Foucault and kant Essay Example for Free

Foucault and kant Essay Both Kant and Foucault present a question of what is enlightenment? According to Immanuel Kant enlightenment was mans freedom from his â€Å"self-incurred immaturity†. Kant believes that all that is needed to reach enlightenment is freedom. Enlightenment could not be achieved by any one person, we have to do so as a community. Kant said that we should have the freedom to make public use of our reason in all situations. He also believed that revolution is a great way to remove oppressive government heads but it would not teach the community to think in a different way. Kant says that the matters of religion is the focal point of enlightenment. Thinking and acting freely is mans enlightenment and emerges us from our immaturity. Foucaults text is a reflection upon Kants views on â€Å"What is enlightenment? †. Foucault addresses many of the issues with Kants essay on â€Å"What is Enlightenment? † and says that is written in a world era to which no one belongs to. He says that enlightenment is an â€Å"exit† or a â€Å"way out†. Focault says that we have not yet reached enlightenment and that once we achieve this enlightenment there will be nowhere else to progress to and we will achieve our limit. I agree with Foucault over Kants view on enlightenment. I think as a whole we have not reached our enlightenment and I don’t think we will for a very long time. Although Kant said in order to reach enlightenment we have to do so as a community. We cannot do this because this is something that exceeds our limits as human beings.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry | Analysis

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry | Analysis Playwrights of Color A Raisin in the Sun To be young, gifted and black (Lorraine Hansberry) is a phrase which is commonly associated with Lorraine Hansberry, which comes from the collection of autobiographical pieces which were put together by her ex-husband in her honor when she died. Throughout the years, individuals from all walks of life have come to America with dreams of a better life, in many different areas such as social, educational, and economical opportunities as well as political and religious freedoms. With these wishes and dreams, the phrase life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Mitchell), which to many Americans embodies the American dream, can become a reality or just a harsh reminder of what the American dream stands for because for some it comes true but for many, they are never able to reach their dream. She wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to show people that supporting friends and family members is important through the hard and trying time. If you are able to work hard and truly believe in you rself, dreams can come true in one form or another. The American dream to each individual, no matter age, race or gender has a different meaning. A Raisin in the Sun is important because it crosses over the continued debate of racial and gender issues which arose during the time this play was written, and even during the present day and age. Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago in 1930. Through her earlier years, Hansberrys parents sent her to public school rather than private schools in a protest against the segregation laws. In 1938, the Hansberry family was one of the first African American families to move into an all white neighborhood. After moving in, the neighbors threatened them with violence and legal action, but the Hansberrys would not put up with any of it and Hansberrys father would later bring his case all the way to the Supreme Court. When she finally went to college, she ended up studying at multiple schools including, the University of Chicago; at the Art Institute of Chicago; at the New School of Social Research in New York; in Guadalajara, Mexico; and at the University of Wisconsin(Encyclodpedia of World Biography on Lorraine Vivian Hansberry). While attending college, she saw a school performance of a play by the playwright Sean OCasey and decided to become a writer. In 1950, she ended up dropping out of college and moved to New York. While in New York, she decided to take classes in writing at the New School for Social Research and ended up working as an associate editor of Paul Robesons newspaper/magazine Freedom. During this period of her life, she met many leading African-American intellectuals, activists and famous writers, such as one famous writer, Langston Hughes. In 1953 Hansberry ended up marrying Robert Nemiroff, who was white, also a graduate student in Jewish literature, a songwriter, and took part in participating in the political events of the time at the protesting discrimination at New York University. Nemiroff gained his huge success with his hit song, Cindy, Oh Cindy, and after Nemiroffs success, and Hansberrys many part time jobs, she was able to settle down and devote herself entirely to writing. While writing, it eventually took its form in a play, which came from a poem by Langston Hughes, called Harlem. The success of the play, A Raisin in the Sun, end ed up winning the award for best play of the year, which made Lorraine Hansberry the first African American and the youngest American to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. She used her new fame to help bring attention