The short story Red Candle Essay Example For Students

The short story Red Candle Essay The three characters I will compare and analysis include; Lindo Jong (from the short story Red Candle by Amy Tan), Mary Maloney (from the short story Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl) and An-Mei Hsu (from the short story Scar and Magpies by Amy Tan). I will be focusing on how these characters react towards their situations of confinement, which they face with different ways. They also face a dilemma and use their own methods solve their problems. The married Mary Maloney; she is a pregnant housewife whom daily waits patiently, her husbands arrival home from work. Her isolation and devotion for her husband seems at vain when her husband declares that he wants a divorce. At this point Mary turns to anger, jealousy and revenge by murdering him. She understands that if she was caught, it could lead to her death and perhaps her unborn child. Mary turns to deceit and covers up any possibility to find her guilty. At Lindos side of the story, she goes through the terrible experience of being isolated from her family when they leave her with the signed marriage. Living with the Huang family for many years, she bears loathe of being separated from her family, ordered around by the Huangs and to live with her despised marriage. One day she decided to escape her marriage as well as sticking to her committed promise to her family. We will write a custom essay on The short story Red Candle specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now By using her gathered knowledge of those around her; she cunningly devises a plan to escape her marriage and win her freedom. In the story Scar, it tells of An-Meis life and how she experiences being hidden from her mother or rather being told the truth. I take this into account as An-Mei being confined from her mothers presence in her childhood. However, once her Popo had passed away; she decided to stay with her mother and to lead a different life that her Popo, uncle and auntie have all despised of. In An-Meis second story, Magpies, it tells of how An-Mei lives with her mother in Wu Tsings house. In the end, An-Mei learns of the truth of her mother and her suffering and takes her mothers sacrifice to lead on her own life with more quality as her mother had wished to happen. Mary is faced with separation from her husband for hours daily. She patiently waits everyday for her husband to come home from work, looking forward to his company. This form of confinement is accepted by Mary, who loves her husband and intends to have a family. Her marriage to her husband and her pregnancy sacrifices a portion of her freedom. However, her only reaction to this is none but giving in to this confinement as a forfeit for love for her husband:  For her, this was always a blissful time of the day, She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man. One could say that her confinement was a sacrifice for love.  An-Mei lived in a childhood where all sense of her mother had left her. Her forgotten memory of her mother was due to the ignoring held by Popo and the family that banished An-Meis mother. She grew to know almost nothing of her mother. However, she never felt such hatred towards her own mother as the rest of her family did:  And I would stare at my mother. She did not look evil. I wanted to touch her face, the one that looked like mine However, no matter how much An-Mei liked her mother she was far too young and Popo and the rest of the family were too opposed towards letting An-Mei stay with her mother. An-Meis Popo always told her that her mother was worthless and shameful. An-Mei began to come to think of her mother as they did: imagine my mother, a thoughtless woman who laughed and shook her head However, when An-Mei saw her mother again at the mourning of her Popo, An-Mei felt love for her: yet I cam to love this mother as well. .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 , .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .postImageUrl , .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 , .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34:hover , .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34:visited , .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34:active { border:0!important; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34:active , .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34 .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u35e00569b3bf4945894fa76f252f7d34:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: A Book Review of Cold Mountain EssayAlthough we can assume that An-Mei wanted to be with her mother, their separation and confinement from each other was cast upon them. However, in Amy Tans second short story of An-Mei, Magpies, An-mei had also another part of her freedom taken away from her. She had no choice but to stay in the house of Wu Tsing with her mother. Similar to Mary however, An-mei was content. With the luxuries provided by Wu Tsing and to stay with her beloved mother, An-mei was satisfied with her life: If I look upon my whole life, I cannot think of another time when I felt more comfortable: when I had no worries  Throughout all the years Lindo had stayed with the Huangs, she had always been stuck in her dilemma of hating to serve them, to have no freedom and to feel the creeping dread of to have to marry Tyan-Yu one day: After a while, I hurt so much I didnt feel any difference, I stayed up all night crying about my marriage. However, since Lindo was true to her promise, she obediently served the Huangs indisputably:  But I was so determined to honor my parents words, so Huang Taitai could never accuse my mother of losing face.  Similar to Mary, Lindo had sacrificed her freedom for something that held significance to her, in Lindos case it was her promise. However, An-Meis situation of separation was forced upon her unlike the other two characters. In contrast to Lindo, Mary and An-mei both had a content life.

