Using material from Item A and elsewhere Essay Example for Free

Using material from Item A and elsewhere Essay ?The cultural deprivation theory argues that many working class and black children do not acquire the basic values, attitudes and skills needed for educational success through primary socialisation in the family. Many cultural deprivation theorists claim that working-class families inadequately socialise their children and therefore their children are ‘culturally deprived’. There are three main aspects to cultural deprivation, one of them being intellectual development. This refers to the child’s development of thinking and reasoning skills allowing them to solve problems and use ideas and concepts. Cultural deprivation theorists would argue that many working class homes lack the resources, such as books and educational toys, needed to stimulate a child’s intellectual development that would enable them to progress more quickly once the child has started school as they already have a prior knowledge and understanding. J. W. B Douglas (1964) says that working class parents are less likely to support their children’s intellectual development through reading with them or other educational activities in the home after he conducted a study that found working class pupils to score lower on tests of ability than middle class pupils. Basil Bernstein and Douglas Young came to a similar conclusion and suggested that middle class mothers are more likely to choose toys that encourage the thinking and reasoning skills that’d prepare their children for school. However, sociologists such as Bernstein and Young have not considered the fact that working class mothers may not have such choice in toys and books that’d be educationally beneficial for their children due to their financial state which would suggest that it is material deprivation that is more important here. Secondly, Carl Bereiter and Siegfried Engelmann (1966) highlighted the importance of language for educational achievement claiming that the language used in lower class homes is deficient. Basil Bernstein also identified differences between the language influencing achievement used by working class and middle class families. He distinguishes between two types of speech code: restricted code used by the working class and the elaborated code typically used by the middle class. He argues that the differences in speech code give middle class children an advantage at school because this is the type of language used and encouraged by the education system through teaching, textbooks and exams. However, this theory is rejected by sociologists such as Barry Troyna and Jenny Williams (1986) who say that the problem is not the language used by the children but the school’s attitude towards it. Similarly, Nell Keddie (1973) describes cultural deprivation as a ‘myth’ and sees it as a victim-blaming explanation, she argues that a child cannot be deprived of their own culture – they are culturally different not culturally deprived and they fail due to dismissal from an education system dominated by middle class values. The third aspect to cultural deprivation is the argument that the parents’ attitudes and values are a key factor affecting education achievement. Leon Feinstein (1998) found that working class parents’ lack of interest was the main reason for education underachievement and was more important than material or internal factors. He suggests that middle class children are more successful due to their parents providing them with the necessary motivation, discipline and support. Likewise, J. W. B Douglas’ study ‘The Home and the School’ said that working class failure is due to a lack of parental interest and stimulation in the home. He found that working class parents visited the school less often and were less likely to discuss their children’s progress with teachers resulting in their children’s decreased levels of achievement motivation. Although this view has been critiqued by Tessa Blackstone and Jo Mortimore (1994) who say the parents visit school less often and attend fewer parents evenings is due to longer or irregular work hours or are put off by the school’s middle class atmosphere not because of a lack of interest in their child’s educational progress. Some sociologists argue that parental disinterest in their children’s education reflects the subcultural values of the working class; they say that large groups of the working class have different goals, beliefs and values from the rest of society and this is the reason for their children’s educational failure. Barry Sugarman (1970) says that working class subculture has four key features that act as a barrier to educational achievement: Fatalism, Collectivism, Immediate gratification and Present-time gratification. Working class children internalise these beliefs and values of their subculture through the socialisation process and this results in their underachievement. Sugarman suggests these values exist due to working-class jobs being less secure and have no career structure to enable individuals to advance. Many sociologists disagree with the view that cultural deprivation is the main reason for education underachievement. Peter Mortimore and Geoff Whitty (1997) argue that material deprivation has a much greater effect on achievement than internal factors however although it is clear that material factors play a part in educational achievement, due to the success of some children from poor families we can see that material deprivation is only part of the explanation. The cultural, religious or political values of the family are a strong part of sustaining a child’s motivation regardless of the child’s social class; similarly internal factors such as the quality of the school allow children from poorer backgrounds to gain educational success.

