Blood Brothers Essay Example for Free

Blood Brothers Essay â€Å"Blood Brothers† is a play about two twins who are separated at birth, they do not only have different parents but have a whole different lifestyle. Eddie lives in a world of luxury and has opportunities to go to university and eventually owning his own business which is more than Mickey could have ever dreamed of. On the other hand Mickey is brought up in a working class family with no qualifications whatsoever, as soon as Mickey thinks he has finally settled down with a job he then finds himself fired and starts turning to crime. Towards the end of the play the differences between Eddie and Mickey begin to show as friction is caused between them. They begin to turn against each other and Linda is stuck in the middle as she has feelings for both Eddie and Mickey, this is when the question is raised asking whether Linda and Eddie have been having an affair. This is then what sends Mickey off the rails and ends up being the cause of the Johnstone twin’s death as Mickey shot Eddie in a rage of anger over Linda. Tension is caused at the end of the play when Mrs Johnstone tells Mickey and Eddie that they are brothers as the audience already knew this they just wanted to know when and how this would be revealed to the twins. Willy Russell wrote Blood Brothers to show how life was in Liverpool in 1980s and how being in a different class separated people. He also refers to the recession and how so many people lost their jobs and the only way for them to earn a living was to turn to crime like Mickey did as he needed money to support Linda and his child, Sammy did not help the situation as he was the one who had persuaded Mickey to earn money in that way. The end of the story is revealed to the audience by the narrator at the very beginning of the play. This builds up tension because people know what is going to happen so they are waiting to find out how it happened and what led up to that scene. Another thing that adds tension to the play is how the narrator keeps on referring back to the devil â€Å"the devils got your number, y’know he’s gonna find y’. Y’know he’s right behind y.† Towards the end of the play the narrator says how close the devil is getting, the devil being the devil inside Mickey when he shoots Eddie down. Mrs Johnstone sings a song about the price that she has to pay â€Å"Living on the never, never, constant as the changing weather never sure who’s at the door or the price I’ll have to pay† This song says that Mrs Johnstone has a price to pay, this could mean that she has to give up her baby in return for the money that Mrs Lyons gave her but the audience know that the price that she will have to pay is the guilt that she will suffer and that both her twins die. The constant weather indicates her life has been up and down like it’s raining when she is sad and sunny when she is happy and that everything changes as fast as the weather. Secondly when she says that she is â€Å"living on the never, never, Constant as the changing weather never sure who’s at the door† this could refer to the people who came to knock on her door to take away her possessions and that living on the never, never could mean that she knows that nothing that she has will stay with her forever. Another thing that indicates this is that when she says â€Å"It’s alright lad we’re used to it we were in the middle id our tea one night when they came for that table.† This means that she has had her belonging possessed before and because of this she doesn’t really mind when it happens again because it has happened so many times before. Willy Russell has made the audience sympathize with Mrs Johnstone because she has been through a lot in her life. At the beginning of the play she tells us how she got to be in that position in that moment in time. Mrs Johnstone describes her marriage and says â€Å"that I was six weeks overdue† which makes the audience feel sorry for her. It also describes the place of marriage which was at the registry office. â€Å"We got married at the registry and had a do†. This suggests to us the audience that the wedding was nothing too fancy, not too expensive and that the marriage was sudden and unexpected. She got married because she was expecting a baby, in difficult, circumstances to get married in. Soon after the wedding Mrs Johnstone wanted to go out and enjoy herself like she had done before but her husband wouldn’t take her anywhere because he became very conscious of her appearance and felt embarrassed to be seen with her. This is evident due to the fact that sh e gained weight and now perceived herself to be â€Å"twice the size of Marilyn Monroe†. The audience feels sympathetic towards her because she has seven children and low self esteem. This is shown by the fact that she describes herself to look like she is forty two instead of twenty five. This shows the physical strain that Mrs. Johnston has gone through. I understand why she gave her baby away to Mrs Lyons because Mrs Lyons emotionally manipulated Mrs Johnston in this terrible time she is going through. Mrs Lyons attempts to make Mrs Johnstone think positively by saying that â€Å"if he’s with me you’ll still be able to see him each day as you come to work† Mrs Lyons presents Mrs Johnstone with the idea that her son would have a much better life with herself â€Å"if he grew up here as our son†¦ he could have everything†. However this is why she may have done this for the benefit of the baby because she felt that Mrs Lyons could provide for him much better than she ever could and she just wanted him to have a better life. The purpose of the narrator is to explain some of the key action on stage. The narrator also involves the audience by asking them directly, to judge what they see. He reveals that the brothers die at the very start of the play and from then on he constantly reminds the audience of the twin’s fate. He presents the themes of fate, destiny and superstition throughout the play, but at the end he asks the audience to consider if it was social class rather than fate that caused the tragedy. In the play the narrator constantly reminds Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons about the devil â€Å"Y’know the devils got your number, y’know he’s gonna find y’, y’know he’s right behind y’, he’s starin through your windows and he’s creeping down the hall.