Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe | Analysis

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe | Analysis Things Fall Apart Things fall apart is a tragedy novel written by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo, who is the protagonist of the novel and one of the most powerful men in the Ibo tribe often resorts to violence to make his points understood. Down in his heart, Okonkwo is not a cruel man, but his life is dominated by his internal conflict, the fear of failure and of weakness. He hated his father, Unoka, because he was a lazy debtor. Okonkwo made it a point in his life to set himself apart from his father by being well known and wealthy as well as becoming a great warrior in the tribal conflicts of Umuofia and the surrounding villages. His fear leads him to commit cruel actions that are disastrous for him and the clan, for examples, his uncontrollable anger has caused his family and the clan to fear him. Okonkwos external conflict will be his family and religion which is one of the reasons that led to the death of Okonkwo at the end. Okonkwos most prominent internal conflict, the fear of failure and weakness, destroyed his life and has made him a cruel man. His internal conflict gives him nothing but the fears of his family and clan have towards him. His conflict is greatly influenced by his father, but Okonkwo takes his fear to the extreme. Okonkwos father was a very lazy and carefree man. He had a reputation of being poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back† (Achebe, pg. 61). In Umuofia, a father is supposed to teach the children right and wrong, and in this case, the lessons were not taught, but self-learned. Okonkwo had to rely on his own interpretations of what defined a good man and to him that was someone that was the exact opposite of his father. As a result of his own self-taught conclusions, Okonkwo feels that anything resembling his father or anything that his father enjoyed was weak and unnecessary. Becau se of his fear to be seen as weak, Okonkwo even strikes down Ikemefuna who lives with him for three years calls him father: as the machete came down. Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. He heard Ikemefuna cry `My father, they have killed me! Okonkwo draws his machete and cuts him down. He does not want to be though weak (P. 61). Even he act heartless and coldblooded, his guilt of killing Ikemefuna has caused him for not able to sleep and eats for days. This shows that he will destroy everything that makes him look weak no matter what. Okonkwos uncontrollable anger is his another prominent flaw that keeps him away from true greatness. Although his anger has served him well in his life, ultimately, it destroys his way of life. Okonkwo is very rough on his son, for example, when Nwoye overhears that Ikemefuna was to be taken back to his village, burst into tears Okonkwo beat him heavily(P57). Okonkwo tries to instill his personal views on how to live as a man to his son, and to Okonkwo, crying is very womanly, and so Nwoye is punished for it. Okonkwos inability to control his anger eventually drives his son away from him instead of teaching him what is right and what is wrong. It makes Nwoye want to join what Okonkwo wants to destroy. Okonkwo spies the District Commissioner and as he trembles with hate, unable to utter a word in a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwos machete descended twice and the mans head lay beside his uniformed body. (P.204) Okonkwos hate and anger in this situation eventually leads him to his death. Although his hate and anger is justified here, it is clear that he is not able to control himself, and unrestrained anger does more harm than good. Achebe tries to show the readers that hate and anger is a very destructive way to live your life. If the people around sense the prospect of change, they will go against their ruler in hopes of change. Okonkwos external conflict will be his family and religion which is one of the reasons that led to the death of Okonkwo at the end. The clans of the Igbo society worshipped their gods, which made of stones and woods, differently than other religions. They had a representative for each of their goddess such as the Oracle of the Hills. The main god that they worshipped was Chukwu, who was believed had created heaven and Earth. His hatred and the humiliation he get from the Christian make him kill the messenger of District Commissioner. Okonkwo thinks that the Christians have ruined their clans because the clans found a new and accurate teaching, they began to doubt their own religion and the Igbo society was no longer acted like one. The death of Okonkwo at the end was unpredictable because throughout the novel, Chinua Achebe described him as a strong warrior who feared of nothing besides failure and weakness. When Okonkwo committed suicide, he also committed the only thing he feared, and that was weakness. In conclusion, Okonkwos most prominent internal conflict, the fear of failure and weakness, destroyed his life and has made him a cruel man. His uncontrollable anger is his another prominent flaw that keeps him away from true greatness. At the end, when Okonkwo committed suicide, he also committed the only thing he feared, and that was weakness.

