Essay on The Island, by Athol Fugard - 1261 Words

The Island is indeed an actors play, for acting is its central metaphor and idea: acting as a means for the acting out of ones life, acting as a form of survival, and acting as a basis for (political) action. In The Island, two black prisoners, John and Winston, are men whose political stands against the state have caused them to be incarcerated, sentenced without determinable end in Robben Island prison. They are dressed in shorts to look like the boys their keepers would make them. But clearly the authorities wish them to be far, far less than boys, for the prisoners are treated with extreme brutality and are given the sorts of tasks meant to reduce them from men to beasts, to annihilate the last shreds of their humanity.†¦show more content†¦Finally, after the men are beaten and returned wounded to their cell, the dumb show gives way first to inchoate sounds and then to words of rage and pain. Winstons pain causes John to act, to urinate and use his urine as an antiseptic to wash Winstons wounded eye. As the two men thus act to assuage each others bodily injuries, Winston exclaims, Nyana we Sizwe (brother of the land), affirming the power of brotherhood and the indomitability of the two mens human spirit. The Island shows the backfiring of a system that wishes to rob John and Winston of their humanity by reducing them to beasts. Their white guard is unseen. Only his irritating noises and the sting of his blows are heard and he is reduced by Fugard to a character in a mean-spirited beast fable.39 John and Winston remain triumphantly human. Hodoshe exemplifies the prison guards whose humanity devolves into animal behavior, whereas the prisoners, Winston and John, create their humanity out of the very bestiality that has been forced on them. Their guards hail down beatings and wounds upon them; their human fastidiousness had been consciously taken from them when they were transported from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and Robben Island (a journey of 770 kilometers, almost 480 miles) by vans, in which they were crammed and shackled to each other like animals, unable to refrain from urinating on one another as they traveled. And yet it is their care for one anothers wounds that brings forth andShow MoreRelatedThe Island by Athol Fugard2088 Words   |  9 PagesThe Island (1973) Athol Fugard A Quick Rundown of The Island - The Island is a Fugard play that resorts to the Classics to protest Apartheid. - It takes place in four scenes, opening with a lengthy mimed sequence in which John and Winston, two cell mates in prison on Robben Island, carry out one of the totally pointless and exhausting tasks designed by warders to break the spirit of political prisoners. - Winston has been sentenced to prison for life because he burned his passbook in frontRead MoreThe, Antigone, And The Island By Athol Fugard1423 Words   |  6 Pages Antigone, and in The Island by Athol Fugard. Unfortunately, many people get killed when this such event occurs. Since the entire country of South Africa is under racial prejudice, similar to Creon’s rule in Antigone, the characters in both The Island and Antigone feel the obligation to protest authority and change the course of their lives in similar methods. It is first very important to understand deep history of Apartheid to actually understand the story of The Island and the messages it sendsRead Morecrtical analysis on the island by athol fugard1999 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿ Imperialism is the forceful extension of a nation s authority by territorial conquest or by establishing economic and political domination of other nations that are not its colonies. In various forms, imperialism may be as old as humanity. In the prehistorical world (before written history began), clan groups extended their territory and dominated others, competing against them for food and resources. Negatively, many cultures have suffered due to imperial domination since the dominant haveRead MoreHow Athol Fugard Presents Personal and Political Conflict in the Opening Scene of The Island555 Words   |  3 PagesHow Athol Fugard Presents Personal and Political Conflict in the Opening Scene of The Island Athol fugard presents the opening scene in a number of ways. The play is all about contrasts in personal and political conflict. The Island was written by Fugard to show the situation between whites and blacks in South Africa. When the play was first preformed it was more like a political play, but audiences see it as based more on the human spirit. After the apartheid had finishedRead MoreAthol Fugard from South Africa863 Words   |  3 PagesHistorical, Social and Political condition Athol Fugard was born into the era of apartheid. The Fugard family was known as a very poor white family which affected the way he wrote his plays. Apartheid was known as a time in South Africa when whites were separated from the non-whites. White people were known as the â€Å"top dogs† and the