Third Place

Third Place Analysts and education experts are of the view that an instructor should understand the culture and the native language of a student learning a foreign language. Furthermore, it is important to understand the culture of the speakers of the target language. In this regard, it is essential to understand both L1 and L2 aspects of a culture. The new culture should not contradict the culture of the learner.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Third Place The New Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More LoBianco (1999) refers to this phenomenon as the ‘Third Place’. The third place is crucial in teaching a foreign language. LoBianco (1999) argues that when teaching a foreign language, one should identify the middle ground between L1 and L2. The middle ground is then used to benefit the learners. However, it is important to note at this juncture that the middle ground does not imply adopting the target culture. To the student, the middle ground may translate to appreciating the different cultures of fellow students (Liddicoat, Crozet LoBianco, 1999). Moreover, foreign language students should comprehend the culture of the native speakers, regardless of whether or not they wish to adopt the new lifestyle and behaviour patterns (Liddicoat, 2000). Various scholars, such as Schmidt (1993) and Cook (1999), encourage learners to pay attention to the various aspects of the language they are learning. The learner should pay attention to such aspects as styles of speech, relevant contexts, and functional meanings. Kasper (2001) and Trosborg (1994) add that students should be aware of the sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic behaviour appropriate for particular settings. Learning the various pragmalinguistic features, such as politeness markers, poses a challenge to learners. It is challenging given that one has to use the features correctly and within the right context (Schmidt, 1993; Lazenby, 1997). According to Lazenby (1997), sociopragmatic features are the social aspects of speech. Sociopragmatic features involve day to day activities, such as asking for help or apologising. The arguments made by Bardovi in 1999 (and cited in Kasper, 2001) reveal that grammatical awareness and pragmatic competence should remain independent of each other.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The scholar notes that achieving considerable levels of grammatical competence does not necessarily mean that the learner is pragmatically competent. The two phenomena are quite different from each other. I am an English instructor at the College of Technology in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Most of my students are aged between 19 and 25 years, and they learn the English language within a period of two years. The students have already learnt English for a period of six years before joining college. However, the English instructions they have received prior to joining the college place little emphasis on culture. As a college instructor at the college level, my major aim is to assist the students in learning both the language and its corresponding spoken culture. There are several personal and professional beliefs that inform my envisaged objectives. For example, I believe that teaching my students the culture of the speakers of the target language will help them appreciate the uniqueness of the two cultures. As an English teacher working with learners of Arabic descent, I have faced various challenges, both within and without the classroom. For example, I have to contend with various groups of students who feel embarrassed or shy to pronounce English words like a native English speaker. I have come to realise that the shyness and embarrassment is as a result of the attitudes held by the students. The attitudes come from the fear of attracting criticism from other students, who are of t he opinion that Saudi students should not be expected to pronounce English words like native English speakers. In addition to this, I have come to realise that most Saudi students feel that memorising words, as well as learning grammar and sentence structure, is enough. They disregard the need to pronounce such words correctly, as well as the need to learn about the various aspects of the English language culture. The other cultural impediment I have come across in my efforts to teach the students the English language has to do with the various language textbooks. The various textbooks contain phrases, words, and pictures that are considered immoral or illegal in Saudi Arabia, a predominantly Muslim nation.