Translated Woman and In Search of Respect Book Reviews

Translated Woman and In Search of Respect: Book Reviews 1. In Translated Woman: the person being studied is a woman named Esperanza, a street-peddler who lives in Mexico. Unlike most ethnographic studies, the author does not focus as much on an entire population as she does on one person. However, the relationship between the sample and the population (the whole of Mexico) is made clear in several respects. It is implied that much of Esperanzas story, both as a woman and as a poor person in Mexico, is indicative of the whole of the Mexican experience. In the final chapter of the book, Behar herself is studied as an ethnographic figure, comparing herself to Esperanza in terms of her experience in academia. In In Search of Respect, Bourgois spends five years living with his family in Harlem within the 1980s and 1990s, as they neighbored a crack house. The sample (Bourgois and his family) and the population (the whole of Harlem) are related as the family is presented as a microcosm of what all lower-class Latinos experience in the barrios of Harlem. The experience is also extended to people of all races in lower-class neighborhoods, including blacks, witha special emphasis on the poor and those addicted to illegal substances, like crack cocaine. While the primary focus is on Bourgois family, dozens of people of all races are interviewed and observed throughout the community. 2.Translated Womans study of Esperanza is performed solely on participant-observation and interview. Through Esperanzas stories, we hear of her own beliefs in witchcraft, her life as a Mexican, her often turbulent love life, and other stories. In essence, it is a very experimental ethnographic study in that no formal instruments are really used. Staying close to Esperanzas own conceptual categories and producing a book with her voice centrally located in the text, I hope Ive allowed for enough creative misbehavior (Behar, p. 270). Since there was the loosest of theoretical frameworks used in the text, Behar instead relies on instinct and comparative analysis to determine a story for Esperanza (she often compares her own life with Esperanzas). Bourgois, in In Search of Respect, used little real instruments, but a clear theoretical approach; how the United States legitimizes inner-city segregation, or how victims enforce the brutality of their social marginalization (p. 39). Bourgois used participant-observation and interview, as well, in his study of a Harlem family all members of the family managed to have their own unique, subjective viewpoints on how being lower-class and socially marginalized affected them. Drug addiction, violence, and more were the order of the day, and many questions about the nature of lower-class citizenry and the effects of drug abuse on their lack of upward mobility were addressed. 3. In Translated Woman, Behar studies Esperanza merely as interesting person, an isolated figure independent of a structured theoretical framework. One of her goals was merely to see just how an individual, given Esperanzas circumstances, would react, and to determine the reasons why her life went down these certain paths. Even when attempting to structure Esperanzas life history narrative, Behar comes up short, particularly when using a feminist model in terms of Latin American women. Because Esperanza didnt fit the part of the exemplary feminist heroine for whom Western women are always searching. she found it difficult to quantify exact what made Esperanza so intriguing just that she was (p. 269). The purpose of studying his family as a concrete unit, especially next to a crackhouse in Harlem, was to get a birds-eye view of what life is like in such an impoverished, drug-fuelled area. Being close to a crack house permitted close contact with those affected by substance abuse in Harlem, thus facilitating greater investigation. There were many questions asked in In Search of Respect. One research question lied within the lower class ability to hinder its own improvement, and the reasoning behind cross-cultural conflict within the barrio. Blacks and Puerto Ricans were established as not getting along well, and mutual suspicion often leads to violence and a lack of communication. The research Bourgois conducts deals primarily with what factors lead to this mistrust, and what factors contribute to drug use and violence in such an impoverished area. 4. I found that the apparent lack of framework was troublesome for Translated Woman; Behar seems to have failed to find a basis on which to study Esperanza, except for a very loose mention of feminist depictions of Latin American women, or a perceived lack thereof. In the end, this book amounts to what is, effectively, a biography, with little real synthesis of ideas with information gleaned in the study. Instead of coming to conclusions, Behar simply compares her life with Esperanzas, making it feel like a vanity project of sorts. The notions of drug abuse and violence, as well as cross-cultural conflict, in In Search for Respect were fairly well-researched, with plenty of detailed interactions and well-collected data. However, there may have been problems with subjectivity, given that Bourgois used his own family in the ethnographic study. Perhaps a conflict of interest could provide sufficient reason to exclude details, or exaggerate them for effect, thus coloring the results of the ethnographic study. However, given that he studied all ages and genders as part of a family, at least he covered many different perspectives within this culture. 5. If I were to do a similar study, I would frame it with some sort of theoretical approach. Perhaps I would detail more readily just how feminist portrayals of Latin American women are lacking, and compare stereotypes or previous literature on the subject with my discoveries. I would not focus on one person, but instead try to ingratiate myself in a community of Latin American women, so that multiple perspectives could be gleaned. I would then be able to approach these subjects with a modicum of objectivity, and I would refrain from inserting my own life into the analysis. For Bourgois work, I would have tried to study an area in which I had no vested interest in the people I was studying, particularly if it were my family. This way, I

