Relationship Between Racist Symbols and Prejudice

Relationship Between Racist Symbols and Prejudice Pre-test measures Image and question selection was twofold, primarily, the author identified possible images against three criteria political, general and racial, selected from a general cross-section of images located on internet sites identified by the search race hate groups white supremacy and political symbols. Various Discussion groups were then facilitated, one prisoners and one civilian group[1]. The dual grouping was to negate any prisoner only bias. Twenty selected images were displayed in each of the three categories to each group separately. The means of display was in a room which had reduced lighting and the individual images being projected onto screen. A semi-structured discussion then followed with the facilitator noting each image, which appeared to raise awareness or interest within the group. The images selected for treatment use were seven racial, five political (with a balance between parties) and two general (see appendix A). Further discussion groups with different prisoners a nd civilians; incorporating a variety of closed and open-ended questions being tabled around a different selection of images, which were similar in design to those already selected for use in the experiment. The responses from within these groups were noted as to which questions appeared to raise awareness or interest from each pilot group. Thus the questions selected were: Three scales were used as outcome measures in this experiment: British Prejudice Scale: The British Prejudice Scale (BPS) (Lepore Brown, 1997) is the amalgamation of several existing instruments: the Modern Racism Scale, the New Racism Scale and the Subtle and Blatant Prejudice Scale. The authors subtly altered these scales post-amalgamation to make them appropriate for white British respondents. The scale is designed as a general measure of anti-black prejudice. This scale was chosen because it contains a substantial component of anti-immigration, anti-foreigner sentiment. This sentiment closely approximates out-group hostility, distance and perceived worldview threats that are central to the theoretical argument being developed in this thesis. The internal consistency for this scale is high, Cronbach a=.92 (Lepore Brown, 1997).The scale consists of 15 questions answered on a scale from 1 7 (strongly agree to strongly disagree) and are summed indicating a range from 15 (high prejudice) to 105 (low prejudice). Thus a respondent scoring lower on this scale will be deemed more racist than a person with a high score. Social Dominance Orientation Scale: The Social Dominance Orientation Scale (SDO) (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth Malle, 1994), measures individual differences in the extent to which respondents prefer inequality among social groups. There are four separate versions of this scale; the 16-item scale has been selected for use in these experiments to allow other measures to be included. According to the scales authors, SDO is not a direct measure of racial attitudes, but, like authoritarianism, is a focal part of social ideology that predicts a wide range of political and racial attitudes. The measure has strong internal consistency, Cronbach a= .84 (Pratto et al., 1994). SDO conceptualises the importance of racial and political attitudes and therefore will be a direct measure of racial attitudes. It is purported that a person high in SDO will quite probably develop a negative attitude towards some group that is low in status or prestige. Further indications are that for those respondents high in SDO display a tendency to favour hierarchical relationships within groups and suggest an alignment of superior-inferior dimensions. According to the authors, individuals high in SDO accept legitimising myths that include racial and ethnic prejudice, nationalism, patriotism, separation between high and low culture, sexism, meritocracy and political conservatism (Pratto et all., 1994). Scale items are scored on a 1-7 (very positive to very negative) scale and scores are averaged across items. Thus a respondent scoring higher on this scale would indicate a stronger social dominance orientation or more prone to racist thinking than a person with lower scores. Selection of this scale was important to the study because those high in SDO display out-group hostility or denigration and would therefore likely seek to ensure a greater social distance from members of those out-groups. In addition the scale has been designed to independently indicate racism as apart from traditional pol itical ideology. Social Distance Scale: The Social Distance Scale (SDS) (Bogardus, 1933) was designed to measure the extent to which people want to keep a distance and avoid intimate contact between themselves and people from different racial, ethnic, national or social groups. The scale has a high internal consistency, with Cronbach a greater than .90 (Kleg Yamamoto, 1995, Mielenz, 1997, Osei-Kwame Achola, 1981). The scale consists of measuring first feeling reactions to a list of social, racial, ethnic and national groups ranging from regarding distant social contact (e.g., as visitors to ones country) to the most intimate (e.g., as a family member by marriage). In Bogarduss original scoring method (1933) a low score on this scale indicates the person is less inclusive or welcoming of out-group members than those