Les Miserables By Victor Hugo -Social Injustice Essay

Les Miserables By Victor Hugo -Social Injustice - Essay Example These themes are stressed by Hugo’s thoughts and views on politics, religion and justice; this forms a major part of the discourse. Though each of the mentioned themes are evident throughout the novel, they become more clearer on following certain characters who form the spine of the novel. These are, Jean Valjean and Javert, it is through these characters that we witness the extent of social injustice in early France. Social Injustice in Early France Social justice takes many forms; however, this study restricts its analysis to the three forms of social injustice highlighted by Hugo. Hugo in his book Les Miserables brings into focus three areas that require urgent attention, education, criminal justice and the welfare of women. These also happen to constitute a major part of social injustice not only as discussed by Hugo but also as highlighted by different social definitions. A look at France at the time of Hugo’s writing reveals a largely stratified society which was yet to receive the promises and aspirations of those who participated in the French revolution of 1789. It is understood that proper governance which would inevitably translate to social justice was one of the major driving force prior to the French Revolution. Therefore, it was hoped that with the revolution social justice would be achieved. Social justice in this regard referred to equitable distribution of resources, observance of equity in terms of gender and equal employment opportunities. However, close to a century after the revolution this still remained a pipe dream as highlighted in Hugo’s book. French socialists largely blamed capitalism; they argued that capitalism was an immoral system. They looked at capitalism as the reason behind the long working hours, child labor, poverty of working people, unemployment, income inequalities, social injustice and multiple other problems (Pejovich 18). It is these very concerns that form the backdrop of Hugo’s Les Mise rables, he is concerned of the rampant inequality and disregard of human equity. This particular concern is highlighted in the case of Fantine a young energetic woman. She is left to care for her child after the child’s father deserts them; she undergoes immeasurable suffering including a six month jail term for defending her dignity. This is just one instance of injustice against women in the novel; other injustices identified by the French sociologists are rife in Hugo’s book. Child labour is seen in the case of Cosette, Fantine’s daughter who is forced to work by her custodians who still go ahead to demand money for her upkeep. In short, early France was driven by struggles between two main stratifications, the rich and the poor. The rich decided how the poor would lead their lives and provided for systems which completely ignored the rights and privileges of the poor. Most notably, they used law enforcers to continually suppress the poor in a bid to ensure s ubordination. The face of such force in Hugo’s Les Miserables is Javert, Javer was born of a convict father but later denounced both his parents. He chose to work in prison as a guard; at one point he was mandated to guard against a chain gang whose one of the members happened to be Jean Valjean. Javert later on joins the police force, through his new position he is mandated to rid the city off offenders. One of the offenders is Jean Valjean who is apparently a repeat

Political Science Major Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Science Major - Research Paper Example The New York Times, in an effort to bring a balance to this debate, allowed an exchange of ideas regarding the topic â€Å"Do Police Use Deadly Force Too Often†. I have chosen to use the same topic as the thesis statement for this essay since this is a timely and quite controversial topic that does not seem to have an accurate response in sight. It is my personal opinion that the police have not been using excessive force when dealing with dangerous situations. I will be presenting my supporting opinion in the latter part of this essay. In the meantime, I will be presenting both sides of the issue and hopefully, end up offering some knowledge and considerations to the reader that have not been a part of their consideration of the topic before. Seth Stoughton,a professor from the University of South Carolina School of Law has had the privilege of being both a police officer and a state investigator. He shared his opinion with the New York Times regarding the debate about use of excessive force. It was his opinion that the wrong question is being asked in the debate. Rather than having a public that asks if the shooting was justified, the public should instead be asking if the shooting could have been avoided (Stoughton, Seth â€Å"Police Shouldnt Ask If a Shooting is Justified, But if its Avoidable†). Stoughton spoke from a unique perspective. Having had the experience of a police officer and state investigator, he has found himself in the same situation as the officers accused of using excessive force. The opinion he raised was based upon his personal experience and first hand knowledge of the common scenarios that the police are called upon to respond to. He knew that police officers face extreme circumstances eve ryday. It was his opinion that the use of extreme force cannot be avoided, but it can be limited. Stoughton explains: The tragic shooting of Tamir Rice last November puts the difference between â€Å"justified† and â€Å"avoidable† in stark

