by Herman Bailey | Jul 4, 2023 | Essays |
Prompt: Write a paper of interpretive literary criticism on The Beetle by Richard Marsh, quoting liberally but judiciously from the novel both to support your points and to give you more material to closely analyze. This essay of also requires that you make use of the Tyson chapter on Postcolonial theory, and this will help you decide which significant aspects of the long literary work to focus on. Quote from Tyson also as you define and apply Postcolonial concepts such as imperialism, colonialist ideology, othering (demonic and exotic), Eurocentrism, Orientalism, double consciousness, unhomeliness, subaltern, and cultural imperialism.
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Discussion: Postcolonial Criticism is a theory for analyzing the effects of colonialism and imperialism, primarily in the literature of formerly colonized peoples, although it can also be applied to any literature that contains colonialist or anticolonialist ideologies. Since the theory calls into question the ideology of imperialist cultures, it can analyze the literature of those cultures, such as The Beetle. The theory also examines issues of power and its effects on knowledge and psychology as they influence and determine identity. This too makes The Beetle appropriate for postcolonial analysis.
As Tyson says, “novels reveal the ways in which historical reality is not something that happens just on the battlefield or in the government office. Rather, historical reality comes into our homes and affects our personal lives in the deepest possible ways.” This serves as a precise synopsis for the events in The Beetle in which history is depicted invading the private lives of characters with very public consequences.
Below, I have selected and adapted some of the “questions postcolonial critics ask about literary texts” that Tyson includes in her chapter. I have retained her numbering and left out some from her list that do not apply to our selected novel. In focusing your essay and thesis, you may choose a question from this list, a combination of questions, a part of a question, or a new question that you develop on your own.
According to Tyson, “most postcolonial analyses, regardless of the issues on which they focus, will include some attention to whether the text is colonialist, anticolonialist, or some combination of the two, that is, ideologically conflicted.” I suggest you use this question as the starting point for developing your analysis of the novel.
1. How does the literary text, explicitly or allegorically, represent various aspects of colonial oppression? Special attention is often given to those areas where political and cultural oppression overlap, as it does, for example, in the colonizers’ control of language, communication, and knowledge in colonized countries.
3. What does the text reveal about the politics and/or psychology of anticolonialist resistance? For example, what does the text suggest about the ideological, political, social, economic, or psychological forces that promote or inhibit resistance? How does the text suggest that resistance can be achieved and sustained by an individual or a group? And in reversal of question 1 above, how is colonizers’ control of language, communication, and knowledge threatened and undermined?
4. What does the text reveal about the operations of cultural difference—the ways in which race, religion, class, gender, sexual orientation, cultural beliefs, and customs combine to form individual identity—in shaping our perceptions of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live? Othering, both demonic and exotic, might be one area of analysis here. Anxiety about threats to Eurocentrism and universalism might also be explored.
7. How does the text represent relationships between the characters it portrays—for example, culturally dominant characters, subalterns, and cultural outsiders—and the land these characters inhabit? Does the natural or supernatural setting change over time and, if so, what causes it? Does the narrator’s or character’s attitude toward the natural or supernatural setting change over time? What kinds of relationships between human beings, nature, faith, and magic does the text seem to promote?
8. How does a literary text in the Western canon reinforce or undermine colonialist ideology through its representation of colonization and/or its inappropriate silence about colonized peoples? Does the text teach us anything about colonialist or anticolonialist ideology through its illustration of any of the postcolonial concepts we’ve discussed? (A text does not have to treat the subject of colonization in order to do this.)
9. Does the literary text express Orientalist views, either in the pronouncements of its characters or through the allegory of its plot development? Does the text use Orientalism to reinforce a positive national self-definition for Western nations? Does the text depict the projection of all the negative characteristics Western nations don’t want to believe exist among its own people onto characters from Eastern nations? Does the storyline show any acts of military or economic aggression to be justified by Orientalism?
Audience: As always with literary criticism, this is a critical paper, not a book review. You can assume your audience has read the poems, so there is no need to waste space with summary of them.
Purpose: Since this is a critical essay, you will need to find repeated patterns in the poems that support your interpretations and readings. Keep in mind, while there is no one “correct” reading to a poem, story, play, or novel, there can be many wrong ones. It is not “all up to one’s interpretation.” You need to find multiple citations from the text to support your analysis.
Format: Essays for this course must use MLA style formatting and citations. Failure to use MLA or excessive errors can result in a failing grade. The MLA style guide, any good English manual (like the Diana Hacker series), or the OWL at Purdue website (owl.english.purdue.edu) can give you help on using this style correctly.
Highlights include:
- All essays must be typed and double-spaced
- Margins must be 1-inch on all sides of the page. Align the left margin only.
- Use 12 point Times or Courier font
- On the first page (only) type your name, professor name (“Smith”), course number (English 110 plus section number), and date at the top left corner margin 1″ from the top of the page
- On each page put your last name and page number in the upper right hand corner outside the margin, ½” from the top of the page (most insert page # commands will default to this placement)
- The title (not underlined or italicized or in quotes) should be centered above the first paragraph
- Proper MLA citations for all sources (for this essay, the poems and the critical theory book as well as any historical sources)
- A Works Cited page
WRITTEN ESSAY
The Beetle and Postcolonial Criticism
Colonists had severe impacts on the natives of the nations they colonized felt even after their departure considering they were extremely oppressive as they applied outrageous actions to gain and retain control over their colonies. The colonists applied various techniques to conquer their colonies such as cultural inversion, psychological inversion in addition to physical torture. The Beetle, by Richard Marsh, through the protagonist brings out the monstrous practices by Britain nationals on their colonized subjects mirrored in the Beetle’s deeds against her victims. It expresses the horror of colonial exploitation as well as the fear and pain of foreign imperialism indicating a situation of reversed colonization clearly doubting the notion associated with the absolute termination of colonial manipulation since the oppression by colonists seemed to be continued by those colonized. This paper looks into colonialist ideologies, cultural imperialism, orientalism as well as othering and the consequences of imperialism on the colonized subjects both psychologically and physically attributed manipulation such as identity crisis as expressed in the Beetle and echoed by Lois Tyson in her book, Critical Theory Today.
