Feminism In Elizabeth Barrett Browning English Literature Essay

Feminism In Elizabeth Barrett Browning English Literature Essay Through a detailed analysis of the writings of Victorian era female poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, this essay exposes the underlying themes of feminism in the authors works. The essay makes specific reference to two of Barrett Brownings most noteworthy poems, Aurora Leigh, a directly biographical piece, and The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point, not officially an autobiographical piece. The essay reveals the theme of feminism through an examination of key aspects of Barrett Browning, including: the inner conflict resulting from the struggle to choose between female identity and accomplished author, the comparisons made between the oppressive practice of slavery and the poor treatment of Victorian women, and the importance of female autonomy prevalent in the poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. All of these aspects come together together in the essay and Elizabeth Barrett Browning is successfully able to shed light on the oppressive treatment of women living in the Victorian period. Through her writings that often surround cruel female oppression, Victorian era poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning expresses feminist views in her works. Though often done subtly and indirectly, Barrett Browning uses her poems as a medium to express her aversion towards Victorian era female oppression that manifested itself in areas such as societal expectations and lack of independence. Despite the fact that few pieces by Barrett Browning are said to be truly biographical, one could suggest that numerous other poems by Barrett Browning depict her life as a woman living the Victorian period, as well as the lives of women in general living in the Victorian period. Through the analysis of two of Barrett Brownings works in particular, Aurora Leigh and The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point, one can clearly see areas of Barrett Brownings own life being expressed in her writing. Aspects of Elizabeth Barrett Brownings life that are most visibly expressed in her writing include her inner turmoil between wanting to be a poet, and yet also wanting to maintain her femininity. Also visible is her condemning view of slavery, and how she likens the practice of slavery to the then treatment of women. And finally visible is her belief in the importance of women gaining independence from men. Through a detailed analysis of Barrett Brownings work with a particular focus on Aurora Leigh and The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point, one can see how the works reflect Barrett Brownings own lifetime experiences and opinions regarding female rights. The works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning depict her aversion towards the misogynistic Victorian era society. Numerous works by Elizabeth Barrett Browning reflect the inner conflict that existed in her life. This inner turmoil is made very apparent in Aurora Leigh. Barrett Browning often depicts this conflict between wanting to become a poet and yet also wanting to possess femininity through a use of symbolism. As the scholar Dorothy Mermin observes, A woman who tried to be a poet within this structure would seem to be taking the part of a man (Mermin, 715). In saying this, Shires asserts the notion that Barrett Browning, and by transference Aurora, is torn between wanting to be a poet and still wanting to fulfill her role as the archetypical Victorian woman. The conflict between a woman wanting to assert herself in any male-dominated field while still maintaining a feminine identity would have been felt by many Victorian women, not just Elizabeth Barrett Browning as a poet. Barrett Browning uses figurative imagery to help convey this inner turmoil within both Aurora Leigh and also The Runaw ay Slave at Pilgrims Point. In the first book of Aurora Leigh, Barrett Browning writes of being sent to England to live at her aunts house, where she strives to lead the life of a proper lady that her aunt avidly advocates. However, when she describes the lifestyle of her aunt, she describes it as being caged: She had lived a sort of cage-bird life, born in a cage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I, alas, a wild bird scarcely fledged, was brought to her cage (p. 13). Cages, used to entrap animals, act as a universal symbol for oppression, entrapment, and control. In this way Barrett Browning suggests that the life that was regarded as being most fit for the Victorian era women was something she viewed as being oppressive and constricting. Furthermore, by using the word cage, Barrett Browning implies that the lives the women led were no better than an animals life. Through creating this image, Barrett Browning is making a statement about her rejection to conform and become, essentially, a domesticate d pet. The narrators rejection of her aunts lifestyle does not necessarily convey Barrett Brownings internal turmoil to the reader, but it does show her strong opinions against the expectations of Victorian women. As Barrett Brownings description of her upbringing with her aunt continues in book two of the poem, her inner conflict is again described through her use of symbolism. As the narrator celebrates her twentieth birthday, she makes the ultimate statement about her conflict between her identity as an artist and her femininity. She claims that she does not feel complete as either an artist or a woman, though the resources for her to achieve either one or the other are available to her. Woman and artist-either incomplete, both credulous of completion. There I held the whole creation in my little cup (p. 38). Clearly, Aurora feels she is incapable of becoming both a writer and a real woman in her Victorian society, and thus she feels she is forced to choose one or the other. By w riting that she held the whole creation in her teacup, a personal item, Barrett Browning implies that the personal decision was, literally, in her own hands. In this way, the teacup itself is symbolic of Auroras, and thus Barrett Brownings, inner conflict and moreover expresses just how ultimately personal the choice between artist and woman is. And as Zonana states, in the poem Aurora undergoes a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦transformation into a poet who reconciles being a woman with being an artist (Zonana, 242). Through these examples, it becomes visible to the reader that the use of figurative imagery in Aurora Leigh plays an important role in depicting the internal struggle within both Aurora Leigh and Elizabeth Barrett Browning with regards to personal identity. The theme of inner conflict is also visible in her poem The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point. Just as in Aurora Leigh, the conflicts present in the text can be related to Elizabeth Barrett Brownings own life and internal struggle. There are many parallels that can be drawn from the runaway slave within the text, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This provides reason to believe that the poem may purposely, yet indirectly, reflect some of the happenings that Barrett Browning experienced as a Victorian woman. This poem tells the story of a black female slave, a dichotomy to the proper white female discussed in Aurora Leigh, however The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point as well depicts Barrett Brownings struggle with her identity as an author and as a woman. In stanza eighteen of The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point, the narrator observes the baby she bore her master. She cannot help but see her master when looking at her infant childs white face in contrast to her own: My own, own child! I co uld not bear to look in his face, it was so white. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ For the child wanted his liberty Ha, ha! He wanted the master-right (18, 1-7). The narrator continues: I saw a look that made me madà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The masters look, that used to fall on my soul like his lashà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or worse! And so, to save it from my curse, I twisted it round in my shawl (21, 3-7). In a response to The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point, Tricia Lootens states: Better, she suggests, to be whipped than to have ones soul (implicitly) stripped bare; better to kill ones child than to curse him. Even in violence, soul trumps flesh: classic EBB (Lootens, 497). Stated simply, Lootens asserts that in the work of Barrett Browning, the worth of ones soul is greater than ones flesh. Flesh is valueless without soul. Knowing the value that Barrett Browning places on the human spirit, these lines signify the authors turmoil. The narrator kills her own child children being a flesh embodiment of a womans femin inity to spare the childs spirit. In this way, the action of the runaway slave in Barrett Brownings writing represents the feelings of the author; the spirit, or the artistic desires of her spirit, is worth sacrificing the flesh, or her femininity, for. As the text progresses to stanza twenty-six, where the narrator describes the act of burying her child under nightfall: My little body, kerchiefed fast, I bore it on through the forest on: And when I felt it was tired at last, I scooped a hole beneath the moon. Through the forest-tops the angels far, With a white sharp finger from every star, Did point and mock at what was done. (26, 1-7) This passage exposes much more than just the notion that society will chastise the narrator for killing her own child, hence her burying under the cover of nightfall, but further that even the angels above with their white sharp fingers will blame or point and mock her for her act. Just as the angels in heaven harshly judge the narrator for killing her child, the Victorian society would judge Elizabeth Barrett Browning, or any Victorian woman, who shirked her stereotypical social responsibility as a woman. Another theme used by Elizabeth Barrett Browning to expose the ill treatment of Victorian era women is slavery. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was notoriously opposed to the slavery that existed during the Victorian period, and this is reflected in several of her works. Perhaps one of the factors that inspired this resentment towards the practice of slavery was a sense of understanding from Barrett Browning that developed from her experience with the oppression of Victorian women; the plight of slaves and women would have been felt similarly in the era. This may provide an explanation to Barrett Brownings focus on slavery she was able to sympathize. Within Aurora Leigh there are links made between the practice of slavery and female oppression. Dalley describes Aurora Leigh as being written with the purpose of denying Victorian era gender roles: EBB clearly conceived of Aurora Leigh as a challenge to the conventional tradition[s] governing womens behavior because it openly discusses the plight of women and calls for changes to existing laws governing marriage and property, and attitudes governing womens work for money (Dalley, 526). Within Aurora Leigh, the idea of slavery and its similarity to the oppression of women becomes most evident in book two. As Aurora describes to her cousin Romney why she denies the concept of marriage, the connection between slavery and female oppression becomes lucid: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Am I proved too weak to stand alone, yet strong enough to bear such leaners on my shoulder? Poor to think, yet rich enough to sympathise with thought? Incompetent to sing as blackbirds can? (p. 48). In this passage, Aurora appears to have some of the inferiorities that the oppressed blacks were thought to posses mental inferiority and weakness. By subtly making this correlation, Barrett Browning likens the oppressed woman to an oppressed slave. She suggests that a wife was to a husband as a slave was to a master. Both the woman and the slave required the s upposed superior man to compensate for their inherent shortcomings. This passage is important in that it depicts Barrett Brownings opinions towards slavery while also addressing her opinion of sexism, while effectively correlating the two. Later in the poem, again to Romney, Aurora states: We sew, sew, prick our fingers, dull our sight, Producing what? A pair of slippers, sir, To put on when youre weary-or a stoolTo tumble over and vex you . . curse that stool! Or else at best, a cushion where you lean (p. 206). Auroras statement directly draws a comparison between being a Victorian era woman and being a slave. Through Aurora, Barrett Browning suggests that a man does not desire a wife as an equal companion in life, but rather to act as an aid to him in his life, while the wife gains little from the marriage. This thankless job of assistance is also what was expected of slaves. Both act as a mere tool to facilitate a mans life. In this passage, Aurora recognizes that in her patriarchal society, women were little more than tools to convenience their husband. These words spoken by Elizabeth Barrett Browning show that women were capable of realizing that they were being wronged and taken advantage of, which meant that they were not as mentally incapable as they were portrayed and thought to be. And moreover, they liken the treatment that the Victorian era women faced to the unethical treatment of slaves. Through the fact that The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point centres on a female slave, there are many areas that display Barrett Brownings opinion towards the practice. However, in certain instances, Barrett Browning glorifies the choices made by the narrator which demonstrates her hatred for slavery, and further demonstrates that she desires to escape the slavery of her gender. In the final stanzas of the poem, the narrator describes that the men are hunting her, knowing they will soon capture her, she literally laughs at the thought of her own demise: My face is black, but it glares with a scorn which they dare not meet by day. Ha!-in their stead, their hunter sons! Ha, ha! They are on me-they hunt in a ring! Keep off! I brave you all at once (29-30, 6-3). In these lines, Barrett Browning conveys the absolute fearlessness and strength of the narrator. The tone of the passage, through its liberal use of punctuation and literal use of laughter, becomes excited and maniacal, and in a se nse seems to glorify the narrator and her defiance. Perhaps Barrett Browning created this effect of glorification of the narrator because she, as a woman, would want to see the narrator courageously defy and overcome her oppressors. By laughing in the face of her oppressors hunting her, the narrator can take control of the situation and remove any satisfaction that her killers may get from her death. After having killed her child, and now letting herself die, she will be reunited with her child in a place where racial or gender-based oppression does not exist. This implies the notion that by glorifying the narrator and her final actions in the closing of the poem, Barrett Browning suggests that the narrator, wronged as she may have been by the men, was not only able to overcome, but furthermore triumph over her lifes obstacles. This furthers the idea that Barrett Browning wishes to see the oppressed overcome their oppressors. Again, in the last stanza of the poem, Barrett Browning d epicts the narrator as bravely awaiting her death, I am floated along, as if I should die of libertys exquisite pain. In the name of the white child waiting for me in the death-dark where we may kiss and agree (36, 3-6). In writing these lines in such a way, Barrett Browning creates a seeming sense of duty in the narrator, suggesting that to defend ones position or gender should be honourable. By including the narrators jovial mood towards her demise, Barrett Browning makes the statement that the oppressed woman was able to take actions into her own hands, and by her dissatisfying reaction, rob her oppressors of any satisfaction. In this way, Barrett Browning glorifies the bold action of the narrator so as to glorify the action of opposing her oppressors. Through this poem, Barrett Browning not only demonstrates her opposition to slavery, she also demonstrates its relation to the treatment of women, suggesting that fighting against either is an honourable act. Finally, the theme of womens autonomy is prevalent in Elizabeth Barrett Brownings works. Womens independence is a central theme in Aurora Leigh and in fact, acts as a driving force in not only the actions of Aurora, but in Elizabeth Barrett Brownings own life. The desire for female autonomy is visible in Aurora Leigh when Aurora marks herself as a writer by crowning herself with ivy. As Aurora crowns herself, she discusses the need to prove herself worthy: The worthiest poets have remained uncrowned till death has bleached their foreheads to the bone; and so with me it must be unless I prove unworthy of the grand adversity, and certainly I would not fail so much. (p.38). Although there is not explicit mention of what the grand adversity is, it is very likely the mere fact that Aurora, and of course Barrett Browning herself, were females in a misogynistic period. As previously mentioned, women in the Victorian era would be little more than the chattels of their husbands. For a Victori an woman to become a prominent poet, she would need to break free of the constraints placed on her by a misogynistic society. It is evident that both Aurora and Elizabeth Barrett Browning felt that in order to achieve their desires, they had to overcome the domineering masculine influence in their lives. This theme of female independence is visible in Aurora Leigh as Aurora explains to her cousin, Romney, why she cannot marry him. You misconceive the question like a man, who sees a woman as the complement of his sex merely. You forget too much that every creature, female as the male, stands single in responsible act and thought (p. 51). In writing this passage, Barrett Browning states that women, just as much as men, possess individual thought and actions, despite the opposing opinion of Victorian men such as Romney who believe that women are simply extensions of their husbands. Barrett Browning suggests that if women are not granted even the most basic of liberties from their patriarchal society, then they will never achieve independence unless they boldly act out against their Victorian gender constraints. While the theme of female independence is slightly less conspicuous in The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point, it