Role of Play in the Curriculum

Role of Play in the Curriculum Assignment Three Task 1. Examine the statutory requirements for children to identify the role of play in the curriculum. What is the role of play in the curriculum? Justify your arguments using evidence from the statutory requirements. Task 2. Analyse the potential for play based development across the range of non-statutory contexts. Identify a range of non-statutory contexts eg. playgroups, day nurseries, child-minders etc. and analyse the ways in which children’s development can be advanced through the play opportunities provided. Play includes a diversity of activities, games and interactions which create enjoyment and satisfaction for children. With years of research and observation of the impacts from children embracing play, we can now understand that it is an indispensable part of learning and is also a crucial benefactor within Northern Ireland in regards to the National Curriculum including the Foundation stage. These observations and assessments regarding the usefulness of play in relation to learning within the Early Years sector has allowed us to update our Curriculum accordingly. The Foundation Stage in education located in Northern Ireland includes the first two years of compulsory education, which is primary one and primary two classes ranging from the ages of 4 years to 6 years old. In Northern Ireland, children begin education at the foundation stage at an earlier age than anywhere else in the world. As it is believed, in the earlier years of a person’s life, their brain is at its most active, meaning that the earlier a child begins education, the more they will know. The transition from nursery school is then needed to be taken in gentle steps practicing care and sensitivity, allowing the process to be easier on the child’s understanding as they move into a higher learning level. The Foundation Stage outlined within the Northern Ireland National Curriculum provides educators with the opportunities to teachers to build up children’s dispositions and also allows teachers to build on children’s social skills as they are interacting with other children of their age and learning new skills off their new friends. Children learn a great deal through play. In the Northern Ireland curriculum, play is a vital contributor as children recognise that as they play, they learn and develop. The children identify play with fun, excitement, exploration and enjoyment, which allows them to rapidly learn from what they are doing without taking away from the experience. Play allows for children to gain knowledge in a wide variety of topics, such as the arts, mathematics, the world around us and so on. As play varies from one person to another, this allows for no play experience to be the same, and as play is individual and original to each person, they will be continuous learning and progressing if provided with the appropriate resources that are age and capability appropriate. Throughout many years, practitioners have gained great insight on the value and importance of play within the early years, as it is a significant factor in promoting and influencing physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language development and this can be witnessed through everyday observations of children at play in the early years. Play is a significant part of the early years foundation stage in northern Ireland as it allows younger children to access the curriculum in an age appropriate manner, throughout a variety of play contexts. The significance of play within our curriculum relates back to how we can allow all children, no matter their situation, whether they are poor, rich, disabled, Chinese, Asian and so on, learn in the early years, and play is an accessible resource to all children, leaving no individual without an education at a young age. An important document, provided by the Northern Ireland Curriculum, entitled â€Å"Learning through play† addresses how children learn effectively from a variety of play contexts, where a select range are targeted in depth within the text, these include: Learning through Dramatic Play Learning through Sand Play Learning through Water Play Learning through Dough and Clay Play Learning through Table Top Play Learning through Small World Play Learning through Construction Play Learning through Creative Play There are many benefits of these areas of play, such as with sand play, this can allow children to develop understanding and increase their knowledge through their senses. By exploring the different and changing textures of sand, children learn through their sense of touch, this area of play can also trigger mathematical knowledge as the children can discover capacity, volume, weight and aspects of gravity as the children manipulate different sand toys to gain mathematical knowledge. This is one simple, fun and effective way for children to access the curriculum. Within my current setting, which is a primary one class within a statutory school, there are sand play facilities indoors and outdoors with a range of tools children can use. With relevant topics in the