Research Findings on Mid Day Meal Essay

Some research findings on Mid Day Meal Scheme conducted by independent agencies reported that MDM programme is a visible programme and has helped in increase in attendance and enrolment of children particularly girls. They also reported that there is an increase in retention, learning ability and achievement as well as greater social equity among caste, creed, sex and gender groups in the schools. The main research findings are as under: i) Research findings (2010) of Pratichi trust of Prof. Amartya Kumar Sen: Unlike many other Government programmes, implementation of MDM has been a success throughout the country. Though the quality of food needs to be improved, it must be said that with active participation of the beneficiaries, it has become a community programme. The quick response of the state administration in amending the shortcomings indicates that the administration is gradually becoming aware of this. ii) The major findings of the PROBE (Public Report on Basic Education) Report indicated that 84% of households reported that the children get cooked mid day meal in schools and children enjoy varied menu. Good practices like washing hands before eating, & after eating are imparted in the schools. Incentives like MDM have contributed to improving enrolment rates. iii) Mid Day Meal Scheme in Madhya Pradesh by National Institute of Public Cooperation & Child Development, Indore has reported that MDM has shown marked improvement in enrollment pattern of children in primary schools. Mid Day Meal Scheme undoubtedly resulted in increased school attendance and retention of children in schools for a longer period. The Scheme has played a crucial role in reducing drop out, especially among girls. Parents viewed that the mid day meal had reduced the burden of providing one time meal to  their children and considered it as a great support to their families. Teachers opined that mid day meal aided in active learning of children, which indirectly improved their academic performance. The Scheme has played a significant role in bringing social equity among all the sections of the society. iv) An empirical study conducted on Mid Day Meal scheme in Khurda district of Orissa, revealed that cooked mid day meal has increased socialization among the children and helped in increasing enrolment and afternoon session attendance. MDM has created new employment opportunities for underprivileged sections. v) Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2010 reported that in 83.4% schools served MDM on a day of visit and almost same percent of schools (81.3%) schools were having kitchen sheds for cooking mid day meal. A vastly improved availability of mid day meals had contributed to the increase in enrollment. vi) vii) 2. Supreme Court Commissioners undertake extensive review of various welfare schemes through field visits. They have observed that the MDM is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful schemes of GOI. Increase in enrollment and attendance of children in primary schools has been noticed after the introduction of MDM. Performance audit (2011) conducted by Centre for Environment and Food Security on food security schemes in Orissa and Uttar Pradesh; The sample survey in 130 villages spread over 12 districts of Orissa and Uttar Pradesh (Bundelkhand) was carried out and reported that performance of the MDM scheme is far better in Orissa in comparison with the Uttar Pradesh. An overwhelming 86.7 per cent of Orissa’s children were getting second best category of MDM (regular but inadequate and unsatisfactory meal), only 51.8 per cent of children in UP were getting regular but inadequate and unsatisfactory meal in their schools. Findings of Evaluation Study by Planning Commission Performance Evaluation of Cooked Mid Day Meal Scheme – study conducted by Programme Evaluation Organization of Planning Commission (2010): The highlights of the Study conducted by the Planning Commission are as under: i. The Cooked Mid Day Meal Program has been successful in addressing classroom hunger in sample schools. ii. Cooked Mid Day Meal is reported to have created a platform for children of all social and economic backgrounds to take meals together, thereby facilitating achieving the objective of social equity. iii. It has also been observed that the programme has resulted in the diversion of the attention of teachers and students on activities related to it, rather than towards teaching and learning activities, which results in loss of studies. iv. In general, visible shortage of basic infrastructural facilities and manpower (that are crucial for the success of the Cooked Mid Day Meal programme) were noted. v. Most of the states, it was observed, did not follow the guidelines of Government of India to deliver foodgrains at the school point by PDS dealer, thereby resulting in the leakage of foodgrains. There have been instances where due to long supply chain, foodgrains supplied got adulterated and pilfered. vi. While Cooked Mid-Day Meal Scheme seems to have contributed to an increase in the attendance in schools across the country, it does not seem to have any significant impact on fresh enrolments in sample schools. 3. Review of the Scheme by Supreme Court Commissioners Supreme Court Commissioners are monitoring all welfare Schemes of the Central Government including Mid Day Meal Scheme. They have monitored seven States viz. Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa and West Bengal during 2010-11. The main recommendations of the reports are as under: i) Delay in release of funds to school / implementing agencies. ii) The mid day meal should be expected to cover all children in the school going age irrespective of whether they are enrolled in school. The location of meal served can continue to be the school; this might further encourage those out of school to join schools. iii) The provision for cooking costs under the mid day meal should be increased based on Price Index developed for Mid Day Meal Scheme to counter the effect of inflation. iv) Proper infrastructure for mid day meals should be mandatory, including cooking sheds storage space, drinking water, ventilation, utensils etc. v) Mobilization for kitchen garden in school premises should be encouraged. vi) Priority should be given to disadvantaged communities (especially Dalits and Adivasis) in the appointment of cooks and helpers. All cooks and helpers should be paid not less than statutory minimum wage. vii) Mid day meal should be linked with nutrition education and related educational activities. State Government should be encouraged to adept their text books for this purpose, as the NCERT has already done for some text books. viii) Nutritious items such as eggs and green vegetables should be provided regularly. ix) Serious action should be taken in the event of any form of social discrimination in mid day meal such as discrimination against dalit children or dalit cooks. x) Community participation in the monitoring of Mid day meal should be strengthened, particularly to prevent corruption and ensure quality. xi) Mid day meal should be integrated with school health services, including immunization, de-worming, growth monitoring, health checkups and micronutrient supplementation. xii) Grievance redressal mechanism must be within easily reachable distance of complainant and should therefore be decentralized to Panchayat level. It could also consist of mobile camps that reach out to each village. *********

Organic vs. Industrial Food Essay

Have you ever been standing in the grocery store, undecided on whether there really is a difference between the standard store brand ribeye steak and the organic, grain fed, free range ribeye that costs twice as much? Ever had little devil on one shoulder telling you one thing, and the angel on the other convincing you the devil is wrong? Is cost the only thing holding you back from shelling out a few extra sheckles for the more expensive steak? Have you heard about the health benefits of eating organic? Then maybe it is time you learned about the true benefits of organic food. In doing so, it may just change your life and blow your mind. Eating industrial foods can cause a bevy of health issues today, such as exposure to toxins, as well as leading to diabetes and heart disease, and choosing to eat organic foods instead will help to resolve those issues. While organic foods are thought to be quite a bit more expensive than the standard, this is not always the case. One article quotes â€Å"Your local food markets will often have lower prices on organic food items than traditional grocery stores. (Lotich, 2010, para 1). You have to take into consideration that in this day and age, almost any meal that you eat has an organic alternative, or can be prepared by using all organic ingredients. In knowing this, you may actually find that there are a number of other ways that you may go about saving some money, while incorporating organic foods into your daily diet. One of those things you can do is make yourself aware of the various farms that are putting out organic foods. Most folks think that organic foods are all produced by small, family owned farms. As I very recently found out, some of the most successful organic farms are very large and on a global scale. Take Earthbound Farms for example. They are a very successful and very large farm, consisting of over 30,000 acres. Their website states â€Å"We’ve been farming for more than 25 years now, and we’ve become the country’s largest grower of organic produce, committed to being a catalyst for positive change in our kitchens and our environment (Earthbound Farm, 2012, para 4). Buying from this company not only promotes eating healthier, but also supports a company that is looking out for the environment as well. Not only are some of the most successful organic farms gigantic and global, but so are some of the enormous corporations that buy organic food (Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, Safeway and Kroger’s). That being said, if you can research and recognize some of these brands, what at first glance may seem like big-box packaging may indeed turn out to be a cost efficient and healthy organic alternative to what one may typically buy in stores today. Thus it turns out, eating organic may not be as expensive as we first thought. In conjunction with steps such as planning your meals ahead of time, organic food just may actually be cheaper overall than industrial foods in many instances. Planning meals ahead of time is a smart move. I recently read that â€Å"When you have a detailed shopping list and go to the store with a plan, you’re much less likely to splurge on extras or expensive instant meals. And when you have a firm plan in place, and the food has already been purchased, you won’t end up wasting money in the drive thru spending your money on overpriced fast food (James, 2008, para 2). This is an issue that I think most of us face from time to time. Being smart can help reduce these unnecessary costs. It is important for consumers to really research organic foods and the cost benefits of choosing to go that route. You can end up eating better, as well as saving money. The healthy benefits of eating organic are yet another good reason to choose an organic diet. Recent studies have shown that â€Å"The published literature lacks strong evidence that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods. Consumption of organic foods may reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. † (Novella, 2012) That being said, the same studies do show that eating organic foods does reduce the reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The EPA states that â€Å"consumers are looking to organically grown and produced foods as a way to reduce exposure to synthetic pesticides (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). That certainly is a reason to make the switch. Also, if you are planning meals as aforementioned, and buying ingredients for those meals fresh, as opposed to meal mixes and processed industrial foods, then you are also in control of the amounts of fats, sugars, and such that are in your meals. This is also a healthier option. Taking control of what you eat is important. I imagine most people want to control what they put in their bodies, and eating organic foods can help you do just that. Without eating organic foods, you can run the risk of leaving yourself open to all kinds of diseases and other health issues. All in all, the evidence seems mounting in favor of converting to a healthier lifestyle. Eating organic food seems like both a smart, and strong way to making the transition. It is easier than exercising, and in most cases, would probably provide a better feeling in the long run. â€Å"The American College of Sports Medicine advises adults to do moderately intense cardio exercise for 30 minutes a day, five days a week or do vigorously intense cardio for 20 minutes a day, three days a week to stay healthy (Kunz, 2011, para 2). Exercising is important as well, but if you are eating the wrong foods, all of your hard work may be for not. So think about making the switch to organic foods. Starting off small can lead to big changes for you and your loved ones. Bibliography Earthbound Farm. (2012, December 6). The Earthbound Story. p. 2012. James, B. (2008, November 20). Five Benefits of Planning Meal Menus for Your Household. Yahoo! Voices, p. 1. Kunz, M. (2011, October 19). Does Exercise Offset Unhealthy Eating? Exercise & Eating Healthy, p. 1. Lotich, B. (2010, December 28). 10 Easy Ways To Save Money On Organic Food. US News, p. 1. Novella, S. (2012, Sept. 05). No Health Benefits from Organic Food. Science-Based Medicine, p. 1. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2012, December 6). Pesticides and Food. Pesticides: Health and Safety , p. 1.

