Category: Heritage

Jainism is one of the world’s oldest religions. It is a traditional Indian religion that has survived alongside other Indian religions since the pre-historic times (Tobias, 2000). Currently, it has less than 5 million followers. This adds up to almost 1% of the total Indian population. This traditional religion has withstood the test of time since it is influential beyond its few followers. The name Jainism is a Sanskrit derivative word meaning “followers of the conqueror” (Sangave, 2001). Lord Mahavira was a great hero of the 16th century who established this traditional Indian religion as it is practiced today (Tobias, 2000). This paper will examine how Lord Mahavira is viewed by Jains today, what he advocated for in his teachings, and the essential teachings of Mahavira that have been handed over by his followers from one generation to another.

Lord Mahavira is a well-recognized figure in the Jain religion. He was the 24^th and the last Tirthankar. The latter is an individual who helps in attaining enlightenment and liberation by becoming a leader and hence a role model for those who are in search of spiritual guidance (Tobias, 2000). Sometimes, the term Tirthankar among the Jains may be used to mean the full moon. All the same, he was a great leader who is still respected by the followers of this religion up to date. According to the Jain’s philosophy, an individual can only become a Tirthankar if he has attained a state of perfection which is achieved through self-realization and continued meditation (Sangave, 2001). These individuals become gods with utmost respect among the Jains although they are born as normal human beings. Some of the other names used to identify the Tirthankar are Arihant and Jina (Sangave, 2001). All the three names have symbolic meanings, attributes of greatness that graduate an individual into a god. Lord Mahavira possessed all these attributes and hence elevated his status to a god amongst the Jains (Sangave, 2001).

The name Mahavira, meaning the brave one, is believed to have been given to him by an angel while he was playing with his friends as a young boy (Sangave, 2001). Mahavira was born in a well to do family but he left all the wealth behind and decided to become a monk where he led an exemplary life of perfection and avoided harming any form of life including animals and plants. Among the Jains, an individual that had become a Tirthankar knew everything from the past, present and even the future (Sangave, 2001).

He was therefore, respected greatly amongs the Jains. His childhood was a bit challenging to him, whereby he had to endure many sufferings. At the age of 30 years, he left his home and decided to become a monk. He spent twelve years of his life fasting and meditating before he attained the state of a Tirthankar. This is a significantly longer period for an individual to endure any form of suffering and deal with it in the most humane manner since he was able to deal with all the sufferings. He was also able to forgive any individual who wronged him and he remained extremely calm and peaceful during the twelve years. As such, he is considered to be an important individual among the Jains. He attained the status of a god at the age of 42 years and became a Jina. He is currently recognized by his followers as the last Tirthankar to have ever existed in this world (Sangave, 2001).

Lord Mahavira is recognized by the Jains for having revived their religion and revitalized it in such a way that it has withstood the test of time. He came up with a religious order that is currently being observed by the Jains (Sharma, 2001). He devised four major categories that were used in grouping people in this religion. These groups are the Monks, Nuns, Shravikas, and the Shravaks (Sangave, 2001). These groupings ensured all people in this religion had a group to identify with. These groupings were composed based on the clergy, the ordinary religious followers, and the gender factors. These were also the founding principles that ensured that the followers of this religion maintained a particular line of faith. The routine of carrying out their religious practices was also put in place. This order is currently known as the Jain Sangh (Sangave, 2001).

Lord Mahavira had twelve disciples who helped in preserving his teachings for the sake of the future generations (Sharma, 2001). These disciples were known as Ganadhars. They were also the great scholars of ancient times among the Jains. These twelve Ganadhars are the ones who compiled Lord Mahavira’s teachings into twelve scriptures called Agamas (Sharma, 2001). Each scripture was written by a one of the twelve Ganadhars. Before these scriptures were compiled, they were passed by word of mouth from one generation to another. These disciples wrote these scriptures about 890 years from the time Lord Mahavira died (Sharma, 2001). The teachings of Lord Mahavira as recorded in the scriptures are what define the Jainism religion.

Jainism is a religious practice founded during the reign of Lord Pärshvanäth. This religious leader was characterized by violent and inhuman sacrifices (Sharma, 2001). These sacrifices were carried out in order to appease the gods. When Lord Mahavira came into being, he was completely against such practices. The followers of Jainism recognized him for his non-violent approach towards religious practices (Sharma, 2001). He is said to have opened the eyes of the Jains as far as building a harmonious and happy society is concerned.

His preachings and sermons encouraged peaceful coexistence among all living things. The latter is what revitalized the traditional Jain religion to its modern status. His service to the Jain people took around thirty years when he was a preacher and believer in the rule of non-violence. Towards the end of his service to the people, he was upgraded to a Nirväna (Sharma, 2001). He was thereafter, released from the cycle of life due to this status. Therefore, he could not undergo reincarnation again. He rather became a god called Saddha. These are some of the achievements that make him an important god of the Jains.

Lord Mahavira was a non-radical atheist. His teachings were centered on peaceful coexistence among all people. He believed that the most important thing in human’s life was developing internal truth that leads into the attainment of spiritual freedom by an individual. He traversed many places all over India passing the same message. Contrary to his predecessor, he believed that peace was an extremely important part of religious practice. This explains why he advocated for non-violent approach to religious matters (Sharma, 2001). However, he had some form radical behavior while conducting his practice as a believer of the Jain religion. He putting on some kinds of clothing and also travelled on foot without putting on shoes. He believed in the sanctity of life and the importance of protecting it and not harming any form of life in any way. He took radical measures to ensure that any form of life is not interfered with throughout his life. It may appear to be grossly radical if some of his belief systems are practiced in the world today.

Lord Mahavira preached to people from all spheres of life including the poor, rich, women, men, political leaders and ordinary people, priests as well as the nobles. This expanded the number of followers of the Jainism from a small tribal religion into one of the second largest religions in India after Hinduism. He achieved this since he had organized his followers into four groups as earlier mentioned. This necessitated efficient passing of messages bearing in mind that he had to uniquely deal with individuals depending on nature of the ginven group.

The ultimate message of Lord Mahavira’s teaching was based on attaining freedom from the basic cycles of life (Jain, 2009). In his message, he came up with the major ways that his followers could use in order to overcome the cycles of life and its challenges and hence attain the ultimate status. Once an individual had freed himself from challenges in life such as pain and death, then he or she would have attained a permanent heavenly state. These are some of the teachings that completely differentiated him from the rest of his predecessors.

Lord Mahavira’s teachings are known to have transformed the religious practice of the Jains. His teachings became a way of life among the followers. The most important part of his religious practice was the inclusion of the four groups of people as the major groupings that the Jains had to belong. This practice is still observed to date. He was known to be a reformer who is still being respected for the changes he brought in Jainism. Therefore, he laid the foundations of the current faith of Jainism. He equally expanded the pillars of this religion from four to five (Jain, 2009). These pillars are also vows that all Jainism followers undertake. They include nonviolence, truthfulness, avoiding theft, chastity, and non-attachment. Lord Mahavira developed the non-attachment vow.

The spiritual understanding of the Karma is another important teaching of Lord Mahavira that is still in use up to date. He believed that every creature is born with natural instincts that control its daily deeds (Sethia, 2004). A human being has the ability of differentiating good deeds from bad ones and the use of this ability defines how life cycle transforms (Jain, 2009). The accumulation of bad deeds amounts to Karma. In this state, the heart of an individual seeks worldly pleasures and material possessions. His teachings suggested that the accumulation of Karma because of becoming worldly results into self-centeredness. This in turn results to anger, greed, hatred, and any other form of vise that make the soul impure. The Jain religion believes in avoidance of any practice that is worldly as it accumulates to committing Karma. This is an important pillar of Jainism (Jain, 2009).

Mahavira taught his followers about nature from a scientific point of view. He emphasized the meaning of life as defined by scientists and how the real meaning of nature and life can be realized in one’s life (Jain, 2009). He devised three fundamental factors that are to be observed by an individual in order for him/her to realize the meaning and nature of life. His philosophy was based on having the right faith, the right knowledge, and the right conduct. His followers have retained his detailed explanations of these teachings for several generations.

The right faith is the most cumbersome thing for an individual to decide. However, his followers believe that he offered them the direction to choose the right faith (Sethia, 2004). Therefore, he offered his followers an option of choosing the right faith. Once an individual has the right faith, it is necessary to follow the requirements of this faith in order to realize the other two fundamentals that were put in place by Lord Mahavira.

Mahavira’s message was rich with pieces of advice that offered his followers the knowledge needed to face life as religious people. He believed that life was a puzzle (Sethia, 2004). He did not base his teachings on some distant god. He derived the teachings and taught them according to his own understanding. This gave his followers an understanding that they needed to maintain a dignified life. The latter is one of the basic principles of Jainism. He also believed that the accumulation of Karma obscured an individual’s knowledge. Therefore, attaining knowledge can only be realized if an individual is free from Karma.

The right conduct is yet another major teaching of Mahavira that is still observed by people who believe in Jainism (Tobias, 2000). The only way an individual could have reached this point was by identifying the correct path of faith (Sethia, 2004). Mahavira’s teachings as well as his life are based on what he believed constituted the right conduct in life. Most people who observe Jainism try to emulate his teachings and way of life in an attempt of conducting themselves in the right manner. He treasured life and preached the non-violent philosophy which was intended to ensure a life full of kindness to all living things. He came up with the rules of good conduct as being truthful, non-violent, ability to control sexual desires, and not stealing from one another (Tobias, 2000).

