Culture and Art from a new perspective

Charles Dickens and “His Implications in Education”

2009-12-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

The main purpose of the essay is to present Charles Dickens as a remarkable English writer who through his works presents important topics which can be useful for teachers to develop them into classroom. In order to fulfil this essay I will refer to Charles Dickens’s biography, but as a general overview. Second, I will describe some social issues in Dickens’s works, as main themes of his books. Then, I will describe some benefits of using Charles Dickens’s works at the moment of learning. Finally, I will conclude my essay giving my personal opinion about the importance of bringing literature into education and students’ lives, using interesting writers such is the case of the English writer.

Since I have learned how interesting, magical and useful books are, literature has taken an important part of my life and also in my process of becoming an educator. For this reason, I remember clearly the first short story of Charles Dickens that we read at the beginning of our English literature class. The story was The Signal Man. It really liked me and called my attention because it presented significance topics that are still present in our contemporary world. Moreover, it made me feel curiosity about who the person behind the story was. I am referring to Charles Dickens.

Regarding his biography, his real name was Charles John Huffam Dickens. He was born in Landport, Portsmouth England 1812, and died in 1870. Among his major works, we can find Sketches by Boz (1836), Pickwick Papers , Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, etc. Charles Dickens is considered the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. About, the most remarkable aspect of his works is that through his stories, the writer tried to give a voice for the injustices of the poor and working classes. For this reason, he is best known as ““The Writer of Political and Social Truths”.

As a second part of my essay, I will relate Dickens’s biography and social topics that are present in the short story called The Signal Man. From my point of view and after reading it carefully, I would state out that the short story is evidently an analogy of Modernity, as one of the main topics. It is a demonstration of how the progress has become a significant part of men’s life, making or transforming him as a piece of this industrialized world. The main character of the story has been doomed to live in a box where he spends the most part of the day working without any contact with reality. In this sense, the most interesting part is the analysis of society that Dickens portrays through his characters. For example, with the signalman the British author wanted to give us an idea about that the man has lost in a certain way his humanity because he is forced to live under a routine and monotony that has shaped his life living like a machine. The main characters of the story illustrated the impact of living in a society who was loosing control because of the desire to be modern. Hence, I would say that they were just victims of this “modernity” or progress, which the only thing it brought to men and women it was disillusion, sadness, depression, darkness and hopeless to their lives.

According to some of the benefits of using Charles Dickens’s works I can mention that in The Signal Man, themes such as Modernity, Progress, technology, individuality, are intrinsically linked with our society. Nowadays, we can perceive that this situation has not changed and modernity still has repercussions in our lives. Furthermore, using these issues can be extremely appealing and useful for teachers at the moment of teaching and learning.

As a first advantage, we can foster learners to develop their critical thinking through these topics, because those themes are contemporary. Moreover, the more we read, the more we learn how to think. Hence, the importance to encourage reading among our future students helps them to appreciate diverse ways of seeing the world that enable us to reflect on what we read. To illustrate, using Dickens’s topics teachers and students can work together, reflecting on the positive and negative advantages of Modernity. Besides, they can relate the short story with similar Chilean literature that takes into account similar topics (Sub-Terra), as well as analyze the impact that progress has brought to our lives. In this sense, we develop the ability of being critical people.

Referring to what I mentioned before, Bernice E. Cullinan, an important American educator, in her book called “Invitation to Read : More Childrean `s Literature in the Reading Program” states that “Graves (1983) and Hansen (1987) among other believe that reading and discussing trade books helps children to become more critical readers and increases their awareness of choices they make as writers.” (14) Lastly, we cannot forget to mention teachers need and have to encourage learners to love or at least appreciate literature as a way to expand their minds and their lives in a meaningful way.

Throughout this essay I have tried to present Charles Dickens as a remarkable English writer who through his works presents important and useful topics for teachers to bring them into classroom. I have also given a brief Charles Dickens’s biography. Moreover I have analyzed The Signal Man and some of its topics that can be use by teachers to take advantages with students. Undoubtedly, there are many other benefits but I just mentioned three of them that from my point of view are the most important and indispensably to bear in mind. It is basically because we are living difficult times which have to do or have a close relation to what happens in the story. Finally, I have described some of the benefits to use definition of literature and how the idea of including literature into the classroom could be seen as an excellent vehicle to teach and increase students’ knowledge, among other things, such as promote critical thinking among learners through brilliant and popular writers such is Charles Dickens.

Works Cited

Cullinan, Bernice E. Invitation to Read : More Children `s Literature in the

Reading Program. Delaware: International Reading Association, 1992.

Voller, Jack G. "Charles Dickens." The Literary Gothic. 24 Oct. 2008. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. http://www.litgothic.com/Authors/dickens.html

Outline

2009-12-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Dickens and social problems of Modernity
Social issues in Dickens’s work
Can we use dickens in EFL class ?
Examples
Conclusion

V.Woolf

2009-11-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

lunasana dijo...

