One of my life experiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

One of my life experiences - Essay Example I began to stutter from the age of six. My habit affected my daily routine activities and had drained me off all of my confidence. It affected my school performance and presentation skills. Once, I was chosen by my teacher to give a presentation on my report. I could not even finish half of my presentation when I was asked to come down from the platform because I was stuttering very much and was being unclear in my speech. Such kind of embarrassments started making me avoid conversations with people and even answering the phone. I had become very conscious about myself since I had to suffer humiliation very frequently due to my stutter. To avoid humiliation, I usually kept quiet in class discussions and different gatherings. These aspects were making me anti-social and isolated from the world. I had come to a point in life when I thought that I would never be able to live a normal and successful life. Around this time, something happened that changed my life forever. I went to an exh ibition in Dubai that displayed inventions from new researchers. The researchers and inventors had to present their ideas in front of hundreds of people. To my amazement, one of the presenters was stuttering while presenting his invention.

Magic Bullet Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Magic Bullet Theory - Essay Example The paper will also assist in showing how the magic bullet theory suffers shortcomings after the assassination of President John Kennedy. According to the magic bullet theory, people in the society live an isolated lifestyle because of diverse origins, beliefs, and norms. Likewise, media messages act as symbolic bullets that strike their ears and brains resulting in certain effects on their behavior. The effect of media messages on the passive audience is powerful and direct. An example of this theory was demonstrated by Orson Wells when Mercury Theater Group after starting the broadcasting of â€Å"War of the Worlds†. About 12 million Americans heard the ‘one the eve of Halloween’ and a section of the population started believing that a dangerous alien invasion was underway. Such misleading news led to household hysteria and caused traffic jams. People also fled from their City houses to settle in rural areas and many groceries started limiting the food reserves. Accordingly, media practitioners have argued that the â€Å"War of Worlds† is an example of how propaganda can be utilized in the magic bullet theory to manipulate the emotions and beliefs of a gullible public (Gupta & Aggarwal, 2001). On the contrary, the magic bullet theory does not really work since no two individuals can react similarly to media misleading broadcasts. It can be said the pre-deposition, attitudes, prejudices, and moods of an individual influence his reaction towards misleading information from the media.... Research questions I. Can the mass media succeed in issuing misleading information? II. Does the magic bullet theory work? III. Does the media audience respond the propagandas passively? IV. What are the main shortcomings of the magic bullet theory? Literature review According to the magic bullet theory, people in the society live an isolated lifestyle because of diverse origins, beliefs and norms. Likewise, media messages act as symbolic bullets that strike their ears and brains resulting to certain effects on their behavior. The effect of media messages on the passive audience is powerful and direct. An example of this theory was demonstrated by Orson Wells when Mercury Theater Group after starting the broadcasting of â€Å"War of the Worlds†. About 12 million Americans heard the ‘one the eve of Halloween’ and a section of the population started believing that a dangerous alien invasion was underway. Such misleading news led to household hysteria, and caused tra ffic jams. People also fled from their City houses to settle in rural areas and many groceries started limiting the food reserves. Accordingly, media practitioners have argued that the â€Å"War of Worlds† is an example of how propaganda can be utilized in the magic bullet theory to manipulate the emotions and beliefs of a gullible public (Gupta & Aggarwal, 2001). On the contrary, the magic bullet theory does not really work since no two individuals can react similarly to media misleading broadcasts. It can be said the pre-depositions, attitudes, prejudices and moods of an individual influence his reaction towards misleading information from the media (Davis & Baron, 1981). Media propaganda is a communication message that is intended to

Frankenstein Analysis ; Essay Essay Example for Free

Frankenstein Analysis ; Essay Essay I. The pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein. In the letters at the beginning of the novel, Robert Walton had been writing to his sister of how he longs to travel the seas and attempts to surpass previous human explorations by endeavoring to reach the North Pole. Due to his pursuit of knowledge, he finds himself in a dangerous position trapped between sheets of ice. Victor’s pursuit of knowledge started from when he was just a child. The narrator begins to pick apart and identify the aspects of his personality that will eventually lead to his downfall. He possesses what he calls a thirst for knowledge. Thirst, of course, is a fundamental human need, necessary to ones very survival. Victors desire to learn, therefore, is driven by nothing so insubstantial as curiosity. It is instead the precondition of his very being. The fascinations of the human soul and how the body works, intensifying his thirst by reading the books of Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. As Victor attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life, his creation ends up destroying everyone that he had care for. Although the two had a thirst for knowledge, one quickly realized that they had chosen a dangerous path, Robert Walton. You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been. ( letter IV pg 39)From the wise words of Victor, Walton ultimately pulls back from his treacherous mission, having learned from Victor’s example how destructive the thirst for knowledge can be. The theme of the pursuit of knowledge leads into the theme of secrecy. Victor keeps his studies and his experiment of his creation a secret. He also keeps the knowledge of Williams killer a secret because it was his creation of the monster that murdered the innocent boy. II. In chapter two, Victor witnesses the destructive power of nature when, during a raging storm, lightning destroys a tree near his house. â€Å" It was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribands of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed. † (pg 48) Therefore Victor had witnessed the destructive powers of nature and was astonished that something so beautiful could be destroyed so abruptly. The world of nature that is expressed in the book can be argued that it affects the moods of characters in the novel. The sublime natural world, embraced by Romanticism as a source of unrestrained emotional experience for the individual. It initially offers characters the possibility of spiritual renewal. Mired in depression and remorse after the deaths of William and Justine, for which Victor responsible, Victor heads to the mountains to lift his spirits. The harsh winter that Victor endured symbolised depression and remorse. As well, after a the hellish winter of cold and abandonment, the monster feels his heart lighten as spring arrives. The influence of nature on mood is evident throughout the novel, but for Victor, the natural world’s power to console him wanes when he realizes that the monster will haunt him no matter where he goes. By the end, as Victor chases the monster obsessively, nature, in the form of the Arctic desert, functions simply as the symbolic scenery for his primal struggle against the monster. III. Victor has been in a stage of secrecy since he was a child. Because of his interests and ambitions that no one could understand, he stayed in secrecy. Victor conceives of science as a mystery to be examined and discover its secrets, once discovered, must be jealously guarded. He considers M. Krempe, the natural philosopher he meets at Ingolstadt, a model scientist: â€Å"an uncouth man, but deeply imbued in the secrets of his science. † Victor’s entire obsession with creating life is shrouded in secrecy, and his obsession with destroying the monster remains equally secret until Walton hears his tale. Whereas Victor continues in his secrecy out of shame and guilt, the monster is forced into seclusion by his bizarre appearance. Walton serves as the final confessor for both, and their tragic relationship becomes immortalized in Walton’s letters. In confessing all just before he dies, Victor escapes the stifling secrecy that has ruined his life; likewise, the monster takes advantage of Walton’s presence to forge a human connection, hoping desperately that at last someone will understand, and empathize with, his miserable existence. IV. The way Mary Shelley wrote the novel Frankenstein is in first person point of view. By having the book in first person the reader is able to witness Victor’s life story on a different level. This helps the reader have a better understanding of whats going on in the novel. If the novel was written in another form, the reader would probably have great difficulty understanding Victor’s story. Other pieces of works were also mention in the novel such as Paradise Lost. The texts and languages strongly associate with the story as well with other themes in the novel. â€Å"It moved every feeling of wonder and awe, that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting. I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own. Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but state was far from different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator, he was allowed to converse with, and acquire knowledge from, beings of a superior nature, but I was wretched, helpless and alone. † (Ch. XV, page 116) As stated in the quote, the monster is comparing himself and the relationship of him and his creator to the story that he reads in Paradise Lost. The reader can relate to the monster and can see his point of view of how he is mistreated by his creator unlike Adam in the Story. V. In Victors case, his isolation comes from pursuing his ambitions, choosing his ambition over the people around him. Even when Victor finishes creating his creature, his feelings of melancholy and guilt overwhelm him so that he cannot have solace from those around him. Though Victor is alone once the Creature has killed his family, this isolation could also be considered brought upon by Victor himself. Victor’s isolation, then, should create in him a sense of guilt or atonement for his creation of a Creature who stripped him of those friends and family surrounding him; however, Victor only seeks vengeance and his continued state of melancholy. The Creature, on the other hand, is isolated because of Victor. Victor was the Creature’s creator and should have provided and taught the creature, taking responsibility instead of running away. He also is isolated by society because of his appearance, which is, again, not the Creature’s fault. Compared to Victor, the Creature is far more isolate, and we can see that this isolation is superior to that of Victor because of the drastic measures the Creature takes in order to be with people. Victor does not really consciously attempt to engage with those around him, but the Creature does, craving companionship and a way to release himself from his isolation. Ultimately, the Creature cannot become part of any community so this isolation creates rage inside of the monster and leads him to commit the acts that ultimately isolate Victor. VI. In the novel Frankenstein by mary shelley there is a clear comparison between the creature and Victor to God and Satan. Victor and the creature are mostly compared to God and Satan. Victor was so blind by his determination to recreate that he was too late to realize exactly what he was creating. He saw that he wasn’t creating life but he was just twisting death. God also regretted his creation after it was too late. In the novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley intertwines the relationships between her characters through their insatiable desires for knowledge. The actions of these characters, predominantly the monster, allude to Satan, in John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost. Both the monster and Satan are fixated on vengeance because of the parallel rejection they are faced with in their respective works. Vengeance becomes the principal theme during the course of both works and it fuels the fire for the consciences’ of the monster and Satan’s every judgment. Rejection by creator plays a vital role in the plots of both the monster and Satan. Victor’s creature, born innocent, tried to fit in the world that he was put into. But the constant rejection and isolation from the very beings that he longed to interact with caused him to evolve into a self-acknowledged Satan, from Paradise Lost. The monster immediately upon setting eyes on the world is abandoned and rejected by Victor Frankenstein. The monster states, â€Å"It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being; all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. † (Shelley 194) VII. Throughout the novel, Victor has been struggling with his identity. He was isolated because of his interests in philosophy that no one else had. â€Å" When i was thirteen years of age, we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon: i chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa†¦I communicated my discovery to my father. My father looked carelessly at the titlepage of my book, and said, â€Å"Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this: it is sad trash. † † ( pg 46 chap II) Victor’s interest were not accepted therefore he kept to himself and became non social. Thus hindering the aid of finding his identity. The creature also struggled with his quest to find his identity. His creator was filled with disgust at the first sight of him. Without hesitation he shunned his creation and ran away from him. The monster was left with no one to teach him how to love, no one to teach him social skills, how to live, the creature had to fend for himself in every case. This left the monster to question his identity, Was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled, and whom all men disowned. This leads him to doubt himself, and actually contemplate suicide. Not knowing ones identity can be troublesome for someone. It can make one question everything they do, every move every thought questions. This can put a strain on ones life and cause them to feel depressed and suicidal. We can see this in the monster and Victor throughout the novel. Although the creature starts to realize that he is alone, there is no other like him. This helps him create an identity for himself. He can characterize himself as an outsider. The theme of identity helps the reader to have a stronger understanding of the characters. In the novel of Frankenstein it can be argued that the theme of religion has been illustrated within the book. While many people view Mary Shelley’s â€Å"Frankenstein† as a horror novel, it is also to be believed it has more of a religious background due to the insertion of â€Å"Paradise Lost† into the story. The story of God creating Adam is a popular topic in this story and is also believed that Shelly had intended for â€Å"Frankenstein† to be an allegory for the story of creation. In the instructional novel of How to read Literature Like a Professor, chapter five and seven can be used to make a connection with the novel of Frankenstein. In chapter five of the instructional manual of How to read Literature Like a Professor, the author explains how stories overlap in a way. Book are never totally original. They all use similar characters with similar personalities. Authors use other authors to influence their style of writing and what they write about. In the novel, Mary Shelley introduces the story â€Å" Paradise Lost†, to make a comparison and difference between the creature with Adam. â€Å" But ‘Paradise Lost’ excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as i had read the other volumes which had fallen into my hands as a true history†¦ I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own. Like Adam. † This quote can prove that the creation referred to the story of â€Å"Paradise Lost† and used it as a comparison to its own situation. Therefore stories indeed did overlap in a way. In chapter seven of the instructional manual of How to read Literature Like a Professor, it is mainly about how every piece of literature is somehow related to or referring to the Bible. They all involve things such as temptation, betrayal, denial, etc. Also, writers refer to the Bible because almost everybody knows at least some of the stories from the Bible. The novel Frankenstein expresses religion because Victors obsession with recreating life. He takes a place as God and the creature takes the place of Adam. The story of God and Adam was used in the novel to draw out the use of religion. Chapter seven also connects to Frankenstein because he felt the temptation of knowing the secrets of nature. † The world was to me secret which i desired to divine. † As quoted, Victor had temptation for knowledge. Therefore temptation was involved in the novel. Therefore, the instructional manual of How to read Literature Like a Professor and the novel Frankenstein are relatable. The manual is solely based on teaching rising students like me how to think, and change my perspective in order to get the deeper meaning behind a piece of literature. In Frankenstein the Monster, who is thought to be illiterate, watches the Frankenstein family and teaches himself to eat, sleep, and hold himself like them. He teaches himself to be a more sophisticated human being by watching this family similar to the way millions of students are teaching themselves to be more sophisticated by reading this manual.