From Lord Mahavira’s teachings, many of his followers were impressed. He offered a way that made religious practice to be natural and simple. He simplified Jainism by abandoning complex ritual practices such as performance of sacrifices. Through his messages, the followers were able to attain spiritual freedom and internal satisfaction (Sethia, 2004). His successful eradication of the “god” concept among his followers is also one of his greatest achievements (Tobias, 2000). He came up with a philosophy of human supremacy that his followers believed. Moreover, the most important aspect of this belief system was the need to possess positive attitude in life.

His teachings treated both men and women equally (Tobias, 2000). This is also a distinctive feature that helped him establish influence over many women who decided to abide by his teachings. All of them were determined to attain the ultimate happiness as he had promised. Due to the diversification of his preaching, Jainism grew in India in terms of influence and become more complex with time. This made Jainism to become a major traditional religious practice in India. In the modern India, it is recognized as one of the oldest religious practices.

References

Jain, A. K. (2009). Faith & Philosophy of Jainism: Indian religions series (Vol. 6). New Delhi, India: Gyan Publishing House.

Sangave, V. A. (2001). Facets of Jainology: Selected Research Papers on Jain Society, Religion, and Culture. Mumbai, India: Popular Prakashan.

Sethia, T. (2004). Ahiṃsā, Anekānta and Jainism: Lala Sunder Lal Jain research series, (Vol. 21). New Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass.

Sharma, A. (2001). A Jaina Perspective on The Philosophy of Religion: Lala Sunder Lal Jain research series (Vol. 16). New Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass.

Tobias, M. (2000). Life Force: The World of Jainism. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company.

The concept behind achieving “a learning experience deemed religious” is by understanding that it is something that is not limited to a specific group of people that belong to that particular religion. Instead, it can be achieved by anyone through the internalization of the history of that religion and how it has impacted a particular culture and society. By knowing what the religion stands for, its tenets and principles and what the groups of people that belong to it have endured over the years, you are thus able to internalize it, appreciate it and achieve a learning experience that is deemed religious (Kashner 10).

One of the best examples of such a situation was the class trip to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York and its rather auspicious connection to the recently concluded Jewish holiday of Purim. Purim commemorates a dark period in history where the Jewish people were almost annihilated through the machinations of a biblical, historical figure by the name of Haman (Schellekens 120).

Fortunately, a series of events took place that helped to prevent this senseless slaughter which resulted in the holiday being created. The reason the visit can be considered as being auspicious concerning Purim is due to the Holocaust exhibit that is one of the more prominent displays in the museum. When looking at the sheer amount of suffering and death that occurred during the terror of the Nazi regime and realizing that this is not the first time that the Jewish people have come close to utter annihilation with thousands being killed, you cannot help but develop a deep and abiding respect for them (Nesfield 47).

Here are people that have died for their faith, they have endured innumerable hardships, gone through horrific tortures and yet they continue to stand proudly for their beliefs (Rowland 70). Looking at exhibits such as the Garden of Stones and the various chronological sections depicting the achievements of the Jewish people, the one aspect that can be taken from this is that the Jewish people have taken their suffering in stride. Despite all the horrors, tortures and deaths, the museum trip showed me that the Jewish people still hold strongly to the very beliefs and traditions that they have been murdered for (Seipp 725).

Some may consider this foolish, for me, this is a sign of strength since to hold onto your convictions and beliefs despite the tortures you have endured is a sign of amazing willpower and faith in the divine. What this learning experience deemed religious means to me are a sense of wonder and somber realization. It is a sense of wonder since the experience showed a proud and strong people that have endured much in the name of faith, something which I doubt I have the strength for. It is also a somber realization since the hate and bigotry that caused the suffering of the Jewish people continues to exist in the world today, albeit in a different form.

All in all, this was a valued learning experience since it has helped me to understand more about the traditions, history, and faith in the face of adversity that has come to define Jews around the world. The experience has taught me that we should heed the lessons that history has shown us and remember how it has a habit of repeating itself.

Works Cited

Kashner, Zoe. “Surviving THE Holocaust.” Junior Scholastic 117.5 (2014): 10. Print

Nesfield, Victoria. “Keeping Holocaust Education Relevant In A Changing Landscape: Seventy Years On.” Research In Education 94 (2015): 44-54. Print

Rowland, Antony. “Reading Holocaust Poetry: Singularity And Geoffrey Hill’s ‘September Song’.” Textual Practice 30.1 (2016): 69-88. Print

Schellekens, Jona. “Accession Days And Holidays: The Origins Of The Jewish Festival Of Purim.” Journal Of Biblical Literature 128.1 (2009): 115-134. Print

Seipp, Adam R. “Buchenwald Stories: Testimony, Military History, And The American Encounter With The Holocaust.” Journal Of Military History 79.3 (2015): 721-744. Print.

Introduction

Methodism is one of the currents of Protestantism that originated in the 18th century within the Anglican Church, the founder of which is John Wesley. Methodism’s supporters are distinguished by perseverance and method in studying the Bible and observing its prescriptions; the basis of the creed is the Anglican creed, cult, and organization. The direction has its norms, standards, dogmas, principles, and concepts, which are transmitted and distributed “from hand to hand” in order “to be true to its divinely appointed mission” (The Methodist Church, 2021). The Methodist Doctrinal Heritage is a unique and inimitable human heritage, erected properly for the dissemination of biblical holiness and evangelical faith.

Understanding the Concept

Definition

The Methodist Doctrinal Heritage expresses faith in the Almighty, embodied in Jesus Christ, which is necessary for the salvation of the human body, soul, and spirit. As practice shows, the heritage includes various liturgical forms, ranging from the so-called high forms inherited from the Anglican Church, and ending with the simple worship characteristic of Protestantism, which does not recognize liturgical rites. It properly focuses on understanding God and His love in Christ during the crisis of human existence. It is known for sure that the “ancient message” that has come down to modern times carries teachings that continue to inspire believers to this day in an attempt to convey and spread the saving Gospel to the world according to its needs and aspirations. As a rule, the concepts outlined in the teaching, such as personal conversion and salvation, always imply a desire for missionary work and service to the world. Biblical holiness entails personal piety, and the love of God always implies good relations with neighbors and the pursuit of justice.

Historical Account and Story Line

In fact, the Methodist Doctrinal Heritage has deep roots that “sprouted” in the bosom of the Anglican Church, separating at the end of the XVIII century. At a certain period, John Wesley believed that Methodists can be called people who strictly follow the Holy Scriptures and live according to the method that the Lord approved in the Bible (What united Methodists believe, n.d.). Currently, Methodists identify their teaching with the Arminian concept of free will, which is bestowed by sanctifying grace.

A unique feature of Methodism, especially among American communities, is the time when intensified charitable activities among the needy are emphasized. Another feature of the spiritual practice of Methodism is the moment during which, on one of the appropriate Sundays, Methodists annually renew a personal covenant with God. During this practice, a service compiled by John Wesley is used called the “Prayer of the Covenant.”

The theology of the sacraments and liturgy in Methodism follows the trend of historical interpretation and teaching of the Anglican Church, which is primarily because the founder John Wesley and his younger brother Charles Wesley were Anglican clergymen. In addition, Methodists recognize only two sacraments: Baptism and the Eucharist. Without defining how transubstantiation takes place, they believe that they accept the Body and Blood of Christ, who gives redemption in Holy Communion (The articles of religion of the Methodist church, 2019). Nevertheless, there are also numerous other means of grace that are bestowed in a sacramental way.

Reflection

In my opinion, the Methodist doctrinal heritage has a rich history and glorious traditions. I think that it is a legacy that deserves recognition and respect for the formation of mutual understanding between people and the creation of a better life. The teachings of the evangelical faith presented in Methodist teaching were originally founded and continue to follow divine revelation as the highest rules of faith and practice (The Methodist Church, 2021). It seems to me that the Methodist Doctrinal Heritage fills life with meaning, and answers the question of what a person lives for, and what they strive for. In other words, it allows one to register an individual’s life in eternity and makes it significant for the universe as a whole. Following the experience of the predecessors gives some attempt to believe that the life of each human is significant for the fate of the entire universe.

Contribution as a Lay Pastor

By trying on the role of a Lay Pastor, I would contribute to Methodist Heritage Month in my Circuit in the following way. Thus, I will bring a special diversity to the celebration of Heritage Month through the glorification of other peoples, races, nationalities, and cultures. For example, in this case, I may focus on encouraging parishioners to come to church in various traditional costumes, symbolizing their bright personality and nature. Moreover, I would have a general conversation with several participants. Therefore, this would allow us to discuss and identify the positive aspects of our joint work and to note the shortcomings that could be eliminated within a month. In fact, it is necessary to take steps that will give an impetus to build more positive relationships with other people and make our congregation more hospitable to them. Consequently, these procedures will allow the followers of the Methodist Church to get to know and understand each other better, relying on completely different experiences, customs, values, traditions, and languages (How may united Methodists observe heritage months?, n.d.). In other words, such processes will allow achieving recognition, respect, and mutual understanding between people.