curriculum, we are able to change these tools and equipment around to become more relevant to the current topic. One example was during the month associated around â€Å"People Who Help Us†, we implemented our indoor s and area into a construction side by providing the children with spades, shovels, toy diggers, I even printed off a range of construction site signs to make the experience more holistic and realistic for the children, enabling them to become more easily immersed. Experimental, free-flow and imaginative play are all included within this area, targeting many aspects of the curriculum, providing more information for early learning and targeting children’s development. Water play is extremely similar to sand play, developing logical thinking through the senses and providing knowledge of the world around us, early physics and early mathematics. The NI Curriculum explains that Water play benefits children in many ways, such as tackling and enhancing their personal, social and emotional development, physical development, creative development and knowledge and appreciation of the Environment. Personal, Social and Emotional development is influenced in this area of play by children working independently, co-operating with others, taking turns and sharing toys or equipment, enjoying the sensory nature of water by adding colours or other items such as glitter or various temperatures. Physical development is enhanced through developing fine motor skills by manipulating tools, filling, pouring, emptying, stirring, squeezing, pushing, pulling etc. and developing hand/eye co-ordination by filling and emptying containers of different sizes. Creative development improves through observing colour change through adding paint or food colouring, introduction of marbling techniques, and by creating sounds in the water by blowing or splashing. Finally, knowledge and appreciation of the environment is enhanced by children talking about water in local environment, home, rivers, pond, beach, adding equipment from local environment to stimulate imaginative play e.g. shells, sea weed, pebbles, rocks, fishing nets, hoses, watering cans talk about occupations where water plays a significant role e.g. fishermen, firemen, sailors, farmers, plumbers and talk about animals and creatures that live in water e.g. fish, crocodiles. Water play is an everyday occurrence within my placement setting, attracting a wide range of children who are all eager to play in this area. This is another beneficial and effective way for children to access the curriculum as through my experience, I have seen every child learn subconsciously and have fun at the same time. On the whole, the role of play within our curriculum is to simply enable children to learn effectively, through enjoyment and without realising they are learning as the child is distracted by objects, games, activities and tasks which interest them. Play is used within our curriculum to promote children’s development in a range of contexts, allowing them to grow at a specific pace by providing them with the educational and fun resources they need to do so. Play is an effective way to allow for a child’s exploration, which in turn promotes knowledge and skills they will require in adulthood. Play will allows for the provision of a range of experiences and opportunities for children to create the foundations for their learning and gain for this in the most beneficial and rewarding ways. Wood, E (2013) explains how â€Å"Playing and growing are synonymous with life itself. Playfulness bespeaks creativity and action, change and possibility of transformation. Play activity this reflects the very existence of the self, that part of the organism that exists both independently and interdependently, that can reflect upon itself and be aware of its own existence. In being playful the child attains a degree of autonomy sustained by representations of his inner and outer worlds.† This is a further representation of the importance of play and how it can provide a beneficial impact upon children by ensuring this is an everyday routine in their educational lives. Play is implemented within the Northern Ireland as it is a proven way to improve children’s effective learning amongst provision for many other aspects of their development. In conclusion, I believe throughout my own experiences over the past two years, alongside the permanent implementation of play within our Northern Ireland Curriculum, I believe play is an efficient, effective and inspirational way for children to access the curriculum and therefore, effectively learn. The role of play is to simply enable children to learn through enjoyment and in turn, promote their growth and development, sculpting their future, and is therefore, a crucial aspect of our curriculum. Analyse the potential for play based development across the range of non-statutory contexts. Identify a range of non-statutory contexts eg. Playgroups, day nurseries, child-minders etc. and analyse the ways in which children’s development can be advanced through the play opportunities provided. It has been recognised how play is implemented