Challenges of the UAE in Demographic Imbalance

Challenges of the UAE in Demographic Imbalance Introduction Prosperity, one of a national interests of the UAE, requires development in all sectors of the UAE. People in the UAE cannot grant the desired prosperity by using local human resources; so development always requires foreign expertise. The number of expats has increased proportionally with the growth of the economy. Even with the growth of UAE national population, the ratio of citizens to non-citizens has severely decreased which caused the imbalance in population. The demographic imbalance has become one of most complex issue to for the UAE which created several challenges that should be addressed. The development   Economic development since the establishment of the UAEunion caused that the expats to reached to 88 % of the population in 2010. When we compared this figure with the situation in EU, where people can barley tolerate an average share of 6.5 % foreigners plus 9.4 % foreign-born new citizens. In the period from 2005 to 2010, the average growth rate for citizens was about 3% every year while non-national population has increased from 3.3 m to 7.2 m , which confirmed the statistics that says UAE is has the most rapid growth rate in population in the world in the period from 2005 since 1950s.These figures are enough to illustrate how the UAE is a unique case in population imbalance. Opportunity or threats Expat labor s are  is one of the main tool  tools for development that contributes to the accomplishment of construction, development programs, and the establishment of the basic infrastructure necessary for economic development. On the other hand, foreign labors led to numerous negative consequences, some of which being still persistsent. The presence of foreign labor in the UAE has turned from a development tool to a challenge that may be turn into a threat to national security from different aspects. The challenges can be categorize into four aspects: culture, economy, policies, and security. The impact of demographic imbalance on culture The presence of more than 200 nationalities who came from different religion, heritage and traditions merged ways of communications among people in the UAE[a1], which interact together daily in a limited area. This leads to the transnational spread of ideas, values and information among people with different cultures, this interaction includes ideologies and believes or even politics[a2]. In 2012, Arab nationalities consisted of 28% of population including citizens, while the Indian and Pakistani nationalities above 50% , which makes the Arabic language it the third in the country after Urdu and English languages. This is true if we assume that all Arabs speak Arabic. Unfortunately, lots of young Emiratis are more comfortable speaking English language instead of their Arabic, they even text each other in English when using communication technology. Furthermore, some elder citizens try to practice it too despite their weakness in speaking English. Moreover, names of residential complexes, streets and shop labels are dominated by foreign names, it witnessed Chinese sometimes. In media, such as radio, programs that presented in other languages are much more than Arabic even though most of them are produced and emitted in the UAE. When comparing the case of the UAE to other countries, countries use only their own languages domestically even if nobody else speaks his langu age such as Turkey and Korea, so what makes new generation of emaraties abandon their mother language is not only the need of to talk with the majority of the foreign peoplepopulation, but because of the weakness of culture that influenced by foreign cultures which consist not only for language, but for a combination of tradition, customs and values. Another challenges is the influence of presence of domestic servants. UAE has a high number of domestic workers helpers as domestic helps which came come from other cultures,: the statistics suggested that 96% of Emarati families employ them, those helpers have been converted to many things such as personal servant or nannies. Most of Emirati families rely on them to raise their children from very young age, they leave their kids in a companion of their domestic servants more than the biological family members. The low cost of domestic servant made people more dependent which perform 80% of parental tasks and responsibilities .This impacts the bonds between mothers and children, as the kids are more drawn toward their care taker and they tend to learn various other languages instead of mother tongue. Another recent issue came to UAE culture that UAE ladies are followed by their domestic servants publicly in shopping malls, hospitals, and parks, which reflects the ignorance of these l adies publicly[a3]. The low cost of domestic servant made people more dependent which perform 80% of parental tasks and responsibilities . The presence of high number of foreign people in UAE caused the creation of a lot of foreign academic institutions locally, the drawback that identifies this case is the threat by these schools which consists of minority of citizen students whom identity may depleted diluted among other identities. Normally, in other countries, foreigners tend to learn the national language for their interest and for the possibility of granting a nationality of hosted country, but in the UAE foreign people insists to preserve their own culture because they understand the difficulty to of getting UAE citizenship so they believe that they would go back to their country at some time to entertain their cultureeventually. Moreover, citizens are who have to[a4] The challenges of demographic imbalance on Economy Economy is the main driver for the influx of foreign people to the country. As people welfare is one of the main objective to maintain life prosperity, this welfare needs a strong economy which cannot be existsed without human resources at all levels and specialists. This demand of expats caused this imbalance. UAE’s economy is expanding according to the strategy of economic diversification. To maintain the economic growth rate, industries create lot of jobs in this market including high skill professionals and law skill worker, both of them usually does not fit citizens. Thus, citizen consists less than 5% in private sector while more than 95% are expats , this figure even exceeded the agreed ratio among labor ministries of GCC which should be less than 20% , which created another challenges that confront political decisions. Even the idea of emiratization in such sectors could not be pragmatic practicle due to the lack of skill that demanded by these industries. Therefore, the, the recruitment of foreigners to fill these opportunity vacancies instead. The role of foreign people is a vital to maintain the prosperity speciallyespecially for citizens’ welfare, that makes citizens relinquish some of their values to maintain their life prosperitystyle. Foreign people have the right to seek better life too, so by the time, old comers try to upgradeimprove their life style, so they would demand more newcomers to provide welfare for them too, which would add more imbalance to the population. It is a vicious circle. The majority of the expatriates working are single males from various Asian. Salaries of single staff who working in the country would be repatriated to his home country with very limited material benefit to the UAE. This would impact the UAE economy and would loses opportunities in local human resource investments too. This situation indicates that UAE are beingsuffers from massively financially drainage :; Iin 2014, remittances were more than 140 billion dirhams that transferred abroad, the continuation of this drainage is unhealthy phenomenon for the economy. Impact of demographic imbalance on policies The issue of foreign labor in the UAE became a political and global issues. In the context of International Labor Agreements and the implications for international economic systems, Some of these agreements request giving expat workers citizenships which is an evidence of political interface interference under the pressure of NGOs and international community. One of the consequences is the possibility of turning of foreign workers into lobbying powers. In fact, some Asian governments demanded UAE government to review employment agreements for alleged lack of appropriate safety measures in the workplace, this demands attracted more actors around the world such as embassies to put more pressure whether it is true or exaggeration. India has become capable to put pressure on political decision-makers, in favor of this large community. Furthermore, there are some concerns about the possibility of these communities demanding the right to autonomy in case of they become the majority of a sp ecific nationality. The foreign communities in the UAE have even have a second generation of immigrants who could become over time citizens with their own social status. They might turn into political movements that express their thoughts, aspirations and demands. Other political demands emerge more apparently in the US State Department annual report on human rights. In 2013 the department issued a report included workers rights in several sections. The laws of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining such as allowing an employer to suspend an employee for striking and low wages. Prohibition of child labor and minimum age for employment and the acceptance condition of work. However, lot of regulation already been set and amended in the ministry of labor such as Wages Protection System (WPS) that set in 2010 and the prohibition of the use of children who used to be Asian or African in camel races. Therefore, this amendment shows the consequences toof the interference of the international organization in regards to foreign workers and shows the desire of the UAE government to develop better situation to people which turned these criticisms into opportunity. This challenges had opportunities too; several entities related to human rights has been founded including the Human rights department in the ministry of interior and Human rights association in Dubai. These organizations has enhanced the world perception about lot of issues such as children abuse and human trafficking. Furthermore, it developed the judicial system and rebuilt the reputation of the UAE that distorted by some NGOs. In October 2013, the UAE obtained a recognition in the area of human rights. The UAE was first among Arab countries and fourteenth globally on the International Human Rights Rank Indicator (IHRRI), published in 2013 by the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD). Impact of foreign worker on security The UAE witnessed lots of demonstrations that carried out by expat workers, Asians in particular, demanding to improveimprovement of working conditions. Labor protests resulted in disagreement with some issue in their own country such