Conclusion

It should be stated that the Methodist doctrinal heritage is a legacy professing the principle of the universal priesthood. It teaches that some of the believers are called and ordained to perform spiritual duties — to preach the gospel, and perform the sacraments and spiritual guidance. In my opinion, the experience of the Methodist predecessors gives certain answers to the questions that appear whenever studying the world and comprehending the great mystery. With the help of heritage, a person’s life is filled with meaning, and his further path is illuminated. Moreover, as a Lay Pastor, I would spend Months of Methodist Heritage based on trends of diversity and diversification, taking into account cultural diversity and the importance of all races and nations.

Bibliography

How may united Methodists observe heritage months?. (n.d.). The United Methodist Church.

The articles of religion of the Methodist church. (2019). The United Methodist Church.

The Methodist Church. (2021). The constitutional practice and discipline of the Methodist church: Volume 2. Order of The Methodist Conference.

What united Methodists believe. (n.d.). Queen’s Chapel UMC.

Introduction

China is one of the Asian states with a rich historical background that entails a continuum of social, economic, and political growth and development stories articulated for a number of decades. The entire development story of the Republic of China entails a great connection between political ideologies and significant transformations witnessed in its modernity.

The Chinese political history carries the story of the mainland China that earmarked significant political changes after the Communist Party of China (CPC) clinched political victory (Deng and Brien 537).

During the Chinese Civil War in the 1949, Mao Zedong declared sovereignty in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) after rescuing it from the Tiananmen. Although China has undergone enormous political evolution through several imperial dynasties, the Maoist legacy has remarkably dominated the Chinese culture for a long time.

Even though it is synonymous to many Chinese, some are still unaware of the Maoist legacy. This paper seeks to investigate how the Maoist legacy is received in the contemporary China.

Mao Zedong and the legacy of Maoism

Prehistorically, the Chinese nationalism rested upon the traditional ideology of capitalism that embodied itself through ethicized political and social institutions (Deng and Brien 543). Immediately after clinching power during the Chinese Civil War through the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mao Zedong started restoring the socio-cultural identify of China through instigating social revolution.

These social reforms developed by the Communist Party in the 1949 principally “aimed at transforming the traditional China from very unequal petty capitalist society into a centrally planned socialist economy modeled after the Soviet Union” (Whyte 229).

The era of transition from totalitarian and unequal nationalism ended in 1956 when China became a unified nation marked by cooperation and organized people’s communes in the 1958.

Although the majority of the Chinese peasant families owned small private farms that were important for growing and keeping animals for home consumption, they engaged in the collective farms. These families dedicated most of their time in labor energy and work time in the collective farms as strategized by the Mao government.

Nationalism for the Chinese people grew from racial divide characterized by capitalism during the pre-colonial period into a mixture of Western and Chinese philosophies that rest upon the idea of National Socialism. Rather than urban working class, the Maoism ideology considered agrarian peasantry as an essential force of converting from capitalism to socialism.

The convictions and perceptions of the Maoism ideology rested upon the notion that agriculture can provoke a suitable foundation towards National Socialism. Fueled by the Maoist political regime, Maoism used the guerrilla warfare that mobilized a large population of rural civilians to rebel against urbanely established institutions provoked national ethnical split according to Mao.

Maoist ideology and the Mao government considered the industrial urban modernism as the driving force towards national split, with individuals divided into social classes. Consisting approximately 80% of the national population, the Chinese rural revolution that comprised empowerment of locals through peasantry and collective agricultural development, contributed significantly to certain Chinese modern aspects.

Mao Zedong influenced the Chinese lives from political perception to cultural elements, especially through his participation in the artistic works of the Chinese communities. While embarking on the restoration of social equality among the Chinese communities, Mao went ahead and established means of spreading his revolutionary aim through artistic works.

Through the efforts of his cohorts, family, and other followers, Mao embraced the use of arts in communication with masses in order to achieve his sociopolitical movement agendas. Apart from having a strong commercial impact on the Chinese people, the revolutionary theatrical techniques developed by Mao and his regime where model operas emerged, have been crucial to date.

The revolutionary art that Mao developed aimed at ridiculing enemies of social and cultural changes that were important in the development of a socially equal China. According to Taylor, the theatrical expressions used in the revolutionary theatres represented significant satirical and graphical condemnation of the enemies of social equality (35).

Maoist legacy as viewed contemporary China

Over the subsequent years, after the demise of Mao as a social legend, questions have prevailed whether the idea of social equality is practicable in the contemporary China, with evidence pointing out the reemergence of inequality in China.

Despite having significantly transformed the Chinese sociopolitical development for the few decades that the Chinese considered it imperative, Maoism might not have managed to change the Chinese capitalism behavior (Whyte 230).

While a majority view Maoism political philosophy as a failed legacy in the context of the contemporary Chinese leadership, the iconic leadership of Mao still lingers in the minds of many Chinese people.

Modern Chinese have however shown considerable interest towards the traditional Maoism ideology and celebrated Mao’s socialist icons through Art and filmmaking, social mobilization, and even through modern commercial operations.

Although it remains controversially debated between modern Chinese reformers and Maoism conformists, the abovementioned social and commercial paradigms have continuously celebrated Maoist egalitarianism legacy through a continuum of contemporary Chinese activities.

Maoist legacy in art and filmmaking

One of the areas that Maoist political ideology influenced the Chinese community is through cultural transformations that Mao personally initiated. Mao and his social equality reforms targeted leveling and instilling fairness through reduced gaps in incomes, moderated individual’s lifestyles, and even equalized consumption.

Whyte postulates, “The Cultural Revolution launched by Mao in 1966 added new radical elements to China’s Soviet-inspired organizational template” (230). During this moment, Mao eliminated all production bonuses, prizes, material incentives, and cleared all displays that denoted disparities in clothing or adornment.

Mao and his regime ensured social equality even through removing signs of rank in the military uniforms, which brought about moderately unvarying and unisex dressing style that influenced the Chinese significantly (Whyte 230).

At this point, the Chinese art started taking shape and the contemporary China has demonstrated this form of legacy through different forms of modern art and filmmaking. Modern performance, theatrical, painting, music, literature, and animations arts have followed Maoist socialism.

Maoist socialist legacy is contemporarily dominating the Chinese acting and filmmaking realm with theatrical actors integrating the cultural revolutionary aspects demonstrated by Mao into their arts.

As Taylor notes, artists are currently using Maoist legacy in theatrical acting, including the model operas that currently represents the officially sanctioned theatre that Mao officiated during the era of Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) (27).

The principle theatre of Mao is becoming regularly practicable in the acting and performance arts of the modern Chinese film industry. In the post-Mao era, and especially years of the 20^th century, there has been an influx of Chinese stage or theatrical arts directed in the traditional Chinese Mao practice.

Movies and theatrical plays have taken the practice of revolutionary opera or the model operas that emerged during the reign of Jiang Qing, the wife of Mao, who shaped the performance art. Maoist revolutionary films, artistic works, and other theatrical arts have currently turned to developing and reshaping the Maoist revolutionary arts.

The innovative revolutionary theatrical forms currently practiced by actors have their roots to the Maoist socialism with Jiang Qing behind these transformations. These revolutions also influenced the development of the Soviet agitprop theatres, which are currently useful in the Chinese acting practices (Taylor 30).

The revolutionary opera developed by Mao and his wife entailed the incorporation of regional peasant musical tactics, dance styles, and performances, which enabled communication with masses in the most understood manner. Post-Mao theatrical arts that emerged from the impact of revolutionary operas (yangbanxi) used cultural values of the local Chinese communities in their acting practices.

Huobaoju is one of the old, but the post-Mao era theoretical or performance art that followed the revolutionary theatre of Mao and his socialist leadership (Taylor 39).

Taking the form of cartoons, human representations, and other forms of acting, huobaoju has developed consistently by welcoming the incorporation of local performance traditions and using several artistic expressions that reflect the philosophies developed during the era of revolutionary media.

Maoist legacy in social mobilization

As one of the reforms targeted by the Maoist regime, Maoism involved the practice of social mobilization in campaigns towards opponents of the reforms. The social mobilization process involved the Maoist ideology that used mass demonstrations or the notion of mass populism in fighting his enemies politically.

Mao used mass population of the unfortunate to mobilize political demonstrations that aimed at transforming China from consumerism, capitalism, and colonialism to National Socialism (Taylor 20). Contemporarily, although the present Chinese leadership considers Maoist traditions in the most ambivalent manner, there is still substantial evidence that links the modern Chinese to the Maoist nationalism.

Presenting unique leadership techniques through social equality, the Maoist ideologies have been in consistent application throughout the post-Mao regime.

Social mobilization, as used in the Maoist regime has recently become one of the foremost philosophies employed in echoing people’s sentiments about political oppressions. Mass gatherings have continually helped the local Chinese and other lower-class individuals to air their reservations.

The Mao regime had given considerable attention to the empowerment of women as a strategy of enhancing social equality among the Chinese population. Akin to the local communities and populations that resided in the rural lands, Mao thought it was ideal to empower the Chinese women in the new social revolution platform.

One of the aspects that have made China develop firmly even in the local suburbs to date is the use of social mobilization as a strategy of echoing people’s sentiments. In a bid to claim social democracy over any form of discrimination, socialists, local politicians, local leaders, and other social groups have persistently used social mobilization in garnering mass support.

Women, unemployed youth, and immigrants are among the marginalized social groups that have adopted social mobilization in protesting against discriminatory practices in China. Mass mobilization is still a modern practice in the Chinese political philosophies and the local authorities that Mao wanted to empower are currently protesting using populism.

