Social Problems: Causes and Solutions

Social Problems: Causes and Solutions Introduction Sociology seeks to discover, describe and explain the order which characterises the social life of man (Inkeles, 1964 cited in McNeil and Townley, p.21).Various attempts have been made to define social problems; however there is no adequate definition of social problems. Birenbaum and Sagarin defined social problems as, ‘’ A social problems exists when the collective society is rent by, at the very least a public recognition that there is a sector of society, represented by its practices, which threatens or prevents others or themselves from establishing or maintaining their claims to membership’’ (Birenbaum and Sagarin, p.16). Rubington and Weinberg, offers their own definition of social problem as, ‘’an alleged situation that is incompatible with the values of a significant number of people who agree that action is needed to alter the situation’’ (Rubington and Weinberg, 1989 p.4). The definition of any problem as a social probl em, means that it is a problem that requires that affects society as a whole and needs society to come together to deal with the problem (May, et al eds 2001 p.17) Social problems are approached from a constructive perspective and a realist perspective. Saragu develops a social constructive approach to the intersection of social divisions and policy, Bucchi on the other hand develops an introduction to the post structuralist critique of problem and policy centred approach (May, et al eds (2001 p.13). Constructive perspective of social problems looks at social problems three main aspects; namely the society constructs as a problem, the contested character of social construction and the changing character of social construction (May, et al eds 2001 p.8) A realist perspective looks at social problems as real problems that exist and which everyone agrees to their existence and requires explanation. The constructive perspective on the other hand, looks at social problems as a constructio n of society. The question they ask is who says there is a social problem what sort of social problem, do they say it is (May, et al eds (2001). The main issue between the different perspectives of social problem is whether social problems are factual and objective for sociologists to investigate and explain. This essay will look at social problems and the difficulty of solving them. I will start by looking at common factors relating to social problems. Common factors relating to social problems All social problems are prone to a number of different definitions and interpretations. The journalist looks at a social problem from a perspective different from that of a sociologist or a philosopher. The journalist may report a problem in a certain manner, there by actually exaggerating the real problem and causing further alarm in the society. Sociologist will interpret a social problem from a different perspective. Different explanations of social problems are another common factor relating to all social problems. People usually do have different explanation why social problems occur. Society is always looking for whom to blame for a social problem. They always attribute the cause of a problem to the individual, family or the government. How a problem is presented, is another common factor relating to social problems. The press do play a role in this regard. Journalists are interested in sensational news which they feel will interest the public. Issues are termed social problems, when they are brought to the knowledge of the public and they become part of the public discourse Professional intervention is another fact common to social policies. Professionals in our society are quick to label people, that they believe do not conform to ‘standard normal behaviour’, they more often than not marginalise such people and segregate them, (e.g.) special schools, special needs. The victims view point is another factor that is common in all social problems. There is a world of difference between the way a victim sees himself and the way society views him. Society stereotypes certain people. We all have our prejudices, knowingly or unknowingly. The way the society views homeless people is different from the way homeless people view themselves. Finally, how to find the solution to social problems is an element that is common to all social problems. There is no generally accepted way, social problems can be solved. Some solutions can be very complex, while others appear straight forward. Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) was introduced as a straight forward solution to deal with anti social behaviour. However, many young people now regard ASBO as a badge of honour (The Guardian, Monday November 6 2006). To tackle the issue of juvenile crimes and ethnic groups will require complex situations. Causes of Social Problems Generally speaking a perspective means a way of looking at things. I will now briefly look at the causes of social problems from different perspectives. I will first look at the individual perspective. Some commentators argue that criminals were abnormally conditioned by biological and environmental factors (Rubington and Weinberg, 1989 p.33). Others however argue that causes of social problems are due mainly to the society/ environment and not due to the physiological make up of individuals. However, certain actions of individuals or groups are so glaring that they causes of social problems are directly attributed to them. Another reason why social problems occur is due to peer group or family pressure. Disagreement between individuals or groups in a society can also lead to social problems. This is called the interaction perspective. Fall out between different cultures and religion in a society is a reason why social problems occur. People are usually influenced by their culture and religion. Some people are very fanatic in their views and believe and see some one of a different faith or race as different from them. This can to a lot of social problems. Social structures are the very basic foundation of any society, and it is a major reason why social problems occur. Some individuals or group might feel excluded from the social, economic or political structures of society. The social structures of society might be designed in such a way that they shut off or marginalise certain segments of their society, usually minority groups. Added to this is that government interferences and