Essay on The First Red Scare - 1651 Words

As World War I was heading towards its end Russia was focusing on internal issues. Led by Vladimir Lenin the Bolsheviks embarked on a campaign against the war. Using propaganda which focused on trying to turn the allied troops against their officers Lenin looked to inspire a socialist revolution. The Bolsheviks were also fueled by the poor conditions of the Russian Army. Nicholas II, in a letter to his wife Alexandra, admitted the obstacles that the Russian Army faced, Again that cursed question of shortage of artillery and rifle ammunition - it stands in the way of an energetic advance. Czar Nicholas tried to deny the fact that his Army was in no condition to continue the fight. Lenin and the Bolsheviks used this information to gain†¦show more content†¦Fully 90 percent of the Communist and Anarchist agitation is traceable to aliens. Through the use of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 Palmer began his campaign against this threat against our governm ent. Palmer used this legislation as justification of his actions. The best example of Palmers manipulation of the law to take normally illegal action against suspects was on January 2nd 1920. Palmer had federal agents round up thousands of suspected subversives without respecting those individuals constitutional rights as American citizens. This was not the first time in our history that the government has backed the unnecessary persecution of a group of people based on fear that they would eventually take over the United States and change the American way of life. One event in history that has similar attributes to this period is the passing of the Chinese exclusion act. These two occurrences, although for different reasons, were very similar in the tactics that were employed to enforce and justify superfluous panic. Around the late 1870s the country was beginning to worry about the constant immigration of aliens into the Untied States. This frightened Americans. 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Blake’s Poetry is multivocal, allusive and intertextual rather than directly expressive Free Essays

â€Å"Blake’s Poetry is multivocal, allusive and intertextual rather than directly expressive; philosophic rather than immediately intelligible.† With this assertion as a point of departure I will present a critical discussion of the two poems, ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tyger’ from ‘Songs of Innocence’ and ‘Songs of Experience’ respectively, paying attention to both form and content. The two poems offered here from ‘Songs of Innocence’ and ‘Songs of Experience’ clearly support the statement that Blake’s poetry is multivocal, allusive and intertextual. We will write a custom essay sample on Blake’s Poetry is multivocal, allusive and intertextual rather than directly expressive or any similar topic only for you Order Now Both ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tyger’ seem to be alluding to certain social norms and perceptions of the time when they were written and the two of them both clearly express different feelings or opinions of the forces at play in the world around us. The two poems are clearly inter-related as they both seem to offer contrasting opinions of the nature of beings and their creators, and because of the direct reference made to the lamb in the poem ‘The Tyger’. Upon closer inspection of the poem ‘The Lamb’, we see, in lines 5 to 8, Blake offering an almost serene description of a lamb. Describing the lamb in terms of its tender voice which makes all the vales rejoice, its soft woolly coat being that of delight, and its feeding â€Å"by the stream o’er the mead† (Watson 1992: 133). Blake uses very soft and mostly monosyllabic words to create a very sombre and tender mood in this poem. The mild tone of the poem adds much to the beauteous image of the lamb that is being created. Throughout the description of the beauty of the lamb the question is also being posed of who created the lamb, as is evident in the opening two lines of the poem â€Å"Little Lamb, who made thee?†/†Dost thou know who made thee?† and by asking who gave the lamb all its beautiful qualities. The second verse of the poem offers an answer to the question of who created the lamb. The creator, God, is alluded to as an answer by saying that he calls himself a lamb and that he became a little child. Watson (1992: 133) presents the facts that â€Å"the God who made the lamb is called a lamb Himself, because He was crucified (‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain’)†, and that â€Å"He became a little child at the incarnation.