widely across our Northern Ireland Curriculum affecting the foundation stage of education, in place within statutory requirements (5 to 16 years old), however, there is great potential for play in non-statutory settings, such as playgroups, pre-school groups, afterschool groups, crà ¨ches and day nurseries etc. We have evaluated how successful play is for promoting children’s learning and development within the statutory settings, and it should be recognised that it can have similar effects within non-compulsory areas of child care. All of these non-statutory contexts provide a range of play activities with the aim of improving and increasing children’s opportunities to learn and develop. Whether these contexts a child attends is before compulsory education such as parent and toddler groups, or in sync with their statutory, like after school programmes, there is a significant emphasis on play within each. These settings recognise the needs of the child and promote many way for their development to be enhanced. In my experience, I have witnessed the potential of play within preschool groups. This is particular area in which I gained the most experience, the reason for focus upon this area. With pre-school programs, it can be argued that these settings provide the foundations for learning as the child is attending a setting which provides a minority of educational activities, mainly based upon play which introduce the child to concepts of play during the earlier stages of their life. This may potentially make it easier for them to settle into statutory settings as they have had some experience of a setting which provides set activities to initiate learning and create dispositions. Throughout the attendance to pre-school groups, children may bring with them a variety of personal and social skills, values and attitudes. The children have achieved from relationships and experiences within the home and the immediate environment and it is vital that these should be recognised and adopted within the setting. The needs of a pre-school child are defined within the textbook Curriculum Guidance for Preschool education (1997) which are as follows: â€Å"Young children require: †¢ A safe, secure, healthy and stimulating environment where there is adequate supervision; †¢ Opportunities to investigate, satisfy their curiosity, explore the environment inside and outside the playroom, extend their sense of wonder, experience success and develop a positive attitude towards learning; †¢ Appropriate periods of time for learning through sustained involvement in play; †¢ Interaction with sensitive and understanding adults.† Given these needs it follows that young children require a curriculum which: †¢ meets their physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs at their particular stage of development; †¢ motivates, challenges and stimulates them; †¢ is broad and balanced, allowing children to make choices and providing them with opportunities, through play and other experiences, to develop the learning associated with: These settings are completely non-compulsory but however, are a beneficial way of taking the stress of parents, providing effective care for children, and of course, providing an earlier structure for their education. The pre-school groups can include playgroups, nursery schools, parent and toddler groups and so on. Minett, P (2010) outlines the benefits of preschool groups in the book Child Care and Development explaining how a professionally effective and successful preschool group will contribute to a child’s early education by providing them with: Opportunities to socialise and learn how to mix with other children and adults and to enjoy their company; Facilities which include space to run around, apparatus to climb, toys, paints, paper, modelling dough etc; Activities such as stories, music, dancing, singing and games; Activities which encourage early familiarity with letters and numbers, to help children acquire pre-reading and pre-counting skills† This book helps to outline a variety of successful ways of promoting education and a good start into learning for a child during the earlier years of life. Play is the main contributor within many non-statutory settings I have worked within. For example, a Day Nursery in which I worked, the children were aged between birth and two years of age within the room I worked. Here, the children had a wide variety of play activities available to them, ranging from dolls, cars, musical and sensory instruments, treasure boxes attending to sensory development, and outdoor play with a range of resources available during the dry months. Outdoor play has a significant role within a child’s learning and development as it helps to take on the areas of imaginative, creative and exploration play, which introduce young children to new opportunities to learn and gain understanding of the world around them. The children’s routines from 7:30am to 6:30pm, which are the most common hours of preschool groups, revolve around a strong influence upon play, with the staff changing the available resources throughout the day so that children do have