as the protest in 2007 set by 600 Chinese workers against their recruitment company in Chinea asking that the money they paid should be returned, they marched in Sharjah and blocked some road in the industrialy area. Such as demonstration might become a security threat if it deviateds from peaceful objectives and headed to the destruction of public properties as happened in Ras Alkhaimah in April 2015 when laborers wrecked and set fire to their building site and 17 cars after a worker fell to his death in an apparent suicide which prompted the police to use force to break up demonstration. Another demonstration took place in March 2015 when hundreds of workers from South Asia have staged a rare protest in Dubai ( BCC 2015), they blocked one of the main landmark area in Dubai. Different expats are is inseparable from conflicts between in their own different countries, which meansmean they may be interact influenced with byany future developments taking place abroad. During the Arab spring, a lot of Arab communities demonstrated their support or opposition to their political actions[a5]. An example of the demonstrations resulted in situations that happened abroad by Syria and Libya, as a result, In 2011, Syrians demonstrated in front of their consulate in Dubai, condemning action of Assad in their homeland. The consequentce of these demonstrations is are not always positive, sometimes it is converted to riot which need to be suppressed by forces. Some foreign labors involved in organized crime in various forms. UAE security services have succeeded over the years in discovering networks involved in trafficking, jewelry and liquor, perpetrated by expat labor, particularly Asians. More dangerously, some of these elements have proven to have links to some border crossing organized crime groups, such as money laundering, currency counterfeiting, drug trafficking, and other illegal activity. In addition, this increases the expenditure in security sectors to maintain the internal security. Other challenges of Demographic imbalance Lot of strategies in the UAE has been adopted or revised by foreign people who contributed to build the country, where the role of citizen was limited in managing and leading the development, this contribution gave the chance for foreign consultant organization to manage most of the economic and strategic plans, and it is notable that most of projects especially real estate projects extensively attracted more foreign companies with different identities. Institutions and organizations in the UAE have being been developdevelopingeding continuously. Government sectors which used to comprise of citizens is inflated yearly to absorb the requirements of other sectors that exponentially increase. There are a lot of organizations that have been under pressure to fulfill population demand. General directorate of residency and foreigners affairs is one of the departments that suffer from the imbalance, it is one of organizations that should inflate in accordance [a6]with population . population. Municipalities is another organization that suffered from this imbalance, the requirement of them increasing every year not for the interest of citizens, but for the high number of expats. The high population of foreign people put more pressure on water and energy sectors, and so on for all other services sectors. It is admitted that foreigners are who helped to develop the civilization infrastucture of the country but the surge in development did no t allow enough time to observe on cultural identity in the civilized environment, as cited by Dubai municipality . Another challenge resulted in this imbalance is in the structure of the security forces organization in the UAE which was were originally designed for the population of the UAE, but with the presence of high population such the double expats in 5 years from 2005-2010, this put lots of burden on security services which mainly comprise of minority of citizens, especially when the number of expats is fluctuating as a result of any global or domestic issue. Conclusion Expats in the UAE have greatly contributed to the economic growth including, infrastructure, transportation and domestic needs, as well as raising living standards of nationals, education, and health and social care. However, the rapid development has to trade off several aspects of culture, security and policies. An equilibrium is needed to meet the standard requirement of the UAE and the presence of people to prioritize requirement and to maintain a steady growth to the country to balance the cost-benefit of expats. Needs documentation Ahmed Almualla 1 [a1]Not clear what you mean [a2]More than other means like internet [a3]Why? [a4]Not complete sentence [a5]Need different word [a6]Choice of words

Paradise Lost Essay -- essays research papers

Peter Schrag presents the ills of California?fs current politics in an angry and persuasive tone. He says California used to be ?gboth model and magnet for the nation—in its economic opportunities, its social outlook, and its high-quality public services and institutes?h; however, California started to fade after the passage of Proposition 13, the initiative of tax limits (7). Schrag?fs work clearly shows what is the problem in today?fs California, and it is easy to understand even for those who have little knowledge of politics. By focusing on issues of ?gneopopulism?h which is easy to find in California?fs diversity, he succeeds in giving his readers the sense of crisis not only about California?fs politics, but also the national wide politics because California is the place ?gwhere the new American society is first coming into full view?h (23). Schrag says, about California politics, that: For nearly a generation, there has been increasing focus among scholars, politicians, and journalists on the growing gaps in California—ethic, social, economic—between those who exercise political power and the larger population, and particularly those who are the most immediate users of its public services. What has gotten little discussion is the dynamic of the plebiscitary process itself. While it?fs ad hoc in nature—each measure is decided by voters on its own apparent merits without much reference to the wider context—it has a larger cumulative effect through which statewide majorities restrict the powers of local political majorities, which are often nonwhite. Almost by definition, it is also a device of impulse that tends to be only marginally respectful of minority rights or interests, and that lends itself to demagogic wedge campaigns designed to boost voter turnout for other political purpose. (21) Schrag divides his project into five sections. The middle sections, ?gThe Spirit of 13,?h and ?gMarch of the Plebiscites,?h in which he carefully discusses each important measure in the last two decades, show why so many issues rose. In the first section, ?gGolden Moment,?h Schrag describes ?gCalifornia?fs heyday of post-World War †¡U optimism?h and how it crumbled. Citations from magazines prove that California was a really paradise even from the nationwide view. Schrag also notices that the demographic change deeply relates to California?fs politics in the last t... ...comes clear in this chapter is that the plebiscitary process is problem in California. Most voters and a large portion of media pay attention not on the government and the social welfare, but on their individual benefits. Much amount of money was spent on each measure, and supporters and opponents vehemently argued by using the mass media. Schrag says that the state government of California became a ?gmedia-based?h government. It is clear that California had anti-immigrants climate by Schrag?fs selection of measures. California politicians attacked programs for low-income Californians precisely at the time when California?fs demographic was changing rapidly. Politicians have been urging white voters to cut back on beneficial public services to original Californians. Finally, Schrag concludes his work with some suggestions for ?gthe possibilities for a new political integration and a revitalized social ethic in California?h while he describes ?gthe contrary forces pushing even fur ther toward a market-based governmental ethic?h (20). His work gives us a good opportunity for rethinking recent California and how voters, not only California?fs voters but also the others, should be.

Essay --

Introduction A marketing plan is a document which comprises of analysis of the current marketing situation, threats and opportunities of the firm, marketing objectives and strategy specified that has the 4 Ps, program of actions, and projected budget and income and other financial statements (Drummond, Ensor, & Ashford, 2008). The marketing plan consist of 3 main steps: 1) Planning Phase 2) Implementation Phase 3) Control Phase Figure: 3 Phases of Marketing Plan (Source: (Drummond, Ensor, & Ashford, 2008) ) A documented market plan helps in tracking the progress of the company or activity by providing a point of reference. While creating a new market plan around three end goals should be kept in mind. Having end goal in mind will help in efficient formulation of marketing Plan. Placing more goals will lead to dilution of efforts and shortage of resources for the company (Luke, 2013). Aim The report is creating a marketing plan for Tata global beverages limited to launch into Australian market with their new Green tea product. History Tata global beverage was set up as a joint venture between Tata Sons and the UK-based tea plantation company, James Finlay and Company in 1962. Tata Tea was born in 1983 after James Finlay sold his shareholding to Tata. The company set out on a path with global ambitions, evidenced by the acquisition of Tetley in 2000. This was followed by a string of strategic acquisitions including Good Earth, Jemca, Vitax, Eight O’ Clock Coffee and Himalayan Water (Tata Global Beverages, 2014). Source: (Tata Global Beverages, 2014). Following are different brands that come under Tata beverages: Source: (Tata Beverages, 2014) Tata Beverages has a wide variety of portfolio of products which ranges from dis... ...ers never asked for or thought were possible example Walkmans. Companies are trying to become more market driven and their major efforts go in retaining customers. Customer retention has become much more important than customer attraction because attracting new customer costs five times more than pleasing an existing one. (Kotler, Marketing Management Millenium Edition, 2002). Target Market The product will be targeting the following segment of population: 1) People from the age range of 15 to 35 both male and females. 2) Health conscious people preferably involved in regular work out. 3) People who are trying to switch to a healthier lifestyle and want to give up soft drinks. Competitor Analysis Competition is the most critical factor in marketing management and includes all of the actual and potential rival offerings and substitutes that a buyer might consider.