† Referring to the creator as ‘meek and mild’ continues the serene feeling within the poem that was created at the description of the lamb, and adds to the already blissful view of the lamb because of the fact that they share a name. By looking at the social circumstances of the time when this poem was written, a time of great social and political revolution, where views of authority and people’s own self-worth were changing, it becomes possible to give an interpretation of the poem ‘The Lamb’ based on these social circumstances. The idea of the lamb and the child both having a name that, at different times, were used as a reference to Jesus Christ could be seen as an allusive way of Blake trying to express the fact that all creatures were created in God’s own image of himself. This point serves to enhance the fact that all people, animals and other earthly beings all have equal self-worth within the world. So at a time when people were revolting against the Catholic Churches control over them this poem could be seen as an attempt to highlight the fact that all people are equal and deserve to be treated as equals. If God created all living creatures in his perfect image of himself, whic h is a Christian belief, then all people should be granted the same status as each other. In contrast to ‘The Lamb’ we find its counterpart from ‘Songs of Experience’ – ‘The Tyger’. In this poem, as in ‘The Lamb’, there is a question of the â€Å"unseen power behind the tiger† (Watson 1992: 146). The difference behind the questioning in this poem is the mood that the questions create. The mood is not peaceful and serene as it is in ‘The Lamb’, but rather the questioning here almost gives the reader a feeling of anger and aghastness at the thought of the same creator who created the lamb creating a creature so fearful as the tiger. The continued use of the word ‘dare’ leaves the reader feeling as if the whole creation of the tiger was a shameful act. Lines such as â€Å"On what wings dare he aspire†, â€Å"what the hand, dare seize the fire†, and â€Å"what immortal hand or eye/dare frame thy fearful symmetry† all help to create and complement this feeling. From the following verse the reader is left with the sense that even the stars were angered and upset at the creation of the tiger: When the stars threw down their spears, And water’d heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee? The image of stars throwing their spears and letting their tears fall in heaven, the place where the creator, God, is believed to reside upon, leads perfectly up to the question â€Å"did he smile his work to see?† Here the question is posed as to whether the creator was happy and satisfied at his creation of the tiger. Then, in the very next breath, the question is offered as to whether it is the same creator who created both the lamb and the tiger. Thus leaving the reader thinking how it can possibly be that a divine creator can create two such opposite creatures in this world. Turning back to the social context of the time when the two poems were written it is possible then to read two contrasting lines, one from each poem, as direct metaphors for society itself. Firstly, from ‘The Tyger’ – line 2 – â€Å"in the forests of the night†, and secondly, from ‘The Lamb’ – line 4 – â€Å"by the stream and o’er the mead†. The possibility exists that Blake was expressing his fear of the existing society in ‘The Tyger’ by describing it as a â€Å"forest of the night†, which creates very dark, almost dangerous images of the existing society where one would not find much hope of serenity. The contrasting line from ‘The Lamb’, where society can be compared to a stream and a mead can be seen as Blake expressing his hope for society becoming a place as peaceful and beauteous as a stream or a mead. The tiger then can be related to the people who have control over society at this time. Those people who have ‘twisted sinews of the heart’ and who’s ‘dreaded grasp’ instil ‘deadly terrors’ into the people who they attempt to control. The revolution then can have its metaphor in ‘The Lamb’ where the fears of the people can be replaced by the hope of a life where the ‘vales rejoice’ at the ‘softness’ and ‘tenderness’ of a ‘delightful’ life. In ‘The Lamb’ Blake is perhaps expressing a child like innocence at the thought of living life in the perfect image that God has created for man. Moving on to ‘The Tyger’ Blake might be showing us that with experience our views of the world around us and the way that we exist within it are much harsher than what a child would dream it to be. These two poems are both written in the form of a lyric and are done so in order for Blake to express his immediate thoughts and feelings at a specific point in time. The fairly short length of the poems and the simple rhyming schemes, coupled with the contrasting choice of words in each respective poem add to the immediate effect of the feelings, images and moods created within the poems. The inter-relatedness of the two poems gives the reader a very complete feeling of the mood surrounding the time when they were written. Blake’s poetry is clearly philosophic in all concerns and cannot be seen as directly expressive or immediately intelligible. The allusiveness and inter-relatedness of his poetry is clearly expressed in the two poems ‘The Lamb’ and ‘the Tyger’ form ‘Songs of Innocence’ and ‘Songs of Experience’ respectively. These two poems present two contrasting views of a world and a creator that we are all inextricably tied to but all experience under different social and political conditions and are all able to understand and experience completely differently. 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