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Third Place The New Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Some of the issues considered as either immoral or illegal in foreign language books relate to alcohol, sexuality, and diet. Textbooks written in foreign language, and targeting learners of the foreign language, should take into consideration the Muslim culture with regard to the issues highlighted above. At the same time, the books should be designed in a manner that clearly portrays the English culture, while avoiding conflicts with the religion and culture of the local people. For example, it is permissible to portray what happens in the West during summer holidays. However, to us here, it is repulsive to show pictures of scantly-dressed men and women frolicking on the coastal beaches. Similarly, the textbooks should not depict the celebrations of English speaking people that include imbibing alcoholic drinks. A critical analysis of the Saudi classroom will reveal that it is a third place, a place where students are prepared for higher learning. Teachers should use this opportunity to inform students about the differences between the Arabic and Western cultures. Creating such awareness is critic al given that some of the students may get the opportunity to study in English speaking nations, such as the United States of America and United Kingdom. To this end, the teachers should prepare the students to deal with the cultural shock. Some of the preparations include informing the students that they should expect to sit in the same classroom with students of the opposite gender. In addition, the students should be made aware of the fact that they will be taught by both male and female instructors. The students should also know that the power distance in most Western countries is low. As a result, they should be ready to relate with their teachers less formally compared to how they relate with teachers in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is appropriate to inform students that in the English speaking nations, they do not have to refer to their instructors by their titles. Nonetheless, most of the students in Saudi Arabia will never get the opportunity to travel to the West. As such, the teacher should use the classroom setting to help them understand the English language and the way of life of native English speakers. According to LoBianco (1999), the class becomes the ideal third place to learn foreign languages.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The learning can take place through watching videos, reading novels, telling stories, and listening to conversations between native English speakers. Moreover, the classroom setting in Saudi Arabia is regarded as a private space within a public space. Learning foreign languages and cultures takes place within such private spaces. According to LoBianco (1999), the college becomes the public space, while the classroom becomes the private space. The latter is the space within which students learn the English language and the English culture. In this third place, students are briefly separated from their culture, granting them the opportunity to engage in another culture foreign to them. The scholars who crafted the third place theory had several objectives in mind. The major aim of this theory is to generate self-reflection, critical engagement, and sensitivity among the learners of the language and speakers of the target language (Papademetre, 2003). Furthermore, one should understand that the language and culture of other people impacts on their actions, feelings, thoughts, and values. For example, a Saudi student should comprehend the lifestyles of people in English speaking nations. Linguists point out that for such an understanding to be created among students, the instructor should be aware of their own culture and the foreign culture they are teaching. The understanding of these two cultures is a perplexing and challenging responsibility. Culture and language have deep and far reaching impacts on the way we act and react, as well as on the beliefs and values we hold dear. For example, young people may have difficulties comprehending what their elders are saying. Both the instructor and the learner should aim to move to the third place’s middle ground, where they can observe cultural disparities and exchange significant and corresponding reconstructive ideas. Nevertheless, cross-cultural education is seen as one of the immediate results of combining different cultures. In attempts to ensure that the leaner comprehends the foreign culture, the instructor should endeavour to seamlessly combine the culture of the student with the one that he or she wants to introduce in their life. Furthermore, the instructor should avert any form of clash between the two cultures. Educating a person on the ways of another culture requires more than having knowledge and information about the two cultures. Such education requires the instructor to reflect and focus on both the target and native cultures. The reflection and focus is important given that the culture of the people is expressed through their language. As such, the student should understand that when learning a foreign language, they should familiarise themselves with the various aspects of the dialect. They should learn about the various aspects of the lives of the people in focus (Tang, 1999). For example, people from different cultures and from different geographical locations have d ifferent speech expressions. It is common to hear such phrases as â€Å"gday mate† in Australia, but the phrases are not used in America or in England. In efforts to understand the culture of a target language, the students are encouraged to learn about the various aspects of the lives of the native speakers. To facilitate this, the teacher is charged with the responsibility of capturing the interest and attention of the learners as far as learning the language is concerned (Byram, Esarte-Sarries, Taylor Allat, 1991). The focus of learning the foreign language should not