respondents with a high score. Unlike the British Prejudice Scale and the Social Dominance Orientation Scales, which utilise closed-ended questions and Likert scales, the Social Distance Scale design is based on the uni dimensional Guttman-type scale. Clear written instructions on how to respond to the questionnaire and each scale were provided to all respondent prior to each scale. The British Prejudice Scale and the Social Dominance Orientation Scales being of the closed question style were pre-coded and the response sets were in a Likert scale, this allowing for ease of analysis. The Social Distance Scale design is based on the uni-dimensional Guttman-type scale, with increasing levels of intimacy. Clear written instructions on how to respond to the questionnaire and each scale were provided to all respondent prior to each scale. The main body of the questionnaire, as previously noted, was pre-determined by the use of existing scales. Consideration at this stage was given to a methodology of image presentation, due to the social undesirability of racial comments, and it was further considered unlikely that respondents would answers openly and honestly if they were fully aware that they were being questioned about racist attitudes. Furthermore, fully informed consent was not realistic prior to the experiment. The selected scales were already of a political nature by being measurements of political attitudes. The scales used dictated the information required, therefore consideration only had to be given to the construction, format ordering and filler questions required to ensure the deception was successful. The filler questions were selected by using a pre-general election governmental questionnaire[2] . It has been acknowledged that the style of question can influence the reported response, thus this method, by which elimination of any bias from the researcher is effected was deemed the most appropriate methodology. The questions were subsequently piloted,[3] with random introduction, the facilitator noting the level to which questions appeared to lead or invoke discussion or a better response from the group members. These questions were then used to fill the questionnaire and disguise the real intention of the measure. The design of the questionnaire was against two specific criteria, simplicity of administration and level of cognition of intended recipients prisoners. Instructions and layout were deliberately simple with additional concentration on ensuring the design was short, thus ensuring a minimisation of respondent fatigue and high response rate. The demographics were selected to identify length in prison, first or further prison sentence, number of previous prison sentences, age and level of education, thus allowing for statistical tests for possible influence or bias. Post-test measures The study investigated whether exposure to racist signs and symbols impacted participants scores on measures associated with hate and prejudice. The hypothesis was tested in seven different ways, firstly against the British Prejudice Scale, which was designed as a measure of anti-black prejudice; Secondly, against the Social Dominance Orientation Scale, the Social Dominance Orientation Scale conceptualising the importance of racial and political attitudes, therefore being a direct measure of racial attitudes. The next five tests of the hypothesis were sub-components of the Social Distance Scale which measures the extent by which people want to keep a distance and avoid increasing amounts of intimate contact between themselves and people from different racial, ethnic, national or social groups. A Man-Whitney U[4] test was conducted to determine whether the experimental and the control groups were comparable, on the demographic information from the sample. The demographic variables used in this experiment were length in prison (time spent in present establishment), first time in prison (whether or not this was a first custodial sentence), previous times in prison (number of previous custodial sentences), length of sentence (length of present custodial sentence), age and education. Independent t-tests were also conducted using the British Prejudice Scale, and the various elements of the Social Distance Scale scores. In order to take into account multiple testing, a Bonferroni adjustment[5] was also calculated. Analyses of covariance[6] were considered but no variances in dependant variables were apparent. Hypothesis The primary hypothesis of this research is that viewing racist signs and symbols increases prejudice against out-groups and factors associated with racism and hate. FINDINGS British Prejudice Scale On average, the control group scored significantly higher on the British Prejudice Scale (M= 64.67, SD= 16.41) than the experiment group (M= 36.68, SD= 18.46). The results of the test were significant (t(126) = 9.08, p=

Messaging in 2.0 World

