Analysis Of Blindness By Jose Saramago English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Blindness By Jose Saramago English Literature Essay Blindness, a novel by Portuguese author Josà © Saramago, depicts the dystopian outcome of a plague of white blindness, (clunky) a mysterious disease that eventually becomes known among the novels characters as the white evil. Saramago quickly introduces the malady, recounting the first infection within the first few pages of the novel. Out of fear of future contamination, the government arranges for a quarantine in an abandoned mental asylum.  Inside the asylum, the reader follows the harrowing account of a small group of internees led by the Doctors Wife, who is the only person to retain her eyesight. The white blindness spreads at a seemingly exponential rate to the point that the whole world has fallen victim to the white evil. Once the number of quarantined individuals accumulates in the asylum, social order crumbles and morality disintegrates, for even the Doctors Wife balances on the cusp of right and wrong. However, there still remains those individuals who make decisions t hat demonstrate altruistic sacrifice for the good of the rest. Josà © Saramago writes a captivating story of not only social decay, but also the emergence of a new morality only present in the most desperate circumstances. An easier way to establish context for Blindness would be to analyze Saramagos life as well as the historical events surrounding it. On November 16, 1992, Josà © Saramago was born in Azinhaga, Portugal in the Ribatejo province to a poor farming family. His father had served in the French military during World War I, and he decided to pursue a career in law enforcement in Lisbon, Portugals capital. Their way of living had greatly improved because of his new job, but they remained poor regardless of a new home. Saramagos parents sent him to grammar school, though, they could not afford the tuition long enough for him to finish his studies. As a result, Saramago attended a technical school to become a mechanic while studying literature during his free time. Before marrying his first wife Ilda Reis in 1944, he began working as an administrative civil servant for the Social Welfare Service. Three years later he published his first book, The Land of Sin, though his initial literary endeav ors were not very successful. He wrote more novels, but he failed to publish his projects. Saramago describes his early attempts at writing in his autobiography, The matter was settled when I abandoned the project[s]: it was becoming quite clear to me that I had nothing worthwhile to say For 19 years, I was absent from the Portuguese literary scene, where few people can have noticed my absence (Saramago, Autobiography). For more than half of Saramagos life, the brutal Portuguese fascist dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, a former professor, was in power (1928 1974). Salazar drew inspiration for his own dictatorial rule from Hitler and Mussolini, just as Saramago modeled his mental asylum in Blindness after Salazars appalling and inhumane prisons that simulated Nazi concentration camps as well as the Japanese internment camps in the United States following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In an interview for a Portuguese newspaper, Saramago calls his mental asylum the final solution, a resemblance of Hitlers plan to exterminate the Jews (quoted in Frier). Not only were the prisoners subjected to horrifying punishments such as being forced to lie under the African sun, the ocean water flowed into the chambers everyday, washing up both garbage and human waste (Frier). The mental asylum, though not against an ocean, also filled with human excrement because the internees had given up locating the restro oms after a few days, resorting to defecating on the floor or on their beds. ( Same as last sentence?) One could be sent to these prisons, the most notorious being Tarrafal on the Cape Verde Islands, for being a dissident and for criticizing the Portuguese government, often without physical evidence. Antà ³nio de Rigueiredo, a Portuguese dissident, recounts his experience in Tarrafal, After 1945, as soon as the regime felt sure of its survival and new alliances, it passed from arbitrary but casual repression to a scientific system of incarcerating individuals (quoted in Frier). Another prisoner recalls that the only doctor in Taraffal neglected prisoners and allowed them to die in the unsanitary conditions of the prison (Frier). Though the victims of the white evil in Blindness were not interned for any political reason, they experienced many of the same abuses by the military; their force was a direct order from the government as well as out of fear of being contaminated. A sergeant on assignment tells his soldiers after he has killed an internee, From now on, we shall leave