a change, meaning they do not get bored, leading to a lack of appropriate play provision and therefore, not promoting learning. By the rotation of different play activities, arts and crafts, games and creative tasks, this setting provides a successful way of implementing play into a daily routine providing learning for young babies and children. The setting I worked within cares for children of the ages birth to eight years of age, once again another commonly seen restriction within preschool groups. The rooms are usually a â€Å"Babies† room, â€Å"Wobblers† room, â€Å"Toddlers† room and an after school programme, which are implemented within my day nursery setting. Within this setting it was extremely important that chil dren felt secure in their relationships with adults and that felt that the adults are there to support them by ensuring adults who working within the setting understood to treat them as individuals and sensitively participate in their play. Justice, L et al (2008) explain some of the effects upon children’s development in which preschool groups’ target. Research was conducted over time involving two separate groups of children, some of which attended preschool groups, and others who did not. At the end of the term year, these children were assessed on their skills and abilities. These results have provided significant evidence of the effects of attending preschool for a short period of time. The findings suggested that â€Å"children who attended a Perry Preschool Program were more likely to graduate from high school on time and to own a home and less likely to be referred for special education, to receive Welfare as an adult, and to commit crimes†. These results show significant impact on a child’s life, as a child’s cognitive development will be enhanced as suggested by the results as they are more likely to graduate, showing logical potential and thinking being higher than those who do not attend preschool groups. Social and emotional development is also targeted, as suggested, those who commit crimes are more likely to be children who did not attend preschool groups, showing anti-social behaviour which in turn shows how their emotions have been affected more negatively than others, resulting in crime. In conclusion, I believe that these non-statutory settings provide children with broad play opportunities all contributing to their learning, growth and development. A child does not need to attend only compulsory to gain the most from a setting in terms of their experiences towards learning, in fact, I believe to promote a healthy and positive approach to learning, a child should attend some form of non-statutory setting to help them to embrace the younger years of life where learning is at its fastest and gain dispositions. Appropriate opportunities should be provided in throughout pre-school settings and afterschool programmes for children to develop personal and social skills, values and attitudes. References: Broadhead, P et al (2010) Play and Learning in the Early Years. SAGE. Else, P (2009) The Value of Play. Continuum. Fromberg, D (2012) Play from Birth to Twelve: Contexts, Perspectives and Meanings. Routledge. Justice, L et al (2008) Achieving Excellence in Preschool Literacy Instruction. Guilford Press. Lockett, A (2004) Continuous Curriculum: Planning for Spontaneous Play. CHYPS Learning. Minett, P (2010) Child Care and Development. Hodder Education. Northern Ireland Curriculum (2014) Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/ Northern Ireland Curriculum (2014) Learning through Play. Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/learning_through_play_ey.pdf Reifel, R (1999) Play Contexts Revisited. Greenwood Publishing Group. Sluss, D (2014) Supporting Play in Early Childhood: Environment, Curriculum, Assessment. Cengage Learning. Tassoni, P (2005) Planning Play in the Early Years. Heinemann. Wood, E (2013) Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum. SAGE. Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum (1997) Curricular Guidance for Preschool Education. Available: http://www.deni.gov.uk/preschool_curricular-2.pdf Courtney Hill HIL10173519

The Reality Of Bertrandes Innocence Essay -- essays research papers

It seems as though in today’s society, suspicion lies in every corner. No one trusts anyone anymore, everyone lies, everyone steals, everyone pretends to be someone they are not. However true or false these statements might be, there is a need in today’s society to be able to explain everything, coming up with every possible lie or predicament within every story. Natalie Davis is from today’s society, and once again, she has found the need to investigate Bertrande Guerre’s role within The Return of Martin Guerre. The only pieces of evidence that are reliable come from Jean de Coras, the main judge in the trial. However, Davis seems to have ignored his findings, and founded her own. For most of her points, there is no written evidence to back her up. She simply read and interpreted the story, as many historians must do to come up with plausible reasons for things; however, she interpreted the evidence