Zadie Smith's multicultural, post colonial novel has been widely discussed in the literary
world. At the age of 25, Zadie Smith captures the immensely believable
lives of an aging Bangladeshi Muslim man, a too-concerned middle-class white woman poking
her nose in all the wrong business, and an adolescent half-Jamaican girl with self-esteem issues. Over the span of about 30 years, the three families in the book undergo
a wide web of separate but somehow connected circumstances, and Smith became an award-
winning author because of her writing.
It is not to say that Smith has not gone through criticism. Here's what one review had to
say about the (at the time) budding author:
"This kind of precocity in so young a writer has one half of the audience standing to
applaud and the other half wishing, as with child performers of the past (Shirley Temple,
Bonnie Langford et al), she would just stay still and shut up. White Teeth is the literary
equivalent of a hyperactive, ginger-haired tap-dancing 10-year-old." (Moss)
The review is pointed and scathing, nevertheless, it is necessary to keep two things in mind when
considering if the review's argument is valid. One, White Teeth was the recipient of at least ten
awards, not to mention was placed on Time Magazine's list of “100 All Time Novels”, a list of
the English language's best novels spanning back to 1923. And two, that word in the publishing
industry says that Smith had written that review herself (Moss).
In that case, we can disregard her self-depreciation; as it goes, no one is a worst critic of
their work than one's own self. But there is merit to some of the quote's sentiments. Precocity and
hyperactivity are very accurate adjectives for ...
... middle of paper ...
...adie
Smith." European Journal of English Studies. 173-188. Routledge, 2004. Academic
Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2011.
Moss, Stephen. “White Teeth by Zadie Smith”. guardian.co.uk. The Guardian, 26 Jan. 2000.
Web. 26 April 2011.
O' Grady, Kathleen. “White Teeth: A Conversation with Author Zadie Smith”. Atlantis: A
Women's Studies Journal. Vol. 27.1. 105-111. Web. 28 Apr. 2011.
Smith, Zadie. White Teeth. New York: Random House, Inc., 2000. Print.
Squires, Claire. Zadie Smith's White Teeth: A Reader's Guide. Continuum International
Publishing Group, 2002. E-book.
Williams, Joseph M., and Gregory G. Colomb. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 10th ed.
Columbus: Pearson Eductation, Inc., 2010. Print.
Wood, James. "Human, All Too Inhuman." New Republic 223.4 (2000): 41-45. Academic Search
Complete. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2011.
Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000
Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000
I feel that the movie has no weaknesses. This is because even though I had a few things I didn’t like such as the anonymity given, I realised that there was a reason for this which I explained in my strengths of the movie below.
The article Poor Teeth was written by Sarah Smarsh with the goal in mind being to shed light on the issue between upper and lower class society in a particularly concrete way. Teeth and dental health are an easy thing for people to imagine in their head because everyone has a set whether they’re white and shiny or black and rotted. This makes it easy to draw a comparison between people that care for their teeth and those who don’t. However, access to dental knowledge and services which the lower class often times doesn’t have is very different between the poor and the rich. While the rich stroll through life showing off their perfect glossy white rows of teeth, there are less privileged people out there with barren mouths whose weak pale gums
Becker and Murphy have a different idea on how to change the education system for the better instead of just lowering the cost of it. They believe if instead of changing the top of the food chain (upper class) we should change the foundation of the food chain (middle/lower class). This change would involve helping the lower class kids stay more motivated to stay in school longer, which in the end would make them much more successful in life. As reported by Becker and Murphy “So instead of lamenting the increased earnings gap caused by education, policymakers and the public should focus attention on how to raise the fraction of American youth who complete high school and then go on for a college education”(588). Basically Becker and Murphy are just saying that the public should create situations so that the youth that are struggling in school are focused on and pushed to do better, thus allowing them to go farther in their education career. I think this idea is great because it does not punish anyone or anything like Krugman 's solution does. Becker and Murphy solution with the education system is all about helping the less fortunate, rather than taking away from them because they are from a wealthy
basic charge of this criticism can be stated in the words of a recent critic,
Ethnographically, people like the !Kung bushmen are very specialized. In actuality, any and all of the remaining societies that have survived outside of mainstream culture must be very specialized. There are few places in the world untouched by civilized man (perhaps none at all), and the only places that have managed to elude him thus far are the regions that are generally unwanted. These places, like the Kalahari, Arctic Circle, and South American Jungle, are the only locations containing native people living in their traditional ways. All of the people living in these places have to live in a very specific way, or they simply cannot survive on what the land gives them. Of, course all of the ethnographic records we have show highly specialized people, we killed all the ones that lived where they could be more generalized and still survive.
