comedy allowed the play to advance past the censors in Tsar Nicholas reign. Gogol produced an exposer of grotesque in human nature  [14]  in The Government Inspector, and it was met by enthusiastic praise and virulent obloquy confirming his own literary vocation.  [15]   Word Count: 2, 231

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

It amazes me that we are finally here! Throughout the years, I have often thought about this moment. How it would feel to be with all of you, in our caps and gowns, finally graduating. I remember as a child, thinking about what I would look like when I was "all grown up," how I would act, who I would love and what kind of person I would become. And now here it all is, we're ready, we're done with high school, and I couldn't be more thrilled or scared! We go through this twelve-year metamorphosis, and then one day, we wake up and its over, our ascent into adulthood has come. We're ready to face all that life has to throw at us, to make a life for ourselves, outside of school and childhood, to go to college, take a year off or get a job. Yet at the same time, it can be terrifying to complete...

The Systematic Destruction of Womens Agency in Juárez, Mexico :: Gender Culture Murder Womens Agency Papers

The Systematic Destruction of Women's Agency in Juà ¡rez, Mexico As citizens, people rely on the state as an agent that acts on their behalf, by providing them with benefits such as basic protection. However, the state itself derives its power (or agency) from the fact that its citizens give up some of their individual agency in exchange for the benefits that belonging to a state provides. People are, thus, both the creators and the subjects of the state. In Juà ¡rez, Mexico the state has been shaped by a patriarchy that is very oppressive to women. The women are then subjects to this very oppressive state. Virginia Woolf claims that these women can gain agency and freedom by obtaining economic independence. But, in the case of Juà ¡rez, Mexico this economic freedom has deadly effects. Woolf's argument is very limiting and applied to a much more ideal situation. In this essay I will explore the climate in Juà ¡rez that seems to prove Woolf's theory wrong. I will also look at how her claims can offer hope to the women of Juà ¡rez so that they c an alter the climate so that everyone has agency not just the men and the state. Mexican culture has always placed the women in the home. Placement in the private sphere without the opportunity to earn money has always limited women's agency and freedom. Men have typically held the position of power because of their economic independence. As the holders of power in the public sphere, men have created a patriarchy in which the opinions have governed the laws that are passed within Mexico. Before the murders in Juà ¡rez began, and even still, women were offered very little protection by the government especially when it came to violence and rape. The machismo culture in Mexico sets up a climate in which young women can be beaten raped and murdered with little to no consequences. Domestic abuse laws in Mexico, state that a woman may not file domestic abuse charges if her wounds heal before the end of 15 days. Women are constricted to the private sphere according to Mexican culture. The women give up their rights to be in the public sphere with the hope and understa nding that they will be protected in the private sphere. They, however, do not receive this protection. Men can essentially beat their wives with no consequence. Additionally, rape laws are very lax.

Catherine A. Lutz - Unnatural Emotions Essays -- essays research paper

†Yes, it’s only Reservation Blues but I like it:† On the Connection between Christian and Native Religions One of the most interesting aspects of the anthropological study of Catherine A. Lutz, entitled Unnatural Emotions, is that the author applies the same sort of intense self-examination to her own project as an anthropologist amongst the Ifaluk as she does to the Ifaluk themselves. Every individual at some point in his or her own life has been confronted with the surprise, after all, that someone seems ‘exactly like me.’ Or, conversely, one is shocked how another human animal, possessing roughly the same physical attributes of one’s genus and species as one’s self, could behave in such a horrible/wonderful fashion, totally ‘unlike me.’ Catherine Lutz suggests that these latter moments come, not so often when an individual is the presence of someone he or she regards as wholly alien, but when an individual is in the presence of someone he or she has come to regard as familiar, who suddenly surprises him or her. Lutz did not experience her own internal surprises, more often than not, when she was beginning to be acclimated to Ifaluk culture—everything seemed strange to her anthropological eyes, over the course of her initial encounters. However, after she began to think that these people were more like her than she initially though, in other words, when she began to think that she could predict their responses to a certain extent, based upon her preexisting cultural assumptions and modalities, then she when she was taken by surprise at their differences. A reader of Sherman Alexie’s novel Reservation Blues enters the text with similar assumptions of Native American life, unless of course, he or she is of that particular community. If he or she is not, however, there is the likelihood that the ‘typical’ reader has images of Native Americans based upon long-held social stereotypes of the Lone Ranger’s Tonto and Kevin Costner’s â€Å"Dances With Wolves,† possibly chastened with some positive, homey images of the First Thanksgiving as well. However, Alexie’s prose forces one to apprehend Native American life anew, and to see Native Americans as fully-fledged individual characters, with wants and needs and desires, not as those who are simply stoic and ‘other.’ In short, Alexie forces the reader to see Native Americans as rock-and-roll wannabees. What could be ea... ...ith how actual Native Americans experience their (often quite collectively, tribally based) religion at all. At virtually every supermarket across the nation, one can buy ‘Native’ dream catchers, or false, commercialized views of Native spirituality that attempt to offer a respite from supposedly sterile Christianity. The connections of rock and roll to this view in popular culture is exemplified in â€Å"The Doors† where rock music legend Jim Morrison takes a hit of acid under the supervision of a wise man—the acid and the Indian culture ‘free his mind.’ But the spiritual collectivity that Natives associate with their religion does not free them, nor is the Christianity experienced on Native American reservations synonymous with ‘our’ versions of it, outside of the reservation. In unpacking these assumptions, the reader is forced to emerge from the text not simply with a better understanding of Checkers, but with a better understanding of the flexibility of faith and its adaptability to personal as well as community needs in various contexts. Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. Reservation Blues. Warner Books, 1996. Lutz, Catherine A. Unnatural Emotions. University of Chicago Press, 1998.

