Author: steven

Introduction

Section 1

Project Prevention was established in 1997 by Barbara Harris which aimed to sterilize drug addicts who have had several children in the past. These drug addicts do get a choice between a long term birth control i.e. sterilization or a short term birth control; this project would pay a set amount of cash to volunteering drug addicts. Formerly known as Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity or C.R.A.C.K is a charity and has been based in California (now North Carolina) – it is operating in the U.K. since 2010. Harris created this charity after she had adopted (with Husband) her fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth children from the hands of a drug addicted mother.

This ‘charity’ has had its fair share of controversies and is still handling them.

As a group we felt that Harris having children who had been affected by drug addicts is a main factor in her movement. Her experiences with dealing with drugs and how they not only affect the user but those around them caused her life to have a certain view. We thought what kind of human that is Barbara Harris could have the courage to question and address whether another being could have a child or not. In my opinion, she is wrong to judge and commit to these addicts’ choice but does have a valid point. The child is at high risk of getting any mutations through the parent’s use of drugs however if the parent does sterilize and perhaps get ‘clean’ of their addiction and also is interested in a child – what would happen? Harris has ruined her life due to her not having the ability to conceive.

There are many alternatives to this sort of organization; believing that support groups would be more beneficial than a movement which confines you to a life of drugs.

Our main center topic would be about Project Prevention but more importantly, the idea of eugenics. Whether we have the right to play god on someone who has no control.

Eugenics

The study of or belief in the possibility of improving thequalities of the human species or a human population,especially by such means as discouraging reproduction bypersons having genetic defects or presumed to haveinheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) orencouraging reproduction by persons presumed to haveinheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics).

• Hitler and his Jews – 1933 – 1939
• Sterilization Law in Indiana – 1907
• Protection Law in Japan which sterilized those who had illnesses – genetic screening was encouraged and contraception was restricted within certain communities – 1948
• Sexual Sterilization Act in Alberta Canada which featured patients with a mental illness, perverts, prostitutes, epileptics and alcoholics were forced to sterilize – 1928

We believed that the idea of eugenics caused people to discriminate, demean and dehumanize those who have ‘undesirable traits’. Our ideas revolving around the negative aspects of the science, we made clear that we had all agreed that the control of such eugenics could never be given to one individual due to the likelihood of said person abusing the power. We explored genetic engineering or ‘designing a baby’ and how it would cause people to be more openly racist or sexist.

We took note of the practical implications of eugenics such as reducing the immunity from certain viruses and bacteria because the population would be developed from a few gene pools. This would cause an epidemic of being more likely and also put entire races in danger. New forms of contraception would also have to be developed to prevent the ‘wrong’ people to have children which caused us to expand and ask ‘what if these ‘bad’ people did have children?’ Is there a suitable and logical way to punish them? These thoughts ended up causing us to think of what we would do in a position of power or even a position of a god.

The thought of eugenics in the modern era seems to be scarce – we had compared this to computer games such as ‘the Sims’ or ‘Animal Crossing’ which gave the user the ability to design and control their own beings and be able to achieve anything within these games. Furthermore, due to these games being evidently so popular amongst the youth and growing up – the future generation would be desensitized to the point that is ‘all humans are human and are equal’. Relating back to Project Prevention, in the eyes of Barbara Harris; can this social code be seen?

Eugenics has mixed opinions – it can produce positives and negatives; negatives being that no man nor woman should have the ability to play god and the positives which is that world would be a happier and healthier community in the eyes of many. This then can lead to those ‘many’ abusing the power and cause the inventible which is the opposite of a happier and healthier community – corrupt.

Thinking of eugenics we wanted to focus on many aspects of it – creating various scripts revolving around it such as racism, sexism etc. Instead of focusing on power, we wanted to focus on the effect on human lives of eugenics; thus, we looked into Barbara Harris’ organization and the effect it would have on a woman who had been sterilized but is now wanting a child. Our main question would be;

Do we all have the right to play God?

