Gileadean regime Essay Example for Free

Gileadean regime Essay Explore the way in which Margaret Atwood presents Moira The Handmaids Tale. Refer closely to any literary and linguistic approaches where necessary. Within The Handmaids Tale Atwood presents us with many characters that are emotionally weak; Janine, Offred and even the Commander residing in the higher echelons of society all possess a deprivation of spirit brought about by the oppressive and restrictive nature of the Gileadean regime. In contrast to this we are presented with Moira and through her Atwood is able to create tension, conflict and a rebelliousness that is otherwise only seen in the recollections of Offreds mother. Moira acts as a representative for independence and liberty in the novel, she defies her oppressors and is seen by Offred as a role model that she finds impossible to aspire to. Moira constantly battles the status quo; she parades her lesbianism and manages on two occasions to defeat the system at the disgrace of the much-hated Aunts. She is confidant in both manner and speech. Dont move said Moira or Ill stick it all the way in The boldness of this imperative paired with the violent connotations attached to the  verb stick gives Moira the sinister tone she needs to intimidate Aunt Elizabeth. Moira is portrayed as an activist, she does not merely contemplate the possibilities of freedom as Offred does and Offred recognizes this with dissatisfaction as she muses the prospect of what she can do with the fan that she has been given. If I were Moira I would know how tot take it apart, reduce it to its cutting edges. I have no screwdriver but if I were Moira I could do it without a screwdriver. Im not Moira. This quote clearly outlines the practical nature of Moira juxtapositioned with the more theoretical approach that we would associate with Offred who loathes herself for it. The syntactic parallelism If I were Moira but if I were Moira points to the irony that Moira, in the same situation as Offred could use the fan to aid her escape. When we first learn of Moiras disappearance in chapter 22 we are not fully informed as to the details of her flight; the thought of Moiras freedom made the other Handmaids feel dizzy. Atwood purposely withholds this information to let the reader share in this feeling of suspense; the mystery surrounding Moira at this point  enhances her charisma. Offred recalls the Handmaids feeling a sense of victory over the aunts; Moira had shown that they could be defeated and so easily too, through Moiras actions the Aunts power was diminished. Having belittled the enemy she is seen to have great power, Offred refers to her as a loose woman a clichi connoting sexual freedom but cleverly a second implication of the characters unbridled power now that she is free. When Moira escapes, the future seems to hold promise for the Handmaids. The thought of what Moira could do now that she is free gives them a sense of presence, a  pressure reaching its climatic point. Moira was like an elevator with open sides. She made us dizzy This simile poses threat and the sense of freedom that Moiras escape gives the other women. Much of Moiras character is revealed to us through direct speech; This is a loony bin, Moira said. Im so glad to see you, I said Where can we talk? said Moira. The used of direct address here brings the reader closer to the story and builds tension and suspense through the feeling that they are present at the time of conversation. The colloquialism loony-bin reveals that Moira is a non-conformist; Atwood  creatively uses her as a reminiscence of the time before. Moiras interrogative response Where can we talk? conveys that Moira does not linger over sentimentalities as Offred would; it shows that she is active rather than passive. The clipped syntax reflects the rushed exchange of spoken discourse giving a nervous quality to both characters and reminding the reader of the volatile situation that the Handmaids are in. Moira is incredibly blas throughout the novel; her nonchalance shows even in her response to working at Jezebels which will lead to an impending death in the Colonies. Youd have three or four good years before your snatch wears out and they send you to the bone-yard. The vulgarity of the expletive snatch corresponding with the verb wears describes the female body in a manufactured way, dispensable for male pleasure and just as easily disposed of. It is this taboo language that Atwood uses to familiarize us with Moira. Her reference to the Colonies as the bone-yard is further evidence of Moiras ability to perceive things in a brutally realistic way. The fact that she is graphically aware of the