So Long a Letter Essay Example

So Long a Letter Essay So Long a Letter is a novel written by Mariama Ba, a black Sengalese author. It was assumed that she had lived a life that was very similar to the two main female characters of her story. Mariama Ba is an educated woman, who attended school at Ecole Normale Institution, an exclusive Western school situated in her own native country. During the publication of her work, she was a schoolteacher who is doing her share to help ease the societys unrest caused by their transition to freedom from being Frances colony for a long time. Mariama Ba is an active feminist and a women’s rights activist. And as a divorced woman herself, she is against polygamous marriages. And it is primarily because of the many difficulties that it causes women.II. Type of WorkSo Long a Letter was a novel that is presented in a form of a letter. The main character in the story writes a very long epistle to her friend, narrating all the pains and hardships that she had been through from the time her husband t ook a second wife up until his recent death and thereafter. The literary work touches on Muslim-African culture and traditions. It was written against a backdrop of a turbulent society where women are inferior to men.III. Type of PlotSo Long a Letter follows an episodic type of a plot. The book is composed of several series of stories included in each chapter that narrates the lives of the main characters in the story.   All these stories are linked to each other. They were all about trials, difficulties, and the choices people have to make. Each chapter has its own climax that slowly builds towards an end. Generally, there were no overall high point or plot to the entire story.   Instead, everything was a smooth and steady narration of the events that happened in the storyteller’s life in a reversed chronological order, starting from the death of his husband and back to the time he took a second wife, where most of the storys tragedies occurred. But the story doesnt stop there. It pushed forward into the future towards the time when the main character dealt with her loss and the things she did to live with a new life following her husbands death.IV. Setting, Time, and Locale of the PlotThe story is set during the time that Senegal was in transition to become an independent country. Senegal was previously a colony of France; and as they move towards liberty, the society is in total unrest. Politics was always brewing and trade unionism was very rampant. New Africa is expected to be on the rise. And it is also during the said point in time that the society follows the strict Islamic tradition of putting men in a pedestal much higher than the women. It is the time where the husbands are supposed to provide for their wives and their children and the women’s main job is to merely take care of their husbands.V. Social or Political ContextIt was only in 1960 that Senegal has gained its independence from France and became a separate entity. Senegal was under the French colony since the 17th century. And during that period of time, there were civic disturbance everywhere. It is also in the same year that only a few African women were given a chance to education. Most of privileged few that were able to study came only from the elite society, as not many believe in the importance of education for African women. A lot of it is because women are given a role in the society that doesnt require much of education. With the great influence of Islam in the nation of Senegal, the only thing that a woman should do for the country is to rear children. And it is not important that she be educated to do that well.Mariama Ba, like the main characters of her story, were one of those few educated women of Africa. As a result, she was able to teach in schools and was able to give back to the younger generation what she had attained. With this story she had written, she unconsciously aims to raise the position of Senegalese women in a rank thatà ¢â‚¬â„¢s closer, if not within the same level, as with the men.V. Character AnalysisThe main characters of the story are as follows:RamatoulayeRamatoulaye is the main character of the story. She is also the same one who wrote the letter to her friend, Aissatou. It is her life story that was the main focus of the novel. Ramatoulaye is a schoolteacher in Senegal and when she wrote the letter, she was 55 years old and a widow.Ramatoulaye is a strong woman and was able to live through the pain and struggles associated with the Islamic traditions and the transformations in the society. Despite the infidelity directed to her by her husband, she was still the same woman who performs most inside a family setting. And as such, she stood by her children throughout the ordeal. Ramatoulaye is the perfect blend of the old and new woman of the society. She is devoted to her children and yet she is able to hold on a career that enriches her being. And more importantly, she never believes that wome n were merely meant for the home and has lesser rights than men.AissatouAissatou is Ramatoulaye’s friend who is the recipient of the letter. Ramatoulaye regards her like a true sister, as both of them had shared childhood went to the same school and together. And like Ramatoulaye, Aissatou had gone through the same hardships when his husband took a second wife. Being educated and liberal, Aissatou left Senegal after she requested for a divorce and served in the Senegal Embassy in the U.S. She lived independently and provided for her son then after.If Ramatoulaye is a showcase of a woman both of the past and of the present, Aissatou is a picture of the modern liberated female. She doesn’t want to conform to the beliefs that the society unresistingly accepts, more particularly about polygamous marriage. Instead, she came out and openly asserted herself and her right. She lived liberally after which.Modou FallModou Fall is the husband of Ramatoulaye. He was the object of love and obsession of Ramatoulaye for a whole twenty-five years. And she was equally adored by Modou Fall up until he decided to marry a much younger woman. Modou and Ramatoulaye had twelve children and all of them had suffered from the day their father was absent in favor of his new wife. Modou Fall died of heart attack years after he had remarried.Modou Fall is but society’s regular male. He does according to his whims and tries to justify it with the law. He had not the courage to even face Ramatoulaye when he abruptly decided to marry another woman. He is basically weak and had merely used religion as a weapon. He is a coward who can’t even face his wife under his supposedly muscular build.Mawdo BaMawdo Ba is Aissatou’s husband. He is a doctor by profession and a man who is well regarded by a society where herbs and potions are next best thing when it comes to finding a cure for common sicknesses. However, Mawdo Ba’s elitist mother is not in favor of his marriage to Aissatou, even if it is very clear that Mawdo loved her so much. Mawdo Ba is Modou Fall’s friend. He is also the one who had introduced the two to each other.Mawdo Ba is the type of a man whose resolve is not absolute. He succeeded in going against her mother’s wishes when he chose to marry Aissatou. But he merely threw that resolution away the very moment he blindly fell into her own mothers trap by leading her to take another woman as a second wife. This fact could even go to show that men might just be polygamous in nature.BinetouAlthough Binetou’s actions in the story are not much told about, her role is very important for it is her who caused a turn in Ramatoulaye’s life. Binetou is the second wife Modou Fall had took indiscriminately. She is a much younger woman and actually the friend of Modou’s oldest daughter, Daba. Binetou was not rich and doesn’t have a father to look out for her. And so when Modou proposed marriag e, it was mother who was very much in favor of it. Binetou accepted Modous proposal for a marriage because of the security blanket that it would be able to provide her and her family. Binetou was merely 19 when Modou Fall died.TamsirTamsir is Modou Fall’s elder brother. He, along with Mawdo and the local Imam, is the person who broke the news to Ramatoulaye about Modou having a second wife. And on the fortieth day of Modou’s death, Tamsir indicated that he would like to marry Ramatoulaye in regards to the Islam tradition that the younger brother is supposed to inherit another brother’s wife the moment he died. Tamsir intended to use the tradition eventhough he is Modou’s elder brother and not a younger brother just like the custom implied.Daba FallDaba is Ramatouleye’s oldest daughter. She is also the person who took Binetou to their house because she was her friend and schoolmate. It was during those times that Binetou was their guest that their f ather had developed some affection to the young girl. Modou always volunteers himself to bring her home. Consequently, Binetou has Daba as confidante when it comes to the things that were happening in her life.   But when she talks about her story, she omits Modou’s name and merely referred to him as a sugar daddy. Daba even asked for an advice from her mother to help out Binetou, not knowing that they are actually talking about Binetou and her father all the while.Daouda DiengDaouda Dieng is Ramatoulaye’s former suitor. He is also the same person that her mother wants her to marry. Daouda Dieng is also a doctor and he had reappeared in Ramatoulayes life from Modou’s funeral thereafter. And much of it is because he still cares for her. Like Tamsir, Daouda Dieng also expressed his desire to marry Ramatoulaye. But Ramatoulaye openly refused. Daouda Dieng already has a wife and although their law permits taking another wife, Ramatoulaye chooses not to go between him and his family. She doesn’t want to do what Binetou had done to her.VI. Summary of the Storyâ€Å"So Long a Letter† started off with Ramatoulaye reminiscing the events that happened to her the past few days. She created the letter with the main intention of telling Aissatou about the death of his husband, Modou. And along that path, Ramatoulaye had begun a journey back in time, starting from when she and Modou met.Modou died from heart attack while dictating something to his secretary in his office. He was a lawyer. He studied in France and went back to Senegal to practice. But he wasn’t like any regular lawyer who merely works for money. Primarily, he does his job for the community. This is what makes Modou a person of great dignity and social position. Ramatoulaye had described him as the perfect man during their courtship stages. And despite her mother’s disapproval of Modou, she chose him to be her husband because she felt that he was the man that was meant for her.Ramatoulaye and Aissatou were best friends and even treat each other as sisters. They both went to the Western same school and are one of the few women who were given the elusive opportunity