Character & Voice

Re-read Singh Song! by Dalit Nagra and explore how dialect has been used in order to highlight and challenge stereotypes of asian culture?

Select at least five quotations that address the themes of stereotypes and love.

Identify and explore figurative language and rhythm – how has this been used to create the speaker’s voice.

The poem does not use proficient English grammar. It uses phonetics instead of correct English; ‘I run just one ov my daddy’s shops’ this causes some difficulty in understanding the poem however this is deliberate. This is deliberate as Daljit Nagra intended to use language and spelling that reflects the English of people whose native language is Punjabi. This can also show the view that others have on him, by having a different speech pattern it clearly presents his ethnicity.

Following on to the first quotation ‘I run just one ov my daddy’s shops from 9 o’clock to 9 o’clock’ showing the reader that his father wants him to work a twelve-hours a day in the shop which would reference the stereotype of immigrant work ethic. These stereotypes are then challenged by the consistently attacked by the images of his wife: ‘netting two cat on her Sikh lover site’, another being him swearing at his mother (both unexpected due to stereotypes) but not as much as the reveal of his wife’s appearance. Revealing his wife’s punk-like appearance with a ‘red crew cut’ and a ‘Tartan sari’.

Aside from this the main focus is on the love between him and his wife; the human view of their experience strongly displays the idea that the stereotypical views and expectations that are placed on you cannot be used to judge what a person will be like.The poem is playful. The rhyme, the subversion of expectations and the comic images that seem created just for the rhyme (making love “like vee rowing through Putney”), all create a light-hearted poem and prevent the end from becoming sentimental.

The sound describes the character. There are many instances of rhyming in the poem which is expected as the poem is presented in a song form. It does not follow a regular pattern due to the structure being irregular. It usually uses end rhyme which features the ‘ee’ sounds such as chutney and chapatti; these types of words tend to dominate the entire poem. The rhyming speeds up during the middle of the poem but slows down during the end which is appropriate in the most affectionate section of the poem. This can also refer to the type of character that the poem is presenting, the speed of the rhyming would show his attitude as shown by the lack of respect to the shop whilst the slowness would show the surplus of respect towards his wife.

Bagtas Approved.

Video games have been a pivotal part of our society for the past 30 years and have evolved a substantial amount since their first release. Genres would change; with the most popular genre being action which is almost always accompanied by violence. This violence has caused negative responses from the community, due to the consequences of violence when exposed to children.

In my opinion, I believe there is no significant harm in this activity as I have played such games and have had no aggressive repercussions. In addition, my very first game was Duck Tales which showed harmful scenes. This contrasts with the games that modern children play due to the majority playing violent games. Is the exposure of violence inappropriate for children?

These activities involve repetitive killing, which can desensitize the young and train them to act aggressively. The endless barrage of bullets and grenades can cause a child to be blind of the real world, war would no longer be an event of sadness but a potential game. Evidence of overplaying can be seen from a meta-analysis, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in 2014, where researchers from Innsbruck University tested nearly 40 000 participants. The results showed that over-exposure to violent video games can affect the social behavior of the gamer. Furthermore, it led to an increase in aggressive outcomes and a decrease in pro-social responses. There has also been severe cases of overexposure to violence which leads to death. In 2004, a teenager had allegedly murdered his friend due to having major influences from the game ‘Manhunt’ which had been criticized to be sadomasochistic. These are ‘severe’ cases, meaning the mental state of the virtual ‘killer’ may not be the same as a gamer who plays the same (Manhunt) in the same amount of hours. The evidence does show that prolong exposure to violent video games can cause negative effects.

Virtual activities can behave like drugs. A modern game whether that be a Call of Duty or the innocent Candy Crush can become very addictive if abused. Rewards placed in these are the main source of these addictions. According to Springer Link research study, addiction statistics show that as much as 40% of users play these to escape from the real world. Numerous studies have shown that being associated with this addiction would produce poor academic performances, work-related difficulties – as well as psychological problems like anxiety and depression. These traits will hinder the younger generation to succeed as it limits them to talk to strangers or to their future CEOs. Another study found in the American Academy of Pediatrics showed statistics of children playing for long hours had poor grades in school and difficult relationships with parents. As the amount of time decreased when playing games, the children had reduced levels of aggression, better grades and improved parental relationships. This strengthens the theory that video games are inappropriate for the younger audience.