inevitable doom she faces and does not react over-  sentimentally show Moiras unwavering courage. When Offred reflect on her student life in the time before we see that Moiras attitude to sex was then just as relaxed and liberal as it is under the Gileadean rule Im giving an under-whore party Tarts stuff, lace crotches, snap garters. Bras that push your tits up Here the three-part list indicates the casual attitude that Moira has towards sex, she is comfortable with her sexuality and her taboo language reflects this. The portmanteau under-whore adds humour to Moiras character and so contrasts with the present  where humour is essentially forbidden. Moira is irreverent and shows contempt to every aspect of injustice; Camaraderie shit How much do you want to bet shes got Janine down on her knees I bet she got her working away on that dried up, hairy old withered This quote is evidence of Moiras iconoclastic beliefs; there is a linguistic shock between the positive noun Camaraderie and the negative expletive noun shit. This shows the complete disrespect that Moira has for those who blindly follow the theocratic regime. Offred sees her irreverence as a source of power. There is something in the whispering of obscenities about those in power it deflates them, reduces them to the common denominator where they can be dealt with. Here Atwood uses visual language comparing those in power to something that can be deflated. This gives connotations of a balloon filled with air and its course is therefore precarious and fickle as to where it could blow. This is allegorical to the regime; Atwood makes the point that wherever there is oppression there is unavoidable rebellion. Moira sees through all aspects of the regime with explicit cynicism, in Jezebels she  analyses the actions of all the men in power with insulting accuracy. Its like screwing on the altar, your gang are supposed to be such chaste vessels they like to see you all painted up. Just another crummy power trip The pre-modifier crummy reduces the Commanders who perceive themselves as omnipotent to mere perverts. The use of the expletive screwing is further evidence of Moiras iconoclastic views. The use of the collective noun all painted up reduces the Commanders desires to petit and perverse, there is a linguistic shock to aid Moiras criticism in the antithesis of screwing and chaste vessels. Through Moira Atwood reminds us that Jezebels is a prescribed reality for those in power. The architects of this new society who claim their actions were to protect women from the world by eradicating pornography and prostitution are now seen as absolute hypocrites. Jezebels exposes the hypocrisy of the men who prate about sexual morality and then spend their evenings sleeping with prostitutes in a club, purpose built. The most poignant aspect of the novel is realised through the change in Moira. In their last encounter Offred learns that the spirit of both Moira and her mother, both  figures of transgression and resistance in the Handmaids life, have been broken. Throughout the novel, Atwood has set up a heroine in the eyes of both the Handmaid and the reader who believe that if there is to be a fortunate end to this grim tale then it will be accomplished through Moira. In their last meeting at Jezebels we disappointingly realise that this is not so; She is frightening me now because what I hear in her voice is indifference and a lack of volition. It is the abstract nouns indifference and volition that indicate the chance in Moira, the woman who, in times of need, Offred looked to as a source of hope has now become just like her, instead of embodying defiance Moira now embodies Gileads ability to crush even the strongest of spirits. I dont want to be like her as far as something I lack. Give in, go along, save her skin I want swash-buckling heroism from her, single handed combat. Something I lack. This three-part syndetic list describes Offred who has romanticised and projected on to Moira the qualities she wished she possessed and is here, along with the reader, sorely mistaken. I dont know how she ended Because I never saw her again What has happened to Moira is an anticlimax; we do not expect to be left unknowing, the novel now seems closer to real life than fiction and this brings the starkness of Offreds reality to the readers attention. Moiras spiritual demise and erasure is an elaboration of the full force of oppression Margaret Atwood presents us with, once a courageous, outspoken woman has become a despondent pessimist with no hope of escaping Gilead. It is this change in Moira that makes us realise the true awfulness of the situation so many women in the novel are in.