to finish a degree. Ramatoulaye became a schoolteacher. And in the long twenty-five years that she is married to Modou, she had balanced her time between her work and her family with great success.Everything was perfect in Ramatoulaye’s household up until her oldest daughter, Daba, brought a classmate with her in the house. And just like any mother, Ramatoulaye merely shrugs the fact that her husband is especially fond with Daba’s classmate, whose name is Binetou. But she was able to see the young woman’s transition from wearing plain and basic clothes to something that comes from an expensive clothes store. The once shy and timid girl is no longer one either. And she had made it very apparent every time she was in their house.But despite that, Ramatoulaye never had once doubted Modou’s love for her. That was up until her brother-in-law Tamsir, Mawdo, and the local Imam had paid her an unannounced visit one day. They have all come to inform her that Modou had, just a few seconds ago, married another woman, giving himself a second wife. And that woman was indeed, Binetou.During those years that Modou left them abandoned, Ramatoulaye had tried to live in the exact same way as she does. But even so, she started to question the whole idea surrounding polygamous marriages. She even would like to shout out the fact that even if a man is allowed a second wife, each wife should be treated as equal. It is as if his husband had forgotten that he still has a lot of responsibility to her and her children. But even so, Ramatoulaye and her twelve children had managed on their own. And despite their hardships, she still want her children to think well of their father. It is just that they all fail to understand what was happening to them and why it did. The biggest pain of all was with their oldest daughter, Daba.But as Ramatoulaye recounts her story, she can’t stop writing about Aissatou’s ordeal along with it. Like her, Aissatou was a victim of a polygamous marriage. Mawdo Ba, who eventually became Aissatou’s husband, was a doctor. It was Modou who introduced Mawdo to their circle of friends and that had included Aissatou. When the two of them decided to get married, Mawdo’s mother was very much against it. Mawdo’s mother used to be a Princess of the Sine and she could not dwell on the fact that her only son is marrying an ordinary woman without wealth, title, and social prominence. Despite being educated, Mawdo’s mother regarded Aissatou merely as a goldsmith’s daughter. But Mawdo was resolute. He married Aissatou against her mother’s wishes.But her mother was not soon to be defeated. She actually devised a ploy to make Mawdo marry Nabou. Nabou is the daughter of Diouf and Diouf is her younger brother. Mawdo gave in and in essence, he took his cousin as his second wife. When that happened, Aissatou didnt sit back and merely watch thing befall her. She asserted herself, asked for a divorce, and fled to a different land to start a new life. Since then, she had worked in the Senegal Embassy in the U.S. After the divorce, she had lived independently supporting herself and her son.Ramatoulaye’s reaction to her husband’s second marriage was different though. She chose to stick with the situation in the hope that Modou will assume his forgotten responsibility to her and her family in due time. But all her thoughts were disrupted with the death of her husband. And it is only during that time that she started to break free from the idea that women are merely created to serve, act, and think, behind the shadow of men.During the days of seclusion and mourning, Ramatoulaye was able to realize a lot of things. And on the fortieth day fol lowing Modou’s death, Modou’s elder brother Tamsir asked for her hand in marriage. Ramatoulaye knew that he was doing this merely for economic reasons. So she outwardly turned down the offer telling him that he cannot simply ask that of her because she is a woman with her own mind, body, and dignity. And that marriage and companionship means a lot to her so she wouldn’t marry anybody she doesn’t have affection for.Ramatoulaye has another suitor, Daouda Dieng. Daouda Dieng is the man who had cared for her tracing back from the day she had first met Modou. In fact, her mother voted for Daouda Dieng instead of Modou. And after Modou’s death, he became visible again. He even shared Ramatoulaye’s the ideas about feminism and believed that there should be more laws that protect women in the same way as men. In their resurrected friendship, Ramatoulaye had rekindled her fondness for Daouda Dieng. And much of it is because they share parallel views on a lot of things. Daouda Dieng never lost his love for her either. And one day, he asked for Ramatoulaye’s hand in marriage. But being the woman who learned so much from her own experiences, Ramatoulaye had refused his offer for the reason that Daouda Dieng already has a family. And even if Islam allows men to have up to four wives, she did not choose to come between him and his family.VII. Analysis of the WorkThe novel â€Å"So Long a Letter† is an accurate overview of Senegal circa 1970. It can even be used as a historical basis of what was happening prior to the development of New Africa. But digging deeper in the social and political context of the literary work, it is depicts as a mesh of African culture with a Muslim religion in a semi-European context.The overall tone of the letter is remorse and pain. And the feminist ideas integrated in it cannot be left ignored. This is because a woman wrote the novel – a woman who has long been regarded as merely a face without a name and a shadow instead of a person. But more importantly, that woman is black. History has it that African natives have long been suffering the pains of inferiority over the white race. Therefore, it can be said that the narrative is spoken with the voice of a black woman who has been victim in many ways. And being so, you can never underestimate the magnitude of her cry.What the whole story would like to impart were the choices that are presented to a woman. With the society, tradition, and culture all seemingly working in favor of the men, women are left with nothing but their own strength to drive their selves upon. In a society where polygamous marriages are allowed, it has become easy for the man to put the woman in her position – and it is a position that was way below where he is. In 1960 Senegal, that position is somewhere down the deepest remorse of her own soul.Through her novel, Mariama Ba had shown those choices to the many women who had gone thr ough the same circumstances similar to her and her two main characters. When a womans husband takes another wife, she is presented two options – you can either stick by him and do what was expected of you; or leave him and reclaim your own independence. And those are exactly what Ramatoulaye and Aissatou had done. Ramatoulaye had chosen to sit back and wait for everything else to be how it used to be while her husband is in the company of another wife. Aissatou, on the other hand, is different. Instead of choosing to do what everybody had anticipated, she body did otherwise, went against the current, and liberated her own self from the claws of the society.The novel had also clearly depicted the mentality of African Muslim women. The characters in the story have represented the varied frame of thinking women have – while all of them being influenced by all the events transpiring around them. Ramatoulaye is the ever trusting and faithful wife. Aissatou is the liberal wo man ready to face the world, with or without the company of men. Binetou is the woman ready to give anything and do anything in exchange for financial security and social standing. Modou’s mother is much the same. All she wanted to do was to clothe herself in what her son had attained and make it the subject of envy to all her friends– even if she was never material in any of it. All she could do was to associate her own success to anything that her son possesses. On the other hand, Mawdo Ba’s mother is the woman who clutches firmly to what was used to be hers – and that would be her fame and glory of long ago.These are the type of women that Mariama Ba would like to identify her own women audience with. Indirectly, the author is infusing change in the way society thinks by showing them the errors in their mentalities.VIII. Thematic Structure and Development of ThemeThe major theme of the story is the depiction of the clash between African-Muslim traditio ns and French-European ways. African-Muslim traditions say men are allowed to have multiple wives while the French-European culture indicates that the answer to infidelity is divorce. And much of that is because a woman is free to do what she wants. The idea behind that new-found freedom has a lot to do with the fact that a woman should decide whether she would like to delegate herself as one of the wives or not.And this theme leads us to yet another, which is the feminist tone of the novel. A lot of ideologies that are added in the story are subconsciously evoking to empower the rest of the women readers black, Muslim, or neither, to break free from the clutches of tradition and be their own person. The novel is also a call for all women to unite – because with their varied ideologies and mentalities, it is near impossible to achieve the change that all women wanted to attain. The novel attempts to make a woman realize her important role in the society, including all the co mmon situations she is involved in. The novel presents the woman her options. And the story’s theme greatly implies that she has the ability to do whatever she wanted to do. Her very existence gives her that right.IX. Language, Structure, and StyleSo Long a Letter is a type of an epistolary novel. Epistolary novels are literary works that use long narratives, mostly in the form of a correspondence, a diary, or news clippings. In this particular work, the main character, Ramatoulaye, relates the most recent and past events of her life to her friend, Aissatou in a very long missive. The author even referred to it as a diary in the first few pages of the narrative. As the story progresses, Ramatoulaye conveys both the events and her feelings about it. She broadcasts her thoughts to the letters recipient, as well as quotes important conversations that had transpired between her and others.The authors choice of using this format must be the fact that she would like to make her wor k appear as real as possible. The subject is certainly close to her heart, because she has been through the same pains and aches as the main story of the character had. It is also very apparent that both of them almost share the same ideas and principles when it comes to the role of the female in the society. And this is why the main character of the story is directly compared to her. Though it, readers can see and feel through the realism, or at least the appearance of it, that echoes out of from