is nevertheless alluded to in several instances. The mere fact that the poem centres on a female slave who yearns for freedom from her master instils in the piece an intrinsic theme of the need for female sovereignty. In many lines of the poem, the narrator discusses the oppression of the black slaves and especially black, female flaves, and through this description links to the oppression of Victorian period women can be drawn, as both are treated as chattels of their master. Despite the fact that the narrator is talking about black slaves in the following passage, parallels can be drawn to oppressed females: But we who are dark, we are dark! Ah, God, we have no stars! About our souls in care and cark our blackness shuts like prison bars. (6, 1-4). In this excerpt, the narrator explains that due to their blackness, or their skin colour, they are automatically regarded as be ing lesser than their white masters. Of course, not only did the black slaves have no control over their skin colour, but furthermore it is irrelevant to their mental and physical capabilities as a human. Just as the slaves were judged as being inferior because of their race, women were also assumed to be ultimately inferior to men based on their gender, an inherent and irrelevant feature of their identity. The femininity of women was falsely equated to, by men, frivolous unintelligence. Elizabeth Barrett Browning would have been familiar with this entrapment that she wrote about, not only from experiencing life as a Victorian woman, but also due to her chronic illness that often limited her actions. The concept of female independence becomes visible again as the poem nears the end: I am not mad: I am black. I see you staring in my face-I know you, staring, shrinking back, Ye are born of the Washington-race, and this is the free America: (32, 1-5). By mentioning George Washington an d the free America, Barrett Browning draws explicit attention to the point that America is a country founded on freedom, and it becomes emphasized just how horribly the slaves, and in a similar way women, were treated in the gloriously free country, and just how un-free their lives really were. In this passage, Barrett Browning insinuates that no nation can ever be free until all of its people are free. Within The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point, just as the slaves were oppressed by their masters in the free country of America, Elizabeth Barrett Browning was oppressed by her civilized yet patriarchal, Victorian society. Through indepth analysis of key themes in the poetic works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning with a particular focus on the autobiographical Aurora Leig and non-biographical The runaway slave at Pilgrims Point, it becomes lucid that Barrett Browning uses her writing to express her own experiences and opinions towards the unjust Victorian treatment of women. Firstly, these experiences and opinions are displayed through Barrett Brownings use of interal struggle between the identity of poet and woman. Also, she expresses herself through her fierce opposition to slavery visible in both poems. Finally she achieves this purpose through the importance of individual independence that is portrayed in her poems. When all of these elements of Elizabeth Barrett Brownings poetry are examined individually, it is clear that Barrett Browning uses her poetry as a medium to express her experiences and opinions towards the ill treatment of Victorian era women.

The Imitation of Life, Sarah Jane Analysis

The Imitation of Life, Sarah Jane Analysis The Imitation of Life is one of the most powerful cinematic displays of racial passing in movie history. Passing, a commonly used term especially in the African American community, occurs when a member of one racial category assumes the ethnicity of another (Alkon, 2012). The movie was originally made in 1934 with a remake in 1959. The main character, Sarah Jane, wanted not just to pass within the dominant social group (white), but to truly belong to that group and forget her African American identity that comes loaded with much prejudice and hardship. Despite having the racial fluidity to pass, her mother and the people who were close to her knew her true ethnicity. Although this is a movie, passing is part of our socio-historical background. In this paper I will examine how Sarah Jane does facework in order to successfully pass as a white woman. There are various examples of facework that allow her to be in character. In Imitation of Life, Sarah Jane was the daughter of a black housekeeper, who wanted to pass as a white female. When attempting to cross ethnic barriers, there are gains for the person who decides to attempt to pass. The ultimate gain is acceptance into a dominant class in society and the ultimate cost is eventually losing touch with blood relatives. For example, there is a scene in the movie when Sarah Jane begged her mother to leave her and to never tell anyone they were related. In this scene, you could see Sarah Jane softening a little bit as her mother embraced her and promised her daughter that she would leave her alone because she was getting tired of being turned away from her daughter. This exchange was the last time they spoke to each other. In the process of passing as a means of survival, the dilemmas facing those who pass, is the degree to which they internalize the dominant values of the oppressor (Yee, 1998). Both of her parents were African American, yet her outward appearance fit all the physical attributes of a Caucasian person being of lighter skin. As a young child, Sarah was upset because she was given a black doll. She did not like this because she had internalized and embraced that she looked just like the other white children around her. According to Mead, all children in this society learn at an early age that, generally speaking, whiteness is privileged and darkness is not and thus their choices in this regard are usually not surprising (ISL, 2010). During this scene, she was in wrong face; she pouted and voiced her unhappiness about the doll and their living situation, and her mother quickly came in to help Sarah Jane regain face by apologizing, a popular corrective process. In the reading, My Grandmothers Passing, XXX we were introduced to the writers grandmother, Mary Douglass, who was also upset because her granddaughter saw herself as an Anglo American woman, became upset and distanced herself from her granddaughter after she called her Mexican (Lopez McAllister, 2011). In both stories the females involved were of da rker skin and experienced self-loathing because of social comparisons and internalized racism. Sarah Janes mother, Annie, was able to find employment as a live-in maid with a struggling actress; the relationship of the two women clearly defined the social structure in their relationship. Annie was a hard working woman but her master status was black. She used emotional labor on a daily basis and rarely had a backstage to run to when her day was over. In her job as a maid, she had to do a lot of surface acting because it was hard for her to find employment and keep her daughter with her. She used corrective processes to avoid aggressive interchanges with her employer and with her daughter. The strain of this emotional labor made her ill and this is what we are led to believe is the reason she dies. Throughout the movie, Karl Marxs conflict theory of the haves and the have nots is clear. The tension between the needing to be a mother and being able to build self-esteem and pride in her daughter was in contrast to her own need of employment as the maid and taking care of their fa mily was quite evident. She did not realize that her compliance in her situation made a social dilemma for her daughter. A social dilemma is an individually reasonable behavior that leads to a situation in which everyone is worse off (Newman, 2011). Sarah Jane grew up living in the shadow of a rich-white lifestyle longing to be a real white girl, something she was able to accomplish once she had part ways from her mother. According to Romero (1995), Sarah Jane had to learn when she must act like the employers child and when she must assume the appropriate behavior as the maids e daughter. She has to recognize all the social cues and interpret social settings correctlywhen to expect the same rights and privileged as the employers children and when to fulfill the expectations and obligations as the maids daughter (p. 89). The ways in which parents, family, community and society transmit various interpretations of race eventually determine how one identifies oneself. During the film, Sarah Jane was challenged because she lived in fear of being found out. Sarah Janes emotion work involved a lot of deep acting to maintain the role and achieve the master status of a Caucasian person that she was not ascribed. In society, race is usual ly visually confirmed. As Sarah Jane grew older she constantly denied her ethnicity which led to another challenge. For African Americans, understanding the past is essential in analyzing present day issues of the community. The topics of colorism and the relationship between light and dark skinned Blacks are especially important because history indicates that the subject is imbued with cryptic discomfort (Cunningham, 1997). Light skin is valued in some minorities especially African