Americans Bias Against Muslims Essay Example for Free

Americans Bias Against Muslims Essay Orientalism, simply put, is the perception the West has of the East. The concept was mapped out by Edward Said in his book Orientalism, where he explores the concept, its origin, and how it functions. Said states that Orientalism is the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, [and] ruling over it (3). However, Said points out that even if Orientalism from the beginning was not a creation with no corresponding reality the concept he studies in the book is that of the internal consistency of Orientalism and its ideas about the Orient despite or beyond any correspondence with the real Orient (5). What Said is saying is that the characteristics drawn up about the Orient within Orientalism ar not necessarily compatible with reality. The Western eagerness to characterize the Oriental came from the desire to put a face to the unknown, becoming a political vision of reality whose structure promoted the difference between East and West, them and us, the familiar and the strange (43). Orientalism became a dictionary displaying the characteristics of the Oriental subject, characteristics that were fixed and unchangeable (42, 70). The attributes given to the Oriental helped strengthen the image of Western superiority and justified colonialism. The West was seen as superior to the East, meaning that it had the right to dominate the subject race, since it did not know what was good for it (Said 35). Irrational, depraved (fallen), childlike, [and] different,,4 (40) were words used to describe Orientals. Europeans then became rational, virtuous, mature, [and] normal (40), and the line between the two parts of the world was set; Europe (or the West) as the strong one and Asia (or the East) as the weak one (57). The Orientals were given the role of the Other, ruled by their emotions rather than sense, which made them crueller than the enlightened Western man (Barry 186). The role of the Other made ruling over them justified. The same method is still used by Orientalists today (Said 60), so the hegemony that makes the West believe itself to be superior to the East stays alive in both Western and Eastern cultures. Orientalism is written to explore how and why these ideas have such a central and fixed part in the mentality of the West (and East). In the preface to the 2003 issue of the book Said writes about 9111 and the following War on Terror in this way: Without a well-organized sense that these people over there were not like us and didnt appreciate our values the very core of Orientalism there would have been no war (xv). In this quote it is evident that the Oriental stereotype is still very much present in todays society and is affecting events in the world; Said even argues that the war in Afghanistan and Iraq would not be a fact if it was not for this stereotype. Although the role of the suppressed was given to the East, it was still, and is still, surrounded by mystery and exoticism because it was/is something so different from the West. Its exoticism made it hard to grasp and understand for Western society (Barry 186). It could be suggest that the contrasting images of the exotic Orient and the dangerous Orient are both images that exist in an attempt to make the ungraspable graspable. Even if these images are different they are sticking around because they provide an explanation. Said also points out that Orientalism is a three-way force that affects both the Orient, the Orientalists and the Western consumer of Orientalism (Said 67). Since the ideas of the Orient within Orientalism affect all three stages it makes it almost impossible to erase the stereotype that has been erected. The only way would be to embrace hybridity, which means accepting each others differences and looking beyond the man-made distinction between East and West (Said 5). After the 9/11 attacks it became even more evident that the stereotype evoked in Orientalism was not about to disappear, despite the new global society. Said gives an example of how an Arab is typically portrayed as a bloodthirsty, deceiving slave trader, who is a sadist and so on, in movies and on television (287). This image was not far away when the media, and politicians for that matter, started portraying all Easterners as bloodthirsty terrorists driven by non-rational thoughts (Scanlan 274). The fear of the unknown, of the suppressed rising and gaining power, of the Other speaking up, is as scary today as it was hundreds of years ago. These images of the East are what The Reluctant Fundamentalist explores, showing how deeply rooted they are in society and how they blossomed after 9/11. The novel tries to make the reader reflect upon this stereotype, how it might be wrong and why it exists.

Should College Athletes be Paid? Essay -- Essays Papers

Should College Athletes be Paid? Over the past century college athletics have grown more popular than most professional sports. Most of its popularity is due to a large student body in addition to its Alumni, but nonetheless it has surpassed professional sports from its monetary success to its fan support. College athletics are also a very important commodity to Universities around the nation. Next to student's tuition, that's where the majority of the money comes from. No one is more responsible for bringing in that money more than the coach and his/her players. In this notion, one would think that such important people should be paid for a job well done. But this isn't the case. Over the years a question has emerged, should college athletes be paid? After all, college athletics is a job. Some coaches make more than professional coaches. Why shouldn't the players have a chance to do the same? In the article entitled, "Show them the Money", Mark Martinez argues why college athletes should be paid. This is a very simple article for anyone to read. Anyone who is a...