the pages of the literary work.X. Literary Techniques and DevicesThe choice of the authors literary techniques and devices are all very effective in this novel. Being an epistolary novel, which is a literary technique on its own, the work had clearly relayed all the events that happened before and after the main characters husband has died. The main purpose of writing the letter was to inform Aissatou that Modou had died – but as she did so, Ramatoulaye was not able to resist the te mptation of recounting the events that happened since the time she and her husband met, up until he decided to leave her in favor of a younger second wife. She also cannot stop herself from point out the fact that she and Aissatou had experienced the same fate in the hands of their husbands. Ramatoulaye had related not only her own story as she goes along, but the life story of Aissatou, the letters recipient, as well.Ramatoulayes and Aissatous characters are a juxtaposition, which is another literary technique. The author had placed two people with the same experiences in one story. But their ways of solving the conflicts that were presented to them were different. When Aissatou learned about her husbands second marriage, she revolted and moved away. Ramatoulaye, on the other hand, went along the situation and continued her life as is. It is the purpose of the author to make readers compare the two women in the hope that they can identify themselves with them.In this story, it is a lso clear that Mariama Ba had successfully used another literary technique, the author surrogate technique. Clearly, one of the two characters of the story is an idealized version of the author. Mariama Ba, known to be divorced and a feminist herself, had wanted to show her audience the things that she had been through and how she should have handled it. It is also possible that Mariama Ba is a little bit of the two main characters combined, and she is merely conveying the choices women like her has, given the same situation.XI. Critical Evaluation/General AssessmentSo Long a Letter had effectively captured the sentiments of all women, not merely the Africans or the Muslims. Reading the novel had allowed a lot of people to realize the emotions of a woman and how hard it must have been for them to be given limited choice and be virtually powerless over the men. Through her work, Mariama Bas had indeed found a creative way of voicing out her feminist views. As a result, this work was written along the refreshing views of a woman writer. There have been quite too few of them before. This, added to the fact that the author is a true African in her own right, made the whole story a lot more realistic that it ought to be.The words and lines used are all rich and clear. The thoughts conveyed are straightforward. And the events in the story are related in a highly logical and comprehensible manner. Mariama Bas style of writing is simplistic. And it allows readers to easily understand the things, ideas, and concepts that she is trying to point out. There was never any event and information that can be considered irrelevant to the main story. Simply stated, the novel was concise and true to its form.Overall, the novel is written with the voice of a victim – but it is the type of a victim who would like to see changes. The story is not about a victim who merely sits and laments. The story is about the victim who tries to struggle out from where her place is suppos ed to be. This is a story of empowerment. And even if it is a storyline that is expected of black authors, the power of it has never diminished. The victim-perpetrator type of a story can still captivate and move, especially if it is done in the same heart-felt way as this story was.From my own critique of the story, So Long a Letter can be considered as a masterpiece. It will never cease to touch the emotions of both the women and even men for that matter, who had seen, much more gone though, the same instances that the characters of the story had. And because the story deals on the three popular sectors of the society, namely the women, the Blacks and the Muslims, it definitely had a universal appeal as expected.Outlineâ€Å"So Long a Letter† started off with Ramatoulaye reminiscing the events that happened to her the past few days. It is a novel that is presented in a form of a letter.   The main character, Ramatoulaye, created the letter with the main intention of telli ng Aissatou about the death of his husband, Modou. And along that path, Ramatoulaye had begun a journey back in time, starting from when she and Modou met.Modou died from heart attack while dictating something to his secretary in his office. He was a lawyer. But he mostly does his job for the community. As such he is a person of great dignity and social position.Ramatoulaye and Aissatou were best friends and even treat each other as sisters. They both went to the Western same school and are one of the few women who were given the elusive opportunity to finish a degree. Ramatoulaye became a schoolteacher. She was married for long twenty-five years to Modou.Then Modou abruptly made the decision to have a second wife. And worse, it was in the person of his daughters friend. He didnt even have the courage to face her that he did remarry. Instead, he just sent his bother, his friend, and the Imam to tell her wife about it.Even so, the story had shown that Ramatoulaye was a strong woman a nd was able to live through the pain and struggles associated with the Islamic traditions and the transformations in the society. Despite the infidelity directed to her by her husband, she was still the same woman who performs most inside a family setting. And as such, she stood by her children throughout the ordeal. Ramatoulaye is the perfect blend of the old and new woman of the society. She is devoted to her children and yet she is able to hold on a career that enriches her being. And more importantly, she never believes that women were merely meant for the home and has lesser rights than men.On the other hand, Modou Fall is a portrait of society’s ordinary male. He does according to his whims and tries to justify it with the law. He had not the courage to even face Ramatoulaye when he abruptly decided to marry another woman. He is basically weak and had merely used religion as a weapon. He is a coward who can’t even face his wife under his supposedly muscular build .In her letter, Ramatoulaye also wrote Aissatou’s ordeal that was very much like her. Aissatou was also a victim of a polygamous marriage. Mawdo Ba was Aissatou’s husband. When the two of them decided to get married, Mawdo’s mother was very much against it. Mawdo’s mother used to be a Princess of the Sine and she could not dwell on the fact that her only son is marrying an ordinary woman without wealth, title, and social prominence. Despite being educated, Mawdo’s mother regarded Aissatou merely as a goldsmith’s daughter. But Mawdo was resolute. He married Aissatou against her mother’s wishes.But her mother was not soon to be defeated. She actually devised a ploy to make Mawdo marry Nabou. Nabou is the daughter of Diouf and Diouf is her younger brother. Mawdo gave in and in essence, he took his cousin as his second wife. When that happened, Aissatou didnt sit back and merely watch thing befall her. She asserted herself, asked for a di vorce, and fled to a different land to start a new life. Since then, she had worked in the Senegal Embassy in the U.S. After the divorce, she had lived independently supporting herself and her son.If Ramatoulaye is a showcase of a woman both of the past and of the present, Aissatou is a picture of the modern liberated female. She doesn’t want to conform to the beliefs that the society unresistingly accepts, more particularly about polygamous marriage. Instead, she came out and openly asserted herself and her right. She lived liberally after the ordeal.The overall tone of the letter is remorse and pain. And the feminist ideas integrated in it cannot be left ignored. This is because a woman wrote the novel – a woman who has long been regarded as merely a face without a name and a shadow instead of a person. But more importantly, that woman is black. History has it that African natives have long been suffering the pains of inferiority over the white race. Therefore, it ca n be said that the narrative is spoken with the voice of a black woman who has been victim in many ways. And being so, you can never underestimate the magnitude of her cry.The storys author, Mariama Ba had successfully used the author surrogate technique in her work. Clearly, one of the two characters of the story is an idealized version of the author. Mariama Ba, known to be divorced and a feminist herself, had wanted to show her audience the things that she had been through and how she should have handled it. It is also possible that Mariama Ba is a little bit of the two main characters combined, and she is merely conveying the choices women like her has, given the same situation.;;; So Long a Letter Essay Example So Long a Letter Paper So Long a Letter is a novel written by Mariama Ba, a black Sengalese author. It was assumed that she had lived a life that was very similar to the two main female characters of her story. Mariama Ba is an educated woman, who attended school at Ecole Normale Institution, an exclusive Western school situated in her own native country. During the publication of her work, she was a schoolteacher who is doing her share to help ease the societys unrest caused by their transition to freedom from being Frances colony for a long time. Mariama Ba is an active feminist and a women’s rights activist. And as a divorced woman herself, she is against polygamous marriages. And it is primarily because of the many difficulties that it causes women.II. Type of WorkSo Long a Letter was a novel that is presented in a form of a letter. The main character in the story writes a very long epistle to her friend, narrating all the pains and hardships that she had been through from the time her husband t ook a second wife up until his recent death and thereafter. The literary work touches on Muslim-African culture and traditions. It was written against a backdrop of a turbulent society where women are inferior to men.III. Type of PlotSo Long a Letter follows an episodic type of a plot. The book is composed of several series of stories included in each chapter that narrates the lives of the main characters in the story.   All these stories are linked to each other. They were all about trials, difficulties, and the choices people have to make. Each chapter has its own climax that slowly builds towards an end. Generally, there were no overall high point or plot to the entire story.   