American. When Sarah Jane started to date she thought that if she married a white man, her children would come out white and no one would know the wiser. Contrary to her wishes, her boyfriend, who was white, found out that her mother was black. He asked her on a date and savagely beat her and threw her in the gutter. He felt that she tricked him because he would never date outside of his race. Having one drop of black blood was considered contaminating, and its presence made one totally and absolutely black. The one drop rule b ecame law during re-construction. In addition, many Whites feared an infiltration of black blood, and anti-miscegenation laws were born partly out of the fear that a White person might accidentally marry a black person (Cunningham, 1997). After this beating she felt more resentment towards her mother because she felt all the obstacles she was facing were her mothers fault. There are also breaks in facework in which emotions are not managed properly. Sarah Janes status is constantly changing in response to the wide range of social settings she encounters (Romero, 1995, p. 89). To avoid embarrassment because of the many awkward situations she faced because of her race she decided to run away in order to maintain face. She joined a chorus line in a low class night club and became comfortable living as a white woman. She successfully passed in her new identity. This allowed her sense of self to grow; she was able to distance herself from the social norms that were in place for African Americans. Facework allowed Sarah Jane to avoid stigmatized identity: After she ran away, in her new environment, there was no one to stigmatize her as a black woman. She made friends and found a job. Being a light skinned African American was often a barrier to find jobs because in the eyes of some whites, they were a picture of the outcome of a mixed relationship which was taboo at that time. The mere idea of people who were black being able to pass and live among whites caused an ongoing threat of racial obscurity for white so naturally passing as a white woman affected her looking glass self, by seeing herself as she thought others saw her (Alkon, 2012). Sarah Janes mother was getting older and she was getting very sick. She eventually cooperated with Sarah Jane in the process of facework by promising her that she would never acknowledge that she was her mother so that Sarah Jane could maintain her face and keep the persona of being a white woman. While Annie was dying she told her employer to tell her daughter that she was sorry and that she was being selfish as her mother but she loved her because she was the only thing she had. As I mentioned above, Annie used facework and corrective processes until she died. Unfortunately at the end of the movie Annie died. During the funeral, Sarah Jane ran down the crowded street and threw herself on the coffin, this time she was screaming and telling her mother that she was sorry. She was using a corrective process by apologizing and asking her mother for forgiveness. Unfortunately it was too late because her mother died of a broken heart. In conclusion, Sarah Jane used facework to successfully pass as a white woman, and allowed Sarah Jane to avoid a stigmatized identity. She was able to do this because visually you would not know she was African American. Passing as a white woman affected her identity because she used deep acting to internalize the white race that she infiltrated. Sarah Janes passing deeply affected her mother because her mother wanted her to live as a black woman and marry black man. Passing is a small piece of African-Americans socio-historical background and usually remains hidden like a long buried bone, ironically society is more tolerant and would not see it as a stigmatized behavior. Society has come a long way from the 30s and 50s and there is more opportunity out there to be successful regardless the color of your skin.

Slavery and Freedom in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest Essay

Slavery and Freedom in William Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Tempest† The subtly comedic interactions and juxtapositions between masters and slaves in William Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Tempest† generate a question which has been the source of much controversy throughout history: are the hierarchical classifications â€Å"slave† and â€Å"free† reflections of a person’s fundamental nature, or are they social constructions based on bias and self-interest which have nothing to do with absolute truth? This question is crucial because the way that we answer it has the potential to either justify or condemn the widespread practice of enslaving certain individuals. A close look at Shakespeare’s portrayal of masters and slaves in this play suggests that although those who enslave others would like to believe that slave and free are natural categories, they seem to be socially constructed. In his essay â€Å"The Ancient Comic Tradition†, Bernard Knox states that â€Å"Slave and free were not so much separate classes as separate worlds: Aristotle could go so far as to claim that they were separate natures† (131). While the concept that slave and free are separate worlds is defensible given the vast differences in lifestyle between the two, the idea that they are separate natures is not a logical extension of this fact, but rather a separate idea altogether. Fundamental nature has nothing to do with one’s political or social situation, but rather one’s innate capabilities, motivations, and morality. Our task, then, is to determine the degree of similarity (or lack thereof) in the innate capabilities, motivations, and morality of the masters and slaves in this play. Through close examination of Prospero and Caliban, it becomes apparent that although Caliban ... ...hich those who have insight into the situation may affect change, one of the most powerful of which is through fiction. Skilled writers can convey the flaws in the system through their narrative without explicitly stating them, thus engaging the reader to think through the implications of the narrative on their own. This way, any conclusion arrived at feels like the reader’s own insight, making it more plausible than if the conclusion is thrust upon the reader by an overtly didactic text. In â€Å"The Tempest†, Shakespeare never explicitly states that enslavement is not logically justified, but instead subtly implies it through his narrative. I believe that it is in part because of writers such as Shakespeare who have—whether intentionally or not—used the medium of fiction to expose the problems in their society that our world is gradually moving towards social justice.

Permissible Violence in the case of Self-Defense :: essays research papers

In Martin Luther King’s essay â€Å"The Ways of Meeting Oppression† and in the text â€Å"Nonviolence†, the term nonviolence is explained as a technique for social struggle. On the other hand, in the reading â€Å"The Black Panther Party for Self- Defense† it is stated that this social struggle doesn’t always carry the same meaning with the term nonviolence. As I agree with Black Panther’s idea, in my essay, I am going to discuss the extent that the black panthers’ resort to violence is justifiable. According to Martin Luther King, there are three ways that oppressed people cope with oppression; Acquiescence, basically where the oppressed get used to being oppressed. Resort to physical violence and corroding hatred, which would bring momentary solutions and establish additional and more complex problems. Nonviolent resistance, that seeks to create a balance between the acquiescence and violence by preventing the extremes and immoralities of both. In the text â€Å"Nonviolence† the term is explained as â€Å"a set of assumptions about morality, power and conflict that lead its proponents to reject the use of violence in efforts to attain social and political goals.† (p.1) As King implies, those assumptions does not imply a battle between people but a opposition between justice and injustice and by the help of nonviolent resistance the Negro can fight for equality. The hint is to create effective tactics and considering political and cultural conditions, and develop a better plan or strategy. As the rule of capitalism, the rulers’ power depends on the populace’s power. However, the concept of nonviolence challenges the power of rulers through the intentional removal of this co-operation. As Martin Luther King implies; â€Å"Through nonviolent resistance the Negro will be able to noble height of opposing the unjust system while loving the perpetrators of the system.† (p. 139.) From the beginning, the behaviors of the doers are aimed to be changed. However, because of the rising strength of the violence against the Negro had built the foundation for a self- defense movement to achieve liberation for all Black people, which is called â€Å"The Black Panther Party.† For all the Black people, the party wanted freedom, full employment, an end to the robbery of white people, decent housing, education, being held in prison and jails and being tried in a court by a jury of their peer group. When the topic came to the exemption of Black men from military service and an immediate end to police brutality and murder of Black people it also came to the extent the black panthers’ resort to violence is justifiable.