incorrectly. This impostor known as Arnaud du Tilh, who played a husband, father, friend, nephew and brother for three years, deceived an entire town. However, Davis has chosen Bertrande Guerre as a co-conspirator, with little grounds to base her conclusion upon. Therefore, I still have found that Bertrande Guerre truly believed that Arnaud du Tilh was her husband, making her an unknowing player in the entire charade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Natalie Davis made the point that Bertrande must have known that the new Martin was an impostor due to their sexual relationship and the differences therein (110). However, this point is hard to believe due to the fact that Bertrande and Martin were married for nine years without having intercourse, and when they finally did, it was in order to conceive their future son, Sanxi (Finlay, 558). Only a few months after Sanxi was born, Martin disappeared for over eight years, which is a long time for a woman to remember the specific details of a sexual relationship that couldn’t have lasted for more than a few months (Finlay, 558). Even if Bertrande had noticed a difference in the sexual relationship, she would have doubted her recollections, not having any kind of proof or true memories of those sexual experiences (Finlay, 558). This â€Å"new Martin† could have also become more sexually experienced while soldiering, explaining his newfound confidence (Finlay, 558).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two men seemed to have com... ...wn, Natalie Davis made up a tale of what happened, ignoring the actual story that had been recorded by one of the lead characters who was there at the time, Jean de Coras. While her points had good merit, there was little evidence besides her opinion and suspicion that backed her up. Bertrande de Rols was deceived by this man, just as everyone else was. Whether she enjoyed her time spent with Arnaud is not important, it is whether or not she was fooled. While there were many who were suspicious, and many who were uncertain of Bertrande’s innocence, there was not a majority that truly believed she was a co-conspirator. She was not proven guilty by Jean de Coras nor was no proven guilty by the townspeople. The townspeople had fallen for Arnaud’s acting, and it is certain that Bertrande had fallen for it as well. And as each of these people would say, Arnaud was a wonderful actor, who was educated in Martin’s life and the people within it. Stories such as these are reminders as to why history is not always objective, and that historians have the right to interpret it in any way that they choose. However, a good historian will always have his critic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Frederick Douglass And The Abolitionist Movement Essay

Frederick Douglass spoke to Washington, DC in 1876: â€Å"We must either have all the rights of American citizens, or we must be exterminated, for we can never again be slaves†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Foner, 1969, p. 320, as cited in Ballard, 2004, p. 53). This statement concretizes the inhumanity of slavery; its only equal is death. Douglass was born as a slave in Talbot County, Maryland. It was 1818 and slavery already existed for two hundred years in the United States (U. S. ). It took Douglass twenty years, before he escaped slavery. Before his escape, Douglass surreptitiously learned to read and write, and he soon rose as one of the most eloquent orators of the abolitionists. Using speech premeditated to distress, educate, and sometimes infuriate, Frederick Douglass encouraged the abolitionist movement. Douglass used his speeches to distress people about their prejudice, so that they would be aware of its inequitable and dangerous outcomes. When people were distressed of the realities and results of slavery, they would be more attracted by the principles and goals of the abolitionists. Douglass argued that slavery produces no benefits for the society. Slavery only leads to ignorance among blacks, which both negatively affects them and the whites. In â€Å"The Church and Prejudice,† Douglass asserted: â€Å"You degrade us, and then ask why we are degraded–you shut our mouths, and then ask why we don’t speak–you close our colleges and seminaries against us, and then ask why we don’t know more. † The blacks were disadvantaged by unawareness, while the whites were deprived of intellectual forces that the black people could have provided. In his speeches, Douglass further aimed to speak to both whites and blacks, so that they could feel slavery’s demeaning consequences. It was his way of using literacy to distribute power among the black people, without disempowering the whites. Lisa Sisco said that Douglass defined literacy as â€Å"shifting† as he showed an â€Å"understanding of literacy as a system of self-representation†¦ and as an avenue for political representation as he attempts to speak and write for an oppressed people without alienating his white readership† (p. 213 as cited in Ryden, 2005, p. 7). Slavery also compounds prejudice that would have marred a critical victory for the nation