Democracy

Democracy Democracy has become a dominant form of the government, that using in many countries. Democracy is a government form, which is the citizen should have a decision to vote their leader directly for their own country or elect the leader for the other problems. Democracy can develop it, if the majority and the minority party or the association willing works together. Which is everybody can talk and have an opinion, than will put the all idea together and take a better decision for the problem. With democracy form, the one elected leader will work as maximum as possible for the citizens.Than the citizens can see and make a decision about what the elected leader have done to the country and also they have elected the right or wrong leader. Democracy is based on the concept, that everybody in the world is the same, no matter what they are a president or a king. In democracy also have no different between how people look like. For example: White and black, lower class and middle cl ass. Furthermore, not everybody have an equal physically or mentally. The important thing, democracy is all human being have equality. In democracy have an important concept.The first concept is all of the citizens that living in one country, that should be equal, which have an idea and an opinion than issues to the public. The important thing, while elect the candidates for the country leader, that everybody needs to listen to the candidates because the candidates have a different ideas and plans to what they will do for the country. The candidates also need a concept of equality to speech in front all of country citizen, which will vote for the election about what their plans for the future, if they win as a country leader.Even though, the citizens divide to a different side of parties. The United State of America is using the democracy form. Four years ago, Barrack Obama won the election from John McCain as a 44th president of the United State of America, which was using a democr acy form. For the 2012 president election, which Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney were candidates for the president and won by Obama. That is one of example for the democracy form. All American citizen need to participate in the election because all of them are important.They have a better decision to vote and make a difference between both of presidential candidates for the next four years for America. The second concept, the citizens, the government and the candidates should be freedom. This democracy concept is based on equality concept because with freedom people will free to have and issues the idea and opinion to the public and the people also should be listening to each other. Than combine the ideas and opinion and take a good decision, which is can keep a good name of the country. â€Å"Democracy depends on citizen participation in all these ways.But participation must be peaceful, respectful of the law, and tolerant of the different views of other groups and individuals. â₠¬  Even though the democracy concept is freedom and equality, but without participation of citizen, the democracy form cannot work. The country needs a citizen to participate and also need respect for the law. The concept of freedom is not about the citizen become a totally free under the government. That problem can only become an anarchy, where have no government to control the country. The citizens are totally free from everything; they can do what ever they like.For Example: The country has a corruption, everywhere people are poor people and many of them become a murderer to get money, in order to survive their self. Hereafter, the freedom concept has free to choose any religion, to worship and to practice the religion. Further, also free develop their own culture; teach the culture to each other. Democracy also allows the people move from the country. Furthermore, democracy is the system that follows the rule. â€Å"The rule of law protects the rights of citizens, maintains o rder, and limits the power of government. With having a rule of law, the country can be affordable because everything is safe; they have a right of citizen. Everybody who life in a democracy forms that will be equal to each other because the citizens live under the law. With the law people cannot do what ever they like because they will get no excuse for it. For example: One of the government official grafts the money from one of the project. That is a big problem because he or she is breaking the rule of law in democracy form. The sanction at least the government official will go to the jail.For Example: Indonesia, if the government Official and a businessman have a problem with to the government or to other problem, and also corruption, will have a decision to go to the jail. Forward, all of citizens and government have equality under the law. â€Å"No one may be taxed or prosecuted except by a law established in advance. † In democracy country, no one can live without the law, because everybody in one country is all the citizen of the country. Than the citizen cannot make any changes for the law, even for the president cannot break the law because law is established and adhered to.The form of democracy is very good to use in the government. The citizen will have a freedom to chose the country leader, which is they have time to decision and also make it a different for the country, also for their self. Everybody in democracy form always have to get equality between the citizen and the government. The citizen who have an ideas or opinion and can issue their opinion to the government, which is can make any change for the country and help the people in the country.The democracy can make the government easier to control the citizen and the country because the people are obedient against the rule of law. Further, the country is safer from the criminal, from the project corruption and also can help the citizen to improve their self to become a better citize n than useful for the country. Reference: 1. â€Å"What Is Democracy? † What Is Democracy? Web. 09 Nov. 2012. . 2. Grigsby, Ellen. Analyzing Politics. 4th ed.

Two of years studying a foreign language should be required in high Essay - 1

Two of years studying a foreign language should be required in high school - Essay Example Thirdly, studying English improves learning skills. Students should practice and do their homework in English. This is important considering that reading is the most important learning skill. Students should read a lot stories and journals to improve their English. Students can begin by reading short stories in order to build up their vocabulary. With good vocabulary, students can then be able to write professionally. Listening becomes interesting and informative when one understands English. I often listen to the news cast every 10:PM on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). Speaking gives the students a chance to practice their grammar as well as how to pronounce the words. In conclusion, this paper has shown the pros of studying foreign Language. The government should require that students learn any Language other than their native language. Learning different languages is one of the most fulfilling things in the world. The government has a duty to make it easy for students to learn other languages. Dealing with other people using English language is such a good thing. In my own experience in Saudi Arabia, students use English for studying. Improved Studying skills are the most notable benefits of taking studying English. I therefore encourage everyone to learn other languages especially English for communication purposes as well as other

Housing and Benefits for Asylum Seekers in UK Essay

Housing and Benefits for Asylum Seekers in UK - Essay Example Housing is at the very cornerstone of reception and resettlement (BRC 1987, 96-99; Carey-Wood etal. 1995, 66-72; Majke 1991, 267- 283; Refugee Council 1997; Robinson 1993, 170-186) and controlling access to housing has become an increasingly important part of the government's asylum and immigration strategy. Without adequate shelter, few other opportunities exist for those unfortunate enough to be destitute. With no permanent address, there is little chance of establishing the minimum rights of citizenship, which offer inclusion into the host society. Social exclusion has been a reality for many thousands of asylum seekers over a prolonged period of time. This was true even before the more draconian measures introduced in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The prevailing environment of competition, performance review and value for money has had the effect of increasingly marginalising the most vulnerable groups in British society. In all but a few notable exceptions, the needs of asylum seekers have been inadequately addressed by either public or private sectors (Zetter and Pearl 1999a, 24-27). This has been due to a combination of institutional inertia and political sensitivity - both cock-up and conspiracy. The most recent legislative measures have further exacerbated the process of exclusion, generating additional hardship for an already overburdened group by extending uncertainty and increasing dependency. In reality, the rights and entitlements of refugees are little changed by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. They remain eligible to receive support and assistance in terms of both benefits and housing from the public sector. This is an important distinction from asylum seekers. Refugees are individuals or households whose status under the 1951 Geneva Convention has been approved by the UK government: that is, their 'well founded fear of persecution' has been accepted. They are likely to have either permanent or long-term status of residence in the UK and generally share in the usual rights of citizenship. (Duke, 1995, 12-18) Those with refugee status are eligible for assistance under the homelessness legislation and qualify for the housing register. To a large extent, such households have fewer institutional barriers to overcome than asylum seekers. Asylum seekers have no such clarity of outcome, for which they depend on the result of their pending application. While in this state of limbo, they are disqualified from access to employment, benefits or permanent housing, and are thus placed at the very margins of society. Indeed, at certain times within the mid-1990s, large numbers of single asylum seekers were actually destitute. (Joly, 1996, 121-128) The political reality behind the asylum legislation appears, therefore, to indicate a reliance on two cardinal principles above all other considerations: 1. the control and limitation of public expenditure, particularly personal benefits 2. the maintenance of an image of political toughness. (Robinson, 1985, 305- 330) It seems likely that excessive zeal in investigating applications and a

Historical events that have shaped America Essay

Historical events that have shaped America - Essay Example When breaking down the essence of America in this way, it becomes possible for a few key events to float to the top of each category as being critical in the evolution of the United States. Of course, this determination is largely a matter of opinion. Nevertheless, a concrete case can be made for three major historical developments as the most essential factors shaping America. In the political realm, the Enlightenment is the first factor. In the economic realm, the Industrial Revolution is the second factor. And in the military realm, World War II is the third factor. Taken together, these three factors comprise a triad of events in whose absence the America we know today could never have possibly come into being. The Enlightenment was arguably the most important historical event influencing the United States governmental and political system. Not only did it spawn a philosophy of good government and a view of human rights that directly impacted the thinking of the Founding Fathers as they crafted the American system of government, but it also indirectly informed modern views of social justice that precipitated such developments as the Civil Rights movement, universal suffrage, and social security. The Enlightenment, while more of a European phenomenon than an American one, took place at just the right time, directly preceding the American Revolution and heavily influencing the thinking of the great men who would be instrumental in setting the initial course of America (http://www.wsu.edu/dee/AMERICA/ENLIGHT.HTM). The Enlightenment was the point in history when some of the most influential political philosophers of history wrote their seminal works. These include the writings of John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and John Stuart Mill. Together, these great thinkers laid out the philosophical underpinnings of what would become the American government. Such concepts as separation of powers, the right to life, liberty and property, the importance of a strong central government, and the common good, all came into play as the Framers developed their formula of "good government" that is laid out within the U.S. Constitution. These "enlightened" thinkers, among others, brought about a fundamental shift in the way humans viewed their world and their natural place in it. The Enlightenment essentially set the philosophical parameters surrounding the way humans interact with one another and agree to govern one another. The Founding Fathers, most notably James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, injected a heavy dose of Enlightenment philosophy into the American governmental system, with its protection against the tyranny of the majority, its preservation of individual liberty and property rights, and its perpetuation of the sovereignty of the states in the face of a strong central government. As such, the Enlightenment provided the cornerstone of American government, and was perhaps the most critical world historical event shaping America. The Industrial Revolution Just as the Enlightenment was key to America's political development, the Industrial Revo

Educational Standards and Leadership Traits Assignment

Educational Standards and Leadership Traits - Assignment Example The essay will also analyze the traits possessed by the writer of this work and evaluate them against ISLLC standards. School culture is a collection of behavioral attributes that determine the day-to-day activities in educational institutions. School culture is a vital factor in the success of any educational institution. This is because of its contribution to the principles, outlook, and behaviors of students, the teaching staff, and non-teaching staff. In some cases, school managers leave school culture to develop on their own. However, this can be highly ineffective due to the students’ psychological immaturity. This is the reason as to why leaders in educational institution would prefer molding the culture in a way that it would help the schools attain their intended purposes. Leadership traits like persistence, honesty, being knowledgeable, punctuality and self-discipline play a big role in establishing and supporting a positive school community and culture (Owings, Kapl an, & Nunnery, 2005). Having patience when dealing with both the students and members of staff can help in bringing out the best of them. This is because with the patient, they are likely to be aware of their capability to improve. This will also enable a leader in an educational institution to be able to treat all the students fairly, given that some students might take longer to grasp some concepts. Punctuality and self-discipline can also help the leaders set a good example to the students. This is because giving the students theoretical teaching on ethical issues like self-discipline and punctuality might be meaningless if they do not see the institutional leaders practicing it (Waters, & Kingston, 2005). The students might turn out to be highly unethical because they will lack faith in the values and importance of being ethical. Absolute honesty and fairness is a vital trait in school leadership. This is because it helps in enhancing peaceful coexistence amongst the institution s’ communities. This can be associated to the saying, â€Å"honest leaders make honest subjects.† The students will also be able to have a conducive learning environment because they will have to worry less about being subjected to unfair situations (Bryant, Hessel, & Isernhagen, 2002). Honesty and fairness will also increase the level of trust that the students would have on the institution leadership. This type of trust would limit the possibility of dissatisfaction of the school’s management by the students. This will hence prevent occurrences like students’ strikes, which will promote smooth operation of the learning institution. With the smooth operation, the students are likely to benefit highly from the saved time and economical resources. A good sense of humor can also be beneficial to a school leader. Applying humor when interacting with the students will reduce the tension brought by either the generational gap or the gap brought by the differen ce in their status in the learning institution. An environment such as this one, a good sense of humor will enhance the learning process and interaction in the school in general (Waters, & Kingston, 2005). A relaxed environment will also enhance maximum participation of the students in the learning process. This participation increases the quality of education, as it will give room for better communication in the learning i

Reviewing of articles Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reviewing of articles - Literature review Example Adoption of new or modified accounting control can have meaningful changes on organizational strategies and the general perception of organizational purpose (Ahrens, T. & Mollona, M. 2007, 306). Addressing the cultural dimension of organizational control technologies is key just like the practices that engage technologies. The study of control as a cultural practice lies in exploring relationships between the diverse aspects of organizing. This includes work processes and their technologies, organizational members’ values, beliefs and social relationships. The cultural analysis aims at clarifying the sources of ambitions of the organizational members and how they are shared in competition with each other. It also evaluate their contributions in making the practices unfit or subjective to technical discussions and struggles over organizational purpose (Ahrens, T. & Mollona, M. 2007, 312). Comparative account of organizational subcultures, based on detailed observations of activities and how they consist of specific practices helps to shed more light. It involves the adoption of anthropological approaches to the study of organizational control. This entails the study of how management strategies and production strategies affect the control practices of different organizational subcultures. It also digs deep into determining how the social relations between organizational members and their social backgrounds can give rise to different cultural practices of control. Adoption of the anthropological method in the study of culture is a useful tool for producing longitudinal observations of everyday operations through which the study of accounting and control is studied. This mode of studying the everyday functioning of accounting is a key tool in providing detailed insights into the ways in which accounting makes possible and becomes part of specific forms of organization.