Free Candide Essays: Impossibility Of The Happy Life :: Candide essays

Candide: The Impossibility Of The Happy Life This paper's focus is Voltaire's view of human happiness. Specifically, it will argue that Voltaire, in Candide, says that human happiness is impossible. Voltaire believes this for three reasons. First, Voltaire presents mankind in the novel spending all its life worried about personal problems of the moment. When people in Candide have no problems, Voltaire indicates, they do not feel happy but become bored instead. Their emotional lives swing between worries and boredom with almost no periods of prolonged happiness. Secondly, Voltaire believes human happiness is impossible because the world as he presents it in Candide is full of selfish people whose actions spoil the well being of all their fellow human beings. Thirdly, Voltaire believes human happiness is impossible because governments are so violent and organized religion is so corrupt that they ruin the lives of millions through war and exploitation. These points may be amply demonstrated through an analysis of Candide itself and also through the views of important critics. To best appreciate this novel, however, some background concerning its origins and its relationship to the author's preoccupations should be mentioned. Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire lived from 1694-1778. He was an author and a philosopher whose philosophy stressed rationality, democracy and scientific inquiry. These interests can all be seen in Candide, for example, which has a philosopher for a main character and which satirizes the philosophy of Leibnitz throughout the text. The novel Candide was written in response to the earthquake of 1759 which hit Lisbon and resulted in the instantaneous and indiscriminate deaths of thousands. Appalled by the horrible deaths of so many innocent people, Voltaire was at this time also incensed by Leibnitz who wrote that given the worlds God might have created, by choosing to endow mankind with free will, "the world we live in is the best of all possible worlds." To Voltaire, this response to the earthquake amounted to an abominable moral complacency and indifference by philosophers such as Leibnitz, who Voltaire felt seemed to accept all the other normal suffering and injustice i n the world. Hence in Candide, Voltaire relentlessly satirizes Leibnitz's formulation by shifting the stress to "this is the best of all possible worlds" and bringing up the line every time a character encounters a horrible calamity or atrocity. However, it should be added that Voltaire's hatred of injustices perpetrated by the aristocracy, the church and the state--all of which he satirizes in Candide--also grew out of his personal experiences.

Are Emotion and Reason Equally Necessary in Justifying Moral Decisions Essay

In analyzing human behavior and human thought processes it can be said that reason and emotions are always present in each major decision. There is no human being, even the most morally upright or the most unbiased observer can make crucial moral decisions without having to have felt the power of reason and the equally powerful emotions in his mind and body. If Emotion and Reason are taken together and if the proponent of this paper will not be given the freedom to choose one from the other then the answer to the query is no. There is no need to have the combined benefit of emotion and reason to justify a moral decision. But if allowed a free hand one should insist that Reason is necessary in justifying moral decisions. This paper will look into the implications of using Emotion and Reason in matters regarding moral decisions. This will be done by finding out what is the meaning of emotions and reason in the world of epistemology. But even before that there is a need to have a review of epistemology the theories on how human beings acquire knowledge. Background Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that deals with how man attains knowledge. For many the getting of knowledge from reading, observing the external environment and by doing experiments can be taken for granted. But for philosophers it is not simply about getting data and then having the ability to describe what was observed and inferred afterwards. Philosophers are persistent that man knows the exact process and if there is none then one should suspect if there is actual learning that occurred after all. With this in mind it is time to introduce two diverging schools of thought when it comes to epistemology and how man exactly acquires knowledge. The first group of philosophers believes that human beings can get knowledge using pure reason. It is the use of the rationale mind, to think using logic to deduce and infer from what can be observed. It is easy to say â€Å"reason† but it is difficult to explain the actual processes of how man looks at the different pieces of the puzzle and then be able to see the whole picture and finds a pattern or connection. Reason is the man’s secret weapon and allows him to reign supreme in this planet. There is no other creature that can use the harness the awesome power of reason in the same way as a human being. A good example is on how man can deduce that certain plants are edible while others are lethal. It is common knowledge that man learns to distinguish between a tasty snack and a vine of poison by observing animals around him. This is probably the same technique used to discover that the seeds hidden behind the coffee pod are not only edible but also a source of one heavenly drink. Without the ability to reason it would have been impossible for man to realize that there is something in that coffee pod after observing the goat or maybe birds taking a liking for the sweet fruit. Another example of reason is in finding a pattern and consistency in natural occurrences such as typhoons, fruiting seasons, gestation period etc. Using reason man was able to build a system where he can begin to tame nature and enjoy her benefits. He can plant and