to the American civil rights movement as well as African struggles for independence from colonialism(A Raisin in the Sun). After many years, Hansberry had marital problems with Nemiroff and they decided to divorce in 1964. Hansberry was only able to live long enough to see one other play, besides A Raisin in the Sun, be produced. On January 12, 1965, Hansberry died of pancreatic cancer at the young age of thirty-four. She ended up being one of the first playwrights to portray real African American characters and their struggles in day to day activities of African American life. This was shown in her play by the inspiration of her own familys struggles against the legal battles in segregated housing laws during her childhood. The working title of A Raisin in the Sun was originally The Crystal Stair after a line in an earlier poem by Langston Hughes, who was another African American playwright, poet, novelist, and short story writer. Hansberry ended up changing the title of her play again, after another one of Langston Hughes later poems, which asked: What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode (Hughes)? Produced and finished in 1957, the play A Raisin in the Sun, was the first drama by a black woman to be produced on Broadway. It took two years after it was finished, on March 1959, for the play to be revealed on Broadway at the Ethyl Barrymore Theater. From there, the Broadway production moved to the Belasco theatre and ran for 530 performances, where it started earning many awards. This play is unique in many aspects and covers many important issues. The play was unique because it was the first play to be produced on Broadway, written and directed by an African American and the first to have an all-black cast. The play gained huge success even though the producer, Phil Rose, had never produced a play, and large investors were initially not interested in it. In all the places the play was shown, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, the audiences absolutely loved it and shortly thereafter it became a huge success. With its huge success and fame, it ended up having a long run in theater a nd was later turned into a movie and after that, was later turned into a Broadway musical. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, is important in many different aspects of everyday life. With Lorraine Hansberry growing up how she did, in the neighborhood and time, she knew all about disappointment, false hope and despair. Hansberrys ancestors also knew about the hard times with exploitations, despair, frustrations and their dreams turning into dreadful nightmares as they came north to hopefully find a better life. Hansberry records the history of her ancestors nightmares in a Raisin in the Sun, by portraying a classic story of the Younger family, struggling to realize their dreams by escaping ghetto life. Hansberrys screenplay shows the story of the Younger family, but it actually reveals the plight of all families and individuals who have at one point experienced or those who are living right now, in despair, have lost hope in their life and have failed dreams and goals. Her immense dedication to this play, gives it its power for all people who read it and for those who end up de aling with it in everyday life. This play is an excellent choice for many different types of classes such as, literature, drama, history and film classes. The play will keep the attention of many different types of people based off of the plays action, dialogue, and cast of dynamic characters which captivate many different types of audiences from high school students through college students up to the adult readers. Young people endure many different frustrations with their lifestyle and rebel against parents which can bring little gratification at times. However, the adolescent who wants to truly believe that dreams do come true and are not made up, comes from the adolescent who is hiding beneath the cynical surface, making the heart beat of the true idealist. Through Hansberrys careful craftsmanship, the universal themes of the importance of dreams and the frustration of dreams deferred, the strength of family, the importance of not selling out, the problems of conflicting expectations, the belief that love and trust will win over deceit and selfishness, and the dangers of prejudice and stereotyping are as powerful today as they were nearly four decades ago when she wrote the play (TeacherVision). Adolescents come from many different families, with different types of problems and family structures, so they need exposure to the values which are shown within a traditional family, and this play delivers that without lecturing or preaching. Another reason A Raisin in the Sun is important is because of its historical value. The play shows the challenges and conflicts by reflecting the provocative natures through the racial attitudes through time, starting around the 1950s making its way to the present. Prejudice is seen in many forms, and the characters in Hansberrys play along with the screenplays visuals bring this theme to life like nothing ever could.