Hiv Prevention Strategy In Nigeria Health And Social Care Essay

Nigeria ‘s population of 140 million is the largest in Africa with 1 in 6 Africans being Nigerian. The information from the 2005 HIV study indicates that approximately 4.4 % of Nigerians are infected with HIV. The prevalence exhibits province broad disparity of between 1.6 % in Ekiti province ( south West ) and 10 % in Benue province ( north cardinal ) . ( Figure 1 ; NACA, 2007 ) While the infection rate is slower than some other African states, issues about HIV are still high on the docket because of the states high population. ( Figure 2 ; Jennifer Kates, Alyssa Wilson Leggoe, 2005 ) The Antenatal information shows that immature grownups appear most affected with 3.6 % amongst pregnant 15-19 twelvemonth olds and 4.7 % amongst 20-24 twelvemonth olds ( Figure 3 ; Technical Report National HIV/Syphilis Sero-Prevalence Sentinel Survey, 2005 ) This fact highlights the demand for a good co-ordinated National HIV/AIDS bar plan to farther decelerate down the infection rate and cut do wn incidence. ( NACA, 2007 ) Figure 1: HIV Prevalence by State ( 2005 ) www.naca.gov.ng Figure2 a ) Percentage of Adults estimated to be populating with HIV/AIDS and B ) Number of People estimated to be populating with HIV/AIDS. Beginning: HIV/AIDS Fact sheet, 2005 Figure 3: HIV Prevalence by Age group ( Old ages ) 2005 www.naca.gov.ng Drivers of the HIV Epidemic in Nigeria Informal Transactional Sexual activity: While commercial sex workers ( CSWs ) have long been identified as critical in impacting the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic rubber usage among them is high. A cardinal driver nevertheless is informal commercial sex among the general population ( J. Robinson, 2008 ; NACA, 2007 ) Low Risk Percept: 67 % of Nigerians perceive themselves to be at no hazard of undertaking HIV while 29 % perceive themselves to be at low hazard and merely 2 % rated their opportunities of infection high ( NARHS, 2005 ; NACA, 2007 ) Multiple Partnerships: In Nigeria, spiritual beliefs tend to back up the publicity of common fidelity ; NDHS ( 2003 ) nevertheless proved that multiple sexual partnerships are common particularly amongst sexually active work forces. About 30 % and 24 % single and married work forces severally reported holding more than one sexual spouse in the past twelvemonth ( NDHS 2003, NACA 2007 ) . While work forces with multiple spouses have a 60 % increased hazard, adult females are 10 % higher than work forces. ( NARHS, 2005 ) Lack of established STD Programming for Most at Risk Population ( MARP ) : Package of services provided to MARPs is limited. Linkages to HIV guidance and testing, STD direction and intervention are weak and have relied chiefly on referrals. Continuing Risky Behaviour of males in General Population: Hazardous behavior in the general population is more prevailing among work forces than adult females. 26 % of work forces report holding more than one sex spouse in the last twelvemonth as against 2 % in adult females. ( NARHS, 2005 ) Gender Inequalities: Underliing causes and effects of HIV/AIDS infections in work forces and adult females varies reflecting differences in biological science, sexual behavior, societal attitudes, economic power, exposure, and cultural attitudes that discourages safe sex dialogue. ( NACA, 2007 ) Economic Drivers: HIV impoverishes persons and communities through losingss of human resources. Poverty brings about low degrees of instruction associated with illiteracy and by and large hapless wellness position. These conditions result in hapless acceptance of behavior alteration which exposes the population to HIV infection. ( NACA, 2007 ) Equally shortly as an epidemic of HIV/AIDS was noticed in the state, Nigeria mounted a national response, which was expanded in 2000 with the constitution of the Presidential Council on AIDS ( PCA ) and the National Agency for the control of AIDS ( NACA ) . This allowed for a co-ordinated attempt to supply bar, intervention, attention and support services through policy preparation, development of programs and execution. NACA ‘s authorization provinces that: -A A 1.A A A Coordinate and prolong protagonism by all sectors and at all degrees for HIV/AIDS/STD expanded responses in Nigeria.A 2.A A A Develop the model for coaction and support from all stakeholders for a multi-sector and multi-disciplinary response to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. 3.A A A Develop and present to the PCA, all programs on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria for policy determinations. 