Identity and Belonging

38 A Postcolonial study of Identity Crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s the Reluctant Fundamentalist Daryoosh Hayati Islamic Azad University, Iran Abstract: This essay will present a postcolonial study of Mohsin Hamid’s the Reluctant Fundamentalist. The basis for this research paper is the postcolonial theories of Edward Said, Fanon and Homi Bhabba. The aim is to question simply and sardonically the human cost of empire building, moreover it is discussed how the people in a totally alien culture are faced with different cultural predicaments, dilemmas as well as contradictions threatening their identity.Identity is supposed to be stable, while as this novel indicates, it is at risk due to the cultural conflicts as a result of which identity and ethnicity are subjected to change for the benefit of the hegemony. In line with Edward Said’s: â€Å" the East writes back† it is shown how this novel is a reaction to the discourse of colonization and welcomes de-colonization . Moreover it reflects the laments of the author for the terrorist label attributed to Muslims, in terms of globalization, supported by the hegemony and interpreted as essentialism.Key words: globalization, identity, postcolonial, binary oppositions, otherness, hegemony, hybridity and ethnicity. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 39 Introduction: Post colonialism deals with the aftermath of colonialism. It is about the painstaking struggle of being independent. The society is no longer being oppressed; they are independent, free to be themselves again.However they’ve changed, their culture has changed now they need to figure out who they really are. In other words they are faced with identity related choices. Ex-colonies are to choose either to make an attempt to restore the original culture, or conform to the existing c olonizers’ culture or the creation of a new culture which combines both. In other words such nations are encountered by difficult decisions to make. Either to assimilate or dissimilate is the existential condition ex-colonies are exposed to. Such a question faces the ex-colonies with an unresolved predicament.The assimilation and adaptation of cultural practices, the cross-fertilization of cultures, can be seen as positive, enriching, and dynamic, as well as oppressive. â€Å"Hybridity† is also a useful concept for helping to break down the false sense that colonized cultures — or colonizing cultures for that matter — are monolithic, or have essential, unchanging features. The growth of â€Å"hybridity†Ã¢â‚¬â€the dissolution of rigid cultural boundaries between groups hitherto perceived as separate, the intermixture of various identities, in effect the dissolution of identities themselves.Much anthropology in this field demonstrates how identities have been and are invented, reinvented and shaped for political and other purposes, out of disparate historical and cultural experiences. Other studies have repeatedly shown that identities are driven with contradictions and are not to be understood as seamlessly unified comprehensive cultural entities, therefore impossible to go back to the original one. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II.Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 40 Identities owe their formation and position in society to the operation of social, economic, cultural, and political forces that are inseparable from the forces that create and maintain socioeconomic groups. In this view, rather than being opposed, identity politics and class politics, while distinct, have the potential to be allied actors in a common political process.The three most influential theorists whose ideas regarding the causes o f the oriental identity being changed include: Fanon, Bhabha and Edward Said according to whom: ‘The Orient was almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place or romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences †¦ The Orient is nor only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other.In addition, the Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience. Yet none of this Orient is merely imaginative. The Orient is an integral part of European material civilization and culture. Orientalism expresses and represents that part culturally and even ideologically as a mode of discourse with supporting institutions, vocabulary, scholarship, imagery, doctrines, even colonial bureaucracies and col onial styles’†¦. ideas, cultures, and histories cannot seriously be understood or studied without their force, or more precisely their configurations of power, also being studied. To believe that the Orient was created – or, as I call it, â€Å"Orientalised† – and to BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 41 believe that such things happen simply as a necessity of the imagination, is to be disingenuous. The relationship between Occident and Orient is a relationship of power, of domination, of varying degrees of a complex hegemony’. Said, pp 30-35 and 60) Frantz Fanon stands as the second outstanding critic in the field whose ideas, together with those of Bhabha and Said provide a strong basis for the study of cultural influences in the field: ‘This cultural obliteration is made possible by the negation of national reality, by the new legal relations introduced by the occupying power, by the banishment of the natives and their customs to outlying districts by colonial society, by expropriation, and by the systematic enslaving of men and women †¦ Every effort is made to bring the colonized person to admit the inferiority of his culture which has been transformed into instinctive patterns of behaviour, to recognize the unreality of his â€Å"nation,† and, in the last extreme, the confused and imperfect character of his own biological structure. ’( Fanon, p. 58) Last but not the least, attention must be directed toward the theories Homi K. Bhabha known as Hybridity and the â€Å"Third Space†: ‘It is that Third Space, though unrepresentable in itself, which constitutes the discursive conditions of nunciation that ensure that the meaning and symbols of BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue â₠¬â€œ II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 42 culture have no primordial unity or fixity; that even the same signs can and be read appropriated, anew’†¦. ‘The translated, Western rehistoricized metropole must confront its postcolonial history, told by its influx of postwar migrants and refugees, as an indigenous or native narrative internal to its national identity; â€Å"The trouble with the English is that their hiss hiss history happened overseas, so they dodo don’t know what it means’. Bhabha, p, 15) Discussion: The reluctant fundamentalist is in line with the above mentioned views. The Reluctant Fundamentalist immediately de-stabilizes the â€Å"gaze† of the West upon the Islamic World. The novel’s opening sees Changez immigrating to the United States, attending Princeton, and receiving a high-stakes and much coveted entry-level position in a New York City business cons ulting firm, Underwood Samson. It would seem that he is the living embodiment of the American Dream, having toiled endless hours for these opportunities and possessing a bright, unbounded future. However, after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, his attitude toward the United States changes, especially as he becomes the target of racism and enhanced surveillance.By the conclusion, one is unsure whether or not this conversation partner is actually a CIA assassin dispatched to Pakistan to terminate Changez. Changez, constructed as a â€Å"modern† Muslim immigrant and anti-hero, sees fit to challenge the reductive lens that casts all Muslims as religious fanatics and backwards zealots. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 43 The novel ultimately poses the interesting stance that neo-liberalism exists as its own form of fundamenta lism; the West’s utter devotion to the precepts of a laissez-faire economic policy has generated a totalizing view of the globe as a terrain to be mined and exploited.Those who do not follow this mantra can necessarily be considered a â€Å"threat,† and in this novel’s case, very much a terrorist threat. This intervention places into relief the ways in which the West might not necessarily view its own economic activities critically enough. Underwood Samson, in Changez’s view, is the clear example of the soullessness of the West. The company does not generate a purchasable product, but is yet extremely sought after for its ability to â€Å"evaluate† other companies. That is, their job epitomizes capitalism to its very core through the ability to place â€Å"value† on objects, structures, bodies or processes. Where Changez finds root is in a Pakistani culture that does not subscribe to this same system of â€Å"beliefs. Although Changezâ€⠄¢s Underwood Samson advisor, Jim, appeals to him through the sentiment that Underwood Samson cannot be conflated with American economic policies at large, the novel concludes with Changez retreating into the confines of nationalisms and discrete boundary points. For him, Underwood Samson merely operates as an appendage of American â€Å"fundamentalism,† one that must be combated through Pakistani economic independence. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the story of a man who is surprised by the intensity of his reactions when he perceives a threat to his cultural identity. â€Å"Beware the Dark Side, young Skywalker,† a colleague tells Changez at the induction party.This is said in jest, but the Star Wars legend of a youngster who betrays his own kind for an evil Empire, in the process losing his soul and turning into a mechanical man, will uncomfortably resonate with Changez’s own integration into American life. Later in the narrative, he will BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 44 hear about the Janissaries, â€Å"the Christian boys who were captured and trained to be soldiers in a Muslim army, at that time the greatest army in the world†¦they had fought to erase their own civilizations, so they had nothing else to turn to†.These analogies will tap into his deep-rooted fears: the fear of contributing to the wealth-generation of the most powerful empire in the world even while his own country languishes in poverty and he feels like a stranger on each successive visit to Lahore. The fear of a shrinking â€Å"global world† where â€Å"global† is defined in terms of the US model. The fear of becoming, inadvertently, a foot-soldier in America’s march of progress, as a result his identity resembles that of Janissaries. And yet this young man, who would certa inly at some point have thought of himself as a citizen of the world, unconfined by narrow domestic walls, slowly becomes defensive about his identity.Early on, he has already been discomfited by little things: watching his colleagues part with large sums of money, for instance, reminds him of the poverty in his country, and on a business trip to Manila he is mortified to discover that even this (Eastern) city is so much wealthier than Lahore: I felt like a distance runner who thinks he is not doing too badly until he glances over his shoulder and sees that the fellow who is lapping him is not the leader of the pack but one of the laggards. (p. 176) But after the 9/11 attacks and the racial profiling that accompanies it, he becomes ever more conscious of the need to define himself, and this leads to disaffection with his adopted country. Changez’s dilemmas are complicated by his feelings for a girl named Erica, a fellow Princetonian; they become close but she is haunted by he rBARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 45 memories of a deceased boyfriend, and an awkward lovemaking scene shows us that Changez’s relationship with her mirrors his relationship with the US – he can possess her only by pretending to be someone he is not, by relinquishing his own sense of self. And though the book ends on an ambiguous note, refusing to divulge the extent to which Changez has traded one fundamentalism for another, we understand how an unbridgeable divide, an atmosphere of mutual distrust, can be created between cultures.In other words, Bhabha argues that cultural identities cannot be ascribed to pre-given, irreducible, scripted, a historical cultural traits that define the conventions of ethnicity. Nor can â€Å"colonizer† and â€Å"colonized† be viewed as separate entities that define t hemselves independently. Instead, Bhabha suggests that the negotiation of cultural identity involves the continual interface and exchange of cultural performances that in turn produce a mutual and mutable recognition (or representation) of cultural difference. As Bhabha argues, this â€Å"liminal† space is a â€Å"hybrid† site that witnesses the production–rather than just the reflection–of cultural meaning:The novel’s central point is the pride of the American empire which is built on the guts of finance: â€Å"Finance was a primary means by which the American empire exercised its power. † A mirror, reflecting the mutual suspicion with which America and Pakistan (or the Muslim world) look at one another. â€Å"Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. † So begins Changez’s monologue that charts the rise and fall of this man, from Princet on University, to employment in a prestigious firm, his love for BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II.ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 46 a fellow New Yorker named Erica, to the increasing suspicion he feels after the destruction of the World Trade Centre, and the escalating conflict in his home country of Pakistan, which he watches from across the Atlantic, powerless to help. What distinguishes The Reluctant Fundamentalist is its monologue form. Changez is relating his tale to an American who may or may not be CIA and Changez may or may not be a terrorist. The duality that this text invokes is mirrored through the possibly radicalisation Changez undergoes and the loss of mind that befalls Erica.At the end of this superbly powerful narrative every character is left hanging off metaphorical and literal cliffs (or having gone over them) that one is reminded that th is is simply not a story of a rise and fall, but is concerned with events that happened after the fall, for falling is only but the beginning of one story. The study of identity is in most cases associated with considering the changes in circumstances or a one's personality. Colonies go through many changes throughout their existence. When looking at pre-colonialism, one sees the area’s original culture. Their beliefs and customs run smoothly in a functioning society. Colonialism changes everything.In almost all cases of colonialism, the norms, beliefs and cultural values of the larger power are forced upon all of the colonies natives. This is because the colonizer believes that the natives are â€Å"savages† and need to be civilized. The natives have no choice but to accept these new ways of life. The settlers' technology is more advanced and they could easily wipe out all natives who refuse to conform to the new culture. This is where the depletion of their culture b egins. Natives stop practicing their religion. In most cases they convert to Christianity, mainly because it is forced onto them. In order to communicate BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 47 ith the colonizers or the settlers, they start speaking the settlers' language. Soon enough their own is lost. After so many years of colonialism, the natives become similar to their colonizers. The colonizers control education, therefore they control the thoughts and ideas absorbed by the youth. Natives' children absorb the new culture and ideas at a young age. Because of this, the original culture is lost in new generations. The colonizer is a brute force which oppresses the natives. In the fight of this oppression, independence is fought for and a culture that has almost been forgotten is once again sought after. What is left of the ori ginal culture?The representation of these uneven and often hybrid, polyglot, multivalent cultural sites (reclaimed or discovered colonized cultures searching for identity and meaning in a complex and partially alien past) may not look very much like the representations of bourgeois culture in western art, ideologically shaped as western art is to represent its own truths (that is, guiding fictions) about itself. To quote Homi Bhabha on the complex issue of representation and meaning from his article in Greenblatt and Gun's Redrawing the Boundaries: Culture as a strategy of survival is both transnational and translational. It is transnational because contemporary ostcolonial discourses are rooted in specific histories of cultural displacement, whether they are the middle passage of slaver and indenture, the voyage out of the civilizing mission, the fraught accommodation of Third World migration to the West after the Second World War, or the traffic of economic and political refugees within and outside the Third World. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 48 Culture is translational because such spatial histories of displacement — now accompanied by the territorial ambitions of global media technologies — make the question of how culture signifies, or what is signified by culture, a rather complex issue.It becomes crucial to distinguish between the semblance and similitude of the symbols across diverse cultural experiences -literature, art, music, ritual, life, death — and the social specificity of each of these productions of meaning as they circulate as signs within specific contextual locations and social systems of value. The transnational dimension of cultural transformation — migration, diaspora, displacement, relocation – makes the process of cultural translation a co mplex form of signification. the natural(ized), unifying discourse of nation , peoples , or authentic folk tradition, those embedded myths of cultures particularity, cannot be readily referenced. The great, though unsettling, advantage of this position is that it makes you increasingly aware of the construction of culture and the invention of tradition. (P. 178)In as much as Changez can see that the United States turns to a reductive patriotism in the light of the â€Å"age of terror,† his equally resistant and myopic gaze constrains him into a perspective where the very few American individuals can be seen beyond their economic ferocity or racist jingoism. In addition, Changez’s Pakistani nationalism seems to subvert any possibility for a larger Third World sensibility that he had espoused earlier in the novel. Whereas Pakistan and Afghanistan are both likened to victims BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. IS SN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 49 in America’s â€Å"war on terror,† it seems particularly problematic that Changez does not expand his scope to include the various other â€Å"Third World† nations that have been targeted by America’s economic or military fundamentalisms.By introducing these, Hamid seems to suggest that Changez’s story acts as its own polemic toward the ways that the West can produce the so-called â€Å"terrorist† through and by false oppositions that construct the unequivocal Muslim or Arab as outsider to the nation. The novel imagines the possibility that fundamentalism has many guises, both religiously grounded and secular. The questions it thus provokes are inherently some of the most valuable elements to the current issues related to international security. Regarding the â€Å"war on terror,† Jean Baudrillard has written, â€Å"It is therefore a cla sh neither of civilizations nor of religions, and this goes far beyond Islam and America, upon which one attempts to focus the conflict in order to give oneself the illusion of a visible confrontation, and solution, by the use of force† (406). Baudrillard disrupts the binary that Changez seems most ervent to posit and in doing so, perhaps unveils a different root source for an existing conflict: But the fourth world war is elsewhere. It is what haunts all world order, all hegemonic domination. If Islam dominated the world, terrorism would rise against Islam. It is the very world itself that resists globalization (407). Born in Pakistan, educated at Princeton and currently the hottest new employee at a New York firm specialising in ruthless appraisals of ailing BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 50 companies being targeted for takeover, Changez recognises himself in the description. I was a modern-day janissary,† he observes, â€Å"a servant of the American empire at a time when it was invading a country with a kinship to mine †¦ † The recognition ( empire is doomed to failure, as the world itself is against hegemony) completes a process of inward transformation that began when he realised he was half-gladdened by the World Trade Center attacks, and it now prompts him to sabotage his own high-flying career, to give up his pursuit of the beautiful, troubled Wasp princess Erica and go back to Lahore. There, bearded and generally re-acculturated, he meets an American in a restaurant in the Old Anarkali district, and buttonholes him with his life story.The novel is his monologue: a quietly told, cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment with America, set on the treacherous faultiness of current binary East/West relations, and finely tuned to the ironies of mutual but especially American prejudice and misrepresentation. The richest instance of the latter is in the way it plays with the idea of fundamentalism itself. From the title, and from the increasingly tense atmosphere arising between Changez and his American listener, the expectation is that Changez is moving towards the revelation that he