Hi Angel!

First at all I'd like to tell you that I totally agree when you mention that sexuality does not determinate people’s quality. On the contrary, sexual inclination should not be a reason or topic to discuss if someone is good or bad person or writer in this case. However, I disagree with many aspects you raised. For example, I do not believe Virginia had preferences to woman just because she just liked or not women. I believe that it’s more than that. She goes beyond literature and gender issue. In fact, she criticizes and analyze why women have never been taken into consideration in literature as men. Fortunately, she started doing it through her essay, which is the one we read. As a way to help, I suggest you to check your spelling. Moreover, you might improve your analysis doing some connections relating literature to education. In that case what you pointed out about Woolf’s sexuality may be an interesting topic to work with students.

Think about it!
=)

17 de noviembre de 2009 20:53

T.S Elliot - The Waste Land

2009-11-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Waste Land is well known as “one of the most important poems of the 20^th century”. From my point of view I consider it one of the controversial Elliot’s poems. Its complexity and structure has made it difficult to understand and analyze. The poem changes into two or more speakers as well the situations, location and time. However, even though it is a complex poem I have my own perspective of it. After reading The Waste Land I would say that it refers to a land that is isolated, empty and even dead. A land that is not suitable to use it. The land Elliot makes reference is an analogy of people’s live of the 20^th century. In this case is not a coincidence the poet had written about that obscurity that overwhelmed society. Through his characters, the British poet tries to portray a reality in which people's souls are empty, sad, but in deep they are dead as a consequence of their own history. To sum up, Elliot includes a sense of reality in his way of writing combining it with some tones of sarcasm, irony and coldness.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Land

D. H. Lawrence

2009-11-10T12:40:00.000-08:00

“The rocking horse winner” and “Odour of Chrysanthemums” are both short stories of D. H . Lawrence. These writings are autobiographical making them more interesting and enjoyable to read. We can find remarkable elements which make the stories more realistic and easy to enhance the reader, because those elements are part of the real life. Elements such as disdain, false love, money, unhappiness are present in Lawrence’s works, but what makes more fascinating these short stories are the female characters.

In “The rocking horse winner” we can see a mother who does not love her children and feels extremely unlucky because of her husband and marriage. Unfortunately her children noticed that. This mother is more concerned about money and her unlucky life than her own family. Moreover, she seems very good and lovely with her children to external people. One of her children realizes that the only way to be lucky (or probably be loved) is riding his horse. However, the little boy become mad hearing in his mind an strange voice which reveals him the winning horse of the competition. In this way her son tries to make his mother happy, giving her the money, but at the end he died because of his madness, and it was there when the mother started to feel a little bit worried or possibly “love” for her son.

Similarly in the “Odour of Chrysanthemums”, the female character called Elizabeth is a woman who has to face an unhappy marriage and also deals with her husband’s drunkenness. In general this woman is absolutely cold and dissatisfied because of his poor live style. Thus, she does not show respect to her husband and their relationship little by little is broken.

In conclusion, D. H Lawrence portrays essentially issues or current events that are closely related to the human nature. The writer explores through his characters what human beings are, how people behave, act and feel in this life.

Virginia Woolf “A Room of One’s Own”

2009-10-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

“A room of one’s own” is an extended essay where Virginia Woolf presents and discusses large questions related to women’s history. What the writer ponders is that “a woman must have money and a room of her own”. According to that, Virginia appeals both real (or room) and a metaphorical space. Nevertheless, what we call “metaphorical space” is the historical perspective she refers to and criticizes. In her essay, Virginia takes into consideration the historical perspective, reflecting that women have never been considered as important as men to write literature, and not only just fiction, poetry also. To Virginia the question is why there have been few high-quality woman writers. Her answer is because historically female gender has been discriminated by chauvinist society, limiting women’s lives in all senses. Indeed Woolf also addresses that one of the problem is education, because men were well educated and women were not, pointing out implicitly how inferior for that society women were in the XIX Century.

Concluding with my reflection, I can argue that when Virginia Woolf states “a woman should have money”, she is claiming that the process of writing involves on the one hand, most part of the day , and on the second hand, time to think to create literature but without interruptions. In fact, it is a way of living and if a woman works to have incomes, then, her art will be affected or interrupted. In other words, Virginia Woolf also infers the education of women needed more money.

References:

http://www.enotes.com/room-ones

Oliver Twist A Film Directed by Roman Polanski

2009-09-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Oliver Twist is a film based on Charles Dickens’s story. It is the dramatic story of a poor and orphan English boy who by his conditions is sent to an educative institution. Unfortunately, the child, who is nine years olds, is not well treated there. Refusing to live under a place without love and care, he moves on to live on streets. The movie portrays the life of this little and unlike child who is confronted to live under the most miserable conditions that a human being can face. In fact, one of the main aspect of this film is how well depicts the reality that million children used to lead but in poor and insanity conditions in a society that promoted happiness and progress for everyone.