IntroductionIt has become apparent that all sectors of the economy are depending on the technology development for the organizational growth and for their general economic growth. Jennewein (2005) has argued that in the business sector of the current century, the requirements are different from the past century. This is because in the 20th century, the business enterprises depended on physical aspects such as land and machines for business success.This has however changed and the 21st century businesses are depending on intangible assets such as knowledge and know how of its employees, as well as intellectual property rights. This has forced companies if they are to succeed in any business endeavor to create and update new technological competencies and replace all obsolete technologies and products within the organization.Technology has also improved the mode of providing education system to both the learners and the teachers, especially in the library use. The use of technology in libraries has a backdated history as in early eighties as has been argued by Grosch (1995), that,the decade of the eighties would bring systems technology and new electronic forms of access to smaller library through the microcomputer. A more global view of automated library systems would emerge. Communications and linking of users to library systems remotely with gateways to arrays of locally available databases were becoming a brighter possibility. Finally library automation and application of the computer to bibliographic activities would become a natural phenomena since parent organization also were evolving to a more global information systems strategy, (pp.49).Messaging in a 2.0 worldLearning and teaching is supposed to be fun and enjoyed to the student and the teacher. There are different ways that education can be made easy and enjoyable. One of the ways is by undertaking technologically changes that can make the learning and teaching process to be easy.   Technology makes availability and use of learning materials easily accessed and to go with the current economic requirements.Technology changes have been continuously making the learning and teaching process easier for the student and the tutor. Materials can be easily accessed and shared among the different users of such materials. For instance, the new web 2.0 sites slideshare enables people to share presentations on slideshows.It is also possible to use the system to â€Å"upload PowerPoint, open office, keynote or PDF presentation, tag them into your blog or website, browse others’ presentations and comment on individual slides†, (Stephens 2007 pg 61). This has increased knowledge sharing as one can be able to know immediately what others feel about the work they’ve done, and where there is need of improvement.These kinds of changes in technology have made information not to be seen as a container of value but the knowledge alongside the changes. Knowledge, like all the oth er sectors keeps on changing and people have to keep pace with the changing technology so as to ensure they are not left behind in development or, in competitive advantage in businesses.Twitter messaging is a means of the current technology being used widely. To understand how twitter functions, think of it â€Å"like a personal IM account that can be shared with everyone. Once you have a twitter account set up, you can send short IM, SMS or web-based messages to twitter†, (King, 2007).Therefore, twitter can be defined as a system that allows users to update messages containing up to a maximum of 140 characters to the twitter website via SMS, Instant Messaging or e-mails. The updates will be displayed to the profile pages of the user and instantly delivered to the other end user who has signed up to receive them.Uses of messaging 2.0 world in libraries.The web 2.0 technology is becoming more useful in the library use. It is widely used especially in communicating in conferenc es, keeping up with the development in the filed and promoting library services.Ruby on rail technology is one of the of the twitter technology that can be used to keep track of the library employees. According to Williams (2006), â€Å"Ruby on rails is an open source web development framework that allows you to rapidly develop data-driven applications using ruby programming language†. An application in this context refers to web applications such as Basecamp and flickr. Ruby rails programming can be used in many computer applications including Basecamp, blogging platforms (e.g. Mephisto) and twitter.Twitter is the most interesting of the Ruby Rails as it enables one to keep track of the colleagues whenever they are by the use of SMS text messaging, Instant Messaging or the web by posting updates (Williams, 2006). To use the twitter to track a person, the cell phone is set to use the twitter and an SMS is send to the twitter short code, containing the updates, the message wil l be automatically posted to the twitter site. With this, it will be possible to spread the contacts cell phones so as to see what those in the contact phone are doing.  This kind of technology is being used in libraries to trace down the employees of the library in an organization. It will be possible to know if the employees are at their workstations or not, and the exact work they are doing. There are many new methods of communication that comes up on a daily basis in the organization due to technological changes. It is therefore important that the organization chooses the method that is more suitable and appropriate to the organization.In library organizations messaging technology allows the employees to set up twitter accounts and share their information. The workers can be able to locate coworkers Instant Messaging name. It can also help employees to know exactly the working hours of their colleagues and thus be able to relay any information or seek any urgent information at that particular time. While working with this system, it is possible that the patron