Multinational Advertising Agency Research Paper

Multinational Advertising Agency - Research Paper Example Ad agencies are present in a variety of sizes from small shops managed by one or at maximum two persons to large multinational, multi agency conglomerates for instance Omnicom group, Interpublic Group of companies, WPP group, and also Havas. A national advertising agency generally have only one or two major clients and their accounts are maintained by them. The multinational advertising agency is one which generally have an enormous client base spread across the country or the world (enotes, â€Å"Selecting a particular advertising agency†). Role of multinational ad agencies is to accelarate growth of the economy along with the creation of public awareness.The service obtained from these type of agencies are very much personalized in its nature and provides professional and experienced services for its international clients.This agencies are the important means of communication between global business entities and its customers (Scribd, â€Å"Functions of Advertising Gencies†). The basic role of a multinational ad agency is to manage accounts of its clients across the world, provide creative services, and get media access for them. Since the World War II the well documented developments in the field of communication has been noticed with the growth of multinational corporations as the global enterprises. As compared to the computers and satellites, the new form of the communication system i.e. the multinational ad agencies have been able to establish its importance in the horizon of the corporations (Wiley, â€Å"The Growth of Multinational Advertise Agencies in Latin America†). The benefits that are obtained using the advertising agencies add significance to it. The benefits are like-the agencies contribute added expertise in solving the purpose of its business. They provide media knowledge as well as unbiased recommendation and suggestions. Communication and strong marketing decisions are the two most important

Dell, Inc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dell, Inc - Research Paper Example The company has gained significant recognition in the world and is currently the number three supplier of computers in the world. This paper is going to highlight the business cycle of Dell, including risks the company faces, and the reason for their success. Dell computers face challenges in its demand. The company offers its computers at low cost. The low price makes customers buy the computers. Lower prices and high quality made dell computers become so popular all over the world. An increase in demand required an increase in supply. Dell expanded its company size and was able to manufacture many computers, making it the number one shipper of computers as by 2012. Consumer’s income always affects the supply of demand of a product(Hawken, 1988). It also depends on the commodity. A customer will not spend more than what he earns. Dell established itself in the high life areas of Texas. These are places where people are high-class earners. The demand for dell was on the rise here, and more people came to know about dell. It was the baseline for the success of Dell as more and more people came to know about it. After reaching the big markets, Dell reduced its prices to favor the low class earners. Prices of goods that relate to each other are forces that affect supply and demand. HP and Lenovo are the main competitors of Dell. Each company has different prices on their computers. HP computers are cheaper than Dell computers. This has made HP have higher demand in their products compared to Dell. If goods are of same characteristics, but from different companies, people will favor the cheap one. HP is the number one PC vendor in the world because of this. Dell is trying to improve its demand by reducing the prices of their goods. Computer companies always face competition in the markets based on the level of production. The systems in the computers are very

Deviant and Criminal Behavior in the Workplace Dissertation

Deviant and Criminal Behavior in the Workplace - Dissertation Example It is important because effective teamwork helps the organization to meet its set objectives. Communication among employees needs to be effective for smooth coordination of activities in the workplace (Härtel, Zerbe & Ashkanasy, 2005). Effective communication in the workplace helps individuals become more productive. Individuals having their roles well defined characterize a well-organized institution. Organizational behavior studies how individuals behave in organized settings. A good management team needs to identify the roles of their employees in the workplace. It will enable them to monitor the behavior of their employees. The monitoring of employee behavior enables organizations to understand their functions easily (Elias, 2013). The behavior of most individual results from the culture of the organization. The culture an organization affects how the employees act in the workplace. Most corporations have their own unique culture that is different from other companies. It means that employees will act differently depending on the organization. Most experts argue that organizational behavior results from the structure of a company. The structure and culture of an organization are linked together to explain employee behavior. Structural formation of an organization involves the management of the corporation. Managers have the capability of controlling the behavior of their employ ees (Sims, 2002). For example, there are companies that have programs in their systems that help their employees solve their problems. A strategy improves the behavior of employees in an organization. The study of employee behavior involves scientific, human relations and contingency approach. Adoption of the contingency approach means that the company is recognizing that employee behavior is a complex issue. Managers have the responsibility of developing ideas that will enable the organization to achieve its target.  

Peter Weir witness Essay Example for Free

Peter Weir witness Essay Peter Weir uses contrast to interrogate the concerns of contemporary society. Discuss with close reference to the film Witness. The film witness directed by peter weir raises questions about the concerns of contemporary society. These issues are exposed through the use of film techniques which convey contrast as two cultures clash. The audience is challenged to question these ideas: the opposing concept of individualism versus a sense of community; the use and abuse of power along with honesty and loyalty as opposed to dishonesty and disloyalty; forbidden love and the obstacle of two varying cultures co-existing. The substance of the film highlights the concern of individualism contrasted to a sense of community. An example of individual greed is encapsulated in the â€Å"identification scene† where Samuel recognizes the killer’s image (McFee) within the trophy cabinet where he is displayed as a hero. Amidst the diegetic sound of the police station the camera pans to the cabinet. An extreme close up of Samuel’s eyes along with thought provoking music suggests his realization that McFee is the murderer. The point of view shots; the zooming in on McFee’s face and the non-diegetic sound forces the viewer to query his honour. The audience has viewed McFee as a killer who appeared in the bathroom washing his hands in a relaxed manner and saying casually â€Å"I’m just washing my hands man† suggests that his malicious nature is a part if his everyday life. This individual sense of greed and self-interest in contemporary society is compared throughout the film with the sense of community and generosity of the more traditional Amish culture. The barn raising scene captures this idea effectively as it portrays the community working together for a common cause. The harmonious music; the wide angle shots; the cheerful facial expressions and body language and â€Å"uniform† costumes highlight their equality and sense of belonging to one group. The vertical panning shot of Daniel sharing a drink with Book demonstrates the farmer’s selflessness although he is in â€Å"competition† with Book for Rachel’s affection. This contrast interrogates concerns of self-interest with contemporary society challenging the viewers’ perception of these cultures. There is also a contrast between how power is used within the cultures. Abuse of power is clearly evident with Schaeffer as he is always shown as a loyal husband and family man which challenges the audience to question what is actually an illusion to this representation of character. This characterisation is overturned when Book phones Schaeffer and says â€Å"lost the meaning did you Paul? Remember what you used to say, about dirty cops, somewhere along the way they lost the meaning†. This forces the audience to interrogate the power of an individual such as Schaeffer. There is an illusion created within the film that the English society has power over the Amish society. This is evident in the penultimate scene â€Å"final conflict† when Schaeffer and McFee go into the Amish society to arrest/kill Book. Schaeffer and McFee bring along weapons as they believe that is enough to take down Book and the Amish community. A mis-en-scene with a low angle shot, dark colours and suspenseful music of Schaeffer and McFee walking on the road positions the audience to believe that the English have power and that they are going to take down the Amish community. But this is contradicted when Samuel rings the bell and a long shot is used to show the Amish people stop, put down everything and run over to help. Schaeffer is defeated by the amount of people working together; this allows the audience to question how power is used in contemporary society. Although the Amish society appears to lead a passive lifestyle and â€Å"weak† as they are without weapons they are still shown to have power. This is evident when they are travelling in the horse buggy as they are always shown in a low angle shot portraying that they have power and aren’t below contemporary society. This highlights the contrast that Peter Weir used to question the concern of power in contemporary society. Weir again uses contrast to interrogate the concern of forbidden love within contemporary society. The ‘Dancing in the barn scene’ conveys this idea. The music playing is ironic as it says â€Å"I don’t know much about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  because Book doesn’t know much about Rachel and the Amish community. Rachel’s hat is missing which indicates she is moving away from the Amish culture. Book dances with Rachel and this creates sexual tension but avoids eye contact as he respects her culture and doesn’t want to disrupt it which creates awkwardness. The Rachel washing scene also expresses this idea as Book avoid eye contact again and rejects making love with Rachel. The next day Book goes up to the hen house that Rachel is in. In front of Book there is a screen door which is symbolic of a  barrier of their forbidden love says to Rachel â€Å"If we made love last night I would have to say or you would have to leave† this again shows that Book respects Rachel’s culture. The two world’s truly merge when book prepares to leave. There is a close up of bonnet as it is placed on the table by Rachel symbolising again that she is letting go and wants to be with Book. But this inability for the two communities to co-exist is symbolised also through contrasting scenes of the bird house. Early in the film and on Book’s leaving as Book is first impeding on the Amish community – breaking of the bird house, then Book rebuilds the damage that he has cause – fixing of the bird house, then restores everything back to normality – puts bird house back in place. This forces the audience to interrogate whether these two societies will ever be able to merge together. In conclusion though the film witness Peter Weir is able to interrogate the audience by contrasting the concerns of individualism versus community, the use and abuse of power and forbidden love in contemporary society.