policies, might cause social problems, as they may favour certain segments of the society while excluding others. Examples of Social Problems Poverty Poverty has so many definitions. Poverty is powerlessness. It has so many faces and it is changing from place to place and across time (World health Organization, 2001). Absolute poverty is disenabling. It means that one can not afford the basic human requirement. By this, I mean that it robs one of many things in life, including his dignity and pride. Relative deprivation means that one is not keeping up with the standards in a given city. Poverty is one of the major reasons why people are excluded from the political, social and economic structures of society (Maxwell and Kenway, 2001). Poverty is usually constructed by a distinction between normal people, and those that are poor. The constructive perspective of poverty does not deny the existence of poverty, but that only some people at some time and in some place will be labelled as being in poverty May, et al eds 2001 p.7) A realist perspective will look at poverty as objectively describable and will attempt to offer an explanati on. Juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency is a complex, serious problem. The cause of this problem includes peer pressure and the failure of our social structures, among others. However it is not a new phenomenon. In 1880, the penologist Enoch Wines, wrote, ‘’ Delinquent children, the criminals of the next generation, must be prevented from pursuing their criminal carers; they are born to it, brought up to it. They must be saved’’ (Wines, 1880, p.132 cited in McNeil and Townley, p.21-27). We can not overstate, the fact that Juvenile delinquency is a huge social problem today. The government have tried to deal with it, with legislation, cumulating in the crime and disorder Act 1998, Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) and parenting orders. However, the media seem to be giving a lot of attention to delinquent youths and portraying them as monsters and race and gender issues have not adequately been looked in to. There is also a difference of opinions on how the problem can be sol ved. The realist perspective will acknowledge the existence of the problem, while a constructive perspective, will view it as a construction of society. Ethnicity and Social problems Ethnicity generally refers to a group’s attachment to a particular area and sharing a peculiar way of life. Racism is when a group of people are treated differently because of their colour. There have been ethnic and racial problems in our society. The media have played a part in upping ethnic tension in the UK. Race riots have flared in some parts of the UK. There have also been reported increases in race attacks. Our institutions, particularly the police and the media have been branded institutionally racist. People from ethnic minority are more likely to be stopped and searched by the police and they are more likely to be socially, economically and politically excluded, more than white people. They are also more likely to be projected as social problems. The cause of ethnic tension is usually an unfounded fear that diversity is a threat to the dominant group in society. The realist perspective will acknowledge the existence of this problem and will seek an explanation for i t. The constructive perspective will view the issue as a construction by society. Single parents Single parents are a social phenomenon now regarded as a social problem because they are believed to have an impact on our values. They tend to impact directly on society, socially, economically, and ideologically. Single parents become a problem, when they cost the state a lot. A good number of single parents depend on state benefits. Fathers are usually absent, and do not contribute towards the upkeep of the children. The social cost of absent fathers can not be overlooked (Dennis and Erdos, 1993). The government have put in place legislation namely the 1989 Children’s Act and the 1991 Child Support Act to deal with the problem. Conclusion Social problems are hard to solve. They seem to be ingrained in the complex web of unwanted state intervention, reckless forms of individual behaviour and economic factors. Social problems have no commonly accepted forms of definition, but they all have common factors that relate to them. In the problems that I listed above, they are all seen from different perspectives and given different explanations. It depends on who is viewing the problem. The media and the government also contribute to making social problems hard to solve. Some social problems might be downplayed and others blown out of proportion. Some times the intervention of the government and experts may worsen a problem as they tend to look at the problem form their own point of view, without taking the point of view of individual or groups suffering the problems directly in to consideration. Individuals can also make social problems difficult to solve. They may mislead the government by providing incorrect data. Economic factors do play a part. The government might not see some social problems as a top priority for them to solve and thus will not earmark enough funds to tackle the problem. Sometimes, the government may not have the political will to solve certain social problems. Some social problems are interwoven in to our social, political and economic structure, that to solve them, we will need to dismantle our entire structure. Finally, there is no generally accepted way to solve social problems. Some solutions appear easy, while others appear complex, but you can not be certain, that the proffered solution will solve the problem. Bibliography Bilton et al eds (2002) Introduction to Sociology, Fourth Edition, Macmillan, London Dennis, N and Erdos, N (1993) Families without fatherhood, Institute for the study of civil society, London Downes, D Rock, P (1995) Understanding Deviance, Oxford University Press, New-York Fulcher, J Scot, J (2006) Sociology, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford Levin, J, Innis, K, Carroll, W Bourne, R (2000) Social Problems, causes, consequences, Interventions, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, new-York Maxwell, S and Kenway, P (2001) The Challenge of Ending rural poverty, Oxford University Press, Oxford May, et al eds (2001) Understanding Social problems, Blackwell Publishers, McNeill, P Townley, C (1986) Fundamentals of Sociology, Second