How Should American Colleges adjust themselves for International Essay

How Should American Colleges adjust themselves for International Students - Essay Example In addition, in the field of policy of the foreign the United States and other more developed countries’ colleges educate many of those who take positions in leadership. Especially in other countries, this in the end may benefit relations between nations (Kegel 1). In addition, International students from international communities who chose to study in America colleges are mostly the bright students in their home nations and are also very motivated and focused students. However, these international students face a merge of challenges from the time they report to college. One of the challenges, for instance, English proficiency may be particularly problematic for most students from internationally. For example, in China, English is not taught through a speaking form but rather more through writing. As a result, many students from China know English vocabulary and grammar better, but have a hard time in conversing in English. International students from the international community mostly have challenges in understanding lectures, taking part in class discussions, writing term papers and taking notes. These students may also have difficulty understanding U.S English accents, idioms, slang, accents, and jokes. More so, international students may h owever think that they are incompetent in English conversational to participate in class (Kuo 1). However to make this matter more complex, the corporate world and community want students to grow and learn during college. Employers, parents of all students, and the public at large expect that college graduates will have gained adequate knowledge and certain abilities, qualities, and skills, including career cognitive and competencies when undertaking practical. They will demonstrate a given high level of competency in critical thinking, working as teamwork, resilience, solving problems and communication. They will be committed to social and personal

Facilitate Learning and Assessment in the Clinical Environment Essay

Facilitate Learning and Assessment in the Clinical Environment - Essay Example This paper will define the key theory usage of rubric that is the focal point in the hybrid-problem based learning system that has tremendous benefits for any academic center and depicts the ideal relationship between the tutor and the tutee. The current model in the nursing field is to design a challenging curriculum, develop courses, teaching and guiding learners, clinical trials, and finally evaluating along with documenting the outcomes. However, research indicates that few attempts have been made to analyze  changes in relation to the quality of service and patient recovery in United Kingdom. The current reflective model has several aims for the young nurses to be successful.   The current UK model aims to meet the aspirations of the modern medical healthcare services by increasing the recruitment of nurses. One of the most critical components for these young medical professional is to put them in an environment in which they can enhance their skill base and competences with the hosptial’s development progress. More focus is emphasized on training while increasing the staff morale in midst of adversities. Furthermore, the goal was to escalate the interpersonal communications of these students in order for them to communicate with their patients. It is evident that patients and the hospitals want to have this symbotic relationship in which habits of trust and confidentiality are solidified. In today’s modern world of academics, assessing students is a vital component towards evaluating the students’ performances.   The benchmark of assessment is not standard as it varies all across the academic universities in United States and plays a vital role towards the learning process of the student. While students can be assessed through participation and homework, testing is at times required to evaluate students. English is one of the most complex languages in existence as it contains many grammatical intricacies and multiple-meaning wor ds. The issue of testing is sensitive towards students. Many students feel that some methods of testing are unjust as they fail to measure the competence levels of their language proficiency that extends beyond a traditional â€Å"pen and paper based test.† A good test should take both cognitive and verbal proficiency into account in order to assess the learning process. Nursing  education has a body of knowledge on which nurse educator is based on teaching, educational strategies, and curricular designs, but most importantly the knowledge base, which is based on experience. A model that should be developed for nursing students should be simple in order to facilitate the process. It should consist of peer collaboration, discussion, research and testing along with shadowing a medical professional. These steps are vital because they solidify the foundation of core competencies along with remedying deficiencies. Education in health begins with the young generations being more involved in mentoring rather than filling in the blanks of a test. This theory is supported by many scholars as more effective as it enables students to gain a better understanding of the overall approach that occurs. The traditional methods that the most classrooms enforce consist of giving mindless repetition of written drills to teach Math, Science, and English.   Many factors affect international student’s ability to acquire these subject matters since the pressure is on them to excel through a letter grade. That poses a huge problem for