Colonization contributed to identity crisis among the colonized subjects since their sense of belonging was compromised as a result of their adoption of Western ideologies and appearance. The colonized subjects find themselves outcast of either side, their native societies or the Western tradition. Realignment of their beliefs and practices with those of the colonists associated with colonial cultural and psychological inversion that contribute to their yearning to be white which is disapproved due to their appearance. For instance, the Beetle develops a desire for the white skin thus her resolution to terrorize them. The Beetle longs for a white skin so that she can be able to walk across London fearlessly without being viewed as the racial other considering she has adopted the ways of the colonists yet she is still unable to fit in because of her yellow skin as implied by Marsh (55). The beetle shows interest in being white when she tells Holt she would like to have his skin. British rejection of Westernized Eastern natives seems to be driven by the threat they represent the Victorian national identity taking into account the fact that the subjects after realignment no longer fit into their expectations of the colonized other thus would compromise the power relationship between the two sides that English desired to maintain as implied by Tyson (123).
Post-colonialism through the colonized subjects tend to bring out evil traits Western nationalities tend to associate only with the Eastern nations yet exist among themselves as well as claimed by Tyson (146). However, the Beetle attempts to replicate the British outrageous actions of imperialism by dominating and exploiting the English natives exposing behaviors they deny exists in their society yet are English oriented. The Beetle represents Westernized Eastern natives that were probably educated in Britain thus taught to think and act like westerns thus suffer psychological inversion as they learn to emulate the English in every sense considering she resides in London poorest district reserved for the poor and immigrants thus any behavior exhibited by her reflects the British character whether moral or immoral. Therefore, her evil actions of kidnapping, sexual assaults, and theft however motivated by a desire to revenge implicate the British powers as equally evil. For instance, Marjorie exhibits exploitive traits since her desire in assisting Holt tends to be for her own benefit and not out of sheer empathy for a fellow being as she helps him only after she realized Holt knew Paul, her fiancée as indicated by Marsh (164).
Imperialism is also an element of post-colonialism associated with total control and oppression of the powerless. Imperialism is clearly brought out through reversed colonization in the Beetle presenting a situation where colonial manipulation is far from over considering people experienced oppression under western colonial powers or at the hands of the colonized subjects as echoed by Tyson (149). The Beetle constantly undermined a fundamental aspect every English individual desire to have control over, themselves, since she dominates her victims by rendering them powerless over their own will-power and exploits them. In this manner, Victorian citizens got to experience fear, rage pain and anxieties attributed to oppression by imperial power like they did to the Eastern nations. Therefore, the text echoes the dreadfulness of colonial exploitation as a way of creating awareness. For instance, most of the characters in the novel feel the horror resulting from cruelty at the hands of the Beetle. Paul, Marjorie and Holt, unfortunately, fall victims of the Beetle’s harassment exercised by gaining total control over their bodies and minds and exploiting them sexually at their most vulnerable moment a strategy popular among imperial powers. This horrible experience leaves them traumatized as Marjorie is indicated to have gone insane for some time (Marsh 205).
Post-colonialism is often associated with cultural inversion pertaining to norms governing gender and sexuality as claimed by Tyson (153). The Beetle’s defiance of gender norms is considered outrageous as it undermines gender and sexual identity as defined by British imperial powers thus bring out conflicting perception of gender performance and sexuality. Considering British view of women as objects to be controlled and used in fulfilling sexual fantasies, indicated by British colonizers tendency of sexually assaulting Native women, the Beetle depiction as sexually different which is unacceptable creates fear among the British, who despises her in return. Presentation of a dominating, powerful woman in the Beetle constantly mistaken to be a man demonstrates contradiction and heightens the English unacceptance of gender equality. Marjorie’s character of being independent as she tends to defy her father and her dressing in men’s clothes under the Beetle’s influence also poses a threat to the British foundation of culture and expectations of gender roles challenging their ideology of male dominance and control as suggested by Marsh (241).
Post-colonialism present the notion of othering in which colonized subjects are perceived, categorized and treated as the other in every sense. For instance, the Beetle criticizes racial stereotyping of the other that forms the basis of harsh judgments passed against colonized subjects by the British. The characters in the Beetle constant reference to the Beetle as the oriental solely centered on her appearance since she is perceived to look more like the Orient man other than an English man. The characters apply their establishment of the Beetle as an Oriental from Egypt in unfairly categorizing her as a criminal even before they got to know her and may be precisely one of the factors that drive the Beetle’s rage towards them clearly confirming their ideologies by carrying out dreadful activities against them that are considered evil by Victorian standards as implied by Marsh (116).
Post-colonialism is further characterized by mixture of Eastern mysticism, culture and science seen in the fear of Eastern mysticism by the Western nations as it was considered extremely powerful and evil thus their desire to eradicate Easter mysticism using science innovation. The Beetle seems to possess the ability to change forms, most of the time appearing as a man, attributes to magic from the East. In addition, the Beetle’s possession of mesmeric power poses a great threat to English citizens as it enables her to penetrate the protagonists’ consciousness and body symbolically stripping them off their sense of autonomous enabling her to demonstrate superiority like she does to Holt as indicated by Marsh (69). Apart from the fear of inversion by creatures in possession of metaphysical powers, their evasion of destruction by scientific invention poses a greater threat since the English rely on science as solutions to their problems. For instance, the Beetle dies from a train crash but not from Atherton’s scientific invention intended to destroy her as implied by Marsh (145).