Edition, Hutchinson, London Raab, E Selznick (1964), Major Social Problems, Paterson and Company, Evanston, Illinois Rubington, E Weinberg, (1989) The Study of Social Problems, Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford Rubington, E and Weinberg, M (1989) The Study of Social Problems, Oxford University Press, New-York Spector, M Kitsuse, J (2000) Constructing Social Problems, Transaction, New-Jersey Pop Art Movement: A Summary Pop Art Movement: A Summary Pop Art: A Reactionary Realism by American art critic Donald Kuspit underscores his view that to the extent that Pop-art was was a realistic movement, it ridiculed expressionism and was politically reactionary due to the fact that it approved? Of art on the status quo? By embracing? And celebrating Images of American mass media and popular culture. (Walker 2009) In attempt to bring art back into American daily life, the Pop-art movement depicted elements of popular culture by using common everyday objects, chiefly advertising and product packaging, television and comic strips. The images are portrayed with a blend of humour, criticism and irony. Through this, the movement ascertained the position of art into everyday and contemporary life. It assisted in decreasing the gap between high art and low art and abolished the distinction between fine art and commercial art methods. The Pop-art movement rebuffed the abstract style because of its cultured? And aristocratic nature. (World Wide Art Resources 2009) It was during the 1980s that there was a renewal of interest in the Pop-art of the well known Andy Warhol and contemporaries, this resurgence of interest was known as neo-Pop. Adapted from its forefathers, contemporary Pop-art consists of a reworked form; a revival of identifiable celebrities and objects from popular culture with icons and symbols of the current times. (Art History Archive n.d.) Contemporary Pop-art lends from the past, maintaining the critical evaluation of Western culture, relationships, values and interactions. It frequently satirises celebrities and candidly embraces ideas that are challenging and controversial. Although the bombardment upon society of Popular culture and advertising has become significantly greater since the Pop-art movement began, I believe that the critiques of Pop-art are not appropriate to the original nor the contemporary Pop-art scene. Pop-artists artists have continually been engaged in a crucial dialogue with mass culture. They are noted for exploiting these increasingly despised images of mass culture in order to facilitate the critical examination of the effects of consumerism on human thought, emotion and creativity and challenging our assumptions about the purpose and identity of art in a world inundated with media images and messages (University of Virginia 2006), as the following examples by contemporary artists will demonstrate. (expand on this?) Jeff Koons is perhaps the most renowned Pop-artist of the current day. He addresses societys fixation with Pop culture and counteracts the division between appearance and reality, surface and depth, and art and commodity (reword more?)Koons forms his art pieces on consumer products and manipulates everyday objects in order to overemphasise mass-produced cultural objects while uncovering the nuances of marketing. In difference to his 1960s forbearers, Koons desire is to remark on societies psychological investment in consumerism and how these consumer products are fabricated to allure. (Art Knowledge News n.d.) Jeff Koons first exhibition was titled Equilibrium, which was displayed in 1985. One of the defining features of this decade was the forceful growth of consumerism. For this exhibition he produced a series of works displaying consumer items in glass cases. In Three Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Fig 1), three basketballs were suspended in a glass case, surrounded by authentic Nike posters displaying basketball players in positions of power. The posters in the work represent sport as a means to achieve fame and fortune for young working-class Americans. The posters almost exclusive use of black athletes not just as stars, but in roles associated with elevated power and respect is a comment on the traditional social system that in reality refutes this power or respect to a large majority of African-Americans. According to Koons, the suspended basketballs also suggest death and fame, the ultimate states of existence. (Tate Collection n.d.) Koons Made in Heaven (Fig 2) series is a collection of overtly sexually explicit photographs and sculptures featuring the artist in moments of sexual passion and intimacy with his then pornstar wife Cicciolina. The exuberant images were first displayed during the 1990 Venice Biennale, among more conventional forms of expression. The series produced both shock and excitement among audiences, and stirred much controversy in the art world with a scandalous subject matter that pushed the limits of twentieth century censorship. Although pornography has been a widely acknowledged aspect of society, it deemed controversial because it is a form of Popular culture that was and still remains taboo in polite company. Koons is notorious for testing the boundaries of acceptable taste; his intention in Made in Heaven was to critically examine love, romance and sexual desire, involving the viewer by making them a contributor to the artwork, as most pornography necessitates an outside viewer to be c lassified as such. (Christies 2009)The Made in Heaven series was also in part a response to The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, by the fifteenth century painter Massacio. Koons remarks, In The Expulsion, theres all this guilt and shame that were on Adam and Eves faces, and I wanted to make a body of work that was about guilt and shame and the importance of removing that, so that people could have transcendence over guilt and shame in their own history. (Nance 2010) Made for part of his Banality series, is Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988) (Fig 3), a six feet long ceramic gilded white and gold statue depicting mega Pop-star Michael Jackson with his pet monkey Bubbles, immortalised as cultic and sacred personalities in an idealised state. Its initially blatantly kitsch appearance gives way to reveal its hyper-realistic approach to evoke the fragility of modern days most eminent star. The situation illustrated in the piece deals with societys idolisation