Instead, everything was a smooth and steady narration of the events that happened in the storyteller’s life in a reversed chronological order, starting from the death of his husband and back to the time he took a second wife, where most of the storys tragedies occurred. But the story doesnt stop there. It pushed forward into the future towards the time when the main character dealt with her loss and the things she did to live with a new life following her husbands death.IV. Setting, Time, and Locale of the PlotThe story is set during the time that Senegal was in transition to become an independent country. Senegal was previously a colony of France; and as they move towards liberty, the society is in total unrest. Politics was always brewing and trade unionism was very rampant. New Africa is expected to be on the rise. And it is also during the said point in time that the society follows the strict Islamic tradition of putting men in a pedestal much higher than the women. It is the time where the husbands are supposed to provide for their wives and their children and the women’s main job is to merely take care of their husbands.V. Social or Political ContextIt was only in 1960 that Senegal has gained its independence from France and became a separate entity. Senegal was under the French colony since the 17th century. And during that period of time, there were civic disturbance everywhere. It is also in the same year that only a few African women were given a chance to education. Most of privileged few that were able to study came only from the elite society, as not many believe in the importance of education for African women. A lot of it is because women are given a role in the society that doesnt require much of education. With the great influence of Islam in the nation of Senegal, the only thing that a woman should do for the country is to rear children. And it is not important that she be educated to do that well.Mariama Ba, like the main characters of her story, were one of those few educated women of Africa. As a result, she was able to teach in schools and was able to give back to the younger generation what she had attained. With this story she had written, she unconsciously aims to raise the position of Senegalese women in a rank thatà ¢â‚¬â„¢s closer, if not within the same level, as with the men.V. Character AnalysisThe main characters of the story are as follows:RamatoulayeRamatoulaye is the main character of the story. She is also the same one who wrote the letter to her friend, Aissatou. It is her life story that was the main focus of the novel. Ramatoulaye is a schoolteacher in Senegal and when she wrote the letter, she was 55 years old and a widow.Ramatoulaye is a strong woman and was able to live through the pain and struggles associated with the Islamic traditions and the transformations in the society. Despite the infidelity directed to her by her husband, she was still the same woman who performs most inside a family setting. And as such, she stood by her children throughout the ordeal. Ramatoulaye is the perfect blend of the old and new woman of the society. She is devoted to her children and yet she is able to hold on a career that enriches her being. And more importantly, she never believes that wome n were merely meant for the home and has lesser rights than men.AissatouAissatou is Ramatoulaye’s friend who is the recipient of the letter. Ramatoulaye regards her like a true sister, as both of them had shared childhood went to the same school and together. And like Ramatoulaye, Aissatou had gone through the same hardships when his husband took a second wife. Being educated and liberal, Aissatou left Senegal after she requested for a divorce and served in the Senegal Embassy in the U.S. She lived independently and provided for her son then after.If Ramatoulaye is a showcase of a woman both of the past and of the present, Aissatou is a picture of the modern liberated female. She doesn’t want to conform to the beliefs that the society unresistingly accepts, more particularly about polygamous marriage. Instead, she came out and openly asserted herself and her right. She lived liberally after which.Modou FallModou Fall is the husband of Ramatoulaye. He was the object of love and obsession of Ramatoulaye for a whole twenty-five years. And she was equally adored by Modou Fall up until he decided to marry a much younger woman. Modou and Ramatoulaye had twelve children and all of them had suffered from the day their father was absent in favor of his new wife. Modou Fall died of heart attack years after he had remarried.Modou Fall is but society’s regular male. He does according to his whims and tries to justify it with the law. He had not the courage to even face Ramatoulaye when he abruptly decided to marry another woman. He is basically weak and had merely used religion as a weapon. He is a coward who can’t even face his wife under his supposedly muscular build.Mawdo BaMawdo Ba is Aissatou’s husband. He is a doctor by profession and a man who is well regarded by a society where herbs and potions are next best thing when it comes to finding a cure for common sicknesses. However, Mawdo Ba’s elitist mother is not in favor of his marriage to Aissatou, even if it is very clear that Mawdo loved her so much. Mawdo Ba is Modou Fall’s friend. He is also the one who had introduced the two to each other.Mawdo Ba is the type of a man whose resolve is not absolute. He succeeded in going against her mother’s wishes when he chose to marry Aissatou. But he merely threw that resolution away the very moment he blindly fell into her own mothers trap by leading her to take another woman as a second wife. This fact could even go to show that men might just be polygamous in nature.BinetouAlthough Binetou’s actions in the story are not much told about, her role is very important for it is her who caused a turn in Ramatoulaye’s life. Binetou is the second wife Modou Fall had took indiscriminately. She is a much younger woman and actually the friend of Modou’s oldest daughter, Daba. Binetou was not rich and doesn’t have a father to look out for her. And so when Modou proposed marriag e, it was mother who was very much in favor of it. Binetou accepted Modous proposal for a marriage because of the security blanket that it would be able to provide her and her family. Binetou was merely 19 when Modou Fall died.TamsirTamsir is Modou Fall’s elder brother. He, along with Mawdo and the local Imam, is the person who broke the news to Ramatoulaye about Modou having a second wife. And on the fortieth day of Modou’s death, Tamsir indicated that he would like to marry Ramatoulaye in regards to the Islam tradition that the younger brother is supposed to inherit another brother’s wife the moment he died. Tamsir intended to use the tradition eventhough he is Modou’s elder brother and not a younger brother just like the custom implied.Daba FallDaba is Ramatouleye’s oldest daughter. She is also the person who took Binetou to their house because she was her friend and schoolmate. It was during those times that Binetou was their guest that their f ather had developed some affection to the young girl. Modou always volunteers himself to bring her home. Consequently, Binetou has Daba as confidante when it comes to the things that were happening in her life.   But when she talks about her story, she omits Modou’s name and merely referred to him as a sugar daddy. Daba even asked for an advice from her mother to help out Binetou, not knowing that they are actually talking about Binetou and her father all the while.Daouda DiengDaouda Dieng is Ramatoulaye’s former suitor. He is also the same person that her mother wants her to marry. Daouda Dieng is also a doctor and he had reappeared in Ramatoulayes life from Modou’s funeral thereafter. And much of it is because he still cares for her. Like Tamsir, Daouda Dieng also expressed his desire to marry Ramatoulaye. But Ramatoulaye openly refused. Daouda Dieng already has a wife and although their law permits taking another wife, Ramatoulaye chooses not to go between him and his family. She doesn’t want to do what Binetou had done to her.VI. Summary of the Storyâ€Å"So Long a Letter† started off with Ramatoulaye reminiscing the events that happened to her the past few days. She created the letter with the main intention of telling Aissatou about the death of his husband, Modou. And along that path, Ramatoulaye had begun a journey back in time, starting from when she and Modou met.Modou died from heart attack while dictating something to his secretary in his office. He was a lawyer. He studied in France and went back to Senegal to practice. But he wasn’t like any regular lawyer who merely works for money. Primarily, he does his job for the community. This is what makes Modou a person of great dignity and social position. Ramatoulaye had described him as the perfect man during their courtship stages. And despite her mother’s disapproval of Modou, she chose him to be her husband because she felt that he was the man that was meant for her.Ramatoulaye and Aissatou were best friends and even treat each other as sisters. They both went to the Western same school and are one of the few women who were given the elusive opportunity to finish a degree. Ramatoulaye became a schoolteacher. And in the long twenty-five years that she is married to Modou, she had balanced her time between her work and her family with great success.Everything was perfect in Ramatoulaye’s household up until her oldest daughter, Daba, brought a classmate with her in the house. And just like any mother, Ramatoulaye merely shrugs the fact that her husband is especially fond with Daba’s classmate, whose name is Binetou. But she was able to see the young woman’s transition from wearing plain and basic clothes to something that comes from an expensive clothes store. The once shy and timid girl is no longer one either. And she had made it very apparent every time she was in their house.But despite that, Ramatoulaye never had once doubted Modou’s love for her. That was up until her brother-in-law Tamsir, Mawdo, and the local Imam had paid her an unannounced visit one day. They have all come to inform her that Modou had, just a few seconds ago, married another woman, giving himself a second wife. And that woman was indeed, Binetou.During those years that Modou left them abandoned, Ramatoulaye had tried to live in the exact same way as she does. But even so, she started to question the whole idea surrounding polygamous marriages. She even would like to shout out the fact that even if a man is allowed a second wife, each wife should be treated as equal. It is as if his husband had forgotten that he still has a lot of responsibility to her and her children. But even so, Ramatoulaye and her twelve children had managed on their own. And despite their hardships, she still want her children to think well of their father. It is just that they all fail to understand what was happening to them and why it did. The biggest pain of all was with their oldest daughter, Daba.But as Ramatoulaye recounts her story, she can’t stop writing about Aissatou’s ordeal along with it. Like her, Aissatou was a victim of a