Globalisation: Friend Or Foe :: essays research papers

Dramatic Changes have taken place in Sydney’s cultural and economic landscapes during the past two decades. These changing landscapes have been linked in both political discourse and the popular press to Sydney’s emerging role as a ‘global city’. Evidence supporting this theory has come from some academic analyses of globalisation in the 1990s. Global cities are identified by their role as command centers for organising the global economy. Such cities have been characterised by their openness to global flows of commodities, money, ideas and information. They have become destinations for both national and international migration of skilled information workers, but also magnets for new streams of global labor migration. The Asia-Pacific Rim has been one of the primary sources of these new flows of international migration into Sydney (Fagan, 2000, pg. 144). The aim of this essay is to gauge the impact of the said globalisations on the various landscapes of Syd ney, as globalisation has effected different areas of Sydney in different ways. The principle areas discussed in this paper are Leichardt, Chinatown, Cabramatta, Darling Harbour, the CBD and Pyrmont. The impacts of cultural globalisations will be discussed first, followed by those of economic globalisations. Economic globalisation will be divided into 2 parts: primary impacts and subsequent impacts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Migrant communities are an attribute of many large western cities and particularly of global cities. In the case of Leichardt, however, Italian settlement occurred prior to Sydney’s emergence as a Global City. The display of the symbols of Italian settlement in the form of signage, businesses and social organisations is a cultural attribute of Sydney’s global city status (Searle, 1996). The maintenance and marketing of this ‘heritage status’ for urban planners and tourism authorities is a key feature of global cities (Searle, 1996). A primary example of the developers and tourism authorities attempting to capitalise on the heritage value of Leichardt is illustrated in Plate 1. Resident Italian-Australians, and tourists alike, can be seen dining and shopping among the Italian Forum in the foreground and middle distance of the photograph.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The situation of Chinatown is similar to that of Leichardt in terms of its heritage value. Chinatown, like Leichardt, was established prior to Sydney’s global city status. Its heritage is a magnet for Chinese-Australians and tourists alike as seen the central foreground of Plate 2. The Pallou Plaza is lined with specialty Chinese shops, conference centers/social clubs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cabramatta is one of the direct results of Sydney’s global city status.

Ratio

Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta Learning objectives At the end of this module, you will be able to: * distinguish between ratio decidendi and obiter dicta. * apply well-established rules to identify the ratio decidendi in a decision. This module is intended as a useful exercise in revision. If you are certain that you understand how to discover the ratio in an opinion, you should skim lightly over this material. What is the ratio decidendi? As you probably recall from your studies, the term ratio decidendi is a Latin phrase which means the â€Å"the reason for deciding†. What exactly does this mean?In simple terms, a ratio is a ruling on a point of law. However, exactly what point of law has been decided depends on the facts of the case. | The importance of material facts As Goodhart A L (1891–1978) pointed out long ago in the 1930s, the ratio is in pratical terms inseparable from the material facts. Goodhart observed that it â€Å"is by his choice of material facts t hat the judge creates law†. By this Goodhart meant that the court's decision as to which facts are material or non-material is highly subjective, yet it is this inital decision which determines a higher or lower level of generality for the ratio.Goodhart's reformulation of the concept of the ratio was the subject of heated debate, particularly in the 1950s. Compare Goodhart's concept of the ratio with Lord Halsbury's statement that: â€Å"Every judgement must be read applicable to the particular facts proved, since the generality of the expressions which may be found there are not intended to be the expositions of the whole law but govern and are qualified by the particular facts of the case in which such expressions are to be found. Lord Halsbury (1901)What, if any, is the difference between Goodhart's material facts and Halsbury's particular facts? | What are obiter dicta? Obiter dicta is a Latin phrase meaning â€Å"things said by the way†. Obita dicta are not bindi ng (unlike the ratio), but they may be regarded as persuasive in a future decision. The weight given to dicta usually depends on the seniority of the court and the eminence of the judge in question. Obiter dicta are judicial opinions on points of law which are not directly relevant to the case