Moreover, two remarkable aspects of Roman Polanski film are how well harshness and isolation are illustrated. In that time, London city was crowed of people who were trying to look more opportunities to survive, but becoming many of them, including children, in objects to obtain money or others simply dying because of illness or starvation. To conclude, Oliver Twist is an excellent movie to appreciate the complexity and sad situations that modern time brought to humanity, but especially innocent people or victims such as Oliver Twist story.

The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens

2009-09-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

The short story written by Charles Dickens is clearly an analogy of Modernity. To me, it is a demonstration of how the progress has become a significant part of men’s life, but making of him a piece of this industrialized and sadness world. What Dickens wanted to ilustrate us is the reality of those times in where he was living in. The main characters of the story illustrated the impact of living in a society who was loosing control because of the desire to be modern. In fact, I would say that they were just victims of this “modernity” or progress, which the only things it brought to men and women was disillusion , sadness, depression , darkness and hopeless to their lives.

On the other hand, in terms of education, this short story could be a really good tool to use it in the classroom. We can teach, show and demonstrate our students the real impact that progress has brought to our lives. Indeed, there are many elements which are still present and teachers can work on them allowing learners to think critically, making a good use of literature into our profession.

FRANKENSTEIN

2009-09-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

After reading Frankenstein I could not stop thinking on my childhood. The image of “that monster” that I used to see in some movies comes to seem for me very different and not as terrible as I used to think.

While I was reading, I started to realize that Frankenstein was not so bad, even if he murdered Victor’s girlfriend. To be clearer, I would say this main character suffered a lot. In fact, he can be seen as the representation of manipulation and the desire of power from a human being, who was Victor in this case. Metaphorically speaking, Frankenstein is like the extension of his creator who wanted to create a being that could be able to do what he could not do, such as loving. From my point of view, Frankenstein was just a victim of the sense of greatness of man, suffering discrimination, unhappiness, loneliness, emptiness, rejection and hate by many members of society.

Concluding with my reflection, I would like to argue that we can use Frankenstein’s story to include it in education. As teachers, we can work with students analyzing elements such as discrimination and relate it with some specific situations that exist within the classroom. We can not forget that probably there are many Frankenstein “inside our own classroom” or which is more terrible and dangerous, some teachers can be “capable to create” little monsters. For this, literature is an important, useful and a really good tool to use it in the process of learning and teaching values!

Daffodils - a poem by William Wordsworth

2009-09-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

In Wordsworth’s poem is easily to find nature elements. One of them are those beautiful Daffodils. But what do they represent? Clearly, the golden and striking flowers mean joy, and seem to be part of heaven. The poet is delighted by Daffodils at the moment to watch them over the hills. In this sense, the poet and nature have a magical connection. What nature provokes him is a love, happiness and astonishment manifestation, before so wonderful spectacle of beauty. And this is reflected on the stanza “A poet could not be but gay, in such a jocund company!” However, it is weird to find a happy poet. In fact, people are used to look poets as melancholic and solitary persons, but this sentence clarifies and demonstrates that poets do feel happiness and rejoicing. In short, anything that belongs to nature and life itself, the poet uses these to build his poetic imaginary; and simple flowers such as Daffodils are part of it.

John Keats, The Melancholy Young

2009-08-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Death is always in the mind of human beings. We usually try not to think about the moment of our death, because it causes affliction and sometimes anguish. We can not, however, avoid this issue that is so natural and unavoidable. In the poem “When I Have Fears that I may Cease to Be”, written by John Keats, death is always present. In his work he makes reference to the feeling of dying when you are young and have the whole life to enjoy it, but the adversity of our own destine is different and unlike. Keats shows us that his desire to live, to love and be famous was stronger than death. Likewise, the young poet lived under the frustration to be aware that he was losing his life every moment because of his health. Melancholy, sadness, hopeless and desire to live, all of these feelings, are part of his work, becoming this poem particularly one of the most romantic. Finally this powerful poem reminds us the feeling that being aware of our death, encourage us to live and enjoy our existence day to day.

Kubla Khan by Samuel T. Coleridge

2009-08-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

“It is essential to poetry that it should be simple, and appeal to the elements and primary laws of nature; that it should be sensuous, and by its imagery elicit truth at a flash; that it should be impassioned, and be able to move our feelings and awaken affection”.

Poetry is clearly more than a complex art. It is in fact, the art of discovering the truth, connecting the external world with your inside. What a good poet does is to represent or externalize his or her feelings with a simple language which is full of images, colours, places and even music. And this is what the poet Samuel T. Coleridge does in his poem Kubla Khan. In his work, he includes certain poetic elements that let him known as the poet of the Supernatural. Nature, passion, fervour, music and fantasy are essential elements of his poetry.