Compare how the wellness understood in 2 different country(west or Essay

Compare how the wellness understood in 2 different country(west or east) - Essay Example However, the United States of America’s national wellness association has defined wellness as â€Å"an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence† (Walters, VI) The physical well being of individuals encompasses all the physical and psychological process exhibited by individuals and demands the input of energy by the individual. This includes the physiological process as well as the well being of the individual in terms of lack of disabilities. This is understood in the same perspective in which the two nations put more emphasis on the absence of the diseases and the general health of individuals. People with diseases are perceived not to be healthy and hence are looked at in a different view. The physical well being of individuals therefore depends much on the ability of the government to put infrastructures that are mainly meant to improve on the health status of the people. However, for the Romans sex plays an important role in determining an individual wellness and health as a whole. As documented in the writings of Foucault (157), Pleasure that was derived from the ancient practices played an important part in individuals living long lives. However to the Eastern nations like Pakistan sex is looked at a taboo especially sex before marriage and hence an individuals could be disowned by the society. The social element of wellness includes the activities that are mainly directed towards the understanding of the social relationships (Marsela, 142). This includes the communication and interaction activities that are meant in nurturing such relationships. Nurtured relationship does not only begin at the older age within the communities but begin at an early age since it influences the personality and moral behaviors of individuals in the future. With regard to the social well being of the people, the nations to the east such as Pakistan have placed more emphasis on women. For the western nations, richn ess is important and determines an individual’s wellness and respect from the society. Sex, marriage and the general respect to the women is vital component of the social well being in the Pakistan community. Sex before marriage is therefore viewed as loss of social well being of an individual and for the women it can cost dearly. In other words issues of marriage and the sex before marriage define the wellness of an individual in the society. This is different in the Romans in which the social wellbeing is defined by the ability of the people to interact freely without restrictions. Unlike in Pakistan, it does not put more weight on social wellness with regard to the marriage or sex before marriage. In the Romans, wellness is not just a mere absence of disease but it encompasses even more aspects of the well being such as the self assessment. In this context, it is different from health since health is a subjective term while wellness is more of objective. The argument here is that health can be defined as the absence of disease and can therefore be measured and tested with the scientific methods to ascertain the healthy standard of an individual. The determination by the physician through the laboratory methods is enough to assert that an individual is free from disease and hence is healthy. On the other hand, wellness is different. It is more of subjective attribute of human life and hence difficult to measure. Self assessment and

The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas Essay Example for Free

The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas Essay The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is about this boy that is called Bruno that’s 8 years old and his dad is a Nazi officer. Bruno has an older sister, a maid, 3 best friends that are called Daniel, Karl, Martin, and of course a mom and a dad. Bruno and his family have to move to Berlin to a new house because his dad got promoted because he had a chance to meet the â€Å"The Fury† (Adolf Hitler) to be control of a concentration camp. Bruno had to leave to a new house and his three friends. When he gets to his new home he doesn’t like it and feels homesick because there was nothing fun to do or had any friends to play with. One day when Bruno sneaked out of his house and was wondering in the wood and saw a camp that he thought that was a farm but it was actually a concentration camp. When he got closer and closer then he saw this kid that was the same age as him and was called Shmuel and a fence where separating them. Then they started talking and became friends. Then each day Bruno started bringing him food. Then Shmuel told Bruno the truth that he was imprisoned because he was a Jew and Bruno didn’t care. One day Shmuel got caught eating a cake by a Nazi officer and Bruno with him. Then Shmuel explained that Bruno gave it to him and Bruno denied what Shmuel said. Several days passed and Bruno didn’t go visit Shmuel. Until one day he went to see Shmuel and he had a black eye and Bruno apologizes for it and they become friends again. Days passed and they both planned that Bruno would be in the other side of the fence with Shmuel so they can play all day. When Bruno got to the other side of the fence some Nazi officers appeared to take the Jews to the gas chamber. Then his mom told his dad that Bruno is missing and they went to look for them. When they got to the concentration camp Bruno’s dad told him to not turn on the gas chamber. It was all too late and when they got there they found out that Bruno was already dead. The movie was based during World War II and its located in Germany Berlin most of the time. This was where some of the concentration camps where located at and that’s where the main character of the lives. The Nazi party blamed and made propagandas about the Jews that they were the fault why Germany is in the ruined. The reaction of many countries for Germany’s action was going to war with them. The Allied powers were the Americans, France, United Kingdom, and Poland. The Axis powers were the Germans, Japan, and Italy. Many of the Germans where supporting Hitler because they thought that he could make Hitler a strong country again. The War lasted between the years 1939-1945. The camp that Bruno’s dad was in charged (Auschwitz) was an actual camp during World War II. This was accurate to because the holocaust really happened. The fact that people was actually beaten up and putted in gas chamber really happened to. Somewhere inaccurate to because the Nazis would have killed people that weren’t able to work. Shmuel wasn’t old enough to work so he should have been one of the first persons to die. The concentration camps fences had electricity. So Bruno wouldn’t be able to crawl under the fence because he would have been electrocuted. I thought that the movie was really sad and really good. The sad part was that Bruno and Shmuel died at the end because they were innocent. It was really good to because it was a very well built movie with some accurate facts and at the same time inaccurate facts. This made me learn not that much about WWII because I still remembered all this stuff from 8th grade but it still refreshed my mind on how WWII was. Citation Page 1. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html 2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II 3. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis powers 4. www.worldwar-2.net/