the con tainers at the halfway point, let the/m come and fetch them, well keep them under surveillance, and at the slightest suspicious movement, we fire (Saramago 84). Although these prisoners try to approach their providers without provoking attack, their blindness prevents them from knowing whether they will be shot for making a wrong move. Acquiring the daily rations most often ends in violence or verbal abuse from the military. Saramago was highly distrusting of the Salazar regime and government, so he joined the Portuguese Communist Party in 1969. To do so was illegal under Salazars dictatorship. Within the last few years of Salazars rule, Saramago worked for two Lisbon newspapers, Dià ¡rio de Lisboa and, later, Dià ¡rio de Nà ³ticias. He lost his job from the latter in 1975 after the new anti-Communist government had come into power. With no hopes of finding another journalistic position, he turned to writing literature and developed his unique writing, consisting of very little punctuation and dialogue within narration. His later novels became much more successful, though he met much opposition from both the Catholic Church and the Portuguese government because of Communistic and anti-religious undertones. Baltazar and Bilmunda (1982) criticized the role of Catholicism in 18th-century Portugal. The Church criticized The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991), claiming that Saramagos depiction of Jesus was too human and offensive to the Church (Saramago, Autobiography). Because the government was very much influenced by the Church, it did not allow this novel to be presented for the European Literary Prize. Many of Saramagos supporters protested the decision. Later on, Saramago moved to the Canary Islands with his second wife, Pilar del Rà ­o, because the support he received inspired him to write even more. There, he wrote his two most famous novels, Blindness (1995) and All the Names (1997). Saramago expresses his distrust for the Church again in Blindness in a scene towards the end of the novel in which the Doctors Wife enters a church that has become a refugee camp for the blind. She observes that all the images in the church had their eyes covered, statues with a white cloth tied around the head, paintings with a thick brushstroke of white paint, there was only one woman who did not have her eyes covered, because she carried her gouged-out eyes on a silver tray (Saramago 317). She tells her husband and he replies, Perhaps it was the work of someone whose faith was badly shaken when he realised that he would be blind like the others, maybe it was even the local priest (Saramago 317). The strange alteration of the images and the speculation that a priest may be behind them suggests that, just as the world has been struck blind, so too has the Church. God and the saints no longer listen to the pleas of the victims. Naturally, those who in the church are offended from he aring the mere suggestion that their faith could not cure them. However, they flee the church after a few scream at the thought that what the Doctor and his wife say may be true. Shortly after, people slowly begin to regain their sight. In her analysis of the novel, Carole Champagne says that the powers associated with the images in the church have been transferred to humanity, who are empowered to use their own moral and spiritual resources-their own eyes-which are their birthright (Champagne). So long had the refugees in the church depended on their faith for a moral balance until they had regained their sight. They would no longer have to look to a higher power that did not answer their prayers. The presence of morality in a damaged society, and the lack thereof, and the consequences that result from right and wrong are major themes of Josà © Saramagos Blindness. Early in the novel, as the Ministry of Health arrives at the Doctors apartment, his wife attempts to accompany him. The ambulance driver refuses to let her in, but she claims that she has been struck blind. Shortly after, the reader learns that she had faked her blindness though she is sure that she will eventually become blind. After days of experiencing the unsanitary conditions and constant conflict between internees, the Doctors Wife feels the need to help them, though she struggles both with herself and with her husband over the proposition. Her husband tells her, Think of the consequences, they will almost certainly try to turn you into their slave, [Y]ou will be at the beck and call of everyone [D]ont think that blindness has made us better people, It hasnt made us any worse, Were on our way though (Saramag o 133). The Doctor suggests that the peoples morality has left along with their sight, and that once his wife tries to assist them, she will be taken advantage of until she no longer can utilize her sight for herself. What she had thought was the right thing to do had