expect harvest. He can build shelter and expect to be protected by an upcoming storm. Man can also reproduce his kind and even multiply his flocks knowing pretty well that there are certain laws in nature that he can rely upon and all these are possible by unleashing the power of reason. Diverging Stream Another school of thought when it comes to the acquirement of knowledge is called empiricism. The empiricists believe that it gaining knowledge through reason alone is suspect. They argue that reason can be influenced by many factors and they conclude that biases and prejudices can interfere in the process. This is understandable because for thousands of years man has postulated about something and made predictions about the future only to be made a fool at the end. This is because reason has its limits. It is at this point that that man is advised not to jump to conclusions. Empiricists will assert that accurate knowledge is only possible if man avails of his senses. The eyes to use to see and measure; the hands used to grasp and determine shape; the ears to hear and determine sound; the nose for determining smells; and the tongue for taste. Emotions are feelings and better yet it is a reaction that a person can observe after the body and the mind – or the heart – is exposed to certain external factors. For example, a mother sees her baby crying because she had not eaten the whole day. The mother has no money to buy milk and she too begins to cry. Her emotion – can be labeled as sadness – tells her that her mind and body does not agree to the image that she saw which is her poor baby experiencing acute hunger. There is another view of emotions which can be very helpful in this study. There are those who assert that emotions are not only act as messengers that tell a person whether something good or bad has occurred but they can be feelings that propels a person to do what is right even when faced with great odds. Jaggar remarked that, â€Å"†¦it is appropriate to feel joy when we are developing or exercising our creative powers, and it is appropriate to feel anger and perhaps disgust in those situations where humans are denied their full creativity or freedom† (1996, p. 82). A good example of such an occurrence was again given by Jaggar who wrote, â€Å"Certain emotions may be both morally appropriate and epistemologically advantageous in approaching nonhuman and even the inanimate world Jane Goodall’s scientific contribution to our understanding of chimpanzee behavior seems to have been made possible only by her amazing empathy with or even love for these animals† (1996, p. 182). To those who are familiar with Goodall’s case will admire her courage and determination considering that she had to travel to Africa and be removed from the comforts and security of Western society and be immersed in a hostile environment, not with humans but with wild animals. It is a good instance of how emotions guided someone to do something heroic. It is easy to understand what emotions can do to lift ordinary humans to strive for things that exceed his grasp. Emotions can fire-up a person and allow him to go where no one has gone before. The history of the United States is replete with examples where tough moral decisions were justified with the cry for freedom and equality. But there is also a counter-argument that emotions are not needed to do justify moral decisions. Reason alone should be enough to move a person to do what is right. This is because emotions can be subjective. And there is no need to furnish volumes of scientific material to prove that point. Emotions can even be counter-productive when used to analyze tough moral decisions as evidenced from the results of a new study published in Newsweek. According to Wray Herbert – writing for Newsweek (2008): A large and growing number of psychologists now argue that a welter of prejudices are simmering just below the surface of society: prejudices against many ethnic groups, against women, gays, the elderly, and outsiders like the homeless and drug addicts. The big question is whether these unconscious animosities are potent enough to actually shape our actions, to make us do things we ourselves find shameful. A new study suggests that, unhappily, the answer is yes. Conclusion The question whether emotion and reason are equally necessary to justify moral decisions is a double-headed query that should have been simplified by separating emotion and reason; rephrasing it in two separate questions: 1) Is emotion necessary to justify moral decisions and 2) Is reason necessary to justify moral decisions. If this is possible then the proponent of this study will say no to the first and then say yes to the second question. But since the main topic used the phrase equally necessary then the answer is no meaning there is no need to bring both emotion and reason to the process of analysis of the problem and ultimately giving the justification for a moral decision. To clarify what is meant by using emotion in the decision process, one has to revisit the example of Jane Goodall and his work with endangered species, it was her strong feelings of emotions, specifically empathy that allowed her to do so much. Using this understanding of emotion the proponent still cannot endorse the use of emotion to judge a moral case because even with strong emotions one can still be mistaken. An excellent example would be the events that transpired in Germany in World War II. The residents of this nation enthusiastically embraced the idea given by Hitler that Jews deserve nothing but death and suffering. The majority agreed or at least the Nazis agreed that this is fact, even truth and they are responsible for the death of 6 million Jews. If one will go to Germany today and present the same ideas to present day Germans they will surely not react with the same fervor as they did in the time of Hitler but they will recoil in horror. This is a clear example of the subjectivity of emotions and therefore not needed to analyze tough moral issues.