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   This play represents life in the racial or ethnic community in many different and unique ways. The play is considered a turning place in American art because it addresses so many important issues and conflicts when this play was produced during the 1950s. The 1950s brought along the stereotypical age of the happy housewives and portrayed the African Americans as being comfortable with their inferior status. These stereotypes resulted in the social resentment that would eventually find public voice in the civil rights movement and importance in later movements such as the feminist movements of the 1960s. The play was also a revolutionary work for its time and can be shown by the way Hansberry created the African American Younger family, by portraying one of the first real and honest depictions of a black family on an American stage.   Usually in a play, groups o r individual African-Americans were always portrayed in the typical ethnic stereotypical roles and were displayed as small and comedic but this play overall portrays a united black family in a realistic light, which ends up being far from the comedic style which most people may think of. Hansberry uses black dialect throughout the play and introduces important issues, questions and concerns which many other families during this time and even during the present day and time run into, such as poverty, discrimination, and the creation of African-American racial identity. This play looks at the racial tensions between the black and white communities in addition to exploring the tensions within the black community itself. This can be shown when the family tries to reach their goals despite the challenges of poverty and racism all around them, by putting a down payment on a house in an all-white suburb neighborhood and shortly after this, the family is hit with racism in an unusual form f rom the white community. Throughout the play, Hansberry asks difficult and thought provoking questions about assimilation and figuring out ones true identity. One way this is shown, is through revealing Beneatha to a trend of celebrating African heritage, through the character of Asagai (her boyfriend and maybe future husband). Another important issue this play represents is how it addresses feminist questions about another important issue, marriage. The topic of marriage comes up for Beneatha in this play towards the end, which Hansberry portrays as not being necessary for all women and that every women should have ambitious career goals instead of giving up on their dreams before they have a chance to fight for their own personal dreams. Hansberry also approaches an abortion debate, which is touched on during a time when abortion was not allowed and is still causing concern and a lot of controversial talk today. Having this play written during the time period and being produced wh en it was, was such a huge success for someone with her status as being young, black and a woman growing up in the 1950s. This showed how much she overcame as a woman, how much people were starting to accept change and how people started understanding important topics which needed to be addressed during this time. No matter the age, race or gender of a person, it shows just how important the idealism of a single persons, race and gender is in the pursuit of dreams and just how crucial dreams are in an individuals life. As the play focuses primarily on dreams and what happens to the dreams in driving and motivating the main characters actions, emotions and feelings throughout the play, it also reveals what happens to people out in the real world. Any negative dreams that happen in an individuals life, no matter the age, gender or race of a person, seem to stem from the fact that people are placing stress and importance on objects rather than on family pride and happiness. Like the ma in point of this play says, if everyone attempts to support and encourage their family, and not only focusing on themselves and being selfless, they can lift each other up and support each other through the toughest of times. This can happen if you never give up hope on each other and never give up on your own dreams.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   This play focuses on major issues such as racism between white and black communities, abortion, marriage, assimilation and finding ones true identity but in the end the play boils down to a timeless point; dreams are what make each person, white or black, push on in life in order to live each day like it was their last. A Raisin in the Sun is central, in the continued debate over racial and gender concerns, making this play a critical cultural document in an essential period of American history. MLA Citation A Raisin in the Sun. 2009. SparkNotes. 15 November 2009 . A Raisin in the Sun. 2000-2009. TeacherVision. 14 November 2009 . A Raisin in the Sun: The Quest for the American Dream. EDSITEment. 4 December 2009 . Encyclodpedia of World Biography on Lorraine Vivian Hansberry. 2005-2006. BookRags. 14 November 2009 . Hughes, Langston. Harlem (A Dream Deferred). Lorraine Hansberry 15 November 2009: 1040. Liukkonen, Petri. Lorraine Hansberry. 2008. 14 November 2009 . Lorraine Hansberry. 15 November 2009: 1037. Mitchell, Diana. A Teachers Guide to Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun. A Teachers Guide to the Signet and Plume Editions of the Screenplay Lorraine Hansberrys Raisin in the Sun. 2 December 2009 . Moon, Andrea and Cathy Hartenstein. A Raisin in the Sun Study Guide. The Cleveland Play House. 4 December 2009 .