gotten her caught in a downward spiral of disintegrating social order and chaos. Also, early in the novel, the First Blind Man confronts the Car Thief in the asylum. As soon as the First Blind Man discovers that his Samaritan had stolen his car after bringing him home, they immediately resort to hopeless fist fighting. This event signifies the first descent into moral decline, especially with how quickly the event transpires, though the First Blind Mans reaction to the car theft is still a normal reaction a sighted person would have. As the novel progresses, interpersonal conflicts become more prevalent among the internees, especially when dealing with the meager rations the government supplies them. The Doctor says, Fighting has always been, more or less, a form of blindness (Saramago 133). Fighting had existed before the whole world was struck blind, suggesting that people had already been blind, not in the literal sense but blind to each others needs. The conflict over food finally escalates to the point that a group of hoodlums band together to take control of all the food in hopes of taking all the internees valuables. The Doctors Wife organizes a resistance to fight against the gang, though it end in bloodshed on her side. In their confrontation, the head of the gang says to the Doctors Wife, I wont forget your voice, and she responds without thinking, Nor I your face (Saramago 140). Though she can physically see the hoodlums face, her threat suggests that only his face could belong to something so evil that would take food away from the rest of the internees. As if foreshadowing a heightened conflict, the First Blind Man says to the Doctor, Well, Im not entirely convinced that there are limits to misfortune and evil (Saramago 144). After the hoodlums run out of valuables to steal from the other internees, they demand that each ward send in all its women to satisfy their lust. Otherwise, the wards would not get their food. Immediately the men pressure the women to visit the hoodlums and have sex with them for the well-being of the others. The women, fearing for their lives, become enraged and chastise the men for suggesting they appease the hoodlums. While some of the women listened to the mens reasoning, others challenge the men with the same attitude the men had expressed. And what would you do if these rascals instead of asking for women had asked for men, what would you do then[?] (Saramago 168). One man replies, There are no pansies here, while another woman says, And no whores either (Saramago 168). In desperation, the asylum has eru pted into a mess of sexism and moral degradation. The men would be willing to give up their women in exchange for food, thus reducing and objectifying the status of women. A small group of women including the First Blind Mans Wife and the Doctors Wife agree to prostitute themselves despite protests by their husbands, the former especially. The narrator concludes the womens decisions: [D]ignity has no price, that when someone starts making small concessions, in the end life loses all meaning (Saramago 169). At the expense of the men, the group of women experience a brutal gang rape, resulting in the death of one of the women. To restore the dead womans dignity, the Doctors Wife finds water to wash her. This event indicates how much the community within the asylum has degenerated, for the men have put a price on the bodies of the women they know. Perhaps the event that illustrates the most difficult moral decision of the whole novel is the murder of the hoodlums leader. Prior to the event, the Doctors Wife discovers that she had brought a pair of scissors with the intent of helping her husband shave. She never uses them for the original purpose and hangs them on a wall. However, after her rape, she grabs the scissors without hesitation and heads for the hoodlums ward. As the leader rapes one of the women, the Doctors Wife sneaks behind him and stabs him in the throat as he has an orgasm. His cry was barely audible, it might have been the grunting of an animal about to ejaculate, as was happening to some of the other men (Saramago 189). Saramago describes the hoodlums as having degenerated to the point of becoming animals, acting solely upon appeasing natural inclinations and vices. The Doctors Wife runs away with the raped woman and breaks down. She justifies the murder by thinking, And when is it necessary to kill When what is still alive is already dead (Saramago 192-93). Though the first inclination is to think that the Doctors Wife justified the murder because the hoodlum had proven himself to be incapable of being human, she could have meant that it was she who was the inhuman one. She is the only sighted person among the blind. If even she has dropped to this level of moral decay, then the rest of the internees have little hope in restoring their own humanity until they regain their sight.