Games are a source of motivation not addiction; the theory is that through determined interactions, young people would develop a sense of identity. They begin to believe in their intelligence and abilities through their achievements in this. Carol Dweck, a renowned Professor of Psychology, spoke of the difference between an entity theory of intelligence and an incremental theory of intelligence. Kids develop an entity theory of intelligence as they believe to have fixed traits which is when they are praised for doing certain tasks, however this can have a negative impact on long term attitudes. The incremental is when they understand what certain skills they have, so instead of praising the child of what they did, you explain what they did. Video games mimic this as they give conclusive feedback through the use of coins or dead ends in mazes which serves as a reward. This keeps the gamer motivated not addicted as it balances challenge and resentment. This teaches the child of the key skills they will need, therefore these ‘distractions’ are appropriate for children.

Are these games causing negative effects on the younger generation? In my opinion, they do not cause negative impacts, but are viewed to be so. Those who do not play video games tend to reach for violence as an excuse whilst those who do – simply acknowledge it as a form of escapism. These do have a ridiculous amount of violence but that is it’s purpose, it is similar to a fictional movie, it is an illusion. Parents who blame virtual reality to their kids educational demise simply did not read the age rating on the cover as it is there for a reason.

There were rumors of an area in the city where the machines did not loiter and the people were not facing a screen.

The market flourished in the abyss of the night; the time when humans would be fast asleep, dreaming of such a place. Under the glistening, glittering, golden lights which stole the majesty of the stars, lied the busy stalls and carts that seem to multiply with each direction. The rumors were true – such a place of magic did truly exist; the glow of the silverware from the various utensils shone under the moonlight as the market was only just awake.

From coast to coast, the night market would be swarmed with a river of heads, hair and hats, walking in a direction where the smell of the sea would be present. As fishes to bait, predator to prey, their statuses would vanish among these heads. They passed words with each other, but these are evidently swollen by the void. The sharks in the stands shouted their submissions to the incoming strays, performing magic tricks with transactions which turned heads and wallets. They had transformed simple, mediocre items into the last documentation of ancient civilizations. These sharks had evolved.

Through the labyrinth of stalls slithered a rich aroma which had herded the crowd of heads to the furthest stand in the market; this was the last one that had emerged from the dark. Above this stood a green sign, unprofessionally made. The entire structure seemed to be unfinished yet no matter how unpleasing, it had looked. It had gathered more than a few and less than too many. A large cloud of smoke had risen from the stand onto the army of structures, pulling the strings of it’s people like puppets; the stall created classic, chewy, chocolate-coated apples. Quite a novice instrument to entice the many yet the smell had caused the puppets to relive their past. A sudden burst of colour, illusions and mischief had occurred in their minds.

Amongst all the vibrancy, illusions and mischief, stood an old man. Like the stands in the market, he came early and like the smell of the sea he lingered around. He stays there – silent, as if he was born in the background. However, his presence among all the neon lights and attempted glamour of the market were felt by the individuals within. In fear of disturbing him, the legions of people would creep past him and glance at his fragile and timeworn exterior. The ancient organism planted his feet into the ground, his arms branched to his side which swayed in the wind. The old being, face infected with scars that would crawl to opposite sides of his body began to survey the market; he targeted several stands and deposited each one with a glare of delight and freedom. This slowly became an emotion of isolation – although the man had glided through the market stalls, he knew that he would never interact with it. He would never speak to the people of his Atlantis. This ancient sediment stood there in the early hours of the night market until dawn when the sea of heads began to evaporate and the clones of stalls slowly became extinct.