A Critical Analysis of Wind By Ted Hughes Essay -- Papers Essays

A Critical Analysis of Wind By Ted Hughes Hughes's opening line is sculpted in such a way that it gives the reader an abundance of sensations. The poet achieves amazing efficiency in the line "far out at sea all night" in that the reader is exposed to distance, time and environment. The metaphor of the house being "out at sea" projects the image of a boat "far out" feeling totally isolated. The house faces wave upon wave of inexhaustible pounding from the wind as a boat would from an enraged sea. The time scale of "all night" could literally mean all night or it may refer to the perception that the wind is so acutely intense that it feels prolonged. The words "crashing", "booming" and "stampeding elevate the wind to one of biblical proportions which sounds like an orchestra thumping out a killer crescendo. The line "stampeding the fields" accentuate the brutality of the wind attacking the natural surroundings. In keeping with the oceanic metaphor the house "floundering" evokes a sense futility. The alliteration in "black" and "blinding" impose emphasis upon the words and a heightened sense of awareness in the reader. The second stanza is a witness to the winds legacy. The magnitude of the winds power is illustrated with "the hills had new places". The ultimate measure of the winds potency is that its changed the environment which we would normally imagine reassuringly permanent. The personification in the "wind wielded blade-light" makes the wind dangerous and randomly spiteful. I think the " black and emerald, flexing like the lens of a mad eye" refers back to the sea metaphor in the first stanza. A stormy sky like a stormy ... ...e last two lines of the poem Hughes writes the "window tremble to come in" and "stones cry out". The personification in "tremble" and "cry" show that even inanimate objects are displaying signs of fear and distress. The theme for the poem is ultimate respect for nature's weapons and total humility for anything caught in the conflict. In some instances respect turns to terror as if hiding from an omnipotent tyrant. The structure of the poem is consistent throughout with six stanzas of equal length. Hughes uses a lot of alliteration to break up the reading fluency to reflect the choppy subject of the poem. Hughes's use of metaphor skilfully illustrate the scale and nature of the wind whilst drawing attention to the way the wind exploits the delicacy of the surroundings we usually consider so dependably solid.

Literary comparison of ballantyne’s coral island

This is to compare R.M. Ballantyne’s Coral Island with William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Both novels situate their characters isolated in an island removed from society and with no adult supervision, thus leaving them to fend for themselves. Without the rules and order of society and civilization, the boys return to their state of nature – however, Ballantyne and Golding have differing views on what that is. Ballantyne’s boys retain their values and behave accordingly to the rules of society, whereas Golding’s boys struggle with their savage primal instinct and the tendency to be primitive and evil. In the end though, Ballantyne and Golding both explore the problem of evil and how their characters struggle with it. THESIS: Lord of the Flies and Coral Island depict how Man will act according to his instincts when he is isolated from society and in doing so show how their characters mature as they face the problem of evil. FIRST POINT: In both books, the boys are stranded in an isolated island and are left to fend for themselves without adult supervision. Coral Island: Ralph, aged 15, Jack, aged 18, and Peterkin, aged 14, find themselves shipwrecked in a deserted island in the Pacific. They build shelters, make fire, gather fruits, build boats and explore the island and nearby islands as well. Lord of the Flies: After a plane crash, Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Roger, Simon, twins Sam and Eric, and a group of boys of varying ages with the youngest ones as young as six or seven, are stranded in the island. The oldest in the group are Ralph and Jack, both twelve years old. They elect Ralph as leader, and set rules on building shelters and fire, and hunting for food. –  Ã‚   both sets of boys are stranded in an island left to fend for themselves –  Ã‚   in Coral Island, the three boys are friends, and have reached their adolescence as compared to the boys in Lord of the Flies, who can still be considered as children. The boys in Lord of the Flies are not necessarily friends but they went to the same school – they were thrown together in a situation and are forced to live together. SECOND POINT:   Both novels explore the problem of evil through the adventures of the boys. Coral Island: Readers follow the adventures of the boys, of their encounter with a shark, of their exploration of the island and Diamond Cave, their meeting with natives, Ralph’s journey with the pirates and his gallant rescue of the natives, Ralph’s reunion with his friends, and finally, their escape from death from the natives who have been converted to Christianity. Lord of the Flies: Readers follow the events in the island as brought about by the character’s actions and attitudes. The fire that swept half the forest was because of the boy’s irresponsibility, as was the fire’s burning out and thus missing to send a signal to a passing ship. Further, their character flaws stimulate the events in the island – Jack’s aggressive and belligerent behavior translated into a confident control of power and command over the weaker ones, and the fear and confusion in many of the boys made them susceptible into engaging into savage and primitive actions, letting go of reason and immersing in their primal instincts. Further, readers see that even the protagonists struggle with their principles, as Ralph and Piggy join in the ritual dance and even help kill Simon. –  Ã‚   Both sets of characters face the problem of evil. The boys in Coral Island face problem of evil from external forces – pirates, natives, the wild, and they face and fight against it when they come across it. Whereas in Lord of the Flies, the boys’ greatest enemy is themselves – the inherent evil that resides in them, the potential to be primitive and savage and to let go of reason, the fear and violence in them, that is the greatest battle that they face. The problem of evil is intrinsic – the boys struggle with the values that society taught them versus their instincts now that they found themselves in the wild with no supervision whatsoever. –  Ã‚   Thus, the isolation in the novels forces the characters to mature. In Coral Island, the boys were presented to behave accordingly, keeping their values intact and even able to Christianize natives. Thus, it shows that even without the controls imposed by society, Man in the state of nature will use his reason over his desires, and maintain order. On the other hand, in Lord of the Flies, the boys were presented indulging in their basic needs of placating their desires over fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure their being saved. The boys struggle with behaving as adults versus behaving like children, between using their reason and satisfying their thirst for hunting, between their morality and their rituals and tendency to be evil. In both novels, the characters had to act beyond their years and had to cope with their extraordinary situation. THIRD POINT: Both books end with returning to civilization, the three boys in Coral Island sail back to England while the boys in Lord of the Flies were found by a Naval officer who saw the fire set by Jack’s tribe. The end of both novels signals the coming of age of the characters, as they come into realization of what has happened to them. Coral Island: After all their adventures, the three boys go back home wiser and more mature because of the experiences that they have had. Lord of the Flies: The Naval officer thought that the boys were all fun and games at the island, but was surprised to find out that two boys have been killed. In a sense, these boys are no longer children – they have seen and participated in such violent acts, and have encountered their dark, evil sides. Upon seeing the Naval officer and asked what happened, the boys break down and cry, realizing what had become of them. Jack’s tribe have become blood-thirsty and completely savage, Piggy and Simon murdered, and Ralph reduced to a figurative pig, a prey running for his life from his former companions. Because of their experiences in the island, the boys matured and have grown wiser, knowing full well now what man is capable of. –  Ã‚   both sets of boys come out of their respective islands different and with a better understanding of themselves, although in Coral Island the boys were not tarnished with evil, while in Lord of the Flies the boys come to a realization of how brutal and inhuman they have behaved. –  Ã‚   Coral Island comes to an end with the boys’ going back to England, with all their little adventures resolved. Lord of the Flies ends with the boys’ crying and realization, and the fight between Ralph and Jack seemed to be over with the arrival of the officer and being rescued. CONCLUSION: Lord of the Flies and Coral Island depict two ways Man will act according to his instincts when he is isolated from society – Ballantyne shows that Man will uphold the values civilization taught him while Golding puts forward that Man will descend to savagery. By isolating the characters from society, Ballantyne and Golding effectively removed the boys from the controlling norms and standards that society imposes to shape the actions and behavior of men. Ballantyne pursues his story focusing on the events that happen to the characters and how they cope with these challenges, in the process showing that man is good and that he has the capacity to fight off evil from external factors. On the other hand, Golding’s story is driven by his characters’ emotions and motivations. The events happen in Lord of the Flies as a result of how the characters behave. The greatest challenge they had to face was in them: they needed to struggle with man’s tendency to descend to savagery and evil. At the end of each book, the boys are saved from the problem of surviving by themselves and are presented with the chance to return to society and civilization. Thus, from both books we garner that isolated from the controlling function of society and civilization, Man will fight for his survival, and behave accordingly. However, Man’s state of nature is debatable, the question of whether Man is innately good or evil is perennial, and at most the two books provide perspectives on how Man might behave stripped of society and civilization. For Ballantyne, this means that Man will use his innate goodness and reason, while Golding puts forward that Man will descend to savagery without the pillars of civilization. It seems that Golding’s portrayal of man’s state of nature is more realistic though, given that he presented younger boys much less exposed to society and dealt more with internal conflict and the crisis of survival, as compared to the adventures of Ballantyne’s characters. In the end, both reflected the attitudes and behavior of men during their time, and showed through their respective narrative how their characters grew and matured; how their way of thinking changed as they coped with the challenges of surviving by themselves.   