The Immortal Artist :: essays research papers

The immortal Artist Throughout the history of the world humans have been intrigued by a condition referred to as immortality. Immortality is the state in which one defies death, thus conquering the realm of being a mortal. Scientists have searched for ways to create this phenomenon. With there over thought out and complex ideas they had managed to overlook the obvious. People had been achieving immortality for years. The key is not in physical exesistance but in your actions, creations, and reputation which will live on long after you die. T.L. Lange, a reputable artist from Atlanta Georgia, once said "Music and art play the dominant roles in life. In the liberation from the self, the ripples which are left to be remembered. It is in this moment that we achieve immortality and imagine what goes well with corn flakes†¦." The visual Arts students at The North Carolina School of the Arts have utilized this knowledge in such a way so that their class has remained immortal. As a class, the class of 1986, the students composed a mural. Dr. Chaplin created the mural and gave each student a representation. He managed to re-create an image of each student through regenerating his or her image from a photograph. The canvas is divided into eighteen individual and distinct sections. Each section is devoted to one student picture or figure, and their mood or feelings in which they wanted to portray. The designer, Chaplin, gave the work a sense of unity by using all pure hue colors and geometric construction with illustrative organic shapes to create the students. The use of repetition in color and general shapes gives the piece an intimate since of unity that also pulls the students together in a metaphoric sense. The work is residing in the student commons. The commons is designed as a place for students to dine, relax and visit with their friends. Therefor this is an appropriate place for the painting because it helps create the feeling that they are relaxing with the students of today. The work is not at all accented by architectural lighting or by any frame, and is not put on a pedestal to be observed.

Negative Economic Impacts of Tourism Essay

There are many hidden costs to tourism, which can have unfavorable economic effects on the host community. Often rich countries are better able to profit from tourism than poor ones. Whereas the least developed countries have the most urgent need for income, employment and general rise of the standard of living by means of tourism, they are least able to realize these benefits. Among the reasons for this are large-scale transfer of tourism revenues out of the host country and exclusion of local businesses and products. Leakage The direct income for an area is the amount of tourist expenditure that remains locally after taxes, profits, and wages are paid outside the area and after imports are purchased; these subtracted amounts are called leakage. In most all-inclusive package tours, about 80% of travelers’ expenditures go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies (who often have their headquarters in the travelers’ home countries), and not to local businesses or workers. In addition, significant amounts of income actually retained at destination level can leave again through leakage. A study of tourism ‘leakage’ in Thailand estimated that 70% of all money spent by tourists ended up leaving Thailand (via foreign-owned tour operators, airlines, hotels, imported drinks and food, etc.). Estimates for other Third World countries range from 80% in the Caribbean to 40% in India. Of each US$ 100 spent on a vacation tour by a tourist from a developed country, only around US$ 5 actually stays in a developing-country destination’s economy. The figure below shows how the leakage happens. There are two main ways that leakage occurs: Import leakage This commonly occurs when tourists demand standards of equipment, food, and other products that the host country cannot supply. Especially in less-developed countries, food and drinks must often be imported, since local products are not up to the hotel’s (i.e. tourist’s) standards or the country simply doesn’t have a supplying industry. Much of the income from tourism expenditures leaves the country again to pay for these imports. The  average import-related leakage for most developing countries today is between 40% and 50% of gross tourism earnings for small economies and between 10% and 20% for most advanced and diversified economies, according to UNCTAD. Export leakage Multinational corporations and large foreign businesses have a substantial share in the import leakage. Often, especially in poor developing destinations, they are the only ones that possess the necessary capital to invest in the construction of tourism infrastructure and facilities. As a consequence of this, an export leakage arises when overseas investors who finance the resorts and hotels take their profits back to their country of origin. A 1996 UN report evaluating the contribution of tourism to national income, gross levels of incomes or gross foreign exchange, found that net earnings of tourism, after deductions were made for all necessary foreign exchange expenditures, were much more significant for the industry. This report found significant leakage associated with: (a) imports of materials and equipment for construction; (b) imports of consumer goods, particularly food and drinks; (c) repatriation