Spanish Language Varieties in Spain and in Mexico

Spanish Language Varieties in Spain and in Mexico Spanish language varieties in Spain and in Mexico. George Bernard Shaw regarded Great Britain and America as ‘two countries divided by a common language’. This viewpoint can be also applied to Spain and Mexico, the Spanish-speaking countries with different language varieties and dialects that have been formed under the influence of specific historical, cultural, political and social events. Despite the fact that Spanish is spoken in many countries, the major varieties of Spanish can be observed in Latin America and Spain, where the language, according to Clare Mar-Molinero (2000), â€Å"is buoyant and secure† (p.18). Spanish belongs to the Indo-European language family and comes from Vulgar Latin language, although Spanish vocabulary consists of Italian, French and Arabic words. Spanish language in Latin America has five major varieties: the Caribbean, the South American Pacific, the Argentinian-Uruguyan-Paraguayan, the Central American, and the Highland (or Standard) Latin American. However, this classification is too generalised, as it is based only on the differences in pronunciation. Due to â€Å"the immensity of the territory where Latin American Spanish is spoken† (Lipski, 1994 p.3), linguists analyse language varieties â€Å"along geographical, political, ethnic, musicological and social lines† (Lipski, 1994 p.3). The residents of Mexico mainly use the Caribbean and Highland Latin American dialects that emerged after the formation of Peruvian Spanish. Nahuatl dialect that belongs to the Uto-Aztecan language group (Andrews, 1975) and has â€Å"the greatest influence in centra l Mexico† (Lipski, 1994 p.6) is an ancient Spanish dialect. About one million Mexican people speak Nahuatl dialect nowadays. In Spain there are also two principal language varieties – the Castilian and the Andalusian dialects that were formed in the middle ages, although some regions of Northern and Southern Spain create other specific dialects. As Spanish language descends from Castile, the Spanish region that became a centre of political significance since the thirteenth century, the Castilian dialect is one of the most widespread varieties and is accepted as a national criterion in Spain. Mar-Molinero (2000) considers that the phenomenon of ‘Castilianisation’ was initiated by the Visigoths; however, it was only in the eighteenth century when the Castilian dialect displaced other language varieties as a result of Charles’ III 1768 declaration, demonstrating a profound impact of political prevalence on linguistic prevalence. Mar-Molinero (2000) also states that the Andalusian dialect considerably influenced the formation of the Standard Latin American (pp.36-37), although this viewpoint is strongly opposed by sociolinguists. Other crucial language varieties in Spain are Euskara, Galician and Catalan; these dialects have some parallels with Portuguese and French languages, although they do not belong to the Indo-European language family. The emergence of these three Spanish varieties is closely connected with the spread of nationalism. The Levantine varieties also constitute an important group of dialects utilised in such Spanish regions as Alicante, Valencia and Castellà ³n. People in these areas currently use Catalan/Valencian, Murcian, Andalusian, Aragon, and La Manche/Castile dialects. The differences in all these Spanish language varieties attribute to pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar (Penny, 2000). In particular, pronunciation of the Standard Latin American differs from the Castilian, similar to the dissimilarities between British English and American English. In the Castilian dialect the sounds ‘ce’ or ‘ci’ are changed into ‘th’: ‘gracias’ (thanks) appears as ‘gratheas’; however, in the Standard Latin American the word ‘gracias’ is pronounced as ‘gras-see-as†. Such separate pronunciation of the word ‘grasseeas’ is a characteristic feature of the Standard Latin American dialect. In the Castilian dialect some words are ended in a vocable vowel, losing their last consonants, while two Mexican dialects are characterised by the pronunciation of final consonants. Overall, the speech in Mexico is slow in comparison with the speech in the majority of Spanish regio ns (Hill Hill, 1986); however, the Caribbean, or Lowland dialect is defined as a rather prompt and informal variety of Spanish language. In addition to the differences in pronunciation, there are some differences in grammar. In Mexican Spanish ‘ustedes’ (you) is utilised both for formal and informal address, while in Castilian Spanish there are two words for formal and informal address – ‘ustedes’ and ‘vosotros’, respectively. Some verbs in the Caribbean and Highland Latin American dialects have changed their initial forms, acquiring certain Anglicisms and Americanisms. In particular, Mexican residents say, â€Å"Apliquà © a la Universidad† (I applied to the university), while Spanish people utilise a more precise form – ‘Postulà © a la universidad’. Similarly, Spaniards in Spain prefer to utilise pasado perfecto (the compound tense that is similar to English Present Perfect tense): ‘Yo he viajado a los Estados Unidos’ (I have