4.A A A Develop and joint a strategic program for an Expanded National Response to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.A 5.A A A Coordinate, proctor and measure the execution of the Strategic National Plan for the control of HIV/AIDS/STDs in Nigeria and all other approved policies.A 6.A A A Coordinate and ease the mobilisation of resources for an effectual and sustainable response to HIV/AIDS/STDs in Nigeria.A 7.A A A Undertake any other responsibilities as assigned by the PCA from clip to clip. ( NACA, 2007 ) The National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework for Action ( 2005-2009 ) provides a strong and comprehensive model for bar attempts including a balanced â€Å" ABC † attack. In this model, in-school young persons were marked as a mark population group. Sexual activity instruction is a major constituent of bar and one of the tools in minimal bundle required for HIV bar. Political issues environing it include Resistance to arouse instruction and rubber publicity by Faith Based Organizations ( FBO ) , Religious leaders and other stakeholders Inadequate accomplishments on rubber usage and dialogue Misconception about sex instruction and low credence Availability, handiness and affordability Lack of policy environing sexual instruction in secondary schools ( NACA, 2007 ) A survey done in Nigeria analyzing the sexual behavior of secondary school striplings showed that the average age at first intercourse was 12 old ages with a scope of 6-19 old ages ; many of the participants had multiple sexual spouses and a hapless perceptual experience of the hazard of STD including HIV. It was recommended that a structured sexual instruction course of study be instituted for all schools get downing at an early age. ( A.T. Owolabi, A.A. Onayade et Al, 2005 ) Other surveies have examined how instructors feel about go throughing their cognition on HIV / AIDS bar steps to their pupils in the context of their cultural and societal norms that restrict unfastened treatment of sex.A The consequences showed a high degree of cognition about HIV / AIDS bar among teachers.A Nevertheless, instructors do non go through on this cognition because of cultural and societal taboos.A In add-on, instructors do non have proper preparation and motive on information, instruction and communicating on HIV / AIDS and sex instruction. ( Daniel C. Oshi et Al, 2005 ) It is hence necessary to increase handiness of sexual wellness services, create societal support for sex instruction in schools and build capacity on appropriate sex instruction. Previous efforts at supplying sex instruction were interfered by spiritual and cultural resistance. In 2000 a new course of study was introduced for comprehensive sex instruction for 10-18 twelvemonth olds which concentrated on bettering pupil ‘s cognition and attitudes to sexual wellness and cut downing hazardous sexual behavior. However the execution of the undertaking was a entire failure and has since been abandoned. ( Avert, 2010 ) In a state where issues such as confidentiality around HIV proving is non covered by statute law, where no action is taken when human rights are broken in relation to HIV infection and stigmatisation. It seems the destiny of the immature people are in their custodies, owing to the absence of generative wellness ( RH ) institutes and deficiency of separate Torahs or statute law for immature people in relation to HIV bar. ( United Nations Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, 2004 )POLICY AGENDA SettingTo accomplish this wellness policy, one must see the histrions that would be involved and analyze all stakeholders- so as to understand their behavior, purposes, inter-relations and involvements: and to measure the influence and resources they bring to bear on decision-making or execution procedure. ( Varvasovszky Z. , Brugha R. 2000 ) Stakeholder/ Actor analysis will place the type of people to interview, utilizing sweet sand verbena techniques, reappraisal questionnaires etc. It is of import to plan a semi-structured/ condense interview inquiries. Interviews will let comparison across cultural groups and faith ; and yet be sensitive to specific contexts. Stake holder ‘s position has to be transformed into one that utilizes indexs to exemplify the extent of the job. They need to be informed of graduated table, tendencies and likely future class of HIV epidemic in their part or territory and within specific subgroups of the population. Table 1: Stakeholders AnalysisStakeholdersEngagement in the issueInterest in the issueInfluence/ PowerPositionImpact of issue on histrionParents Participate in Child Sexual Education and can act upon their kids ‘s determination Medium Low Non-mobilized High Media Industry Promote stakeholder ‘s positions and can act upon determination shapers by supplying dependable information High High Supportive Low Ministry of Health Promote healthy generative picks, direction of STIs and HIV related unwellnesss High Medium Supportive High Presidential Council on AIDS Survey policy proposals and do determinations on them Medium High Non-mobilized Medium School Administration Participate in policy Execution High Medium Opposed High Ministry of Education Ensure sex instruction is integrated in national course of study and implemented Training of staff Policy Implementation and Evaluation High High Supportive High Bilateral Organizations Provide support and proficient support High High Supportive High Religious Leaderships Influence the population through spiritual, moral and cultural beliefs High High Opposed Medium Importers, Manufacturers and Sellers of