Being relatively important to both the leadership, local leaders have recently shown interest in demobilizing masses against certain repressions. After noticing that forceful repression and other forms of stopping contention are failing, local authorities in China identified relational repression as an effective approach to curb protests.

The strategy of mass mobilization is working perfectly in China and regularly employed by the local officials in demobilizing rising mass protestations. Popularly described as relational repression, Chinese officials liaise with individuals willing to stop protesters.

As Deng and Brien notice, “In China, it amounts to relying on relatives, friends, and native-place connections to defuse popular action as relational repression rests on persuasion, pressure, and the impact of influential people” (533).

During mass protests and unrest, the local officials identify potential work team members willing to stop the protests and order them to use personal influence to persuade relatives and friends to stop protests. Any member failure to convince his or her family is subject to punishment that includes salary suspension, prosecution, and termination.

Maoist legacy in commercial operations

Although considered as a traditional approach in organizations, a number of Chinese-based business and corporate organizations have embraced the principles instigated by the Maoist regime (Taylor 35). Demolishing of the urban economy in 1956 by Mao during the socialist transformation meant that all the privately owned businesses and even other productive commercial assets had to adopt government policies.

They became a state-controlled and state-owned organization that remained subject to bureaucratic regulations rather than market forced policies (Whyte 230). History reveals that Mao ensured that upon school completion, urban students bureaucratically received government employment into state-owned firms.

Whyte states that the Mao government offered certain wage grades, package of benefits, assigned subsidized housing, childcare, received recreational opportunities, and enjoyed other facilities while on their employment (230).

Still in the contemporary China, some postmodern Mao era organizations have embraced techniques that the state-owned enterprises (SOE) used during the Mao regime. These state-owned firms were less profitable and the government continuously reformed its policies.

Trends in the Chinese contemporary business practices have a great indication that some modern corporate organizations seem to be reforming while still reviving the Maoism ideology in their regular practices (Whyte 231). The reaffirmation of the Maoism ideology has emerged so recently in some organizations with the state council engaged in this form of modernity within the organizations.

Recent events in the government undertakings reveal that China and its corporate organizations are embarking to the traditional Maoism philosophy as the government announced its intentions of restructuring and promoting reforms through law-based firm governance.

The Chinese Communist Party has revealed its intentions to develop law-based firm governance where market players are capable of competing fairly.

China’s economic liberalization through liberation of the interest rates and deregulation of state-owned firms has become publicly eminent as the government is slowly alienating itself from the new Free Trade Zone, which has been emblematic in Chinese current transformations (Whyte 229). CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping has actively been reviving Maoist mass live concept.

Conclusion

The majority of the modern drastic transformations witnessed in China may not depict the traditional philosophy of the Maoist regime that intended to develop nationalism based on socialism and social equity. Indisputably, China has continuously remained modernized in the urbanized manner and it is currently gaining high international recognition for its current developments.

Although considered as a traditional conformist nature, Mao and his regime came up with ideologies that seem to have a great influence even in the modern China.

The Maoist socialist behavior has become evident in the theatrical performances and filmmaking, in the social mobilization strategies where local officials use relational repression, and even in corporate organizations. There is growing evidence that even the government reforms are reflecting Maoism.

Works Cited

Deng, Yanhua, and Kevin Brien. “Relational Repression in China: Using Social Ties to Demobilize Protesters.” The China Quarterly 215.5 (2013): 533-552. Print.

Taylor, Jeremy. “The Sinification of Soviet Agitational Theatre: ‘Living Newspapers’ inn Mao’s China.” British Association for Chinese Studies 2.1 (2013): 28-50. Print.

Whyte, Martin. “China’s Post-Socialist Inequality.” Current History 33.4 (2012): 229-234. Print.

Introduction

For the most part of the 20^th century, China was considered a sleeping dragon. It was once a mighty empire and certainly full of potential. For the most part of that century, the Chinese economy was unable to break free from its bloody past and the limitations imposed by communism. But this is not the case in China today. Finally, after a long time of struggle, the Chinese people were able to create long-lasting change, the kind that puts China on the world map in terms of economic power.

There is therefore a need to find out the forces that for many decades forced China to move backward instead of forward. The major influencing factor is none other than Mao Zedong who transformed the Empire of China into Maoist China. Mao Zedong did not have a specific plan but his visions were grand and the peasantry was inspired to follow him. His interpretation of Leninism-Marxism caused the Chinese masses to both experience glory as well as great suffering as seen in the Civil War, Great Leap Forward, and Cultural Revolution.

Background

At the turn of the 20^th century, China’s population grew uneasy with the old system. By this time China is already a decrepit empire as characterized by the old wooden structures of its palaces and simple-looking houses scattered all over the one mighty nation. The people were clamoring for change but they need a leader and a revolution for that to happen. They got their wish in the form of an activist named Sun Yat-sen. But Sun Yat-sen was more of an intellectual than a military leader and so when the revolution succeeded in forcing the last emperor of china to abdicate the vacuum in leadership was immediately filled up by a warlord named Yuan Shikai and not Sun Yat-sen.

After Yuan Shikai’s death, China was again divided and vulnerable to external threats. When the First World War came, Japan invaded Shandong and seized the said territory. China’s divided government sensed that it is futile to resist Japan so the two governments made a secret decision that would pave the way for Japan to keep Shandong. This unpatriotic action drew the ire of young men and women. One of them was Mao Zedong.

The incident inspired Mao Zedong to hold on to socialist principles that he learned earlier. He used this to start a movement in the provinces of China that later became the Communist Party of China. Due to the corruption, political incompetence of the Nationalist government, the Communist Party organized by Mao began to swell in ranks.

Civil War

The Nationalist government headed by Chiang Kai Shek correctly saw the Communist Party as a threat. Both leaders went to battle and China was plunged into a Civil War. But the Nationalist government, already weakened by internal turmoil and with the incessant fighting with the Japanese forces, could no longer offer resistance against an overwhelming communist army created by Mao Zedong. Thus, in 1949 Mao seized control of Beijing while Chiang Kai Shek and his followers were forced to flee mainland China and settled in Taipei which they later renamed Taiwan. In the same year, the Union Soviet Socialist Republic acknowledged the new government thereby securing the place of Mao Zedong in world history.

Great Leap Forward

Due to Mao’s experience in building the Communist Party from the ground up as well as his experience in leading an army in a successful campaign, Mao Zedong was able to capitalize on those experiences and created a very effective government. But Mao is very ambitious. He wanted not only to govern a continent with half a billion people but he also has dreams of changing China from the inside out.

There is a need to increase the wealth of China in order for it to achieve a more elevated status in the eyes of the world. In this regard, Mao reasoned that every good thing about communism, its ideology, its principles, and its values must be put to good use in campaigns. In one of the most significant campaigns that he initiated, The Great Leap Forward the Chinese people saw how determined is the young leader in securing the future of China.

The Great Leap Forward was patterned after the way the Soviets encouraged or forced the peasantry to join in the revolution. The former USSR designed a system where communes in the rural areas will produce food for the industrialized centers. Mao copies this formula with only one exception and it is to abolish the harsh quota so that the peasant farmers will not feel overburdened. In the first few years, and with a bumper harvest the system seemed to work increasing the level of satisfaction of the masses when it comes to the performance of the Communist Party. But it did not last long and the peasants began to express their frustration with the program.

The Great Leap Forward made life hell for the peasants. The same people that Mao promised to protect. The negative effects of this campaign are high death rates and famine (Bernstein, 339). In an attempt to overtake Britain and in pursuit of its industrialization goals, “…the government executed people who did not agree with the pace of radical change. The crackdown led to the deaths of 550,000 people by 1958” (Harms, par. 11). In the coming Cultural, Revolution Mao will make life more miserable for many Chinese people.

Cultural Revolution

Mao was convinced that what made China vulnerable to internal and external threats is its inherent weakness. He traced this weakness to the prevalence of Confucianism in the country. He, therefore, sought to replace Confucianism with a new ideology, and the steps required to achieve this goal can be considered as the Maoist system or the eight-core features of Maoist thought. This will be expounded on in the following pages.