only be on the differences between the two cultures, but also on discovering abstract similarities between them. For example, the ‘language behaviour’ exhibited by different cultures may be similar, depending on the level of abstraction. At high abstraction levels, cultural similarities are more discernible compared to cultural differences. However, at low abstraction levels, it is differences, and not similarities, which are discernible. The challenge facing instructors like me is the need to teach a language from different degrees of abstraction. The instructor should broach the subject by introducing obvious comparisons between the two cultures. As the learning progresses, the instructor will then shift to other comparisons at higher abstraction levels (Bex, 1994). According to Liddicoat Crozet (2001), interculturality is what validates the other and the self. In order to attain a hybrid position suitable for the learner, which is the third place, there should be a compromise between the two phenomena (Crozet, Liddicoat LoBianco, 1999). The compromise is reached through negotiations between the other and the self. In this case, the students make the decision to retain some aspects of the native culture. The students accept the idea of relinquishing some aspects of their culture, while selectively assimilating some aspects of the target culture (Crozet Liddicoat, 1999 ). In the early days, teaching and learning cultures foreign to the country required Saudi students to abandon their traditional cultures and embrace the foreign culture they were learning (Triandis, Kashima, Shimada Villareal, 1986). The replacement of one culture with another was largely regarded as unfavourable to them, given that it meant abandoning one form of mono-cultural existence and embracing another. However, and according to Kramsch (1993), the third place is the most suitable approach compared to the others. The third place gives the student the opportunity and freedom to identify a ground between L1 and L2 cultures. The third place theory is strongly linked to the third domain theory, which is outlined by Bhabha (1994). It is also related to dialogism theory, which is proposed by Bakhtin (1986). What this means is that it is not enough to analyse the third place theory as a stand-alone phenomenon. The scholar should take into consideration the links between the third place theory and the other theories (Kramsch, 1993). In conclusion, it is necessary for Saudi instructors teaching foreign language to understand the nature of the relationship between the two cultures. The instructor should be aware of the various aspects of the Saudi and target culture. The awareness will help them to effectively communicate with the learners. Furthermore, the understanding helps the instructors to transfer knowledge to the learners in a seamless manner. In addition, teachers should communicate to the learners the differences between the target culture and the native culture. At the same time, the instructor should highlight the various aspects of the new culture that are in agreement with the local culture. Just like other Muslim nations, Saudi Arabia is a very conservative society. The residents are very sensitive to foreign elements. In addition to â€Å"playing by the rules†, the teachers should equip their students with skills necessary to cope with li fe in English speaking nations. The skills will protect the students from cultural shock in their new learning environment. Equipping the learners with these skills helps in creating a third place, where the students are allowed and able to retain most aspects of their culture. At the same time, the students learn a new language and assimilate new ways of life. As already indicated, some of the students will remain behind in Saudi Arabia as their colleagues travel abroad for further studies. The third place will help most of the students who will remain behind to learn and appreciate the new language. They will continue to respect and appreciate their culture as they learn the new language. References Bakhtin, M. (1986). Speech genres and other late essays. Austin: University of Texas Press. Bex, A. R. (1994). The problem of culture and English language teaching in Europe. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 57-67. Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. New York : Routledge. Byram, M., Esarte-Sarries, V., Taylor, E., Allat, P. (1991). Young people’s perception of the other culture. In D. Buttjes M. Byram (Eds.), Mediating languages and cultures (pp. 103-119). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Cook, H. M. (1999). Why cant learners of Japanese as a foreign language distinguish polite from impolite speech styles?. New York: US Department of Education, Educational Resources Information Centre. Crozet, C., Liddicoat, A. J. (1999). The challenge of intercultural language teaching: Engaging with culture in the classroom. In J. LoBianco, A. J. Liddicoat C. Crozet (Eds.), Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education (pp. 113-126). Canberra: Language Australia. Crozet, C., Liddicoat, A. J., LoBianco, J. (1999). Intercultural competence: From language policy to language education. In J. LoBianco, A. J. Liddicoat C. Crozet (Eds.), Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language edu cation (pp. 1-20). Canberra: Language Australia. Kasper, G. (2001). Four perspectives on L2 pragmatic development. Applied Linguistics, 22(4), 502-530. Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lazenby, S. B. (1997). A study of pragmatic perception and strategic behaviour of adult second language learners. Language Awareness, 6(4), 233–237. Liddicoat, A. J. (2000). Everyday speech as culture: Implications for language teaching. In A. Liddicoat C. Crozet (Eds.), Teaching languages, teaching cultures (pp. 51-63). Melbourne: Applied Linguistics Association of Australia. Liddicoat, A. J., Crozet, C. (2001). Acquiring French interactional norms through instruction. In K. Rose G. Kasper (Eds.), Pragmatic development in instructional contexts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Liddicoat, A. J., Crozet, C., LoBianco, J. (1999). Striving for the third place: Consequences and implications. In J. LoBianco, A. J. Liddicoat C. Crozet (Eds.), Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education (pp. 1-20). Canberra: Language Australia. LoBianco, J. (1999). A ‘syntax of peace’? In J. LoBianco, A. J. Liddicoat C. Crozet (Eds.), Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education (pp. 10-19). Melbourne: Language Australia. Papademetre, L. (2003). Learning languages. New York: Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences. Schmidt, R. (1993). Consciousness, learning, and interlanguage pragmatics. In G. Kasper S. Blum-Kulka (Eds.), Interlanguage pragmatics (pp. 21-42). New York: Oxford University Press. Tang, R. (1999). The place of ‘culture’ in the foreign language classroom: A reflection. The Internet TESL Journal, 5(8), 37-57. Triandis, H. C., Kashima, Y., Shimada, E., Villareal, M. (1986). Acculturation indices as a means of confirming cultural differences. International Journal of Psychology, 21, 43-70. Trosborg, A. (1994). Interlanguage pragmatics: Requests, complaints, and apologies. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Co.

Tourism Management in Egypt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tourism Management in Egypt - Essay Example While France is ranked as the 1st with over 81 million tourists visiting the country every year, and Mexico is ranked as 10th attracting 22 million tourists a year, Egypt is attracting only 8 million tourists. These statistics reflect the fact that Egypt is not successful in manipulating all the factors that may enable the country to be one of the top tourism destinations in the world. The attitude of low class Egyptians towards tourists, the destruction of the environment, and the lack of effective publicity campaigns are the main problems, which hider the development of the tourism sector in Egypt, requiring extensive efforts to be done from the government in order to revive this sector. The first problem that the tourism sector in Egypt faces is the attitude of the low class citizens towards tourists. This sort of problem can be observed in almost any place where tourists exist in Egypt. Harassment is the clearest annoyance directed towards tourists by many Egyptians. For example, tourists are always victims of over pricing by many shop owners and vendors in tourist places. Also, beggars harass tourists wherever they go in a manner that annoys those tourists severely. Accordingly, those harassed tourists may develop a negative feeling towards Egypt, making it hard to convince them to revisit Egypt. Actually, there are many researches, which show that the impression a tourist develops about a certain place affects his decision for visiting this same place in the future. In a research that was conducted in the small village of Bighodi in Uganda about the reason behind the increase in the number of tourists visiting this village, it was discovered that the residents of this village have a positive attitude towards tourists (Lepp). This attitude results from their awareness that tourism increases the income of the village, improves agricultural markets, and helps in community development. This research shows the strong effect of the residents' attitude in increa sing or decreasing the number of tourists visiting a specific place. Although Bighodi is a small village in a poor country that lacks sources and services that are essential for any touristic country to have, yet the welcoming attitude of the citizens of Bighodi succeeds in attracting tourists from different places in the world. Thus, the case of the Bighodi village gives a clear indication about the effect of people’s behavior towards tourists on the revival of the tourism sector in a given place. Consequently, it is hard to revive the tourism sector in Egypt without changing the bad behavior of some Egyptians towards tourists. The main solution for this problem of the bad attitude towards tourists in Egypt is to develop awareness among Egyptians about the importance of tourism for the economy of the country. Again, the Egyptian government may take guidance in the experience of the village of Bighodi. The residents of Bighodi were not taught how to treat tourists and how to be welcoming to them, but their good attitude comes out of their awareness of the importance of tourism to their village. For example, the Egyptian government should make it clear for the people that the tourism industry in the country forms almost 15% of the national