the merchandise e.g. rubbers, text editions Provide low-cost and high quality merchandise Engagement in distribution High Low Supportive High NACA Develop and present to PCA all programs on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria for policy determinations High High Supportive High Documentary/ Content analysis would be undertaken to place the grade of consistence between the present policies in the state. It would besides cover how far policy shapers draw on research findings in addresss during policy preparation and execution phases. The information beginnings would include research publications and studies, statute law, administrative/executive ordinances or orders, reimbursement agreements, guidelines and advice, meeting studies and proceedingss, policy statements, addresss, and articles. An economic rating will be considered to measure and construe the value of this wellness intercession. This will mensurate the results in pecuniary footings every bit good as in wellness units. For this policy a cost effectivity analysis ( CEA ) will be more good in order to besiege the quandary of puting pecuniary value on human lives. It will compare the value of resources spent on the intercession to the measure of wellness gained as a consequence. ( David Wonderling et Al, 2005 ) A thorough apprehension of consistence of old policies with research findings, the grade of influence of research on policy docket scene, preparation and execution would be needed to guarantee a high degree of wellness research use in the determination devising of this wellness policy. CLARITY OF MESSAGE HIV bar, peculiarly sex instruction demands strong grounds in order to be recommended for consideration and broad spread execution. Hall ‘s theoretical account of docket puting claims that the strength of this grounds depends on the issue ‘s Legitimacy, Feasibility and Support. ( Kent Buse, 2005 ) The issue at manus is legitimate as the HIV epidemic continues to harry the state, heterosexual sex being the most reported signifier of transmittal and high rate among immature people. It is executable since the policy will be implemented logistically through already bing systems, cost and resources will hence be reduced. Support can be generated through act uponing the population with the usage of media, raising consciousness and advancing rubber usage, affecting FBOs in policy execution. There is besides no grounds that sex instruction or rubber handiness in schools will increase promiscuousness or cut down the age of first sexual intercourse of in school young person, hence this policy has no potency for inauspicious consequence. This policy ‘s acceptableness might be of concern, as there will be resistance from spiritual leaders and other involvement groups. This policy besides has other societal and wellness benefits, as the usage of rubbers will besides cut down other STIs, cut down unwanted gestations and the complications from illegal abortions, thereby cut downing maternal mortality. Previous work in Nigeria has shown that equal instruction works in HIV bar and this is soon being used to advance abstention and be faithful intercession plans. Kingdom ‘s Model proposes that there are 3 watercourses of policy procedure and they need to cross for policies to be considered. ( Kent Buse, 2005 ) Problem watercourse: High prevalence of HIV among in school young person, with the highest signifier of transmittal being heterosexual sex Politicss watercourse: The National HIV bar work program promotes condom scheduling and there have been ongoing arguments around this issue. In 2000, sex instruction was integrated into National course of study but was ne'er implemented. Meanwhile the prevalence amongst in school young person since so has increased. Policy watercourse: Following the 2005 National HIV/Syphilis Sero prevalence lookout study for pregnant adult females go toing Ante-natal clinics in Nigeria. NACA has mounted more response to HIV bar. More support for HIV bar is being provided by bilateral organisations and NACA has become unfastened to execution of policies through FBOs and CSOs. Interventions are now being chosen and funded based on scientific grounds research.POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATIONLegislators are influenced by media and runs, cultural beliefs, lobbyists, political parts and support every bit good as grounds based research. It is hence of import to guarantee they have adequate information from researches, prevalence of HIV and alternate solutions. The function of the media and other organisations can non be over emphatic. This policy proposes the debut of structured sex instruction with condom publicity in secondary schools across Nigeria It aims to cut down the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among in-school young persons Aims To better the cognition about HIV/AIDS amongst young person To raise the age of first sexual brush amongst in-school young person by 5 old ages in 10 old ages To promote rubber usage among in-school young person To increase the figure of in school young person seeking intervention