The Island Armin Greder Essay Example

The Island Armin Greder Essay Armin Greder’s picture book The Island is a powerful allegory that depicts fear of strangers and ignorance which satirises the majority’s exclusion from the unknown and highlights the importance relationships and communicates acceptance. The barriers which prevent acceptance are demonstrated in The Island widely through the differences of appearance. The islanders do not accept the protagonist’s dissimilarities and his ostracism is shown through the first double page. A small, vulnerable man stands naked and ultimately exposes his vulnerability and whose confused expression signifies disconnection to the environment. The simplistic art shows how lonely the stranger is and the emphasis on the white proposes emptiness. This is juxtaposed with the satirical image on the next page, giving a sense of caricature of robust, homogenous, judging, threatening men that expose their enormity and conformity in a primitive society. The irony of farming tools being used as weapons instead of taking care of the land shows how xenophobic these people are and highlights the individual’s helplessness and the strength the pursuers have massed against him due to the fact that he is different. Essentially, seeing the satirical and mocking contrast of the two images we are able to see that difference cannot be accepted into an ignorant, homogenous culture. The consequence of being in a bland society and having the security of being in a group is that it can affect a person and may obscure their personal opinions. Specifically when the fisherman spoke up and â€Å"some people agreed with the fisherman but the others were louder†. This demonstrates the voicelessness and defencelessness in our society and shows how social repression can create a context where those who are different are demonised, isolated and persecuted. We will write a custom essay sample on The Island Armin Greder specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Island Armin Greder specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Island Armin Greder specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The text highly contrasts with the images in this book and provide a satirical, humorous feeling. â€Å"So they took him in† is juxtaposed with the islanders marching the man away with perilous weapons and we see that the text is saying something positive while the images are negative. The use of â€Å"they† also connotates the conformist civilization, instead of using a specific individual name, the people are defined by a group. The satanic caricature of the priest symbolises the devil and how institutions such as education, family, law and religion all manifest into concordant, alike ways of thinking. This is portrayed when a mother warns her child about the man â€Å"he will come and eat you if you don’t finish your soup! † The allusion of the Big Bad Wolf and threats in family life proves the irony of a primitive society that cannot think for itself. We can see that the community is dismissive to any inimitable opinions and lack of identity is apparent. Consequently, the satire and analogy in The Island makes us see the exclusion of a unique individual which results into intolerance and inconsideration of the other.

Marin Luther King essays

Marin Luther King essays Martin Luther King Jnr. was born on 15 January 1929. His father, Daddy King, was the pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. King took his duties beyond serving his church, and was involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This was probably the influential thing in kings (jnr.) early life that later made him accomplish what he did. King first met racism at the age of six, when a white friends father said that they could no longer play together because King was coloured. His own parents explained about slavery and also made an important point: Dont let it make you feel you are not as good as white people. Kings progress through school was fast. At 15 he went to Morehouse College, a theological college in Connecticut. Here, he expressed doubt about the value of religion, but was eventually convinced of its relevance to the civil-rights struggle. At 19 he was ordained. With a degree in sociology he went to Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, to study for a degree in divinity He came top of his class and graduated in 1951. He went on to study for a doctorate in systematic theology at Boston University. After completing his studies, King felt that he should return home. Accompanied by his new wife, Coretta, he began work at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama. The church was attended mainly by the educated black middle class. Once installed, he set about organizing his congregation. His interest in the community and his effective oratory made him a popular and respected figure. Montgomery, in the Southern heartland, had strict segregation laws; for example, rules about what black passengers could and could not do on buses. Resentment at these rules ran high. On 1 December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white and was taken to jail. On 5 December the local black ministers met to discuss...

Democracy and Socialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Democracy and Socialism - Essay Example Since then, there have been turbulent times in a quest to achieve democracy with dictators and military coup leaders claiming to support it. However, in Athens, it followed a set of rules on who was legible to participate in politics, vote and the size of the society where democracy could be practiced. With this, the Athenians agreed that the people required population to be small so as to allow citizens access to debate attendances and vote on issues affecting them (History World, n.d). Over time, democracy has evolved with various societies that have implemented it. For example, with the Romans, representation in a legislative assembly came up so that selected few leaders could represent an entire population and their interests (History World, n.d). In addition, the Romans came up with the oral system of voting where citizens gave their answer of a specified question to a clerk who then recorded it. Moreover, with all the changes it has had to it, democracy has its positive and neg ative aspects that affect any society that embraces it. For example, the use of majority rule forces the minority who lost to be dictated upon by those who won (Cincotta, n.d). Therefore, it leads to the oppression of minority populations in a bid to enact the will of a majority. In addition, democratic rule puts its basis on a knowledgeable and educated citizen who is literate. This, in itself, is discriminative to the illiterate as they lose independence due to reliance on the learned to make decisions and implement policies that may not be known to them (Cincotta, n.d). As a result, democracy can be used for selfish gain, especially in the use of representatives. However, it is not all gloom for democracy as it bears positive aspects to it, as well. Democracy in exercising majority rule guarantees the protection of minority rights against violation in all aspects (Cincotta, n.d). This is because the rights of dissenters are not dependent on the goodwill of the majority who accent . Moreover, in democracy, the government only plays a minor role in the social organization that leads to pluralism (Cincotta, n.d). As a result, most social and private organizations and institutions remain free from the interference of the government. Socialism Socialism refers to a social system that advocates for liberty, equality and fraternity in its implementation (Cockshott & Cottrell, 2012). It traces its origins to a wide variety of influences that include its manifestation as a philosophy and the ideas of various scholars. Therefore, with its already established goals, it applied a hybrid of Christian communalism, feudalism and liberal capitalism to daily living (Daum, n.d). This made it utopian socialism and could be easily related to in the everyday life Socialism has a number of merits to it. This is because; it grants people liberty in the form of freedom from oppression and slavery, freedom of speech and association (Cockshott & Cottrell, 2012). In addition to this s ocialism grants freedom of conscience and separates the church form the state, as in traditional socialist states. In addition, socialism brings about equality in the society due to its nature in enforcing social values upon a society. Therefore, it allows for freedom in most social aspects in that all members of a society that practices socialism has access to the same opportunities (Cockshott &