during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Douglass criticized how the American government would even imagine being a bigot in times of need, by not recruiting blacks as soldiers. He asked the President of the United States: â€Å"†¦if this dark and terrible hour of the nation’s extremity is a time for consulting a mere vulgar and unnatural prejudice? † Douglass spoke eloquently about how the blacks had helped the whites to rebel against the government, and so there should be no reason that the government would not employ black people to be soldiers of the state: â€Å"Rising above vulgar prejudice, the slaveholding rebel accepts the aid of the black man as readily as that of any other. If a bad cause can do this, why should a good cause be less wisely conducted? † He also made a compelling symbolism for a state fighting without the aid of the blacks: â€Å"Men in earnest don’t fight with one hand, when they might fight with two, and a man drowning would not refuse to be saved even by a colored hand. † Through this speech, Douglass distressed the audience into thinking that slavery does not make any sense at all, and only its abolition can protect the state from another secessionist movement and other threats to national security and peace. Douglass wanted to educate people about the grave failings of slavery through his speeches- slavery reduces people to beasts with no free will or self-control (DeLombard, 2001). If slavery was this immoral, Douglass could compel people to join the abolitionist movement. Slavery turns human beings into creatures of violence or submission, through a dialectical process embedded in the master-slave relationship. An article compared Douglass’ understanding of slavery to Hegel’s: Hegel â€Å"knew about real slaves revolting against real masters, and he elaborated his dialectic of lordship and bondage deliberately within this contemporary context† (Buck-Morss, 2000, p. 844 as cited in Kohn, 2005, p. 498). Douglass’ speeches related the dialectical impacts of slavery to all parties involved. First, slavery dehumanizes slaves. Douglass described the horrendous experiences of slaves under the white man. The verbal and physical abuse could only fit animals. These experiences of the slaves underlined the inhumanity of slavery. Second, Douglass argued that slavery dehumanizes masters as well. In â€Å"The Church and Prejudice,† he provided a fitting example of a slaveholder who acted like a vicious animal. Douglass said that there was a class leader master of the Methodist Church, who preached about deliverance and liberty. However, he also lashed Douglass’ cousin through the same thumbs that prayed, while using the words of the Bible to rationalize his illogical behavior: â€Å"He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes! † Douglass also educated people about the ills of prejudice on the protection of civil rights and liberties. In â€Å"What the Black Man Wants,† Douglass explained that black people have suffrage rights, simply because as human beings they do: â€Å"We want it because it is our right, first of all. No class of men can, without insulting their own nature, be content with any deprivation of their rights. † By asserting these rights, Douglass motivated people to believe that all human beings have human rights, so they would support the civil rights and freedoms that the abolitionist movement fought for. Douglass used his speeches to infuriate people into action, into destroying every form and face of slavery. In the speech â€Å"The Church and Prejudice,† Douglass narrated his experiences of religious bigotry: â€Å"[A minister looked to the door, where the blacks were and breathed heavily] Come up, colored friends, come up! for you know God is no respecter of persons! † This is an example of a speech that enraged people to question the sanity of slavery, when even â€Å"men of the altar† acted like beasts. This speech also uses humor to depict the dark comedy of slavery (Ganter, 2003). How can God differentiate between colored and white people? They are His children, are they not? Douglass also infuriated people by illustrating the bleakness of slavery and its different forms. In â€Å"What the black man wants,† Douglass defended the right of the colored people to choose employment: â€Å"†¦when any individual or combination of individuals undertakes to decide for any man when he shall work, where he shall work, at what he shall work, and for what he shall work,† it is still a form of slavery. By underlining how the government and white people preserved slavery even after the Declaration of Independence, Douglass enraged people to eradicate slavery. Douglass also incensed the people in his Fourth of July speech delivered in Rochester on July 5, 1852, where he assaulted the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. David W. Blight stressed that the attack came with Douglass repetitions of a harmless word, yours (p. 75 as cited in Ramsey, 2007, p. 29). Douglass said: â€Å"This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the Fourth of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. † The word â€Å"your† aimed