and attention for other STIs by 20 % in 5 old ages To cut down teenage gestations by half in 5 old ages Resistance to this policy ‘s credence could be limited by ab initio influencing policy alteration in southern urban parts where it will be more acceptable and if successful, scaled up to other less urban countries utilizing traditional and spiritual leaders to act upon credence. A broad web and model of HIV/AIDS bar is soon on land in Nigeria, a assorted scanning attack will be ideal. A rational attack for explicating policies and go throughing the measure, which will be instantly diffused through the Ministry of Health to all schools An incremental attack by ab initio increasing the cognition of in-school young person on HIV/AIDS by presenting sex instruction into the school course of study, presenting text editions and stuffs that educate pupils on HIV/AIDS and subsequently up-scaling to include RH clinics to turn to early intervention and bar of STIs. Formation of in-school HIV nines and groups will supply a forum for pupils to aerate their positions on abstention, sexual exposure and bar patterns and eventually condom handiness and distribution. Cost will be reduced by utilizing bing resources and adult male power. Increased cognition of HIV/AIDS in the population with capacity edifice for instructors and in school young person will let for easy execution. A elaborate and careful pilot testing could be done in the relevant mark group to let for appropriate rating and alteration before broad spread execution. A underside up attack should besides be used to let for more engagement by implementers and uninterrupted rating and redefining of aims or schemes.EvaluationHIV bar intercessions are complex. There are legion intercessions and schemes to take from. The content and quality of intercessions may differ well from one another and intercessions may be implemented in different ways by different people. Specific intercessions may be interactive or even counter and yet most programmes will unite several intercession schemes, doing rating of the effects of specific intercessions or constituents within the programme bundle hard or impossible to extricate. ( UNAIDS, 2008 ) In measuring the effectivity of the policy, elaborate grounds on the existent procedure of bringing of the intercession that establishes the extent and quality of bringing will be gathered. Facility audit is besides of import to supply information on adequateness of substructure, equipment, proficient and operational guidelines. The success of the policy execution will besides be evaluated utilizing the five key United Nations General Assembly Special Session ( UNGASS ) ends. ( WHO Technical study series, 2006 ) Provide appropriate information to immature people and grounds of betterments in their resulting cognition Provide appropriate accomplishments developing to immature people and grounds of their ability to show these accomplishments, and utilize these accomplishments to diminish their hazard of going infected Supply appropriate skills-based preparation, equipment and supplies to implementers and grounds of this ensuing in increased bringing of effectual, high quality wellness services to immature people. Provide grounds of reduced exposure of HIV among immature people, such as alterations in the attitudes and behaviors of immature people Provide grounds of a decrease in HIV prevalence among immature people that can be attributed to the intercession Donabedian ‘s model for measuring health care conceptualizes â€Å" Inputs, Process and Outcome † . ( Kent Buse et Al, 2005 ) Table 2: Policy Implementation and EvaluationUndertaking IMPLEMENTATIONUndertaking EVALUATIONINPUT/RESOURCESACTIVITIES/INTERVENTION SERVICEEnd productOUTCOME/IMPACTMEASUREMENT METHOD/INDICATORSStaff Monitoring and rating preparation for plan directors and implementers Training of school nurses and instructors Training of spouses and stakeholders on young person and HIV Media preparation on Sexual activity instruction and Condom publicity Capacity edifice for implementers Change in supplier behavior in relation to school young person Change in supplier behavior in relation to describing systems Improvement in administrative and describing systems Experimental surveies Number of instructors and school nurses trained in supplying sexual instruction and wellness services to school young person Number of stakeholders trained on HIV and the young person Quality appraisal of describing systems Media support Awareness creative activity for rubber publicity to interrupt barriers Commission and air jangles on the impact of sex instruction on school young person. Media run aiming socio cultural issues disaggregated by age, sex and location. Media run on inter-generational sex Harmonization of stuff development, distribution and usage Increase consciousness on sex instruction and rubber rebranding Sexual activity instruction and sex literacy as a societal norm Condom usage as a societal norm Behavioural surveillance study Condom handiness and handiness Stigmatization around sex instruction and rubber usage Number of