Automatic Water Level Controller (AWLC)

Automatic Water Level Controller (AWLC) Automatic Water Level Controller (AWLC) will automatically START the pump set as soon as the water level falls below the predetermined level (usually kept half or 2/3rd tank) and shall SWITCH OFF the pump set as soon as tank is full or water level in the lower tank is at below minimum level. AWLC provides you the flexibility to decide for yourself the water levels for operations of pump set in upper/lower tanks. Built in Indications for showing Full, Empty Levels in Upper Tank and Lower Tank Empty Indication. MANUAL operation switch for special operations like watering the plants from pump set. The AWLC ensure no overflows or dry running of pump there by saves electricity and water. Low AC Voltage sensing circuit to avoid polarization of electrodes in water (requires very rare cleaning of electrode ends). Provided with special stainless steel conductive electrodes. Consume very little energy, ideal for continuous operation. Water Level Sensor This water level sensor is conducive for liquids that have a conductivity of equal to or more than 25m Siemens. It is your best choice for a water level switch. The system is economical to install as no special cable is required for signal transmission. The level probe and the evaluation unit can be connected using a long cable. The AC is provided on the probe for preventing electrode deterioration. You can choose from among a variety of level control and installation systems such as Two point sensors for independent switching and automatic control of pump. Four point switching with two pump control logic. Three point switching: two for pump control logic and one independent point with or without a settable delay (for probe covered or uncovered). A variety of probes is available for your specific process. Applications The SLW series water level switches work to maintain a constant water level avoiding material wastage in your process plant. Common applications also include switching pumps on and off to avoid overflow, dry running and indicating water level in an empty tank to avoid wear and tear and production stoppage. Many of our customers in the Food, Power, Chemicals, Sugar, Detergent, Steel, Minerals and Textile industry have used the SLW series water level indicator /sensor. Principle A low AC voltage is applied between the probe electrode and the tank wall (or reference electrode in case of insulated tank). When the water/liquid comes in contact with the electrode tip, a conductive path is established between the sense electrode and the tank wall/reference electrode. This current is sensed, amplified and made to operate a relay whose contacts in turn can be used for annunciation/control. Technical Data Evaluation Unit Housing : aluminium, Weather-proof enamel painted suitable for back panel/wall mounting. Cable Entries : 3 Nos. of  ½ BSP Mains : 110 or 230 Volts AC (-15 to + 10%) 50 Hz. Relay Output : 50Hz for non-inductive load. Power Consumption : 5 VA . Fail-Safe Mode : High or Low field selectable. Response Time : 0.5 secs Switching Delay : 0.5 to 20 seconds Maximum Sensitivity : 25m Siemens Operating mode : (A) Single point switching. Indication : Red LED for Alarm, Green LED for Normal. Operating Temp. : -20 º C to + 60 º C. Weight : ~2 Kg.

Comparing the Roles of Women in Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnes

Comparing the Roles of Women in Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Look Back in Anger In Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Look Back in Anger, the women characters play distinct roles in the dramas. However, the type of roles, the type of characters portrayed, and the purpose the women’s roles have in developing the plot and themes vary in each play. As demonstrated by The Importance of Being Earnest and Look Back in Anger, the majority of women’s roles ultimately reflect that women in British society were viewed to be unequal to men in love and in relationships and generally the weaker sex, emotionally, physically and intellectually. However, I have found an exception to this standard in the play Arcadia, in which Thomasina Coverly plays the role of a young genius. In Oscar Wilde’s drama The Importance of Being Earnest, he uses light-hearted tones and humor to poke fun at British high society while handling the serious theme of truth and the true identity of who is really â€Å"Earnest.† Truth as theme is most significantly portrayed through the women characters, Gwendolen and Cecily but to present serious themes comically, Wilde portrays women to be the weaker sex of society, despite the seriousness of the subject—the identity of the men they want to marry. Gwendolen and Cecily act like air-heads and are easily won over by the men they plan to marry. Gwendolen simply wants to marry a man named Earnest. She tells Jack â€Å"my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest† (I.381-82). The mere idea of marrying a man for his name shows how easily Gwendolen can attach herself to a man. Marriage is the most serious of all relationships and Gwendolen is foolish to deter... ..., Stoppard’s creation of Thomasina opens the door of opportunity in the world of drama for more women characters to be created with the same intelligence and respect in regards to love as well as academics. Works Cited Fleming, John. Stoppard’s Theater: Finding Order amid Chaos. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001. Nadel, Ira. Tom Stoppard: A Life. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Osborne, John. Look Back in Anger. New York: Penguin, 1982. Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia. London: Faber and Faber, 1993. Thompson, Doreen. â€Å"Stoppard’s Idea of Woman: ‘Good, Bad, or Indifferent?’