History of the Palestinian Conflict

History of the Palestinian Conflict In order to have a thorough understanding of the Palestinian problem, events in the early 20th century, prior to 1948 (Israeli independence) should be closely examined and understood. Many historians mark the first act which led to the Palestinian problem as the Balfour Declaration in 1917. There, it was announced that Britain shall support in the goals of Zionists, and therein strive to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine, His Majestys Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people[1]. With Jewish spirits high all over the Jewish Diaspora, the third Aliyah (influx of Jews to Palestine) took place in 1919[2]. The number of Jews gradually increased in Palestine, and by 1947, the 11% population of Jews increased to a healthy 33%[3]. The immediate cause of the Palestinian problem is often dated to November 29th 1947, on which the UN announced that the British Mandate of Palestine would be divided into separate Arab and Jewish states[4]. The decree sparked great outrage from Arab nations, but was a warmly welcomed decision from the Jews and other European and North American States. Two pinnacle wars then followed which would directly influence into the Palestinian problem. The Civil War first took place as an immediate reaction eleven days after the UNs declaration. Jewish victory then led war lead to two events: the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May the 14th 1948 and the beginning of An-Nakabah, the Palestinian Exodus. In first phase of the Palestinian Exodus, 125,000 were evicted or fled from their homes, and were prevented from returning[5]. The second war that followed was the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. In this war, Israel was to face a grand Arab coalition which denounced its independence. A decisive Israeli victory, and a disastrous Arab defeat increased the final number of the Palestinian exodus to a staggering 750 000 Palestinians. By the middle of the 20th century, State of Israel was firmly established upon the former Palestinian territories, and many Palestinian settlements were either depopulated or destroyed. Hence, the Palestinian problem was herein created; an issue of Palestinians, their state, homeland, refugees, and also Palestinian-Israeli co-existence in Palestine and the stance of Jerusalem, is all to exist until this very day. Yasser Arafat and the Creation of Fatah: Born on 24 August 1929, in Cairo, Egypt, Yasser Arafat was the son of Palestinian parent[6]. During the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948, he went to Palestine to join the fighting. His role in the Palestinian problem begins early on in his political life when in 1958, Arafat, with a number of his Palestinian colleagues in Kuwait, corroborated and formed the militant group Fatah. The group was dedicated to liberate Palestine by Palestinians with a means of force. The idea was to eliminate Zionist Israel re-establish Palestinian homeland and resolve the Palestinian problem. Until this very day, Fatahs main goal is, complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.[7] A Means of Force, to Settle to Problem: The Rise of Fatah, the PLO and the 70s: In the Six Day War, Fatah did play a small role in the fighting against the Israel. The humiliating Arab defeat further broke Arab morale especially that of the Palestinians who consequently lost trust in the united Arab resolution. But Fatah was to have its first main military encounter with Israel in the Battle of Karameh on March 21st 1968. With Fatah growing in stature, organised raid were conducted against Israeli settlements. Israels retaliation was to raid the Jordanian city of Karameh, a newly made stronghold for Fatah[8]. Though the battle was a military victory for Israel, it was seen as a somewhat physiological victory for Fatah. Abdallah Frangi (a Palestinian leader at the time) labelled it the political and military turning point in the Palestinian resistance, especially for Fatah.[9] Arab support was rallied behind the group, and Arafat was able to garner a number of Palestinian recruits for his group. Fatah was inducted into the PLO in 1967, and in 1969, Yasser Arafat became chairman of the PLO. Arafat transformed the organisation into becoming a strong independent organisation intended to make Palestinian appeals be heard by the world[10]. He therein became the ultimate leader of the Palestinian resurgence. By 1970, Yasser Arafat was deeply engaging in his arms resolution of the Palestinian problem. Raids into Israeli territories were organised regularly and Fatah was became an increased threat to Israel. In Arafats and Fatahs prime years of the 70s, both the PLO and Mossad (The Israeli Intelligence Agency) engaged in terrorist style warfare against each other. The Mossads known for several key assassinations, such as that of Ghassan Kanafani [11], (writer and spokesman for the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine, considered the second largest group in the PLO after Fatah) and Dr Wadie Haddad[12] (leader of the PFLP.) For the PLO, the Fatah group, Black September were one of the key groups engaging in such activities[13]. One of the most famous works of Black September was the abduction and assassination of 11 Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games[14]. Though Arafat has never been proven to be part of the attacks, Israeli and American authorities often associate him to them. Analysis of Arafats Forceful Resolve: A number of western sources agree that Yasser Arafat tried to resolve the Palestinian problem through a means of terrorism. Its stated that he saw in terrorism, not of the horrific murders, but rather a means of gaining recognition for Palestine and Palestinian struggle. Barry and Judith Rubin, authors of Yasser Arafat: A Political Biography state, He had seen how it [terrorism] mobilized Palestinian and Arab support for the PLO; raised the Palestine issues international priority; prevented other Arab states from negotiating peace with Israel, and made many western leaders eager to appease him.[15] Often using the Fatah subgroup, Black September, there are claims that Arafat often approved operations and stemmed funds to them[16]. The argument also states that Arafat consistently throughout his life would deny such acts, thereby having a remarkable ability to escape responsibility for the terrorism he committed.[17] These views clearly classify Arafats armed approach in dealing with the Palestinian problem as acts of terrorism. They proclaim that Arafat, as a terrorist, used fear antic to drive his goal of dealing with the Palestinian struggle. The alternative view, in that Arafat was a freedom fighter is believed by many other historians and writers. Its a stance expressed by one of the closest people to Arafat, Bassam Abu Sharif (Senior Advisor to Yasser Arafat.) In his book, Arafat and the Dream for Palestine, he states, In my opinion, people in the west saw Arafat through the negative propaganda which rather painted Arafat as a terrorist, rather than a freedom fighter[18]. With the Palestinian problem ignored early on by many western countries[19], it indeed was Arafat who rather globalised the issue, made it a phenomenon everyone needed to solve. This is seen to make Arafats armed role in dealing with the Palestinian problem a pivotal one. These arguments also highlight Arafat as being the sole power in the Palestinian revival following the Six Day War, It was in these disheartening circumstances that the Palestinian revival began. There was little doubt that Arafats was the decisive voice[20]. Also, those which Arafat commanded are perceived as freedom fighters by some, Yasser Arafat, who had emerged as a significant figure in the Palestinian struggle for liberation, recruited young people to the resistance movement. In 1970, Palestinian freedom fighters took control of the Gaza Strip Yasser Arafat hence provided Palestinian revitalisation in the Palestinian problem, hereby making his armed role an extremely important one. As quoted by Stephen Howe, Without the Arafat of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, there might well not have been a Palestinian national movement at all. Evaluation: Surely, Arafats armed solution is interpreted differently by different cultures and people. Arafats emergence was in bloody early days of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a time when sympathy of Palestinians and their struggle was widespread in the Muslim world whereas backing and support was provided to Israel by many western states. This makes the Palestinian debate a 2 sided debate, and consequently, an evaluation of Arafat is often affected by emotion and bias by the opposing parties. Arafats armed resolution of the Palestinian problem isnt a clear cut issue of neither terrorism nor political fanaticism. Two issues must be understood to drive this point; firstly, Arafats activities as a militant rather than a terrorist. An analysis of Yasser Arafats activates prove that he rather was present and an active member in raids and attacks against the Israeli army and troops and rather not in the alleged terrorist attacks of the PLO. Also, since he never was proven to be a terrorist, it can never be claimed he was indeed a terrorist. Secondly, a distinction must be made between the activates of Arafat and those of his bodyguards and Fatah colleagues. Often, the actions of both are confused, and when an attack by Fatah insurgents is carried of, its often stated that Arafat himself was part of then. Its true that Yasser Arafats role as leader of Palestinian spurred some to extremism, but it must be understood, though his Fatah colleagues did engaged in terrorism, he didnt. Yasser Arafat armed role in dealing with the Palestine problem should not be seen as of radicalism or extremism in thought and intent. Arafats armed struggle, though did not solve the issue, did in fact bring some results. His armed struggle brought a resurgence of the people of Palestine. With the united Arab response being habitually useless (by constant Arab defeat and loss to Israel,) only a Palestinian response seemed to solution. This but rather needed the revival of the Palestinian hope, which was severely crushed by the mid 1960 (especially with the loss of Jerusalem.) Though ludicrous it may sound, Palestinian revitalisation would not have occurred through peaceful means. The reason for this was that Palestinians where irritated and demoralised by the constant disappointment in the outcomes of Arab negotiations concerning their struggle. A symbol of an armed struggle would only then revitalise these frustrated Palestinians. With the creation of Fatah, (to liberate Palestine by Palestinians) Arafats armed struggle brought this Palestinian resurgence. Arafat also united the Palestinian people, under his armed struggle, a strong step in dealing with the Palestinian problem. In essence, hadnt this revitalisation occurred, the State of Palestine would not have been created, and future talks of peace and co-existence would not have occurred. But it should be clearly understood, that Arafat did not achieve his intended aim in his armed approach. A Peaceful Resolve for the Palestinian Problem: A Change in Contention, Olso and Camp David: In 1974, the PLO executive committee including Arafat drew up The Ten Point Program[21]. By many, is considered as the first peaceful initiative taken by Arafat to resolve the Palestinian Problem. It was a decree calling for Israel to return back liberated[22] Palestinian lands. The declaration wasnt one of change in direction, though was unique in that it did show Arafat to have a way of dealing with the problem through negotiations. The Ten Point Program was to be followed by more years of violence. After years of unrest with the rise of the terrorist group Hamas and notably the coming into being of First Intifada (which Arafat associated himself to); on the 13th and 14th of December 1988, Arafat announces a change of thought. He formally recognised the State of Israel, renounced terrorism, and revealed intentions of seeking peaceful negotiations in managing the Palestinian problem[23]. A month earlier, the Palestinian National Council (led by Arafat) announces and proclaims The Palestinian Declaration of Independence[24]. It was a new direction for Arafat in settling the Palestinian problem. In 1993 marks a historical event in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the first direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders took place in Oslo, Norway. The talks were very secretive, with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabik with their top ministers negotiating in terms to co-exist peacefully. Issues such as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories, Palestinian elections, economic cooperation and regional development were all discussed. Both parties agreed on the status of each, the rights of each other, and their intentions to co-exist. With the help of the Clinton government, on 13th of September 1993, the Oslo Accord was signed. It was thought to be the basis of all future talks between both. In 2000, continuing talks took place between Israel and Palestine at Camp David, in order to finalise the conditions of the Oslo Accord[25]. The talks were to therein define the boundaries of Israel and Palestine. The status of Jerusalem (a key aspect of the Palestinian problem) was the hindrance point in the talks. In regards to the possession of Jerusalem, both parties were unable to agree on a compromise, hence making the Camp David talks a failure. Analysis of Arafats Peaceful Resolve: Arafats change in approach in dealing with the Palestinian approach (i.e. seeking peaceful measures) has often incurred various interpretations. One particular arguement is that Arafat changed his strategy of armed approach to a peaceful one in order to fool others and drive his own agenda of securing Palestinian homeland. It was a typical Arafat style solution. By being so ambiguous about his methods and goals, Arafat could hope to convince the west that he was ready for peace and convince his own colleagues that he was determined to continue the struggle[26]. These views hereby make Arafats change in approach a somewhat deceitful trick that rather had true initiative. A different viewpoint states that Arafat was rather pressured by Israeli and American officials to denounce an armed approach and terrorism[27]. Throughout the Oslo Accords, its stated that Arafat was the weaker party, and that he was rather accepted terms and condition which Israel modelled[28]. This argument thereby makes Arafats peaceful resolution of the Palestinian problem not an intuitive of his, but rather a pressure he had to comply with. In regards to the Camp David Summit, a many historians believed it was doomed to fail. Kamrava argues that both parties thought they were giving up more to the other, while the other wasnt being reasonable[29] in their compromise[30].Hence, in dealing with the most controversial issue of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the issue of Jerusalem, there was never to be an agreement. Hence, Arafats peaceful resolve of the Palestinian problem was always doomed to fail. Nevertheless, there are others, such as Bassim Abu Sherif, who says that the new peace path was rather genuine and promising. He claims though the US authorities did put down demands for Yasser Arafat, Arafat rather wanted his announcement to first be supported by for the PLO and Palestinians, then flexible to US demands, It was clear that Arafat wanted to be flexible enough to meet American demands, but he also wanted to make sure that he had the approval of the majority of the PLO executive committee to preserve the democracy of the decision making process of the PLO.