polygamous marriage. Mawdo Ba, who eventually became Aissatou’s husband, was a doctor. It was Modou who introduced Mawdo to their circle of friends and that had included Aissatou. When the two of them decided to get married, Mawdo’s mother was very much against it. Mawdo’s mother used to be a Princess of the Sine and she could not dwell on the fact that her only son is marrying an ordinary woman without wealth, title, and social prominence. Despite being educated, Mawdo’s mother regarded Aissatou merely as a goldsmith’s daughter. But Mawdo was resolute. He married Aissatou against her mother’s wishes.But her mother was not soon to be defeated. She actually devised a ploy to make Mawdo marry Nabou. Nabou is the daughter of Diouf and Diouf is her younger brother. Mawdo gave in and in essence, he took his cousin as his second wife. When that happened, Aissatou didnt sit back and merely watch thing befall her. She asserted herself, asked for a divorce, and fled to a different land to start a new life. Since then, she had worked in the Senegal Embassy in the U.S. After the divorce, she had lived independently supporting herself and her son.Ramatoulaye’s reaction to her husband’s second marriage was different though. She chose to stick with the situation in the hope that Modou will assume his forgotten responsibility to her and her family in due time. But all her thoughts were disrupted with the death of her husband. And it is only during that time that she started to break free from the idea that women are merely created to serve, act, and think, behind the shadow of men.During the days of seclusion and mourning, Ramatoulaye was able to realize a lot of things. And on the fortieth day fol lowing Modou’s death, Modou’s elder brother Tamsir asked for her hand in marriage. Ramatoulaye knew that he was doing this merely for economic reasons. So she outwardly turned down the offer telling him that he cannot simply ask that of her because she is a woman with her own mind, body, and dignity. And that marriage and companionship means a lot to her so she wouldn’t marry anybody she doesn’t have affection for.Ramatoulaye has another suitor, Daouda Dieng. Daouda Dieng is the man who had cared for her tracing back from the day she had first met Modou. In fact, her mother voted for Daouda Dieng instead of Modou. And after Modou’s death, he became visible again. He even shared Ramatoulaye’s the ideas about feminism and believed that there should be more laws that protect women in the same way as men. In their resurrected friendship, Ramatoulaye had rekindled her fondness for Daouda Dieng. And much of it is because they share parallel views on a lot of things. Daouda Dieng never lost his love for her either. And one day, he asked for Ramatoulaye’s hand in marriage. But being the woman who learned so much from her own experiences, Ramatoulaye had refused his offer for the reason that Daouda Dieng already has a family. And even if Islam allows men to have up to four wives, she did not choose to come between him and his family.VII. Analysis of the WorkThe novel â€Å"So Long a Letter† is an accurate overview of Senegal circa 1970. It can even be used as a historical basis of what was happening prior to the development of New Africa. But digging deeper in the social and political context of the literary work, it is depicts as a mesh of African culture with a Muslim religion in a semi-European context.The overall tone of the letter is remorse and pain. And the feminist ideas integrated in it cannot be left ignored. This is because a woman wrote the novel – a woman who has long been regarded as merely a face without a name and a shadow instead of a person. But more importantly, that woman is black. History has it that African natives have long been suffering the pains of inferiority over the white race. Therefore, it can be said that the narrative is spoken with the voice of a black woman who has been victim in many ways. And being so, you can never underestimate the magnitude of her cry.What the whole story would like to impart were the choices that are presented to a woman. With the society, tradition, and culture all seemingly working in favor of the men, women are left with nothing but their own strength to drive their selves upon. In a society where polygamous marriages are allowed, it has become easy for the man to put the woman in her position – and it is a position that was way below where he is. In 1960 Senegal, that position is somewhere down the deepest remorse of her own soul.Through her novel, Mariama Ba had shown those choices to the many women who had gone thr ough the same circumstances similar to her and her two main characters. When a womans husband takes another wife, she is presented two options – you can either stick by him and do what was expected of you; or leave him and reclaim your own independence. And those are exactly what Ramatoulaye and Aissatou had done. Ramatoulaye had chosen to sit back and wait for everything else to be how it used to be while her husband is in the company of another wife. Aissatou, on the other hand, is different. Instead of choosing to do what everybody had anticipated, she body did otherwise, went against the current, and liberated her own self from the claws of the society.The novel had also clearly depicted the mentality of African Muslim women. The characters in the story have represented the varied frame of thinking women have – while all of them being influenced by all the events transpiring around them. Ramatoulaye is the ever trusting and faithful wife. Aissatou is the liberal wo man ready to face the world, with or without the company of men. Binetou is the woman ready to give anything and do anything in exchange for financial security and social standing. Modou’s mother is much the same. All she wanted to do was to clothe herself in what her son had attained and make it the subject of envy to all her friends– even if she was never material in any of it. All she could do was to associate her own success to anything that her son possesses. On the other hand, Mawdo Ba’s mother is the woman who clutches firmly to what was used to be hers – and that would be her fame and glory of long ago.These are the type of women that Mariama Ba would like to identify her own women audience with. Indirectly, the author is infusing change in the way society thinks by showing them the errors in their mentalities.VIII. Thematic Structure and Development of ThemeThe major theme of the story is the depiction of the clash between African-Muslim traditio ns and French-European ways. African-Muslim traditions say men are allowed to have multiple wives while the French-European culture indicates that the answer to infidelity is divorce. And much of that is because a woman is free to do what she wants. The idea behind that new-found freedom has a lot to do with the fact that a woman should decide whether she would like to delegate herself as one of the wives or not.And this theme leads us to yet another, which is the feminist tone of the novel. A lot of ideologies that are added in the story are subconsciously evoking to empower the rest of the women readers black, Muslim, or neither, to break free from the clutches of tradition and be their own person. The novel is also a call for all women to unite – because with their varied ideologies and mentalities, it is near impossible to achieve the change that all women wanted to attain. The novel attempts to make a woman realize her important role in the society, including all the co mmon situations she is involved in. The novel presents the woman her options. And the story’s theme greatly implies that she has the ability to do whatever she wanted to do. Her very existence gives her that right.IX. Language, Structure, and StyleSo Long a Letter is a type of an epistolary novel. Epistolary novels are literary works that use long narratives, mostly in the form of a correspondence, a diary, or news clippings. In this particular work, the main character, Ramatoulaye, relates the most recent and past events of her life to her friend, Aissatou in a very long missive. The author even referred to it as a diary in the first few pages of the narrative. As the story progresses, Ramatoulaye conveys both the events and her feelings about it. She broadcasts her thoughts to the letters recipient, as well as quotes important conversations that had transpired between her and others.The authors choice of using this format must be the fact that she would like to make her wor k appear as real as possible. The subject is certainly close to her heart, because she has been through the same pains and aches as the main story of the character had. It is also very apparent that both of them almost share the same ideas and principles when it comes to the role of the female in the society. And this is why the main character of the story is directly compared to her. Though it, readers can see and feel through the realism, or at least the appearance of it, that echoes out of from the pages of the literary work.X. Literary Techniques and DevicesThe choice of the authors literary techniques and devices are all very effective in this novel. Being an epistolary novel, which is a literary technique on its own, the work had clearly relayed all the events that happened before and after the main characters husband has died. The main purpose of writing the letter was to inform Aissatou that Modou had died – but as she did so, Ramatoulaye was not able to resist the te mptation of recounting the events that happened since the time she and her husband met, up until he decided to leave her in favor of a younger second wife. She also cannot stop herself from point out the fact that she and Aissatou had experienced the same fate in the hands of their husbands. Ramatoulaye had related not only her own story as she goes along, but the life story of Aissatou, the letters recipient, as well.Ramatoulayes and Aissatous characters are a juxtaposition, which is another literary technique. The author had placed two people with the same experiences in one story. But their ways of solving the conflicts that were presented to them were different. When Aissatou learned about her husbands second marriage, she revolted and moved away. Ramatoulaye, on the other hand, went along the situation and continued her life as is. It is the purpose of the author to make readers compare the two women in the hope that they can identify themselves with them.In this story, it is a lso clear that Mariama Ba had successfully used another literary technique, the author surrogate technique. Clearly, one of the two characters of the story is an idealized version of the author. Mariama Ba, known to be divorced and a feminist herself, had wanted to show her audience the things that she had been through and how she should have handled it. It is also possible that Mariama Ba is a little bit of the two main characters combined, and she is merely conveying the choices