might also stumble on the employee’s information while browsing and thus send reference question to the employee’s site.Another means that the SMS can be used in libraries is through referencing. The first SMS referencing mode was started at the South Eastern Louisiana University by Mr. Hill in 2005, (LibranInBlack. Net, 2005).The reference uses the Altarama referencing system. The system operates between 8 am – 9 pm, as this is the period that the librarians are around to answer questions from the clients. The SMS/text messaging referencing systems of the South Eastern Louisiana University is limited to 160 characters. The SMS that is send to the librarian reaches the end as an e-mail and then when the librarian answers the email, it gets to the other end user as an SMS. Because the librarian is only required to use short answers, it will not create problems related to typing especially to those who have a poor typing speed. This will ensure that the replies are not delayed because of the typing problem.The Altarama referencing system has got unique text messaging numbers set bundles of text messages. For the email on the librarian side, the system allows the products to run seamlessly with MS outlook. The Library number is always the sender, hence the email message will stand out in the inbox of the recipient.   If the recipient is using outlook, it is possible to reply directly through email. â€Å"If not, you [the recipient] need to use whatever e-mail program you are using and manually respond (copying and pasting in the ‘to’ field)†, (LibranInBlack. Net, 2005).The South Eastern Louisiana University referencing system tried as much as possible to limit the characters to 160. Responses can be sent in multiple messages but the librarians’ try as much as possible to have only one message. This is because the system gives the m room to do this by automatically abbreviating some words, such as, for -4, too-2.The system also helps to keep the exact time that the transaction took place and the number of the transactions without keeping the actual messages of the transactions that took place. The library systems only accepts text messaging and not images. Therefore, incase a person sends an image message, the library will indicate error message.The synchronous messaging system in the libraries allows real- time communication between individuals. â€Å"Librarians have began employing it to provide ‘chat reference’ services, where patrons can synchronously communicate with librarians much as they would in a face – to – face reference context, (Manness, 2006).Manness argues that Web 2.0 is considered to be consistent with tenet 2.0 as it â€Å"allows for collaboration between the patrons and librarians, it allows a more dynamic experience than the fundamentally static, created-then- consume nature of 1.0 service†.The importance of using this mode of interaction in the successor of the library system has enabled the librarian to adopt the successors of the library web system more quickly and expertly. There have been improvement in the instant messaging that have seen the inclusion of audio and video messaging also becoming increasingly common in the library use.Libraries have started placing â€Å"links to their charts reference service within resources themselves such as at the article level in subscription data bases†, (Manness, 2006). The system has been developed so that the chart reference takes place within the framework of the library system as much as it could have been when dealing with a physical library patron.Library 2.0 has also been designed to offer immediate help to a user whenever it seems that there is a problem in using the library system. This is possible when certain user behaviors are detected in the system. The common behavio r that can indicate the librarian patron that the user needs help in the use of the library service is when a â€Å"user browses through certain materials repeating steps and moving cyclically through a classification scheme or series of resources,† Manness (2006). The use of a synchronous messaging service is useful tool to the patrons in giving the assistance to the library user  Ã‚   whenever in problem of accessing library materials.Librarians have been using the messaging system to promote the service of the library. Library creates several twitter accounts and sends messages to its client’s in various categories informing them of the services offered at the library. Since the message gets to the end use instantly, it becomes an effective tool in carrying out promotional activities compared to the other mode of media communication. Therefore, to be completely in competitive environment like any other business organizations, libraries have got to tactically promo te its services to attract more users of its products. In promotion, libraries have especially benefited through the technology in reaching to their clients in the remote area easily.The new technology of library 2.0 implies that the librarians take the library to where the users are instead of the users going to the library. These sites are also important in that they put the library where the users are, and especially meets the needs of the users who are constantly on the move.There are still increased numbers of libraries world wide adopting the system of the SMS referencing. The Lee Kong Chian Reference Library has adopted the SMS referencing system because of the high penetration of cellular phones in Singapore. The increased number of cellular phones and Internet use has created avenue for increased online chat.