to â€Å"alienate his audience as America has alienated him† (Ramsey, 2007, p. 29). Douglass aggravated listeners by enunciating that there was no real independence, only social exclusion and neglect: â€Å"This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. † Douglass’ rhetorical tactic meant to aggressively plead, by transferring the feeling of how the nation had abandoned him to listeners, so that they too would feel how difficult and iniquitous it was to be â€Å"orphaned† (Ramsey, 2007, p. 29; Waymer& Heath, 2007). His ending for speech emphasized his anger and resentment. He asked people to find another place that had been as vicious as the U. S. in upturning civil liberties and freedoms: â€Å"for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival. † This speech angered people to feel that racism brutally orphaned the whole society, and it was time to abolish slavery and its emerging forms. Douglass used the power of the spoken word to distress, educate, and sometimes infuriate, so that people would be persuaded to join the abolitionist movement. His speeches aroused emotions and intellectual understanding, which maximize logos and pathos as rhetorical strategies. By combining these strategies, Douglass could reach out to as many hearts and minds as possible- in either side of the color line. His earnest aim was to change attitudes and behavior toward the colored race and the idea of freedom and humanity. Douglass’ speeches have effectively expressed his core vision of society, a society of free and equal whites and blacks. References Ballard, B. J. (2004). Frederick Douglass and the ideology of resistance. Critical Review of International Social & Political Philosophy, 7 (4), 51-75. DeLombard, J. (2001). ‘Eye-witness to the cruelty’: Southern violence and northern testimony in Frederick Douglass’s American Literature, 73 (2), 245-275. Douglass, F. (1841). The church and prejudice. Retrieved from http://www. frederickdouglass. org/speeches/ _______. (1852). â€Å"What to the slave is the 4th of July? † Retrieved from http://www. freemaninstitute. com/douglass. htm _______. (1861). Fighting rebels with only one hand. Retrieved from http://www. frederickdouglass. org/speeches/ _______. (1865). What the black man wants. Retrieved from http://www. frederickdouglass. org/speeches/ Ganter, G. (2003). â€Å"He made us laugh some†: Frederick Douglass’s humor. African American Review, 37 (4), 535-552. Kohn, M. (2005). Frederick Douglass’s master-slave dialectic. Journal of Politics, 67 (2), 497-514. Ramsey, W. M. (2007). Frederick Douglass, Southerner. Southern Literary Journal, 40 (1), 19-38. Ryden, W. (2005). Conflicted literacy: Frederick Douglass’s critical model. Journal of Basic Writing, 24 (1), 4-23. Waymer, D. & Heath, R. (2007). Non-profit activist public relations and the paradox of the positive: A case study of Frederick Douglass’ â€Å"Fourth of July Address. † National Communication Association, Conference, 1-39.

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1291 Words

In one interview, Baz Luhrmann said that he wanted to â€Å"hold up a mirror to his audience, but from another time because people would be more willing to accept it† and this is exactly what The Great Gatsby does. No one likes to be criticised however by placing this message underneath the extraordinary gifts of hope and the American dream, Fitzgerald has presented humanity’s social weaknesses in a way can be recognised by the public to encourage change. There is much speculation as to whether The Great Gatsby is truly worthy to be on ‘Top 100 Novels of All Time’ list however as technology continues to evolve, the novel’s relevance remains permanent. Underneath all of symbolism and the flamboyant language you find the real aim of The Great†¦show more content†¦As much as we don’t like to admit, we see fragments of ourselves in these characters, parts of us we’d rather hide and pretend weren’t there. We see Gatsby’s fraudulent persona, Nick’s silent judgements and Daisy’s controlling materialism suggesting that the messages of these fictitious 1920’s characters were not fiction at all. When we first meet the mysterious Mr. Gatsby, we see his lavish, ostentatious persona: the impressive mansion, extravagant parties and faux Britishness. However none of this is real. Every part of his public appearance has been carefully fabricated, designed to turn (in Tom’s words) â€Å"Mr. Nobody from nowhere,† into a celebrity in order to win Daisy back. But who are we trying to impress? Who is our Daisy? The answer lies in social media. Today people are still obsessed with reinventing themselves as we possess this desperate desire to have our best version on show, our own Gatsby persona. This can be seen in the 2010 movie The Social Network as Mark Zuckerberg, similar to Gatsby, was pathetically consumed by ‘the girl who got away’, this need driving him to become the youngest billionaire in history. Both of these characters start off rough in life before becoming the fantastic symbol of their eras, celebrities created almost overnight. However it’s the way that they achieve these goals, by bulldozing the