.† Ed. Anthony Jenkins. Critical Essays on Tom Stoppard. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1990. 194-203. Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. Peter Raby, ed. Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. London: Oxford University Press, 1995. 247-307. Comparing the Roles of Women in Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnes Comparing the Roles of Women in Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Look Back in Anger In Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Look Back in Anger, the women characters play distinct roles in the dramas. However, the type of roles, the type of characters portrayed, and the purpose the women’s roles have in developing the plot and themes vary in each play. As demonstrated by The Importance of Being Earnest and Look Back in Anger, the majority of women’s roles ultimately reflect that women in British society were viewed to be unequal to men in love and in relationships and generally the weaker sex, emotionally, physically and intellectually. However, I have found an exception to this standard in the play Arcadia, in which Thomasina Coverly plays the role of a young genius. In Oscar Wilde’s drama The Importance of Being Earnest, he uses light-hearted tones and humor to poke fun at British high society while handling the serious theme of truth and the true identity of who is really â€Å"Earnest.† Truth as theme is most significantly portrayed through the women characters, Gwendolen and Cecily but to present serious themes comically, Wilde portrays women to be the weaker sex of society, despite the seriousness of the subject—the identity of the men they want to marry. Gwendolen and Cecily act like air-heads and are easily won over by the men they plan to marry. Gwendolen simply wants to marry a man named Earnest. She tells Jack â€Å"my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest† (I.381-82). The mere idea of marrying a man for his name shows how easily Gwendolen can attach herself to a man. Marriage is the most serious of all relationships and Gwendolen is foolish to deter... ..., Stoppard’s creation of Thomasina opens the door of opportunity in the world of drama for more women characters to be created with the same intelligence and respect in regards to love as well as academics. Works Cited Fleming, John. Stoppard’s Theater: Finding Order amid Chaos. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001. Nadel, Ira. Tom Stoppard: A Life. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Osborne, John. Look Back in Anger. New York: Penguin, 1982. Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia. London: Faber and Faber, 1993. Thompson, Doreen. â€Å"Stoppard’s Idea of Woman: ‘Good, Bad, or Indifferent?’.† Ed. Anthony Jenkins. Critical Essays on Tom Stoppard. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1990. 194-203. Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. Peter Raby, ed. Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. London: Oxford University Press, 1995. 247-307.

Geoffrey of Monmouths Life of Merlin Essay -- Geoffrey Monmouth Life

Geoffrey of Monmouth's Life of Merlin Geoffrey of Monmouth’s â€Å"Life of Merlin† is a text that makes its readers struggle with finding criteria for madness. What does it even mean to be â€Å"mad?† Madness seems to define a person only when he or she does something to stray from the normality of any given group of people. Breaking societal norms often leaves people open to criticism and suspicion. In order to be sane and mentally healthy, one has to abide by all explicit and implicit rules of society. â€Å"Life of Merlin† is about a man that abandons feudal society, and all of its rules, in hopes of finding a better place to live. A better place to live, for him, is one that is purely good. Violent and deceitful people are ultimately the factors that drive him away, causing him to be termed as â€Å"mad.† I argue that Merlin is a character with extreme extra worldly perception. Many would think extra worldly perception to be a privilege, but this essay serves to contradict the positive effects that extra worldly perception can have. I will show why he is perceptive, rather than mad, as well as explain why this type of perception can be detrimental to one’s life. When a person has too much perception he can often live in a world of fear and discontent, one that is only curable by the restructuring of an entire society. To begin, Merlin’s reasons for leaving feudal society are too logical to call him â€Å"mad.† One place where logic can be heard is where Merlin says, â€Å"Surely a malignant fate cannot have been so vindictive as to take from me all these my companions, men such that many a king and many a distant kingdom have stood in fear of them till now† (55). What Merlin is addressing is the fact that someone is to blame fo... ...s left with after reading the text. While Merlin seems to have a good start towards creating a more peaceful society, it does not seem that it will prove to be completely peaceful. Of course anything is better to him than living in the city, and it only seems to get better when he is encountered with people much like himself. A text like â€Å"Life of Merlin† makes me question whether a peaceful society is within grasp. Even in current times, countries are at war and people lie to and cheat one another. Have we become more violent and deceptive with time? In order to create a peaceful environment, the idea of competition might have to be removed. Competition, one thing that is instinctive in all creatures, is a driving force of all human action. Merlin seems to strive towards the ideal, but it remains questionable as to whether or not his ideal is within grasp.