In summary, Marsh in his book, The Beetle explores elements of postcolonial practices such as imperialism, cultural inversion, otherness and orientation that tend to disrupt Victorian England’s view of race, imperial relationship as well as gender and sexuality. The beetle, through the antagonist, explores the anxieties, fear, and pain experienced by Victorian citizens as a result of reserved imperialism perpetrated by her as she confronts them with the realities of their own awful conduct towards the colonized subjects. The Beetle further brings out the identity crisis colonized subjects whose beliefs and customs have been realigned with those of Europeans suffer considering their failure to fit anywhere and their desire to identify themselves with the white who constantly treats them as the other and passes harsh judgments on them based on their racial otherness. Victorian society is further threatened through cultural inversion based on reversion and defiance of gender roles by a female, the Beetle, abolishes the British ideology of male dominance and control. Therefore, the text explores in depth how the colonial powers feel about their interaction with their colonized subjects regarding their expectations that forms the basis under which the colonized other are perceived and treated in Victorian society.
Works Cited
Marsh, Richard. The Mystery of the Beetle, Or, the House with the Open Window. Cleveland: Arthur Westbrook, 1912. Print.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Garland Pub, 1999. Print.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jul 4, 2023 | Essays |
Introduction
Augustine’s book of Confessions begins with an account where he praises the Almighty Father. He says that by calling the name of God and recognizing His presence, he indicates that human should have faith that God that exist since; they cannot rely on the Supreme Being they do not know. He mentions the characteristics of God as being powerful, good, perfect, and unalterable. The main for his confession is to call God to intervene in his life. The notion of this paper is to discuss the pre and post-confession life of Augustine and the entire process of his conversion
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Augustine designates his conversion as a process of redemption from the manacles of lust. His main pursuit was the carnal pleasure, which had the main features of joy. His hunt directed him to sexual promiscuity, leaving him unmarried but with a woman in the place. Augustine spent his life with one woman whom he never married. He ended up with an experience of the difference between sexual desire and the covenant of marriage (Augustine & Outler, 2002). The Saint argues that worldly preference is non-interminable and goes against the will of God. The disagreement came after the conversion from Manichean, which questioned the power of God, to Christianity.
God intervened into Augustine’s life through the story of confessions of Ponticianus and Simplicianus. He got the knowledge the deformations situation in his heart. The confessions showed him the mighty work of God his the life of his people. The Saint received the Holy Spirit, which moved him the carnal of the pleasure of the spiritual birth canal. In his writing, “You changed me to your object so that I can never place my hope women and earthly things,” he shows how God converted him to desire for holiness but not pleasure (Augustine & Outler, 2002). He encompassed the anointment, became attached to Christ, to enjoy the magnificent and everlasting joy.
The Life of Augustine before and after Conversion
Augustine’s desire to know God and His actions began in his infancy when he fell sick and wanted to go through spiritual baptism. According to stories from his parents about him, he hated attending school forcefully since he never liked Greek and the mechanics of Latin. Wills (2011), explains that informal education focuses on immoral fictions, which leads an individual to various forms of temptations. The knowledge obtained from this style of education, made Augustine move away from God. Even though he had commendable talents, skills, and abilities, he always found himself in troubles. He was vulnerable to mistakes at home and in school. His attachment and attraction to the beauty of the world lured him to believe in the truth provided by earthly desires.
Augustine dirges over the unfilled education at his childhood, which focused on imaginations but not the moral behaviors. His training involved the influence of verses to yield sensitive rejoinders in spectators though the results are immoral to them. Augustine & Outler (2002) discloses that without the involvement of moral content in education, the outcome separation from God and human entrapment. He gives a description of himself as a liar, thieve, and a little boy who snitches from his friends for personal gain. These faults are major evidence of the foundation of his sinful life from childhood, making him lack the description of an innocent child. However, during his infancy, he was intelligent, had good memories, and always seek for the truth about life.
Augustine’s school life clogs him into carnal pleasure and assumes the agonies associated with love. The experience of reading the book of Cicero: Hortensius changed him to direct his love towards philosophy and real wisdom. His main objective career was becoming a lawyer. After first, he resisted peer pressure and focused on his studies. He tried to be rigid to his sexual desire and the impulse to love, which lacked a meaningful direction. Wills (2011), adds that lust is an excessive admiration and selfish desire towards anything, not necessarily flesh. Theses lustrous feelings are the major factors that kept Augustine away from doing the will of God.
The account of sexual sins in the life of Augustine is the created part of confession. He had a huge difficulty in differentiating between physical and spiritual love. Physical love works to satisfy human lust towards flesh while spiritual love comprises companionship, healthy friendship, and heart fulfillment (Wills, 2011). He uses his psychological uprightness to identify his major problem as showing off to his friends about sexual exploitation. Augustine’s parents reacted in a dissimilar way: his mother became worried about his new sexual actions while the father had much pride in him.
The Saint continued his education, where he excelled at school. At his adolescence, he meandered from the will of God by following immoral teachings in the education curriculum. Augustine and his friends broke into a store and stole pears in large quantity. He was never angry for pears but was under the influence of the teaching in Manichaeism that triggered to do mistakes and joy provoking other people (Augustine & Outler, 2002). He relished the act of doing group mistakes and claimed that it added fun to his life. He often used his intelligence to manipulate a group of fellow young men to participate ill in-group motive. However, he writes this was a trap into misdirection to the beauty of the world, which separates the body from the laws of God.
During the adolescent stage, he committed other sins such as lust and love of doing mistakes. Lust refers to love that point in the wrong direction. It is a disordered effort to pursue consummation in passing objects that can never earn real gratification. Augustine had last for women since he never committed into a relationship with the aim of getting into marriage. Besides, the love for doing a wrong thing without any reasons was also part of his youthful sins. These actions showed his lack of reasonable inspiration for his actions. According to Wills (2011), every crime has a motive including greed or other self-interest. The ill actions of the Saint lacked the motivation of crime as he did them mainly for enjoyment.
At early adulthood, he completed his education process and obtained a job. He earned untruthful careers including a rhetorical teaching and Manichaeism (Wills, 2011). He later got into a sex oriented relationship with a woman, whom he lived by her better never mention her in public. During that time, he taught his students how to deceive others with the words from Manichaeism. Contrary, he sometimes teaches virtues as a moral practice among humans. He hated certain rituals such animal scarification to spiritual beings to for his success.