â€Å"Trends such as these suggest that SMS could be an ideal way to reach out to a greater pool of potential users of our reference enquiry service†, (Han and S eng, 2007). The use of cellular phone as a tool of obtaining referencing material is advantageous in that it is very portable. This has made it an ideal solution for the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library to use it for posting reference materials for those who have got a tight schedule such that it is not possible for them to visit the library personally to receive any information they need.Apart from the recipient getting immediate information, the users of the web 2.0 world referencing system can be able to maintain their anonymity  Ã‚   while seeking assistance from the libraries. The system is also receiving much advocacy because it can be used or accessed at any time of the day, or within any period, i.e. its operation is 24/7/365ConclusionTechnology in all sectors of the economy enhances service delivery to both service providers and the clients. This technological improvement ensures that the service delivery is offered at the best disposal of both the client and providers.Li braries like any other sectors of the economy have to embrace technological changes and use it positively to increase performance level in the organization. Despite all the obstacles that might be associated with the new technology, in the long run when the system has been fully and nicely implemented it becomes more beneficial to the organization than the sunk costs that might have been brought due to implementing the system.To ensure that the technology receives positive acknowledgement from all stakeholders, Librarians should try to make the system simple and easy to use to both users so as to increase the attitude of the users towards that technology rather than making them shun it away.ReferenceJennewein K. (2005): Intellectual Property Management. The Role Of Technology Brands InThe Appropriation  Ã‚   Of Technological Innovation, Springer, ISBN 3790802808.King D L. (2007). Twitter Explained for Librarians or 10 Ways to Use Twitter, Retrieved on29th Oct 2007 from http://www. davidleeking.com/2007/03/10/twtter-explained-for-librarians-or-10-ways-to-use-twitter/Manness J.M (2006): Library 2.0, Theory: Web 2.0 and its implications for librariesRetrieved on 29th Oct 2007 http://www.webology.org/2006/v3n2/a25.htmlStephens. T. (2007): Trademark 2.0: Defining Your Value in the web 2.0, World Lulu.com,ISBN 061556886.Williams J. (2006). What is Ruby on rails? Retrieved on 29th Oct 2007 fromhttp://www.digital-web.com/articles/ruby_on_rails_for_the_rest_of_us/

Mosquitoes

William Faulkner's Mosquitoes is a roman à   clef featuring some of the people and locations Faulkner encountered while staying in New Orleans as a young writer. This paper will examine the relationship between the upper class and the artists and the relationship between the upper class and the workers. In particular this paper will examine the actions and character of the two main characters: Mr. Gordon and Patricia Robyn, as well as a most interesting character Ernest Talliaferro.Faulkner stages much of his novel aboard a yacht so that they won't have contact with other members of society. In literature the use of isolating the characters from society is not uncommon for example Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Shakespeare's The Tempest and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians and The Mousetrap. By separating characters from society, the author is able to focus his or her attention on the people as themselves, almost as if he or she were isolated for a laboratory experiment. Mosqui toes provides Faulkner a forum to examine the artistic life in contrast to the life of the members of the beautiful people and the workers. In particular Faulkner examines the creative growth of the artists and the lack of growth of the part of the others on the cruise (Atkinson, 8).Faulkner stocks his novel with characters representing three groups or perhaps communities of society. He represents the artists with of Dawson Fairchild, a novelist, Mr. Gordon, a sculptor, Mark Moore, a poet trying to â€Å"nurture a reputation for cleverness,† Dorothy Jameson, a painter and Eva Wiseman, a lesbian poet (Fitzgerald 39). Also included with this group is Julius Kauffman who at times serves as a narrator such as when he relates the life story of Mrs. Maurier, hostess of the cruise   or as the philosophic pathfinder for the artists' discussion throughout the book.Among the social elite are Mrs. Maurier a social dilettante who is quite wealthy and a hanger-on of artists, her twin ni ece and nephew Patricia, who is the catalyst for much of the book's action, and Josh Robyn who are visiting from Chicago, and Ernest Talliaferro who is the conduit between three classes. He is a member of the working class as a buyer of women's clothes for a local department store, he is friends or is at least known by some the artists who don't really seem to care too much about him, and visits with Mrs. Maurier who also appears to not care about him except for his ability to provide access to the artistic community.The novel is written in six major sections days 1, 2, 3, 4, a prologue where Faulkner gathers up his characters and an