Characters in Dr.Faustus

Faustus – The protagonist. Faustus is a brilliant sixteenth-century scholar from Wittenberg, Germany, whose ambition for knowledge, wealth, and worldly might makes him willing to pay the ultimate price—his soul—to Lucifer in exchange for supernatural powers. Faustus’s initial tragic grandeur is diminished by the fact that he never seems completely sure of the decision to forfeit his soul and constantly wavers about whether or not to repent. His ambition is admirable and initially awesome, yet he ultimately lacks a certain inner strength. He is unable to embrace his dark path wholeheartedly but is also unwilling to admit his mistake.Mephostophilis From the Hebrew, mephitz, destroyer, and tophel, liar. A devil of craft and cunning. He is the devil who comes at Faustus' summoning, and the devil who serves Faustus for 24 years. In lore, Mephostophilis (also spelled Mephistopheles, or Miphostophiles, and also called Mephisto) seems to be a relative latecomer in the recognized hierarchy of demons. He possibly was created for the Faustus legend. In Marlowe's play, Mephostophilis has layers to his personality. He admits that separation from God is anguish, and is capable of fear and pain. But he is gleefully evil, participating at every level in Faustus' destruction.Not only does Mephostophilis get Faustus to sell his soul; he also encourages Faustus to waste his twenty-four years of power. Wagner Servant to Faustus. He steals Faustus' books and learns how to summon demons. At the end of the play, he seems concerned about his master's fate. Good Angel and Evil Angel Personifications of Faustus' inner turmoil, who give differing advice to him at key points. Their characters also reflect Christian belief that humans are assigned guardian angels, and that devils can influence human thoughts. Valdes Friend to Faustus, who teaches him the dark arts.He appears only in Act One. Cornelius Friend to Faustus, who teaches him the dark arts. He appears only in Act One. Lucifer Satan. â€Å"Lucifer† original meant Venus, referring to the planet's brilliance. In Christian lore, Lucifer is sometimes thought to be another name of Satan. Some traditions say that Lucifer was Satan's name before the fall, while the Fathers of the Catholic Church held that Lucifer was not Satan's proper name but a word showing the brilliance and beauty of his station before the fall. He appears at a few choice moments in Doctor Faustus, and Marlowe uses â€Å"Lucifer† as Satan's proper name.Belzebub One of Lucifer's officers. A powerful demon. The Seven Deadly Sins Personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins, not acts but impulses or motivations that lead men to sinful actions. They array themselves in a pageant before Faustus, although scholars think now that this section was not written by Marlowe. Clown / Robin Robin learns demon summoning by stealing one of Faustus' books. He is the chief character in a number of scenes that provide comic relief from the main story. Dick A friend of Robin's. He is one of the characters peopling the few comic relief scenes. RafeA horse ostler, or groomer, and friend to Robin. With the Clown, he summons Mephostophilis, who is none too pleased to be called. Vintner A wine merchant or a wine maker. This Vintner chases down Robin and Rafe after they steal a silver goblet from him. Carter A man who meets Faustus while carting hay to town. Faustus swindles him. Horse-Courser A man who buys Faustus' horse. Faustus swindles him. Hostess An ale wench. She treats Robin and his friends kindly. The Pope Yeah, that Pope. In a move that would have pleases his Protestant audience, Marlowe depicts him as cruel, power-mad, and far from holy.Faustus plays some cheap tricks on him. Bruno A man who would be Pope, selected by the German emperor and representing the conflicts between Church and state authority. Raymond King of Hungary. He serves the Pope. Charles The German Emperor. Faustus performs at his court. Martino Knight in the court of the German Emperor. Friend to Benvolio and Frederick. When Benvolio seeks revenge against Faustus, Martino decides to help out of loyalty. Frederick Knight in the court of the German Emperor. Friend to Martino and Benvolio. When Benvolio seeks revenge against Faustus, Frederick decides to help out of loyalty.Benvolio Knight in the court of the German Emperor. Friend to Martino and Frederick. When Faustus humiliates him, he seeks revenge. Saxony A man attending at the court of the German Emperor. Duke of Vanholt A nobleman. Faustus performs illusions at his court. Duchess of Vanholt A noblewoman. Faustus fetches her grapes in January. Spirits in the shapes of Alexander the Great, Darius, Paramour, and Helen Faustus' illusions. An Old Man A holy old man. He tries to save Faustus by getting him to repent, and for his good deed, Faustus initially thanks him. But later, Faustus sends devils to harm the Old Man.