travelled to the USA). Mexican people use a more simplified tense – pretà ©rito indefinido (Englis h Past Indefinite), for example, â€Å"Viajà © a Estados Unidos† (I travelled to the USA). According to Julia Kristeva (1989), â€Å"Language is so intimately linked to man and society that they are inseparable† (p.3); thus, the utilisation of Anglicisms and Americanisms in Mexican Spanish reflects historical and social differences between Spain and Mexico. Duncan Green (1997) points at the impact of the United States on language and identity of Mexican population; in particular, the author states that â€Å"The mass media has become a battleground in the struggle to define Latin American’s identity† (pp.98-99). The simplification of Spanish language in Mexico reveals that various social changes modify language, and language shapes the identity of Mexican people. As Mar-Molinero (2000) states, â€Å"Not only does language have an instrumental role as a means of communication, it also has an extremely important symbolic role as marker of identity† (p.3). Due to the fact that social identities of Mexican and Spanish people differ, Spanish language of Mexico and Spain is characterised by a rather diverse vocabulary. For instance, the word ‘Okay’ is translated as ‘Sale’ in Mexico, and as ‘Chungo’ – in Madrid; similarly, the word ‘work’ is rendered as ‘chambear’ in Mexico and as ‘currar’ – in Spain. Another difference that distinguishes Mexican Spanish from Spanish in Spain is the preservation of archaisms in the Caribbean and Highland Latin American dialects. Such words and expressions as ‘Órale’ (All right), ‘Ya mero’ (almost) or ‘Quà © pedo?† (What is going on?) are normal for Mexican Spanish, but they are not utilised in Spain. John Lipski (1994) considers that these language varieties emerged as a result of cultural and social interactions of Spain and Mexico with other countries. The Standard Latin American dialect was considerably influenced by Italian and African immigrants who arrived in Latin America at the end of the nineteenth – the beginning of the twentieth centuries (Lipski, 1994 pp.11-12). Skidmore and Smith (2000) reveal the similar viewpoint, claiming that in Latin America â€Å"languages, food, sports, and music all show profound and continuing African influence† (p.356). Simultaneously, the Standard Lat in American and the Caribbean dialects reflect native roots, especially Indian roots that are rather distinct in Mexican Spanish. For instance, the language of the Mayans serves as the basis for more than thirty dialects in Mexico, let alone the language of the Aztecs. In particular, many modern Mexican dialects preserve initial and final sounds tl- in certain words, like ‘Nahuatl’, ‘Quetzalcoatl’, the god of Aztecs, or ‘Tlaxcala’, Mexican state. As Skidmore and Smith (2000) point out, â€Å"Aside from the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas, there were many other Indian cultures. In the area of modern-day Mexico alone there were over 200 different linguistic groups† (p.14). However, the impact of the Castilian language on the formation of Mexican Spanish is the greatest, as the Castilian was the only language taught in Mexican schools with the arrival of Spanish settlers. Thus, three major aspects aggravated the differences between Spanish spoken in Spain and Spanish spoken in Mexico: Spanish settlements in Mexico, immigration of English, Italian and African people, and finally, linguistic drift. Analysing Spanish language varieties in Mexico and Spain, the essay demonstrates that the differences mainly exist in spoken language, influencing such linguistic aspects as vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. The Caribbean and Highland Latin American dialects in Mexico and the Castilian and the Andalusian dialects in Spain are characterised by diverse accent, idioms and unique words, but these variants are integral parts of Spanish language. As a result of various social and political changes, modern Mexican Spanish has been exposed to the process of Americanisation, which considerably simplifies vocabulary and grammar of Spanish dialects in Mexico and intensifies the differences between Mexican Spanish and Spanish spoken in Spain. The spread of travels and mass media changes Spanish language in both Mexico and various areas of Spain, revealing unique cultural identities of different Spanish-speaking groups.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Bibliography Andrews, J. R. (1975) Introduction to Classical Nahuatl. Austin, University of Texas. Green, D. (1997) Faces of Latin America. Nottingham, Russell Press, Latin American Bureau. Hill, J. H. and Hill, K.C. (1986) Speaking Mexicano. Tucson, University of Arizona Press.   Kristeva, J. (1989) Language: The Unknown An Initiation Into Linguistics. London, Harvest Wheatsheaf. Lipski, J.M. (1994) Latin American Spanish. London, New York, Longman. Mar-Molinero, C. (2000) The Politics of Language in the Spanish-Speaking World from Colonization to Globalization. London, New York, Routledge. Penny, R. (2000) Variation and Change in Spanish. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Skidmore, T. E. and Smith, P.H. (2000) Modern Latin America. 5th edition. Oxford, Oxford University Press.