† This makes the audience realise that when the narrator refers to the devil he means the devil that is going to cause the death of the twins at the end of the play this makes the audience anxious as to when this is all going to happen. In this play Mickey, Eddie, Linda, and Sammy play all sorts of games, I think that the games that they play influence them when they are older for example they play with pretend guns and Sammy says â€Å"It only fires caps. I’m gonna get a real gun soon, I’m gonna get an air gun† This later becomes true as Sammy does get a real gun which is then used to kill someone; both Mickey and Sammy were arrested for this. The arrest is also relevant as the children used to play cops and robbers. â€Å"Come on Eddie, you can have a shot at our target in the park.†This is relevant because Mickey and Eddie practised shooting and in the end Mickey shoots Eddie so the shooting practise came in handy. I think the strongest child was Linda because she stuck up for Mickey no matter what; she stuck up for him when he was getting told of by the teachers and she was able to have the courage to lie to a police officer. Superstition is a big theme in the play and Mrs Johnstone is shown to be superstitious right at the beginning of the play. â€Å"New shoes on the table. Take them off†.The new shoes on the table could result in the birth of the twins. â€Å"Plural, Mrs Johnstone, mouths to feed, you’re expecting twins.† The narrator uses superstition during the play to imply the loss of money or precious things. â€Å"An’ a spider’s been killed.† A main part in the play is when Mrs Lyons uses Mrs Johnston’s superstitions to stop her from telling Eddie and Mickey that they actually brothers â€Å"They say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, they shall both immediately die.† As Mrs Johnstone is very superstitious she believed every word Mrs Lyons says to her. This superstition later becomes true, as at the end of the play the only reason why the gun got fired was because Mrs Johnstone told the boys that they were actually brothers as she thought that it would stop Mickey from shooing Eddie but in the end although it may have been an accident Mickey still fired the gun either over anger or rage over Linda or pure shock to find out that he was a twin. The narrator finishes his speech with the idea of superstitions and whether they are the cause of the traumatic story line and ending. â€Å"And do we blame superstition for what came to pass.† The first sign of tension is when he kids grow up and Sammy causes trouble on the bus as he gets a knife out and starts threatening the conductor to give the bag with all of the fair money in just because he wouldn’t give Sammy a ticket â€Å"Fuck off, now move, you move! Give me the bag† This creates tension because nobody has ever seen that side of Sammy before and even Mickey gets scared and tries to stop him from getting into to deeper trouble â€Å"Sammy, Sammy!† The repetition means that Mickey is really worried and wants to get Sammy’s attention. When both Sammy and Mickey are both fired tension is created when Sammy asks Mickey to help him out with a job, Sammy then produces a gun and says they will go and hold someone up for some money. Mickey is reluctant at first, but wants to be able to buy Linda something nice, and agrees to stand guard. The audience want Mickey to be able to say no to Sammy because they know that it probably won’t end well, because they know that Mickey wants to be able to provide for Linda and his child but he won’t be able to do that behind bars. Meanwhile all this is happening at exactly the same time Edward meets up with Linda, proclaiming his love for her. She explains she has always loved him in a way, but she is now married to Mickey, and very much in love. Willy Russell shows them talking at the same time so the audience can compare what both Linda and Mickey are saying, Mickey gave into temptation and was willing to help Sammy with a job for money whilst Linda had Eddie declaring his love for her but Linda was strong enough to say no because she couldn’t do that to Mickey. At the beginning of the play Mickey and Eddie had a very strong friendship and cared and looked out for each other, when one was sad the other asked why and wanted to help â€Å"Mickey what’s wrong?† Eddie saw that Mickey was upset so he wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help. â€Å"I Thought we were blood brothers† this shows that they were once very close and being blood brothers meant that they always stuck together. As the play went on and the kids grew up into adults the relationship between Mickey and Eddie had changed. Before they were best friends, which had then changed into a university kid and an unemployed man who had nothing to say to each other. When Eddie announced that he had everything he had ever wanted and offered to give Mickey money, Mickey’s jealousy got the better of him â€Å"You, you’re a dickhead†. This indicates that Mickey is angry at Eddie because he has everything including all the money in the world whilst Mickey had no job, no money and hated the thought that his old best friend had everything he didn’t have. Right at the start of the play everyone saw how close Mickey and Linda were but when Mickey was in jail it not only changed him, but it changed his mental health as he became attached to drugs and became insane and mad. â€Å"He said about, about me nerves, an how I get depresses an, I need to take these cos they make me better.† But when Mickey did use these drugs it might have made him feel better but it put a strain on his and Linda’s relationship as they argued all the time which then resulted to Linda turning to Eddie for comfort and supposedly romance. Willy Russell uses ellipses to show pauses or that t he character is being hesitant in sentences to create tension and also to make the reader hang on to the speakers words and waiting for the next instalment. In the final moments of the feel tense as Mickey is running round the town with a gun searching for Eddie and everyone is wondering if he actually will shoot his brother or if he will just threaten him. The confrontation between Eddie and Mickey is very dramatic as Mickey is shouting out the odds and Eddie is denying everything. Then the police come in demanding that Mickey puts down the gun down then when he starts to realise what he is doing he begins to lower the gun, then when Mrs Johnstone comes and announces that they are twin brothers â€Å"Mickey don’t shoot Eddie, he’s your brother, I couldn’t afford to keep both of you. His mother couldn’t have kids so I agreed to give one of you away.