Free Primary Education in Kenya Essay

Introduction Since independence in, Kenya has had its share of the struggle to make it possible for its population attains education for all. This was out of the realization that education of the population would help fight ills that faced the society, among them included; poverty, ignorance, and disease. In fact, the government treated education as a basic right for every Kenyan child. Education has ever since been regarded as a fundamental factor for human capital development. In response to this urge, government developed policy documents that sort to expand access to education for its citizens. It is internationally recognized that everyone has a right to education, as agreed upon at various international conferences. Kenya tried to take the declarations seriously by ensuring that children have free access to basic education. The introduction of the Free Primary Education Policy in Kenya in 2003, however, provokes analysts to offer criticisms on the same. We can try to understand the concept of Free Primary Education by raising fundamental philosophical questions that may help us reflect on the policy. Reasons for introducing Free primary education. As already introduced earlier, there have been good reasons for the provision of education for all citizens. The Kenyan government and other leaders believed that an educated populace will, among other things, be in a position to combat poverty, ignorance, and fight diseases. Inspired by these objectives and that of international concern, Kenya may be justified in its continued quest for the introduction of policies that seek to expand the education sector. Since independence, the country has witnessed an increase in the number of learning institutions. Literacy levels, especially, among the adults have increased tremendously. Educational services and facilities have spread all over the country ensuring relative uniformity in the levels of education among the people. Research findings revealed that the enrollment at primary schools has more than doubled and indication that people needed the service seriously. However, there have been significant regional disparities as well as gender disparities in the primary schools as far as access to education is concerned (UNESCO, 2005). This has been one of the major reasons for the  continued need for Universal Primary Education (UPE). This actually acknowledges that the need for free primary education is justifiable. With these as mental notes politicians used it to identify a powerful tool to include in their campaign manifestos. And in 2002, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) politicians effectively tapped the opportunity resulting in their landslide victory to power during the general election. Nature of free primary school Those who came up with the policy mush have thought out well the use of the terms that would sell the policy. In its technical sense, the statement meant the abolition of fees in all government schools as from 2003 academic year, provision of some learning materials to pupils, parents would continue to buy school uniforms and other agreed-upon levies, and that the funding of other non-salary expenditure comes in the form of grants from the government. However, with the political euphoria that swept the country then, the literal meaning of the policy was oversimplified to the level that it even confused further the actors in education. For purposes of wooing voters, politicians implied that the education of their children would be completely free of charge. Parents were the most affected by this assertion since by January 2003 they had no plans to incur any costs in the education of their children at the primary school level. The then Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) declared the FPE Policy in Kenya. The government and development partners were to pay fees and levies for tuition, meet the cost of basic teaching and learning materials as well as wages for critical non-teaching staff and co-curricular activities. Parents were then expected to facilitate the refurbishing of existing facilities. Any additional charges were to be approved by the government through the ministry of education. The complexity of the problem is heightened by the use of the word ‘free’. Free as a term in English means to be able to act at will, not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint to do something. It also means costing nothing. The term has other numerous meanings that differ under given circumstances or contexts. We may therefore even wonder whether education can be free or not. Is it possible to resist education incase one is not interested in taking it freely? If free is taken to mean what is supposed to mean in this context, how free is free? This term, therefore, may be ambiguous and is subject to misrepresentations and hence prone to misinterpretations. This is most likely to occur if little effort is made to clarify the meaning of the usage. Clarity is one of the most important elements of any policy so as to avoid multiple interpretations. Community participation The third concern here is the need to understand how the stakeholders in the education understood the policy. The policy was formulated without consulting those who are closely concerned with practice of education and those are teachers and parents. This resulted in the lack of clear guidelines for the implementation of free education as a government policy. The teachers were not adequately prepared to manage the influx of pupils of all ages. Little effort was made to in-service teachers and carry out seminars for the parents in order to prepare them for the great changes that awaited them. In fact, as already mentioned above, many parents had a general misconception about the meaning of ‘free’ education. Most of them thought that they were no longer expected to play any role in the running of the school hence they lost a sense of ownership. Since the local fundraising and voluntary contributions for schools, by implication, were abolished, communities also thought that they had no role to play in the running of the school since the government will take care of everything. This lack of proper communication becomes our major concern; from a philosophical perspective. This, therefore, calls for a sustained and comprehensive communication strategy