When Reflecting On The Challenges That I Face As A Teacher,

When reflecting on the challenges that I face as a teacher, some major challenges quickly stand out. Such obstacles are overpopulated classrooms, excessive paperwork, and limited resources. Even though these challenges are the first that come to mind, they are not my biggest hurdles. The two most significant challenges to me are the restraints from time and balancing personal life and work. It always seems like there is not enough time in a school day or year. At the start of the year, I am tasked with the responsibility of helping students with disabilities and struggling learners meet grade level standards. Most of the students I work with are at least 1 or more years behind in math and/or language, and have negative†¦show more content†¦Most of my LSC days are booked with meetings from the start to the end of the day. In one hour, parents, teachers, and LSC team members all discuss the needs of the child and determine the next course of action to take. With so many peo ple speaking, I have to maintain the flow of the meeting in hopes that the meeting will not go over an hour. Recently, I had a meeting that went thirty minutes longer than allotted. I became upset because I do not like having parents wait. Once the late meeting ended, my principal shared these words of wisdom: Remember, students first! That statement alone was enough for me to understand that my job as the LSC chair is not to stress over not sticking to the time. Instead, it all about making the best decision for a student to be successful. Another challenge that I face is balancing the demands of being a teacher and local screening chair with my responsibilities as a new mom and a full time graduate student. The demands of a special education teacher goes far beyond what most people think. Not only do I have to plan lessons, grade papers, and teach; I also have to write IEP s, collect and complete data on IEP goals, and conduct educational evaluation on students. Also I have to meet the obligations of being the LSC chair. If I am not in meetings after work, I usually am supporting students with disabilities on homework. Alongside my massive workload, I am completing my master’s degree at George Mason University.Show MoreRelatedThe Importance Of My Professional Development As A Teacher943 Words   |  4 PagesThis assignment will critically analyse and reflect on the poster, highlighting on the five relevant roles of my professional development as a teacher. It will further provide me with a framework in which the context of the poster (Appendix1) can set relevance, on how these roles can be experienced within the classroom environment of teaching and learning by linking different theories and strategies into practice. The theme of this poster reflects on the Plato’s theory of â€Å"Allegory of the cave†Read MoreHigh School Students : A Interview At Alain Leroy Locke1616 Words   |  7 Pagesthis paper, I decided to focus my attention on one population that I am potentially interested in working with, which are high school students. The first person I interviewed was a ninth-grade counselor at Alain Leroy Locke College Prepartory Academy. The second person I interviewed was a College Adviser, placed through USC, at Diego Rivera Learning Complex. While the first interview was conducted on site at Locke, the second interview was conducted on campus at USC. For both interviews, I came equippedRead MoreHigh School Students : A Interview At Alain Leroy Locke1615 Words   |  7 Pagesthis paper, I decided to focus my attention on one population that I am potentially interested in working with, which are high school students. 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Kincheloe’s goal in this reading is to characterize teacher thinking by examining social and historical forces that have shaped teaching, and to understand who benefits and who is punished when it is defined in specific ways. Kincheloe also discussed in the reading that the separation of mind and matter has profound and unfortunate consequences. This view ledRead MoreEssay on Reflective Teaching: Self-directed Professional Development2411 Words   |  10 PagesThere is an over simplified generalisation oft en bandied about in Westernised countries that belittles the job of teachers. The phrase goes along the lines of â€Å"Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.† While the argument against this statement could fill pages the reality is that teaching is by far one of the most demanding but fulfilling jobs in the world. Teaching may be a job that requires a university degree and some on the job training; however effective teaching is a continual process of

Edmontonia - Facts and Figures

Name: Edmontonia (from Edmonton); pronounced ED-mon-TOE-nee-ah Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (75-65 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 20 feet long and three tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Low-slung body; sharp spikes on shoulders; lack of tail club About Edmontonia Edmonton in Canada is one of the few regions in the world with two dinosaurs named after it--the duck-billed herbivore Edmontosaurus, and the armored nodosaur Edmontonia. However, you should bear in mind that Edmontonia was named not after the city, but after the Edmonton Formation where it was discovered; theres no evidence that it actually lived in the environs of Edmonton itself. The type specimen of this dinosaur was discovered in Canadas Alberta Province in 1915, by the swashbuckling fossil hunter Barnum Brown, and initially assigned as a species of the nodosaur genus Palaeoscincus (ancient skink), a classification that fortunately never caught on. Naming issues aside, Edmontonia was a formidable dinosaur, with its bulky, low-slung body, armor plating along its back, and--most intimidatingly--the sharp spikes jutting out from its shoulders, which may have been used to deter predators or to fight other males for the right to mate (or both). Some paleontologists also believe Edmontonia was capable of producing honking sounds, which would truly have made it the SUV of nodosaurs. (By the way, Edmontosaurus and other nodosaurs lacked the tail clubs of classic armored dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus, which may or may not have made them more vulnerable to predation by tyrannosaurs and raptors.)

Standardized Testing A Positive Policy For Today s...