Kubla Khan is a poem that invites the reader to another dimension, a place that is beyond of the common or ordinary world, and where the people cannot even imagine it could exist. After reading the poem, I got the feeling I was reading a love song with sounds that belong to another Universe. It is truthfully a world that it could really exists. We could realized of it, if we just open our eyes and then we will able to see that in this Earth there are places which are in front of us. However, we are so far of our human nature that we are not capable to perceive them. Nevertheless, thanks to Coleridge, he invites us to that foreign World through out his supernatural and fantastic poetry.

The Little Black Boy

2009-08-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

The Little Black Boy is an English poem written by William Blake that makes reference to the Universal. In Blake’s work all the elements which are present evoke to the Nature. Elements such are: air, trees, sun, light, flowers, are related to the God’s world, where everyone and everything is the same at God´s eyes. In fact, it is important to mention that the mother taught her son about the love of the father God, because this one is the same as the love of any mother. In fact, it is an unconditional love. At the same time, the mother showed to her child that everyone belongs to the Earth as if we were just one.

Making reference to Blake’s poem, I have chosen The Wild Puppies by Claude Monet. In this master piece Nature is also present as in the poem. The child of the painting is guided by his mother, showing him about the marvelous and beauties that God has created for us. And, men and women are elemental part of this world.

Taking Advantages of Literature

2009-07-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

The main purpose of the essay is to present the benefits to use literature in education, and how literature has helped me to grow up as a person and future teacher. First, I will start commenting my learning experience in the course. Second, I will describe literature. Then, I will talk about literature and its benefits in education. Then, I will describe some of those benefits and why they should take into consideration at the moment of learning. Finally, I will conclude my essay giving my personal opinion about the importance to bring literature into education and students’ lives.

Since my brother showed me how interesting, magical and useful books could be for; literature has been an important part of my life. For this reason, I remember clearly the beginning of our literature class. I felt curiosity to know how the course was going to be developed. I was highly enthusiastic to learn more about old English literature but poetry specifically. I really appreciate poetry and I consider it the most attractive genre of literature, because it involves not only feelings but a particular and deep way of seeing the world. One of the first topics we saw in classes was the oldest epic poem called Beowulf from 19th century. It was, however, rather difficult to read but interesting to see how literature has been crucial for human beings to illustrate the way they perceive and feel the world. And, this was the fist thing I learned from this course.

Later on, we studied other texts, letters, poems and tales where we could discuss important topics that are still contemporaries such as love, truth, discrimination, racism, religious, and the role of women in society, etc. We were able to discus, differentiate, tolerate other opinions, share knowledge, experiences and, of course, give our point of view. All of we learned was thanks to literature that covered attractive topics to the class. The idea of including literature in my career, as a future teacher, had a clear purpose. It was to make up my mind about how important the benefits to apply literature with our future students are. However, what do we understand by Literature? Probably, there are many definitions, but I am going to refer to a definition given by some English pedagogy’s students from 4^th year, “Literature is the expression of culture using language to express it, such as writing, speaking and listening.”

From this definition, literature is certainly an interpretation and a way to understand the world where the writer’s intention is to reflect, show and invite the reader toward his inside. The invitation is showing his feelings, thoughts and even a perspective of the culture and world. According to an educational context, while a child reads, this one is involves into another world dimension with a different perspective of life. Therefore, this fact is mainly important, because there is an interaction between the reader (child) and the writer that I call it dialogue. Related to this, Tzvetan Todorov states, “Literature opens to the infinite this possibility of interaction and thus enriches us infinitely. It brings us irreplaceable sensations through the real world become more furnished with meaning and more beautiful”( 17). In this sense, the child could feel identified with the text or writer, linking certain facts from his own experience of life, creating a magical and meaningful interaction with the text.

What I have mentioned before gives us a clear idea to confirm strongly that literature is clearly a tool of Education which can be use for many purposes by its benefits and teachers should bear in mind those at the moment of teaching. We can mention literature helps to develop Language, as a first benefits. The language learners have heard and read from wide texts forms the language they will use to speak and write. In other words, Bernice E. Cullinan, an important American educator, in her book called “Invitation to Read : More Childrean `s Literature in the Reading Program” mentions, “language shapes thought just as thought shapes language”(13). In this sense, children enrich their vocabulary and knowledge of grammatical aspects through exposed them by reading books aloud and in silence. In addition, pupils acquire different vocabulary (formal and informal). As a way to illustrate, Cullinan explains, “this is so because the language of literature differs from the language of daily conversation: literature contains a richer vocabulary and more complex sentence s5rtucture” (13). Consequently, students are more capable to handle suitable vocabulary to manage and express their thoughts through a clear and accurate way.