The once lively land filled with hallucinations, slowly transformed into a desolate, empty, ghost market where the colossal space which was as wide as the ocean – simply became an empty basin. The man stood there, beamed his eyes around the once colourful landscape, a cracked frown appeared; he loathed the transitions of the market. He walked around and collected the memorabilia left from the market. The being salvaged what could be found, however the only item discovered was the glistening, glittering, golden lights of the ‘Night Market’. A smile crept and grew, he knew that it would return but for now…

..the Night Market was over.

Dear Ms Kerr

I am writing to you to express my opinions on your article (Twerking, selfie and unlike? Young people don’t speak like that – I should know) which involves your beliefs towards modern day slang. I have a strong connection with the topic and I have felt the need to share my judgement on the topic you are presenting.

I do agree with you that the slang used in the modern world can produce a bad reputation for the young – that the use of certain slang such as twerk or food baby can cause society to describe the younger generation to be unintelligent. ‘Words simply promulgate an unhealthy culture obsessed with being seen in the right places and knowing who’s doing what’ which further strengthens your argument; that the slang words never have a deeper purpose or carry any poetic ‘skin’. Your last paragraphs had the word ‘unhealthy’  and ‘culture’  which is the most suitable terms to describe our current society with slang because it embodies our current situation.

Your presentation of your article I strongly disagree with due to you tending to only have one opinion on slang and not two. Yes, you are expressing an opinion, however without a second view on the matter – this article is more or less a rant than a sophisticated argument. My opinion on slang is quite different to yours that I feel it poses no threat to our ‘beloved’ English language – I was brought up in a society where slang was as frequent as rainy days therefore almost impossible to get away from. Slang has been ‘alive’ since Shakespeare, which reflects poorly on the people who seem to be quite negative on slang since it’s been going on for centuries, making the ‘so-called slang’ of this generation not any different. Slang is fashion – they are trends that disappear.

Your article revolves around that Oxford have added slang words in their Official Oxford ONLINE Dictionary, it being online suggests that it can be deleted and erased with a single click.  It being online means that it is not the true form of the English language but almost a mimic. If we would talk that online dictionary seriously then we should also take another source such as the urban dictionary where users can add words and definitions to words that don’t exist, thus making these words as insignificant as ‘twerk’ or ‘selfie’

After reading through your ‘well-thought’ rant about slang being an ‘unhealthy culture’, you do however use a form of slang without realising it. You had used Google (a popular ‘search’ engine known to many) as a verb, you had ‘to google some of these slang terms’ thus being quite ironic since you are using an internet slang. With this word you have gone against your motives of disliking the use of slang yet you use it. The correct term is to ‘search’ not ‘google’. There are several indications of the use of ‘Right’ which in an appropriate sentence would be fine, however you had used it by itself, therefore lowering the formality of your article – your selection of words such as google or the use of right are inappropriate and I believe they were unintentional.

Overall, I believe you had a valid point and as the old Chinese saying goes ‘strong start, weak finish’. And much like that phrase your article is speaking the truth, but is completely wrong, a paradox. You were strong with your initial objective, revealing how foolish slang were but could not deal a lethal blow. You begin to trail from a sophisticated argument to a informal rant as you tend to shy away from your point and instead use unnecessary quotations/examples. The use of this disrupts the flow and causes your ‘rant’ to become less enjoyable and more irritating.

I hope you take these into consideration.

Teo Bagtas

The smell of iron lingers through the hallways like a stray lingering through alleys, floating in the white abyss.

The hallway had many doors, it had many green doors, professionally painted and professionally sustained.

Door A-24 hosted a man who seem to be glued to his bed in an upright position. His face was unrecognizable, abstract almost – next to him was a cup of orange juice and several white capsules. His eyes and mouth much like him to the bed were glued shut. His face looked like roadkill, his jaw bent the other way whilst his eyes started to twitch – he could not open them. Yet, he insisted to look around. Invisible paintings of people frozen hanging like suspended mannequins, the flickering of lights, the crack in the white walls and the sound of beeping bounced around the room. The room was clean, fixed, white but broken – the room had seemed to be used daily, he was not the first host. The only breaths he could take were short and outlived and the thoughts he had were drowned in the sharp searing pain in his left knee. After several moments of him attempting to think, he begins to hear a slight faint voice coming from outside the room, he begins to breathe more heavily, palms sweating, the bed shaking and impending spill of the cup. Who could it be?