Diane Ravitch, former Assistant Secretary of Education, said â€Å"We must take care to make our public schools once again the pride of our nation† (Ravitch 260). At this point in time, the testing process that most, if not, all schools have adopted is proving to be an impediment to our education system that many are not proud of. Students today are more focused on getting the grade rather than the knowledge and experience that is needed for their future. Standardized testing, in a nutshell, could be a positive policy for today’s students. The execution of these baseline tests are not conducive to learning or measuring a student’s true ability or intelligence due to the emphasis on passing tests instead of actual learning and critical thinking skills, as well as having the same parameters for every student regardless of their situation. The current state of our standardized education system is leaving our students with a massive educational impairment. Standardized tests, as they are now, are not improving the education of today’s students. [source]. This relentless testing and other teaching practices are proving detrimental to the learning and thinking of our future’s innovators. Instead of learning critical thinking and ways to analyze on a deeper level, these practices are yielding to test preparation, test-taking strategies, and memorization. Diane Ravitch commented on this crisis and acknowledged No Child Left Behind (NCLB), a program to increase the academic achievement ofShow MoreRelated_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 PagesWindows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation used herein under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Used herein under license. Library of Congress Control Number: 2006933904 Student Edition: ISBN-13: 978-0-495-11873-2 ISBN-10: 0-495-11873-7 ââ€"   To my nephews, Jesse and Luke Smidt, who bet I wouldn’t put their names in this book. R. P. ââ€"   To my wife, Sally, and my daughter, Anna C. O. ââ€"   To Carol, Allie, and TeriRead MoreNokias Human Resources System144007 Words   |  577 Pagesacceptable terms of certain technologies in our products and services; our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from third ­party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property rights of these technologies; the impact of changes in government policies, trade policies, laws or regulations and economic or political turmoil in countries where our assets are located and we do business; any disruption to informationRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesThis online teaching and learning environment integrates the entire digital textbook with the most effective instructor and student resources With WileyPLUS: Students achieve concept mastery in a rich, structured environment that’s available 24/7 Instructors personalize and manage their course more effectively with assessment, assignments, grade tracking, and more manage time better study smarter save money From multiple study paths, to self-assessment, to a wealth of interactive visualRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturersRead MoreStrategic Human Resource Management View.Pdf Uploaded Successfully133347 Words   |  534 PagesPrentice-Hall, Inc. A Pearson Education Company Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Compilation Copyright  © 2003 by Pearson Custom Publishing All rights reserved. This copyright covers material written expressly for this volume by the editor/s as well as the compilation itself. It does not cover the individual selections herein that first appeared elsewhere. ii Permission to reprint these has been obtained by Pearson Custom Publishing for this edition only. Further reproduction by any

Effects of Television Violence and Children free essay sample

Effects of Television violence and Children Outline: I. THESIS STAEMENT: Although the television serves as a form of entertainment, when you abuse its use, and make it a habit to watch, it gives negative effects on the behavior of children especially in their brain’s development. II. PORPUSE OF THE RESEARCH III. INTRODUCTION IV. HIPOTHESIS METHOD A. CHILDREN QUESTIONNAIRE 1. HOW IT CAN AFFECT VIEWER’S BEHAVIOUR 2. CHILDREN RESPONSES B. EFFECTS RESULTS 1. NEGATIVE EFFECTS a. Behavior of children . Brain development C. Discussion V. CONCLUSION VI. REFERENCES VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY Thesis Statement: Although the television serves as a form of entertainment, when you abuse its use, and make it a habit to watch, it gives negative effects on the behavior of children especially in their brain’s development. Purpose of the Research: This paper aims to explore the effect of violence seen on TV on children’s behavior. Television violence and its effects on viewers has been a  controversial issue for many years. Some viewers believe that there is  an increasingly large amount of violence on television and this   widespread  public  concern has: â€Å"Led to calls for stricter controls on the depiction of violence in   programs. (Gunter and McAleer 1990) I chose this research topic because I have a three year old boy who  I babysit from time to time and enjoys watching television. I thought it may give me an insight into  the effect these so called, children’s programs are actually having  on him, if any. The vast majority of research is inconclusive but demonstrates strong  links between viewing violence and committing violent acts. To try and  add value to previous research I conducted my own research through   collating information from questionnaires issued to   children (ages 5-17) in my best friend work place, New Era Educational School in Toa Baja PR; however the results did not directly  support my hypothesis. INTRODUCTION The sole purpose of this project is to examine whether children behave  differently after they have been watching violence on television. In  addition the question that is of paramount importance to this whole   piece of investigative work is:  Ã‚ · Are children more likely to imitate acts of violence or aggressive   behavior because of what they have seen on television? A continuing debate between Broadcasters and Scientists is permanently  ongoing and in spite of the accumulation of evidence between the links  of viewing television violence and children’s behavior the debate  goes on. Furthermore, media professionals would rather believe that television  has no effects other than those intended, thousands of studies have  