and the ever more bizarre media narrative of Michael Jacksons life. Koons states, It really wasnt so much about Michael Jackson. It was about celebrity status, and about hopes, ideals, hierarchies that are placed on structures which take human form. (Nance 2010) Michael Jackson is the archetype of the glamorous, eccentric tragic and ambivalent and Koons encourages numerous interpretive possibilities. (Astrup Fearnly Museum n.d.) An additional example of a contemporary Pop-artist is American sculptor, Daniel Edwards. His sculptures deal with celebrity and Pop culture in a manner that frequently rouses controversy. The release of his works are usually paired with a press release. (Capla Kesting Fine Art n.d.) While frequently denigrated for his use of celebrity, Edwards artwork are also acknowledged as prophetic and consistent in their capacity for humanising social issues that the media and public have difficulty addressing. Autopsy of Paris Hilton (2007) (Fig 4) was produced as a confrontational and graphic interactive display to communicate to the young the dangers of drink driving. The sculpture is life-sized and depicts Paris Hilton sprawled on a bench with her legs splayed. In one hand she clutches her mobile phone whilst in the other is a glass of wine, in this sculpture she has supposedly died as a result of her drink driving, in which in reality she has been convicted of on numerous occasions. The public are encouraged to remove her innards through a cavity in her abdomen, giving a coroners perspective. Contained within this cavity is also her uterus containing twin dead foetuses, which Edwards says is to bring attention to the teen pregnancy crisis. The sculpture is an attempt to de-glamorise the life of a diva and partier which Hilton is renowned for.(Rayme 2007) The sculpture perhaps also alludes to the cult which is celebrities and their every occurrence and the media and publics unquenchable hunger to get as close as possibly to their idols. Daniel Edwards Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston (2006) (Fig 5), portrays celebrity Britney Spears in a position of natural birth, whereas in fact she gave birth to her son via c-section and was heavily drugged. The piece created much political debate. According to Edwards it promotes pro-life. At its reveal he called his piece an image of birth and mentioned that it was a new take on the pro-life perspective. He states that pro-lifers generally endorse bloody images of abortion and his aim is to generate debate about a topic that is as he states greater than either pro-life and pro-choice advocates. (Rayme 2007) Japanese artist Masumasa Morimura is a well-known example of appropriating worldwide recognised images taken from mass media and popular culture In my view, there can be no generalisation about the quality, meaning and social significance of works of art, given the discrepancies of aesthetic responses and interpretations. Furthermore, Donald Kuspits view expressed in his article suffers owing to the fact that he assumes that artists should be critics of society rather than witnesses or simply narrators of it. Kuspit is an example of a critic who universalises his personal opinion of Pop-art and delivers his judgement whilst ignoring other responses to Pop. (Walker 2009) Pop art was and still remains one of the most popular styles of art, it was successful in communicating to the general public in a mode in which few art movements did or have since done. (Encyclopedia of World Art n.d.) The reality that Pop-art is effective in generating such a broad range of responses is a tribute to its at first seemingly ambiguous character, a testament that it is more complex and diverse than some critics have accepted, and an indication that it is not as trivial and straightforward as some commentators believe. (Walker 2009)

Essay --

In 1906, Upton Sinclair wrote a gruesomely, memorable exposà © which he entitled The Jungle. Readers cannot ignore what falls into the sausage vats, the rotting ham that is no longer sold as ham, or the rats. â€Å"Sinclair awakened a nation not just to the dangers in the food supply, but to the central role government has to play in keeping it safe† (Cohen). I read The Jungle as a freshman in high school and it took this horrifying book to open my eyes to industrial animal farming and where it stands in America today. While the Food and Drug Act has cleaned up the gory images of humans falling into meat grinders, is the picture any less grim for America, its resources, and its farmed animals? Between watering the crops for farmed animals, providing drinking water for these animals, and cleaning away their waste that is found in factory farms, transportation trucks, and slaughterhouses, the farm-raised animal places an enormous strain on the water supply. Nearly half of all the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food (Meat Production). According to PETA, one would save more water by not eating a pound of meat than they would by not showering for six months. As seen Fig4. it takes many more thousands of gallons of water to produce meat, while growing the same amount of fruits and vegetables requires significantly less water. An article in the New York Times asserted that â€Å"by changing one’s diet to replace 50% of animal products with edible plants like legumes, nuts, and tubers results in a 30% reduction in an individual’s food-related water footprint. Going vegetarian reduces that water footprint by almost 60%† (McWilli ams). Armed with this knowledge, one can clearly see that vegetarians save tremendous qu... ...ation†¦. Beef also used the most land and had the highest acidification impacts.† Lamb did a bit better, followed by pigs, and chicken came out on top . This being said, chicken farming still has a major impact on the environment. Just because the most widely eaten meat in America is the â€Å"greenest† of the meats does not mean it is entirely green. As shocking as this is, remember, this statistic is minuscule when compared to cows. Both a meat-based diet and a vegetarian diet require significant quantities of nonrenewable fossil fuels, water, and land, but a meat-based diet ultimately requires more . The average American gets 67% their dietary protein from animal sources (Fig.7 and Public Health), compared with a world-wide average of 34%. This quite is a significant difference and the US’s 67% is largely made up of store bought animal products (Public Health).