Windows 95 or NT :: essays research papers

Windows 95 or NT When one asks himself or another, Which Operating system will better fill my needs as an operating system Windows 95 or Windows NT version 3.51. I will look at both operating systems and compare the qualities of each one in price, performance, stability and ease of use. The final results will give one a clear view to the superior operating system for years to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As one already knows, that if you keep up with the computer industry, that Microsoft Windows has been around for a long time. The Majority of all PC users use some type of windows for their working environment. Microsoft has spent a great deal of time trying to make the supreme operating system. In doing so they have created two of the most debated systems available to the general public in this day and age. However, in doing so each one of these operating systems has there good side and there bad side.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Windows NT 3.51 was originally created for business use, but has ended up being more widely available for the average PC user in ones home. Windows 95 was developed for the sole purpose as an alternative to Windows NT. But has ended up in the work place more then the home. Windows 95 carries an average price of ninety-five dollars in stores. Which makes it an expensive system worth the money. On the other hand Windows NT 3.51 carries a price tag of three-hundred and forty nine dollars. Making this software very expensive but also worth every penny.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Windows 95 is much easier to use then Windows NT. It was designed to make the PC user have more of an easier time navigating through its complex tasks. This is one of the main reasons why people would rather buy the more less expensive operating system. Rather then the more expensive system Windows NT. Another one the reasons that Windows 95 is more popular is for its simple graphic user interface otherwise known as the GUI. Windows also carries a option that Windows NT does not carry. That option is called PnP or Plug and Play, This is where the operating system will install the hardware and new hardware that could be added at a later date in time, Windows NT does not carry this very useful feature. If one has ever tried to install a new peripheral to ones computer it can be a headache alone trying to decipher the instruction manual that comes along with the device. Windows 95 will do this on its own, one of the downfalls to it is the fact that it can be only a device that is less

Priority Sector Lending in India

Definition and more details5 Priority sector: A need5 Priority Sector Target: Financial Reforms Effect6 Effect of reforms on priority sector lending:6 Priority Sector: Specific sector guidelines8 Agriculture8 Small enterprises8 Weaker section:9 Other sectors9 Priority Sector: present status10 Participating Entities : Targets to be met10 Participating Entities : How much is achieved11 Public Sector banks11 Private Sector banks11 Foreign banks12 Participating Entities : penalties in case of failure in achieving the target12 Priority Sector : Advantages12Priority Sector : Major Issues13 Strategies Ahead13 Exhibits15 References18 INTRODUCTION Priority sector bank lending was mainly started by the government to reach the unbanked areas through regular banks which were till that time not much willing to go to rural and undeveloped areas. It was one most important tool in our financial policy to compel banks to increase their loanable customers. Before independence, banks were mostly privat ely owned and they used to lend only to the sectors in which they were assured of returns.According to the reports from 1940s, 79% of bank finances were made available to industry and commerce. Of that amount too, around 32% went to large industries of jute, cotton and sugar mills. When looking at the less rosy picture, the advances to agriculture sector stood a meager 4%. Post independence, according to RBI survey of 1954, in 1951-52, of all credit disbursal by credit agencies to cultivators, only 7. 3 % was from institutional credit agencies. Of this small contribution, the part of banks was only 0. 9%. Rest was given by government and cooperative agencies.From this statistics, it is clear that the rest of the credit was availed by the cultivators from non-institutional credit agencies. When the interest rates charged by these agencies was checked, they were found to be usuriously high with professional moneylenders charging 41. 9% interest rate while agricultural moneylenders cha rged 23. 9% interest rate which was 5-6 times more than the normal bank rate. It shows that if a farmer is getting loan at this interest rate, chances are more that he will never be able to repay it fully and fall in the vicious circle of loans.By getting working capital at such high interest rates, it was equally difficult to breakeven. So, agriculture and small and medium enterprises were in deep need for credit at easy terms. PRIORITY SECTOR DEFINITION AND MORE DETAILS Priority sector and its coverage area kept changing all through these years, mostly due to economic and political pressures. Although its definition can be divided in two parts i. e. pre-reform and post reform period.Pre reform period definition: â€Å"It included agriculture, Small scale industry (including setting up of industrial estates), small road and water transport operators, small business, retail trade, professional and self employed persons, state sponsored organizations for SC/STs, educational loans gr anted to individuals by banks under schemes, Credit schemes for weaker sections and refinance by sponsor banks to Regional Rural Banks. † About the post reform definition we will talk later in details when dealing in the section about priority sector guidelines. PRIORITY SECTOR: A NEED Population support and employment generation: According to the definition of priority sector it covers about 70% of India’s population by rough estimates. So, by making it mandatory for the banks to lend to priority sector, government is actually trying to cover a big part of population. Priority sector mostly includes agriculture and allied sector which employs largest number of people in our country. †¢Freedom from non-institutional credit: The priority sector cut out by government was mostly the one which was earlier taking loans from non-institutional sources and was always indebted because of usurious rates of interest.By creating priority sector lending, it was tried to make in stitutional credit available to a bigger section, at affordable interest rates. †¢Willingness of banks: Most of the banks were not willing to lend to this sector because of the risk involved here as well as more paperwork required to lend smaller loans to large number of people. They were happy lending to urban sector which was more reliable and trustworthy. They preferred lending to industry, commerce, trade and securities as their traditional loanees and who were supposed to default less. Location of banks: Banks were earlier situated mostly in urban area where the business was and so, it was geographically also difficult for them to lend to rural and backward areas where there was no banking network earlier. It was difficult to know about the credit history of borrower and the potential ability of loaned to repay the loan as well as potential of the project for which loan was to be given. So, they were skeptical about loaning to those sectors. †¢Institutional credit: By allowing priority sector credit to flow, RBI and government actually allowed large amount of institutional credit to flow in this area.So, as it became mandatory for the banks to complete certain target for priority sector, they started searching for viable projects and loaners who can successfully repay the loan. For this to happen branches were opened in rural areas and people were encouraged to take loan from banks. Many people availed loan under priority sector lending and got involved in successful enterprises. PRIORITY SECTOR: FINANCIAL REFORMS EFFECT After financial sector reforms, priority sector lending underwent lots of change.As earlier, it was only focused towards weaker and rural section of society but afterwards it included many new sectors as well as the definition of earlier sectors was widened to include more areas in them: Priority sector targets are: Table 1: Priority Sector Targets to be achieved by Banks Before 1991 After 1991 Total priority sector credit 40% o f net bank credit 40% of net bank credit Agricultural credit 18% of net bank credit 18% of net bank credit Weaker section credit 10% of net bank credit 10% of net bank credit Export credit – 12% of net bank credit for foreign banks SSI credit – 10% of net credit for foreign banksSource: Reserve Bank of India Banking norms EFFECT OF REFORMS ON PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING: A chorological sequence of changes in priority sector lending policy is given below which show how the definition of priority sector has changed in all these years: 1. 