non-whites were classified as the â€Å"under dogs† in the Republic of South Africa. Fugard was against apartheid due to the way he was living at the time. His father workedRead MoreThe Knife1115 Words   |  5 Pagesamp;Amp;Quot;The Chosenamp;Amp;Quot; - An Analysis Of The Development Of Relationship And Its Obstacles * amp;Amp;Quot;The Otheramp;Amp;Quot; Perspective * Analysis Of amp;Amp;Quot;The Lessonamp;Amp;Quot; * amp;Amp;Quot;The Islandamp;Amp;Quot; By Athol Fugard * Irony In 2 Short Excerpts In amp;Quot;The Ruined Maidamp;Quot; * Post-Modern Analysis Of Hr Gigers amp;Quot;The Birth Machineamp;Quot; * Analysis Of amp;Quot;The Second Comingamp;Quot; * Cultural Analysis Of amp;Quot;TheRead MoreEast African Culture Reflects on Their Drama Using Aminata, Echoes of Silence and I Will Marry When I Want as Case Study12168 Words   |  49 Pagesincluding Greek and Roman philosophers and thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Horace. Many of them had studied Latin, Soyinka, Achebe, and Ayi Kwei Armah from West Africa; Ngugi and Micere Mugo from East Afr ica; Nadine Gordimer, Bessie Head, and Athol Fugard from South Africa, and later in the 1970s, Tewfik al Hakim and Ebrahim Hussein from North Africa, among others. The second phase of the evolution of African literature is the postcolonial period of newborn African independent states. During this

Interview Assignment The Peterson Family - 1203 Words

Interview Assignment The Peterson family resides in a small residential suburb in Southeastern Virginia. Previous, the family had lived in Italy due to Mr. Peterson s position in the United States Military but had moved to Virginia two years ago. Mrs. Peterson works at night and the parents have five children together. Christian is an intelligent 12 year old boy that was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by the United States Navy Developmental Pediatrician in Naples, Italy when he was 9 years old. Christian has one older sibling, Sarah and three younger siblings Rebecca, Martha, and Elisha. Christian attends a 7th grade general education classroom. For the past two years he has been receiving direct 1:1 in-home ABA intervention after school by a local ABA agency. Christian is able to express himself verbally and engage in conversations with others. Christian presents himself to be an expert on many subjects, however his conversations with others tends to be one-sided in which he shares only what he wants to share and becomes easily disinterested in others topics. In addition, a history of saying inappropriate social statements towards others has been present. Furthermore, Christian lacks the ability to pick on social cues from others. Christian enjoys talking with adults but has difficulty interacting appropriately with his peers. Christian becomes argumentative with others when he does not agree with their opinions. This has been prominent withShow MoreRelatedDiscernment Therapy : Getting The Conversation1521 Words   |  7 Pagesof the relationship. She continued to explain that because therapists lacked the models and protocols to deal with these couples, they were literally falling through the cracks due to the lack of effective support. 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The client identifies with no identifiable cultural or ethnic background, and firmly states, â€Å"I am a Canadian.† The client denies any religious affiliation or particularRead MoreRepatriation Is The Process Of Returning Back Home From The Expatriate Assignment9723 Words   |  39 PagesCHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem Repatriation is the process of returning back home from the expatriate assignment. It has been noted that middle level managers who have completed their expatriate assignment and are returning to their home countries have opted to leave their mother companies due to a failure to readjusted and reintegrate. This has led to the high turnover middle managers that are repatriating to the United States. 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In 1969, the company officially incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Vance Scott (1994)) Then in the 1970s, a decade of incredible growth, Sam Walton began to take Walmart national, proving his vision s widespread appeal and becameRead MoreA Report On New Nordic Canada s Digital Marketing Campaign2014 Words   |  9 PagesMEMORANDUM TO: Mr. John Peterson, CEO of New Nordic Canada FROM: Ahmed Haydar, Marketing Executive Manager SUBJECT: Social Media DATE: February 17th, 2015 Dear Mr. Peterson The attached report, is a business case designed by the Marketing management team, which represents our findings regarding incorporating social media platforms into New Nordic Canada’s digital marketing campaign. Our report includes an assessment of current top social media platforms, benefits, monitoring strategiesRead MoreInterview Final Thoughts Of A Nurse And A Manager At Country View Care Center1939 Words   |  8 PagesInterview Final Thoughts Overall Susan Schade