Secondly, literature allows learner’s emotional development. What I said before, about writer’s intention is to reflect, show and invite the reader toward his inside; it is closely related to the fact of developing reader’s emotional side. Referring to this issue, the same author states, “The emotional impact of literature is a major reason it serves us so well in handing down the magic of reading. Because literature deals with the range oh human emotions, it portrays feelings we all experience” (15) Many times reading Sense and Sensibility and Chaucer’s poems, I had felt almost the same writer’s emotions as if they could feel the same as me. Moreover, many people have felt compassion, angriness sadness etc when they read about characters. Bernice E. Cullinan comments. “Sometimes we clarify our own emotions when we read about another’s experiences in a book”. This is really helpful for children. Using stories, tales, and poems in the classroom can help them to realize that problems or difficult situations are part of the life and should know they are not alone. In this way, students are able to get courage to face and deal with reality.

On the other hand, the third advantage is that literature helps students to develop their critical thinking. In fact, the more we read, the more we learn how to think. Hence, the importance to foment reading with our future students it is crucial to perceive and appreciate diverse ways of seeing the world that enable us to reflect on what we read. In this sense, we develop the ability of being critical people. In Bernice E. Cullinan book, she denotes, “Graves (1983) and Hansen (1987) among other believe that reading and discussing trade books helps children to become more critical readers and increases their awareness of choices they make as writers.” (14) Lastly, we cannot forget to mention teachers need and have to encourage learner to love or at least appreciate literature as a manner to expand their minds and their lives in a meaningful way.

Throughout this essay I have tried to present a general overview about some of many benefits to use literature in education and I also have related this with my learning experience in the course. Furthermore, I have given a brief definition of literature and how the idea of including literature into the classroom could be seen as an excellent vehicle to teach and increase students’ knowledge, among other things, such as improve child writing, reading, vocabulary, to explore children’s emotional side, to develop their creativity, to teach children values, etc. Undoubtedly, there are many other benefits to use reading in effective language program but I just developed three of them that from my point of view are the most important and indispensably to bear in mind.

Works Cited

Cullinan, Bernice E. Invitation to Read : More Children `s Literature in the Reading Program. Delaware: International Reading Association, 1992.

Todorov, Tzvetan New literary History. Volume 38, Number 1, winter 2007, p17.

The Merchant of Tragedy

2009-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

The Merchant of Venice is al film directed by Michael Redfort. It is basically based on the famous William Shakespeare’s play.

Basanio was a liberal merchant without money that decided to captivate Portia´s love, who was the princess of Belmont. The liberal young merchant, in his desire to get this purpose, decided to lend Antonio´s money, who was his loyal and best friend. Antonio was an important and wealthy dealer of the epoch. Nevertheless, this dealer did not have the amount agreed. Antonio decided to talk whit Shylock, a moneylender Jewish, to help his friend. The Jewish took advantage of the situation and decided to take revenge because of the discrimination and mistreat he used to suffer by Catholics of the epoch. Shylock finally accepted lending Antonio the ducats, but with a particular conditions, which was to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh, if he can not definitely pay what he had borrowed.

A remarkable point of the film is the way it portraits the values, behavior, beliefs and customs of that epoch. I was really impressed watching the film by the manner how men used to kiss each other in the mouth. In fact, it represented a natural or common way of greeting or expressing love in those times. Besides, if we compare this situation with our modern times, it is apparently different or less common.

On the other hand, something that is fairly important to mention about Merchant of Venice film, is the discrimination as an important theme or issue of the film. As an evidence of this, is the opposition between Shylock and Antonio. These characters play the most important role in the movie, because of the reason both represent the confrontation among two different cultures such is Catholicism and Judaism. The director of the film tries to portrait on Shylock that he, as a Jewish, had the same rights as every human beings. In fact, it is demonstrated in Shylock’s words when said; he suffered and loved as every single people. For this reason, he should be treated equally as others. However, from Antonio`s point of view, he despise and looked down on Jewish, not for a personal reason, but mainly as a consequence of the cultural pattern of the epoch. In other words, his behaviour is a clear demonstration of the cultural background.

Concluding with the review, I would definitely say The Merchant of Venice is a wonderful and interested tragedy film, because we can appreciate the different human conditions such is discrimination, revenge, ambition, suffering, sadness, which has not changed through the time. Moreover, the quality of the actors is excellent. They make a well done performance portraying the customs, beliefs of Shakespeare’s epoch.

Outline: The Merchant of Venice

2009-05-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

The Merchant of Venice

1- Title

2- Introduction

3- Summary of the movie

4- Relationship between Shylock and Antonio.

5- Opposition in terms of religion, money or beliefs?

6- Conclusion

The Faerie Queene

2009-05-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

The letter to Sir Walter Raleigh written by Edmund Spencer is mainly an allegory of the values of that epoch. The author tried to portray in King Arthur the twelve moral virtues. In fact, to him, Arthur “is the representation of the virtues of Magnificence. This is to say, he is the perfection of all the rest, and contained in it them all”. King Arthur was seen by the author as “a gentleman, a noble person in virtues and gentle discipline”.