Walk. Walk. Stop. Walk. Walk. Stop.

Heavy footsteps are heard, becoming louder and louder as they approach. The broken man attempted to mumble words but instead were processed to be thoughts;

‘H-hello?, don’t hurt me.’

The footsteps increased and by the time it stopped, IT was right next to him. It became a woman, blonde hair, haggard face, heavy eyes; this ‘It’ was not a threat and had not slept in days. She places her hand onto his cracked face, he begins to scream; her hands were cold and stiff. He winces as she grabs him tighter, the unimaginable pain that he is feeling is engulfed by the situation. In his black eyes the room began to change in to a more bleak environment, the walls darkened, the cup that was there vanished and the inescapable feeling of end was felt. More footsteps are heard, this time they accumulate like packs of wolves.

‘Ma’am, get off him. He’s been through alot’

The crippled and crumbled man laid there and began to speak (after several attempts of trying to communicate).

‘I d-don’t k-know her!’

He began to rock back and forth to shake her off him, he screams in pain, his tears hurt and so did the girl. The man who had entered the room carried 4-inch needles, ready to subdue any animal bigger than a bear or an average man. The needles in his heavy eyes were spears, the men hunters and he became the hunted.

They pierce him. For a few minutes it was nothing but silence, regret and dead. The woman was gone, so we’re the men; the broken and crumbled man laid there as he had always did –  still, silent and frozen like a mannequin. His arms no longer suspended, his face plastic and blank and pale and clear and  smooth, his face no longer bent, his eyes no longer twitching. The room no longer white, but jet black, in front of him was not a door but a glass window.

He was being observed.

Compare how flaws are shown in Othello and a range of poetry you have studied.

In my essay, I will be identifying flaws of characters in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ and a selection of Robert Browning poems. I will be focusing on The Laboratory and Porphyria’s Lover as they both show similarities in terms of plot with Othello. Both poems also show several flaws that Othello has. These flaws are several factors that have led to the main character’s demise or downfall. Downfall means a loss of power. Furthermore by observing these poems and Othello, I am able to answer whether or not a flaw such as anger, can heavily dictate the conclusion of a story or the choices that is presented to the character.

Shakespeare exploits the human flaw of pride to influence Othello’s character and this flaw has evidently caused his downfall in the production. Iago suggests that Othello is self-centred and arrogant ‘loving his own pride and purposes’, which is further solidified with ‘I fetch my life from men of royal siege’. I have also speculated that his love for Desdemona is false because it seems that his relationship with her is only to flatter his own ego; ‘She loved me for the danger, I had passed and loved her that she did pity them’. Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter to indicate that the character is speaking from the heart, which Othello is. This is further evidence of his interpretation of Desdemona. His only purpose in ‘targeting’ Cassio and Desdemona is his inability to swallow his pride which is shown through the quotation ‘I’d rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon than keep a corner in the thing I love for others uses’. This flaw is one of many factors that have caused Othello’s downfall.

Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover shows a story of arrogance and objectification. The character in the story is similar to Othello as they are both deeply (or appear to be) in love with their partners which causes them to result in murder. The Lover is very possessive in terms of his partner and that is his flaw and eventually his downfall. ‘That moment she was mine, mine, fair’ – Browning uses repetition to show the possessive attitude that the lover has and shows the physical and mental emotions that the character is presenting. This overly passionate and estranged love that he ‘possesses’ inevitably leads him to kill his wife and end with nothing (signalling his downfall). ‘Perfectly pure and good’ strengthens the theory that he is madly in love with her. The period that Browning wrote this was in 1836 when women were classified as objects or an item to be possessed. Pride can also be linked to the idea of possession because the Lover is prideful of Porphyria as there are several lines that intricately describe her, for example: her ‘smooth white shoulder’. The piece is also a dramatic monologue and since there are no stanzas can indicate his actions were performed swiftly, which shows his impulsiveness (another flaw that is shared with Othello). Browning presents Porphyria’s Lover’s flaw as possession and this flaw causes him to act irrationally and kills his wife as seen in Othello.