epilogue where he returns them to their individual places in society. The sections, Day One through Day Four take place largely Mrs. Maurier's yacht the Nausikaa. In Homer's Odyssey Nausikaa was a young woman, daughter of the king, who found Odysseus and brought him into her city to care for him. In Mosquitoes Mr. Gordon represents Odysseus and Patricia Robyn is the analogue of Nausikaa.Mr. Gordon is a sculptor. When the novel begins, Gordon has just finished a sculpture. It represents his ideal woman. It is of a young woman with small breasts who has no head, arms, or legs. Mr. Gordon has sculpted the piece from his imagination rather than using a model. At this time he has little interaction with others, artistic or otherwise.Shortly after the novel begins, Mrs. Maurier, Patricia Robyn, and Ernest Talliaferro visit Gordon's studio and see the new sculpture. The reactions of both Patricia and Gordon are plot points in the novel. When she first sees Gordon's sculpture Patricia believes she recognizes the statue as being of herself, â€Å"[i]t's like me† (Faulkner 28). Mr. Talliaferro describes it more eloquently â€Å"[d]o you see what he has caught? . . . The spirit of youth, of something fine and hard and clean in the world† (26-27). Mr. Gordon is very interested in Patricia in relationship to his sculpture. He exa mines â€Å"her with growing interest her flat breast and belly, her boy's body. . . . Sexless, yet somehow vaguely troubling. Perhaps just young, like a calf or a colt† (Faulkner, p. 26).Throughout the book there is a sexual tension between Gordon and Patricia. When they are swimming he twirls her around and throws her into the water. She is thrilled, â€Å"for an instant she stopped in midflight, . . . high above the deck while water dripping from her turned to gold . . . the last of the sun slid upon her and over her with joy† (Faulkner 72).Ultimately it is Patricia and to a less extent, Mrs. Maurier who provide the artistic growth for Mr. Gordon. Just as Nausikaa rescued Odysseus from the sea, Patricia rescues Gordon from his previous tendency to work without a model, working from his mind using ideal types that don't exist in reality. When Mr. Gordon sees her in her young, self-centered state, he realizes he must work from real life. He makes a mask of Mrs. Maurie r. This is significant because it is the first time, as far as the reader knows, that Mr. Gordon had sculpted based on a live person rather than his personal artistic ideal.His growth and change of artistic inspiration to the real world are punctuated in the Epilogue where he walks the busy night streets of New Orleans with Fairchild and Kauffman drinking and celebrating their epiphany of working within society. Gordon leaves the book when he decides to visit a bordello looking for a real woman instead of a fantasy woman (Hepburn, 21-22).Throughout the play Patricia has an androgynous quality about her. Despite her sexual appeal to Gordon and later to David West the ship steward, Patricia is always described as â€Å"hard and firm and sexless† (Faulkner 140). In many ways she seems androgynous, neither male nor female. Although she will flirt with men, kiss them and even run away with them, whenever she feels she is not in control she brings the interaction to an immediate ha lt. She is the female part of the person she and her brother make together.At times they will call each other â€Å"Gus† as if Gus were the real person and Patricia and Josh were just partial personae of Gus. She lies next to her brother for part of the night of day four because she wants to be near him. He will be leaving for Yale the next day where she not be nearer to him than living in an apartment in New Haven. While lying together she asks him â€Å"[d]idn't you do something to that boat† (Faulkner, p. 261.The yacht had gone to ground and was unable to move for three days, making certain they were uninterrupted by outsiders. This was caused when Josh removed a rod in the steering mechanism, but Josh denies it, â€Å"I never hurt—I never was down there except the morning when you came tagging down there (Faulkner, p. 261). Yet he quickly tacitly admits his guilt when he asks if Patricia has told their aunt.By the second day Patricia is bored with being a l iving ideal and looks for diversion. She decides to go swimming and coaxes David West, the steward to go with her. While swimming he is aroused by her, he â€Å"looked up at her with an utter longing, like that of a dog.† On day three they leave the ship and try to cross the swamp and get married in Mandeville. Their excursion into the swamp, struggle to find the road and the way to Mandeville with David West seems to foreshadow for Patricia what her life might be if she were to give up her place in high society and marry into the working class.She wouldn't be able to bear it. She would use up her working class husband, working him until he collapsed from exhaustion. It isn't long before Patricia treats West like an animal. She is done slumming with the working class and decides to take charge just as her social position permits. She demands, in the face of reason, that they take the direction she chooses when they arrive at the road. This seems to indicate that she realizes she has chosen the wrong way by leaving the boat, representing wealth and high society.She literally rides him into the ground as he carries her when she is too tired to walk. When they discover they have been walking