Spencer’s book is an allegory, because he describes in a figurative or symbolic way, the representation of moral virtues through some characters such is King Arthur in this case. In his work, tried to emphasize through his different characters certain characteristics or virtues such are Holinesses which is represented by The Knight of the Red Crosse, Temperance expressed by Sir Guyon and Chastity by Lady Knight.

Having expressed all of this, I truly believe the author’s intentions to write the letter was to protect himself, mainly because was poor and was against some of religious concepts. The letter was a mode to defence in a certain way, his moral values.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faerie_Queene http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenser/main.ht

What do women love or want?

2009-04-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

The Wife of Bath’ Tale written by Chaucer shows us a woman from the Little Middle Ages who really wanted to take advantage of her female condition. This fact mainly makes her different from other women of the epoch. Nevertheless we wonder if that is the only thing a women love the most

Every woman is rather different from another and what they want or feel it’s never going to be the same. There is probably the same desire among us as women. Being loved, respected and understanding by men hasn’t changed through times.

What I want as a woman likely is the same as the rest of women want. Nonetheless, I do not necessarily need a man to feel loved. As a human being, I have to love, appreciate and respect myself first than a man would do it for me. Knowing firstly what happens with my feelings, or what my real needs are, will help me to devote looking forward what I desire to my life, which is mainly to be happy and a free person.

What I think about an epic poem

2009-04-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

An epic poem is a long and fictional narration. It is narrated by characters who play the rol of heroes. It includes specific characteristcs as bravery, evilness and godness. On the other hand, it involves the feeling of an specific epoch, customes, believes and predominant thoughts of a culture which the poet lives in. In other words, it is a folk way of narration doing by heroes fighting against evilness of society.

Literature in Education

2009-03-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that there are many conceptions, interpretations or definitions about what Literature means or is. However, all of us have our own point of view of this issue because we are all different people. Referring to a definition given by some students “Literature is the expression of culture using language to express it, such as writing, speaking and listening.” we can analyze that literature is certainly an interpretation and a way to understand the world. The writer’s intention is to reflect, show and invite the reader toward his inside, including his feelings, thoughts and even an ideology of the culture and world. While a reader reads, this one is involves into another world dimension with a different perspective of life. This fact is mainly important, because there is an interaction between the reader and the writer. This interaction we can call it a dialogue for the reason that, the reader can connect his/her experience of life with writer’s life. And when this happens is entirely magical and meaningful. In the same manner, Literature’s implications in Education should have the same purpose or influence. According to this, Tzvetan Todorov has said “literary study would take as its aim to help us reach meaning for we postulate that meaning, in turn, guides us toward knowledge of the human, something important for everyone” (page. 30). For this reason, Students should be motivated to read but in a meaningful way. Education should use Literature as a powerful tool to give students the opportunity to think, to be critical with society, and also with their own life

Modern Times: Machines v/s Men… Where is the Real Progress?

2008-11-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

In general aspects, Modern Times is an interesting movie about the epoch of progress, social movements, technology and modernity. It is also an analogy between men and machines. Charles Chaplin, as the main character, works in a factory where he is forced to work hardly and in poor conditions. In fact, he is treated and manipulated like a machine. He does not have time to relax and even to eat, because factory’s productions take a relevant place in those times. In other words, his life is involved into tedious production routines that make him feel extremely stressful. As the story progress, Charles looses his job and is taken to jail. Finally, this man meets a poor young lady whom he falls in love. Sharing time together, they start a new life, thinking of in some possibilities to get a better quality of life. Regarding to this, the film shows us the expectations of them to get material things as a way to face their poverty, which is one of the major negative consequences of progress and modernity.

The most interesting about Charles Chaplin’s film is that he tries to represent the complex reality of society in those times, under an ironic but at the same time humoristic perspective. Through his film, we can identify relevant facts which are part of modernity. To illustrate, we can mention the machine’s invention that comes to take the place of that men used to, making human’s life easier, but at the same time men become a machine more like a person. Unfortunately, men’s happiness is focus on progress and this fact is deeply involved in Chaplin’s film. In the same way, there are many others facts which the director has developed very well, such as: the strong and difficult worker’s conditions, poverty, hope in progress and technological advances. Even though it is a silent film , we can pay more attention to details. We can appreciate Charles Chaplin’s talent using his body language, to communicate us his message. For all these reason that I have mentioned before, I totally recommend this film. We can realize about the powerful influence that modernity had had through time and how this has seriously affected our life in terms of progress as human beings. Moreover, I strongly believe that Modern Times film helps us to think about the role that we have in the world. As a result, I wonder if would we like to change our life system or would we like to live as human-machines like we have been doing for a long time? So, what is the real progress?