1992-1993: In the light of reforms, and many new industries coming up in all sectors, government and RBI decided to help out industry with credit facilities and asked banks to fulfill demand of small scale industries upto Rs. 100 lakh limit for setting institutional framework to rejuvenate potentially viable small scale industry units. . 1993-1994: The overall target of net bank credit to be given for priority sector remained unchanged but t he direct and indirect target for lending to agricultural sector was clubbed together to make a sub target of 18% for agricultural lending. But, in this system also, the indirect lending was not supposed to extend one-fourth of the total sub target. Lending above this in indirect lending, was not to be considered in priority sector lending. At least 40% of total credit was supposed to go to small scale and khadi and village industries within limit of Rs. 5 lakh.Foreign banks were asked to revise their priority sector advance target from 10% to 32%. Two more sectors were included in that i. e. advances to small-scale industries and export sector were made with each being 10%. 3. 1995-1996: In case of any shortfall in PSL (agricultural sector), banks were required to contribute to Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), which was set up under NABARD, the maximum of which was 1. 5 % of bank’s net credit. Shortfall in case of other areas, they were required to provide Rs. 1 000 crores for financing in Khadi and Village Industries Commision (KVIC).All the refinances which was done to RRBs by the banks was now to be considered under priority sector lending. 4. 1996-1997: In this year Union Budget provided Rs. 2500 crore for RIDF fund. Export credit target increased from 10% to 12% in this year. Credit advanced to priority sector increased this year very much. From the last year numbers, it increased from 30. 37% of net bank credit to 32. 4%. 5. 1997-1998: The scope of priority sector lending was increased for road and water transport operators, with number of eligible vehicles increasing from ‘not more than six’ to ‘not more than ten’.The credit limit for housing in rural and urban areas also increased upto Rs. 5 lakh. 6. 1998-1999: In this year, the interest rate subsidy for loan in PSL was taken away on the argument that now priority sector lending is also commercially viable for banks. Banks were also given the option to inve st the PSL shortfall by lending to NABARD/SIDBI, so the restriction of not lending to profitable sector was slowly being taken away. 7. 1999-00: Banks were asked to lend to NBFCs and MFIs under priority sector, to enable them to lend to rural and weaker section.INSTITUTIONAL AND NON-INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT IN INDIA Before independence, the credit which was available to farmers was just non-institutional credit or in other words private money lenders. But, after independence, government took major steps to uproot this problem which was eating up the poor population and was hampering with the country’s economic growth. In 1951, institutional credit accounted to 92. 7% of the total credit availed (Refer Graph-1) where as all these reforms positively impacted the credit scenario in India making the Non-institutional credit accounted to be 38. % in the year 2002. Graph 1: Trend of Institutional and Non-institutional credit in India PRIORITY SECTOR: SPECIFIC SECTOR GUIDELINES AGRICULT URE 1. Direct finance: Finance given to individual farmers (including SHG & JLG) for agricultural and allied activities are included under this sector. This includes short-term loans for raising crops, advances upto 10 lakh against pledge of agricultural produce for maximum 12 months period, working capital and term loans, for purchase of land, to indebted distressed farmers, for pre and post harvest activities.Loans given to partnerships, corporate and institutions for agricultural activities, and upto 1 crore for most of the activities mentioned above also come under direct finance. 2. Indirect finance: It covers vast range i. e. corporate, Primary agricultural Credit societies, Farmers service societies, Large sized Adivasi Multi Purpose Societies, cooperative societies, and for the construction of warehouse, agricultural input dealers, arthias, NCDC, NBFCs, NGOs, MFIs, RRBs and overdraft upto 25000 for no-frills account in rural and semi-urban areas. SMALL ENTERPRISES 1. Direct finance: a.For manufacturing enterprises, for small enterprises the upper cap for taking loans is less than 5 crores, while for micro enterprises it is upto 25 lakh only. b. For service enterprises, for small enterprises it is upto 2 lakh, while for micro enterprises it is only 10 lakh. c. For khadi and village industries it is upto 60% of small enterprise segment. 2. Indirect finance: a. It is made available for the person involved in marketing activities of artisans, village and cottage industries. b. Under this Loans made by NABARD, SIDBI and commercial banks to NBFCs and cooperatives involved in this sector also come.WEAKER SECTION: In weaker section, small and marginal farmers with less than 5 acres land holding, landless labourers, artisans, village and cootage industries, beneficiaries of SGSY, SC, ST, DRI, SJSRY, SLRS, self help groups, distressed poor, minority communities etc are included. They are given loans under priority sector loans. OTHER SECTORS Retail trade : Retai lers involved in essential commodities, consumer co-operative stores, private retail traders, upto the limit of Rs. 20 lakh. Micro-credit : For poor indebted borrower of non-institutional credit, it is given against collateral or group security.The upper limit for it is upto Rs. 50000 per borrower. State sponsored organization: It is for scheduled castes/tribes for extending credit for purchase of input or for marketing of output. Education: Within India the maximum cap for education loan granted is 10 lakh, while outside India it is 20 lakh. It is applicable for individuals as well as NBFCs. Housing: a. For purchase and construction of houses, the maximum loan allowed is 20 lakh. b. For repair of houses, the maximum loan allowed is 1 lakh in rural India and 2 lakh in urban areas. c.For government agencies for construction of dwelling units, or for slum dwellers, upto a maximum of Rs. 5 lakh is allowed. PRIORITY SECTOR: PRESENT STATUS PARTICIPATING ENTITIES: TARGETS TO BE MET The Re serve Bank of India from time to time has issued a number of guidelines/instructions/directives to banks in lending credit to Priority sector. In priority sector various banks that are involved are- public and private sector bank under domestic banks and foreign banks. There are separate targets to be met for all the banks which are set by the RBI.RBI issues a master circular containing all the guidelines for incorporation of priority sector lending. If the targets are not met, then various penalties are to be borne by them. The targets set for the domestic and foreign banks working in India are already mentioned before in Table-1. The total advances that a domestic bank has to offer for the priority sector is 40% where as for foreign banks working in India is 32 %. These advances are further bifurcated into the advances provided to agricultural sector, small scale industries (SSI), export credit and weaker sections.However, domestic banks don’t have to contribute to SSI and foreign banks don’t have to contribute to agricultural advances and weaker sections. Over the years, the advances provided to this sector are increasing in gross value and some other sectors like education, housing, retail trade which were not the part of this sector previously were also included. The trend observed during the last three years is explained in the graph provided below. In the year 2006, the advances offered by the public sector banks were Rs. 409. 745 thousand crores where as private sector provided Rs. 06. 556 thousand crores. Then in year 2008, these advances increased to Rs. 605. 