pointed to casual relationships between television violence and   real-life crime. In spite of numerous research studies, the perception  continues that the effects of television violence are unclear, even  contradictory. Moreover, blaming the media could be an easy option for some and can  serve to divert attention from other causes or change going on in a  child’s life, and so claims about the, â€Å"Effects of Television† could   be massively exaggerated. This ongoing debate has inspired a great deal of research, one of the  most well known and publicized experiments was that of Albert  Bandura’s Bobo doll studies, which are now widely regarded as early   research classics in the field of psychology. I am going to discuss  this experiment in greater detail within this project and hopefully  link it with more recent research, my own research and observations to   support my hypothesis. HYPOTHESIS METHOD HYPOTHESIS: It is predicted that children will imitate violence or   display violent behavior after viewing violence on television. METHOD: My initial first step of this investigation was to carry out literacy  research in my chosen topic, in order to gain a more in-depth  knowledge of the subject area. This involved searching Internet web  sites, books, newspaper articles, magazines and of course watching a  television programs on the issue to enable me to gather information  on previous research that has already been written on the effects of   television violence. As a means of carrying out my own research I compiled a  questionnaire for children to complete. Finally, I collated the results of the questionnaires. RESULTS The results obtained from the questionnaire do not directly link  to the hypothesis of this experiment. What they do show however is  that of the 20 parents asked 100% of children watch television and 50%   of children have access to television in their bedrooms. In addition the results did show that 2 children did display levels of  violence after watching television but the program in both instances  was not completed on the questionnaire, for what reason I do not know. Furthermore the questionnaire revealed that the average time  children are watching television is between 3-5 hours per day.. The children’s questionnaire did not support the hypothesis because  the majority of children said they felt happy when watching the  selected programs and none of the children felt angry. The majority of the results are linked to this experiment but not  directly, they do support research of the hours children spend  watching television and from what age . In addition the only direct   link made was the 2 displays of violence after watching television a  program, however more information would have to be gathered on this  question for it to be conclusive. The results obtained could still be used as further evidence to  support previous research as the information obtained is relevant to  the nature of the experiment. DISCUSSION Before we move into the discussion of the effects of television  violence and whether or not children imitate what they have seen on  television, it is important to offer a definition of violence. The  following statement gives a clear and concise explanation: â€Å"Violence is a general term to describe actions, usually deliberate,  that cause or intend to cause injury to people, animals, or non-living  objects. Violence is often associated with aggression. †(www//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Violence  17. 04. 05) There has been a considerable amount of research into  inter-relationships between the viewing of violent films, videos and  TV programs and aggressive behavior by the viewers of such  material, in particular the behavior of children. The range of media to which children have access to has grown rapidly  in this generation. Take the books, newspapers, magazines, films,  radio, tapes, records, and broadcast television familiar to children   of the previous generation, then add dozens of cable TV. hannels,  thousands of videos and video games, and millions of Internet sites. The result is a crowded media frenzy in which children are engrossed   in, on a daily basis. Therefore we have to ask ourselves, what effects is TV violence having  on our children and does it really inspire them to violence? I am now  going to look at previous research to see if I can find the answers to   my questions. In 1996 and1997 UNESCO conducted the Global Media Violence Survey. More than 5,000 12-year-old children in 93 countries participated,  representing all regions of the world. Under the supervision of Dr Jo Groebel of Utrecht University, the  study aimed to understand the role of media in the lives of children  and the relationship between media violence and aggressive behavior   among children in different settings. The study found that 93% of children watch an average of three hours  television a day. This is at least 50% more than the time spent on any  other out-of-school activity, including homework, being with friends,   or reading. This evidence leaves  little  doubt that television is the  most important medium in the lives of children almost everywhere in  the world today. In addition the study revealed, television, expose’s children to high  levels of violent images on a daily basis. Furthermore it revealed, in  many countries, there is an average of five to ten aggressive acts per   hour on children’s television programs. The study found evidence that media images reinforce the experiences  of children in their real-life environments. Almost half (44%) of  both boys and girls reported a strong overlap between what they   perceive as reality and what they have seen on screen. Many children  experience both real and media environments in which violence appears  to be natural and unfortunately the most effective solution to lifes   problems. This research did not directly answer the question, does seeing  violence on television affect childrens behavior? Instead the study  chose to link the evidence to, Compass Theory† Which states: â€Å"Depending on a childs existing experiences, values, and the cultural  environment, media content offers an orientation, a frame of reference  which determines the direction of the childs own behavior. The   child does not necessarily adopt the behavior portrayed, but the  media images provide a model, a standard for what may be considered  normal and acceptable. † (http://www. ppu. org. uk/chidren/advertising_html) More recent