According to Augustine’s book of confession, the mythological aspect of Manichaeism that believes in astrology such as the sun and the moon for intervention. He believed in rationality, which does not appeal to spiritual beings. In his argument that believing in astrology repudiates people from making their choices freely, was to indicate that the practice is contradicting that of Christians (Augustine & Outler, 002). The result of this hinders the intervention of the Supreme God’s greatness and undervalues the upright accountability of human. Augustine emphasized on human reliance on the Almighty God and His elegance for salvation.
Augustine loved the power of truth and good will. During his teachings, he tells his students that he values virtuousness. Augustine & Outler, (2002) supports the point that it is proper to free a guilty criminal than pronouncing an innocent man to the death sentence. He was against the sacrifices made to the spiritual gods: and condemn it as an evil practice. He added that the practice was mythological. For instance, Manichaeism’s astrology that the sun and moon have their spiritual role were some of the myths accomplished. Augustine treasured rationality, where he argues that natural order is a reflection of the divine order of God. He described astrology as violating the belief of Christians since it denies people choice of freedom. “If stars control human behavior, the people are not responsible for their sins,” (Wills, 2011).
For Augustine, he would rather acknowledge scientific findings of philosophers than the myth observed by the Manichean. His doubt directed him to a Bishop from Manichaeism for further explanations on the astronomy. He began losing hope in his religion since he was never certain the astrological myths followed. He says that, even though the scientific findings are non-religious, they hold better meaning compared to the Manichean myths (Wills 2011). Simple faith is much important that great knowledge without spiritual acceptance. He later points out that all those scientific knowledge are useless without the Christ interventions.
The failure to understand that reality about spirits is more powerful than physical authenticity made the Saint shift from reading Christin scriptures. The mythology of Manichaeism was multifaceted enough to convince his inappropriate laboriousness (Augustine & Outler, 2002).The determinant of righteousness and evil depends on the unalterable commandment of God but not the customs of dissimilar places or duration. In his mission to seek for the truth, Augustine considers the nature and origin of sin. He argues that sin originates from curiosity, lust, and pride, and take diverse perspectives. Some sins upset the law of God while some affront human being by inducing pain and suffering to them.
During his teaching in Rome, he listened to Bishop Ambrose’ sermon, which gave him the better interpretation of his doubts. He realized that his actions were a great influence to some of his friends, even though they never adapted the confused world of Augustine. The worldly pleasure such as leaving with a concubine hindered him from dedication himself to God. His church members encouraged him to marry so as avoid sexual lust for women. The suggestion forced him to send away the women he had. The arrangement for his wedding came to cancelation after they realized that he was still young (Augustine & Outler, 2002).
In his mission for seeking for the truth about the nature of God and the origin of sin, he began to see the work of Christ in people live. According to Wills (2011), sin began from the corrupted nature of human towards others. Having read the Platonist, he gained the ability to read and understand the truth in the Bible. He finally became a Christian in his heart but was still unable to give up the pleasure of the world. That is when he visited Simplicianus: who shared with him the confessional stories of two people. The stories moved him to accept baptism and leave the worldly life. He noted that the recovery of lost faith was possible through God’s intervention.
The letters of St. Paul assisted Augustine to surrender his old life and join the work of God. The “take and read” voice helped him to make his final decision to change his life (Wills, 2011). The shame of the inability to follow the new way of Christ become so complex to Augustine since he had a divided argument about God. Together with his great friends, they received the Spirit of God after their long desire. He had to quit his profession as a teacher so that he could find it easy to avoid the carnal pleasure that he made part of his joy. Augustine concluded that faith could give one back what went out of their control.
The Hedonism in Augustine’s life
According to Wills (2011), Augustine’s life what dominated by carnal pleasure from his childhood. Hedonism refers to the feeling that pleasure is the most important objective in life and the act of perusing the joy accompanied by its outcome. He began by doing mistakes at school and home, not because he was stubborn. He enjoyed seeing people’s reactions towards his actions. At adolescence, he started feeling in love without recognizing whom he loved. He later ended up falling in love with a concubine, whose was physical satisfactions and joy. The unique characteristics about him were that he enjoyed the hedonistic behavior of causing troubles to others and watching them suffer. After accepting Christ in his life, he still could not seize the life of leaving without a woman nor sex, thus pushed him to get married.
Conclusion
The confessions about the entire sinful life of Augustine indicates the long process passed by the people of God to turn to him. During confession, the sincerity allows for repentance and forgiveness of sins. Augustine’s story gives a clear picture of the contemporary practices of our churches today. Human being finds the pleasure of the world more enjoyable than leaving life the spirits of God, thus making them seize to change. If someone noticed that self-dedication to God has all the benefits, they would never waste time in lustful life controlled by the devil. God give human the opportunity to gain the experience in their sinful life so that they can voluntarily turn Him in times when he is the only one who can intervene
Reference
Augustine, S. & Outler, A. C. (2002). The confessions of St. Augustine. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications.
Wills, G. (2011). Augustine’s Confessions: A biography. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. P.p. 146
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jul 4, 2023 | Essays |
Clinical research studies are invaluable in enhancing evidence-based medicine as well as finding a resolution to medical challenges but are the most regulated type of research. Clinical trials tend to put the lives of individuals at risk thus the necessity for their close monitoring and regulation; a role played by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and ICH. The development of the clinical protocol is the initial step and the basis of clinical research study thus vital. The two bodies have set out standards that have to be accounted for in the design of clinical protocols with the main purpose of safeguarding the participants. The rules and regulations are founded on a concern for people’s welfare, justice and respect hence ensures that corporations involved in clinical research do not place their interests before people’s safety and dignity. The utilization of FDA regulations and ICH guidelines consequently enhances transparency and accountability thus safety and trust.