would not change her profession for anything else. She truly believes that this is her calling and to work within long-term care is a great fit for her needs, especially within personal means as explained previously. As a nurse and a manager at Country View Care Center, she believes that there are several implications and advancements that can be done for healthcare nationwide in essence to make the experience of health back to being patient focusedRead MoreUnited States Air Force Research Paper2115 Words   |  9 Pagescategory is to ensure the Airmen are trained to perform at a high level of intensity. Training is vital to set the Airmen up for success. The fifth category is to reinforce that the Air Force, although mission-driven, cares for their Airmen as they are family. The last topic is a commitment by the Air Force to continue the critical research they do to make certain they are integrating the most efficient way of accomplishing the mission. United States Air Force Research Report The United States

Captain Top of Form Free Essays

How does Duffy present the theme of time in ‘The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team’? In the poem, ‘The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team’ by Carol Ann Duffy, many themes are frequently explored, time is a huge theme presented throughout, there are many relations and connections to time and how it changes people, affects our behaviour etc, this theme if explored by Duffy using a variety of techniques including structure, language, dramatic techniques and imagery used. Firstly time is explored in detail by the structure of the poem. The title of the poem gives us the insight that the poem is stuck in time, due to the date. We will write a custom essay sample on Captain Top of Form or any similar topic only for you Order Now Shows it must be about past tense or reminiscing. This maybe makes the poem more meaningful and personal. The poem is written in the first person as it is the â€Å"Captain that is speaking to someone. The 4 stanzas in the poem all of various lengths show the structure of the poem is disjointed suggesting that this is his trail of thought and his mind all over the place, maybe trying to understand and relive the past. This is done using pauses and short sentences, the short sentences may also show that the narrator is becoming very excited and erratic, almost childlike that he remembers so much and is excited to tell his story. There is no rhythm to the poem again showing that he hasn’t had time to collect his ideas together, almost in a rush trying to reveal all the information and just blabbing it all out without thinking, the use of no rhythm affects the poem as it makes it seem more playful, if a rhythm had been used it may seem more formal. Language is also important to show the theme of time. The poem is in an informal tone, showing a more chatty/conversation which seems more childlike and friendly. (â€Å"Oh pretty women were in the Top Ten that month†). The use of the informal chat shows he feels bubbly and happy perhaps showing that this is a happier stage in his life, and he prefers talking about the past than the present. Duffy has used a lot of past tense verbs e. g. â€Å"pulled† , â€Å"smiled†, this also shows that the story is about the past and how he keeps reminiscing over and over about the things he did. The choice of persona distances the poem from Duffy and gives her the opportunity to view the issues from a more objective perspective. However the tone of the poem isn’t dull it is very jumpy, highlighting the narrator’s energy, optimism and pride in himself. Duffy demonstrates this by using adjectives like ‘fizzing’, ‘whooped’ and ‘blew like Mick’, she also shows his confidence by using self-assured phases like ‘No snags’, ‘Come on’, ‘I smiled’. Dramatic techniques are also used frequently through Duffy’s poem to help exaggerate the theme of time. She uses music to set the scene in the first stanza,’ Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Baby Love, Oh Pretty Woman’ emphasizing on the widespread impact of pop music. There is a sense of a boy, cramming information, I can give you the B-side of the Supremes one. Hang on. Come See About Me? Overall the feeling is one of optimism. I think the use of the music and songs is to give the childhood and fun feeling, the use of the old pop music shows he is reminiscing on old times and not focusing on the present, the fact he is singing shows he isn’t afraid to express himself, seeming quite happy and chirpy, the poem would seem more controlled and restricted making us question whether he actually enjoyed his past. The use of these dramatic techniques make the narrator seems he has no care in the world also draws on his freedom. Imagery helps us even more see the theme of the time in the poem. In the third stanza we are presented with the image of a proud mother â€Å"My mother kept my mascot Gonk on the TV set for a year. † There is also an emphasis of British context through the use of road names up ‘Churchill Road’ and ‘up Nelson Drive’. In the second stanza the speaker describes going down a hill on his bike â€Å"I sped down Dyke Hill, no hands, famous, learning† the use of this gives the image of freedom and how children speed away on their bikes without any care in the world. This could also relate to time, like him speeding away on his bike, time seems to be going so fast, flashing before his eyes. How to cite Captain Top of Form, Papers