• Ideology – Mao was not the first to discover the power of right thinking to create right actions. From Socrates to kings and emperors, great leaders fully understood the value of education and its impact on the population. Mao’s view on ideology on the other hand is the typical mindset of a tyrant, which means that the rest of the population has wrong ideas and that he alone possesses correct knowledge. Therefore, the masses should study, learn, and master what he has to say. Thus, at the height of the Cultural Revolution Mao’s Red Book was required reading. From a traditional Chinese point of view, the results were disastrous because Mao advocated the idea of destroying the old – particularly Confucianism – and establish a new order. Mao even believed that the youth should go against their elders. This idea would result in much violence and bloodletting later on.
• Voluntarism – Mao believed that if the people will unite and move together as one, then they can overcome great odds. This is made possible by shaping the will, minds, and emotions of the masses so that they will participate in Mao’s programs. This is also made possible by applying the other core features of the Maoist systems such as the prominence of ideology, campaigns, struggle, the mass line, and egalitarianism.
• Mass Line – Mao Zedong will never forget how much he suffered from the elitism of the old system. In the old order, poor people do not have the chance to rise up and secure for themselves a better future. So when he rose to power he was determined to include the masses in his plan for a better China. His solution was to bring leadership to the people. This distinctly communist doctrine instructed local leaders to be sensitive to the needs of the people and they will, in turn, report the feedback they received from the people – regarding their reactions to proposed and current programs – to the leaders in the higher echelons of the communist party.
• Campaigns –This tool was used by Mao to achieve sociopolitical transformation and economic development. The Great Leap Forward is an example of a campaign; the objective is to initiate economic development. The Cultural Revolution is another example of a campaign; the objective is to initiate sociopolitical transformation.
• Struggle – Confucianism adheres to harmony. Social order according to Confucius is achieved through a hierarchical society. Mao Zedong also believes in the value of harmony but he believes that too much of this thinking will result in weaknesses and passivity. Mao, therefore, prescribed a better path – confrontation and if needed violence.
• Egalitarianism – This term is supposed to mean equality. But Mao Zedong used it to mean something else. He desired equality alright but he wanted everyone to be equally poor. This was a political solution to an extremely difficult problem – how to raise the standard of living for the majority of Chinese peasants. Since Mao could not solve this problem, he simply ordered his leaders that it is better for them to live like the peasants, which is to say to live in poverty.
• Anti-Intellectualism – Mao Zedong used to work in a university. But he was not a professor, he was a librarian. He was constantly reminded of his inferiority when compared to scientists, creative writers, engineers, scholars, doctors, etc. His anger with this class was so intense not only because he was an outsider looking in but also because he believed that they violated three key principles according to the world of Mao Zedong: 1) they did not dirty their hands and distance themselves from people; 2) they did not believe that the masses can do great things, and 3) they reinforce social inequality. Mao was quoted as making the boastful claim that his party was responsible for the deaths of thousands of scholars.
• Self-Reliance – Mao Zedong was extremely proud of his party, his accomplishments, and his country. He will not be dependent on others. Although China and the USSR had an agreement to help each other Mao wanted China to be self-reliant as much as possible.

Legacy

Based on the preceding discussion it is easy to understand the legacy left behind by Mao Zedong in China. First of all, the Chinese government, even in a state of rapid economic growth still considers itself a communist state. That is a tribute to Mao Zedong’s vision and perseverance. Secondly, Mao was instrumental in encouraging the Chinese to become the best that they could be and not be passive. This could explain the reason behind China’s economic miracle.

This year China hosted the 2008 Olympics that is quite a feat for a country that used to experience instability. But for outsiders and critics, his legacy also includes fear, murder, lack of transparency, and decades of poverty in China. His interpretation of Marxism-Leninism contributed to the backward growth of the country. And this is the reason why even if China is a huge country it is not as powerful and as wealthy as other industrialized nations in the world.

Conclusion

Mao Zedong is without a doubt a great leader. He was able to transform a decrepit Chinese Empire, in a way that Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek could not accomplish. He was able to inspire the peasantry and made them believe that even without education they are important to the Communist Party. In fact, he proved this point by rewarding the peasants while severely punishing the intellectuals of China. As a result, he was able to consolidate his power and ability to rule China with an iron hand.

China was secured against Japanese incursions while at the same time strengthened by aid coming in via the USSR. In the long run however the harsh political climate in China that was exacerbated by the tyrannical rule of Mao Zedong plunged the nation into poverty and limited its development especially in the field of science and technology. This should be expected after Mao murdered many scholars at the height of the Cultural Revolution.

Still, Mao Zedong gave a new identity to China, which at present the Chinese people are trying to capitalize in creating a nation that will be able to compete in the international arena, a vision that was in the heart of the late Mao Zedong.

Works Cited

Bernstein, Thomas. “Stalinism, Famine, and Chinese Peasants: Grain Procurement During the Great Leap Forward.” East Asian Institute. 1984.

Dutton, Michael. “The Mao Industry.” Current History. 2004, 103 (674): 268-272.

Harms, William. “China’s Great Leap Forward.” The University of Chicago Chronicle. (1996). Web.

Spence, Jonathan. “A Road is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-1927.” The English Historical Review. 2004: 736-738.

Introduction

The media plays an important role in society by ensuring that the public is made aware of various issues in a nation. There are many types of media that have existed throughout history. They include newspapers, televisions, and radios. In most cases, the media helps in uncovering issues or matters going on in a government that are not in line with the law. This creates public awareness and necessary steps taken. This paper is dealing with an account of a political situation whereby the media colluded with a dictatorship government in Haiti. This government was run by Francois Duvalier from the year 1957 to the year 1971. This paper seeks to understand the impact of the media on the public having a close look at Haiti and Francois Duvalier’s government. This paper also shows a clear evaluation of the code of ethics Vis a Vis the media and the consequences should it be violated.

Essay Body

Francois Duvalier was the president of Haiti from the year 1957. Surprisingly in the year, 1964 Duvalier declared himself ‘president for life.’ He ruled Haiti until his death. Just like many Haitian leaders, Francois Duvalier came up with a constitution that would solidify his power. His leadership was recognized for relying on private armies, corruption, and autocracy to maintain power. This was very evident in the year 1958 when he sacked the armed forces, chief officer. He, later on, replaced the officer with someone who could not reveal his endeavors.

Later on, he also replaced Marine trained officers with younger men. These young men owed Duvalier their loyalty and positions. Duvalier actually replaced the whole military with his security force. In the creation of his own elite, he employed intimidation and corruption. The corruption during his tenure was high tech. This was in the form of government rake-off in industries. There was high extortion of the domestic businesses that were in Haiti at that time. Bribery was just too much during Duvalier’s tenure. The closest supporters of Francois Duvalier really benefited from stolen government funds. Most of Duvalier’s supporters were given the power to intimidate any member of the old elite.

Duvaliers actually ruled Haiti for approximately thirty years. The culture during this time was marked with violence. There was Tontons Macoutes which was Duvalier’s private militia. This regime was full of terror in Haiti. This group could arrest, torture, and detain any person that was against the regime. In a venture to achieve and preserve power, the regime used violence.

This regime had systematic abuses of human rights. There were many executions, mob justice, and arbitrary arrests in this nation. Francois Duvalier’s government greatly colluded with the media such that the media could not cover any of these proceedings. The media, in this case, colluded in covering up many of the proceedings that transpired in this nation. There were many rape cases that were very evident in Haiti. Murders were a common occurrence. There were destructions through fires that were perpetrated by Francois Duvalier’s followers. The violations of human rights in Haiti during this period were an instrument of power for the Francois Duvaliers government.

The major violators of human rights in this government were armed groups that were greatly supported by the government at that time. These were years of abusive use of position in Haiti. During this period, this government colluded with the media a great deal. Research shows that when Francois Duvalier came into power, he sacked some of the qualified presenters that had been employed by the government. There was the employment of new presenters both in radio and in television stations. This is how Francois Duvalier operated in this nation. Many managers in the journalism field had to adhere to rules and regulations that were stipulated by Francois Duvalier. The media had to co-work with the evil undertakings of this foreign government.

According to research, media field researchers could not cover any story that included corruption practiced by this government during this period. Surprisingly even the killings were never aired in the radio and Television stations. In case any of the stories were aired then the presenters had to doctor the incidence such that the issue was never attributed or actually linked to the occurrences.

The Francois Duvalier government would actually pay journalists lump sums of money so that the practices in this nation were not put in the papers or aired through radios and televisions. There is reported to be an incidence whereby the president of Haiti actually paid a journalist three million shillings so that a story on corruption was not covered or rather published in the newspapers. The journalist actually pocketed the cash, and the story was never published at all. This is just but the tip of the iceberg in relation to the extent to which the media actually colluded with the government. Any issue on violation of human rights by this government was never aired by journalists. Corruption practices were so evident, and yet any story on corruption practiced by the Duvalier government was covered up, never to be spoken about.

A good example is seen when the general elections in Haiti were being carried out. This was very evident in Haitian national television. Every evening this television station had special presentations. There were many live broadcasts of police authorities, Mihustah, Interim Electoral Council, and also Prime Minister Latortue’s press conference. This was done to favor the government. This is a quote from acting coach of Radio Metropole.

‘Mr. Martin’s presence in our newsroom and in the field has enabled our reporters to improve their reporting, interviewing, and on-air presentation techniques. We had productive discussions on such issues as newsroom management, the importance of editorial meetings, and the coverage of current events during an election period. As a result, this has definitely raised the standard of our information programs.’

This quote clearly shows the extent to which the media colluded with the government.

This media collusion with the Haitian government had various impacts on the public.

One of the major impacts was an increase in corruption in the public sector. Just because most of the people that were engaged in corruption were backed by Francois Duvalier, the media failed to air it to the public. The effect to the public, in this case, was that they continued to suffer under corruption practices. This is because the media is normally a voice of the public.

The public continued to suffer under the hands of corrupt officials by paying bribes. The public continues to suffer more by paying increased tax, and yet the money is not used for development ventures. The media, in this case, played a big role in creating fear in the citizens of Haiti. This is because when the media is not speaking against bad leadership, then the public cannot also be open to speaking anything negative concerning this. This is because the public assumes that the media will link to the government, and hence they suffer the consequences.

When the media actually shuts its mouth to corruption and any vices against human rights, it actually encourages injustice in the entire public. This means that the public will be subject to injustice practices in a nation. There is actually no fair trial of suspects, and this is what happened in the case of Haiti. The impact of the media is the promotion of unfair trials in society in general.