The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder illustrates a family dodging one catastrophe after another. By the skin of their teeth, they will defeat ice, flood, and war. The main characters of this play are George and Maggie Antrobus, their two children, Henry and Gladys, and Sabina, who appears as the family's maid in the first and third acts, as well as a beauty queen seductress in the second act. The Skin of Our Teeth takes place at the Antrobus home in Excelsior, New Jersey; and the Atlantic City boardwalk.
In the sense of utilitarianism this outcome would be in consideration of the greater good for the entire population. Also, by having more affordable education it would not only benefit the parents who continue to support their children, but would give those who are less fortunate an opportunity to learn and grow as an intellectual. Furthermore, it provides a higher percentage of the population a chance to obtain a higher form of education which would expand the spectrum of professions that are current. For instance, as of now only 65.9% of graduating high school students are enrolled into college the following school
Richard Hooker states that there are four main periods in the Hebrew Religion, they are: the Pre-Mosaic Stage (1950 - 1300 B.C.E.), the National Monolatry and Monotheism (1300-1000 B.C.E.), the Prophetic Revolution (800-600 B.C.E.), and the Post-Exile Revolution (538 B.C.E., and beyond) (Hooker n. pag.). Little is known about the Pre-Mosaic stage, but some scholars have formed four main conclusions drawn from the text of Genesis. The first conclusion states that the beginning of Hebrew religion was polytheistic, involving several gods. This conclusion is formed from the “plural form of the name of God, Elohim rather than El” (Hooker n. pag.). The second conclusions is that early “Hebrew religion was animistic...and as a result...had a number of practices that fall into the category of magic” (Hooker n. pag.).
Strunk, William and White, E. B. The Elements of Style (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA, 2000.
Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907-21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html
Questions will always be present in an attempt to reason if euthanizing a person is an act of mercy or murder, and what situations fall under murder or mercy. The Christian worldview believes that suffering in life is a necessity much like God suffered for humanity’s sins through his human form of Jesus Christ who was crucified to pay ransom for man’s wrongs. Christian’s also believe that God has a plan for humanity despite the suffering that they must face. Euthanasia should not be used in Joni’s case because she is not facing a terminal illness. The family needs to reach out to local church members and pastors to help form a positive relationship in aid of reversing the negative thoughts. Emphasis on positive role models affected by suffering should be introduced to her such as the cases of Bethany Hamilton and Amy Purdy. There are studies that are progressing science in the direction of one day reversing paralysis through synthetic molecules to promote nerve growth. There is a possibility that if Joni’s wishes to be euthanized are not met, then she may attempt voluntary suicide. There are other beliefs that may not see euthanasia as an intolerable act of murder and sin, such as Atheism as they do not believe in God. To suffer is to be human, to accept suffering as a way to make a person stronger creates a lasting connection with the love and compassion of
Intelligence is commonly measured through the use of a number of scales and quantitative measures, like the Intelligence Quotient (IQ), developed by Alfred Binet in early 20th century to identify which French children needed more attention from their educators. The use of IQ tests progressively spread to all parts of the world. The use of these tests has raised controversy among psychologists and educators, with supporters of IQ tests assuming that the tests produce measure of genetically transmitted intelligence. On the other hand, critics of the tests have pointed out that IQ test provides a measure that defines intelligence through the use of cultural deterministic concepts. The ethnocentrism embedded in the assumptions of many commentators, has generated into a justification for a number of theoretical approaches, like those by Charles Murray and others (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/850358.stm).