Child Labour Essay Example for Free

Child Labour Essay Child labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. Around the world growing gaps between rich and poor in recent decades have forced millions of young children out of school and into work. The International Labor Organization estimates that 215 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 currently work under conditions that are considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative. Underage children work at all sorts of jobs around the world, usually because they and their families are extremely poor. Large numbers of children work in commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and domestic service. Some children work in illicit activities like the drug trade and prostitution or other traumatic activities such as serving as soldiers. Some social scientists point out that some kinds of work may be completely unobjectionable — except for one thing about the work that makes it exploitative. For instance, a child who delivers newspapers before school might actually benefit from learning how to work, gaining responsibility, and a bit of money. But what if the child is not paid? Then he or she is being exploited. As UNICEF’s 1997 State of the World’s Children Report puts it, Children’s work needs to be seen as happening along a continuum, with destructive or exploitative work at one end and beneficial work promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest at the other. And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development. Other social scientists have slightly different ways of drawing the line between acceptable and unacceptable work. As UNICEF’s 1997 State of the World’s Children Report puts it, Children’s work needs to be seen as happening along a continuum, with destructive or exploitative work at one end and beneficial work promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest at the other. And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development. Other social scientists have slightly different ways of drawing the line between cceptable and unacceptable work. In 2000, the ILO estimates, 246 million child workers aged 5 and 17 were involved in child labour, of which 171 million were involved in work that by its nature is hazardous to their safety, physical or mental health, and moral development. Moreover, some 8. 4 million children were engaged in so-called unconditional worst forms of child labour, which include forced and bonded labour, the use of children in armed confl ict, trafficking in children and commercial sexual exploitation.

Feminist Perspective of The Lie :: Feminism Feminist Women Criticism

Feminist Perspective of The Lie  Ã‚   Women have long struggled and battled against men in an attempt to obtain equality. In the story, "The Lie," the character Sylvia Remenzel portrays many of the qualities in a stereotypical female that women for generations have been trying to prove wrong. Her thoughts and actions, plus the possible opinions of females reflecting upon her character, and the fact that this character was written by a male will show the neglect by which the role was depicted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To begin, Sylvia's questions throughout the story are naive and juvenile.   For example, â€Å"I wonder how many Remenzels have gone to Whitehill,† and â€Å"You think those people will like those rooms?† Questions such as these are simply put and rather unnecessary because they only take up space and disrupt the flow. The question concerning the number of Remenzel family members who have gone to Whitehill has a pretty obvious answer. Her husband in the book even thinks so, That's like asking how many people are dead in a cemetery. To have a female character ask questions that are seemingly simple is putting them back, and placing them in a group outside those with intelligence. The second question concerns a new wing being built onto Whitehill where a group of Africans will be staying. By calling the Africans, those people, gives the   impression that she doesn't see them as equals to herself. In the time period that this story was written, (during the 1970s), the issue of racism was partly over. This character was not trying to be rude, but she did not have the intelligence to think differently. That alone is a very degrading way of thinking, such as giving women less power of thought than men. For example, Mr. Remenzel sees no problem with the Africans attending the school, when he says, The rooms aren't for them, they aren't going to be segregated. By observing these thoughts of Sylvia, one might see the lack of intuition and observation put upon her. These are all examples of the possible feminist view placed upon her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Next, the actions that Sylvia performs show her incomplete personality when it comes to being unique. Her role follows the example that females should be seen and not heard, also, that they are to stay at home and take care of the children. These are qualities that women have been fighting to remove from the minds of society.