965 thousand crores and Rs. 165. 225 thousand crores by public and private sector bank respectively. This marked a growth rate of 48% in public sector and 53. 5 % in private sector.Source: Reserve Bank of India- Trend and Progress of Indian Banking 2008-09 The share of various sectors i. e. agriculture, SSI, education, housing have also registered a change as shown in the figure gi ven below. The share of advances provided to agriculture sector is more or less same where as the dvances provided to SSI has been replaced by small enterprises, housing and education where housing accounted for 30% of the advances and education accounted for 25% of the advances. Source: Reserve Bank of India- Trend and Progress of Indian Banking 2008-09 The rationale of including these sectors was to provide the holistic development to the poor people. It was understood that it’s not just the credit requirement which has to be fulfilled but also the education which would ensure the socio-economic development of the society. In all, those sectors which can impact large section of populations are to be a part of priority sector.But, how efficiently are banks able to achieve these set targets – is still questionable. PARTICIPATING ENTITIES: HOW MUCH IS ACHIEVED PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS Exhibit-1 shows the targets achieved by public sector bank. The public sector banks were ab le to meet the target of 40% till 2005-06 but in 2007 they fell short by 0. 7%. There were 28 banks in total, out of which- seven banks failed to achieve the target (Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Syndicate Bank, IDBI Ltd. , State Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Patiala).However, only 8 banks were able to meet target of agricultural lending and only 7 for weaker sections. PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS Exhibit-2 shows the targets achieved by private banks in lending to the priority sector. Out of 26 private sector banks, four banks (Bank of Rajasthan Ltd. , Centurian Bank of Punjab Ltd. , Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd. and Karnataka Bank Ltd. ) didn’t achieve the target as stipulated for the priority sector lending. However, only three banks were successful in meeting agricultural credit target and no bank met the target for weaker sections. FOREIGN BANKSExhibit-3 shows the targets achieved by foreign banks in lending to the priority sector. Out of 29 for eign banks working in India five banks (Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citi Bank, HSBC Ltd. and Mizuho Corporate Bank) did not achieve the target. However, only Seven banks (Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citi Bank, HSBC Ltd. , JP Morgan Chase Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank and Shinhan Bank) were not able to achieve SSI target and three banks (American Express Bank, Bank International Indonesia and Mizuho Corporate Bank) were not able to achieve the export credit target.The banks which failed to achieve the target have to pay the penalties decided by the RBI. PARTICIPATING ENTITIES: PENALTIES IN CASE OF FAILURE IN ACHIEVING THE TARGET DOMESTIC BANKS Domestic banks which fail to achieve the target have to contribute to Rural Infrastructure development Fund (RIDF) established with NABARD or funds with other financial institutions, as specified by RBI by giving them one month’s notice. The particulars of this fund are decided in the beginning o f financial year. Interest rate and period of deposit are also to be decided by RBI.FOREIGN BANKS Foreign banks which fail to achieve the target have to contribute to Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) or funds with other financial institutions, as specified by RBI . The particulars of this fund are decided in the beginning of financial year. Interest rate and period of deposit are also to be decided by RBI. Non-achievement of meeting the priority sector targets are considered while granting regulatory approvals for various purposes. PRIORITY SECTOR: ADVANTAGES 1.Financial Inclusion – It provided credit availability for small-marginal farmers, and to those sections which were previously deprived of taking any credit from the institutions. 2. Previously because of high default rate amongst the weaker sections,the institutions were reluctant to give credit to those people which forces the farmers or the weaker people to go to the money-lenders who charged them h igh rate of interests (varying between 10% to 50%). Mandatory lending to priority sector has eradicated this problem and ensured advances by the institutions. 3.Poverty Alleviation – If the timely credit is provided to small households, they can give more inputs to their produces which will result in better productivity. In effect agricultural GDP grows, which helps in upliftment of both the primary and secondary sector which are dependent on small scale industries and agriculture, directly or indirectly. It generates more employment, hence, resulting in poverty alleviation. 4. Social Inclusion – Poorer sections previously were deprived of participating in various community activities. The rise in their livelihood has given them a strong support to participate in various social activities.PRIORITY SECTOR: MAJOR ISSUES 1. High Non-performing assets – Since borrowers are not able to repay the loan on time, have created a fear in the banks and provoke them to make slow disbursement of loans. 2. Quantitative targets –Since, the stringent targets has been set by RBI, this has resulted in lowering the quality of delivering targets. 3. Government interference – Due to the regional Government intervention, the more influential people get the loan, and the poorer still get ignored. So, rich gets more richer. 4. Transaction cost – Handling disbursement of huge quantity of small loans requires more time and labor. 5.Low absorption of credits -This occurs due to lack of capital infrastructure in agriculture and other small scale industries. 6. Low Profitability -Low rate of interest charged from the borrowers makes this sector vulnerable. STRATEGIES AHEAD 1. Initiatives by Government a) Recovery of Non-Performing Assets †¢Establishing Debt-recovery tribunals – this will act as a mediator between the bank and borrower and will help bank in better recovery from the borrowers. †¢Internal audit before sanctioning of l oan should be done. b)Strengthen the cooperative bank network to increase credit advances to the farmers. c)Link crop-insurance with loan amount.This mitigates the risk for Lender and borrower. d)Promote group lending to people – group lending develops a collective responsibility amongst the borrowers which decreases the default rate. e)Government need to promote rigorous extension activities for promoting modern agricultural techniques for increasing production. f)Strict actions needs to be taken against the banks for not meeting the priority sector criteria. 2. Initiatives by Bank a)Banks should increase the term and delay the installments under term loan in case the borrowers are not able to repay in time. b)They should not charge compound interest on the loan amount.In a nutshell, Government need to strengthen backward and forward linkage both to provide inputs, increase productivity and develop markets. EXHIBITS Exhibit 1: Target achieved by Public Sector banks Exhibit 2 : Target achieved by Private Banks Exhibit 3: Target achieved by foreign banksREFERENCES †¢Priority Sector lending information (2010). Retrieved on August 4, 2010 from-http://www. rbi. org. in/scripts/FAQView. aspx? Id=8†¢Trends, issues and strategies (2010). Retrieved on Aug 5, 2010 from-http://www. academicjournals. org/jat/PDF/Pdf2009/December/Uppal. pdf†¢Planning Commission reports on labour and employment (2010). Retrieved on Aug 5, 2010 from-http://books. google. co. in/books? id=qOOmWsfqfe4C&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=priority+sector+lending+appraisal&source=bl&ots=HZTEbRCSVo&sig=QtcebyqWJ5xWqkZ_TMdmPzCp4-4&hl=en&ei=KbFaTLK7DISXrAe9u52-DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CEsQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false†¢All India Debt and Investment Surveys (2002). Retrieved on August 6 ,2010 from- http://www. rbi. org. in/scripts/BS_SpeechesView. aspx? Id=298†¢Trend and Progress of Indian Banking 2008-09 (2009). Retrieved on August 6, 2010 from- http://www. rbi. o rg. in/scripts/AnnualPublications. aspx? head=Trend%20and%20Progress%20of%20Banking%20in%20India

Who’s Responsible for the final tragedy in ‘A View from the Bridge’?