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Clinical researchers are expected by FDA and ICH to describe clearly how the clinical trial will be carried out. The clinical design protocol is supposed to provide information regarding aspects of the research that concerns and affects the participants. For instance, they ought to indicate the trial’s goals and objectives, methodology, quality control and assurance, safety and efficiency assessment, and the selection and exclusion criteria among others. The complete disclosure of relevant information that participants hold important to their wellbeing that assists them to make informed decisions regarding participation is an ethical demonstration of respect as required by FDA. The major aim of these guidelines and rules is to protect the participants’ welfare both emotionally and physically. They do minimize exposure to exploitation and risks associated with the intake of harmful substances during the research thus ensuring safety as indicated by Gallin & Ognibene (2012).
Nwabueze (2013) claims that utilizing ICH guidelines as well as FDA regulations in the clinical protocol design is vital in ensuring the participants’ safety and wellbeing. The ICH guidelines on the basic specification that should be included in the clinical trials’ design protocols such as methodology and quality control as well as assurance enhance transparency and accountability thus aiding to gain participants’ trust consequently increasing the level of participation motivation in providing honest data. The guidelines also act as a reference during the clinical protocol designing to ensure basic aspects are not forgotten. The application of ICH and FDA regulations aid in the appropriate evaluation of possible risk thus promoting safety and avoiding a possible lawsuit in case the trial goes wrong. The incorporation of ethical standards ensures the integrity of the data collected and preserves human rights thus encouraging participation as implied by DeRenzo & Moss (2006).
In summary, clinical research is the most regulated type of research because they directly concern human health thus risky if not regulated due to the possibility of exploitation that may result in the loss of lives. Therefore, the guidelines by ICH ensure that the clinical protocol is designed appropriately with a clear description of major research elements thus helping to minimize omission of those research aspects. Similarly, FDA regulations focus on safety and ethical standards about respect for human life which if considered would enhance transparency and accountability creating trust thus improving the level of participation as well as ensuring individuals’ safety.
References
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (2013). Open Access Policy.
Chow, S.-C, & Chang, M. (2007). Adaptive design methods in clinical trials. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Council for International Organization of Medical Science. (2002). International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. Geneva.
DeRenzo, E. G., & Moss, J. (2006). Writing clinical research protocols: Ethical considerations. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic.
Gallin, J.I., & Ognibene, F. P. (2012). Principles and practice of clinical research. Amsterdam: Elsevier/AP.
Harmon, D. E. (2002). The Food and Drug Administration. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers.
Machin, D., & Fayers, P.M. (2010). Randomized clinical trials: Design, practice, and reporting. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
Meinert, C. L. (2013). Clinical Trials Handbook: Design and Conduct. Baltimore, MD: Wiley.
Nwabueze, R. N. (2013). Legal and ethical regulation of biomedical research in developing countries. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate.
World Medical Association (2008). Declaration of Helsinki-Ethical Principles of Medical Research Involving Human Subjects.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jul 4, 2023 | Essays |
Overview of the Profession
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pharmacy is a medical profession that is responsible for the interpretation of prescription orders, the dispensation of correct drugs for medication; ensure achievement of optimal therapeutic outcomes (Bureau of Labor Statistics). There are several exciting opportunities and challenges in the pharmacy profession. Pharmacists are no longer mere suppliers of medicine but are also involved actively in medical care at the laboratory, community pharmacy, and in institutions such as schools. Not everyone can be a pharmacist in the United States; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has a list of requirements for one to be a pharmacist (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Forthcoming pharmacists must have a doctor of pharmacy degree, which is undertaken at an accredited university for a minimum period of four years. Before one is admitted to the program, the Applicants are supposed to have taken a post-secondary education in courses such as biology, chemistry, and anatomy. Additionally, they must have a post-graduate degree in pharmacy that takes a minimum of two years. The applicant must also take the Pharmacy College Admission Tests (PCAT). Consequently, students are required to complete supervised work experience in different hospital settings. Those who wish to own their pharmacy have the option of obtaining a master’s degree in Business Administration or a degree in public health (American Pharmacists Association).
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There are various options for financing pharmacy studies at the graduate and post-graduate levels. First, the general cost varies from one institution to another depending on whether it is private or public. The estimated cost of education for a period of four years is $70,000 in public schools in the state, if one wishes to study outside their state, the cost is approximate, $115,800for four years. In private schools, the fee is approximate, $122,209 for four years. Registration for the PCAT exams is approximate, $200 per year (American Pharmacists Association).
The pharmacy profession has grown tremendously, for instance, the number of pharmacy schools has increased to 48 (Brown 141). According to a survey by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, on average a pharmacy student borrows an average of $130,000. Most students are drawn to the profession due to their passion for assisting others.
My Story
I became interested in the pharmacy profession after volunteering at a local hospital and after working part-time at a local pharmacy. With a pharmacy, I am in a position to pursue my interests in helping others. Also, I am a good communicator, the profession requires constant interaction with patients and one has to have good communication skills to execute their duties. I can evaluate a patient’s needs, and with my extensive knowledge give out the specific medication. I believe I have very good analytical skills that will ensure I provide efficient medication. Offering a clear direction to my colleagues. In this era, every application, especially in the medical field, is being computerized for proper record keeping and ensuring that accurate medical service is given. With my computer skills, I shall maintain the Health Record system. I am also detail-oriented; pharmacist is supposed to ensure that the information they give is very accurate. In this regard with an eye for details, I will be able to use the available information and make decisions on the appropriate medication for each patient.
The most challenging quality I have been that I am not a very social person. I like to be by myself and would not interact with anyone unless it is necessary. Therefore, I am trying to overcome the challenge since I will need to communicate with my colleagues and patients. Social interaction is very important since as a pharmacist I have to interact and communicate with people.