jangles aired on sex instruction and rubber usage among school young person Education Production and distribution of IEC Materials Production of text editions integrated with cognition of STI and HIV Development and version of course of study on sex instruction Sexual instruction Sessionss in schools Condom dialogue accomplishments developing for school young person Improve school young persons consciousness on HIV/AIDS Improve rubber negociating accomplishments among school young person Improve rubber usage among school young person Reduce STI incidence Reduce HIV morbidity and mortality Reduce teenage gestations and it ‘s complications Reduce maternal mortality associated with teenage gestations Annual National HI/AIDS sero-prevalence lookouts study among in school young person Prevalence of STI and HIV among school young person Number of teenage gestations and maternal deceases related to them No of rubber distributed No of school young person who used rubbers in their last sexual brush Facilities Handiness of friendly accessible service Centres for school young person within and outside the school Build effectual linkage/referral systems for STI direction in communities Establish regional offices through the Ministry of Education to supervise disposal and M & A ; E Increase entree to RH services Promote dealingss among assorted organisations involved Allow easy monitoring and rating of execution School young person will be able to entree RH services without stigmatisation Provide utile information on execution procedure and success Behavioural surveillance study No of young person accessing RH services before and after intercession No of RH services available to youth No of young person referred through linkage systems Research Population based study on Sexual activity instruction, rubber usage and publicity in school young person Increase cognition base on sex instruction and rubber scheduling Increase cognition on the young person ‘s sexual hazard behavior Making future sex instruction programming policies based on grounds based scientific research Experimental surveies Number of research proposals and surveies carried out on sex instruction, hazard behaviors, rubber scheduling and usage among school young person Community Mobilization Battle of FBOs, CSOs, community and spiritual groups and parents on HIV/AIDS cognition Skills and services community mobilisation for HIV Sensitization of community leaders against stigmatising or opposing sexual instruction among school young person Increase consciousness of FBOs, NGOs and parents on HIV and the young person Promote rubbers as a double method Rebrand rubber usage as a positive thing Engagement of policy execution at grass root degree Improve community consciousness and integrity in the battle against HIV/AIDS Enable societal and cultural credence about sex instruction Constitution of young person groups Experimental surveies Number of young person groups on HIV/AIDS advancing sex literacy and rubber usage Number of community stakeholders involved in young person groups Number of outreach events advancing sex instruction Advocacy/policy Recommending for policy reforms on socio-cultural and economic issues that promote HIV transmittal, stigma and favoritism among young person Increase consciousness of stakeholders on HIV and young person HIV and youth issues get on the policy docket Laws on HIV and young person, stigma and favoritism enacted Experimental surveies Nature and type of issues incorporated into the National Youth policy No of public hearings on the bill of exchange measure and Young person policyDecisionThe immature can non talk for themselves in doing lawful determinations that impact their ain lives. Their determinations are influenced by parents, the community, equal force per unit area, and their personal cognition. It is hence of import that the cognition they have is sufficient and diverse to enable them do informed determinations refering their sexual wellness. Surveies done have shown adequate grounds that sexual instruction addition in-school young person ‘s consciousness of HIV/AIDS and can act upon their attitude or do behaviour alteration. Health system research findings in the Nigeria will stay impotent unless translated into public wellness action through effectual public policy-making. ( Shamsuzzoha B Syed et al.,2008 ) Policy docket scene, preparation, execution and rating are all necessary phases in achieving policy alteration. In world, they all happen at the same time and can be revisited and changed while the procedure is ongoing. Stakeholder ‘s influence is really important in policy devising and acceptance. The media is a really powerful tool which should be used suitably. Policy execution should be done carefully without rigidness utilizing bottom up attacks. Evaluation is necessary in order to mensurate the success of the plan and larn more for future policy executions. Reducing HIV/AIDS prevalence amongst in-school young person goes a long manner in cut downing prevalence in the general population and promises a healthier brighter hereafter, free from HIV/AIDS.