Coen And Hosseinis O Brother, Where Art Thou And The...

Coen, in his film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Hosseini, in The Kite Runner, immerse their audience in the protagonists’ journey, encountering ideas of religion, politics and race through a range of literary and film techniques. Coen and Hosseini condemn the tangible racial and ethnic intolerance through characterisation, parody and mise-en-scà ¨ne. Allusion, imagery and humour explore both the comfort and danger of religion while symbolism, humour and historical references expose the deceit and failure of politicians. Coen and Hosseini, through literary and film techniques, subvert racial stereotypes and highlight the injustice of racial and ethnic discrimination. Hosseini’s juxtaposition of the Pashtuns with the Hazaras highlight the†¦show more content†¦Moreover, Hosseini alludes to the Holocaust through Asef, whose â€Å"sociopath[ic]† characteristics, German mother, â€Å"blue eyes† and admiration for Hitler promote the association with this â€Å"ethnic cleaning,† thus emphasising the evil of racism. Although extremism is criticised, Hosseini prevents the reader from dismissing everyday racism through General Taheri’s dialogue when he questions â€Å"why there is a Hazara boy† living with them, conveying that the Hassan’s death has its roots in the ingrained racist and prejudiced culture. Moreover, he is concerned about â€Å"the community’s perception,† suggesting reputations and societal expectations drive these prejudi ces. This is illustrated earlier when Baba’s desire to be close to his â€Å"illegitimate† son parallels the social barriers relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. Comparatively, Coen’s integrated band overcomes these social barriers, subverting the idea that the deep south is inherently racist, as â€Å"folks don t mind they’s integrated,† in a time when integration was illegal. With the literary techniques of juxtaposition, parody, historical references and dialogue, and Coen’s manipulation of lighting and soundtrack, Coen and Hosseini overthrow racial stereotypes, criticising the societal expectations and casual racism that underpin extremism. Hosseini and Coen explore religion as a recourse, and the flaws of religion without morality through