research suggests young children who watch a lot of  television, are more likely to become bullies. The authors suggest the  increasingly violent nature of children’s cartoons may be to blame. (www. timesonline. co. uk/article/0,, 2-1489580,00. html) The researchers used existing data from a national US survey to study  the amount of television watched by 1266 four-year-olds. Then they  compared that amount with follow-up reports by the childrens  mothers, on whether the children bullied or were, Cruel or Mean to  others when they were between six and 11 years old. The study showed that four-year-olds who watched the average amount of  television e. g. 3-5 hours per day were 25% more likely to become  bullies than those who watched none. And children who watched eight  hours of television a day were 200% more likely to become bullies. Frederick Zimmerman, an economist at the University of Washington in  Seattle asserts:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Parents should understand that, just because TV shows or movie is  made for kids, it doesnt mean its good for kids especially  four-year-olds. † (http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1899533. stm) Further studies show that children of pre-school age overwhelmingly  prefer and pay close attention to cartoons. Saturday morning cartoons,  for example, have 20 to 25 violent acts per hour compared with five   violent acts per hour in prime time viewing. Because of their desires to watch cartoons children are being exposed  to large numbers of violent acts in their daily viewing. Based on  their viewing patterns, it has been estimated that, by the time   pre-school children start school, they will have seen an average of  8,000 murders and 100,000 assorted other acts of violence and  destruction on television. (Huston, Donnerstein et al. , 1992. )   In its crudest form the relationship between children and television  is portrayed as a matter of single cause and direct effect, which puts  this kind of research firmly in the behaviorist’s tradition. The most famous psychological studies of children and aggressive  behavior are Albert Banduras Bobo doll studies, which are now widely  regarded as early research classics in the field. These were  experimental studies in which children of nursery  school  age observed  a playroom in which an adult was hitting, punching, kicking and  throwing a large inflatable doll. Particular actions were used for  e. g. using a hammer and saying, â€Å"Pow boom boom† which children  would be unlikely to perform spontaneously. The children were then observed as they played alone in the playroom  with the doll for 10 to 20 minutes. A control group of children was  allowed to play with the doll without observing the aggressive adult   behavior. As one might expect, the children who witnessed the adult  aggression performed similar acts; the others did not. In a series of  studies, Bandura and his colleagues have shown that children display  novel acts of aggressive behavior which they have acquired simply  through observing someone else engaged in these acts. In a later version of the experiment (1965), the children were divided  into 3 groups. One group went straight into the playroom. The second  group saw the model being rewarded for aggressive actions before they   went in. The third saw the model being punished. Those who saw the  model being punished showed significantly less aggression than those  who saw the model rewarded or who saw no consequences. This suggests that seeing a model punished leads to less learning of  the models behavior. However, after all the children had played in  the playroom with the doll, they were offered rewards to behave in the   playroom like the adult model had done. In the first stage of the experiment the consequences for the adult  affected the childrens behavior. The second stage showed that they  had in fact learned the behavior because they were able to perform   it. Therefore those children who had seen the model punished had still  learned the behavior but would only behave like that if offered an  incentive. Bandura suggested that:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"We should distinguish clearly between the acquisition of aggressive   responses and the performance of aggressive acts: observation of  modeling is sufficient for aggressive behavior to be learned, but  reinforcement is necessary for aggressive acts to be actually   performed. †(www. apa. org/publicinfo/banduraviolence. htlm) Further laboratory experiments by Liebert and Baron (1972) using real  television programs, in which they measured the willingness of  children to hurt another child after watching a program were   conducted. Within the experiment children were shown either a race track or an  aggressive program and then allowed either to facilitate or disrupt  another childs game. They could hurt the other child by pressing a   button to make the handle hot which the child was holding. The  children who had seen the aggressive program were significantly more  aggressive than those who had seen the non-aggressive program. This   was particularly the case with boys. In addition, when the children were later observed at play, those who  had viewed the aggressive program showed a stronger preference for  playing with weapons and aggressive toys than did the other children. Similar results have been found in most experimental studies. They  suggest that the more violence is viewed, the greater the likelihood  of aggressive behavior. However, apart from ethical objections one   might raise, such experimental studies have major limitations in terms  of their artificiality. They have been criticized for a lack of,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ecological Validity† since they were concerned with strange behavior   in strange settings. In contrast a few researchers and theorists have claimed that  televised violence does not have negative effects. Seymour Feshbach in  the early 1970’s proposed that viewing violence on TV provides an   opportunity for the discharge, or catharsis, of aggressive feelings  and therefore reduces the possibility that the viewer will participate  in aggressive or violent behavior. The theory underlying the catharsis hypothesis proposes that a child  who views violence on television indirectly experiences the violence  and therefore harmlessly discharges his/her unexpressed feelings of   anger, hostility, and frustration. In other words, viewing