women like her has, given the same situation.XI. Critical Evaluation/General AssessmentSo Long a Letter had effectively captured the sentiments of all women, not merely the Africans or the Muslims. Reading the novel had allowed a lot of people to realize the emotions of a woman and how hard it must have been for them to be given limited choice and be virtually powerless over the men. Through her work, Mariama Bas had indeed found a creative way of voicing out her feminist views. As a result, this work was written along the refreshing views of a woman writer. There have been quite too few of them before. This, added to the fact that the author is a true African in her own right, made the whole story a lot more realistic that it ought to be.The words and lines used are all rich and clear. The thoughts conveyed are straightforward. And the events in the story are related in a highly logical and comprehensible manner. Mariama Bas style of writing is simplistic. And it allows readers to easily understand the things, ideas, and concepts that she is trying to point out. There was never any event and information that can be considered irrelevant to the main story. Simply stated, the novel was concise and true to its form.Overall, the novel is written with the voice of a victim – but it is the type of a victim who would like to see changes. The story is not about a victim who merely sits and laments. The story is about the victim who tries to struggle out from where her place is suppos ed to be. This is a story of empowerment. And even if it is a storyline that is expected of black authors, the power of it has never diminished. The victim-perpetrator type of a story can still captivate and move, especially if it is done in the same heart-felt way as this story was.From my own critique of the story, So Long a Letter can be considered as a masterpiece. It will never cease to touch the emotions of both the women and even men for that matter, who had seen, much more gone though, the same instances that the characters of the story had. And because the story deals on the three popular sectors of the society, namely the women, the Blacks and the Muslims, it definitely had a universal appeal as expected.Outlineâ€Å"So Long a Letter† started off with Ramatoulaye reminiscing the events that happened to her the past few days. It is a novel that is presented in a form of a letter.   The main character, Ramatoulaye, created the letter with the main intention of telli ng Aissatou about the death of his husband, Modou. And along that path, Ramatoulaye had begun a journey back in time, starting from when she and Modou met.Modou died from heart attack while dictating something to his secretary in his office. He was a lawyer. But he mostly does his job for the community. As such he is a person of great dignity and social position.Ramatoulaye and Aissatou were best friends and even treat each other as sisters. They both went to the Western same school and are one of the few women who were given the elusive opportunity to finish a degree. Ramatoulaye became a schoolteacher. She was married for long twenty-five years to Modou.Then Modou abruptly made the decision to have a second wife. And worse, it was in the person of his daughters friend. He didnt even have the courage to face her that he did remarry. Instead, he just sent his bother, his friend, and the Imam to tell her wife about it.Even so, the story had shown that Ramatoulaye was a strong woman a nd was able to live through the pain and struggles associated with the Islamic traditions and the transformations in the society. Despite the infidelity directed to her by her husband, she was still the same woman who performs most inside a family setting. And as such, she stood by her children throughout the ordeal. Ramatoulaye is the perfect blend of the old and new woman of the society. She is devoted to her children and yet she is able to hold on a career that enriches her being. And more importantly, she never believes that women were merely meant for the home and has lesser rights than men.On the other hand, Modou Fall is a portrait of society’s ordinary male. He does according to his whims and tries to justify it with the law. He had not the courage to even face Ramatoulaye when he abruptly decided to marry another woman. He is basically weak and had merely used religion as a weapon. He is a coward who can’t even face his wife under his supposedly muscular build .In her letter, Ramatoulaye also wrote Aissatou’s ordeal that was very much like her. Aissatou was also a victim of a polygamous marriage. Mawdo Ba was Aissatou’s husband. When the two of them decided to get married, Mawdo’s mother was very much against it. Mawdo’s mother used to be a Princess of the Sine and she could not dwell on the fact that her only son is marrying an ordinary woman without wealth, title, and social prominence. Despite being educated, Mawdo’s mother regarded Aissatou merely as a goldsmith’s daughter. But Mawdo was resolute. He married Aissatou against her mother’s wishes.But her mother was not soon to be defeated. She actually devised a ploy to make Mawdo marry Nabou. Nabou is the daughter of Diouf and Diouf is her younger brother. Mawdo gave in and in essence, he took his cousin as his second wife. When that happened, Aissatou didnt sit back and merely watch thing befall her. She asserted herself, asked for a di vorce, and fled to a different land to start a new life. Since then, she had worked in the Senegal Embassy in the U.S. After the divorce, she had lived independently supporting herself and her son.If Ramatoulaye is a showcase of a woman both of the past and of the present, Aissatou is a picture of the modern liberated female. She doesn’t want to conform to the beliefs that the society unresistingly accepts, more particularly about polygamous marriage. Instead, she came out and openly asserted herself and her right. She lived liberally after the ordeal.The overall tone of the letter is remorse and pain. And the feminist ideas integrated in it cannot be left ignored. This is because a woman wrote the novel – a woman who has long been regarded as merely a face without a name and a shadow instead of a person. But more importantly, that woman is black. History has it that African natives have long been suffering the pains of inferiority over the white race. Therefore, it ca n be said that the narrative is spoken with the voice of a black woman who has been victim in many ways. And being so, you can never underestimate the magnitude of her cry.The storys author, Mariama Ba had successfully used the author surrogate technique in her work. Clearly, one of the two characters of the story is an idealized version of the author. Mariama Ba, known to be divorced and a feminist herself, had wanted to show her audience the things that she had been through and how she should have handled it. It is also possible that Mariama Ba is a little bit of the two main characters combined, and she is merely conveying the choices women like her has, given the same situation.;;;

Free Essays on Union Sucession

The breakup of the Union was inevitable. The south was always going to secede; it was just a question of when. The southern and northern states varied on many issues. There were deep economic, social, and political differences between the north and the south. All of this was a different interpretation of the United States Constitution on both sides. In the end, all of these disagreements led to the Civil War. There were reasons other than slavery for the south’s secession. The south relied heavily on agriculture, as opposed to the north which was highly populated by factories. The south grew cotton, which was its main cash crop. Many southerners knew that heavy reliance on agriculture would hurt the south, but their warnings were not taken into serious consideration. Constitutionally the north favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution. They wanted to grant the federal government increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states. The south relied upon it for their economic well being. The north’s economy was not reliant on such labor. This issue overshadowed all others. Southerners compared slavery to the wage-slave system of the North. Southerners believed the slaves received better care than the northern factory workers did. Many southern preachers proclaimed that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible. Thomas Dew, a professor from William and Mary, said that all of the patriarchs of the bible were slaveholders. Abraham had more than three hundred. After the American Revolution slavery died in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the time of 1804 seven of the northern most states had abolished slavery. During this time a surge of democratic reform swept the North and West. There were demands for political equality and economic and social advances. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person. When new te... Free Essays on Union Sucession Free Essays on Union Sucession The breakup of the Union was inevitable. The south was always going to secede; it was just a question of when. The southern and northern states varied on many issues. There were deep economic, social, and political differences between the north and the south. All of this was a different interpretation of the United States Constitution on both sides. In the end, all of these disagreements led to the Civil War. There were reasons other than slavery for the south’s secession. The south relied heavily on agriculture, as opposed to the north which was highly populated by factories. The south grew cotton, which was its main cash crop. Many southerners knew that heavy reliance on agriculture would hurt the south, but their warnings were not taken into serious consideration. Constitutionally the north favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution. They wanted to grant the federal government increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states. The south relied upon it for their economic well being. The north’s economy was not reliant on such labor. This issue overshadowed all others. Southerners compared slavery to the wage-slave system of the North. Southerners believed the slaves received better care than the northern factory workers did. Many southern preachers proclaimed that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible. Thomas Dew, a professor from William and Mary, said that all of the patriarchs of the bible were slaveholders. Abraham had more than three hundred. After the American Revolution slavery died in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the time of 1804 seven of the northern most states had abolished slavery. During this time a surge of democratic reform swept the North and West. There were demands for political equality and economic and social advances. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person. When new te...