in question.They are made when a judge chooses to give some indication of how he or she would decide a case similar, but not identical, to case under consideration. These statements are often meant to clarify the legal principle which the judge proposes to apply in his or her judgement. For this reason, obiter dicta often take the form of analogies, illustrations, points of contrast or conclusions based on hypothetical situations. Obiter dicta in one case might be adopted as ratio decidendi in subsequent cases. This occurs when a situation regarded as hypothetical by one judge arises in a subsequent case.Distinguishing between ratio and obita is not always simple. When questioned regarding the difference between ratio and obiter, Lord Asquith once remarked that: â€Å"The rule is quite simple: If you agree with the other bloke you say it is part of the ratio; if you don't you say it is obiter dictum, with the implication that he is a congenial idiot†. Although intended humorously, this remark has a good measure of truth. | Ratio decidendi and obiter dictaHow well do you recall the concept of the ratio decidendi from your undergraduate studies?Take a moment to read through the following statements: * A ratio decidendi is not an abstract principle, to be applied in a deductive fashion to a later case. Instead the ratio is a ruling on a point of law in relation to a specific case. * Only the ratio binds an inferior court. Cases themselves do not bind. * If the court is not required to make a ruling on a point of law, its decision will not give rise to a ratio. * There is no requirement for each judgement to contain a single ratio and no more. Multiple rationes are qu ite normal. Not every statement of law contained in a decision is necessarily ratio or obiter. A judge may refer to a principle only to express his or her disagreement or for the sake of completeness. For a statement of law to be ratio or obiter, the judge must express his or her explicit agreement with the principle. These are not mere niceties of legal doctrine. Bearing these points in mind will help you when you come to identifying the ratio in a judgement. | Finding the ratio decidendi Identifying the ratio in a judgement is frequently difficult.Judges are under no obligation to label the different parts of their judgement as ratio or obiter. In most cases, you need to read the entire judgement to determine the ratio. Some of the reasons for this include: * length of judgements. Many judgements are extremely lengthy and are written in dense, legal language. The ratio may not be expressed in a single sentence or even a single passage. * the lack of an explicit ratio. The extreme example of this is the judgement in Raffles v Wichelhaus [1864] 2 H&C 906. This famously consisted of a single sentence: â€Å"There must be judgement for the defendants†. the existence of multiple lines of argument. Some arguments will be ratio, others will be obiter and others might be neither. * uncertainty regarding which facts were material to the judgement. Judges sometimes fail to indicate which facts are significant and which are not, making it difficult to determine the appropriate level of generality at which a ratio should be stated. In some instances, a case will establish a legal principle which is refined over time, being broadened or narrowed as the result of successive judgements. | Why does finding the ratio have to be so hard?At the Tenth Commonwealth Law Conference, Bennin F A suggested that it would be better if judges were more explicit regarding the legal rules which they set down in their decisions. The answer given by Kirby J on this occasion was that judges would be reluctant to do so as â€Å"the discursive nature of their judgments is the historic basis of the development of the common law†. Bennion has argued that â€Å"there seems no reason why a judgement could not contain both a brief ‘legislative' passage and an accompanying discursive explanation†.What difficulties, if any, can you see with this suggestion? | Ratio in appellate decisions The problems associated with identifying the ratio in the case decided by an individual judge are multiplied in the case of appellate decisions. Most applelate courts sit with a an uneven number of judges. To discover the ratio of an appellate decision, you need to determine the ratio in the case of each individual judgement. The rule is that only the rationes contained in the majority judgements need to be considered.If a majority of judges agree on the same reasoning, you have identified a single ratio. Otherwise, there might be multiple rationes, or even none. Case s without a ratio In a some cases, there may be no majority support for any particular ratio. In such instances, subsequent courts tend to assume that all that is binding is the judgement itself. This means that subsequent cases will be decided on the basis of the decision only when the material facts are almost identical. This is not a purely theoretical possibility.In Paykel v Commissioner of Taxation (1994) 49 FCR 41, Heerey J applied the judgement of the majority in Hepples v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1992) 