When the media does not speak against any bad practices in a nation, the public suffers a lot. This is because it fails to be informed on occurrences in the nation. Of course, when the public lacks information concerning various undertakings in the nation, it will never question. This is because in case it is something that the public is witnessing, it does not know who is accountable, and so nobody is questioned. The media normally plays an important role in informing the public, for instance, of corruption practices. When the public is not well informed, it ends up supporting people who are involved in the corruption. This was very evident in Haiti. The very fact that the media colluded with the government meant that the people in Haiti could not know of corruption practices initiated by Francois Duvalier. A number of Haitian citizens were still in favor of this leadership just because they were not informed that the problems that were being faced in this nation were backed by the leadership.

The public in this case could refer to citizens of Haiti or even non citizens. Because the media colluded with the government, foreign investors shied away from the nation. Tourism also declined because tourists knew that the media would not support them to fight for their rights in such a situation. Foreign investors lacked information concerning the real cause of problems that faced the nation and therefore simply withdrew.

The human rights investigated the government of Haiti. The press did not give them the true facts on the ground but were instrumental in baffling them. [6]

Conclusion

Francois Duvalier was the resident of Haiti from the year 1957 to 1971. His leadership was full of corruption and dictatorship. The media in this nation colluded with the government such that it never covered any of the corruption practiced by this government. Impact of the media in this case was that public lacked information concerning these practices. Code of ethics has to be adhered to by media and in case of violation the media house can be sued.

References

1. Abbott, E. (1988): Haiti: the Duvaliers and their Legacy, McGraw-Hill Books, New York; pp. 118-136
2. Amnesty International, ‘Haiti: Disarmament Delayed, Justice Denied’, 2005
3. Berger, A. Media and Society; pp. 57-92
4. Berger, A. (1972): Media and Society; London; Penguin Books
5. Heinl, G. (1847): Written in the blood; The Story of the Haitian People; New York; University Press of America

Socrates has a unique position in the history of philosophy. On the one hand he is one of the most influential of all philosophers, and on the other one of the most elusive and least known. Further, his historical influence is not itself independent of his elusiveness. Thesis Socratic legacy is based on the ideas of humanity and virtue, morality and good life, and helps to explain human motives and desires driven every personality.

The Socratic legacy understand that the moral life is the best life for the agent thus has the central role of linking Socrates’ intuitions of the pre-eminence of morality with the theory of uniform self-interested motivation which is the foundation of the identification of goodness with knowledge.

Given that centrality, it is surprising how little argumentative support it receives. For instance, at Crito, justice and injustice are described as respectively the health and sickness of the soul; hence, just as it is not worth living with a diseased and corrupted body, so it is not worth living with a diseased and corrupted soul. But that is not an argument¹. Even granted that health is an intrinsically desirable and disease an intrinsically undesirable state, the crucial claims that justice is the health of the soul, and injustice its disease, require defense, not mere assertion.

On this theory motivation is uniform, and uniformly self-interested; every agent always aims at what he or she takes to be best for him- or herself, and failure to achieve that aim has to be explained by failure to grasp it properly, that is, by a cognitive defect, not by any defect of motivation. Socrates explains this in Protagoras, on the assumption, which he attributes to people generally, that the agent’s overall interest is to be defined in hedonistic terms, as the life which gives the best available balance of pleasure over distress².

Given that assumption, it is difficult to explain doing wrong by being overcome by pleasure or by any kind of desire; one must simply have made a mistake in one’s estimation of what would bring the most pleasure. As Socrates says (358d), ‘It is not in human nature to be prepared to go for what you think to be bad in preference to what is good.’³.

Virtue can be given a straightforward interpretation which is compatible with the integrated picture. This is simply that total virtue extends over the whole of life, while ‘courage’, ‘piety’, etc. designate that virtue, not in respect of its total application, but in respect of its application to a restricted area. Similarly, coastal navigation and oceanic navigation are not two sciences, but a single science applied to different situations. They can count as parts of navigation, in that competence in navigation requires mastery of both⁴. In Meno, then, the practical question of how goodness is acquired leads to a substantive account of goodness as a cognitive state. It is no coincidence that the two other dialogues which begin from that question, either about goodness in general or about a particular virtue, exhibit a similar pattern of development⁵.

Virtue is knowledge of the agent’ good, in that, given the standing motivation to achieve one’s good, knowledge of what that good is will be necessary if one is to pursue it reliably, and sufficient to guarantee that the pursuit is successful. But that requires that the agent’s good is something distinct from the knowledge which guarantees that one will achieve that good. Socrates used to maintain that ‘no one acts contrary to what is best in the belief that he is doing so, but through error’, a thesis expressed more concisely in the slogan ‘No one goes wrong intentionally’ (oudeis hekōn hamartanei”⁶.

The knowledge which guarantees the achievement of the good, will be purely instrumental, as the value of medicine is, and derivative from the intrinsic value of what it guarantees, that is, success in life. Socrates regards virtue as intrinsically, not merely instrumentally, valuable, and explicitly treats it as parallel, not to medicine, but to health itself. Virtue is, then, not a means to some independently specifiable condition of life, it is a constituent of it. So, far from its being the case that virtue is worth pursuing because it is a means to a fully worthwhile life (e.g. a life of happiness), the order of explanation is reversed, in that a life is a life worth living either solely or at least primarily in virtue of the fact that it is a life of virtue⁷.

Socratic legacy has many limitations and conflicting parts. For instance, Socratic legacy states that virtue is knowledge and that virtue is human good. If human good is to be identified with both knowledge and virtue, then that knowledge must have some object other than itself.

Today, the relevance of Socratic legacy is that it explains inner motives and taints driven a person. For instance, is the virtue which reliably produces appropriate conduct in situations of danger, piety the virtue which reliably produces appropriate conduct in relation to the gods, etc, and the virtue in question is the same in every case, namely, the agent’s grasp of his or her good. The theory allows to interpreter the role and importance of knowledge and human existence.

Socrates states that knowledge or wisdom is the only unconditionally good thing, since all other goods, whether goods of fortune or desirable traits of character, are good for the agent only if they are properly used, and they are properly used only if they are directed by wisdom. The significance of this is independent of whether Socrates is represented as adopting that solution in his own person, or merely as proposing it as a theory which ordinary people ought to accept.

Endnotes

1. Navia, 56.
2. ibid, 65.
3. Plato, cited Navia 54.
4. Navia, 72.
5. ibid, 65.
6. Plato, cited Navia 32.
7. Navia, 82.

Bibliography

Navia, L.E. Socrates: A Life Examined. Prometheus Books 2007.

Introduction

Garcilaso’s sonnets date back to the 14^th Century, he wrote most of his pieces in Naples between 1532 – 1536. He was a master of Renaissance Poetry. He perfected the art of gathering important information from his immediate surrounding and turning them into a harmonious, well-scripted artistic piece of poetry. This was referred to as the doctrine of imitatio. The kind of artistic excellence he exhibited was summed up in the 18^th century by T. S. Eliot’s theory of the impersonality of poetry:

“The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an “objective correlative”; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked”¹.

Poetry like other artistic works like painting is always perceived to be the product of natural scenes being expressed in words or colors. It is naturally assumed that the conduct of an artist would greatly inform his/her writings and that the tone and mood in a piece of literature is always an expression of personal experiences. A good piece of artwork is generally thought to be the result of enhancement of the perception and feelings of an artist of what truly exists.

Garcilaso’s poetry verses his biography

Garcilaso first eclogue is considered one of his exquisite pieces of work, he wonderfully assimilates the bucolic convention into a harmony of form and content². A perceived problem however arises in trying to reconcile Garcilaso’s biography and his artistic prowess. The question of whether he assigns a superior function to his life or his artistic work is an important one. This would essentially help to evaluate the sincerity of the love he expresses. There is evidence that Garcilaso gives precedence to his poetry. He refrained from expressing his personal life and feelings, which may be undesirable. Garcilaso uses pastoral conventions in a seemingly natural way that one may be convinced that he is “sincere”. His artistry therefore can convincingly compete with the natural human experience of love and can have a permanent impression in the readers’ mind. But does this make him sincere or is he just a good poet?

Imagery in Garcilaso’s poetry

It is often easy to discern a general philosophy in Garcilaso’s poetry, even though he often uses imagery to convey his poetic thoughts. An analysis of the poems should, however, critically examine both the imagery used and the contextual functionality of the piece. Garcilaso’s eclogue uses imagery as the unifying factor. The question is whether they convey the philosophy that informs his work. Garcilaso believes that love should be guided by some kind of universal law of correspondence. Anyone loved should reciprocate. This he thinks would lead to harmonious coexistence. He believes justice forms part of love and the consequences of non-reciprocity should be dire. This is indicated in Salico’s assertion of homicide and his appeal for the heavens for justice, as portrayed in the imagery in this line;

“dQual es el cuello que como en cadena/ de tus hermosos bracos aniudaste? “, and… mi amada yedra/ de mi arrancada, en otro muro asida,/ y mi parra en otro olmo entretexida”³

Garcilaso’s imageries in his poem exhibit some inconsistencies in his interpretation of harmony and the universality of love. His perceived assertion in the first eclogue that the expression of love that exists between a man and a woman would essentially disturb the relationship between humans and nature may not be entirely true. In the opening lines of Salico’s lament, he paints a picture of absolute tranquility with no hint of disturbance from her rhythm. There is no obvious discord in nature indicated. Nature proceeds in its normal pattern, only the shepherd is indicated to be disturbed (line 71-83)⁴.