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, written by Sir Arthur Essay Example For Students

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, written by Sir Arthur Essay Conan Doyle, is a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Silver Blaze, The Yellow Face, The Stock-Brokers Clerk, The Gloria Scott, The Musgrave Ritual, The Reigate Puzzle, The Crooked Man, The Resident Patient, The Greek Interpreter, The Naval Treaty, and The Final Problem are included. A lot of information about Holmes and Watson is included in this collection. There is some information which is shocking, and other information which might have been expected. These stories also include some of Holmes most memorable adventures. I suppose this is why they call it Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Silver Blaze actually has two mysteries: the disappearance of a famous horse, Silver Blaze, and the murder of its trainer. When Holmes and Watson hear about this, they go to check it out, with Colonel Ross, the owner of the horse, and Inspector Gregory. The foursome travels to the scene of the crimes: where Silver Blaze had last been seen and the body of the trainer was found, lying on the ground. They find nothing there, and after the colonel and the inspector leave Holmes and Watson at the crime scene, they find footprints a little ways off. The footprints are of a horse. They follow the footprints and find that a little farther they are joined by the footprints of a man. Following these set of tracks, the detective and the doctor are lead to Mapleton stables, which are the only other stables in the area besides the one where the horse lived. Holmes has a talk with the owner in private and finds that he does have Silver Blaze. After some negotiating the owner promises to let the ho rse ride in the races the next day, and then give him back to the owner. Holmes makes Watson promise to not tell anyone about their victory just yet, and he does readily. The next day the colonel, the inspector, Holmes, and Watson are watching the races. However, they do not see Silver Blaze anywhere. When one of the races is done, and there is a short intermission, they go around to the back where all the horses are kept during the day of the race. They find Silver Blaze to have been disguised. Holmes then explains how it was that the horses trainer had been killed. It seems that the trainer had wanted to do some sort of operation on the horse so he would run slower in the race, Lord knows why he wanted to do that. He had taken the horse into the middle of a field with a surgery knife. The trainer had tried to perform the operation, which was to be done on the backside of the horse. However, the horse had felt the knife cut into his body and kicked his trainer right in the head wit h his hind leg. This and the fact that the knife which the trainer had been holding had cut him severely on his leg had killed him. The Yellow Face is one of the rare, unknown cases where Holmes turns out to be wrong. Another interesting truth learned in this case is that Holmes occasionally used cocaine! However, when these stories were written, it wasnt known that cocaine can kill you, so we cant blame Holmes because he didnt know. A man comes to Holmes and Watsons house, asking for advice and an answer. The man explains that some new people had moved into the house next door to his home, where he lived with his wife. When he had knocked on the new neighbors door, he was answered by a woman who was very harsh to him. She wouldnt let him go inside the house, and she shut the door in his face. When he started to walk home, he just happened to glance at one of the upstairs windows of the house. He saw a yellowish, livid-colored, expressionless face staring straight at him. He was very spooked, and hurried home. That night, at about two in the morning, he woke up and noticed his wife getting dressed. Pretending he was still asleep, he watched her walk out of the bedroom door, and he heard the front door open, and then shut. A while later he heard the front door open and shut again, and he saw his wife come through the bedroom door. He sat up and asked her where she had been. Her face turned guilty and frightened, and she lied and said that she had simply needed some fresh air. The next day, the man came home from work and saw that his wife was gone. He had a hunch that she had gone to see the new neighbors. She had gone home by the time he got there, but he stormed in anyway. There was only one room in the entire house which looked like it had been lived