Infernal Love and Faith - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1766 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/08/12 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Dante's Inferno Essay Did you like this example? Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human Existence. Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy. Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell (Blake 69). When he had spoken: I beheld the Angel who stretched out his arms embracing the flame of fire he was consumed and arose as Elijah. Note. This Angel, who is now the Devil, is my particular friend; we often read the Bible together in its infernal or diabolical sense which the world shall have if they behave well (Blake 80). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Infernal Love and Faith" essay for you Create order Both passages present a mediocre but apt comparison to what Blake is poignantly attempting to demonstrate in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. In the first passage, he tries to create a complex idea, one which creates relations between things. He portrays good as passive, good is also reason and heaven. However, evil, active, energy and hell are more or less not interchangeable, but synonymous. The next passage embodies the complexity of the first one, but presents the Devil as a figure that does not suppress his energy or divinity, but rather, embraces the message of the Body and Soul, by intertwining it with Love and Sex, and Desire and Reason. Blake deploys the language of contradiction, presenting angels with a negative and devil-like connotation to demonstrate the law of human development. Subjectively, the words in the text break in the middle of the line, creating a caesura, hence, slowing down movements at different intervals to emphasize meaning, or fasten a phrase to initiate more weight. He states, Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction is Repulsion (69), it is already established that Blake sporadically creates a fracture of sorts within this sentence. By separating both lines with a pause, he possibly attempts to create an ominous, or rather dramatic effect in the minds of the readers. In a larger context, interposing the informal and irregular patterns of the lines prevent metrical monotony and emphasizes more meaning. Perhaps, this could be a vivid illustration of the contraries Blake is attempting to demonstrate in this section. Just like in the Songs of Innocence, life is full of joy and pleasure, b ut within those virtues ensue illiteracy and naivete. While the Songs of Experience has established a social reality, Blake is depicting through these contraries of Attraction and Repulsion / Heaven and Hell, that Energy and Reason repulse one another because they are not a unified purpose. While energy encompasses one end of the spectrum, Reason seeks another, thereby forming attraction. In essence, Blake demonstrates that Energy and Reason can simultaneously oppose one another, while working for the same purpose. Heaven and Hell serve as an extension of each other; they are both an interwoven part of the human existence. While Blake might seemingly be phrasing these in religious terms, the opposition he might be referring to could possibly date back to the hierarchical philosophy and belief that reason remains on top (Heaven), while passion below (Hell). He is calling for a dynamic union of these oppositions that are necessary to exist within mankind. The speaker adopts the voice of the Devil which prompts the reader to question whether or not to trust these call for inactions. It prompts one to assume whether this voice is viable and valid in their own rights, or if the readers should refute or debate the legitimacy of his ideas. While the first passage seems to portray the intersectionality between Heaven and Hell, and the Angel and Devil, the second passage brings about the beginning of rapprochement between Blakes Devil and Angel. To vividly demonstrate this, he forces the readers to imagine the momentary surge of emotions that could possibly erupt when attempting to fuse Heaven and Hell together. He states, I beheld the Angel who stretched out his arms embracing the flame of fire he was consumed and arose as Elijah (80). This initiative is sparked by the devil as he emerges from the flame of fire and summons all infernal energies to challenge and assert power towards the Angels dogma. This vividly parallels the battle betwee n the Angels and the Devil in Miltons Paradise Lost, where the devil and his companions were inadvertently ludicrous to believe they could possibly overthrow their creator. Referring back to Blakes initial statement that Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence (34), he implies that the heavenly contraries which are represented by the angels have been completely dominated by the hellish contraries- the devil, therefore transforming the Angel into a Devil. This metaphorical equivalent of an angel transforming into a devil could perhaps be alluding to the state of mind of the readers. By following the transitional voice and tone of the devil all along, the readers are all consumed in his seductive trance, or even possibly succumbed to his voice of sex, lust and energy. Otherworldly, the transformation of the angel into a devil suggests a biblical allusion to the meaning of marriage, in which two become one flesh. The intersection of these two souls, and minds into one body attacks the Orthodox position of Marriage, perhaps it seems to consequently argue that by the fusion of the angel and devils souls, evil has been transformed into good. Figuratively, Blake seems to be refusing the idea that good and evil should be seen as separate, independent contraries, and instead seems to suggest a dynamic in which one contrary (evil) is transformed into and subsumed by its opposite. He abjectly uses a repetitive rhetoric to display the adverse and reticulate meanings behind some of his ambiguous claims. He states, Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy. Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell (69). The phrases Good and Evil are constantly repeated at different intervals in the text, as well as ?reason and energy. Blake demonstra tes that while both phrases are contrary, they do not negate one another. Hence, as long as reason and good are transparent virtues, they will continue to reveal rather than hinder the divinity of mankind. The line, If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is, infinite (72), demonstrates how Blake seems to refrain from laying emphasis on the nature of mankind as being infinite, but rather, demonstrating a contrast between a fallen vision and a heavenly one. While the Angel sought to impose he idea of hell upon the narrator, the narrator subconsciously was bound to hell. However, as soon as the angel was no longer there to impose this reality, this idea no longer existed. Readers are forced to think that the idea of heaven and hell are just manifestations of the desires of the believers (people who think that heaven and hell exists), hence, it is once again a controversial idea. Blake then shifts his conceptual argument to the idea of vanity. He goes on to compare Angels to vain creatures who speak wisely of only themselves, he states, I have always found that angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident insolences sprouting from systematic reasoning (79). He criticizes the analogies of Swedenborg and Behmen, questioning their ideas on contraries. Although Behmens analogies are close, if not the same as the one Blake advocates in The Marriage. Basically, the idea of seeing greatness in man kind as the best way to win Gods heart demonstrates that if Jesus Christ is the greatest man, one ought to love him in the greatest degree- of course this opinion is refutable in other religious stances, and could possibly be seen as heresy. In a Christian sense, the readers are forced to acknowledge that Blake could possibly be alluding that any faith worth having, has to be one that can withstand a challenge. Blake goes on to provide the readers with a long list of ideas, referencing a potential revolution, possibly a revelation that would be freeing from the shackles of expectation. He concludes with a very subtle line which is reminiscent of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge, stating, For everything that lives is holy (82), depicting the idea that without contraries, there is no progression. This phrase reveals the underlying meanings embedded in the previous passages. The reader now has the ability to grasp and understand that everything that lives is holy, nothing is necessarily better than the other, and this includes darkness, evil and sin. Furthermore this unique work embodies the searching critique of ideas and yet, it builds on them. Both passages present the work is a medley of numerous forms, from poetry to proverbs, satiric narratives, parodies of other writers and even allusions to contemporary people. Referring back to the cover image if this poem, it shows at the top, pairs of lovers sitting under some leafless trees, in a very calm yet colorless mode. Underneath them, there are fierce flames blazing upwards, with two figures positioned in a very twisted position (possibly alluding to the confusion of mankind). By gazing at this image, the readers are forced to picture heaven in a higher position compared to Hell. Blakes idea however, forces one to rethink the entire symbolism that heaven and hell have represented. Supposedly, the blazing flames below may not be bad after all. While Blake is deliberately rehabilitating the satanic (the pride of the devil which prompted his fall from heaven), he does not advocate for cruelty but rather invokes through the monotonous effects of his words that energy and conflict are fundamental to human existence. The body should be seen as a site to no longer imply an opposition between body and mind or body and soul, but instead a dynamic interaction, possibly a marriage of reason and energy. Hence, Blake does infact agree that the human mind is embedded with self-condemnation and repression, and rather, encourages readers to explore beyond the restrictive boundaries of good and evil. To further Blakes analogy of the society and the self, versus the psychology of the mind and the self, his poem, London from the Songs of Experience, epitomizes the same thing if the passages were to be explicated in a political sense. In London, he highlights the way in which the society was forged through the placement of the privileged, re ferring to them as mind-forged manacles (41). This analogy is necessary when explicating Blakes true message in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell because it is indeed the repressed mind, and suppressed self that restricts individuals from achieving a breakthrough and recreating the meaning of his/her life.