has gone, however â€Å"reluctantly†, all the way over to the dark side of Islamic fundamentalism, and is possibly, even as he speaks, rchestrating some Daniel Pearl-like execution of his perhaps literally captive audience. But in a neat – arguably too neat – reversal, it transpires that the real fundamentalism at issue here is that of US capitalism, specifically that practised by Changez's former employer, Underwood Samson, whose motto, as they do BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Servi ces 51 their pitiless bit for globalisation, is â€Å"Focus on the fundamentals†. The subverted expectation very efficiently forces one to reconsider one's preconceptions about such words and their meanings, and a point is duly scored for relativism.Changez pithily summarises, for instance, the experience of every happy Manhattan transplant when he declares: â€Å"I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker. † And his figure for that city in its ominously flag-bedecked state following the 9/11 attacks – â€Å"I wondered what manner of host would sally forth from so grand a castle† – is perfect both as a visual image and as a deepening of the book's running theme in which the triumphalist militarism of the US is repeatedly mapped over the ruined glory of the old Mughal empire. To be fair, the allegory isn't as glibly intrusive as that makes it sound, but it has a stiffening effect on the narrative, shifting it from the dramatic to the essayistic.It's no great surprise to hear Changez drop his sinuously selfdeprecating manner towards the end, in favour of something more fingerwaggingly polemical: I had always resented the manner in which America conducted itself in the world; your country's constant interference in the affairs of others was insufferable. Vietnam, Korea, the straits of Taiwan †¦ (p. 179) BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 52 Assimilation is another aspect of Changeez’s identity, but as earlier discussed his identity is subjected to inevitable dichotomies.In fact assimilation is a process that presupposes contradictions. But surely it is the gist that matters; I am, after all, telling you a history, and in history, as I suspect you – an American – will agree, it is the thrust of one’s na rrative that counts, not the accuracy of one’s details. (p. 118) When Changez talks of his attempt to assimilate, the reader is struck by the dishonesty of that attempt: I attempted to act and speak, as much as my dignity would permit, more like an American. The Filipinos we worked with seemed to look up to my American colleagues, accepting them almost instinctively as members of the officer class of global business-and I wanted my share of that respect as well. (p. 5) Later, Changez seems to recognize, for the first time, how ineffectual his efforts are: Then one of my colleagues asked me a question, and when I turned to answer him, something rather strange took place. I looked at him – at his fair hair and light eyes and, most of all, his oblivious immersion in the minutiae of our work – and thought, you are so foreign. (p. 67) The book is about Changez's change or realization, which transforms him from an American financial analyst from Princeton to an indivi dual BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 53 reintroduced to his cultural identity and family.The book begins when Changez accepts a job at a valuation firm and begins a relationship with an American girl named Erica. During the story, 9-11 occurs and the IndianPakistani conflict arises. Changez sees America's global role as one of selfinterest and he feels as though he is leaving behind his natural culture and identity. The Reluctant Fundamentalist does not delve into religious fundamentalism much at all, nor does it go into any detail about criticism of the foreign policy of the United States. It focuses around Changez inner struggle, his relationship with Erica, his relationship with his work, and his continuing desire for resolution in his sense of identity.After all, it seemed to be one of the several Post-September11 novels on the themes of immigrant identity and allegiance in the context of America’s changing international relations. In addition to Changez, another haunting character in the novel is Erica, Changez’s frail American girl friend. A typical privileged American girl, Erica is different in that she has suffered a tragedy and is unable to pull herself out of it enough to let Changez in her life. Again, Erica remains somewhat of an unbelievable character until you suddenly realize that the author probably meant Erica as an allegorical representation for America ‘(I) Am Erica’ and then it all falls into place. America, caught up in its own past and struggling with its own nostalgia, is unable to accept Changez.This prompts a deepening examination of his identity, his allegiances, and his relationship with America. Parallels are implied between Muslim countries and the doomed employees of the companies Changez evaluates. The key here is not religion, but corporate ca pitalism and traumatic BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 54 economic change. Changez’s boss Jim says, â€Å"We came from places that were wasting away. † He means, on the one hand, Pakistan, and on the other, old industrial America. There’s plenty of on-target comment about American reaction to September 11th.Like this: I had always thought of America as a nation that looked forward; for the first time I was struck by its determination to look back. Living in New York was suddenly like living in a film about the Second World War; I, a foreigner, found myself staring out at a set that ought to be viewed not in Technicolour but in grainy black and white. What your fellow countrymen longed for was unclear to me – a time of unquestioned dominance? of safety? of moral certainty? I did not know – b ut that they were scrambling to don the costumes of another era was apparent. I felt treacherous for wondering whether that era was fictitious, and whether – if it could indeed be animated – it contained a part written for someone like me (p. 68).The attack on the empire makes Changez aware of America as an empire, responsible for his identity crisis. The final straw for him is when he hears someone describing the Janissaries, the Christian slaves taken as boys from their parents by the Ottoman Empire and turned into an elite warrior class to defend the sultan. Is Changez a latter-day reversed Janissary? In an effective subplot, Changez has a girlfriend who is obsessed by the memory of her dead boyfriend. In her depression, â€Å"She glowed with BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 55 something not unlike the fervo ur of the devout. †(p. 6) Themes of nostalgia and commingled, confused identities seep into other parts of the novel, where they are relevant to Changez, Pakistan, and the United States. Several other parts of the novel discuss the causes of his hybrid identity as well as his contradictory actions and reactions to the Western culture. The following points of the novel reveal Changez’ multiple identities, proving him neither belonging to the East, nor to the West: Changez’ irritation with the cultural insensitivity in the United States is one of the cases in which his identity is challenged. Changez holidays in Greece with a group of Princetonians, where he first becomes enamored with Erica.He describes behavior he observed which irritated him: The ease with which they parted with money†¦thinking nothing of the occasional – but not altogether infrequent – meal costing perhaps fifty dollars a head. Or their self-righteousness in dealing with thos e whom they had paid for a service. â€Å"But you told us,† they would say to Greeks twice their age, before insisting things be done their way. I, with my finite and depleting reserve of cash and my traditional sense of deference to one’s seniors, found myself wondering by what quirk of human history my companions – many of whom I would have regarded as upstarts in my own country, so devoid of refinement were they – were in a position to conduct themselves in the world as though they were its ruling class. (p. 27) The disturbance Changez experienced when he compared America and Pakistan Looking down on New York from his office, over a hundred meters above, BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 56 Changez realizes he is standing in a different world from Pakistan with his feet supported by â€Å"the mo st technologically advanced civilization our species had ever known. †(135) He reflects to the quiet American: Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful.Four thousand years ago, we, the people of the Indus River basin, had cities that were laid out on grids and boasted underground sewers, while the ancestors of those who would invade and colonize America were illiterate barbarians. Now our cities were largely unplanned, unsanitary affairs, and America had universities with individual endowments greater than our national budget for education. To be reminded of this vast disparity was, for me, to be ashamed. (p. 136) Changez’ sense of humiliation at feeling the need to act like an American Changez recalls a business trip to Manila where he explains: I attempted to act and speak, as much as my dignity would permit, more like an American.The Filipinos we worked with seemed to look up t o my American colleagues, accepting them almost instinctively as members of the officer class of global business – and I wanted my share of that respect as well. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 57 So I learned to tell executives my father’s age, ‘I need it now’; I learned to cut to the front of lines with an extraterritorial smile; and I learned to answer, when asked where I was from, that I was from New York. Did these things trouble me, you ask? Certainly, sir; I was often ashamed. But outwardly I gave no sign of this. (p. 118)On this same trip he becomes particularly disoriented at receiving an openly hostile stare from the driver of a jeepney. Later when one of his American colleagues spoke to him, Changez remembers: I looked at him – at his fair hair and light eyes and, most of all, his obvious immersion in the minutiae of our work – and thought, you are so foreign. I felt in that moment much closer to the Filipino driver than to him; I felt I was play-acting when in reality I ought to be making my way home, like the people on the street outside. (p. 135) The destruction of the twin towers Changez’ sense of unease with America has already been well and truly simmering away, as the above points, all made early in the novel, make clear.This is how Changez recalls what happened as he realized what he was watching was not fiction but news: I stared as one – and then the other – of the twin towers of New York’s BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 58 World Trade Center collapsed. And then I smiled. Yes, despicable as it may sound, my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased. C hangez sees the evident disgust in the face of his American listener and notices his large hand clenching into a fist. He then hastens to assure him that he is no sociopath, who is indifferent to the suffering of others. He admits his own sense of perplexity at his sense of pleasure at the slaughter of thousands of innocents. He reflects:But at that moment, my thoughts were not with the victims of the attack – death on television moves me most when it is fictitious and happens to characters with whom I have built up relationships over multiple episodes – no, I was caught up in the symbolism of it all, the fact that someone had so visibly brought America to her knees. (p. 110) These words only serve to intensify the displeasure of his American listener Changez challenges. Moreover attention must be paid to the fact that he cannot be completely innocent of such feelings about himself. Thus, he feels no joy at the video clips of American munitions laying waste the structu res of his enemies.Changez’s experience of being treated as a possible terrorist As soon as the team was able to Manila Changez finds himself escorted by armed guards into a room where he is made to strip down to his boxer shorts. He is the last person to board the plane and recalls: BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 59 I flew to New York uncomfortable in my own face: I was aware of being under suspicion; I felt guilty; I tried therefore to be as nonchalant as possible; this naturally led to my becoming stiff and self-conscious. (p. 99) Upon arriving back in New York he is again separated from his team at immigration and ends up being subjected to another inspection.His team didn’t wait for him , so he was forced to travel to Manhattan that evening â€Å"very much alone. † Changez’s anger at America ’s shrewd reflections of Muslim nations For two weeks after America began to bomb Afghanistan Changez avoids the evening news. Then one evening he chances â€Å"upon a newscast with ghostly night-vision images of American troops dropping into Afghanistan for what was described as a daring raid on a Taliban command post. † Changez recalls: My reaction caught me by surprise; Afghanistan was Pakistan’s neighbour, our friend, and a fellow Muslim nation besides, and the sight of what I took to be the beginning of its invasion by your countrymen caused me to tremble with fury. 58) Changez also bristles at the stereotypical and imperialistic manner in which American television cast Pakistanis, without any respect shown for their proud history: BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 60 For we were not always burdened b y debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitute radicals you see on your television channels but rather saints and poets and – yes – conquering kings. We built the Royal Mosque and the Shalimar Gardens in this city, and we built the Lahore Fort with its mighty walls and wide ramp for our battle-elephants.And we did these things when your country was still a collection of thirteen small colonies, gnawing away at the edge of a continent. (p. 60) Changez’ growing need to assert his own identity Returning to America, following his trip back to Lahore, Changez, despite knowing the difficulties it might pose at immigration, resolves to keep his beard: It was, perhaps, a form of protest on my part, a symbol of my identity, or perhaps I sought to remind myself of the reality I had just left behind; I do not now recall my precise motivations. I know only that I did not wish to blend in with the army of clean-shaven youngsters who were my co-workers, and that inside me, for multiple reasons, I was deeply angry. 134) Back in America he finds that his beard does make him an object of verbal abuse by complete strangers and an object of suspicion in the workplace, but refuses to shave it off. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 61 Changez’ decision to distance himself from American imperialism on the plane back to New York he now realizes: I had always resented the manner in which America conducted itself in the world; your country’s constant interference in the affairs of others was insufferable. Vietnam, Korea, the straits of Taiwan, the Middle East, and now Afghanistan: in each of the major conflicts and standoffs that ringed my mother continent of Asia, America played a central role.Moreover I knew from my expe rience as a Pakistani – of alternating periods of American aid and sanctions – that finance was a primary means by which the American empire exercised its power. It was right for me to refuse to participate any longer in facilitating this project of domination; the only surprise was that I had required so much time to arrive at my decision. As a result of the discovery of the America’s true intentions and ill-natured cultural identity, he decides to distance himself from the imperialism. Moreover; he feels responsible to inform people, even the ignorant ones in America, of the true driving forces behind their policies and the US led wars and campaigns against the third world countries. Changez sees America’s post 9/11 actions as an engagement only in posturing He confronts his American listener:BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 62 As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away. Such an America had to be stopped in the interests not only of the rest of humanity, but also in your own.Changez becoming active in stirring up anti-America sentiment as another reflection of his identity. Now having secured a position as a university lecturer he makes it his mission on campus â€Å"to advocate a disengagement from your country by mine. † He discovers that it was not difficult to persuade his students to participate in demonstrations for greater independence in Pakistan’s domestic and international affairs. He observes that such demon strations were labeled by the foreign press as anti-American. Changez claims no inside knowledge of an alleged attempt on the part of one of his students to assassinate a coordinator of an American effort to provide development assistance to Pakistan’s rural poor.Conclusion It has been suggested that globalization is a myth and that what is actually taking place is the spread of American values, power and products across the globe. Globalization is not a myth and that far from a backlash against BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 63 American hegemony, many other peoples, state and businesses are modeling themselves on America. Most people, for whom Changeez stands as an example, who examine the effects of globalization, recognize that it is having both cultural and economic impacts everywhere its forces are manifested.Wh ile no one denies the significance of economic globalization impacts, it may well be that the cultural effects of this process ultimately exert a far greater impact on the world. Skillfully, the novel has played out the fear, suspicion and hatred that now characterizes American-Muslim relations. It does this particularly by building up the tension between the quiet American and a hostile, intimidating waiter who comes from a tribe with spans both sides of the border with neighboring Pakistan. The novel will finish with this hostility being brought to an undisclosed conclusion, just as the end of the story of American-Muslim conflict remains to be written. As the book moves to this open ending, Changez comments:It seems an obvious thing to say, but you should not imagine that we Pakistanis are all potential terrorists, just as we should not imagine that you Americans are all undercover assassins. The important thing about this book is not so much whether the reader agrees with this c ritique of America or not. What this novel does show is how anti-America feeling might develop and indicates various key factors that may shape such perspectives and identities. In particular, it is crucial to avoid stereotypes that simplistically presume that anti-Americanism on the part of a Muslim must be produced by Islamic indoctrination. This novel BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. om/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 64 demonstrates that it is possible for a Muslim to develop contempt for America on substantially non-religious grounds. Not long before 9/11, Changez considered New York the seat of the American empire, a civilization whose awe-inspiring achievements surpassed even the greatness of Mt. Everest. Now, Changez sees New York as separate from America, because America has taken on a new meaning. It is no longer a great, cutting-edge civilization. Wh en Changez deplanes after his flight from Valparaiso, he sees New York as an imperial city of old: â€Å"I was struck by how traditional your empire appeared.Armed sentries manned the check post at which I sought entry; being of a suspect race I was quarantined and subjected to additional inspection; once admitted I hired a charioteer who belonged to a serf class lacking the requisite permissions to abide legally and forced therefore to accept work at lower pay; I myself was a form of indentured servant whose right to remain was dependent upon the continued benevolence of my employer. † (157) Once Changez realizes that the American empire is like any other, he also understands that his supposed privileges—his job, his apartment, his expense account—are really the chains that bind him in service to America.Quite opposite from â€Å"the most technologically advanced civilization† in history, it is no better for him than the British Empire was for those of l ow caste. Hamid uses the predator/prey dichotomy to cultivate a relationship of mutual suspicion between Changez and the American. It is unclear which of them is BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 65 the predator and which of them is the prey, or whether the danger is only perceived and not actual. Bibliography Ania Loomba, Colonialism-Postcolonialism, www. wikipedia. org accessed May/10/2011. Baudrillard, Jean. â€Å"L'Esprit du Terrorisme. † The South Atlantic Quarterly. 101. 2 (Spring 2002): 403-415.David Punter, Postcolonial Imaginings: Fictions of a New World Order Edward Said, Orientalism; Culture and Imperialism Fanon, â€Å"The Wretched of the Earth†, NATC, p. 1587. G Spivak, The Postcolonial Critic Hamid, Mohsin. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. New York, NY: Harcourt, 2007. Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of C ulture; Nation and Narration John McLeod, Beginning Postcolonialism P. Williams and L. Chrisman (eds), Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory Timothy Brennan, Salman Rushdie and the Third World About the Author – Daryoosh Hayati- Department of English, Lamerd Branch. Islamic Azad University, Iran. [email  protected] ac. ir BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services