Charles Dickens Hard Times Essays -- Charles Dickens Hard Times Essay

Charles Dickens' Hard Times Charles Dickens's Hard Times is one of the most important novels in the Victorian Age. He presents an industrial society in nineteenth century in England. In this age, England prospers in manufacture and trade because of high technologies. It is also a time of trouble. Industrial development causes terrible conditions of a working class. The workers are poor and work hard. Women and children work for many hours. Dickens also presents bad social condition through his work and also shows lives of city people and industrial society in Coketown in England. In Hard times, Dickens has a compassion for the workers and calls for the readers' sympathy by showing the workers' hardships through Stephen Blackpool, a worker who is honest, innocent, generous and full of integrity. However, facing dead-end situations, Stephen Blackpool is the most pathetic figure. Stephen Blackpool is the most suffered and submissive worker. Although he is good, skilful and diligent power-loom weaver, his life is not much improved, but he has to work for survival. Dickens presents that most of Coketown citizens are workers. He says that they are " generically called ' the Hands'- a race who would have found more favor with some people, if the Providence had seen fit to make them only hands, or, like the lower creatures of the seashore, only hands and stomachs- lived a certain Stephen Blackpool, for forty years of age." Dickens comments on the terrible lives of workers. The word " generically" presents that the workers can't rise in the world because they have no education and have not enough money to make their lives better and comfortable. Their children must face the hardship such as working hard and ... ...asks for solution to improve the workers' lives because this is an important problem. The setting increases the compassion for Stephen. It is dark and silent. Everybody mourns for him, and the darkness symbolizes sorrow and death. This picture also shows Rachael's love for Stephen. She kneels on the grass, clasp his hand and tries to comfort although he hurts badly and is going to die. This picture shows the relationship between Stephen Blackpool, his wife and Rachael. Stephen and Rachael love each other, but he can't divorce his wife because of the high expense in lawsuit that he can't afford. Rachael is good and generous woman who takes care of Stephen's wife. She is like an angel, light and shining star. On the contrary, his wife is helpless and alcoholic. She increases Stephen's burden and tries to commit suicide, but Rachael can save her life.

Chevron Oil Industry Analysis

http://factsanddetails. com/world. php? itemid=1541&catid=51&subcatid=326 Chevron: Industry Analysis Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants is extremely low due to several factors. First, the oil industry which consists of thousands of oil and oil service companies throughout the world is an extremely large market. â€Å"According to the Department of Energy (DOE), Fossil fuels which include coal, oil, and natural gas make up more than 85% of the energy consumed in the U. S. as of 2008† (investopia). The fact that it is such a large market, make it very competitive for new entrants.Also, the oil industry is already in the mature stage, dominated by many major players including Chevron that has been around for a long period of time with various locations worldwide. This shows that they have an established reputation that is hard to compete with. Also, there are several barriers to entry which make it a very competitive market. These challenges include high capital co st, economies of scale, distribution channels, technology, environmental and governmental regulation as well as high levels of industry expertise.According to the Turnkey Analyst, â€Å"it is very difficult to build sustainable competitive advantages in the energy industry where oil’s commodity nature inhibits pricing power within the industry. Market participants are constantly required to invest capital to maintain cash flows and market share. † Therefore, these barriers to entry make it hard for new players to enter the market. http://turnkeyanalyst. com/2012/06/turnkey-research-note-chevron-corporation-nyse-cvx/ Rivalry among Existing Firms The oil industry is different from other due to the high demand for oil.Despite being a national company, Chevron has many competitors including regional as well as independent companies. Chevron is among the second largest oil companies in the world. Its competitors are Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell and BP. (chevron). Since oil is a commodity, the rivalry among existing firms is low. This is because there is not much of a differentiation. Threat of Substitute Products The threat of substitute is low. Substitutes for the oil industry would be alternative energy such as solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity or perhaps nuclear energy.However, due to factors such as â€Å"government regulations and environmental issues, nuclear and hydroelectric energy sources are not a threat within the next. Further, photovoltaic sources are limited by technological issues and geothermal sources are limited by geographic availability† (Miller). These might