Using Lies to Define Morality of Characters in Adventures of Huckleberr

Mark Twain once said, "Lie--an abomination before the Lord and an ever present help in time of trouble." Twain's description of deceit gives it a type of double meaning. This idea of lying being used for good as well as evil is not unheard of. Many time people find it necessary to lie to maintain a greater good or save a life. However, all too often, people lie for self-serving, immoral purposes. In this quote, Twain elegantly shows the delicate balance between good and evil in the performance of the same act. Furthermore, Twain also shows this complex thought in his portrayal of characters in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twains novel emulates his quote, juxtaposing the good and bad aspects of stretching the truth. Throughout the novel, Twain provides numerous commentaries on the morality of characters. His display of deception in the story continually serves to improve the reader?s understanding of a character?s moral integrity, based on the nature and intent of the lie. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the lies of numerous characters to better define the moral ambiguity of those characters. Twain portrays the complete lack of moral fiber in the King and the Duke through their cons and deceit. On numerous accounts, the King and the Duke lie to others exclusively for self-serving and wicked motives. From the first meeting with the King and the Duke, Huck knows that, ?these liars warn?t no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds? (ch. 19), knowledge obtained via the utter disregard for others in the King and the Duke?s scams. Huck?s use of ?fraud? (ch. 19), for instance, highlights the duo?s use of fabricated personas to rob others of their possessions, acts of such low ... ...n contrast to those of the King and Duke expose the dichotomy between good and evil present in everyday life. Traditionally, a dark shadow has loomed over the art of deception, and rightfully so in regards to the King and Duke. However, when in the face of a greater evil, a small number of noble people can use lies in a dignified manner, as demonstrated by Huckleberry Finn. By observing the motives someone has for straying from the truth, the morality of that person emerges, becoming ever more discernable . Lying, however, has evolved into an archetype for immorality and evil, only to be slightly redeemed by those who are fighting for a greater good. In this light, Twain portrays the dichotomy nested within deceitfulness within numerous characters in his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a dichotomy that is too often slanted toward one, immoral side. - cdyoung

Influence of Culture on Human Technology :: Sanders The Men We Carry in Our Minds

Influence of Culture on Human Technology The influence that culture has had on human technology is undeniable. One could even go as far as to say that sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish between the two. The term â€Å"culture† is extremely difficult to define because of the vast array of meanings that people attach to it. For this very reason, it is imperative to examine the most basic notion of culture, namely: â€Å"the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought† (as taken from www.dictionary.com). Given this definition, it seems reasonable to conclude that human technologies fall under the category of â€Å"all other products of human work and thought†. Yet, although human technologies are closely linked to culture, we must draw certain distinctions between the two. Today, for example, pop culture is thought of as the exportation of American music, food, and cinema. This is a legitimate example of a culture because it encompasses the ideas/beliefs/traditions of a vast group of people. Computers on the other hand, although great as inventions, cannot be considered a culture. One might argue that computers are part of a culture, or may have even led to a culture (namely, the information age), but in and of themselves, computers and other such human technologies are just that, technologies. Technologies can either be of the mechanical/scientific sort (such as the car) or they can be a type of innovative idea that changes life in some profound way. Having established workable definitions for both culture and human technology, we can now deal with the question of how culture has affected human technology. Given the broad scope of the question, there are several ways to answer it. One way of doing this would be to examine several different cultural movements or characteristics (i.e. art, religion, etc.) and see how they have helped create different human technologies. Another way of analyzing the relationship between the two however, is to look at a human technology and see how culture has altered it. This will be the method employed in this essay. I) Religion and War One of the most obvious examples of a culture or a cultural aspect influencing a human technology is the relationship between religion and the nation-state.

Are Iphones Making Us Stupid?

Bridgett Goss English 101 MWF 11-11:50 September 23, 2012 Dr. Barko Are IPhones Making Us Stupid? Have we become too depended on our portable technology? Some people, not just teenage girls, cannot function without having their phone in hand constantly. Technology is not a just product anymore, it is a lifestyle, and without it people honestly do not think that they will not make it. These smart phones have everything on them; you can access internet search sites, shopping net works, public networks, and so much more.People are so into their phones that they will look like complete idiots by running into things and sometimes seriously hurting themselves because they are so taken into by their phones. I know I am a person that depends on my phone for everything, even simple things like telling the time. My phone is my access to my family all the way back in Louisiana, that is how I not only get to talk to them but also get to see them by using Skype and other camera products.Without t exting and being able to communicate with other people that are across the country from me I will go crazy. I think that technology, especially smart phones, like the IPhone, they are an addiction. Like the article with Google, we are dependent on them, we do not retain information because all we have to do is type it in our phone or even talk to and ask our phone and we get a quick response.People’s phones are their source of work also, they have their entire work career on their phone, and in some cases also their personal lives. Is there anything we can do to fix our addiction to our phones? Hopefully it will not become much more of a problem than it already is, as a whole our civilization needs to understand that technology is a resource not a life solution.