173 CLR 492, despite the lack of a discernable ratio in the former decision. Finding the ratio There are a number of rules of thumb that you can use to determine the ratio decidendi. These include: * distinguish the facts which the court regarded as material from those which appeared unimportant. * discover the precedents applied. These will provide an indication of the court's approach. * in deciding the ratio, restrict your analysis to the opinions of the majority j udges. read subsequent decisions to find how the decision has been interpreted. The ratio that becomes recognised as a rule of law may not be the ratio that apparent in the original judgement. The last point is one that is sometimes overlooked. In many instances, the ratio in an individual judgement is less important than the legal principle for which a line of cases can be cited as authority. When reading a judgement, consider it at several level. Apart from reading the decision for what it actually says, read it also in terms of its subsequent reception.Assess the arguments of the judges and the advocates in the context both of the case and the future development of the law. If you are building an argument on the basis of a particular case, it is often dangerous to look at the case in isolation. In finding the ratio, it is often useful to consider the way in which judgements are written. Although there is no standard model, they often follow a broad pattern. In most cases, the jud gement is divided into three sections: * the facts agreed or proven * the range of applicable legal principles * the application of the appropriate principle to the facts.There are a number of formal tests that have been devised to assist in discovering the ratio. Two of the best known were developed by United States jurists: these are Goodhart's Test and Wambaugh's Test. Goodhart's Test Goodhart proposed these rules for finding the ratio decidendi: * The principle of a case is not found in the reasons given in the opinion. * The principle is not found in the rule of law set forth in the opinion. * The principle is not necessarily found by a consideration of all the ascertainable facts of the case, and the judge's decision. The principle of the case is found by taking account (a) of the facts treated by the judge as material, and (b) his decision as based on them. * In finding the principle it is also necessary to establish what facts were held to be immaterial by the judge, for the principle may depend as much on exclusion as it does on inclusion. Goodhart's Test has gained considerable popularity. However, as stated above, it is not without its critics. Wambough's Test Eugene Wambaugh (1856–1940) developed an older, but still useful, test. Warmbough's Test first appeared in a book published in the United Sates in 1894.Like Goodhart's Test, Wambaugh's rules focus on the question of what facts are material and which are not. Wambaugh begins with the observations that * no matter how accurate a legal proposition may be it does not necessarily form part of the ratio decidendi. * the proposition is not governed by all the facts, but by the material facts. Wambaugh recommends that you take the following steps if you think you have identified a potential ratio in a judgement: * frame the legal principle that you have identified from a judgement. invert a word or phrase which reverses the meaning of the principle. * ask yourself, if the court had the inverse principle in mind when reaching its decision, would it have reached the same conclusion? * if the answer to this question is yes, then your original proposition cannot be the ratio. Note that Wambaugh's Test works only with cases with a single ratio. Summary This module dealt with the following: * distinguishing between ratio decidendi and obiter dicta. * applying well-established rules to identify the ratio decidendi in a decision.

Key Aspects of Surrealism Inaugurated by Max Ernst

Key Aspects of Surrealism Inaugurated by Max Ernst Amrit Johal, 301102319 FPA 111: D109 (Anna-Marie) Research Essay, Fall 2010 Max Ernst, an inventive artist and one of the pioneers of the Surrealist movement, was able to project the ideas of Surrealism to his audience in a very efficient manner. Surrealism is a discipline, which allows one to think like a child and create art that brings you to a dream-like state.Ernst was able to accomplish this by creating images one can only imagine seeing in a dream, such as his ‘Angel of Heart and Home’ series. As well as by piecing things together which would not typically be put together (collages), such as his Oedipus Rex. Ernst’s work, Oedipus Rex(1922) and L’ange du Foyer(1937), are crucial works of art for the Surrealist movement and  inaugurated many of the important characteristics associated with Surrealist art. Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement and artistic style that emerged in 1924 in the hand s of Andre Breton.Surrealism style uses visual imagery from the subconscious mind to create art without the intention of logical comprehensibility. Breton defines Surrealism as a â€Å"psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express – verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner – the actual reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern† (Breton in Harrison, 2003, pg. 452). It is meant to bring the viewer to a dream like state, where a sense of freedom can be achieved, as it would in childhood.Breton said that â€Å"the mind which plunges into Surrealism relives with glowing excitement the best part of its childhood†¦[it is] childhood where everything nevertheless conspires to bring about the effective, risk-free possession of oneself† (Breton in Harrison, 2003, pg. 452). He says that it is Surrealism that gives you a second chance to be like a child, it is another opportunity. Although Surrealism, in a s ense, emerged from Dada, the two practices are different in many ways. Dada took an anti-art stance, avoiding repetition and therefore the creation of a style.Although it did not seek a common style, Surrealism, however, had none of the nihilism of the earlier movement but was concerned with a redefinition of painting, with transgression rather than proscription (Rewald & Spies, 2005, pg. 11). Crevel describes Surrealism beautifully as being â€Å"for the mind a truly magnificent and almost unhoped for victory, to possess [a] new liberty, [a] leaping of the imagination [†¦] smashing the bars of reason’s cage, and bird that it is, obedient to the voice of the wind† (Crevel in Spalding, 1979, pg. 28).For Ernst, â€Å"the fundamental opposition between meditation and action coincides with the fundamental separation between the outer and inner worlds† (Ernst in Hofmann et al, 1973, pg. 23). It is here, Ernst believes, that the universal significance of Surr ealism lies, and that no part in life is closed to it (Ernst in Hofmann et al, 1973, pg. 23). Ernst’s art showcased his fascination with Surrealism through his many great works of art including Oedipus Rex and L’ange du Foyer. Max Ernst Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet.A prolific artist, Ernst is considered to be one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism. He was born in Bruhl, Germany. In 1909, he enrolled in the University at Bonn to study philosophy but soon abandoned these courses to pursue his interest in art. In 1913 he met Guillaume Apollinaire and Robert Delaunay and traveled to the Montparnasse Quarter in Paris, France where a gathering of artists from around the globe was taking place. In 1919 he visited Paul Klee and created his first paintings, block prints and collages, and experimented with mixed media.During World War I he served in the German army and after the war, filled with new ideas, Max Ernst, Jean Arp and social activist Alfred Grunwald, formed the Cologne, Germany Dada group. Constantly experimenting, in 1925 he invented frottage, a technique using pencil rubbings of objects. Following the outbreak of World War II, Max Ernst was detained as an enemy alien but with the assistance of the American journalist Varian Fry in Marseille, he managed to escape the country with Peggy Guggenheim. They arrived in the United States in 1941.Living in New York City, along with Marcel Duchamp and Marc Chagall, fellow avant-garde painters who had fled the War in Europe, Max Ernst helped inspire the use of Abstract expressionism among American painters (Camfield, 1993). Ernst turned away from the idea of the artist as creator as well as from the myth of ‘artistic talent. ’ For Ernst, the artist is only indirectly responsible for the creation of the work of art: â€Å"The old view of ‘talent’ [†¦] has been thrown out, just as the adoration of the hero [â₠¬ ¦] has been thrown out† (Spies, 2006, pg. 27). A sense of humor permeates his canvases and collages, none more so than in his renditions of natural phenomena. Interested in plants and in their life cycles, he permits his sense of the mythical to prevail. Trees gods, spirits and fantastic animals are everywhere in his canvases†(Stern, 2009).Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex was one of Ernst’s first paintings in which he was able to successfully transfer the techniques of combination, assemblage and collage to large-scale painting. The picture is given the impression of a collage by the use of hard outlines and the dry appearance of the paint (Bischoff, 2003, pg. 3). Gimferrer notes that Ernst was able to expound the conception, mechanics and techniques of collage. His collages were able to sustain the principle of the union of two dissociated situations in the strictly Dadaist or Surrealist manner. This technique seems to stem from Max Ernst and is â€Å"applied to the ve ry nucleus of consciousness [and] to the notion of personal identity† (Gimferrer, 1983, pg. 5-6). The spatial situation of Oedipus Rex is, to some extent, unclear due to the initial context of the picture. Here objects differing in scale are arranged in a setting indicated by architectonic elements.A device for marking chicks is pierced through a hand extended through a window and through the nut it is holding. The nut, which has been cracked open, resembles an eye, bringing to mind Luis Bunuel’s film