the wrong direction, West collapses. Ultimately they find someone to give them a ride back to the Nausikaa, but she insists on paying with her own money. As a consequence of what David and Patricia went through together David quits his job and is gone the next morning.A curious thing is that Patricia seems to the only one troubled by mosquitoes. Almost exclusively she is the one who â€Å"angled her knee upward and outward from the knee, scratching her ankle† (Faulkner 23). It is she that â€Å"suddenly slap[s] her leg when she and West are planning to enter the swamp. It is Patricia is so badly bitten by mosquitoes that West puts his shirt over her to protect her (Faulkner 150). Of all of passengers, she is the one that is most irritated by the pesky â€Å"mo squitoes† of life.One last point about Patricia that should be made has to do with the evening when she first met Mr. Talliaferro. As Mr. Talliaferro prepares to leave Mrs. Maurier and Patricia for the evening Patricia calls him â€Å"Mr. Tavers.† This is apparently his real name and the incident shocks him. His entrails feel cold because of her statement (Faulkner 31). This writer tried on numerous occasions to find a resolution to this puzzle but was unable to do so. The nearest indication that might solve this puzzle appears in the description of Talliaferro (Faulkner 32) â€Å"[t]hey never did know what became of Mr. Talliaferro's sister.† This might indicate that Faulkner had initially intended to make some previous connection between Patricia and Talliaferro through his missing sister, but failed to do so in the final version.This event provides a segue to a most interesting character: Ernest Talliaferro. Mr. Talliaferro is a tiny man, eager to please, unwi lling to make waves, but eager to spend time with artists, particularly Dawson Fairchild. He is a buyer for the women's clothes department at a local department store. He married young, was widowed young and set about making himself over. He â€Å"did† Europe in forty-one days and cultivated friendship with artists and members of society, such as Mrs. Maurier. He lacks confidence, often apologizing and knocking into things. He is eager to date women but finds himself unable to get up the nerve.Frequently he seeks Fairchild's advice. On the second day of the cruise Fairchild tells Talliaferro that he isn't â€Å"bold enough with women . . . I don't mean with words. . . . They ain't interested in what you're going to say: they are interested in what you're going to do† (Fitzgerald 96). Sadly, but a bit amusing, Talliaferro takes this advice to heart and tries to implement it with Jenny the attractive young woman whom Patricia invited to attend. On the second day Talliafe rro finds Jenny sleeping on the deck.He tries to wake her â€Å"[w]ake princess with kiss† (Faulkner 109) this causes her to awaken but she is terribly frightened. However she does dance with him later that afternoon and things go smoothly until day four when the guests are trying to free the boat and Talliaferro is overcome with desire and grabs her and pulls her with him into the water. Naturally, Fairchild thinks this it is funny that Talliaferro has implemented his advice in such a boisterous fashion and laughs about it. Unfortunately, Talliaferro has not learned his lesson and repeats his efforts in the â€Å"Epilogue† only to be disappointed again. By the end of novel Talliaferro has retreated further into himself and seems to have no interest in a relationship with a woman.Although Faulkner never uses the â€Å"M† word in this book, it is clear by the scratching and slapping that there are both literal and figurative mosquitoes. As mentioned above, Patric ia suffers from bites from mosquitoes. Most of characters suffer from pesky, annoying irritations throughout the book. The artists are irritated by the way in which the non-artists want to parade them around on the cruise like some sort of show pony. Talliaferro is irritated due to his inability to successfully seduce women, Josh Robyn is irritated that Major Ayers does not believe that he is making the pipe for fun. Naturally Ayers is upset because he wants to market the pipe, and Robyn will not help him do so.It is in part due to the irritations that Gordon, Fairchild, and Kauffman grow. Prior to the cruise, they had lived their lives working when they could and trying to avoid the pesky little mosquitoes fostered by the non-artists. By the time the cruise has ended they have realized that these pests provide much of the motivation and interest in life. In essence, they have changed their philosophy of art from â€Å"an aesthetic ideology of formalism as part of a larger expressi on of cultural conservatism (Atkinson, 6)Unhappily, no one else appears to have changed much other than these three. Mrs. Maurier is still the social matron, though she is quite angry with the artists. Patricia Robyn has returned to the self-centered, sexless, hard person she was when she first appeared in the novel. When she says good-bye to the poet Mark Frost, she is just as cold to him as she was to Gordon when she first met his him. Mr. Talliaferro, the wonderful, Chaplinesque man, is still frustrated. He has had no success trying to seduce a woman. However Faulkner tells the reader that Talliaferro was to be married soon. Sadly, he does not appear to tell Ernest.The conclusion that Faulkner draws with this book appears to be that artists need to explore life, down and