Common Intention Essay

Section 149 deals with the 5 or more people as that would account for unlawful assembly here section 34 is not applicable. Section 34 talks about common intention whereas section 149 talks about common object such as the common object have a wider scope. Common intention is if two or more person commits any crime with the same intention and under a prearranged plan, but in common object  it is not necessary that there should be a prior concert in the sense of a meeting of the members of the unlawful assembly, the common object may form on spur of the moment; it is enough if it is adopted by all the members and is shared by all of them. In section 34 Participation of the people in crime is an important aspect, even standing people who indirectly help in commissioning of crime are also prosecuted. But in Section 149 mere membership of the group of an unlawful assembly is sufficient enough for prosecution. Section 34 is substantive evidence and other sections like 302 murder has to be clubbed with it. Section 149 is a constructive crime in itself. Section 34: Acts Done by Several Persons in Furtherance of Common Intention-  According to Section 34, when a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of common intention of all, each of such persons is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone. Object of Section 34:-  Section 34 lays down only a rule of evidence and does not create a substantive offence. This section is intended to meet cases in which it may be difficult to distinguish between the acts of the individual embers of a party or to prove exactly what part was taken by each of them in furtherance of the common intention of all. This section really means that if two or more persons intentionally do a thing jointly, it is just the same as if each of them has done it individually. The reason why all are deemed guilty in such cases is that the presence of accomplices gives encouragement, support and protection to the person actually committing an act. Elements of Section 34:  T o attract the application of Section 34, the following conditions must be satisfied:- 1. Some Criminal Act: –  Ã¢â‚¬ËœCriminal act’ used in section 34 does not refer to individual acts where a crime is committed by a group of persons. Where a crime is committed by several persons in furtherance of common intention of all of them, each of them doing some act, similar or diverse, big or small shall be liable for that act. ‘That act’ refers to the ‘criminal act’ used in section 34 which means the unity of criminal behaviour which results in something for which an individual would be punishable if it were all done by himself alone in an offence. . Criminal Act Done By Several Persons: –  The criminal act in question must have been done by several persons i. e. by more than one person. The number of wrong doers should be at least two. Most importantly, if the criminal act was fresh and independent act springing wholly from the mind of the doer, the others are not liable merely because when it was done they were intending to b e partakers with the doer in a different criminal act. 3.

Comparative Paper Essay

The welcome table and country lovers share the same theme but are adversely different in many ways, yet in some they are a lot alike. In this paper I will compare and contrast The Welcome table by Alice Walker and Country lovers by Nadine Gordimer. I will address how they both are written in form, context, and style. I will explain different literary elements the author’s used to give detail about the stories. The two stories being compared and contrasted are similar in that they both are written around the same theme, race, and ethnicity. They are also both written in third person. The two writers Alice Walker and Nadine Gordimer were both expressing stories of racial inequality. They also show the reader that when the story was written it was not allowed to have a white person and black person in a relationship. They also express how unequal it was for a white person compared to a black person. In â€Å"The welcome table† a black woman came up to the steps of a white church and the preacher of that church stopped her at the lobby and said â€Å"Auntie, you know this is not your church† (Clangston 2010).† In the story country lovers Thebedi and Paulus, the main characters, had grown up together and ended up having a sexual relationship. When Paulus finds out Thebedi had a light skinned child he kills it because a white and black relationship is not allowed. He is also ashamed about being in a relationship with her and denies all accusations against him. In country lovers the story is about a white male, Paulus Eysendyck, who is the son of a farmer, and Thebedi one of the black female workers on the farm. The story starts off with them as children playing together along with all the other children, but Paulus and Thebedi were closer than the others. As they grow up Paulus goes to school and brings Thebedi gifts and tells her stories about school. They eventually end up having a sexual relationship and Thebedi ends up pregnant. Paulus is away at school when she finds this information out along with finding out she is getting married to Njabulo a black male who also works for the farmer. Thebedi gets married and has the baby. Njabulo knows that the child is not his because it has straight hair and light colored skin, but still raises him as his own. Paulus returns from school and overhears the in house servants talking about the light skinned child. He then goes out to the living quarters to see it. He finds Thebedi and Njabulo’ s house and secretly kills the child. The author uses imagery, character, and third person point of view (bookrags.com) throughout this story. The author paints a very good picture for the reader by using very graphic details describing everything. She uses character to describe the people in the story. Nadine Gordimer writes the story in third person objective. She only speaks as an outsider looking down on the story unfolding. She does not tell the reader what the characters feel throughout the story. Using imagery she makes a visual image of the characters and setting. â€Å"down there hidden by the mesh of old, ant-eaten trees held in place by vigorous ones, wild asparagus bushing up between the trunks, and here and there prickly-pear cactus sinken-skinned and bristly, like an old man’s face, keeping alive sapless until the next rainy season†. (Country lovers Nadine Gordimer). This is one example of what the reader experiences throughout the story. In The welcome table the main theme is also about racial inequality. This story starts out with an old black lady standing on the stairs of a church. She walks into the church and the preacher says â€Å"Auntie, you know this is not your church?