Admission Requirements
This section shall evaluate admission requirements for the Master’s program of Anesthesia in Boston. First, is the MCPHS University, applicants should have a GPA score of 3.0 and below. One must have succeeded in mathematics and science courses (MCPHS University). I am on the right track concerning my qualifications since I have the right GPA score and my scores in mathematics and sciences are very high as well. The second college in Northeastern University requires a GPA score of 3.0 and below. Also, one must have taken a statistics and hypothesis-testing course (Northeastern University). My GRE must also be satisfactory; I will need to have at least three years of critical nursing experience. I think I am on the right track save for the critical nursing experience, which I plan to undertake soon. The third college is the Boston College; the program requirements are one must have completed a course in statistics, have a current Massachusetts RN license or a license from any other state, one-year experience in Critical RN, and a Bachelors degree in nursing (Boston College). With regards to these requirements, I do not think I am on the right track since I have not obtained an RN License, also, I do not have critical nursing experience, and I have not taken any statistics course. Perhaps I will need to work on those areas since Boston College is one of the colleges I am interested in joining.
Works Cited
American Pharmacists Association. Collaborative practice agreements vary among the states.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, Pharmacists,
on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacists.htm (visited October 24, 2015).
Boston College, William F. Connell School of Nursing, October 15, 2015. Accessed on October 24, 2015.
Brown, Daniel. The paradox of pharmacy: a profession’s house divided. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2012:e139–e143. doi:10.1331/JAPhA.2012.11275.
MCPHS University, Pre-medical and Health Studies, School of Arts and Sciences,
Northeastern University, School of Nursing, Nurse Anesthesia (MS), http://www.northeastern.edu/bouve/nursing/programs/nurse-anesthesia/
Accessed October 24, 2015
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jul 4, 2023 | Essays |
Introduction
The 45th Presidential election has gained momentum and candidates are doing all they can to secure citizens’ support. Both Democrats and Republicans candidates are running, the famous Democrats include the Former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Senator Jim Webb, the Republicans, on the other hand, including Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina just to mention a few. Being a democrat am in support of a Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton to be precise. I think the Former US Secretary of state has a favorable chance and enough experience of becoming the 45th President of America. According to www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/plan-raise-american-incomes/ Hillary has several priorities for the American people. They include an economy plan, social security and Medicare, national security, LGBT equality and disability rights, K-12education and childhood education, immigration reform, labor and workforce and skills, criminal justice reform, among many other issues (Hillary For America). This paper will discuss why Hillary is my preferred candidate for the highlighted priorities.
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In her early legal career, Hillary Published a Harvard Educational Review titled, children under the law. In the publication, she advocated for the rights of children (Rodham 505). This illustrates Hillary’s interest in fighting for the rights of American children even before acquiring power. Consequently, in her campaign manifesto, she recognizes that every child has a right to live up to God’s given potential. As a senator, she was at the forefront calling for the national initiative to provide funds for the establishment of the Pre-K programs. As the first lady, she passionately introduced the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program that was resourceful for parents to educate their children at home before going to school. She also runs the Hillary Clinton Foundation that assists children in learning the language better (Hillary For America).
Secondly, Hillary has been at the forefront in advocating for the rights of persons, her manifesto focus on the rights of persons with disability and the LGBT community. Even with the presence of the American Disability Act, persons with a disability still face several challenges especially concerning access to resources. As a senator, she advocated for the US to join the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Persons with a disability are from time to time denied access to gainful and meaningful employment (Hillary For America). Accordingly, as the President, I believe it will be a new dawn for persons with disabilities. Concerning the rights of the LGBT community, Hillary has championed hate crime legislation that protects LGBT people in the workplace. She also fought for the end of restriction that prevented LGBT people from adopting children. When she was the Secretary of State she enforced strong anti-discrimination legislation at the Global Level, for instance, she led in the passing of the UN Resolution on Human Rights that ended state discrimination against LGBT families. She applauded the recent Supreme Court verdict but recognizes that a lot needs to be done to achieve LGBT equality (Brammer 1).
Thirdly, being a lawyer Hillary advocates for criminal justice reform. She recognizes the prison cells are full and racial discrimination in our justice agencies. She adds that the question of race needs to be recognized as a barrier to justice, the recent patterns of injustices, for instance, the Fergusons case are making the justice system flawed. She encourages the use of smart strategies to fight crime. Hillary also intends to reform the justice system by changing the approach to punishment and prison by pursuing alternative punishments for low offenders and do away with private prisons (Hillary For America).
The fourth priority Hillary intends to consider is raising the income of Americans by supporting Labor Unions. The Labor Unions builds the economy of the Middle class, this in return reduces the incidence of crime. Supporting the Labor Unions, therefore, means that the income of Americans is raised and hence the success of the Nation. She intends to restore the bargaining rights of Unions. She has previously sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act that aimed at strengthening the labor movement. She also supports increasing the federal minimum wage to $12. This will protect workers from exploitation and support their families (Hillary for America).
Hillary recognizes that affordable health care is a basic human right. She has previously led the fight for access to quality, affordable healthcare. As the first lady, she helped create the Children’s healthcare system. Healthcare Insurance Program, which now provides coverage for over 8 million children. She also introduced legislation to reduce the cost of health information management relates to uniformity and reliability of actions or events that happen every time. Data pertaining Healthcare insurance expenses. As president, she plans to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. Additionally, she plans to defend the Affordable Care Act to make it easy for healthcare providers to best care for their patients. The healthcare system in the US requires massive transformation and Hillary plans to build a delivery system that will improve the quality of healthcare for Americans. The healthcare priorities include expansion of access to healthcare facilities for rural Americans and ensure access to reproductive health for women (Hillary For America).
Another priority is concerning immigration reform; in recent years, Hillary has condemned the aggressive immigration laws in President Obama’s regime. She plans to have a fair and just immigration system. She says law-abiding citizens will be protected and offered a path to citizenship. She adds that the system will support the family since most Americans are family-oriented and phase out private immigration detention centers. She will advocate for Congress to pass legislation that will treat them with dignity, and uphold the laws (Hillary for America).