dirty. However, his apparent conclusion that non-artists will not grow is parochial and hopefully false. This smacks of the self-centered arrogance a young, gifted writer might have before he and his craft mature . Summary of â€Å"Faulkner's Mosquitoes: A Poetic Turning Point†By Kenneth Wm. HepburnHepburn's thesis in this article is that there was a turning point in Faulkner's writing that occurred not with Satoris as many scholars have alleged by with Mosquitoes published two years earlier. The author tries to establish that â€Å"the poetic which finally involves from the structural considerations of various artistic strategies is both necessarily prior . . . and central to the development of† the open-ended poetic of Faulkner's more famous novels (Hepburn 19). To prove his thesis, Hepburn focuses his study on Sections Nine and Ten of the â€Å"Epilogue† (Faulkner 277-288). In the first of these sections Hepburn contends that three of the artist, Gordon, Fairchild, and Kauffman undergo the greatest change. They are walking the streets at night through the â€Å"seedier streets† of New Orleans (Hepburn 20).   In this section each of the artists, Gordon, Fitzge rald, and Kauffman make the transformation from artists that were polarized from each other to artist are more in congruence. In this section there is a parable of three groups, priests, revelers, and rats encounter a dead begger [sic] clutching a piece of stolen bread.The priests in their â€Å"thin celibate despair† (Faulkner 277) and the revelers engage in an orgy-parade cannot be bothered with the dead begger [sic]. Only the rats can appreciate him by â€Å"dragging their hot bellies over him, exploring unreproved his private parts† (Faulkner 281). According to Hepburn the parable indicates that these three artists have changed and recognize â€Å"[o]nly the artist who is willing to wade into life will ever be able to confront it with any intimacy and accuracy† (Hepburn 23).It is evident that Hepburn has interpreted these sections correctly. What is not evident is why Hepburn views Mosquitoes as a poetic turning point. What he appears to prove is that Mosqui toes provides a needed prerequisite to his later writing. This need not signify a turning point but rather may be just one more step along the path toward becoming the writer Faulkner   would become in subsequent years. Works Cited Atkinson, Ted. â€Å"Aesthetic Ideology in Faulkner's Mosquitoes: A Cultural History. The Faulkner Journal 17, 1(2001: 3-18. Faulkner, William. Mosquitoes. London: Chatto & Windus, 1964. Hepburn, Kenneth Wm. â€Å"Faulkner's Mosquitoes: A Poetic Turning Point.† Twentieth Century Literature 17, 1 (Jan. 1971): 19-28.

All My Sons By Arthur Miller - 1631 Words

Dramatic tension is a figurative device an author would use to add tension to conflict between characters. In Arthur Miller’s play, All My Sons, dramatic tension is created by using theoretical devices and language, utilizing conflicting character personalities, dramatic irony, and character development, to exhibit dramatic tension in order to keep the audience engaged in the play. ACT 1 At the beginning of Act One, when Keller gives the audience first impressions of characters, the audience begins to foreshadow conflicts between the characters based on each individual character’s personality, this is one of the first examples of foreshadowing conflict for the audience. â€Å"KELLER is nearing sixty. A heavy man of stolid mind and build, a business man these many years, but with the imprint of the machine-shop working and boss still upon him. When he reads, when he speaks, when he listens, it is with the terrible concentration of the uneducated man from whom there is still wonder in many commonly known things, a man whose judgements must be dredged out of experience and a peasant-like common sense. A man among men.† (6). When Miller describes Joe Keller in the beginning of the play, he describes him from the perspective of somebody who has a well thought out first impression of him, giving the audience an impression of him. When Miller describes Keller as â€Å"A man among men.† (6), the audience can assume he is indifferent to others, Miller still maintains a description of JoeShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream in All My Sons by Arthur Miller1618 Words   |  7 PagesHow does Arthur Miller show that the American Dream has become perverted in ‘All my Sons’ ´? Do you think Miller is totally against the concept? Or just what it had become in his time? â€Å"Seven Deadly Sins: Wealth without work Pleasure without conscience Science without humanity Knowledge without character Politics without principle Commerce without morality Worship without sacrifice.† Mahatma Gandhi ‘The social, economical and educational equal rights for all citizens’. The previous line summarizesRead MoreEssay on Manipulative Kate of All My Sons by Arthur Miller1116 Words   |  5 PagesManipulative Kate of All My Sons by Arthur Miller All My Sons is a play about the trials and tribulations of the normal everyday suburbia. The play brings out the reality that not everything is perfect. Holes are created by the fight between good and evil. In this play the evil is the act of lying, and the good is the innocence of ignorance. The play starts with an everyday business man given the age-old fight of man versus himself. He had to decide whether or not to ship defective parts. 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