of profits earned by foreign investors; (d) overseas promotional expenditures and (e) amortization of external debt incurred in the development of hotels and resorts. The impact of the leakage varied greatly across countries, depending on the structure of the economy and the tourism industry. From the data presented in this study on the Caribbean, St. Lucia had a foreign exchange leakage rate of 56% from its gross tourism receipts, Aruba had 41%, Antigua and Barbuda 25% and Jamaica 40%. Source: Caribbean Voice Enclave tourism Local businesses often see their chances to earn income from tourists severely reduced by the creation of â€Å"all-inclusive† vacation packages. When tourists remain for their entire stay at the same cruise ship or resort, which provides everything they need and where they will make all their expenditures, not much opportunity is left for local people to profit from tourism. The Organization of American States (OAS) carried out a survey of Jamaica’s tourist industry that looked at the role of the all-inclusives  compared to other types of accommodation. It found that ‘All-inclusive hotels generate the largest amount of revenue but their impact on the economy is smaller per dollar of revenue than other accommodation subsectors.’ It also concluded that all-inclusives imported more, and employed fewer people per dollar of revenue than other hotels. This information confirms the concern of those who have argued that all-inclusives have a smaller trickle-down effect on local economies The cruise ship industry provides another example of economic enclave tourism. Non-river cruises carried some 8.7 million international passengers in 1999. On many ships, especially in the Caribbean (the world’s most popular cruise destination with 44.5% of cruise passengers), guests are encouraged to spend most of their time and money on board, and opportunities to spend in some ports are closely managed and restricted. Other negative impacts Infrastructure cost Tourism development can cost the local government and local taxpayers a great deal of money. Developers may want the government to improve the airport, roads and other infrastructure, and possibly to provide tax breaks and other financial advantages, which are costly activities for the government. Public resources spent on subsidized infrastructure or tax breaks may reduce government investment in other critical areas such as education and health. Increase in prices Increasing demand for basic services and goods from tourists will often cause price hikes that negatively affect local residents whose income does not increase proportionately. A San Francisco State University study of Belize found that, as a consequence of tourism development, the prices for locals increased by 8%. Tourism development and the related rise in real estate demand may dramatically increase building costs and land values. Not only does this make it more difficult for local people, especially in developing countries, to meet their basic daily needs, it can also result in a dominance by outsiders in land markets and in-migration that erodes economic opportunities for the locals, eventually disempowering residents. In Costa Rica, close to 65% of the hotels belong to foreigners. Long-term tourists living in second homes, and the so-called amenity migrants (wealthy  or retired people and liberal professionals moving to attractive destinations in order to enjoy the atmospher e and peaceful rhythms of life) cause price hikes in their new homes if their numbers attain a certain critical mass. Economic dependence of the local community on tourism Diversification in an economy is a sign of health, however if a country or region becomes dependent for its economic survival upon one industry, it can put major stress upon this industry as well as the people involved to perform well. Many countries, especially developing countries with little ability to explore other resources, have embraced tourism as a way to boost the economy. In The Gambia, for instance, 30% of the workforce depends directly or indirectly on tourism. In small island developing states, percentages can range from 83% in the Maldives to 21% in the Seychelles and 34% in Jamaica, according to the WTO. Over-reliance on tourism, especially mass tourism, carries significant risks to tourism-dependent economies. Economic recession and the impacts of natural disasters such as tropical storms and cyclones as well as changing tourism patterns can have a devastating effect on the local tourism sector. Seasonal character of jobs The seasonal character of the tourism industry creates economic problems for destinations that are heavily dependent on it. Problems that seasonal workers face include job (and therefore income) insecurity, usually with no guarantee of employment from one season to the next, difficulties in getting training, employment-related medical benefits, and recognition of their experience, and unsatisfactory housing and working conditions. Other industry impacts affecting tourism Economic crises, like the Asian crisis that hit Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia a few years ago, can be devastating to inbound tourism flows. The financial turmoil triggered a sharp fall in tourism flows to affected countries during 1997 and 1998. In the Philippines, the crisis and the temporary closure of Philippine Airlines affected inbound arrivals significantly as there was a decline of