† Mickey despairs that he was not the one given away, because then he could have had the life given to Eddie. Mickey, distraught, gestures carelessly with the gun towards Eddie. This sad story ends when the police misinterpret this action and gun Mickey down as he accidentally shoots Eddie, killing him. I think Blood Brothers the musical is a fantastic play, I especially love the way that each song has a meaning and the emotions of the characters in the lyrics. But I thought the end was good as you would have never thought that Mickey would kill Eddie. How the play was set for the narrator to have told the end of the story and the beginning of the play created more and more tension as the play went. I liked the fact that Willy Russell was influenced by Liverpool in 1983, only some of the characters had a Liverpool accent these were Mickey, Sammy, Linda, and Mrs Johnstone these were all the people in lower class and the ones who didn’t have an accent were Eddie, Mrs Lyons and Mr Lyons as they were very well spoken and in upper class. I learnt how social class can get in the way of you want to be friends with because their parents might not approve of you. I think the play might still have a relevance for a modern day audience as some people still rely on their class to get things, for example if Mrs Lyons wasn’t in upper class then Mrs Johnstone would have been able to stand up to her because she wouldn’t have thought that she was so high up. This can make modern day audiences change their mind and know that the times have changed so they can be friends with whoever they want to be. Another thing that the audience would see is how Mrs Lyons gave Mrs Johnstone money for her baby and that still happens today, so they can see that if someone does give their baby away to someone for money then it might not always end in happiness.

The Two Willy Lomans in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Essay

The Two Willy Lomans in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman    There are two Willy Lomans in The Death of a Salesman. There is the present broken, exhausted man in his sixties, soon to end his life. And there is the more confident, vigorous Willy of some fifteen years before, who appears in the flashbacks. One actor portrays both, readily shifting from one representation to the other. To some extent, of course, the personality remains constant. The younger Willy, although given to boastful blustering, does admit misgivings to Linda and loneliness to Biff. And the shattered older man, in turn, occasionally reverts to his former manner of jaunty optimism. Yet the changes are great and significant. The earlier Willy could never have been the idol of his teen-aged sons had he behaved in the perverse, distracted fashion of his older self. Willy's agitation during his last days stems from a twofold sense of failure. He has not been able to launch successfully in the world his beloved son Biff, and he no longer can meet the demands of his own selling job. Although not altogether ignoring Linda and Happy, he is primarily concerned about the once magnificent young football star who at thirty-four drifts from one temporary ranch job to the next. Willy cannot "walk away" from Biff'sproblem, as Bernard suggests, nor can he accept Linda's view that "life is a casting off." Being over sixty, Willy is doubtless tiring physically. The sample cases are heavy. The seven-hundred-mile drives are arduous. And many business contacts, developed over the years, are vanishing as the men of his era die or retire. Yet the worry over Biff has obviously accelerated his collapse. Actually, Willy's attitude toward Biff is complex. On the one hand, t... ...ledge. But Happy is still determined to "beat this racket"and come out "number one man." On the day of the big game, Charley ruefully asks Willy when he is going to grow up. In some ways Willy never does. His boyish enthusiasm is, of course, part of his appeal. But his persistent refusal to face facts squarely drives him at last to a violent death. Ironically, his suicide, to him the ultimate in magnificent gestures, merely leaves Linda woefully bereft and Biff more than ever sure that "he had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong." Works Cited Eisinger, Chester E. "Focus on Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman': The Wrong Dreams," in American Dreams, American Nightmares, (1970 rpt In clc. Detroit: Gale Research. 1976 vol. 6:331 Gordon, Lois "Death of a Salesman": An Appreciation, in the Forties: 1969) rpt in clc. Detroit: Gale Research. 1983 vol. 26:323   

Mongo Beti’s Narrative in ‘The Poor Christ of Bomba’ Essay

Postcolonialism is a term that ranges from artistic actions, political theories, cultural theories, and social ideologies which have created a new genre of African writers in the mid to late twentieth century that theorize this term. The fallout, drawbacks, and social emergences that have come out of colonialism appear to have taken the definition of postcolonialism up to a certain point because according to some theorists of postcolonialism, the definition still remains subjective. At this point, what remains is still the level of understanding toward the colonized and remaining questions as to the motives of the colonizers to colonize. Postcolonialism relegates the colonizers intent to just personal financial gains over the colonized, whereas the colonized and its following generations still are dealing with the results of such humiliations and dominations impacted by colonialism. Perhaps to understand some of the effects of postcolonialism a reader should have a textual analysis of colonialism itself. In the book, The Poor Christ of Bomba, the author, Mongo Beti uses narration to tell a story that takes the reader inside the mind of a fourteen year old who finds himself in a situation beyond his control. The characterization of the narrate personify an age that draws the line between innocence and awareness. The condition as it were in the book takes a satirical approach on how the circumstances under colonialism rule may have