The Peculiarities of Translation of the Advertising Text

Introduction The main task of the translator – to use all knowledge of theoretical bases of translation for transfer the communicative function of the original, as knowledge of theoretical bases of translation and extralinguistic realities are necessary conditions of translation. Suppliers and producers of production do everything possible to attract as much as possible consumers. For this purpose advertizing appears on screens of our television, by radio, also it appears in the form of advertizing brochures, texts and slogans.Quite often advertizing brochures of this or that production or service go in original language, and proceeding from it it is possible to speak about relevance of creation of more or less uniform strategy and the concept of translation of the such text. When translating advertizing brochures on other languages it is necessary to consider ethical, psychological and personal characteristics of audience and the consumer, specifics and culture of the country for which this brochure is intended.For many practicians of advertizing activity the text of a foreign language serves only as means for understanding of idea of an advertized product, the text of the brochure is often written anew in language of the country of the consumer taking into account its national specifics. When exact transfer is represented for some reason or other undesirable, the translator uses approximate phrases on sense which surely have to consider traditional ethnic, national and social features, stereotypes of behavior of concrete audience on which production designated in the advertizing brochure is directed.The purpose of the real work – to designate the main strategy and receptions of translation of English-language advertizing texts into Russian. According to a research objective performance of the following tasks is supposed: 1) To give definitions to concepts the text and a discourse 2) To give definitions to concept the advertizing text 3) To consi der classification of the advertizing text 4) To define features of translation of advertizing texts 5) To carry out the comparative comparative analysis of advertizing texts in English and Russian languages As object of research texts of English-speaking advertizing served.The choice as a material of texts of English advertizing is caused by that huge role which English-speaking media play texts in world information space. Research method – comparative, that is English and Russian advertizing texts are compared, compared. On the structure work consists of the introduction, two theoretical heads and one research, and also the conclusions, the list of sources and the appendix with characteristic examples of advertizing texts.

The Crucible: Abigail Williams Character Analysis

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Throughout the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. The lies begin to unravel as the reader dives into the book. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out about the affair between her husband and Abigail.Immediately she threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to restore their romance. â€Å"Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again. † She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. B efore the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren making a poppet.Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth's soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents' brutal murders. â€Å"I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine†¦ † After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris.In the play it was said, â€Å"He was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them†. Parris regarded children as young adults who should be â€Å"thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak†. Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing. She also was without any real mother or father figures. Abigail grew up to be deceitful and treacherous, lacking trustworthiness. On account of the fear for her life, Abigail began to accuse the people closest to her of witchcraft. After she and the other irls were discovered in the forest dancing, she knew that they would be whipped and possibly hung. Abigail said that they were bewitched, and began to name those who were supposedly working with the devil. Nothing would stop her from protecting herself. When John forced Mary Warren to tell the truth about the lies that she, Abigail, and the rest of the girls were telling, Abigail proclaimed her innocence and then began to accuse Mary of being a witch. She claimed she saw Mary making a poppet of h er, and sticking Abigail with a needle. â€Å"But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary. Abigail feared for her life so much that she protected it even when John was accused of witchcraft and was sentenced to be hung. Although she loved him, she would not sacrifice herself for him. In conclusion, the cause of the witch trials was Abigail Williams. Considering the facts about her love for John, traumatic childhood, and fear for her life it is easy to see that it was Abigail's fault that the tragedy occurred. As the horrible person that she was, Abigail fought to get her way no matter who she hurt, and unfortunately in the end she did. Her web of lies entangled everyone she ever cared for.