How important is the relationship of language and culture?

2008-11-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

The aim of this essay is to introduce you about the relationship between Language and culture, and how these both issues are related to or influence education. But what do we understand by language? How important is language in our life?

In general aspects, language is a way of expression belonged to members of any culture. It includes behaviour, interaction, point of views, signs, values, feelings. Claire Kramsch has mentioned that “language express and embodies cultural reality”. This is particularly important if we want to understand that language plays an important role in any culture. In fact, language is so powerful, meaningful and important, because is closely related to the construction of our identity as society.We give the world a meaning through language, in a sense that the world is a reproduction of our beliefs, dreams, needs and values. Because we give the world a meaning, at the same time every human being is mainly responsible to participate or not in it.

For this, culture as the second aim, takes importance to the language, but what do we understand by culture? Culture can be defined as a construction process of an identity that represents a group of people that belong to a specific place or community. Culture is not an isolated or empty concept. It is full of meaning because has been building by men. While we are alive culture will be too. As subjects within or inside a society, we are the main responsible to create a specific culture and of course our own identity. Through language we give the world a meaning and order about what is more important to us. For this reason, language and culture need each other. We cannot understand language without culture because “Language plays a major role in the perpetuation of culture, particularly in its printed form”, as the author pointed out.

In the same way, education is completely involved within a culture, with a common or not so common language among people. However, what do we teach when we teach? Do we teach culture or we build it in a context? In terms of Education, as future teachers, we are essential subjects in the hard process of building and after a fashion transforming society. But I wonder; when we teach, we teach in an isolated context, with people whom do not have background? As every society includes a particular culture, it is include also different people. Likewise, the places where we have born or lived shape us and have an enormous influence in what we are, believe our language, etc.

As a result, I personally think that, as future teachers, we cannot deny this with our future students, because they are going to have diverse ways of thinking, seeing and behaving. Therefore, their needs, values and languages are going to be different. Each student is a world by itself and while we teach, we have to face different contexts where we obviously meet different people who are history but culture too. In this way, when we teach our students, we also teach culture through certain values, principles, customs beliefs, codes, ideas or common expression which all of these have to be meaningful for them because giving the world a meaning is the only way to build, transform and have a better life.

To conclude, in relation what I have mentioned before, I would say that if we would like to make a big change in education, we should keep in mind that every time when we teach we can not impose a “culture” because it is already build. “Each student is a world by itself” as I already mentioned before. We cannot impose a way of thinking or believing and even feeling. It would be an imposition that does not have any relation what teaching supposed to be or mean. In summary, each of us is unique. Then, we, as educators, have to create an atmosphere where our students feel comfortable to share their experiences and enrich their spirits through a meaningful language. Being critical about what we want to change of our culture and having a dialogue among educators and students is crucial to transform society, in terms that through language we build human relationships which should be based on love and respect that are universal values which have been lost in this Chilean culture nowadays.

More than an Economic and Technological Revolution

2008-11-09T23:44:00.000-08:00

The Industrial Revolution made big and significant changes in man’s life. Particularly, this period of the history, represents the beginning of a new and strong era, which still have a big impact in our daily life. “Production, machines and materialistic progress", are the main issue of this period. Throughout this period, social classes were created and there were more poor people than rich people. In fact, this brought inequality and poverty. Because of the enormous impact that this fact provoked in society, unfortunately, many people or “minorities” belonged to the periphery had to move on to the city to survive, because city was the maximum representation of modernity, hope progress and a possibility to arise economically. This fact provoked that many people such as miners, women and children were exploited and manipulated to work in hard conditions. As a consequence of this, they lived in extreme poverty and abandon conditions.

Nevertheless, thanks to members of parliament and organized workers, there were big social transformations during this period, which provoked education, labour and slavery reforms. Regarding to this, I wonder: What types of benefits provoked this milestone? I strongly believe that The Industrial Revolution, as well as it brought a new conception of progress; also it immensely provoked a human impoverishment. Since this period, man’s life is focused on production, doing of man, a kind of “human-machine” focused in the obtaining of material richness. In this sense, man passed to be, a human being into a machine of production, where spiritual impoverishment is much more astonishing as the all gold of the world.

Elizabeth I “The Heretical Virgin”

2008-10-26T17:46:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth I Film is a clear interpretation of a historical event, which narrates the struggle of power among Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth I of England in the early 18th Century. In fact, the whole movie is a religious war, where the main issue is to preserve faith as tool of power and control. The Conservatism Protestant has taken for Spain, like a political threat and the whole film is about how Spain tries to exile the Queen Elizabeth I whom is the maximum example of power.

Marie Stuart, who was Queen of Scotland and Elizabeth I cousin, fervently wants to be the new queen of England. This situation generates a strained relationship among them. Because of her desire of being a queen, Spain manipulates Marie Stuart as a political strategy to attack or overthrow England. In other words, Philip II of Spain recognize in Marie Stuart’s faith, the protection to the Catholic integrity.