Un Chien Andalou. Two birds are to be seen looking out of a hole in the stage in the foreground, prevented from withdrawing their head by palings and length of string (or halter) tied to the horns of one of them (Bischoff, 2003, pg. 23). Bischoff claims, â€Å"the desire for forbidden fruit (indicated by the hand which has reached for the nut) and curiosity (for the birds have put their head through the opening in rder to see something) are immediately punished† (Bi schoff, 2003, pg. 23). Schneede, on the other hand, understands Oedipus Rex as being â€Å"held in check by a halter [†¦] and by palings. † He says that â€Å"living creatures exist [†¦] in a rigid state of suspended animation [and that] the saw cleaves no trace of cut marks behind† (Schneede, 1972, pg. 50). Moreover, Schneede agrees with Bischoff, in that the cleaved nut resembles an eye, anticipating the opening sequence of Bunuel’s film, Un Chien Andalou.There are numerous allusions to the Oedipus legend of classical antiquity, says Bischoff, a myth, which has retained its validity throughout the history of mankind, for the motifs of vision, blindness and piercing, are all present (Bischoff, 2003, pg. 23). Although there are many understandings of this work of art, it can still be difficult to understand the meaning of it to the extent the Ernst had intended. For Spies, pictures such as Oedipus Rex compel us to search in vain for some key that might help us to explain them. And that in doing so, we get no closer to the meaning.He goes on to say that â€Å"it is important to recognize that even precise knowledge of the sources Ernst made use of for his collages and paintings does not help us understand them, for he cut away and obscured the meaning of the original image in the course of making his own work† (Rewald & Spies, 2005, pg. 4). L’ange du Foyer Max Ernst’s L’ange du Foyer is another one of his ground breaking pieces in which a â€Å"gigantic bird-like or dragon-like creature [is] launching into a terrible jump over a plain† (Bischoff, 2003, pg. 60). The smaller secondary figure is trying to hold the monster back.The painting projects a vivid sense of danger and total destructiveness. â€Å"The monster’s violent nature is perfectly clear from its menacing claws, its fluttering garments in glowing colours, its expansive gestures, with its raised left hand making some kind of magical sign, and it’s enraged stomping in front of a low-lying horizon† (Rewald & Spies, 2005, pg. 28). The gesture of the outstretched arms is more expansive but does not seem so menacing, inasmuch as it does not threaten to burst the boundaries of the picture. The monster appears not to be acting so much as reacting to something.A number of details that Rewald pointed out are as follows: â€Å"On the creatures right foot in the Munich picture is a house slipper – an allusion to the title L’ange du Foyer (Fire Side Angle), whereas in the large canvas it is a horses hoof, suggesting the devil. His right hand, lacking the long claws of the other beast, still has some resemblance to human anatomy. His left arm, by contrast, appears to dissolve into vegetable forms. The fluttering drapery on this arm can be interpreted as an object: it calls to mind a blood red executioners ax. And the monster’s grimace is hideously repulsive.Thus, terror is not entirely banished from the smaller picture† (Rewald & Spies, 2005, pg. 29). Attached to an arm and a leg of the beast in the painting is a small, no less monstrous creature that seems more amphibian. Rewald describes the creature as having a â€Å"gaping birds beak and long frog legs,† she says that â€Å"it combines irreconcilable elements [of] air and water† (Rewald & Spies, 2005, pg. 29). In addition, the obviously female creature exudes a crude eroticism: her thick thighs are spread far apart, exposing a button-like sex organ.And according to Rewald, it is impossible to overlook her obscene gesture, which has infuriated the trampling beast and caused him to leap so high (Rewald & Spies, 2005, pg. 29). Despite the individual differences, says Bischoff, all the themes and subjects of Max Ernst’s work had a political dimension (Bischoff, 2003, pg. 57), none more so than his L’ange du Foyer. This painting consisted of three versions, ca lled the ‘Angel of Heart and Home’ series. The ‘Angel of Heart and Home’ is an ironic title, Ernst says, for a kind of â€Å"juggernaut, which crushes and destroys all that comes in its path.That was my impression at the time of what would probably happen in the world, and I was right (about WWII)† (Ernst in Schneede, 1972, pg. 154). The monster is seen as being driven solely by an instinct for power, he represents a variety of governmental, military, and ecclesiastical authorities, crushing and killing everything that stands in his way, especially women. In 1938, Ernst gave the picture, for a time, the title ‘The Triumph of Surrealism,’ â€Å"a despairing reference to the fact that the Surrealists with their Communist ideas had been unable to do anything to resist Fascism† (Schneed, 1972, pg. 54). Ernst’s additions to Surrealism Max Ernst, a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism has, through his art, brought us to a dream-like state time and time again. Surrealism is meant to bring us to our inner child, and exercise our imaginations. In practicing this discipline, Ernst was able to eliminate the notion of artist as creator as well as the idea of ‘artistic talent. ’ Through experimentation and his skillfulness, he was able to deliver us many great works of art, including Oedipus Rex and L’ange du Foyer.Oedipus Rex was the first time Ernst was able to transfer the technique of collage to a large-scale painting, and through this work he permeated the idea that the desire for the ‘forbidden fruit’ or curiosity is, many times, immediately punished (Bischoff, 2003). With L’ange du Foyer, Ernst deliberately made a reference to war, projecting a vivid sense of danger and destructiveness. He was able to bring his ideas on war to a surreal, phantasmagorical state. Oedipus Rex(1922) and L’ange du Foyer(1937) are a couple of the most important additio ns to the Surrealist movement. Ernst, through these works, was able to establish many significant elements linked to Surrealism including the use of collage and bringing the audience to a dream like state with his overtly spine-chilling creations.References Bischoff, U. (2003). Max Ernst : 1891-1976 Beyond Painting. (J. Harrison, Trans. ) Koln, Germany: Taschen. Camfield, W. A. (1993). Max Ernst: Dada and the Dawn of Surrealisn. Munich: Prestel. Gimferrer, P. (1983). Max Ernst. New York: Rizzoli International Publications Inc. Harrison, C. (2003). Art in Theory 1900-2000. US: Wiley-Blackwell. Hofmann, W. , Schmied, W. & Spies, W. (1973). Max Ernst, Inside the Sight. Houton, Texas: Institute for the Arts, Rice University. Rewald, S. , & Spies, W. (2005). Max Ernst : A Retrospective. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Schneede, U. M. (1972). The essential Max Ernst. (R. W. Last, Trans. ) London: Thames and Hudson. Spalding, J. J. (1979). Max Ernst: from the Collection o f Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Ernst. Clagary, Alberta: Glenbow Museum. Spies, W. (2006). Max Ernst: Life and Work. London: Thames and Hudson. Stern, F. (2009, January). Surrealism: The Alternate Reality. CPI. Q (Canadian Periodicals) .

Comparison of Conrad’s and Achebe’s Presentation of Africans

Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, both take place in the heart of Africa and center around the idea of colonialism held by the European powers in 19th century. The differences between the two novels are ironically as apparent as â€Å"black† and â€Å"white†. As we begin to think about why Conrad and Achebe have used so different tones on such a similar subject, we feel like we are solving a mystery plot. While reading Heart of Darkness we feel as if we are led through a never ending, dark, damp, gloomy and stinky corridor and the novel ends in an atmosphere which is darker, gloomier and filled with hostile people or maybe creatures. After reading Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, immediately our minds revert to a nearby region in Africa, to Umuofia, and we begin to think whether Nigeria is on the same continent as Congo, and if these dark creatures staring at the boat from the riverbank, are really related to Obierika, or even to the never smiling Okonkwo, who are in our minds sharing palm-wine and breaking kola seeds. Conrad’s and Achebe’s different approach to the themes of â€Å"voice of Africans†, â€Å"presentation of colonizers† and the â€Å"effects of colonialism† distinguish the two works from each other. The voice and presence of Africans differ clearly in two works because Conrad is looking through the perspective of the colonizer and Achebe, from that of the colonized. As stated in the introduction, Conrad has been dreaming of seeing the â€Å"dark continent† since childhood and has managed to go to Congo with the ambition to explore it. Marlow, just like Conrad, has always had the interest in maps and he decides to go to this journey after seeing Congo’s map on a shop window. As Marlow says when he is telling his story, â€Å"It had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery- a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness,† (p 22) we can realize that the mysterious land he was expecting to see didn’t end up being enjoyable and frightened him. We know that when Conrad first travelled to Congo, he was actually shocked with what he saw; but although he was surprised and horrified, he thought all the savage acts of white men as a part of reality and a necessity to keep this colony functioning. The way he refers to natives as â€Å"black things†, â€Å"criminals† or â€Å"unhappy savages† with no indication of pain in his feelings shows that, as a â€Å"civilized† European who is a stranger to this new land, he convinces himself very easily to the idea that the Africans should be treated as â€Å"savages†. When he sees a young African reclining against a tree with sunken eyes, waiting for his death, it is not his condition that strikes him the most but he is more interested in where he might have found the white thread tied around his