been. Betis clever play on words, situations, and storylines open up the mind of the reader to take in some of the implications attribute to colonialism that make the term postcolonialism so arbitrary (Chrisman 8-11). Postcolonialism is referred to what actually happens after colonialism, its predecessor. The area controlled by is territorial occupier gains its independence and appropriates its own establishment. Politically it may appear that this area is now completely independent; however, the question remains if postcolonialism is completely underway. That issue in trying to define postcolonialism for theorists is answering that particular question. They claim colonialism occupies not just a geographical area but a geographical unconsciousness of the mind of the colonized. Even though the area is now free of its colonizers, is it really free of its conscious self? When language, culture, religion, and education has been altered to evoke a new one for years upon new generations of people, can those people find  their way to their ancestral state? So, if postcolonialism represents a medium of after colonialization, then it must also include the affects of displacement has occurred and perhaps this is why postcolonialism is so inflexible to define to one particular presumption because there are varied implications such as social, economic, political, and religious cultural aspects have to be taken into account before a linear definition is implemented into postcolonialism (305-311). Post-colonialism also refers to a set of theories in philosophy and literature which tackle with the inherited 19th century British and French colonial rule. As a literary theory, postcolonialism consists with literature created in countries that were once colonies of other countries and in fact, for some, this may still be the case. This faction has produced many theorists that have upstaged the term and its meaning to other nonsingular forms according to Aijaz Ahmad, who by feels a grand perplexity of the definition in literature and feels that the point of what is postcolonialism is being subverted. He feels that as long as the word does not remain as is and that if independent states the use political strategies of colonizers, there will also be inequalities among people and governments which will be referred to as non-white. This globalization sphere of postcolonialism will historical harness the fundamental effect of constructing this globalized transhistorcity of colonialism is to evacuate the very meaning of the word and dispense that meaning so widely that we can no longer speak if determinate histories of determinate structures such as that of the postcolonial state (31). Before postcolonialism is understood at some level, colonialism itself has to be defined. Mongo Beti uses his book, The Poor Christ of Bomba, to tell a fictional tale of colonialism. He uses wit, satire, irony, and parodies to bring forth some revelations about this subject matter of colonialism. Beti uses biographical narration. It resembles autobiographical narration which takes the reader through a historical account using a diary-like dialogue of the main protagonists life with other members of society such as the colonizers and the villagers who live alongside of the road of Bomba. Denis is the young boy whose mental imagery where this invasion takes place is  ultimately the readers tour guide of what colonialism may have like. Mongo Beti (1932-2001) was a Cameroon writer who was a theorists, novelist, essayist, and publisher. He is noted for being a prominent African writer who has been known to use satirical approaches to criticize and emphasize the effects of colonialism through his fictional novels. The importance of his characters in his novels, for example, The Poor Christ of Bomba, gives visional insight though the narrative of how the hierarchal order of the colonizer adhered to its position and then how the colonized submission presumably took place. Beti uses satire as a literary device to draw consciousness of a subject whose remnants have tried to define its effects known as postcolonialism. African Literature revolves around narration whether it is oral or written. Oral literature in Africa is considered enormously colorful, rich, and varied. Oral literature is closely association with rhythmus and music. Audiences are invited to participate; however through narration audience participation is different. Narration is seen as two kinds of art: performance art and informative. It is rich with folktales, myths, legends, and proverbs. Through narration present generations find a connection with ancestral past. Although earliest accounts of Africa literature are religious texts written in indigenous languages, most recently the major theme of African literature is the clash between traditional cultures and modernization which is written in a multitude of languages reflected by cross-cultures and colonization (Abiola 3). North Africa is dominated by Arabic language and its northern counties are considered Arab countries such as Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria for example. East Africas language is Swahili and dates back to 1652. By the mid-19th century, Latin script became more popular. During the 20th century Africa literatures in European languages resulted because of colonialism. Cameroon literature of the 1990s is considered a reflection of its economic state. What Mongo Beti did by writing a book like The Poor Christ of Bomba, certainly made him ahead of his time. Much the literature is centered on the political status the country is in. Although tradition oral literatures are  there for social and religious purposes, written literatures excel in trying to bring political change to the awareness of its people (Krieger 20). Mongo Betis first hand account of colonialism combined with his traditional milieu with oral literature and creative writing abilities helped him bring a story whose narration posses the elements to place the reader in the middle of situation such as colonialism where for a moment the colonizer and the colonized have nowhere to go but live the life placed on them and leaves the future unanswered for the colonized. It is this wavering end which sets the subjective meaning and tone for the definition of postcolonialism to be so broad and unpredictable. Perhaps one reason why