An Examination Of The Caviar Market Economics Essay

An Examination Of The Caviar Market Economics Essay The new business is aiming to produce a substitute caviar product in Russia and Kazakhstan, with a view to exporting it to the UK. It is anticipated that the main targets for this product will be those in the low to middle income bracket who would not generally be able to afford real caviar. Consumption of caviar in the UK is not as widespread as in some other regions and this is thought to be primarily due to the high price that is commanded by caviar in the country. The aim of the business is to provide an affordable alternative that will be provided over the internet and by phone, allowing for rapid delivery of products that are well priced. Loyalty offers will be available and the business aims to target the general consumption market rather than the exclusive, luxury segment of the market. Initially, the target will be the UK alone, although there is no particular reason that this could not be extended in time as production increases. Substitute caviar made up of a variety of d ifferent ingredients will be available in order to satisfy the widest range of tastes possible. Overview of Research Process A multifaceted research approach has been taken, due to the fact that whilst completing the initial research it became clear that the UK market may not be the best initial overseas market to target, and this resulted in a wider analysis than originally anticipated. Consideration was given to the global market for both the export and import of caviar and caviar substitutes, with a view to gaining an understanding of the general movement of caviar and also in an attempt to understand where the value lies and where there is opportunity for growth. Another research approach was to look at commentary specific to the UK market and the way in which UK consumers view the caviar products, in order to get an idea as to whether or not there is likely to be a demand for a caviar substitute of the nature proposed. This type of research will naturally require greater depth and primary research in the form of consumer questionnaires; interviews would also be desirable to supplement the general media reports. Information was also obtained in relation to the production industry in Kazakhstan and Russia, which was also seen as important as this gave an indication as to whether or not these countries had the ability to increase their production and had the necessary facilities to do so at a reasonable price. Critique of Research Process The research process was somewhat scattergun in nature, aiming to cover a wide range of issues and this resulted in lack of depth at times. By attempting to determine the potential market in the UK, the general market for caviar and caviar substitutes, the general production processes and the way in which caviar substitutes are developed, this research was naturally less detailed than may be necessary in the next stages of business development. A more focussed approach, for example, looking specifically at the UK and the va rious caviar substitutes available, may have been a more productive approach at this stage.

How the New, New York State Annual Professional Performance Review Essay

How the New, New York State Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) Regulations changed the Employee Selection Process - Essay Example This paper critically analyzes the impacts of the new NYS Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) Regulations on employee selection process. How the new NYS APPR Regulations Have Changed the Employee (Teacher) Selection Process Introduction In the year 2010, New York State approved the adoption of a new teacher evaluation law that requires the performance review of the teachers to be based on evidence of teacher effectiveness, student growth, student achievement as well as a number of other locally selected measures. Generally the primary objective of the new annual professional performance review (APPR) has been to provide a timely feedback on the effectiveness of the teachers as well an opportunity to acknowledge the strengths and the weaknesses of the educators in their capacity as employees. Previously the recruitment and selection process has been found not to focus much on quality since it led to poor selection by not factoring in other aspects of teaching which may not b e inherent during the normal selection process (Odden, 2011). Consequently the new APPR regulation were introduced to help improve the quality of learning in New York State particularly through enhanced decision making during the teacher selection process. ... This implies that the education system needs highly qualified teachers capable of instilling what is required to enable students to be successful for college and/or post-secondary careers. The need for more quality teachers is currently putting many states under intense pressure to conform to the NCLB act which aims at ensuring that only quality teachers are hired, those who can provide quality education to students(Freeport Public Schools, 2012). New York State is one of the states in America that have successfully made bold steps aimed at improving the quality and value of teachers. With its acceptance for the Race to the top incentive program, hiring effective teachers is now paramount. (www2.ed.gov, 2012).This paper critically examines how the New York State’s (NYS) APPR regulations have changed the employee selection process since its introduction. The relationship between the New NYS APPR Regulations on human resource activities For many years, organizations have always used referrals to help them carry out their human resource activities particularly during the employee selection process when hiring or promoting their employees (Hays and Kearney, 2001). Studies have confirmed that the use of performance reviews in employee selection processes is one of not only a reliable option but is also an easy and cost effective approach that ensures satisfaction both to the organization and to the employees. On the other hand, with the current high number of lawsuits those organizations are increasingly facing as a result of their decisions to hire, promote or terminate an employee, there has been an urgent need to develop new regulations

The Cold War Doctrines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Cold War Doctrines - Essay Example It was caused by political and economic differences between the United States and the USSR (Posen 98). President Harry S. Truman reigned in the United States during the cold war. He faced a lot of internal challenges during the cold war. The United States faced severe shortages in housing and consumer products, many strikes and widespread dissatisfaction with the level of inflation. Turman used certain tactics to dominate the United States during the cold war. He signed the National Security Act 1947 as part of the world war strategy. He also reorganized armed forces by merging the state of war and the department of the navy into the National Military Establishment. He also created the United States Air Force, CIA and the National Security Council (Bostdorff 28). He used administrative commands to stop ethnic prejudice in the military forces. He dismissed a bunch of communists’ supporters from office by the creation of loyalty checks. He bitterly fought the republican leaders on foreign policy. Through his belief against communism, he protected Turkey, Greece and Iran by making a peaceful solution, not sending United States troops to war, and prevention of soviet penetration. He came up with the Fair Deal program which involved anti-union Taft-Hartley Act and vigorous civil rights program (Bostdorff 14). He also made a commitment to recognize the institution of the state of Israel. This was made to sustain the formation of a motherland for the Jewish people. Turman’s presidency was extremely active in foreign policy, which was containment of Soviet expansion as the cold war unfolded. It is necessary to note that Turman authorized the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs which killed thousands of people in Japan. He used nuclear weapons against Japan as the Japanese government refused the terms of Potsdam Declaration (Bostdorff 160). This made the Japanese surrender on the 14th of August; 1945. The atomic bomb scene was revisited in the cold war and was recognized to have rendered convectional forces largely irrelevant to the modern battlefield. Corruption was a key issue in Turman’s government which runs through individual members of the cabinet and the senior white house staff. He relied distinctly on his cabinet and popularized such phrases as ‘The buck stops here’. Turman initiated the Berlin Airlift. This was a strategy that delivered meals and other supplies using military airplanes to people. Turman also used the strategy of rapid demobilization, which involved sending the veterans home. This policy was primarily financial since it involved funding domestic spending requirements. President Eisenhower was the thirty fourth president of the United States. His presidency was dominated by the cold war which begun during Turman’s reign. He was popular for ending the Korean War and presiding over eight years of peace. He signed peace treaties with South Korea and the republic of China. He expanded t he National Security Council which was initiated by president Turman. He was the first president to conduct televised press conferences. Just like Turman he was an anti-communist, and through this, he developed a marketing and armed coalition with the Spain through the Pact of Madrid. Signing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization alliance, was another strategy to prevent communism. He accepted the principle of containment which sought

The aim of my experiment Essay Example for Free