National security is one of Hillary’s core priorities; she plans to keep America stronger and safe. As the Secretary of State Hillary worked towards the restoration of America on top of the world. She had several accomplishments including the building of a global coalition that imposed sanctions on Iran and protection of Israel. She supported the decision of bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice. She plans to make sure that the US maintains a well-trained and equipped military, ready to respond to any challenges. She also intends to champion the rights of LGBT globally and ensure that all people have equal access to information. As a smart leader, she intends to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, defeat ISIS, hold China accountable for its aggressive actions, and stand up to Putin for his actions (Hillary For America).
Conclusion
Hillary Clinton my presidential candidate since she articulates very critical issues that America faces. As a citizen, I would like my president to address issues such as guaranteeing criminal justice, access to education, national security, the rights of minority groups, access to healthcare, and the laws relating to labor. These are day-to-day problems encountered by Americans. Hillary has been a US senator, first lady, and the Secretary of State. I believe that she has the understanding to address all these issues without a doubt.
Works Cited
“Hillary for America Starts Right Here | Hillary for America.” Hillary for America Starts Right Here | Hillary for America. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Rodham, Hillary. “Children Under the Law.” Harvard Educational Review: 487-514. Print.
Brammer, John Paul. “Hillary Clinton Vows to Tackle Injustices Facing the LGBT Community.” Blue Nation Review 5 Oct. 2015: 1. Web.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jul 4, 2023 | Essays |
Introduction
The memoir is a literary genre that is non-fiction and is a collection of memories that an author documents about events or moments that took place in his or her life (Couser 12). In graphical memoirs, images are used in relaying the messages with or without some accompanying texts. This argumentative essay will argue in favor of the graphic memoir effectiveness as a mode in Alison Bechdel’s novel “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.” Furthermore, the essay will use secondary texts from Thomas Couser’s Memoir.
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“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” is a graphic novel or memoir authored by Alison Bechdel in 2006. It chronicles Bechdel’s youthful and childhood years in Pennsylvania, United States, with much focus on her relationship as a daughter with her father, Bruce Bechdel, which was complex. The themes addressed in this book include gender roles, sexual orientation, suicide, family life that is dysfunctional, emotional abuse, and literature role in understanding an individual’s family and oneself.
Visuals are one of the techniques that Alison has used in his memoir. Graphical memoirs in the “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” played a central role in understanding the memoir because the visuals, simple sentences, educated guess, or contextual clues allow the reader to comprehend a story, if not a; in the language targeted. According to Oz and Efecioglu (2013), graphical memoirs play a significant role for the readers in understanding elements of literature such as foreshadowing, setting, and symbols. Moreover, they are effective in understanding vocabulary and inferences among the learners. Similarly, graphical memoirs promoted motivation to the readers or the learners (Oz and Efecioglu 1).
In Alison’s graphic memoir, the author has strategically used verbal and visual presentations of interpretive texts, memories and specifically used literary words as transitional texts. Nostalgic and bookish, Bechdel the writer and narrator weave an ornate, sturdy memory web with reconstructed dialogue, interior décor, lines from his family letters, photographs, passages from novels, and strands of primal scenes, all to find an answer to one question, who I am? Why I am?
Alison Bechdel framed her graphical narrative by applying repeated verbal and visual tropes. The usage of the graphic medium by Alison for her book allowed her to make an exploration quite literally on the primal scenes. That is by drawing separate and different scenes from her young adulthood, adolescents, and childhood. This way, Alison finds patterns that the viewers or the reader can consequently rebuild by moving in a non-linear, flexible way around the narrative. First, Bechdel, the artist-writer limits the major happenings by blasting the events into connected panels, and then the audience is left to close these gaps existing between the panels by connecting these sequenced panels, in an animating sense. “Fun Home: A company is registered as a limited liability company in New York. “Tom and jack” owns 65 % of the company. Other Family Tragicomic” is an intensely written memoir with texts that are rich in series layering that is non-contiguous. The reader of the memoir is needed to gather all the offered strings on several various pages of the memoir to connect and understand her tale.
Graphic memoir is also effective as a mode in “Fun Home: A poverty on America’s families:Assessing our research knowledge”. Journal of Family Tragicomic” because the reader employs a wandering eye as they make their way through the graphics and texts, apprehending many sequences as they go. At a given point, the next page has immediacy. However, perhaps the reader initially recognizes patterns, repetitions, resonances that bind together the distant panels in iconic solidarity.
According to Groensteen, these images that are contained in both distant and proximal panels are indebted to one another (113), and, therefore, require that the viewer or the reader shift backward and forward in the script as required, combining panels into series of units that are semantically charged. Groensteen defined series as a sequence of discontinuous or continuous images connected by system correspondences that are semantic, plastic, or iconic (146). Back to Bechdel’s “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic,” the reader, is challenged to determine many of these series, most of which represent saliently Alison’s understanding of many key relations: her sexuality, her queer gender, her mother, and her father.
Groensteen described the nature of the panels that should not be apprehended as single entities. Instead, each panel is made up of portions that are characters, objects, background, and foreground, atmosphere, texts in both speech bubble and narrative boxes, line strength among others, from which several or a single element may be raised and distinctively seen about parts of other distant or proximal elements. This means that it becomes possible seeing linkages among the speech balloons only on a certain character expression of the face or background as it is written in connected series. The work of the viewer/reader, therefore, is supposed to see these details that are laced with meaning and to look at other areas in the text their complements. Remarkably, this deed of finding linkages across spatial or temporal expanse reflects the action of building memories, and the desire of the kid to put across the experiences they live of the parents and self-understanding with their own, shortening the space between the generations. In “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic,” Bechdel has wedded intently to this act.
In “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” the first scene depicts Bruce Bechdel, the father to Alison balancing a ten or nine-year-old form of Alison on his feet, inversion of the “Airplane” play as shown in the figure 1below (3).