the definition is random is because the effects of colonialism to people are different and cohesive at the same time. As the colonizers in the book bring their culture and religion to villagers in Africa, the people are affected differently and yet very similar at the same time; therefore, postcolonialism more than likely parallels the onset of this circumstance. Beti uses satire as a literary device to tell his story in his book. Perchance his book may have not been published had he taken a more disconcerting approach to the text. Satire became very popular during the early modern England in the mid-seventeenth century. It usually was used by anonymous authors who mocked the monarch, commonwealth, and then the Oliver Cromwell. By the 19th century it was used to mock social classes and Victorian values. Satire is known to use harsh or light humor to draw attention to a situation or a plight to try to bring attention to it, correct it, or change it. Beti uses strong satirical elements for his narrative to perhaps illustrate a problem such as colonialism to the forefront of his readers mind. He then mixes in tradition narration like oral literature to set the tone for his story using biographical narration to tell the story of colonialism. Biographical narration is a story relating key facts or events with a person’s life. It relates a sequence of events and communicates the significance of the events to the audience. There are certain scenes and incidents in precise places which are used to describe location of events. Sensory details are vital in describing the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene. Detailed actions, movements, gestures, and  feelings of the characters are used to express usage of interior monologue to depict the characters feeling. Beti uses a biographical description in the life of the characterization of Denis. It is through his naà ¯ve eyes that the reader is exposed to the French imperialists domination of Bomba. It is through this lens that the reader sees what the main protagonist, Reverend Father Drumont, is like. The main characters in this book share a parallel to what is perhaps the link that embellishes the dramatis personae that details the account of who are the people represented in colonialism as a whole, for example, the colonizers and the colonized (Gikandi 61-70). The colonizer presents the dominant hierarchical state. This is characterized as a system of power. The elements which comprise this system are first the French government. The French government felt compelled perhaps to take a different approach then the English to colonize Africa. They embedded their culture, language, and religion so fervently as a result today many Africa areas speak French as their first language and have remained Christian. Those perhaps resemble the colonizer are the Vicar, M. Vidal, Reverend Father Drumont and to some extend the instrument used or weapon of choice was the Catholic Church to influence the people of Bomba. The Colonized are everyone else and possibly in the end, the reader. The Sixta women, Catherine, the narrator, Zacharia, and the men of Bomba play the roles of the colonized. Although their positions and situations emerge differently in the narrative, they are still under the colonizers rule. Their positions are different which exemplify the fact of how diverse historical factors come into play when defining the after affects of colonialism. Each character embraces the colonizer and being colonized in a dissimilar way; therefore, the outcome of colonialism will create disparity for each type of person, such as, male, female, child, and/or new regime. This may be part of the problem in defining postcolonialism. Every person is affected uniquely and individually because each person is a separate embodiment of one another. Beti emphasis this predicament in each of his characters colonized or not, the condition is different yet the same. All play roles to feed and fuel colonialism. The Poor Christ of Bomba is about the Frenchs Christian mission to colonize African society in order to profit and assert dominion over sovereign territories. In order for the French to carry out this mission of authority they had to try to come with gifts of humanity, tolerance, and Christianity. The French engrossed their colonies with their language, their way of life, and culture politics. Words were changed from native tongues to French words. The impact was to make African people more like the French. The French failed to see the way Africans lived and survived. The French saw them as barbaric without religion or culture. The Africans did as they were told for very different reasons and as a result, they were weakened by this dominating force. Father Drumont is first seen as a compassionate and caring individual who symbolizes the good in a superior-like nation. He message of Christ to help save pagan people bring a message of hope to women in polygamist families and child who appear to be interested in his message. The men are not interested in hearing about Christ but are interested in what the mission may bring to help build their economic state and infrastructures for the betterment of the regions. What happens is the African system the Africans was known is destroyed and Father Drumont realizes his failure to completely change the people. This book represents the disagreement between Christian and pagan power. This is symbolic of the disparagement between both the French and the Africans. Part of the novels creation relies heavily in the fact that the characters will finally have a better understanding of who they are at the end of the novel and how colonialism affects both sides of the aisle. While religion plays an important role, the mission is factual a camouflage to hide the genuine reason why the French are there. The use of Christianity which even fools some of the colonizers themselves such as Father Drumont is essentially Betis archetype to use irony as a reflection of which religion and politics go hand in hand. The missionary is the representation is the epitome of irony Beti illustrates in the book. The mission is used as an excuse to continue the spreading of Christ but in reality it is the  spreading French propaganda which tries and keeps the people suppressed so they wont be punished for their sins. The narrator, Denis, is a young