violent  fantasy may serve nearly as well as actual violence in ridding people  of their hostile impulses. For example, Feshbach and Singer (1971) found that adolescent and  pre-adolescent boys at a residential school were more aggressive if  they watched non-aggressive TV programs than if they had watched   aggressive programs. Watching the programs seemed to be therapeutic, harmlessly  discharging aggressive feelings. This study has however been found to  be flawed, and an attempt at replication did not produce the same   findings. Furthermore the catharsis theory does not agree with evidence that  more aggressive children prefer to watch aggressive programs, and  are more likely to do so than children who are less aggressive   (Chaffee, 1972). Another version of Catharsis  Theory  is that watching violent   programs decreases levels of arousal, leaving viewers less prone to  aggressive behavior. CONCLUSION In conclusion it is fair to say that it is clearly obvious from the  research already done concerning television and its effects, that  violence is quite prevalent on British television. Violence on television can do one of three things. The first is making  us more violent (Huesmann 1982), the second is make us less violent  (Feshbach 1972) and the third is to have no effect at all (Freedman  1984, Kaplan and Singer 1976). Most evidence has supported the first argument namely that television  violence does increase our own violent behavior. In addition most of the research evidence tends to suggest that over a  long period, â€Å"Heavy viewing† of violent programs increases at least  slightly the likelihood of a disposition towards aggressive behavior   amongst children and adolescents. I have shown that various explanations have been offered to describe  processes which violent TV might have on childrens behavior. All I  have done here is to refer to some of these proposed processes   briefly. No single process is likely to offer an adequate explanation. In contrast however we have to take into account the following  contradictory findings:  · If watching violence and acting aggressively are correlated, this  does not prove that watching causes the aggression. It may be, for  instance, that aggressive people seek out violent programs. Even if watching violent programs does increase aggressiveness,  this may be only a short-term phenomenon.  · As in all social science research, other factors are likely to be  involved, in complex inter-relationships. These might include economic  hardship,  family  and peer relationships, gender, sub cultural values,   various uses of TV by individual children and so on. Therefore I have to admit that my own primary research and previous  research does not support my hypothesis because I feel there is no  clear-cut evidence. Moreover, I am a great believer in that children learn from their  environment and learn through imitating others and there must be some  element of truth in the vast amounts of research that exists. Maybe   one day somebody will make a direct link and be brave enough to  publish their findings and have them supported 100%. Finally I think it is of paramount importance to remember that the  most critical argument against watching television, in addition to the  violent content is that it affects the three characteristics that  distinguish us as human beings. In the first 3 years of life, a child learns to walk, to talk and to  think. Television keeps us sitting, leaves little room for  conversations and seriously impairs our ability to think! REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY REFERENCES: www. apa. org/publicinfo/banduraviolence. htlm) (www//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Violence 17. 04. 05) (http://www. ppu. org. uk/chidren/advertising_html) (http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1899533. stm) IBLIOGRAPHY: Beaver, m. , Brewster, J. , Jones, P. , Keene, A. , Neaum, S. and Tallack,   J. (2001) Babies and young Children, 2nd edition, Nelson Thornes,   Cheltenham. Gross, R. (2001) The Science of Mind and Behavior, 4th edition,   Hodder Stoughton, London. Jarvis, M. Chandler ,E. (2001) Angels of Child Psychology, Nelson   Thornes, Cheltenham. Karmen, T. (2000) Psychology for childhood studies, Hodder    Stoughton, London. Bandura, A, D Ross S A Ross (1961): Transmission of Aggression   Through Imitation of Aggressive Models, Journal of Abnormal and   Social  Psychology 63: 575-82 Bandura, A (1965): Influence of Models Reinforcement Contingencies   on the Acquisition of Imitative Responses, Journal of Personality and   Social Psychology 1: 589-95 /www. digitalcenter. org/webreport94/ib. htm www. mhhe. com/socscience/comm/bandur-s. mhtml campus. murraystate. du/ academic/faculty/j. dillon/cathar. htm 26k   http://interact. uoregon. edu/MediaLit/mlr/readings/articles/kalin. This questionnaire is designed to get your input on television violence and its effects on children. I realized that most studies I read did not include childrens opinions. Questions 1-4 will give me information about you because I’m are inte rested to see if the opinions of children is different because theyre either male or female, young or old, or from a particular place. The personal information will be private and not shared or sold to anyone else, it is strictly for research purposes. Top of Form A Little about You 1. Are you Male  Ã‚  Female 2. How old are you? 5-8  Ã‚  9-12   Ã‚  13-16  Ã‚  17+ 3. Do you live in a  Rural or an Urban area? 4. How much television do you watch a day? less than 2 hrs  Ã‚  Ã‚  2-3 hrs  4-6 hrs  7+ hrs What Do  You  Think About TV Violence? 5. What type of television show do you watch the most? Situation Comedy (a comedy series in which the same characters star in each episode) Cartoons  Soap Operas Talk Shows  Drama 6. How much violence do you think there is on television? Little Amount  Medium Amount Large Amount . Do you think that violence on television will make children act violently after watching it? Violent = causing harm to anything living or non-li ving. Yes  Ã‚  No 8. Do you think the V-Chip will solve the problem of violence on television today? Yes  Ã‚  No 9. Do you think that violence on television is a problem? Yes  Ã‚  No 10. Do you think have a television set in your bedroom? Yes  Ã‚  No Any other comments on television violence? What do you think the solution is? Optional: What television programs do you mostly watch? Thank you very much! Your opinion is important to me and my research.