Shakespeare also uses Othello’s naive nature (he easily trusts anyone) to cause his downfall. This relentlessness in who he trusts is a major flaw; by having the ability to trust anyone can open avenues in which characters abuse that trust as shown in Othello. His blind faith causes him to be easily manipulated by his most ‘trusted’ companion Iago ‘the moor is of a free and open nature that thinks men is honest’ show that the moor (Othello) will trust anyone. Othello seems to choose his decisions through appearance rather than what is real therefore he does not further explore the possibilities that the truth is not what it seems. The use of metaphors in the entirety of that line can show Shakespeare’s intentions of Othello’s character and Iago’s views on him – ‘tenderly be led by the nose as asses’ reveals that Iago believes that the Moor is a fool, comparing him to a donkey. In Act 3 Scene 3, he questions his trust in Iago and senses that Iago is manipulating him “if thou dost slander her and torture her, never pray more, abandon all remorse on horrors head horrors accumulate” but as soon as Iago questions his loyalty, Othello backtracks on his decision and instead decides that he is in the wrong. The characters abuse of Othello’s nativity has caused his downfall.

Browning proposes the idea that the main character in the ‘Laboratory’ has the flaw of envy or anger; she shows similar characteristics to Othello as they are both fuelled by envy and are very impulsive. Both show the desire to end their partner’s life (previous partner), due to accusations of being unfaithful.  Browning uses structure to show the passing of time and each stanza is labelled with Roman numerals which references to the numbers on a clock. This structure presents the theory that the woman’s actions is occurring through the space of 12 hours. Her envy for her lover’s new partner is shown in stanza eight ‘What a drop! She’s not little, no minion like me!’ the term minion is used as a metaphor and its purpose is to belittle herself because she is insecure; this is also a reason for her partner leaving her as she is just a ‘minion’ and nothing more. This jealousy creates paranoia and drives her to create this potion and succeed in her actions (similar to Othello, as his envy drives him to kill his wife).

Shakespeare has used Othello’s occupation in the military to cause his downfall. He is a general, so must make quick decisions when on the battlefield. His brain is programmed to execute and command actions without having a deep thought on it. That characteristic is perfect for his occupation however in the production it has led it to his demise (impulsiveness); he had insisted to defend himself when accused by Brabantio of being a thief however when dealing with the accusations that Cassio has been sleeping with his wife, he does not have the same approach: (‘Cassio, I love thee, but never more be officer of mine’). Othello is being a hypocrite however his actions can be explained by him valuing his reputation and does not want other people to judge his personal life. His impatience in the story inevitably appeared when dealing with Desdemona ‘To be once in doubt, is once to be resolved’ ’I’ll have some proof’. But he continues to believe Iago’s accusations (he asks ‘Why did I marry?’) and proceeds to act without thinking (much like the narrator in Porphyria’s Lover). Cassio’s sleep talking and the discovered handkerchief did not help with Othello’s irrational decisions as it encouraged them. Othello cannot handle uncertainty or doubt and has a simplistic response to human emotions; he either loves Desdemona or he hates her with an equal passion ‘She is gone, I am abused and my relief must be to loathe’ and this questioned hatred pushes him to kill her and himself thus resulting in his downfall.

In conclusion, the flaws that have been presented in Browning’s poems and Othello have influenced the decisions of the character. All three pieces of texts that I was focusing on had a very similar theme or even the same genre: tragedy. I have noticed that a tragedy must consist of certain elements such as flaw because it can drive the plot and the audience can be theoretically connected with said character. There are clear links between Browning and Othello as the characters show equal traits – Othello being the insecure, rash and arrogant man that he is and the Lover being impulsive and insecure (same can be said with the woman in the Laboratory). Both writers also use a significant amount of language devices such as alliteration, metaphors or Iambic Pentameter, in the same purpose.