fourteen year old boy. He represents the reader. The reader knows possibly nothing of what colonization is or implies. As the reader continues to read the story with the narrators thoughts and dialogue with others, he starts comprehending how easily the Africans were fooled by the French. Denis, in his still naà ¯ve state is excited about the mission he will embark with Reverend Father Drumont. Denis assumes the mission is not just a spiritual quest but one of material supremacy. He is easily lured as so many Africans were. All the older characters voice their inner thoughts and Denis, because he still is very immature and makes fun of the situations at hand. Denis is excited about the mission and the material things it will bring. The French are too but obtain grander things from it. He comments, And we need so many things—an organ for the new church, a tractor for ploughing our fields, a generator for electric light, a motor-car, and so forth (Beti 9). The mission appears to a source for financial possibilities rather than the spreading of love of Christ. In an ironical twist this is the very start when Denis starts receiving mixing messages about Father Drumont and the Christianity he represents. Certainly Denis feels the church makes money through its members, but eventually finds out that whatever may seen convenient for the Father is convenient for the church without regard of its members and to those where the mission visits them. This inconsistency is a continual motif in the book. While Denis is influenced heavily by Father Drumont and his antics, Denis reveals a sense of maturity and knowledge in the end of the book; however, this knowledge doesnt reveal wisdom, only a sense of trying to remove himself from the problem of colonialism much like the reader may what to do so. The character of Catherine can symbolize what Africa should be like. She is free and beautiful unlike the Sixta women, she does what she wants. Although  she is under colonial rule, she is able to infiltrate the colonizers temporary rule and still live by her own standards. She maintains Africas historical past. She is mysterious, magical, and lures any man she wants. Denis falls under her spell just like the reader may also fall for her because Africa, even though not actually sexual, is sensualized in the form of Catherine. The emphasis placed on her character by Beti also represents the hope Africa will survive colonialism and find a free self and identity after the invaders leave; however, just as everyone involved Catherine has a major issue within her of her own identity emulated perhaps in Africas because they were so easily taken in. Identity is seen as who and what you are. For Africa, who were ill prepared to fight against the Frenchs intentions and lacked the unification to gather strength among themselves, they identified themselves collectively but not enough to oppose the French (Wolfreys 95-97). Zacharia is the cook. He is the consciousness of the colonizer even though he is in a colonized position. Beti uses this character to function as the checks and balances between the narrators inexperienced views over Father Drumonts true character. Zacharia goes on the mission along with the narrator and the Father. As a mediator of sorts and the most level headed one of the characters in the story, educates the Father and the narrator, Denis, as the journey gets underway about African culture. He seems zany, corky, and irresponsible. Beti uses this character perhaps to be the voice of the author who finally deposes and exposes Father and the system which he represents and fights so hard to maintain as a symbol of truth. Zacharia understands Africas former self and goes on this journey to find out what the whites know that they dont. In a way, he also represents those men in the town who seem interested in Christ but really want to make money and do business alongside their oppressor, the French. He is the spokesmen for the African standpoint in the book. He understands that modern society is plagued by the importance of money, so he too wants to know more about it. In a serious, sarcastic, satirical, and ironical way, Zacharia is the only character who can bring truths of African ways to light for the reader, the narrator, and the Father. Zacharia is really the only person the Father  listens to beside the system which in turn will also compromise his life as part of the damage caused by colonialism because it will displace the Father after the journey is over. The Father will then have no place to go. What follows the Father throughout the story is Zacharias advice and knowledge about the people of Africa and the system by which propels that Father to do what he thinks he is there in Africa to do. At one pivotal point in the book that changes things around for the Father is when Zacharia tells the Father that the first notion of God didnt come from him. To much surprise, the Father questions the motives of the roadside construction to M. Vidal and is told by Vidal that his intensions are to use the people into forced labor. This is when the Father has his first realization about his mission that serves capitalistic motives over Christianity (133-34). M. Vidal is the epitome of the colonizer. He is self-serving without a conscience and without a humane bone in his body much like the system he represents. He is the closest to the colonizer as possible. He wants to insure the people have completely submitted to the teachings of the church so they can do what the real purpose of the mission is. It is there to conquer hearts and minds as a consequent, they can work for the church and by doing so they have enslaved themselves to the very system who served them the illusion of Christianity. The Sixta women are an example of this kind of manifested slavery granted by the Fathers teachings. The women are used for hard labor and then free sex. When it is discovered most of them have venereal disease that are seen as dirty; however, under French rule, the Father is guilty of not protecting them and placing them in a vulnerable position. This chaotic outcome is a grander scope of the missions failure under the Fathers rule. The Sixta women are submissive, turned into whore-like behavior, and are worked harder than any other kind of people under Raphaels command placed and over sought by the Father. They are forced to