To evaluate the function of imagery employed by Garcilaso to propagate his philosophy, it is important to look at the functionality of his thoughts in their immediate context. In looking at Salicio’s comment, Garcilaso is not really expressing the opinion that women should inherently respond to men, but rather this is an expression directed to an individual, that is, Salicio appealing for one woman Galatea to respond to him. The expression cancion is more than just an appeal to Galatea but rather an authoritarian address; this is indicated by the tone of the lines and the use of particular verbs ‘razonar’.

Evaluation of Sincerity

In his pastoral Garcilaso relies on the thoughts and ways of others in coming up with his pieces. This results in rather self-conscious poetry that is devoid of originality. However, the fact that Garcilaso could use such kind of technique but still produce pieces that are capable of evoking emotion in the reader can only be attributed to his sincerity in his work. It can be concluded that Garcilaso is expressing emotion that he deeply feels but which may not inherently be captured in his own real-life experiences.

The sincerity of Garcilaso as expressed above is perfectly correct but critics argue that if scrutinized closely the concept of sincerity is lost, for it is argued that with or without sincerity the quality of the poetry is not compromised. Among renaissance poets, irrespective of how good a piece of poetry or pastoral convention is, there is the limited expectation of an expression of raised truth or sincerity. Poetry was viewed as maintaining a significant distance from actuality. It was rather an escapist voyage. Garcilaso, therefore, does not express his actual human experience in most of his pieces. In Egolga Primera, for example, the sincerity of Garcilaso is tested, is he deceiving his audience or expressing the truth?

Some critics assumed that the tone and mood in Garcilaso’s poetry are influenced by his correspondence with real life. This approach diverts the immediate goal of the main tendencies of previous criticism. The main argument is the relationship between his life and his artistic work. If his experiences were the raw materials of which his fine pieces were the end product, then his life cannot be regarded as a pointer to his excellent artistic work. Indeed, critics are struggling to reconcile, an agitated and difficult life experience of Garcilaso and the harmonious and serene piece of poetry. In praising Garcilaso as the Prince of Castilian Poets, we negate the thought of him as a Renaissance gentleman. This changes only when his condition seems to approach a general human one. In the first eclogue, for instance, knowledge of Garcilaso’s relationship with Isabel Freyre may aid in comprehending the motivation for this poetry, or to understand allusions which we may not detect, such details of his life is devoted from the poem.

Conclusion

The argument about reconciling Garcilaso’s life and his poems notwithstanding, the evidence of sincerity is in the poetry itself. This is reflected in the depth of passion exhibited in the poems. An evaluation of the presence of sincerity in Garcilaso’s poem or lack of it thereof is uncalled for since the standard of measurement is the same poetry, we deduce our conclusions from. The issue therefore should be the level at which Garcilaso reconciles and or divorces his real-life experiences and emotions in his poetry. However, even if we had a comprehensive diary of Garcilaso the man, we may not deduce his thought as he wrote his pieces. For example, even if credible evidence could be produced supporting the purported suspicions brought about by the sonnets that Garcilaso was a philanderer and had no constant lover, but a series of affairs as alluded to in his will⁵, this would not negate the sincerity of his expressions of thought and quality of the first eclogue as a poem.

Evaluation of a poet’s sincerity – in this case of Garcilaso sincerity for love – is an attempt to alienate the poet qua poet a personality and attitudes and his independent interaction with other people in his or her daily life. This would essentially mean we would ultimately dismiss all fiction writing as insincere pieces of literature and probably uphold only documentary articles. In the long run, we will throw imaginative literature to the gutters and deny them their right full place in this discourse. Ultimately, we are faced with the dilemma of attempting to classify what really constitutes a sincere piece of literature. Therefore, when would we refer to poetry as being sincere? This would mean little more than the ability to persuade or move the reader, the poet’s biography notwithstanding.

References

Eliot, T.S., The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1964, p. 145 Garcilaso de la Vega Sonnets. Web.

Parker, A. A., “Theme and imagery in Garcilaso’s first eclogue”, Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Vol. XXV, 1948, pp. 222 – 227.

Rivers, Elias L. ed., Garcilaso de la Vega, Obras Completas. Castalia and the Ohio State University Press, Madrid and Columbus, Ohio, 1964, pp. 87 – 230.

Footnotes

1. Eliot, T.S., The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism”, 1964 edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, p.145.
2. Parker, A. A., “Theme and imagery in Garcilaso’s first eclogue”, Bulletin of Spanish Studies, October, XXV (1948), pp. 222-7.
3. Quotations taken from Quotations taken from Rivers, Elias L. ed., Garcilaso de la Vega, Obras Completas. Castali and the Ohio State University Press, Madrid and Columbus, Ohio, (1964) p 97.
4. Poem cited. Web.
5. Rivers, ed. op.cit., p. 212.

The contribution of the role of Greeks in the development of history with regard to who they were is a question, which remains unanswered by many people. However, the Greeks are the people behind civilization and should be credited for the development of the art of communication, literature, and poetry. In addition, the current aspects of democracy were derived from the ancient Greeks. Similarly, modern aspects of culture, character, and individuality came into existence courtesy of the Greeks. The greatness of the Greeks is best depicted in the play “Hippolytus.” In this play, the Greeks are depicted as very intelligent and independent men and women. The men in the Greek society demonstrate their intelligence and independence by skillfully fighting battles on their own whereas the women can plot skillful plans and lure people into their traps. There is much for the modern society to relate to with regard to the Greeks’ way of life as depicted in this play. Among the major aspects inherited from the Greeks is the concept of freedom and literature.

The contribution of Greeks on the development of the modern society has further been indicated by Jean Alvares. The later is the head of Montclair State University Department of Classics and General Humanities. According to Jean, the current society has learned to attempt doing many things using available skills and knowledge from the Greeks. He adds on to indicate that the current society has the potential to take risks and do amazing things like the son of Odysseus in the ancient Greek play. In this play, the son goes on a dangerous trip with the hope of meeting his father, visiting others, and restoring Ithaka. According to Jean, taking risks in life is vital for understanding of an individual’s potential. In essence, people in the current society pursue education, which makes them leave their homes for new places where they encounter new people.

On returning to their homes, new skills are transferred, which help in the transformation of the society. The implicated process of the transformation of other people is an aspect learned from the Greeks. Jean adds on to say that human beings should have knowledge of themselves and others as they live in the society. This aspect is related to the common Greek expression in which it is presumed that a life not examined is not worthy living (Matthews and Platt 30). It is true for Jean to have indicated that the current society has learned many qualities from the Greeks.

Comprehension from Greeks and their contribution toward modern literature is also depicted in the works of Sigmund Freud. Freud relied very much on the value of Greek literature to develop many of his theories in psychology. A majority of the Greek literature depicted stories related to obsessions of young children with their parents of the opposite sex alongside parents obsessions with their own offspring. Freud’s conclusions, especially the oedipal complex were coined from an understanding of Greek literature. According to the oedipal theory, young boys hold on to their mother with admiration and desire. This explains the feeling of replacing the role of their father. This led to the development of the phallic stage by Freud. This stage is used to describe the development of a child characterized by a desire to possess the parent of the opposite sex. The expiry of this stage signifies the beginning of good connectivity with the parent of a similar sex. A majority of Freud’s theories were derived from reading the works of the Sophocles whose absence may have implied the unavailability of most of the psychological theories.

According to Jean Alvares, Sigmund Freud is an ideal representation of the concepts of the current society learned from the Greeks. Most of the literature written by the Greeks cannot fail to be recognized because of the vital lessons they hold. This literature holds important lessons on the value of human abilities and the process of knowledge acquisition. In addition, this literature provides vital lessons on the value of creativity and the pursuit of new forms of knowledge, which translates into human intelligence. Sigmund is thought to strictly have adhered to the lessons learned from Greek literature. Most of his insight into the study of psychology was derived from the Greeks. Using the lessons learnt, Sigmund could speculate the development of personality, memory, and sexuality. This formed the basis of the development of various therapies for human psychology.

With the help of the characters in a majority of Greek plays, Sigmund could make conclusion regarding the psychology of human beings. It is important to indicate that most of the theories, therapies, and conclusions formulated by Sigmund Freud came into existence as a result of the existence of Greek literature. This implies that most of these theories would be missing had Freud Sigmund lacked the inspiration by the Greeks. It is true for Jean to have indicated that Freud Sigmund is an ideal illustration of what the current society has derived from the Greeks. Most of the theories developed by Freud were based on Greek literature, and because of their value in the current society; there is reason to believe that the current society has gained many qualities from the Greeks. This possibly should explain why the Greeks are very important in any history class. Many of the qualities of the current society came into existence because of the Greeks.