Nowadays, family loyalty is not as common in families as in used to be. Think about your family, does it revolve around loyalty or something else? In the play, ‘A View from the Bridge’ written by Arthur Miller their whole family life revolves around loyalty and is an everyday duty. But evidently shown the pressure of family loyalty can push you to do things that might not be in your nature to do. It begins when Eddie and Beatrice give refuge to two Italian immigrants, whom are Beatrice’s cousins named Marco and Rodolfo. Once they arrive everybody’s feelings of lust, jealousy and anger begin to become stronger and stronger. But this still leaves the question open†¦Who or what is responsible for the final tragedy? Catherine joined the Carbone family when her mother died; they willingly took in and dedicated their life to take care of her. Eddie shows to be a caring and protective father especially when Catherine wants to go out in a short skirt, Eddie is not very impressed and says ‘You’re walking wavy’ and he doesn’t like they way men look at her in the candy store (‘I don’t like the looks they’re givin’ you in the candy store. . He seems to have this lead on Catherine over what she does and how she does it. But when Beatrice (Eddie’s wife) has her cousins come over illegally from Italy Catherine’s childhood days and behavior seems to slowly be drifting away as Catherine and Rodolfo begin to realize their love for each ot her; but not if Eddie has anything to do with it. At the beginning of the play, Eddie is clearly shown as an over-protective father figure over Catherine. At first his relationship with Catherine is publicized as a typical father-daughter relationship; he disagrees with things she says and he’s never content with her personal relationships. But Catherine also shows that she feels quite close to him when Beatrice reveals ‘You still walk around in front of him with just your slip’ and ‘you sit of the edge of the bathtub talkin’ to him when he’s shavin’ in his underwear’ This shows that Catherine is very comfortable with Eddie but it may be that its her being that comfortable that leads Eddie to want more than a father-daughter relationship with her. When Marco and Rodolfo arrive there is a clear attraction between Catherine and Rodolfo and this is only the start of a big problem in Eddie’s eyes. When Beatrice says â€Å"if it was a prince came here for you it would be no different† This shows that even Beatrice knows what Eddie’s doing but she said it’s going to be like this with every guy Catherine is with. Also that he will always love her, no matter who she loves. Beatrice is shown as a sensitive woman in a view from a bridge, she may not be shown as a must needed character but in fact there is more to Beatrice than we think. In the play we get the feeling that once Rodolfo and Marco arrive she wants everything to be perfect so when Eddie gets upset with the relationship with Catherine and Rodolfo she starts to snap at Eddie a lot more. I know this from when Eddie says 2you didn’t used to jump me all the time† but it kind of shows a caring side to Beatrice; she wants her cousins to have a comfortable and loving home to live in while they stay in America. Beatrice suggests that recently Eddie hasn’t been treating her like a wife and their love life hasn’t been all that it could be when Beatrice snaps at Eddie saying â€Å"When am I going to be a wife again, Eddie†. This lack of loving for his wife is probably because of his recent obsession with his niece’s relationship, he wants to be noticed by her because he detests that she has someone to love. Beatrice slowly starts to realize what Eddie is trying to and his involvement with Catherine when Beatrice says â€Å"You want somethin’ else Eddie and you can never have her! † (Catherine) By this point in the play it is pretty clear that Beatrice is telling the truth. But I don’t think Beatrice is stating what needs to be said, I think that she is attacked Eddie with this statement because she is annoyed of Eddie and jealous of Catherine because she is getting the loving from Eddie that Beatrice tries so hard to get, just a little bit of. Beatrice has a habit of laying out the truth to her loved ones, but in the end she sucks up to Eddie and does what he tells her to do; I see this when Eddie doesn’t want to go to the wedding and Beatrice makes her â€Å"own† decision to stay at home with Eddie and not go. At the beginning of the play Marco is shown as quite a chilled out person. As the reader we now he is a man devoted to her family and the loyalty that keeps them so close. He is so devoted that he had to leave his wife and children back in Italy to come and work in America. One of Marco’s first good qualities we see is a peacemaker; he is constantly trying to calm the tense atmosphere between Eddie and Rodolfo and in Eddie’s eyes his other good quality is being masculine and Eddie’s friend Louis describes as â€Å"A regular bull† and says â€Å"He’s a regular slave† I think this means he works hard. He tells Rodolfo to be respectful to Eddie when they have arguments but I think this is only because he wants to makes his welcome as long as possible so he can work for his wife and children. But when Eddie snitches to immigration Marco’s innocent feelings and peacemaker quality disappears. He almost turns into a completely different person. In the eyes Eddie, Rodolfo is an evil man who has only traveled to America to steal Catherine from him. When in fact he is just there to get money for his brother’s family and falls in love with Catherine. We know that Rodolfo can sing but he tends to sing in inappropriate places, such as; the house and down at the docks (these are places were they could easily get caught). We know a lot of good things about Rodolfo but not any bad things†¦and that’s what drives Eddie mad. So Eddie accuses Rodolfo of only wanting a relationship with Catherine to become an American Citizen. But when Catherine asks him (â€Å"Would you still want to do it if it turned out we had to go live in Italy? †) he replies â€Å"No; I will not marry you to live in Italy. I want you to be my wife, and I want to be a citizen†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ if Rodolfo really just wanted to be an American Citizen why would he reply with such an honest answer? His masculinity is tested when Eddie decides to â€Å"teach† Rodolfo how to fight (â€Å"come on, I’ll teach you. †) but Eddie takes advantage of him and boxes him straight in the face. Eddie thought that this showed that Rodolfo was gay but maybe he just didn’t want to fight? But then Eddie kisses Rodolfo to try and say that he is gay, but it didn’t work. In my opinion it made Eddie look quite silly because there was no reaction. Catherine, the beautiful seventeen-year-old girl; She is in the middle of the love triangle. She is portrayed as a loving daughter. She loves Eddie; He took her in a brought her up as his own and they are shown with a good father daughter relationship. Eddie Notices everything about Catherine her hair, new out fit (at the beginning of the play), she likes that he’s noticed but she doesn’t no that it’s really his secret desire fore her; Whereas Beatrice notices this when her cousins arrive. This is when we see a different side of Eddie, when he starts to get really jealous. Eddie becomes persistent I finding ways and excuses with stopping Catherine from going out with Rodolfo; this puts a strain on their relationship. But when Eddie kisses Catherine it just ruins the relationship, Catherine realizes what has been happening and is fuming at her uncle. Reputation is a big thing through this play and there are many things which let us know about this. When Eddie has a convosation with Beatrice and he talks about Rodolfo, he says â€Å"I’m ashamed. Paper doll they call him. Blondie now† this shows that Eddie is worried and doesn’t want to ruin his reputation down at the docks. Next big clue that respect and reputation is a big thing in this family is when Eddie shouts â€Å"I want my respect! † Eddie says this after he has turned in Marco and Rodolfo; in my opinion he has probably lost all respect for himself and is asking respect from other people in order to feel better. When Marco and Eddie are fighting in the street Marco shouts â€Å"That one! He killed my children! That one stole food from my children! † when he says this in front of the whole neighborhood this destroys Eddie’s reputation with the community. Eddie replies â€Å" Gonna take that back or I’ll kill him! † this shows Eddie will do anything to get his reputation back and he is not joking. The long lasting respect Catherine has for her uncle in lost (â€Å"You got no right to tell nobody nothing’, Nobody! The rest of your life, nobody! †).