confess their sexual misconduct but before are beaten with a cane. The Sixta women endure punishments brought on by the Father, the supposed incontrollable sexual urges of the men, and the system that needs them to work which in many ways mirror the victimization of  colonialism, the Sixta women are women are more easily taken advantage of since they are femal e. The Sixta women represent what the colonizer may see as Africas people: uncivilized, promiscuous, and in need of a good spanking like misbehaved children. The Sixta women, like Africa, took a beating that was physically, physiologically, psychologically, and sociological by its colonizers. This is why it is so hard to try to define a word like postcolonialism. Parts of a major problem are the people being colonized sometimes didnt support each other much like the men who had sex with the Sixta women. The ones who would get blamed where the women, in as sense the men let their own people get beaten for their won mistakes. Instead of controlling their own urges they only added to this image of sexual savagery the colonizer already theorized that they were. The Father, the main protagonist in the novel, Reverend Father Drumont, is the life force of the colonizer. The Father is a major part of the structure and working function of the colonizer. In retrospect, he is the colonizer because he is a major player who successful to a certain degree in colonizing the people of Africa. He brings the word of Christianity to keep the people in line. The people, like the Sixta women, are forced to work for the church and change their lifestyles to fit in. By encompassing this transition because of religion, the people in fact serve the French; therefore; the people through no fault of their own serve the colonizer because they are serving the church through the guiding hand of Father Drumont. Father Drumont is not as harden as Vidal but he is part of the cancer that feeds the people of Africa. Beti makes Father Drumont see the error of his ways through the advice of Zacharia. By making Father Drumont see this turnover, Beti is saying that all those who helped the system work are capable of realizing why it will fail. The reason it will fail is because humanity is not perfect and truth will emerge no matter what scheme tries to suppress it (Young 5-7). At the end of the book the reader realizes the next step is uncharted and open. Beti lays the groundwork to feel a sense of what colonization can do to people. He also leaves the question of postcolonialism up to the narrator who for some reason is clueless. It is important for Beti to end the book  this way because the purpose for the book itself has been carefully and wittingly established. Postcolonialism is considered the after affects of colonialism. Beti introduces a glimpse of who the people were who lived though the ravishment of colonialism in the town of Bomba. The book should also be noted for other insights and credited for a wondrous storytelling plights. Through the biographical narration, Beti defines the troublesome situations the characters of Bomba find themselves as those colonized may have experienced. He sets the tone and pace the underlying reason the French arrived with ulterior motives to help the people of Africa. The multiplicity of the characters and their situations mirror the multiplicity of defining postcolonialism. Where the people go from is up to the reader. Other authors suggest two things: revolt against the oppressor or work with them (Memmi 136-141). The dilemma is that it is not that simple because while reading the book by Beti what is ventured in the mission is the complexity of colonialism to begin with. Beti tries to put a face on several varied situations through distinct characters. Perhaps Beti named his book The Poor Christ of Bomba, because one particular meaning for Bomba means a wild, rich dance that culminates between the rhythm and the dancer. The colonizers instrument of choice to dominate the Africans was religion. The allocation of Catholicism which happened to be a less than a desirable concept to the regions alongside Bomba in the story helped serve the people of Bomba a less than desirable dance embodied the notion of Jesus and rhythmic quest of the French. Conceivably the metaphor for the title is that the combination of the Frenchs intentions with the African people just didnt sound good musically, contiguity, or even symbolically. Works Cited Abiola, Irele F. The Origins of a Species: African literature. Black Issues Book Review(January 1, 2001). Ahmad, Aijaz. Postcolonialism: Whats in a Name? Late Imperial Cultural. Eds. RomanLa Coupa. E. Ann Kaplan, Michael Sprinkler. New York: Verso. 1995. Beti, Mongo. The Poor Christ of Bomba. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. Reissued 2005. Chrisman, Laura and Patrick Williams Editors. Colonial Discourse and Post-ColonialTheory: A Reader. New York: Columbia University Press. 1994. Gikandi, Simon. Reading the African Novel: Studies in African Literature. NewHampshire: Heinemann Publishing. 1987. Krieger, Milton and Joseph Takougang. African State and Society in the 1990s:Cameroon’s Political Crossroads. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. 1998. Memmi, Albert. The Colonizer and the Colonized. Boston: Beacon Press. ExpandedEdition 1991. Wolfreys, Julian. Critical Keywords in Literary and Cultural Theory. New York:Palgrave. 2004Young, Robert. Postcolonialsim: A Very Short Introduction. New York: OxfordUniversity Press. 2003

John Wesley s Spiritual Journey - 2351 Words

Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 John Wesley’s Spiritual Journey†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...1 The Formation of the Methodist†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 The Organization of the Small Groups for Discipleship†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.6 (1) Society (2) Classes (3) Band Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10 ii Introduction In God’s own wisdom, He calls some individuals to fulfill the ministry of proclaiming the gospel and caring for God’s people in a form that is referred to as the ordained ministry. John Wesley was one of these individuals God called to preach His word. This paper will show how John was an Anglican priest whose quest to regenerate spirituality in England led to formation of the Methodist movement and the denomination after his demise. It will further explain how he spent half a century serving as the main theological and organizational mentor for the movement as well as being an essential leader who led, organized and taught disciples to have a stronger faith in God which took the best he could find from a variety of sources and synthesized it all into a creative theological vision. Wesley was such a phenomenal and unique leader in his organization skills that through his speaking in public squares in the towns of England, individuals who came to hear him would be co nverted to a deeper faith and was eager to learn how to grow in their faith. From their desires to have a deeper relationship of faith, Wesley was able to start his discipleship ofShow MoreRelatedStanding On The Shoulder Of Giants1712 Words   |  7 Pagesearly leader of the movement. The holiness tradition or movement started in the early eighteenth century by John Wesley. The tradition holiness movement center on virtue. The holiness tradition focused on the Christian living a virtuous life through their thoughts, words, and actions. Two giants of these traditions are Henri Nouwen of the contemplative movement and John Wesley of the holiness of the holiness movement. In the Streams of living water, Richard J. Foster Writes that becomingRead MoreThe Beliefs Of A Christian932 Words   |  4 Pages(iii) Their beliefs as a Christian. Over the years my Christian Beliefs have evolved, and I am a grateful for that. I have found that these conversations can turn negative very quickly without grace and love, for everyone is on journey, specifically the individuals I live life with that are experiencing homelessness and displacement. I do my best to be sensitive to everyone’s current understanding of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I find that when I am interacting and discussingRead MoreThe First Great Awakening By George Whitefield1709 Words   |  7 Pagesto submit themselves to Jesus Christ (additionally their spiritual lifestyle was not always based on submitting themselves to Christ but upon their beliefs of Puritanism). This paper will describe the First Great Awakening its origin, ideology, and its effects on America. The origin of the First Great Awakening began long before the colonists came to America. According to the Introduction to Protestant website (2016), the religious journey began as far back as the 1500s and much earlier. This historyRead MoreThe Basic Theological Ideas Regarding2594 Words   |  11 Pagesloving, distinctive, and yet undivided, but eternal, and co-existent. God s triune actions cannot be separated, and none is superior or subordinate to the other. Wesley draws on Hebrews 9:14 for this understanding when he states, How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! According to Wesley s Notes, this is an unmistakable indication of soteriological activity whichRead MorePastoral Conversation Of A Confessional Nature1403 Words   |  6 Pages18 but would like it to be a resounding yes as well. It is the question of doctrine that I struggle with the most. I did not grow up United Methodist and when I began to consider joining the UMC I did it very deliberately. I read books about John Wesley, I read the social principles. I became convinced through study that the UMC did a great job of holding in tension both social and personal holiness. That is what led me to putting my membership in the UMC. At that time I didn’t give much thoughtRead MoreReligious Revitalization Movement : The First Great Awakening1658 Words   |  7 PagesAnglican Church in rural Goose Creek, South Carolina, was fitted out with an impressive wood-carved pulpit, while a fledgling Baptist Church in rural Virginia had only the bare essentials. German churches contained features unknown in English ones (Locke, John, et al).† Now That you have a better vision on the churches in the 18th Century, I’m hoping to explain the changes of American Religion during this time. During my reading I chose Using this secondary source, because I felt Going back to the mainRead MoreNature And Mission Of The Church1252 Words   |  6 Pagescreeds as we confess one holy, catholic, and apostolic church. It is also experienced in joint ventures of ministry and in various forms of ecumenical cooperation. Nourished by common roots of this shared Christian heritage, the branches of Christ s church have developed diverse traditions that enlarge our store of shared understandings. Our a vowed ecumenical commitment as United Methodists is to gather our own doctrinal emphases into the larger Christian unity, there to be made more meaningfulRead MoreAmerican Christianity Democratized1027 Words   |  4 Pagesand leadership, Americans had sentimental argued that their spiritual beliefs should not be morally tied into their political views using pamphlets, tracts, booklets, journals and newspapers .The early democratization of christianity changed three aspects of religion ; First, it denied the class structure that set clergy as exceptional ,movements lead by men like Wesley and Asbury, empowered ordinary people by understand their spiritual state rather than subjection to doctrine and third, sectariansRead MoreThe Sacrament Of Baptism And Communion1843 Words   |  8 Pagesbe condemned† (NIV). By being obedient to Christ, we become participants in this sacred act of Baptism. Gayle Carlton Felton wrote a book, By Water And The Spirit, and she shares about the tradition of Baptism in the United Methodist Church. John Wesley plays a major role in helping shape the doctrine of The United Methodist Church. â€Å"The United Methodist Church is diverse in the way it offers the Sacramental Baptism; â€Å"Candidates or their parents have the choice of sprinkling, pouring, or immersionRead MoreA Good Man is Hard to Find Analysis2008 Words   |  9 Pagesstory written by Flannery OConnor, a significant American writer and essayist. Her writing style reflects the ethnic relation in the South and her own Christian faith. The author writes in third person limited point of view to portray the tragic journey of a family who lived in Georgia in 1953. Bailey wants to take his family to Florida, but his mother, the grandmother disagrees with him because theres a dangerous criminal named The Misfit who is also on the way to Florida. Bailey ignores the