Works Cited

Matthews, Roy, and DeWitt Platt. Western Humanities. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Introduction

Gwendolyn Brooks is an outstanding figure in poetry and literature of the 20th century. She was the first Black woman who received the Pulitzer Prize for her book Annie Allen in 1950 (Somers, 2019). Her poetical style is rich and titillating – according to critics, Gwendolyn Brooks’ poems inherited the traits of simplicity and intentional naivety (Leaf, 2022). These are seen as powerful approaches to transforming reality into distilled poetic impressions. In other respects, her poems are direct and calming simultaneously. She approaches the reader with eloquent appeals, unobtrusive, though expressive. Brooks shares her impressions of life and thoughtful reflections on the nature of existence elements, such as struggle, lust for life, alluring desires of youth, and life choices. This paper aims to provide a comparative interpretation of “We Real Cool,” (1960), “Sadie and Maud,” (1945), and “Speech to the Young” (1991) poems by Gwendolyn Brooks.

We Real Cool

“We Real Cool” poem tells about the charms of youth and childhood that give a person a sense of omnipotence and hints at the possible consequences of a too-accelerated pace of life at this age. This is a short poem that uses short phrases to accentuate the meanings. Here it is: “We real cool/ We Left school/ We Lurk late/ We Strike straight/ We Sing sin/ We Thin gin/ We Jazz June/ We Die soon” (Leaf, 2022, p. 60). The short sentences add to the distinctiveness of the poem, making its elements more expressive.

Another aspect emphasized by the short phrases is mood. Brooks delivers the most subtle feelings and experiences of teenagers through short verb forms. She immerses the reader into the early and bright Chicago evening with phrases like “We real cool,” “We lurk late,” “We Thin gin,” and “We Jazz June” (Leaf, 2022, p. 60). These gentle turns are balanced by more aggressive ones that sum up the mood: “We left school,” “We strike straight,” “We sing sin,” and “We die soon” (Leaf, 2022, p. 60). Interestingly, the contrast described is performed in a lulling rhythm that resembles the rocking of a swing, and bewitches, putting the reader in a trance. Identical and masculine rhymes enhance the impression and make it more expressive and clearer, masculine.

There is a hidden threat in the poem, which is conveyed through metonymy and metaphor. The metonymic expression “We strike straight” and “We die soon” hint at the general aggressive intentions of young people who are ready to take risks to experience the taste of life (Leaf, 2022, p. 60). These intentions are contrasted with the more peaceful, metaphorical phrase “We Jazz June” which speaks of the creative tendencies of youth (Leaf, 2022, p. 60). In other words, the author uses a wealth of images to enhance the impression of the original, restrained, but frankly emotional world of youth.

Another poetic tool used by Gwendolyn Brooks is anaphora or repetition. Repeating “we” at the beginning of each phase, she brings readers’ attention to the heroes of the poem – the new generation. Critics mention that Brooks must be condemning the “boys’” dangerous intentions: “Their ‘coolness’ of alienation responds by dropping out, drinking, debauching, dying. It is this wasteful aggression against the self, this fragile wall of bravado that the poet mourns” (Leaf, 2022, p. 61). Another critic’s opinion is that Brooks, being a socially aware person, must be maternally concerned about the fate of young African Americans: “Despite presentation in the voice of the gang, this is a maternal poem, gently scolding yet deeply grieving for the hopelessness of the boys” (Leaf, 2022, p. 61). This ‘maternal’ or ‘condemning’ attitude is not necessarily true – Gwendolyn Brooks was a sensible, but free-spirited writer and poet, and could have been sharing her mere adoration with the young people.

Sadie and Maud

In this poem, the author uses metonymies and metaphors to tell the readers the story of Sadie and Maud. While “Maud went to college,” Sadie “stayed at home” and “bore two babies/ Under her maiden name,” and “Maud and Ma and Papa/ Nearly died of shame” (AllPoetry, n.d., para. 3). However, at the end of the day, Maud “is living all alone/ In this old house” (AllPoetry, n.d., para. 3). The metonymies “under her maiden name,” “said her last so-long,” are used to hide the pain of the heroines, and to attract the reader’s attention to this pain (AllPoetry, n.d., para. 3). In the metaphors “Sadie scraped life/ With a fine-toothed comb,” “(Sadie left as heritage/ Her fine-toothed comb)” the comb stands for Sadie’s ability to make things right (AllPoetry, n.d., para. 3). She is also called “one of the liveliest chicks/ In all the land” which is another positive comparison (AllPoetry, n.d., para. 3). Hence, unlike metonymies, metaphors are applied to deliver positive images and feelings.

The poem uses feminine rhyme with indirect similarity of the last words in the lines and dactyl meter where the first syllables are stressed. Such a combination creates an anxious, restless mood in the reader, and makes them feel the instability of life and the doom of the heroines. Equally important, it is the dissonance between rhyme and meter that allows conveying the feminine character of Sadie and Maud who are both objects of a large, ruthless, and often blind ‘male’ world.

“Sadie and Maud” has common features with the “We Real Cool” poem. The two poems speak of life choices, young people are the focus of attention, and the ending of the two poems has morals regarding the consequences of life choices. Unlike “We Real Cool,” “Sadie and Maud” is a poem about girls, not boys – the gender division was characteristic of the time of writing of the two poems. No less interestingly, “Sadie and Maud” has more dramatic rhythmic dynamics and a more feminine, unstable mood. This poem is also more mature and has a deeper perspective, it raises philosophical questions about the meaning of life.

Speech to the Young

The full name of the poem is “Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward (Among them Nora and Henry III).” Nora and Henry III were Gwendolyn Brook’s two children, and they must have been in their 50s in 1991 when the poem was written (Somers, 2019). The author uses the masculine rhyme in combination with the dactyl meter to deliver a harmonious and finished mood. Here, like in “We Real Cool” the use of consonance and assonance is more visible. For example, in the first lines, the author uses consonance rhyme: “say to the down-keepers, / the sun-slappers, / the self-soilers, / the harmony-hushers” (Brooks, 2022, para 1). In the second part of the poem, the feminine rhyme and assonance are used, making the ending unstable “Live not for battles won. / Live not for the-end-of-the-song. / Live in the along” (Brooks, 2022, para. 2). The middle part of the poem uses the ABBA or chiasmus rhyme scheme.

The consonance rhyme is felt more calming and reassuring, while the assonance rhyme leaves some space for self-doubt and reflection. Gwendolyn Brooks uses dactyl, like in “Sadie and Maud” to deliver the confident, purposeful mood of the poem. The author does not urge to follow her words, she asserts the ultimate truth: “Even if you are not ready for day / it cannot always be night / You will be right. / For that is the hard home-run” (Brooks, 2022, para. 2). Hence, poetic techniques successfully convey the author’s idea through rhythm and rhyme.

“Speech to the Young” focuses on the similar topic of inner persistence present in “We Real Cool,” and “Sadie and Maud.” The first line calls to question the ‘authorities’ of the harmony hushers, and the last line is asking the readers to “Live in the along” that is in the present moment. In “Wee Real Cool” a similar message of inner freedom is delivered by using the tool of anaphora and titillating images. In “Sadie and Maud” the metaphors help deliver a reassuring message.

Author’s Perspective

To better understand the poems, some facts about the author’s life should be considered. Importantly, Gwendolyn lived in urbanized Chicago her entire life, and urban African American citizens were her creative focus. She was not overly politicized but was still concerned with the issues of social justice, which is explicitly demonstrated in all three poems. “We Real Cool” describes the world of younger urban males, and “Sadie and Maud” study the life perspectives of younger urban females, while “Speech to the Young” written in the more liberal 1990s is aimed at all categories of youngsters. Interestingly, Gwendolyn generally tends to use a free verse or complicated verse constructions, playing with the rhymes and meters (Gwendolyn Brooks, 2022). The free verse or vers libre style most closely resembles natural speech, which could be seen as a good choice by Brooks whose best-characterizing poetic trait is simplicity.

The author wrote two widely read books of poems about youth living in Chicago Street in Bronzeville (1945, “Sadie and Maud”), and The Bean Eaters (1960, “We Real Cool”) (Somers, 2019). Her later In the Mecca (1968) about a woman who lost a child and is searching for it, was nominated for the National Book Award (Somers, 2019). Hence the three poems discussed above present the central topics in Gwendolyn Brooks’ legacy.

Conclusion

Thus, a comparative interpretation of “We Real Cool,” (1960) “Sadie and Maud,” (1945), and “Speech to the Young” (1991) poems by Gwendolyn Brooks was provided. The three works use poetic tools extensively – “We Real Cool” applies anaphora and specific rhythm to share the feelings of youth capable of anything. In “Sadie and Maud” the author applies contradictory feminine rhyme and dactyl meter to deliver the feeling of anxiety and uncertainty. In “Speech to the Young,” the masculine rhyme and dactyl meter creates a life-asserting perception. The three poems are focused on the issues of important life choices, personal freedom, and striving for happiness. Regardless of the excellent mood of the poems, they have a common goal – to depict the beauty of a full life or to encourage striving for this beauty. Moods of delight – in “We Real Cool,” uncertainty and sadness – in “Sadie and Maud,” and despair and new hope – in “Speech to the Young” are equivalent to the mystery of life, which the author proves in her works.

References

AllPoetry (n.d.). AllPoetry Foundation. Web.

Brooks, G. (2022). Speech to the young: Speech to the progress-toward (Among them Nora and Henry III). Web.

Gwendolyn Brooks (2022). Poetry Foundation. Web.

Leaf, G. (2022). Before and after: The interior renaissance of Gwendolyn Brooks. Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research, 13, 56-72.

Sommers, J. (2019). Biography of Gwendolyn Brooks, the people’s poet. Web.