On the other hand, the tense relationship among Philip II and Elizabeth I generates a territorial threat and ethical climate. For this reason, Elizabeth as a clever and sometimes dictatorial woman, takes a difficult but right decision, and decides to fight against Phillip II of Spain. Clearly, this fact lets us know her strong personality in those times.

Finally, we can appreciate Elizabeth that adopts a virginal image, hieratic and sacred as the only way to preserve power. Probably, this is the most interesting of the Film, because Elizabeth I, as the Queen of England, postponed her human passions in pursuit of cohesion to the English people. Through the auto- imposition of a virginal image, Elizabeth I replaces, from her woman's role, the absence of the feminine catholic divinity, that gets lost in the Protestant morality. In other words, she tries to replace the virgin Marie absent, in the transition to Lutheran faith.

The Resurgence of English 1200-1400

2008-10-10T02:01:00.001-07:00

The resurgence of English is the most important and remarkable event which still have an important and enormous influence in this modern age. Reading the text I have realized how powerful and influential could be a country in terms of its culture and language among other countries. During that epoch England and France were the biggest powerful countries and both had a turbulent relationship. However, the onset of the hundred years of war was an important issue that brings to England a sense of identity. This big issue makes declines French as the most common language spoken in those times and English started to increase as the language of power. Many French words had an impact on English because 10.000 of its words were entered to be part of English as well. Nowadays, English is the most common and popular language spoken around the world. For this reason I think how powerful could be just one success in the history of any country. In a certain way, an event from the past can enormously change the perspective, the culture, and the language of the world as is in this case English like the Universal language.

Stonehenge

2008-10-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Regarding to C. Hibbert article, I would say Stonehenge was and still is quite interesting and important part of England history. Particularly, it is because we can realize how some civilizations or specific groups of people can disappear but, they are still alive through time. Clearly, Stonehenge is a representation of it. Thanks to this magic ruins; nowadays we are able to access to this culture which calls the attention of many people around the world, including myself.

Regarding to Stonehenge’s mystery, it has been claimed by experts and archaeologists that this was a place of healing where people used to go there to obtain recovery because of its medicinal properties, transforming this place as a temple. This is particularly interesting to me. Reading the article, I could not stop to think in how wonderful could be the relationship among human beings and nature and also how as humans we build our life within it. Stonehenge is a clear demonstration of it because we realized the important role of the man in the construction of the history in terms of his beliefs.

Thanks to the text, I travelled through time. I imagined people from that ancient time doing those sorts of rituals to invoke the power of nature as a special energy belonged to the Universe. I feel as though it is a love demonstration of Cosmos to them. It remains me that the relation we have with nature, encourages us to find a place in the history that we have been building for long centuries. For this, Stonehenge is important to me. Probably, these ruins has a secret meaning related to our spiritual essence as human beings that we have not been able to discover yet or probably, it invites us to know more about our past to understand how we should understand nature.

Ways of Seeing by Paulina Valdés

2008-08-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

In general aspects the text written by John Berger is an analogy between art and the way that we see or perceive art in terms of past and present time. One of the aims that the author mentions is “the way we see things are affected by what we know or what we believe”. It means that there is a relation between things and ourselves and when we do this, it includes consciousness of the world. Thus, our past and present are involved. When we see a picture it has to be meaningful to us. We usually try to find something of our past which can have a connection with our present life. Relating this to the particular way we perceive art, it has enormously changed through the time. In ancient times, paintings were unique and just few people or elites had access to appreciate it. Paintings also were in specific places like chapel or churches.

Nevertheless, nowadays there are a lot of people who have the opportunity to appreciate an art work. It has been possibly by the invention of the camera. Thanks to the camera, the way that men saw changed. The author mentions: “the visible came to mean something different to them”. Now, with the camera we can see and be seen. Moreover, the invention of the camera changed the perception that men used to see paintings. Men could make reproductions of original paintings, changing or destroying the uniqueness of its images and at the same time its meanings. As a result, its meanings are going to be several because since here, everyone is going to be able to look at any picture in a different place and also with a different cost. Pictures, paintings or visual art reproductions have become available, valueless and free for everyone.

To conclude, I would like to refer about the importance to be aware of our past and present. Our past is important because it helps us to be conscious about what we are. In other words, we are our past because we build our life as social and historical human beings. The past forces us to realize if we have been or not active subjects in the construction of our own life. For this reason if we are aware of our past it is going to help us to face the present with a big responsibility. In terms of education is the same. As a future teacher I think that it is important to look at our past because we are going to be more conscious about our mistakes. Besides, we could realize if we have been able to be responsible in making changes to have a better progress. We can not forget that we are free to choose if we want to participate or not in the construction for a better society and education is the main issue to do it because as a future teacher it is in our hands to make a change.