neck. Also when he admits to himself that the accountant had â€Å"verily accomplished something difficult† (p 37) by teaching a native woman to do the station tasks, we once again understand that he doesn’t see them as of his equal and in some sense regard them as primitive beings with no intellect. Even if Conrad, as a writer who has become a citizen of Great Britain, one of the leader countries of colonialism, regards all the atrocities in Congo as dark memories, he does not help the African voice to be heard and does not provide any chance for an African to express himself properly, except a native’s words, â€Å"Mistah Kurtz, he dead! † (p 112) On the other hand, Achebe is no stranger to this land. He is in fact one of the dark mysterious figures, watching Marlow's boat, sailing up the river. Naturally he has a very different story to tell. In Heart of Darkness, we are given a surreal view about the Africans. On the contrary, Achebe's success, is presenting them as human beings, with names, no different in characters and in feelings than other people living in any part of the world. Although their customs might sometimes seem inexplicable to us, such as the oracle ordering Ikemefuna to be killed for no reason and villagers following his order, they still carry the same feelings any person would. After Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo who has loved him like his own child, cannot taste anything for two days because of his sorrow. Similarly, after Okonkwo is exiled from the clan, Okonkwo’s friends destroy Okonkwo’s barn and hut as part of a tradition with no hatred in their hearts. But later on Obierika, Okonkwo’s best friend who was among those people, questions his friend’s punishment. Even though the Africans presented in Things Fall Apart identify themselves with their culture and have to follow the rules set by their ancestors, they always show the reactions expected from any person. These people share the same concerns, affections and flaws as every â€Å"human being† whereas Conrad, chooses to present them as primitive creatures or rather dark threats. As the boat sails on the river in Heart of Darkness, we are reminded of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth where in similar dark surroundings, the scientists encounter extinct creatures whereas in Things Fall Apart, we get a chance to observe the richness of the Ibo culture and look at Africans from an objective point of view. The comparison of how the colonizers are presented in two novels portrays clearly the recurring opposition between â€Å"civilization and wilderness†. This time, Conrad, openly displays the sinister intentions of the colonizers, their greed more openly than Achebe. When the reader is told about how experienced agent Kurtz is in collecting ivory, how cruelly the Africans are used as labor force and are forced to work until they become exhausted, wear out and starve to death, it is seen that the so-called â€Å"civilizing† mission of the colonizers is actually destroying the Africans. We understand clearly that the colonizers are after wealth, which in fact does not belong to them. Moreover, in both works, there is the irony about the colonizers, who are supposed to be representing â€Å"civilization† but instead acting way more primitively than the colonized Africans who are considered as â€Å"savages†. In Heart of Darkness, Mr. Kurtz who is admired and even worshipped by the Europeans, is collecting the heads of the natives and performing very brutal actions to acquire his ivory. Company Doctor’s comment stating that any change the men undergo in Congo is internal (p 27), is a foreshadowing to the transition Kurtz goes through in the jungle. â€Å"Wilderness† has changed him; he is no longer a member of a civilized society having lived together with the natives in wilderness. Also, when the Manager claims that Kurtz’s â€Å"methods are unsound† (p 101), we start questioning the accuracy of the Manager’s own methods. The company responsible for extracting ivory is operating under a hierarchy, with many business principles so since Kurtz is a part of this chain, it can be argued that the methods of the colonizers are also as â€Å"unsound† as Kurtz’s. When Marlow agrees with the Manager and says that he sees no method at all in Kurtz’s actions, we can understand how Kurtz, as a colonizer has separated himself from civilized methods. Therefore, there is the contrast in between his reputation as a remarkable agent among colonizers, and his denial to play the game by the rules of a civilized society. On the other hand, the colonizers in Achebe's Things Fall Apart, are given a more humane approach. They, like the natives are described as ordinary people whom you can meet on the street, in your everyday life. Their most apparent feature are their arrogance and in fact their lack of knowledge and understanding. Achebe also emphasizes the irony about Africans turning out to be more civilized than the colonizers in many ways. When there is a confrontation between missionaries and Africans caused by Mr.  