for the policy if it is to remain practical. The policy should also clarify the sources of funding for the program, adequately explain the roles of various stakeholders, provide a framework for instilling discipline especially due to the age-variation in the enrolled pupils, and provide regular communication about the developments in the program. For a young graduate of less than thirty years expecting an old man like Mzee Maruga in class, it has effects on production and end results of the teacher. How ell prepared was the teacher to handle such age disparities among the pupils? This then becomes an enigmatic question. Logistical planning With the challenges facing the implementation of the FPE program, we may also investigate to know whether adequate logistics for its implementation were put in place. A well designed policy should be logically arranged from the point of initial implementation and the subsequent stages. This implies that the policy makers should be in a position to anticipate the possible risks and take precautionary measures to address them. However, from a critical analysis of the free education in Kenya, it is evident that little was done as far as ensuring the successful implementation of the program is concerned. A good policy is supposed to point out the possible huddles and recommendations for overcoming them. Poor planning has affected the program in many ways. One of the most obvious is shortage of teaching and learning resources. The delay in remittance of the funds and the its poor management at the school level has cause a serious problem where what is supposed to have been supplied is only there in record but not in reality. Even the research that has been done by the donor organizations, showed serious shortages caused by absence of what was supposed to have been supplied. Given that the managers, who in this case are the head teachers, were not trained on management of finances and how to make reports, advantage was taken quickly to syphone the same funds into their own usage. Overcrowding The other aspect is characterized by overcrowding in most primary schools due to increased enrollments and hence increased pupil-teacher ratio. In fact, congestion in classrooms has made a mockery of the rationale for the introduction of FPE program. The characteristic delay in the release of government funds only serve to crown the already created problems. It beats logic to cause more problems in the process of solving another. The report by the Development bank for Reconstruction and Development 2009, reported that, most communities did not bother to support the buildings of the school for they were assured that the government would do all. But this was not the case, most schools now look ike abandoned dens, where no human beings dwell. The buildings are dilapidated and now parents are withdrawing their children to private schools, and thus see the growth of private schools. The policy is also strict on any attempts by the school committees to solicit funds from parents. This has made them feel so constrained in their duties of managing the school owing to the cumbersome procedures required for instituting levies. Turning a blind eye on the potential threats accompanying such a sensitive policy as is FPE is utmost disregard of fundamental concerns. In addition to clarity, therefore, logic requires a comprehensive analysis of a policy like the FPE with an aim of identifying the underlying assumptions and the ultimate implications, especially upon implementation. This will ensure systematic implementation and timely solution of emerging issues. The government should make an effort to supervise the policy at the grassroots level. Up to recent most poor parents still belief that the promises government made at election time will still be done forgetting that much was election promise and once the vote is given all is forgotten. Even to increase the number of teachers as a basic concern has not been looked at. Why then should the government give people something that does not work? Too few teachers as compared to too many students results into poor performance, while the children of the able ones get better education in private schools. Education and social change Looking at all these aspects how can education be looked upon as the ultimate solution to societal problems? Although research findings reveal that there is a positive correlation between the level of education and economic prosperity, it may be a misguided opinion to believe that free education is the sole solution of social problems. This concern is related to the motives of introducing free education programs by the government of Kenya since independence. Pupils will still drop out of school due to other reasons and not for economic reasons. Holistic approaches as advocated by the international Universal Primary Education (UPE), therefore, should be adopted if education is to play a greater role in empowering the populace. Conclusion The challenges experienced in the implementation of FPE program can be traced to the uncritical design of the policy. Many political considerations seem to take center-stage during the proposal and formulation of such policies which end up creating more problems later. This implies that a clear and logical situation analysis should be conducted if meaningful policies are to be developed and hence ensuring their sustainability. The bottom line here, therefore, is the need to raise fundamental philosophical questions during the primary stages of any policy formulation in order to ensure that all concerns are dealt with in advance. That implies that good planning is required. This ensures logistical problems to be sorted out in advance, training be done of those who are directly involved from the grassroots levels. And in the case of primary schools, parents and teachers are to be explained to understand the role for each player. Unless the community is meant to understand it becomes hard for the policy to succeed. References 1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2009). Abolishing school fees in Africa: lessons from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique: a publication of the World Bank in Collaboration with UNICEF. World Bank Publications 2. UNESCO (March 2005). Challenges of Implementing free Primary Education in Kenya. Assessment Report. UNESCO Nairobi Office.