in, and no one was in the house at the time. The man finishes his story, and mentions on the way out that he and his wife had never kept secrets from each other before, and that he was his wifes second husband, the first one and the child having died from a severe illness. Holmes figures that the first husband has not died, but is a bad man a nd has come back to haunt his ex-wife. However, when Holmes, Watson and the man invade the house with whoever is living in it still there, a child and the wife are in the only comftorable room in the house. When the child shows her face, it is that same livid-colored face which the man had described earlier. But Holmes just laughs and, putting his hand behind the childs ear, pulls off the mask to reveal her true face. She is black, and, in the time that this story was written, blacks were called negros, and even though the Civil War had just ended, they were still treated as below whites by most people, in England as well as America and Europe. The wife explains that the first husband truly had died, but the child had not. The first husband had been a negro, and the wife described it as a misfortune that our only child took after his people rather than mine. She explained that the child had been living in America with a nanny for the three years that the wife has been married the se cond husband. Finally, the wife could not stand the thought of not seeing her child, and insisted that she move into the cottage next door for about a week or so. The wife is afraid that the second husband will hate the black child, force her to move back to America, and will be furious at the wife for having married a negro. However, the man kisses the child, and says they can discuss it in their own home. Holmes proves himself to be wrong, and takes it to heart. The Stock-Brokers Clerk begins with the interesting fact that Watson has married and has a job as a medical doctor. However, Holmes calls upon him and asks him if he would like to go on another adventure. Watson readily agrees, and, telling his wife, he sets off with Holmes. Their client explains that he had just gotten a job when, one night, a man came to his home and asked him a few questions such as if he kept up with the stock-market, et cetera. The man was delighted with the answers which the client gave, and decided to hire him for the unknown company Franco-Midland Hardware Company, Limited. The client agreed to quit his current job, to join this new one, and noticed that the mans tooth on his left side had gold filling. The next day the client reported to the given office and was assigned some trivial work which took a few weeks. When the client was finished he went back to the office and handed the work to the man. This man was different from the one which had come to his ho use. However, the client noticed that he had the same exact tooth had gold filling as the first man. This confused the client, which brought him to Holmes. So Watson, Holmes, and the client go back to the office to find the man reading a newspaper. When he looks up from it his face is chalk white, and he generally looks really terrible. He wishes that everyone would just let him be, even though he has no idea that he is in the presence of the great Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr. Watson. The client reminds the man that he is here on appointment, and the man excuses himself for a minute. He goes into a back room. The three men are left waiting for some time, until they hear a few banging noises, and then a gurgling sound. They rush into the back room to find that the man has hung himself. The detective, his client, and the doctor immediately take the rope from around his neck, and taking him into the office, lay him down on the sofa. Dr. Watson saves him from death. While they are waiting for the man to completely recover, they read the article which the man had been reading aloud, only to find that it supports Holmes guess. The man does have a partner, but he has been working at the clients original job. He tried to steal all of the money from that job the night before, but he was caught. Holmes announces that human nature is a strange mixture, Watson. You see that even a villain and a murderer can inspire such affection that his brother turns to suicide when he learns that his neck is forfeited. The Gloria Scott is very interesting, being that it was Holmes first case. It is strange to read about a case without Watson being the narrator. In this case, we also learn that, after Holmes got out of college, he had his amazing powers, but he only imagined them as the merest hobby. It is also learned that Holmes only went to college for two years. He was not very sociable, either. He had only one friend during those years, named Victor Trevor. During a long vacation in the college years Trevor invited Holmes to his fathers house. They have a good time there and the old Trevor is amazed at Holmess powers, fainting when Holmes mentions that the old Trevor used to be intimately aquatinted