† as if one could choose the wrong one. (Clangston 2010). She just walks past him and sits down in the very back row of the church. All the white people sitting inside near the front starred at her in disbelief. The usher came up to her and told her she needed to leave she just waved him off and told him to go away. The white wives told their husbands to get her out of the church also. They acted quickly and went to her and put an arm under hers to pick her up and carried her out. The author told the reader about the smell the men had on their fingers after carrying her out. It was a musty smell from her under arms. While she was standing on the front steps she looked up the road and saw Jesus. She was excited waving her arms so he did not miss her. She started walking with him and talking to him explaining everything even singing at times. At the end of the story they never saw her again. Many people speculated that she had died walking along the road. Many people though she had family on the other side of the river, but no one knew for sure. The incident was never spoken of in the church again. Alice Walker used third person, character and imagery like Nadine Gordimer did also. Alice Walker used third person omniscient allowing you not just to observe the action, but to see inside the thinking of those involved. She described the main character in great detail. She described here clothing â€Å"the missing buttons down the front of her mildewed black dress.† She described her personal qualities more in depth. She described her eyes, skin, and smell. â€Å"Aged blue-brown eyes†, â€Å"she was angular and lean and the color of poor gray Georgia earth, beaten by king cotton and the extreme weather. Her elbows were wrinkled and thick, the skin ashen but durable, like the bark of old pines.† (Clangston 2010). She also used similes throughout her story. The author did paint a picture using imagery, but this time it was of the main character, not the setting like Nadine Gordimer did. To compare the two stories both authors used imagery, character, third person point of view, and shared the same theme. The theme of both stories is about racial inequality. Both stories involved a black female as main characters. Life in the days these stories were written was not what it is like now. The story The Welcome Table was written in a collection of stories between 1967 and 1973. (Bradley, D). The story Country Lovers was written in 1975 (Custodio, L). This story also won the literary Nobel Prize in 1991. (nobelprize.org). Life in this time was not equal at all. Blacks were looked at as to be less that white people. In most places blacks and whites could not eat in the same areas or use the same drinking fountains and in most cases as we see in The Welcome Table could not even go to the same church. These were called Jim Crow laws. (nps.gov) In Country lovers we see they definitely could not be in a relationship. Both authors used imagery to let the reader see what was going on in the story. They both used describing details. In the welcome table the author describes to use the frigid cold outside and inside the church. She also tells us about the color and texture of her clothing, even describing the greasy hair stain on the bonnet. She also tells the smell of the underarms of the old lady after the men pick her up to remove her from the church. In Country lovers the author also uses imagery to give the reader a visual image of the story. She describes how Njabulo has built his house, making the reader feel as if they were right there looking at it. â€Å"Thebedi appeared, coming slowly from the hut Njabulo had built in white man’s style, with a tin chimney, and a proper window with glass panes set in straight as walls made of unfired bricks would allow.† (Clangston 2010). Along with telling the reader how the hut was built the author also describes the setting down by the dried up creek with great detail. â€Å" It had always been a good spot for children’s games/ down there hidden by the mesh of old, ant-eaten trees held in place by vigorous ones, wild asparagus bushing up between the trunks, and here and there prickly-pear cactus sunken- skinned and bristly, like an old man’s face, keeping alive sapless until the next rainy season.† (Clangston 2010). Both authors used character in their stories. The characters were involved in racial inequality yet neither author said anything about race or inequality in their stories. In The Welcome Table the old black lady tried to attend a white church. Three different times she was told that she did not belong first by the preacher â€Å"Auntie, you know this is not your church?† (Clangston 2010). The second, by the usher, who had never turned anyone away for church, never thought he would ever have to turn anyone away, and also â€Å"whispered that she should leave† (Clangston 2010). The last time was when the white wives told their husbands to remove her and that they did. They picked her up under her arms as set her back outside. In Country Lovers the main character Thebedi is a worker on the Paulus’ family farm. She is a poor black child whose parents had worked on the farm also. In the beginning Thebedi and Paulus along with all the other children played together and it was ok. As they got older and Paulus went to school he brought Thebedi gifts but, none for the other workers and once again that was ok. It’s when they begin their sexual relationship that problems occur. When Thebedi gets pregnant by Paulus she refuses to tell him. It is when the baby is born and Paulus over hears the in-house servants talking about it that it became a problem for him. Paulus immediately goes down to the hut to see the baby for himself and sees that the baby is light skinned, green-eyed, and straight haired. He then becomes ashamed and says â€Å"I feel like killing myself† (Clangston 2010). The authors chose to write in third person point of view, which to the reader, in these stories, lets them see and get a better understanding of