[31] It was clear that Arafat was aware that by this time, both he and Palestinians were exhausted from fighting. Hence, this different approach in dealing with the Palestinian struggle might be interpreted as a new path, thereby creating new opportunities in dealing with the Palestinian problem. Evaluation: Arafats change in means resolving the Palestinian problem is also an issue of debate. The question of why change in direction and whether it was genuine is truly the discussion. But a deduction of Arafats activities brings an understanding of genuinity. Hence, his role in trying to resolve the Palestinian problem is herein magnified by his actions of this new resolve. Its evident that with years of unrest and the lack of advancement in resolving the Palestinian problem, Arafat needed to find a new resolve. He needed to settle the Palestinian crisis that now nearly turned into internal feuding. So, by understanding this dire need of change, it must be clear that he, Arafat, chose to change the idea of an armed struggle. It seems that he neither needed the pressure of Israel or the U.S. but rather chose to do it because of situation of the Palestinian people. Hence, it makes the resolution a genuine on Arafats part. Therefore, we see in Arafats change in thought his striving quest of solving the Palestinian problem. Arafats role in dealing with the Palestinian problem could further be evaluated by his actions at Oslo and Camp David. First of all, he dealt with the issue of Palestinian homeland in Palestine with the Oslo Accord. In this regard, Arafat failed to clearly resolve the issue, due to the vagueness of the matter he agreed on. This leads to the next issue of Jerusalem. Arafats Oslo agreements failure is exacerbated by the fact that the continuation of Oslo, (Camp David) broke down with the issue of Jerusalem. This issue of Israeli-Palestinian co-existence was spoken of the most in both talks, but without decisively dealing with this tension point issues, Arafat was doomed to fail. Hence, though Arafat tried to drive and resolve the Palestinian problem peacefully, he achieve no more than his armed resolution. Bibliography: Books: Lukacs, Yehuda, 1992, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict a documentary record 1967-1990, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Barry Rubin Judith Colp Rubin, 2003, Arafat: A Political Biography, Oxford University Press, Inc, New York. Bassam Abu Sharif, 2009, Arafat and the Dream for Palestine, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. T.G. Fraser, 2008, The Arab-Israeli conflict, 3rd ed., Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Brown, Nathan. J, 2003, Palestinian Politics after the Oslo Accord: Arab Palestine, University of Californian Press, London, England. Dan Cohn-Sherbok Dawoud El-Alami (eds), 2008, The Palestine-Israeli Conflict, Oneworld Publication, Oxford, England. Mehran Kamrava, 2005, The Modern Middle East, University of California Press, Ltd, London England. Mark Tesseler, 1994, A History Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, USA, Journals: Simha Flapan, 1987, The Palestinian Exodus of 1948, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Summer, 1987),University of California Press. Websites: UN Partition Plan, 2001, Retrieved 25th January, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/israel_and_the_palestinians/key_documents/1681322.stm Yasser Arafat, Retrieved 25th January, 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat/ Timeline: Yasser Arafat, 2004, Retrieved 25th January, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4004859.stm Political Program Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestine National Council Cairo, 8 June 1974, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://www.un.int/palestine/PLO/docone.html Muin Rabbani, 2000, Encyclopedia Of The Palestinians: Biography of Gassan Kanafani, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Acre/Story168.html Poisoned Mossad chocolate killed PFLP leader in 1977, says book, 2006, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://web.archive.org/web/20060517211510/http://metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060505-102327-8910r Terrorist Organisation Profile: Black September,2007, University of Maryland, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=153 Arafat at the UN general Assembly, 2009, Retrieved 27th January, 2010, http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/pal/pal5.htm Prof. Francis A. Boyle, 2006 Palestine Independence Day, Retrieved 27th January, 2010, http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=vaaid=3864 Why did the PLO suddenly decide, in 1988, that Israel had a right to exist?, Retrieved 27th January, 2010, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_plo_israel_exist_1988.php The Balfour Declaration, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/The+Balfour+Declaration.htm The Population of Palestine Prior to 1948, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm Fateh Constitution, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.alzaytouna.net/arabic/?c=1598a=97061 The Israeli Camp David II Proposal for Final Settlement, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm The Balfour Decleration, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/The+Balfour+Declaration.htm The Third Aliyah, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/Third_Aliyah.html The Population of Palestine Prior to 1948, http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm UN Partition Plan, 2001, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/israel_and_the_palestinians/key_documents/1681322.stm Simha Flapan, 1987, The Palestinian Exodus of 1948, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Summer, 1987), pp. 3-26,University of California Press. Yasser Arafat, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat/ Fateh Constitution, http://www.alzaytouna.net/arabic/?c=1598a=97061 Mark Tesseler, A History Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, USA, 1994, pg. 425 Ibid, pg.426 Yasser Arafat, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat/ Muin Rabbani, 2000, Encyclopedia Of The Palestinians: Biography of Gassan Kanafani, http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Acre/Story168.html Poisoned Mossad chocolate killed PFLP leader in 1977, says book, 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/20060517211510/http://metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060505-102327-8910r. Terrorist Organisation Profile: Black September, 2007, University of Maryland http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=153 ibid Barry Rubin, Judith Colp Rubin, Arafat: A Political Biography, Oxford University Press, Inc, New York, 2003, pg.61 Ibid, pg.61 Ibid, pg.63 Bassam Abu Sharif, Arafat and the Dream for Palestine, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009, pg. T.G. Fraser, The Arab-Israeli conflict, 3rd ed., Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2008, pg.57 Ibid, pg.88 Political Program Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestine National Council Cairo, 8 June 1974, http://www.un.int/palestine/PLO/docone.html ibid Arafat at the UN general Assembly, 2009, http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/pal/pal5.htm Prof. Francis A. Boyle, 2006 Palestine Independence Day, http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=vaaid=3864 The Israeli Camp David II Proposal for Final Settlement, http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm Rubin, op.cit., pg.113 Why did the PLO suddenly decide, in 1988, that Israel had a right to exist?, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_plo_israel_exist_1988.php Mehran Kamrava, The Modern Middle East, University of California Press, Ltd, London England, 2005, pg. 243-244 Ibid, pg.248 ibid Abu Sharif, op.cit., pg.183 History of the Palestinian Conflict History of the Palestinian Conflict In order to have a thorough understanding of the Palestinian problem, events in the early 20th century, prior to 1948 (Israeli independence) should be closely examined and understood. Many historians mark the first act which led to the Palestinian problem as the Balfour Declaration in 1917. There, it was announced that Britain shall support in the goals of Zionists, and therein strive to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine, His Majestys Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people[1]. With Jewish spirits high all over the Jewish Diaspora, the third Aliyah (influx of Jews to Palestine) took place in 1919[2]. The number of Jews gradually increased in Palestine, and by 1947, the 11% population of Jews increased to a healthy 33%[3]. The immediate cause of the Palestinian problem is often dated to November 29th 1947, on which the UN announced that the British Mandate of Palestine would be divided into separate Arab and Jewish states[4]. The decree sparked great outrage from Arab nations, but was a warmly welcomed decision from the Jews and other European and North American States. Two pinnacle wars then followed which would directly influence into the Palestinian problem. The Civil War first took place as an immediate reaction eleven days after the UNs declaration. Jewish victory then led war lead to two events: the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May the 14th 1948 and the beginning of An-Nakabah, the Palestinian Exodus. In first phase of the Palestinian Exodus, 125,000 were evicted or fled from their homes, and were prevented from returning[5]. The second war that followed was the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. In this war, Israel was to face a grand Arab coalition which denounced its independence. A decisive Israeli victory, and a disastrous Arab defeat increased the final number of the Palestinian exodus to a staggering 750 000 Palestinians. By the middle of the 20th century, State of Israel was firmly established upon the former Palestinian territories, and many Palestinian settlements were either depopulated or destroyed. Hence, the Palestinian problem was herein created; an issue of Palestinians, their state, homeland, refugees, and also Palestinian-Israeli co-existence in Palestine and the stance of Jerusalem, is all to exist until this very day. Yasser Arafat and the Creation of Fatah: Born on 24 August 1929, in Cairo, Egypt, Yasser Arafat was the son of Palestinian parent[6]. During the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948, he went to Palestine to join the fighting. His role in the Palestinian problem begins early on in his political life when in 1958, Arafat, with a number of his Palestinian colleagues in Kuwait, corroborated and formed the militant group Fatah. The group was dedicated to liberate Palestine by Palestinians with a means of force. The idea was to eliminate Zionist Israel re-establish Palestinian homeland and resolve the Palestinian problem. Until this very day, Fatahs main goal is, complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.[7] A Means of Force, to Settle to Problem: The Rise of Fatah, the PLO and the 70s: In the Six Day War, Fatah did play a small role in the fighting against the Israel. The humiliating Arab defeat further broke Arab morale especially that of the Palestinians who consequently lost trust in the united Arab resolution. But Fatah was to have its first main military encounter with Israel in the Battle of Karameh on March 21st 1968. With Fatah growing in stature, organised raid were conducted against Israeli settlements. Israels retaliation was to raid the Jordanian city of Karameh, a newly made stronghold for Fatah[8]. Though the battle was a military victory for Israel, it was seen as a somewhat physiological victory for Fatah. Abdallah Frangi (a Palestinian leader at the time) labelled it the political and military turning point in the Palestinian resistance, especially for Fatah.[9] Arab support was rallied behind the group, and Arafat was able to garner a number of Palestinian recruits for his group. Fatah was inducted into the PLO in 1967, and in 1969, Yasser Arafat became chairman of the PLO. Arafat transformed the organisation into becoming a strong independent organisation intended to make Palestinian appeals be heard by the world[10]. He therein became the ultimate leader of the Palestinian resurgence. By 1970, Yasser Arafat was deeply engaging in his arms resolution of the Palestinian problem. Raids into Israeli territories were organised regularly and Fatah was became an increased threat to Israel. In Arafats and Fatahs prime years of the 70s, both the PLO and Mossad (The Israeli Intelligence Agency) engaged in terrorist style warfare against each other. The Mossads known for several key assassinations, such as that of Ghassan Kanafani [11], (writer and spokesman for the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine, considered the second largest group in the PLO after Fatah) and Dr Wadie Haddad[12] (leader of the PFLP.) For the PLO, the Fatah group, Black September were one of the key groups engaging in such activities[13]. One of the most famous works of Black September was the abduction and assassination of 11 Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games[14]. Though Arafat has never been proven to be part of the attacks, Israeli and American authorities often associate him to them. Analysis of Arafats Forceful Resolve: A number of western sources agree that Yasser Arafat tried to resolve the Palestinian problem through a means of terrorism. Its stated that he saw in terrorism, not of the horrific murders, but rather a means of gaining recognition for Palestine and Palestinian struggle. Barry and Judith Rubin, authors of Yasser Arafat: A Political Biography state, He had seen how it [terrorism] mobilized Palestinian and Arab support for the PLO; raised the Palestine issues international priority; prevented other Arab states from negotiating peace with Israel, and made many western leaders eager to appease him.[15] Often using the Fatah subgroup, Black September, there are claims that Arafat often approved operations and stemmed funds to them[16]. The argument also states that Arafat consistently throughout his life would deny such acts, thereby having a remarkable ability to escape responsibility for the terrorism he committed.