Smith, the new intolerant leader of the church, Ajofia’s words, â€Å"We cannot leave the matter in his hands because he does not understand our customs, just as we do not understand his. We say he is foolish because he does not know our ways, and perhaps he says we are foolish because we do not know his,† (p191) show that in fact the villagers are wiser, more mature and more â€Å"civilized† in way of thinking than the colonizers. Africans can accept to be wrong in certain points, whereas the colonizers disregard anything outside their own agenda. Even if Heart of Darkness gives us a better opinion about the cruel and uncivilized characters of the colonizers, Achebe also portrays the destruction of African villages so dramatically that in general, we can say that both works demonstrate the corrupted souls of the colonizers effectively. The destructive effects of colonialism are presented both by Achebe and Conrad, but Conrad does not bring up the criticism of colonizing a country, whereas Achebe underlines its tragic results clearly. At the time Heart of Darkness was published, there were many people in the world who thought that there was nothing wrong with colonialism and in fact it was the right move to take for a powerful country. It was believed by many that the natives were nothing but savages. Therefore, what Conrad says about colonialism, is well ahead of his time, but still the argument of whether he had to go along with the idea of seeing natives as â€Å"dark savages† , is of course questionable. From the beginning of the novel, Conrad shows the suffering caused by colonization through Marlow’s observations. We see natives each having an iron collar on their neck, all connected together by chains, empty paths that were used to belong to villages in which the population had cleared out. All these unpleasant images show the devastating results of colonialism but since Marlow, who experiences these brutalities with his own eyes, does not reach to the conclusion that all these are a result of human greed, it is not possible to say that Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a direct critique of colonialism. However Achebe, having lived in a colonized country, knows what it feels like to have lived under the command of others. He intentionally emphasizes the presence of a government, besides the church and shows that the white man, does not only want to convert the natives to Christianity or take away their ivory and gold but also wants to rule them. Achebe does not hesitate to show how Okonkwo’s own people, although they might not be from his own clan, have joined the colonizers and are serving them as their messengers. When the messengers tell the villagers that they should pay a fine of two hundred and fifty cowries to release the several arrested men from the clan including Okonkwo, they plan to keep the fifty cowries for themselves and give the rest to the district commissioner who had initially decided on the fine as two hundred cowries. As it is seen, colonialism has not only caused the suffering of many Africans but also it created such a corruption that the people of the same land ended up betraying and fighting against each other. Even if both writers have based their story on the terrible outcomes of colonization, Achebe, as a representative of the African voice emphasizes the moral tragedy that leads to the formation of a chain of never-ending treasons between Africans. Colonization may work for the benefits of the colonizers, but for those who are being colonized, it gives only suffering, death, loss of identities, in short destruction and humiliation. The general attitude displayed by the colonizers, in justifying their actions, is their claims of bringing civilization to savages, faith and order to cannibals, technology or health care to the poor or ignorant. The fact that Heart of Darkness, begins on the river Thames, right in the heart of London, the river described as calm and beautiful, and moves into Congo river, its waters rough, full of dangers, dark, threatening, offering nothing but unexpected and unknown menaces, shows us the exact mentality of the colonizers, as they view Europe and Africa. It is a clear account of how they believe that, their civilization is superior, giving them the right to expand their interests to wherever they see fit. A boat trip on the Congo River, according to them, is a measuring device which will reveal how primitive the Africans are. The further you travel, the degree of primitivism rises. Just as Thames River is the antithesis of Congo River or Africa, with Conrad, Achebe's characters show that the Africans are not subhuman or part of a different species, but are members of the human race with their flaws and virtues. Achebe's last words in Things Fall Apart are â€Å"The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger†, the name of the commissioner’s book, is the very cliche colonial powers live by. It is in fact the most tragic ending to these sad stories of shattered lives, erased cultures and a whole continent torn apart, by colonialism.

Archaeology Home work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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