be a potential threat in the future due to emerging technologies and innovation that may lead to less consumption of oil-based fuel. An example would be hybrid cars that will result in less dependency on oil services.However, this shift in a more sustainable supply chain seems to be in the long term due to certain barriers such as high costs such as investments in n ew facilities. According to Chevron, â€Å"fossil fuels will continue to have a prominent role in the world’s economy for decades to come in both transportation and electricity generation. According to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy will account for less than 20 percent of the energy mix in 2035. † They believe that there will always be a demand for their products due to growth of the global economy and alternative energy sources do not seem to be a serious threat.Another factor that shows that alternative energy is not a serious threat is the fact that there is not enough support from the government. â€Å"Even though governments throughout the world are vowing to expand to green energy, they continue to give far more subsidies to fossil fuel than renewable – 10 to 12 times more, according to recent reports† (Wood). http://www. chevron. com/documents/pdf/ChevronApproachtoAssessingClimateRegulationImpacts. pdf http://www. renewableenerg yworld. com/rea/news/article/2010/12/oil-and-renewables-slicing-up-the-subsidy-pie Bargaining Power of SuppliersWithin the global industry exist many companies but is dominated by a few major players. Due to large capital investment in these companies, they â€Å"Supplier power is high because OPEC controls 40% of world’s supply of oil and, thus, has a strong influence on the price of oil† (Miller). Inspite of its size and scope, the oil industry is one of the most powerful in the world. Large companies such as Chevron control each aspect of the supply chain such as producing, refining, and drilling. Due to capital investments, it allow for these oil companies to acquire and own each part of their supply chain.The fact that they are their own customers give them more power allowing them to be more efficient. With all the their capital assets, they are able to obtain the resources such as operating their own macturing facilities, distribution channel giving them more co ntrol in this aspect. This shows that they have a high bargaining power. Their only supplier would be the oil reserves from oil producing countries. Bargaining Power of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers (individual) is low because oil is a commodity. Despite rise in prices, people will continue to buy it in order to fulfill their needs such as driving.With the lack of substitutes for oil, it gives little power to buyers who rely heavily on this resource. The cost of switching to another energy source is too high. Therefore, there is a high demand for oil which determines the market price. Industrial buyer power is also low because their supply can be limited by upstream suppliers. (Miller) To conclude, the overall attractiveness of the oil industry is high because there is low threat of new entry as well as buyer power and threat of substitutes. Also, the fact that supplier power is high is a favorable since the few major players in the industry are both suppliers and buyers.

Effective Leaders Essay - 1703 Words

From an organizational perspective there has become an increased interest in employee thinking, and feelings about their jobs. Also there exists an interest in what the employees are willing to dedicate to the organization. In the past, research has demonstrated that leadership, specifically charismatic leadership can affect the meaningfulness of employees’ work as measured by work engagement. When employees are engaged in their work they increase the occurrence of behaviors that promote efficient, and effective functioning of the organization (Babcock-Roberson Strickland, 2010). The proper question to ask now is what is leadership? Leadership is the process of social influence. One individual designated as leader can enlist the aid,†¦show more content†¦The point is many followers and leaders envision the perfect society (utopia). In this utopia leadership is to transpire. The Land of Cockaigne (1952/1999) was a medieval contrary of a heaven on the earth. In Hesi od’s Works and Days (1938/1999) the vision was a perfect society as a past earth without any worries. Vergil in the Fourth Eclogue (1906/1999) envisioned a perfect society as a future in which everything in existence is free. Pindar in Fragments (1937/1999) earthly paradise was inhabited by the good. In Epode 16 (1960/1999) Horace perfect society was free of diseases. Joseph Hall in Mundus alter et idem (1981/1999) message conveyed the search of a perfect society in a fantasy land. William Shakespeare in the Tempest (n.d./1999) offered a utopian society that existed in which no individual would work. Everyone was equal and real with innocence and purity. The point is no matter the organization, there needs to be a system for the leadership to occur for the governance of followers. Now an understanding has been developed as to the basis of organization, the meaning of leadership, and where leadership occurs. So what makes a leader? 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