[17] These views clearly classify Arafats armed approach in dealing with the Palestinian problem as acts of terrorism. They proclaim that Arafat, as a terrorist, used fear antic to drive his goal of dealing with the Palestinian struggle. The alternative view, in that Arafat was a freedom fighter is believed by many other historians and writers. Its a stance expressed by one of the closest people to Arafat, Bassam Abu Sharif (Senior Advisor to Yasser Arafat.) In his book, Arafat and the Dream for Palestine, he states, In my opinion, people in the west saw Arafat through the negative propaganda which rather painted Arafat as a terrorist, rather than a freedom fighter[18]. With the Palestinian problem ignored early on by many western countries[19], it indeed was Arafat who rather globalised the issue, made it a phenomenon everyone needed to solve. This is seen to make Arafats armed role in dealing with the Palestinian problem a pivotal one. These arguments also highlight Arafat as being the sole power in the Palestinian revival following the Six Day War, It was in these disheartening circumstances that the Palestinian revival began. There was little doubt that Arafats was the decisive voice[20]. Also, those which Arafat commanded are perceived as freedom fighters by some, Yasser Arafat, who had emerged as a significant figure in the Palestinian struggle for liberation, recruited young people to the resistance movement. In 1970, Palestinian freedom fighters took control of the Gaza Strip Yasser Arafat hence provided Palestinian revitalisation in the Palestinian problem, hereby making his armed role an extremely important one. As quoted by Stephen Howe, Without the Arafat of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, there might well not have been a Palestinian national movement at all. Evaluation: Surely, Arafats armed solution is interpreted differently by different cultures and people. Arafats emergence was in bloody early days of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a time when sympathy of Palestinians and their struggle was widespread in the Muslim world whereas backing and support was provided to Israel by many western states. This makes the Palestinian debate a 2 sided debate, and consequently, an evaluation of Arafat is often affected by emotion and bias by the opposing parties. Arafats armed resolution of the Palestinian problem isnt a clear cut issue of neither terrorism nor political fanaticism. Two issues must be understood to drive this point; firstly, Arafats activities as a militant rather than a terrorist. An analysis of Yasser Arafats activates prove that he rather was present and an active member in raids and attacks against the Israeli army and troops and rather not in the alleged terrorist attacks of the PLO. Also, since he never was proven to be a terrorist, it can never be claimed he was indeed a terrorist. Secondly, a distinction must be made between the activates of Arafat and those of his bodyguards and Fatah colleagues. Often, the actions of both are confused, and when an attack by Fatah insurgents is carried of, its often stated that Arafat himself was part of then. Its true that Yasser Arafats role as leader of Palestinian spurred some to extremism, but it must be understood, though his Fatah colleagues did engaged in terrorism, he didnt. Yasser Arafat armed role in dealing with the Palestine problem should not be seen as of radicalism or extremism in thought and intent. Arafats armed struggle, though did not solve the issue, did in fact bring some results. His armed struggle brought a resurgence of the people of Palestine. With the united Arab response being habitually useless (by constant Arab defeat and loss to Israel,) only a Palestinian response seemed to solution. This but rather needed the revival of the Palestinian hope, which was severely crushed by the mid 1960 (especially with the loss of Jerusalem.) Though ludicrous it may sound, Palestinian revitalisation would not have occurred through peaceful means. The reason for this was that Palestinians where irritated and demoralised by the constant disappointment in the outcomes of Arab negotiations concerning their struggle. A symbol of an armed struggle would only then revitalise these frustrated Palestinians. With the creation of Fatah, (to liberate Palestine by Palestinians) Arafats armed struggle brought this Palestinian resurgence. Arafat also united the Palestinian people, under his armed struggle, a strong step in dealing with the Palestinian problem. In essence, hadnt this revitalisation occurred, the State of Palestine would not have been created, and future talks of peace and co-existence would not have occurred. But it should be clearly understood, that Arafat did not achieve his intended aim in his armed approach. A Peaceful Resolve for the Palestinian Problem: A Change in Contention, Olso and Camp David: In 1974, the PLO executive committee including Arafat drew up The Ten Point Program[21]. By many, is considered as the first peaceful initiative taken by Arafat to resolve the Palestinian Problem. It was a decree calling for Israel to return back liberated[22] Palestinian lands. The declaration wasnt one of change in direction, though was unique in that it did show Arafat to have a way of dealing with the problem through negotiations. The Ten Point Program was to be followed by more years of violence. After years of unrest with the rise of the terrorist group Hamas and notably the coming into being of First Intifada (which Arafat associated himself to); on the 13th and 14th of December 1988, Arafat announces a change of thought. He formally recognised the State of Israel, renounced terrorism, and revealed intentions of seeking peaceful negotiations in managing the Palestinian problem[23]. A month earlier, the Palestinian National Council (led by Arafat) announces and proclaims The Palestinian Declaration of Independence[24]. It was a new direction for Arafat in settling the Palestinian problem. In 1993 marks a historical event in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the first direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders took place in Oslo, Norway. The talks were very secretive, with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabik with their top ministers negotiating in terms to co-exist peacefully. Issues such as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories, Palestinian elections, economic cooperation and regional development were all discussed. Both parties agreed on the status of each, the rights of each other, and their intentions to co-exist. With the help of the Clinton government, on 13th of September 1993, the Oslo Accord was signed. It was thought to be the basis of all future talks between both. In 2000, continuing talks took place between Israel and Palestine at Camp David, in order to finalise the conditions of the Oslo Accord[25]. The talks were to therein define the boundaries of Israel and Palestine. The status of Jerusalem (a key aspect of the Palestinian problem) was the hindrance point in the talks. In regards to the possession of Jerusalem, both parties were unable to agree on a compromise, hence making the Camp David talks a failure. Analysis of Arafats Peaceful Resolve: Arafats change in approach in dealing with the Palestinian approach (i.e. seeking peaceful measures) has often incurred various interpretations. One particular arguement is that Arafat changed his strategy of armed approach to a peaceful one in order to fool others and drive his own agenda of securing Palestinian homeland. It was a typical Arafat style solution. By being so ambiguous about his methods and goals, Arafat could hope to convince the west that he was ready for peace and convince his own colleagues that he was determined to continue the struggle[26]. These views hereby make Arafats change in approach a somewhat deceitful trick that rather had true initiative. A different viewpoint states that Arafat was rather pressured by Israeli and American officials to denounce an armed approach and terrorism[27]. Throughout the Oslo Accords, its stated that Arafat was the weaker party, and that he was rather accepted terms and condition which Israel modelled[28]. This argument thereby makes Arafats peaceful resolution of the Palestinian problem not an intuitive of his, but rather a pressure he had to comply with. In regards to the Camp David Summit, a many historians believed it was doomed to fail. Kamrava argues that both parties thought they were giving up more to the other, while the other wasnt being reasonable[29] in their compromise[30].Hence, in dealing with the most controversial issue of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the issue of Jerusalem, there was never to be an agreement. Hence, Arafats peaceful resolve of the Palestinian problem was always doomed to fail. Nevertheless, there are others, such as Bassim Abu Sherif, who says that the new peace path was rather genuine and promising. He claims though the US authorities did put down demands for Yasser Arafat, Arafat rather wanted his announcement to first be supported by for the PLO and Palestinians, then flexible to US demands, It was clear that Arafat wanted to be flexible enough to meet American demands, but he also wanted to make sure that he had the approval of the majority of the PLO executive committee to preserve the democracy of the decision making process of the PLO.[31] It was clear that Arafat was aware that by this time, both he and Palestinians were exhausted from fighting. Hence, this different approach in dealing with the Palestinian struggle might be interpreted as a new path, thereby creating new opportunities in dealing with the Palestinian problem. Evaluation: Arafats change in means resolving the Palestinian problem is also an issue of debate. The question of why change in direction and whether it was genuine is truly the discussion. But a deduction of Arafats activities brings an understanding of genuinity. Hence, his role in trying to resolve the Palestinian problem is herein magnified by his actions of this new resolve. Its evident that with years of unrest and the lack of advancement in resolving the Palestinian problem, Arafat needed to find a new resolve. He needed to settle the Palestinian crisis that now nearly turned into internal feuding. So, by understanding this dire need of change, it must be clear that he, Arafat, chose to change the idea of an armed struggle. It seems that he neither needed the pressure of Israel or the U.S. but rather chose to do it because of situation of the Palestinian people. Hence, it makes the resolution a genuine on Arafats part. Therefore, we see in Arafats change in thought his striving quest of solving the Palestinian problem. Arafats role in dealing with the Palestinian problem could further be evaluated by his actions at Oslo and Camp David. First of all, he dealt with the issue of Palestinian homeland in Palestine with the Oslo Accord. In this regard, Arafat failed to clearly resolve the issue, due to the vagueness of the matter he agreed on. This leads to the next issue of Jerusalem. Arafats Oslo agreements failure is exacerbated by the fact that the continuation of Oslo, (Camp David) broke down with the issue of Jerusalem. This issue of Israeli-Palestinian co-existence was spoken of the most in both talks, but without decisively dealing with this tension point issues, Arafat was doomed to fail. Hence, though Arafat tried to drive and resolve the Palestinian problem peacefully, he achieve no more than his armed resolution. Bibliography: Books: Lukacs, Yehuda, 1992, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict a documentary record 1967-1990, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Barry Rubin Judith Colp Rubin, 2003, Arafat: A Political Biography, Oxford University Press, Inc, New York. Bassam Abu Sharif, 2009, Arafat and the Dream for Palestine, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. T.G. Fraser, 2008, The Arab-Israeli conflict, 3rd ed., Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Brown, Nathan. J, 2003, Palestinian Politics after the Oslo Accord: Arab Palestine, University of Californian Press, London, England. Dan Cohn-Sherbok Dawoud El-Alami (eds), 2008, The Palestine-Israeli Conflict, Oneworld Publication, Oxford, England. Mehran Kamrava, 2005, The Modern Middle East, University of California Press, Ltd, London England. Mark Tesseler, 1994, A History Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, USA, Journals: Simha Flapan, 1987, The Palestinian Exodus of 1948, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Summer, 1987),University of California Press. Websites: UN Partition Plan, 2001, Retrieved 25th January, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/israel_and_the_palestinians/key_documents/1681322.stm Yasser Arafat, Retrieved 25th January, 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat/ Timeline: Yasser Arafat, 2004, Retrieved 25th January, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4004859.stm Political Program Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestine National Council Cairo, 8 June 1974, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://www.un.int/palestine/PLO/docone.html Muin Rabbani, 2000, Encyclopedia Of The Palestinians: Biography of Gassan Kanafani, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Acre/Story168.html Poisoned Mossad chocolate killed PFLP leader in 1977, says book, 2006, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://web.archive.org/web/20060517211510/http://metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060505-102327-8910r Terrorist Organisation Profile: Black September,2007, University of Maryland, Retrieved 26th January, 2010, http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=153 Arafat at the UN general Assembly, 2009, Retrieved 27th January, 2010, http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/pal/pal5.htm Prof. Francis A. Boyle, 2006 Palestine Independence Day, Retrieved 27th January, 2010, http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=vaaid=3864 Why did the PLO suddenly decide, in 1988, that Israel had a right to exist?, Retrieved 27th January, 2010, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_plo_israel_exist_1988.php The Balfour Declaration, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/The+Balfour+Declaration.htm The Population of Palestine Prior to 1948, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm Fateh Constitution, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.alzaytouna.net/arabic/?c=1598a=97061 The Israeli Camp David II Proposal for Final Settlement, Retrieved 20th February, 2010, http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm The Balfour Decleration, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/The+Balfour+Declaration.htm The Third Aliyah, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/Third_Aliyah.html The Population of Palestine Prior to 1948, http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm UN Partition Plan, 2001, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/israel_and_the_palestinians/key_documents/1681322.stm Simha Flapan, 1987, The Palestinian Exodus of 1948, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Summer, 1987), pp. 3-26,University of California Press. Yasser Arafat, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat/ Fateh Constitution, http://www.alzaytouna.net/arabic/?c=1598a=97061 Mark Tesseler, A History Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, USA, 1994, pg. 425 Ibid, pg.426 Yasser Arafat, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat/ Muin Rabbani, 2000, Encyclopedia Of The Palestinians: Biography of Gassan Kanafani, http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Acre/Story168.html Poisoned Mossad chocolate killed PFLP leader in 1977, says book, 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/20060517211510/http://metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060505-102327-8910r. Terrorist Organisation Profile: Black September, 2007, University of Maryland http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=153 ibid Barry Rubin, Judith Colp Rubin, Arafat: A Political Biography, Oxford University Press, Inc, New York, 2003, pg.61 Ibid, pg.61 Ibid, pg.63 Bassam Abu Sharif, Arafat and the Dream for Palestine, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009, pg. T.G. Fraser, The Arab-Israeli conflict, 3rd ed., Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2008, pg.57 Ibid, pg.88 Political Program Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestine National Council Cairo, 8 June 1974, http://www.un.int/palestine/PLO/docone.html ibid Arafat at the UN general Assembly, 2009, http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/pal/pal5.htm Prof. Francis A. Boyle, 2006 Palestine Independence Day, http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=vaaid=3864 The Israeli Camp David II Proposal for Final Settlement, http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm Rubin, op.cit., pg.113 Why did the PLO suddenly decide, in 1988, that Israel had a right to exist?, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_plo_israel_exist_1988.php Mehran Kamrava, The Modern Middle East, University of California Press, Ltd, London England, 2005, pg. 243-244 Ibid, pg.248 ibid Abu Sharif, op.cit., pg.183