what is happening and also lets the reader form their own opinion of the situation. If Nadine Gordimer would have written her story in first person she would have only let the reader see and understand what Thebedi was seeing and feeling. This would have taken the story in a completely different direction. At the same time if Alice Walker would have told the story in first person the story would have been less â€Å"juicy† with details. To contrast the stories, the stories are written in different types of third person, using imagery the authors describe different parts in the story and the stories plots were completely different. In Country lovers the plot was a love story. In The Welcome Table the plot was an old black lady not being allowed in a white person’s church. The type of point of view used in Alice Walker’s story is third person omniscient which allows the reader to see the action but to know the feelings of those involved. She used this to let the reader feel and know what the main character was thinking and feeling, and at the same time still tell what everyone else is doing around her. By writing in this version of third person the story was more informative. Had she written the way Nadine Gordimer wrote her story the reader would not fully understand what the main character was feeling. The point of view in which Nadine Gordimer wrote her story is first person objective. First person objective is â€Å"an external narrator who takes a detached approach to the action and characters, usually to create a dramatic effect, and does not enter into their minds.† (Clangston 2010). By writing this way she made the story more dramatic and kept the audience guessing until the end. If Country lovers were written like The Welcome Table Paulus would not have been as much of an influence in the story as he is now. Using imagery the authors went two completely different ways. One described qualities of the main character and little about the setting the other described the setting at multiple times. Nadine Gordimer wanted the reader to be standing next to the characters, seeing and almost being able to feel the setting throughout the story. Alice Walker on the other hand, wanted the reader to see the qualities of the old lady. She wanted the reader to be able to visualize every wrinkle and weather beaten inch of the old lady’s body. Other items the authors did differently were similes and character names. The only character named in The Welcome Table was Jesus. In country lovers almost every character in the story was named. By doing this the author makes the reader create a picture of the characters and it helps them understand the story line better. The Welcome Table used more similes than Country lovers. Nadine Gordimer wrote the story as if it were unfolding in front of the reader’s eyes. Alice Walker wrote in a past tense type of way. She put different selections of words in to make it seem as if she was there and was telling it to a school class trying to make them think. Both of the literary works are short stories. The way they write involves setting and specific details. They do not use a lot of dialog between characters, which would be indicative of a play. Short stories are close to the being written like a play would. A play is written with multiple characters. They all have multiple lines that describe what the story is supposed to be betraying. There are multiple set or setting changes throughout plays. The setting changes coincide with acts. Acts break up a play into many different parts. They will lead the audience into the next set of events that is about to happen. Inside each act is a scene, multiple scene makes up one act. The way plays are written compared to the way short stories are written are very different yet close in some parts. When a play is written it almost like reading a conversation between the characters with some describing lines to give a setting. Both The welcome table and Country lovers are written in the same form as compared to a play. They both do not use acts or scenes in the stories. With that being said Country Lovers could be turned into a play with the details and characters used throughout it. The lack of dialog and setting details in The Welcome Table would make it very hard to be turned into a play. In Country Lovers the author describes the setting very well. This helps the reader visualize what is happening and what the characters are doing and how they are acting. In this paper I compared and contrasted many different ways of writing between Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer and The Welcome Table by Alice Walker. Both writers used the same theme, race and inequality. They also used many of the same literary terms. Some of which were the same however most of which were not. They taught us that there is not a specific way every term or type of writing had to be written, there are many different ways to write the same thing. The welcome table and country lovers share the same theme but are adversely different in many ways, yet in some they are a lot alike. Some examples I explained were imagery, point of view, and character. The theme may be the same but Country lovers and The Welcome Table do not share the same plot or story line. Every story paints a picture, yet some paint in different ways. I also described how the forms of the short stories are written compared to a play. Country Lovers was written in great detail of the characters and the setting. The Welcome table on the other hand lacks the qualities and elements that Country Lovers have. Which would make Country lovers much easier to turn into a play compared to The welcome table. References http://leecustodio.hubpages.com/hub/Country-Lovers-an-Analysis Explore  » Books, Literature, and Writing (105,185)  »Books and Novels (16,746) Clangston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. https://content.ashford.edu/books Bradley, David (1984). The New York Times. New York Times Company http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/04/specials/walker-story.html â€Å"Nadine Gordimer – Nobel Lecture: Writing and Being†. Nobelprize.org. 14 Aug 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1991/gordimer-lecture.html http://www.nps.gov/malu/forteachers/jim_crow_laws.htm The Welcome Table from BookRags and Gale’s For Students Series.  ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.