with someone whos initials were J.A., and afterwards he desperately wanted to forget about them. A day before Holmes is about to leave, a strange man walks in the door, who the old Trevor recognizes as Hudson. He is still there when Holmes leaves, and he is glad he did, because this Hudson character isnt the most pleasant of fellows. Near the end of the long vacation Victor sent Holmes a wire asking him to come down to the old Trevors house immediately. Victor meets Holmes at the train station and explains as they are riding to the house that his father received a wire which, after reading it, drove him into a stroke, where he fell into a coma. The only thing is that the wire makes absolutely no sense at all. By the time they get to the house the old Trevor has died. Victor goes into the room where he lies dead, privately with the doctor. Meanwhile Holmes tries to make sense of this confusing mess. Finally Victor returns from the room, with a few papers and a small piece of paper. The small paper was apparently the wire which the old Trevor had received when he was driven into the stroke. It read The supply of game for London is going steadily up. Head-keeper Hudson, we believe, has been now told to receive all orders for fly-paper and for preservation of your hen-pheasants li fe. Holmes was sure that it was a message written in code. After a few tries, he figures out that every third word reads The game is up. Hudson has told all. Fly for your life. The papers are a lengthy letter from the old Trevor to Victor, apparently to be read after he died. It said that he was not born Trevor, but James Armitage. He had committed some very bad crimes in his youth, and so was forced to work rowing on a ship with other inmates (remember, this was probably around the 1840s, so they were aloud to have slaves). However, the inmate who sat next to him, Jack Prendergast, had almost a quarter of a million pounds with him. He also had a lot of friends on the crew. He planned to get the rest of the inmates to team up with him and take over the ship. His friends on the crew brought everyone weapons every day, and so everyone had plenty of weapons in a short amount of time. They attacked soon after they received the weapons, and within a few hours or so, had killed almost eve ry enemy on the ship except for a few, who were being held captive. About half of the inmates, the half which had Jack Prendergast, and their friends wanted to kill them, but the other half, the half which had the old Trevor/James Artimage, was tired of blood and didnt want to kill them. The half which had Prendergast won the argument, but they agreed to let whoever didnt want to see blood onto one of the smaller life boats attached to the ship, and they could stay in the boat until another ship came to rescue them. Trevor/Armitage and a few others went onto the boat. About an hour after they left the ship, they heard a giant booming sound. They rowed back to the ship, only to find a cloud of smoke and some pieces of wood from it. It had apparently been blown up somehow. They looked for survivors, but only found one, a man named Hudson. When they were rescued and returned to the shore, Trevor/Armitage and a few others changed their name and started their life over again. When Hudson came, apparently he got mad at Trevor/Armitage for some reason, and told the police everything which had happened. My dear Watson:I write these few lines through the courtesy of Mr. Moriarty, who awaits my convenience for the final discussion of those questions which lie between us. He has been giving me a sketch of the methods by which he avoided the English police and kept himself informed of our movements. They certainly confirm the very high opinion which I had formed of his abilities. I am pleased to think that I shall be able to free society from any further effects of his presence, though I fear that it is at a cost which will give pain to my friends, and especially, my dear Watson, to you. I have already explained to you, however, that my career had in any case reached its crisis, and that no possible conclusion to it could be more congenial to me than this. Indeed, if I may make a full confession to you, I was quite convinced that the letter from Meiringen the hotelkeeper was a hoax, and I allowed you to depart on that errand under the persuasion that some development of this sort would follow. Tell Inspector Patterson that the papers which he needs to convict the gang Moriartys agents are in pigeonhole M., done up in a blue envelope and inscribed Moriarty. I made every disposition of my property before leaving England and handed it to my brother Mycroft. Pray give my greetings to Mrs. Watson, and believe me to be, my dear fellow,Very sincerely yours,Sherlock HolmesAnd so ends the career of the great Sherlock Holmes, forever. I dont think there can be a theme for a collection of short stories, but I would say that, for all the Sherlock Holmes books, the theme would be something like keep trying, no matter what happens.