Individual Choice In A Clockwork Orange English Literature Essay

Individual Choice In A Clockwork Orange English Literature Essay A Clockwork Orange is a novel that shocks with its explicit violent images, its savage protagonist, difficult language and a cruel prophesy of the future. It is a novel which, with a help of Stanley Kubricks film adaptation, became the main work associated with the name of Anthony Burgess. Burgess, however, was a very prolific artist. He wrote thirty-four works of fiction, fifteen nonfiction books including reviews and criticism, two biographies, plays, screenplays, translations and a great deal of music (Keen 10). Burgess never considered A Clockwork Orange his best novel and have always stayed disappointed that only this one brought him such a huge public attention. He believed he wrote far better, mature books and worried that he would become something of a shadow behind Kubricks film adaptation (Clockwork vii). The authors anxieties came true, in a way, but the truth remains that although it is Stanley Kubrick who made A Clockwork Orange famous, it is Anthony Burgess who created a rare masterpiece that very few readers could stay indifferent to. As Burgess himself admitted, A Clockwork Orange is a rather didactic novel. At one point of his life he became aware of the growing aggression and violence among the youth. In A thousand words before breakfast interview Burgess admitted, that however he despised teenage gangs, he strongly opposed to the proposals of using Pavlovian techniques to deal with violent citizens. He always believed in free will and freedom of choice. Burgess, as a Catholic, was sure, that only by choosing to do good ones soul can be saved. A Clockwork Orange condemns human conditioning and intends to promote the notion of individual choice (Clockwork ix). According to Burgess, it is better for human being to choose evil than not to have a freedom of choice at all. Free will is humans greatest gift that should never be taken away. Burgess admitted, that promoting mens freedom is what he have always been trying to do in his work. What distinguishes A Clockwork Orange from other of his works, is also the speci al language he created for the novel and the fact, that for the first time he made such an explicit use of violence. As an author of a book such full of cruel and sexual images, Burgess was exposed to much criticism and accusation of promoting violence. The novel became to be read as a pure controversy and the intended didactic role was by many readers overlooked. Have the book became famous for its moral values, and not been read as a shocker, it would bring Burgess a completely different fame. Unfortunately for the author, for most people he would always be the one who dared to describe most abhorrent acts of violence and young people with a taste for hatred, blood and rape. But Burgess, in fact, does not like violence and presenting sex in his books. During the interview in Italy in 1974, Burgess said that he also included a biographic element in the book. His first wife have been attacked by a group of soldiers and despite it has not been a sexual attack but the act of robbery, it resulted in her having a miscarriage and supposedly, her eventual death. Burgess wrote a novel that seems to be pornographic but at the same time tries to preach, because such combination had a great chance to make A Clockwork Orange popular. In the same, Italian interview, Burgess stated: Pornography and violence, and the teachy, preachy quality; and when you get these two together you normally produce a book that can become a bestseller. A Clockwork Orange is a very controversial novel. Some call it pornographic, for others its violent imagery is almost impossible to stand. But Anthony Burgess surely did not mean to write a shocker. He aimed the novel to preach, even more than any of his previous works did before. Burgess meant to promote freedom of individual choice and to criticize anyone who would ever dare to take this precious gift away from the human being. Man is not to be conditioned and manipulated, since when a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man (Clockwork 63). 2. Pelagian and Augustinian points of view on Original Sin and Free Will and their reflection in Anthony Burgesss A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess frequently returned in his works to the conflict of authoritarian and libertarian ideas, which he called Pelagian and Augustinian points of view. Pelagianism is named after a monk who argued against the notion of Original Sin, Pelagius. According to G.F. Wiggerss Historical Presentation of Augustinism and Pelagianism from the Original Sources, Pelagius stated, that each infant is born in the same state as Adam has been before he sinned. Adams sin injured only him and not his posterity, so there is no propagation of sin on the following generations. What follows, bodily death is not a punishment, but a necessity of nature. Pelagius believed that man was given free will and salvation is in humans hands, so he is able to do both good and evil. Man is even able, through repentance, to become good again after he has sinned. Consequently, there is an abstract possibility that all man can be perfect. Pelagius, thus, appears as an advocate of libertarian views. The doctrine of Augustinism was quite the contrary. First of all, Adams sin was propagated among all men, so each child is born with the Original Sin. The sin will always be propagated by the sensual lust in the act of procreation and all men are under the power of the devil from the very first moment they are born. As a consequence of the first sin, people suffer the punishment of physical death, pains of parturition and toil of labourers. Augustinism denied the notion of free will, and stated that the only freedom that man has is to sin. Freedom to resists sin has been lost also as a punishment. According to Augustinians, the nature of man is entirely corrupted. Man is always more likely to choose evil rather than good and the only help for a human being is Gods grace (Wiggers 83-115). Burgess often presents history as a cyclical shifts of Pelagian (libertarian) and Augustinian (authoritarian) parties. With authoritarians in power, stability is achieved by strict rules, laws and societal control. The faith in human perfectibility is growing, strict control of authoritarians seems unnecessary and finally, libertarian government gains control. This brings more freedom to the society, but with the contentment comes anarchy and the social stability is lost. There again, society cries for law and order and the new authoritarian party comes to rule. Such a change of governments in power is visible in A Clockwork Orange. The novel begins clearly with a portrayal of an anarchic society and Pelagians in power. After Alex, the protagonist, is released from jail, he realizes that new laws were established and the police forces grown bigger, which indicates that the country is run by Augustinians (Rabinovitz 43-46). The conflict of Pelagianism and Augustinism is also visible in the novels characters. The writer F. Alexander is a libertarian. He believes in human perfectibility. F. Alexander is an author of a book, A Clockwork Orange (a fair gloopy title (Clockwork 18), according to Alex) which presents its authors strongest libertarian views. For F. Alexander, human being is a creature of growth and capable of sweetness (Clockwork 18). Later in the novel, however, his hypocrisy comes to light, and when F. Alexander learns that Alex is the one who raped his wife, he agrees to the plan of driving the young criminal to suicide. Burgess here, by the inability of F. Alexander to stick to his faith, seems to slightly criticize Pelagianism. Young Alex, in opposition to F. Alexander, has many Augustinian characteristics. He is brutal, enjoys crime, holds power (at least at the beginning of the novel) among his droogs and does not believe in the goodness of the human being. 3. Radical behaviourism limiting the freedom of individual choice Burgess strongly opposed to politicians who openly discussed possibilities of introducing conditioning as a way of eliminating criminal instincts. Very popular at that time became the doctrine of B.F. Skinner (1904- 1990) called radical behaviourism. According to Skinner, human behaviour can always be explained in purely physical terms and it can be shaped by operant conditioning through reinforcement and punishment (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Burgess was very much frightened by these new ideas of people-control, conditioning techniques and behaviourists methods of reforming criminals. After the attack on a cat-lady, Alex is deceived by his gang who no longer wants him as a leader and is caught by the police. This is a significant moment in the novel, since for the first time, Alex would be charged with a real punishment. He is taken away to Staja (State Jail) and becomes 6655321 and not your little droog Alex not no longer (Clockwork 57). But however hard is life in prison for the young protagonist, Alex manages to adapt to the conditions rather well. He becomes a help to the prison chaplain and is allowed to listen to his beloved classical music of J.S. Bach or G.F. Handel. What is more, Alex finds a way to enjoy violence by reading the Bible: I would read of these starry yahoodies tolchocking each other and then peeting their Hebrew vino and getting on to the bed with their wives like hand-maidens, real horrorshow. That kept me going, brothers. (Clockwork 60) Alex also, while listening to the classical music, imagines himself helping in the crucifixion of Christ and he generally concludes that being in Staja 84F was not all that wasted (Clockwork 60). Despite everything, however, Alex wanted to be free and saw his chance in Ludovicos Technique. He hears about this new treatment in prison and volunteers to take part in the experiment. Alex is sure that the technique would get him out of prison, he thinks it would be the beginning of his freedom. Ludovicos Technique turns out to be a cruel conditioning method, turning Alex into a mindless and weak machine. The Ludovicos Technique rests on Alex being strapped to a chair and forced to watch movies that consists of cruel and disgusting scenes of violence. He has both his hands and legs chained to the chair, and clips on his forehead so that he could not close his eyes. The movies scenes include the beating of an old man by the young boys, with lots of blood all around, or a multiple rape on a young girl. He is also presented with a film about a Japanese torture during the World War II, where the soldiers are fixed to trees with nails, with fire set under them. The soldiers have their tongues cut off and there is also a scene of one soldiers head being sliced off with a sword. One of such movies is accompanied by the music of Ludwig van Beethoven so from then on, Alex is no longer able to listen to it, which means he is being bereaved of the one and only passion he has got apart from violence in his life, his love for classical music. Watching all the movies is a great torture for Alex, he screams, cries and feels really sick. But the reason of it is not his aversion to blood and violence, it is only the effect of the injections he gets. His personal, psychological attitude toward violence does not change at all. When the Discharge Officer asks him whether he want to hit him, he does, when asked about a job he might get after being set free, his first thought goes to theft. Day by day, however, Alexs organism begins to associate the sight of violence with the feeling of nausea. One time, he begins to crash his head against the wall out of desperation, but has to stop as soon as he realizes that this kind of violence is just like the violence from the films he sees every day. Alex feels sick at the very thought of violence but the treatment still goes on: Every day, my brothers, these films were like the same, all kicking and tolchocking and red red krovvy dripping off of litsos and plots and spattering all over the camera lenses. It was usually grinning and smecking malchicks in the height of nadsat fashion or else teeheeheeing Jap tortures or brutal Nazi kickers and shooters. And each day the feeling of wanting to die with sickness and Gulliver pains and aches in the zoobies and horrible horrible thirst grew really worse. (Clockwork 87-88) The Ludovicos Technique succeeds in making Alex a good boy. He cannot commit any act of violence any longer as gets sick even when thinking about crime. But the state of Alexs consciousness does not change, he does not understand that his violent ways were evil. He is now simply conditioned not to raise his fists against anyone, to the point that he is not even able to defend himself. Anthony Burgess creates a portrait of a human being deprived of his freedom and the right to choose, stripped out of his humanity. The Ludovicos Technique creates a clockwork- machine, which without understanding how and why, never again would dare to think about any acts of force. 4. The concepts of liberty What is liberty has been discussed by philosophers from the beginning of our times. Generally, two kinds of liberty can be distinguished: the abstract one in our minds, the inner feeling of being free and freedom that we achieve by not being restrained by external circumstances. One can lack freedom to achieve goals because he/she has not got enough courage, power or abilities. The amount of freedom can also depend on laws, political order and other external forces. The two basic notions of liberty has been thoroughly discussed by Isaiah Berlin, the British liberal philosopher. In Berlins Two Concepts of Liberty he established the notions of positive and negative liberty. The negative liberty defines to what degree one has, or should have control over his/her actions without the interference of other people, whereas the need of a person to be the master of ones own will and not to feel restrained by others is described as the positive liberty. Restricting ones freedom by others is usually considered a negative phenomenon. However, the individual freedom cannot stay entirely unrestricted as it would lead to a complete social chaos. Philosophers such as Locke and Mill in England, or Constant and Tocqueville from France agreed, that there should exist a minimum amount of personal freedom that cannot be violated under any circumstances. The violation of such freedom makes the moral growth impossible, it prevents one from setting and pursuing goals. The line between the private life of the individual and the public authority should be drawn very clearly (Berlin 117). Philosophers which were optimistic about human nature believed that it is possible to have a wide area of personal freedom and maintain the social order at the same time. Others, such as Hobbes, argued that humans need strict control of authorities to avoid their mutual destruction (121). Mill also agreed that coercion is to be justified whenever we want to prevent depriving people of each others freedom. 