almost 3.3% in 1998. Economic Effects — Positive Tourism creates jobs, both through direct employment within the tourism industry and indirectly in sectors such as retail and transportation. When these people spend their wages on goods and services, it leads to what is known as the â€Å"multiplier effect,† creating more jobs. The tourism industry also provides opportunities for small-scale business enterprises, which is especially important in rural communities, and generates extra tax revenues, such as airport and hotel taxes, which can be used for schools, housing and hospitals. Economic Effects — Negative Successful tourism relies on establishing a basic infrastructure, such as roads, visitor centers and hotels. The cost of this usually falls on the government, so it has to come out of tax revenues. Jobs created by tourism are often seasonal and poorly paid, yet tourism can push up local property prices and the cost of goods and services. Money generated by tourism does not always benefit the local community, as some of it leaks out to huge international companies, such as hotel chains. Destinations dependent on tourism can be adversely affected by events such as terrorism, natural disasters and economic recession. Social Effects — Positive The improvements to infrastructure and new leisure amenities that result from tourism also benefit the local community. Tourism encourages the preservation of traditional customs, handicrafts and festivals that might otherwise have been allowed to wane, and it creates civic pride. Interchanges between hosts and guests create a better cultural understanding and can also help raise global awareness of issues such as poverty and human rights abuses. Social Effects — Negative Visitor behavior can have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of the host community. For example, crowding and congestion, drugs and alcohol problems, prostitution and increased crime levels can occur. Tourism can even infringe on human rights, with locals being displaced from their land to make way for new hotels or barred from beaches. Interaction with tourists can also lead to an erosion of traditional cultures and values. Environmental Effects — Positive Tourism — particularly nature and ecotourism — helps promote conservation of wildlife and natural resources such as rain forests, as these are now regarded as tourism assets. It also helps generate funding for maintaining animal preserves and marine parks through entrance charges and guide fees. By creating alternative sources of employment, tourism reduces problems such as over-fishing and deforestation in developing nations. Environmental Effects — Negative Tourism poses a threat to a region’s natural and cultural resources, such as water supply, beaches, coral reefs and heritage sites, through overuse. It also causes increased pollution through traffic emissions, littering, increased sewage production and noise. Tourism and Travel 1. Define the following terms: Hospitality Tourism Leisure Travel Attractions (20mks) 2. In your own opinion, what will make you choose to travel to Country A than to Country B during your holiday? (20mks) 3. What are the positive economic impacts of Tourism in Kenya? (20mks) 4. People do travel for a particular purpose; therefore what are the different types of tourism? (20mks) 5. The no. of tourist in a destination varies over time, what are the different reasons for that to happen? (20mks)

Shuvuuia - Facts and Figures

Name: Shuvuuia (Mongolian for bird); pronounced shoo-VOO-yah Habitat: Plains of Asia Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (85-75 million years ago) Size and Weight: About two feet long and five pounds Diet: Insects and small animals Distinguishing Characteristics: Small, birdlike head; dinosaur-like forelimbs; primitive feathers About Shuvuuia Shuvuuia is one of those ancient dino-birds that gives paleontologists fits,comprised as it is of an equal number of bird-like and dinosaur-like characteristics. The beaked snout of this late Cretaceous creature, for example, was distinctly birdlike, as were its long legs and three-toed feet, but its too-short arms call to mind (in much smaller proportions, of course) the stunted limbs of bipedal theropods like Tyrannosaurus Rex. Lately, the consensus is that the almost certainly feathered Shuvuuia was closer to a dinosaur than it was to a prehistoric bird, but as with the much earlier Archaeopteryx, this issue may never be settled conclusively. (By the way, Shuvuuia also stands out for being one of the prehistoric animals whose name is not derived from Greek roots--shuvuu is the word for bird in Mongolia, where Shuvuuias remains were discovered in 1987.) Technically, Shuvuuia is classified as an alvarezsaur, meaning it was closely related to the roughly contemporary Alvarezsaurus of South America (as were many of the dino-birds that lived in this region of central Asia, including another close Shuvuuia relative, Kol). Perhaps more tellingly, the tiny Shuvuuia inhabited a rich, complex, and extremely dangerous ecosystem already well-stocked with predatory raptors like Velociraptor and Tsaagan and feathered troodontids like Gobivenator and Byronosaurus. Given its small size, Shuvuuia would have been fairly low down on the food chain, and probably spent most of its day evading these larger dinosaurs--perhaps by squeezing itself into the same crooks of trees from whence it pried out termites and grubs for its dinner.