Nervous Conditions Essay

Nervous Conditions The choice to resist or comply in situations greatly affects the success and personal relationships of Tambu and Nyasha throughout the Nervous Conditions. Tambu arrives at her uncle’s school initially embracing her education and passion for learning, while there she begins to notice the relationships that existed between the settlers and native, males and females in society. Nyasha understood how awful these relationships were as a young girl. She suffers from severe depression and an eating disorder while trying to cope with and understand these relationships.There are many different decisions made with a variety of strategies that either helps them advance or causes them to fall victim to the controls of colonial society. An educated woman was very uncommon in Zimbabwe during the 1980’s. Tambu decided to pursue her education against her mothers will. You notice the generation gap when her mother says ‘’Can you cook books and feed them t o your husband? Stay at home with you mother. Learn to cook, clean and grow vegetables’’(Ma Shingayi, 15). She decided not to follow the traditional path of women and began selling corn at the market with her teacher to pay for her schooling.Tambu decided to resist fait at a very young age and continued not listening to her family throughout the novel. She felt weighed down by the burdens of womanhood and would not tolerate settling into that lifestyle. Nyasha’s resentment for her parents results in her lashing out and developing an eating disorder. When her mother takes the D. H Lawrence book form her without asking Nyasha begins an argument with her at dinner and storms off without eating. This is the first sign of her nervous condition and foreshadows the escalating problem of her eating disorder. The decision to become bulimic is an attempt to control her life.She feels that her parents are preventing her from becoming the person she wants to be. ‘â₠¬â„¢ They’ve done it to me’’ (Nyasha, 200) she says to Tambu. She feels that she can’t become the confident successful young women she knows is inside her until her parents stop treating her this way. Her parents chose to take away her books, force her to eat and beat her for punishment. This created very strong feelings of hostility towards toward them. These feelings of animosity only get worse throughout the novel as her father gets more controlling to in order to fix her problems.Nyasha’s hatred for her mother goes beyond the issue of them controlling her. This extra hatred for her mother comes from her decision to be her husbands ‘’underdog’’ (Nyasha, 119). She doesn’t believe in the idea of surrendering her dreams and lifestyle to the control of a man. She does not respect her mother for doing this and it only adds to the escalating family conflict. After the Christmas dance Nyasha decided to resist the rules set by her father to hang out with Andy. Babamukuru calls her a whore and beats her, threatening to kill her and hang himself.After all of this Nyasha says this to Tambu ‘’ you cant go on all the time being whatever’s necessary. You’ve got to have some conviction, and I’m convinced I don’t want to be anyone’s underdog. It’s not right for anyone to be that. But once you get use to it well, it just seems natural and you carry on. And that’s the end of you. You’re trapped. They control everything you do’’ (Nyasha, 119). This shows the resentment she has for her mother. She disobeys her father to show that she is not going to be controlled like that. In her eyes she is getting a head by doing this but it only makes her father more controlling.As the preparations began for her parents wedding Tambu became resentful towards Babamukru for ‘’having devised this plot which made such a joke of my parents my home and myself’’ (Tambu, 151) She becomes anxious and angry with her uncle for not understanding how torn she was with this situation. Tambu decides not to go to the wedding; this is the first time she has stood up for herself in Babamukru’s house. After the ceremony she has some regret for not going but the fact that she was able to make her own decision made it all worth it. ‘’guilt, so many razor sharp edges of it, slice away at me.My mother had been right; it was unnatural; I would not listen to my own parents, but I would listen to Babamukuru even when he told me to laugh at my parents. There was something unnatural about me. ’’(Tambu, 167) This wedding made her realize how much she had just been just doing everything he said even if it was wrong and this made her feel very week. Making the decision not to go gave her a ‘’newly acquired identity’’(Tambu, 171) and she gladly took the lashings and punishment for it. When the nuns from Sacred Heart came to the mission school to recruit they offer Tambu a scholarship and a position at the school.Maiguru stands up for Tambu when Babamukuru shuts down the idea. She accepts the offer to the Convent School and becomes so focused on her education she fails to see the effects of this situation on her personal relationships with Nyasha and her friends. Nyasha writes her letters revealing her struggles and how she is on a ‘’diet. ’’ Tambu is so caught up in her studies that she chooses not to write back and help her. When she returns to the mission her friends Maidei and Jocelyn will no longer talk to her. They are very resentful that she left them to go to the white catholic school.Tambu seems very caught up in the colonial society and is slowly loosing track of her roots and connection to the homestead. During her first trip home form Sacred Heart her mother warns her of Englishness and how it is the ma in cause of Nyasha’s Problems. She tries to remove that thought from her head but you notice it stayed with her when she says. ‘’ Quietly, obtrusively and extremely fitfully, something in my mine began to assert itself, to question things and refuse to be brain washed, bringing me to this time when I can set down this story it was a long and painful process for me that process of expansion. ’ (Tambu, 208) She starts questioning her decisions and what she has lost or given up as a result of them. Sacred Heart is no longer her main focus; this shows a significant change in how she views life. Through characters like Nyasha and Tambu one can directly see the struggle that colonialism created for women along with the apparent issues between African men and women during this time period.The decisions that were made either got these girls to the next step in their lives or left them stuck in conflict and abuse. Both Tambu and Nyasha are very set on making there own decisions and finally stand up for them selves against Babamukuru. The beating they receive from making some decisions sets them back but they feel as if it rejuvenates them and gives them power over his control. Works Cited Tsitsi, Dangaremba. Nervious Conditions. London: The Women’s Press Ltd, 1988