Figure 1
Alluding to the Daedalus and Icarus myth more overtly, Alison graphically and visually illustrates a falling “Bechdel” hence illustrating the traditional legend of Icarus with herself being Icarus in a child position. However, in the picture text box, she suggests another thing altogether, perhaps that it is not only the kid that can take the position of Icarus (4). In her words, Bechdel stated that. From the graphics, the reader is not only notified about the downfall of the father in the future but also asked to uphold a sense of mythological correspondences and child/parent differences, using verbal and visual narratives.
Proceeding with the Icarus story, Bechdel verbally casts her father in page serves panels one and two, in the position of Daedalus (7). The reader might anticipate seeing a section of what has been seen in the similar panel 1 and 2 images. Bruce, the father, is undeniably involved in the intricate restoration of the house as seen in many such panels. However, the reader also sees a child who is frustrated holding a wallpaper that is evidently displeasing her as shown in figure 2.
Figure 2
The texts in the image above represent a narrator who is an adult reflecting and finding ways of interpreting the actions of her father. The image shows only the bitter experience of the child since it emanates from another time. The panels of Bechdel allow the viewer ad the reader to examine particular details and seek at other points their parallels in the text. For instance, the unresponsive profile of the father, the stressing of the word “hate” by the child, the adult narrator describing her father in the role of Daedalus. Their parallels in the writings include the detached face of the father, the downcast childhood experience especially on their relationship with the fathers. Roethke contributes to an expression of the child, and the Icarian motif.
Interestingly, the graphic narrative’s dual-track nature lends itself to the representation of this memory creation aspect. That is the child’s experiences at the moment of memory creation, and the adults’ experience, interpreting a previous moment recollected, are well laid and balanced creatively against each other. According to MacAdams, memories for autobiographies are encoded and extracted in ways serving the present working self-goals. Therefore, the current goals affect how information in the autobiography is organized and absorbed from the word go, and the goals also create models for retrieval to direct later in the search process (103). Adult Alison Bechdel is choosing memories conforming to her belief that Bruce, forced the feminity idea on her when she was a child. This view of the present and the past is mutually referential and intertwined is in tandem with another line of theory: one that is considering the haunting of the existent using the past. Freccero Carla in her article suggests a parallel to the graphic narrative double nature. As comic panels can juxtapose the verbal reflections of the current subject with a past that is pictured. This is an acknowledgment of spectral nature can fuse present and past in queer historiography (194-196).
Given that “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” acts as an elegy, a dead father’s memorial, which in some sense haunting Bechdel further supports this connection. The tragicomic work of Bechdel to apply her own terms acts as a mausoleum for containing the pieces of her father’s life. That is his photographs, actions, his letters, and his notes. Furthermore, by casting Bruce in different symbolic, mythic, and literary positions such as the Icarus, Freud, Odyssey, Proust, and Wilde, Bechdel re-animates his father, allowing the imaginary landscapes of the spirit of the dead man to inhabit.
The effectiveness of the graphic memoir also is seen as contributing to the blurring of the present and the past in the Icarus comic series. Bechdel in her memoir places her father within a given myth in different positions; that is as Daedalus or Icarus based on his attributes and behaviors at a given time. For instance, Icarus falling after being ashamed, and Daedalus in his role of a father creating a blurring present and past. Playing with space, Bechdel staggers such representations throughout the texts, coming back again to continue with her metaphor, alter it or adjust it.
So where is the mother, Hellen, in Bechdel’s memoir since her father seemed to occupy both roles of the parent in Bechdel’s quest to self-actualize and differentiate? In “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic,” the mothers seems to be an absent figure because of receiving far less coverage compared to Bruce Bechdel. This has since given that the memoir accommodates and interrogates the death of Bruce Bechdel, and who haunts both the texts and the author. Reading carefully through Bechdel’s memoir, the viewer or the reader can recognize that actually, the mother is present visually in the panels of Bechdel looking chagrined, looking away, and looking askance. The “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” description as a graphic narrative provides the rear added ways of looking for her mother, adapt from listening to Alison’s voice. Deep scrutiny of Helen’s pictures discloses that she firmly appeared in numerous panels. She is often visualized in the profile and always focussed on another thing apart of Bechdel (a book, piano keys, a script, nothing among others). Alison’s restricted but talented mothers seem alternately distant, annoyed, distracted, sad, and resigned. The iconic solidarity of Helen’s many facial expressions that show her unhappiness, especially those featuring gaze averted, represents powerfully both the suffering of Alison’s mother and Alison Bechdel’s certainty that her mother is isolated from her daughter and her spouse.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Bechdel in the graphical narrative “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” is the first reader and author majorly focussing on the father. The episodic, gradual usage of series in the memoir offers Alison a non-linear way of building importance. In turn, the initiated readers tether their interpretations of Bruce and Alison to their earlier literary referents readings and help in constructing an extra-diegetic, complex space for them to inhabit. The series used by the author discloses the complexity of Alison’s portrayal of a woman attempting to describe her memories of childhood in light of the constantly updated information. That is new readings in literature, new insights into their family, and new versions of themselves. In turn, the complex and flexible graphic narrative of Bechdel underscores the medium’s unique nature. The pectoral memoir of Bechdel offers a rich possibility that is astounding; that is a non-sequential, non-heteronormative examination of self and family.
Work Cited
Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.
Couser, G. Thomas. Memoir. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Print.
Freccero, Carla. “Queer Spectrality: Haunting the Past.” A Companion to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies. Ed. George Haggerty and Molly McGarry. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. Print.
Groensteen, Thierry. The System of Comics (Systeme de la Bande dessinee). Trans. Bart Beaty and Nick Nguyen. Jackson: Mississippi UP, 2007. Print.
McAdams, Dan. “The Redemptive Self: Narrative Identity in America Today.” The Self and Memory. Ed. Denise Beike et al. New York: Psychology Press, 2004. Print.
Oz, Huseyin, and Emine Efecioglu. ‘A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Graphic Novels In TEFL’. ResearchGate. N.p., 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