4.1. The concepts of positive and negative liberty in A Clockwork Orange before the operation of the Ludovicos technique At the beginning of the novel, Alex is completely free, meaning that he does whatever he wants and whenever he wants it. The police and the authorities are unable to control the young criminalist and he is fully aware of that. Alex breaks the law constantly but until the incident at the cat-ladys house, he has not suffered any consequences of his violent activities. Referring to the terminology of Berlin, the novels protagonist enjoyed a total positive freedom, as he was self- confident and convinced of his impunity. The government, at least at the beginning of the novel seems powerless and unable to control the society, so Alexs negative freedom also stayed unrestricted. The reader may get the idea of how carefree is Alex about the violence and crime just in the very first paragraphs of the novel: Our pockets were full of deng, so there was no real need from the point of view of crasting any more pretty polly to tolchock some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his blood while we counted the takings divided by four, not to do the ultra- violent on some shivering starry grey-haired ptitsa in shop and go smecking off with the tills guts. (Clockwork 3) Alex talks about the horrid violent activities as if they were simple childlike games. Neither does he care about his victims, nor he fears being punished. It seems like for him, other human beings are just puppets which can be used whenever he needs to steal money or have a little fun over the sight of their blood. Alex and his friends spends their time in a Korova Milk Bar, drinking milk laced with drugs, waiting for the drugs to start to kick, so they could go out and enjoy themselves in stealing and assaulting other citizens. When they attack an innocent man, rip his clothes, books and beats him very hard, Alex refers to it as of the nice beginning of the evening: We hadnt done much, I know, but that was only like the start of the evening and I make no appy polly loggies to thee or thine for that. The knives in the milk plus were stabbing away nice and horrorshow now. (Clockwork 8) Later that evening they attack a nearby shop. The boys are then sure to provide themselves with the alibi by buying drinks to some old women sitting at the bar but that does not mean they are afraid of being caught by the police. Indeed, when two young police officers come and ask questions, they are unable to arrest the young criminals although they seem to know they are guilty of the assault. The authorities appear as having no control at all over the gang and Alex comments on the whole situation: But myself, I couldnt help a bit of disappointment at things as they were those days. Nothing to fight against really. Everything as easy as kiss-my-sharries. (Clockwork 12) The society in the first chapters of A Clockwork Orange is given too much of a negative liberty, there is chaos and nearly anarchy. Another Alexs victim, the old drunkard singing on the side of the road complains bitterly about the current state of the world. He doesnt want to live in a stinking world like this (Clockwork 12). When men are flying to the moon and spinning around the earth, there is no attention paid to earthly law nor order no more (Clockwork 13). Again, after the bloody fight with the rival gang (this would be real, this would be proper, this would be the nosh, the oozy, the britva, not just fisties and boots (Clockwork 13)) the police comes but the boys manage to run away and the police officers does not even make an attempt to chase them. As Alexs Post-Corrective Adviser, P.R. Deltoid comments, nobody can prove anything about anybody (Clockwork 30). Out of the two groups, the authorities and the young criminals, it is the latter who appears much smarter, while the police is slow and clearly powerless. Still during the same night, Alex and his gang arrives (with the stolen car) at the cottage outside the town borders. The place is called HOME and to Alex, it is a gloomy sort of a name (Clockwork 17). The passages that follows here are filled with a horrible descriptions of violence and hatred. Ironically, the resident of the house, F. Alexander, is an author of a book, A Clockwork Orange, which preaches about the belief in human goodness and praises liberal values. Alex manages to read an excerpt from it: The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, the attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I rise my sword-pen. (Clockwork 18) What happens to the person who believes in the human race, is that he is being cruelly beaten up and is made to watch his wife being raped by all of the young criminals in turns. In Stanley Kubricks movie the scene was made even more revolting, as the gang members, while raping the innocent woman, were humming the joyful song- Singin in the Rain. To many readers, the violence in the novel is so horrifying that it is hard to stand and the protagonist seems to be a psychopath. But Alex is fully aware of his actions. He knows what is right and what is wrong and he consciously chooses to be bad. He finds evil a natural part of human nature and is irritated with all the discussions about the causes of it: But brothers, this biting of their toe-nails over what is the cause of badness is what turns me into a fine laughing malchick. They dont go into the cause of goodness, so why the other shop? If lewdies are good thats because they like it, and I wouldnt ever interfere with their pleasures, and so of the other shop. And I was patronizing the other shop. More, badness is of the self, the one, the you or me on our oddy knockies, and that self is made by old Bog or God and is his great pride and radosty. But the not-self cannot have the bad, meaning they of the government and the judges and the schools cannot allow the bad because they cannot allow the self. And is not our modern history, my brothers, the story of brave malenky selves fighting these big machines? I am serious with you, brothers, over this. But what I do I do because I like to do. (Clockwork 31) Alex is surely a very bright boy. His thoughts very often struck the reader with quite an intelligence as for a teenager. He is right about the natural existence of both good and evil in the world and very accurately notices a general tendency to discuss the causes of human bad and not good behavior. Alex also argues for the human right of individual choice and opposes all the attempts to restrict his personal freedom. What Alex does not realize, is that he already has a great amount of freedom. No authorities hold any power over him, neither the police, nor school or his parents. He lives in nearly a lawless world in which came true the most pessimistic ideas of philosophers: human beings, when given too much freedom, turn against one another and create a dark and chaotic kind of world. Another aspect of which Alex seems to be completely unaware of is the fact, that while enjoying his freedom to act as he pleases, he infringes the rights of others. The freedom of an individual should end when it starts to violate the liberty of another human being. 4.2. The end of Alexs limitless freedom At the beginning of the novel Alex is presented as an unquestionable leader of his gang. But the other boys slowly grow tired of the dictatorship and decide to rebel. During the attack on the house of the rich old lady, Alex is tricked by his friends and is left behind to be caught by the police. This is the first time that the young criminal would meet the consequences of his actions. The police treats him badly. He is being beaten and offended, just as he used to treat his own victims. Nevertheless, Alex seems to be rather shocked that he can actually become a victim of violence too and the thought that he is being fairly punished does not ever cross his mind, not even after his victims death. After his imprisonment, Alexs moods switches from feeling pity for himself (I was not your handsome young Narrator any longer but a real strack of a sight (Clockwork 51)), humiliating himself (like some real bezoomny veck, I even said: Sorry, brothers, that was not the right thing at all. Sor ry sorry sorry. (Clockwork 52)), to real anger and the feeling of injustice (I thought to myself, Hell and blast you all, if all you bastards are on the side of the Good then Im glad I belong to the other shop (Clockwork 53)). The last of Alexs thought carries a very important message for the whole novel. It underlines the hypocrisy of those, who called themselves good people. The ones who are supposed to be the epitomes of goodness and defend the law, come out as capable of the same vulgarity and violence as Alex and his gang. Anthony Burgess manages to show how difficult and risky it is to classify the world in terms of goodness and evil. On the one hand, Alex only gets what he deserves, but on the other, how can the good be distinguished from the evil, if both turn out to be capable of committing a great wrong? While doing his time in prison, one day, Alex hears about the new like treatment that gets you out of prison in no time at all and makes sure that you never get back in again (Clockwork 62). Alex becomes excited about the new technique but is not aware that what seems as an easy way to regain his freedom, would actually be a brutal end of it. From the very beginning, the prison chaplain warns Alex, that not only is the treatment still in its experimental stage, but it is also an extremely drastic technique. It seems that Anthony Burgess expresses here his deepest concern, the one about the necessity for the human being to have a freedom of individual choice. The very fundamental doubt, for the prison chaplain, is whether a man can be artificially made good: The question is whether such technique can really make a man good. Goodness comes from within, 6655321. Goodness is something chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man. (Clockwork 63) The chaplain also thinks, that perhaps the one who chooses to be bad is in some way better than a person who has goodness imposed upon him (Clockwork 70). Also the Governor is against the Ludovicos Technique, as he sees a desire to get ones revenge as a natural part of human nature. Despite everything, however, after Alex beats another prisoner to death, he gets a chance to become a volunteer for the new treatment. He sees the event as the new beginning of his freedom. Now his criminal instinct will be killed. The evil will be turned into good. At the beginning, Alex feels wonderful and very lucky. He is taken to a new white building, has a whole cell with a bed for himself, he gets a new clean pajamas, and is told that the whole treatment consists only in watching movies and getting an injection of vitamins after every meal. Ludovicos Technique however, turns out to be a cruel form of medical conditioning. Alex is stripped to a chair and forced to watch very drastic and abhorrent movies. The scenes he watches do not disgust him, as Alex himself used to take part in many awful acts of violence, but the injections he gets causes illness. His organism begins to associate the sight of the movies and nausea, so that he begins to feel sick even at the very thought of violence. After the treatment Alex is no longer violent, he is not even able to fight back or defend himself. A day before Alex is to be set free, he goes through a trial. He is given his clothes, boots and razor back and is put in the middle of the big room with a full audience of important figures watching him. After the lights goes down and the spotlight comes on Alex, he sees a man coming up to him. The man welcomes Alex, referring to him as a heap of dirt (Clockwork 92. He stamps of Alexs feet, scratches his face with a fingernail and goes on with offending him. When Alex attempts to get his razor out of his pocket, he immediately feels very sick. Knowing that to stop nausea he has to change his way of thinking, he becomes over-polite and even gets on his knees and licks the mans shoes. Later, on the scene appears a young and very beautiful girl. Alex comment on the impression that she made on him is very point-blank: She came up towards me with the light like it was the like light of heavenly grace and all that cal coming with her, and the first thing that flashed into my gulliver was that I would like to have her right down there on the floor with the old in-out real savage (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) (Clockwork 95) But again he is quickly overtaken by the feeling of nausea and headaches and he has to think of some other way to get close to the girl. Alex assumes a very courteous tone, let me worship you and be like your helper and protector from the wicked like world, he says, let me be like your true king (Clockwork 96). Everyone except the prison chaplain is impressed by how the new techniques changed Alex. The chaplain although alcoholic and a slightly pathetic figure in the novel, is the only person who realizes the great wrong that has been done to the boy and he is certainly a spokesman for Burgesss views in a book: Choice. He has no real choice, has he? Self-interest, fear of physical pain, drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature of moral choice. (Clockwork 94) What Burgess presents is not the success of the behavioural conditioning, but a man stripped out of his freedom of choice and what follows, of his humanity. Even Alex, at first so excited about the Ludovicos Technique, suddenly realizes what have been done to him: Am I just to be like a clock-work orange? (Clockwork 94), he screams at one point. Alex is turned into a true, but clockwork Christian. He is now always ready to turn the other cheek, ready to be crucified rather than crucify. He feels sick even at the thought of killing a fly: And that was right, brothers, because when he said that I thought of killing a fly and felt just that tiny bit sick, but I pushed the sickness and pain back by thinking of the fly being fed with bits of sugar and looked after like a bleeding pet and all that cal. (Clockwork 96) Burgesss message is very clear. An ideal citizen should always decide for himself and not only be artificially made to be good. To have a chance for salvation, man has to choose good over evil. Either conditioned by Pavlovian, Skinners or invented by Burgess Ludovicos technique, human being becomes not only weak but is also deprived of his dignity. What makes the man is his freedom, pride and ability to choose. Without them, he becomes nothing more but a machine, powerless creature in the hands of overwhelming science. 4.3. A clockwork orange set free When Alex is set free again and out in the world, from the local newspaper he gets to know that the world he knew has changed dramatically. The streets are now clean, there is no anarchy anymore and the police is much tougher with the local crime. The freedom of citizens, especially their negative freedom has been restricted. The peace-loving ladies and gentlemen can stroll through the streets again, without the fear of being attacked by any young hooligans. Alex no longer feels like he rules the world, what surrounds him is all unknown to him, he feels sick all the time and do not have a place to go. He is no longer welcome to his home, his possessions have been sold and the new guy called Joy has taken his place and acts like a son to Alexs parents. People look different, fashion has changed and the music shop is now filled with pop music. But Alex in no longer able to enjoy his beloved classical music: It was that these doctor bratchnies had so fix things that any music that was like for the emotions would make me sick just like viddying or wanting to do violence. It was because all those violence films had music with them. And I remembered especially that horrible Nazi film with the Beethoven Fifth, last movement. And now here was lovely Mozart made horrible. (Clockwork 104) Feeling horrible all the time, Alex thinks of committing suicide and goes to the public library to find how to do it without pain, but again he gets nauseous at the sight of illustrations in medical books and the attempt to read the Bible fails him too. He is hopeless and cannot find himself in the new world. When he begins to cry and a very old man tells him he is far too young to die and still has everything in front of him, Alex replies bitterly: Yes. Like a pair of false groodies (Clockwork 107). Alexs situations goes from bad to worse, when