The Fate Of Shakespeare s Oedipus The King - 918 Words

Are prophecies or fate self-fulfilling destiny? Is it predestined? Several of literatures have shown prophecies play an important role on shaping the fate. Oedipus the King by Sophocles and Macbeth by William Shakespeare are both known for tragic play; they both share a parallel phenomenon, of fate and prophecy. However, two protagonists desire is opposite, one destroy his own life trying to avoid while another destroy his life by trying to fulfill the destiny. Sophocles portrays Oedipus whose life is ruin by the prophecy whereas, for Shakespeare presents a Macbeth, who destroys his life trying to achieve his destiny. Macbeth and Oedipus the King, are well known play. The plays are from different time period yet they both have similar plots that center on a concept of characters fates are inescapable. Both characters fore ¬seen directly and indirectly their destiny and unavoidably comes true. In Macbeth, the three witches tell Macbeth that he would become king and it becomes a reality in his mind and follows that goal until it was accomplish. Likewise, in Oedipus the King, Oedipus finds his fate that he would one day kill his own biological father and marry his own birth mother; he tries to escape his destiny yet he was unable to. At the end, Oedipus says â€Å"I am agony†¦My Destiny, my dark power, what a leap you made† (Sophocles, pg. 238). Nevertheless, these two literatures presents two characters who have a predestine future, which they accomplish. In Oedipus the King,Show MoreRelatedTragic Hero1598 Words   |  7 Pagesbirth). 2. Hamartia (translated as tragic flaw, somewhat related to hubris, but denoting excess in behavior or mistakes). 3. A reversal of fortune (peripetia) brought about because of the hero s tragic error. 4. The discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero s own actions (anagnorisis). 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In Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus the King† and Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet† (two of the most renowned tragedies ever written), lay the keys to unearthing the facts about what characteristics produce the ultimate tragedy. â€Å"Oedipus the King† tells the terrible tale of a brilliant man who became king of Thebes and later discovers that he is the cause of a plague on the city because he killed his father and marriedRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Oedipus Rex 1442 Words   |  6 Pagestheir lifetime have likely heard the name, Shakespeare. A true mogul of the Elizabethan Theatre era, Shakespeare has written 37 plays and over 154 sonnets that are still performed on stages today. Similarly, anyone who has ever picked up a book has read about Sigmund Freud or some of his theories. Freud established many of the modern practices used in psychiatry and taught in psychology classes worldwide. Freud is a pioneer of psychology just as Shakespeare is to literature and theatre. They are twoRead More Willy Loman as Tragic Hero of Death of a Salesman Essay1519 Words   |  7 PagesSalesman       Willy Loman, the title character of the play, Death of Salesman, exhibits all the characteristics of a modern tragic hero. This essay will support this thesis by drawing on examples from Medea by Euripedes, Poetics by Aristotle, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, and Shakespeares Julius Caesar, while comments by Moss, Gordon, and Nourse reinforce the thesis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Death of Salesman, by Arthur Miller, fits the characteristics of classic tragedy. ?.... this is, first of all, a playRead MoreThe Origins Of Drama And Theatre2001 Words   |  9 PagesDionysus (Powell 68). Tragedy is, according to Aristotle, â€Å"an imitation of an action that is admirable† (10). Tragedy therefore deals with more than the common folk, and deals with more than common occurrences. It is more likely to deal with the fate of great kings, and heroes (Simpson). The audience for Greek tragedies were most likely middle class, meaning that they may have been perfectly fine watching a play about hero’s of greater importance, instead of commoners of lesser importance. Aristotle goesRead MoreEssay on Oedipus the King by Sophocles2040 Words   |  9 PagesThe play, Oedipus the King by Sophocles presents a grim hamartia caused from a terrible deed of long ago. Oedipus the protagonist is the powerful King of Thebes and h eld of high estate by the people of Thebes. As the terrible deed of Oedipus’s becomes apparent to both Oedipus and the City of Thebes his tragic flaw is slowly realized. The play will show â€Å"tragic power resides in human failing, hamartia, constantly underpinning any sense of the inevitable† (Walton). The play will show the author’s viewRead MoreKing Lear, By William Shakespeare938 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s tragic play King Lear is a play that occupies a critical place in the great playwright’s cannon. Harold Bloom noted that it, along with Hamlet, can be thought of as a kind of â€Å"secular scripture or mythology†. If we accept Bloom’s reading, then it becomes possible to read the play as a kind of a parable and to read it’s symbolism in terms of the way that those symbols have been teased out in scripture and in mythology. In particular, this essay will consider how blindness functionsRead MoreThe Trage dy Of Oedipus Rex And Shakespeare s Othello And Oedipus 2344 Words   |  10 PagesOthello and King Oedipus Rex Fall into this class of literature, even though they were written by two totally different authors and in two utterly different time periods. These two works share several comparisons to every different, while having an honest quantity of variations similarly. Pride is characterized as one of the seven deadliest sins. Most pleased individuals will never see themselves as to be genuinely glad until they encounter the results of their pride. Sophocles and Shakespeare both locationRead MoreComparing Hamlet And Oedipus Rex1868 Words   |  8 PagesJohn Q. Davis English 103 Date†¦.. Hamlet Oedipus Rex In Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, there is a seemingly close common relationship shown between the two plays regarding mainly the community and era in which they took place in. As well as different scenes throughout both stories which show very similar ideas from the writers such as, murder being the common theme in both plays. One example comes from the story, Oedipus the King, and it is that there is a direct relationship