The aim of my experiment Essay Evaluation Although I feel that my experiment was sound overall, I thought there were many points at which the accuracy was not perfect. As I have already stated, my preliminary experiment was not accurate enough to justify being used as my main experiment, mostly due to the fact that I was relying on all the bubbles being the same size, which they clearly werent, however many of the smaller inaccuracies also apply to my main experiment. Firstly, the distance between the light sources and the Canadian Pondweed were not measured to a very high degree of accuracy, especially when you note the fact that the distance should have been measured exactly from the filament of the light bulb to the centre of the plant, and it is possible here to find a percentage error. I estimate that the error could have been up to 0. 5cm and I will find the percentage error for the largest and smallest reading using this estimate: Percentage error = possible inaccuracy total reading % error distance 10 5cm 1 50cm It is clear to see that the percentage error is much less for the larger distances. Although I was not actually using the distances as part of my results, I used them as a marker for where the lamp was placed each time, as I assumed that the light intensity would be the same each time at a particular distance. Therefore, any inaccuracies in measuring the distances, i. e. if a distance was slightly different when doing the actual experiment from the distance at which I earlier measured the light intensity, an error would ensue. The second major inaccuracy was in measuring the volume of oxygen given off. When reading the syringe there could have been an error of 0.25mm, and again it is possible to find a percentage error. % error volume 3. 57 7ml 50 0. 5ml For the smallest volumes this is clearly a massive error, and to improve this, it would be necessary to do the readings over a longer period of time, therefore increasing the volumes, and in turn reducing the percentage errors. Another error would have been due to background light in the vicinity. We tried to reduce this error by closing all blinds in the laboratory, but due to practical reasons, we could not all perform the experiment in a separate room, and we therefore experienced light pollution from other students experiments. This would have had a very marginal effect on my results as a whole, but to eliminate this problem completely, it would have been necessary to perform the experiment in a totally dark room. A further inaccuracy was in the heat generated by the lamp. As I have earlier described, temperature has a very noticeable effect on the rate of photosynthesis, and so any increase in the temperature of the pond water would have had serious effects on the accuracy of my results. To ensure this did not happen, I monitored the temperature of the water before and after every reading, to check that the temperature did in fact not rise. It turned out not to be a problem, as over the short period of time taken by my experimental readings, the temperature did not rise at all. However, if I were to extend the time of my experiment to 5 minutes for each reading for example, which would have the effect of reducing other percentage errors, I would have to find some way of keeping the temperature constant. One way of doing this would be to place a perspex block between the lamp and the plant, which would absorb most of the heat, while allowing the light energy to pass through. As I mentioned in my planning, carbon dioxide concentration could have been an error in the experiment, however, I feel that due to the short period of time taken, there is very little chance that the concentration would ever have been so low as to have become the limiting factor. Again if I were to carry out the experiment over a longer time period, it would have been necessary to add sodium hydrogen carbonate to the water to increase the carbon dioxide concentrations. The last inaccuracy, though a small one, was in the time keeping. The main problem here was in when to begin the minute. If for one reading, the minute was started just after one bubble had been produced, and in another reading it was just before, this could have had a negative effect on the accuracy of my results. I therefore ensured that in each case I started the stopwatch just after a bubble had been produced, thus heightening the accuracy. Overall, I felt that due to the small volumes of oxygen involved, my experiment was not as accurate as it could have been, however I believe it was accurate enough to support and justify my hypotheses. Improvements could have been made as I have stated, mainly by simply increasing the time taken. However, due to practical time constraints in taking the readings for my investigation, and some consequential problems relating to time extension, I could not in fact make these adjustments. The other obvious way of increasing the reliability of my results would be to take many repeat readings and find an average. To extend my enquiries into the rate of photosynthesis, I could perhaps try to link in some of the other limiting factors to the same experiment, as well as investigating them in their own right. It could also be interesting to explore the effects of coloured lights on the rate of photosynthesis, which could lead to the question of whether or not other types of light, such as fluorescent lights or halogen lights, would have a different effect on the rate of photosynthesis.

Resistance of a Wire :: Papers

Resistance of a Wire Introduction Resistance is the opposition a material offers to the flow of electricity. The electrical resistance of an object is not only by what material it's made of, but also by its shape. A very thin copper wire has more resistance than a thick copper wire of the same length. A very long copper wire has more resistance than a short one of the same thickness. Resistance is measured in Ohms. Variables There were three variables that our group was able to choose from; the length of the wire, the area of the wires cross section (thickness) or the type of wire (constantan or nichrome). All of these variables are able to change the resistance of the wire. Here are my thoughts and predictions on what would happen to the resistance of the wire as you change the variables. I think that if you change the length of the wire then the resistance would increase as the length increased but the current would decrease. If you changed the thickness of the wire then the resistance would decrease as the wire got thicker but the current would increase. If you change the type of wire then you will receive different results, as there may be more or less resistance between types of wire. To study the resistance or wire we experimented on changing the length of nichrome wire. We measured the volts and amps over 1 metre; I worked out the resistance using my calculator. We carried out this experiment 5 times to make the results fair. We let the wire cool down a bit between doing the experiments, as its temperature did tend to increase as we got to the end of each experiment. Analysis We took a set of practice results before starting the experiment. Here they are. Wire Volts Amps Ohms 10cm 2.63 2.53 1.04 50cm 4.16 0.82 5.

The Negative Effects of a Cellphone

When the first cellular phone was invented, its uses only went as far as a phone call. As time and technology advanced, so did the development of the cell phone. A basic phone today can make calls, take photos and videos and even function as a GPS. But with the advantages comes the disadvantages. The increased use of cell phones has had a negative influence on society. For example, the use of cellphones has limited socializing, the demand and costs have affected consumers negatively and they have also been a common factor in many car accidents, including fatalities. The dependency of cellphones has had a negative social effect.The cell phone is probably one of the most commonly owned devices in America. â€Å"75% of all American teens ages 12-17 own a cell phone, and 66% use their phones to send or receive text messages. † (Madden and Lenhart 2) The cell phone has become the primary source of communication for many people. The simplicity of typing a message, or making a phone call rather than relaying that message in person has resulted in a disconnect from society for many people. â€Å"Reliance on a relatively quick and cheap form of interaction means that we might dispense with the longer and more ponderous process of a personal visit. (Ling 185). So, although you may communicate more often through cellphones, the physical part of a relationship is neglected. As a result of depending on cellphones as a main source of communication one may, in a sense, forfeit a substantial portion of a much needed social life. Moreover, socializing is an acquired ability, an ability that is significant in the growth and maturation of children and teens. The over use of cellphones can impede one from fully exercising these abilities. A large number of people own and use cellphones regularly. So much so that it has become a societal norm.Almost every place one may go cell phones are practically expected of them. For example, at some doctors’ offices they offer a free texting service to remind a patient of any appointment that he or she may have. Many clothing and grocery stores offer coupons and sales alerts that can be sent directly to a mobile device. But the problem comes when not everyone can afford to keep up with what society has labeled to be â€Å"the norm. † There are many people who cannot afford to buy a phone let alone afford a phone bill every month. The cost for cellular service is xpensive and always increasing. According to a survey, â€Å"Of the 1,400 readers who responded, 80 noted their bill was between $190 and $210. On average, that group had 3. 1 phones, meaning the cost is about $65 per phone. People with bills near $250 paid $67 per phone† (Sullivan). As a result, a number of people reported that they felt the need budget and cut back in order to afford a phone bill. Unfortunately, society essentially requires people to have a cell phone, even with cut backs and budgeting, having a cell phone is not fi nancially realistic for everyone.The use of cellphones has shown to be very dangerous to drivers and their passengers. This is mainly due to the increase in texting and driving as well as the amount of phone calls made while behind the wheel. According to Madden and Lenhart, 52% of cell phone owning teens ages 16-17 say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. That translates into 43% of all American teens ages 16-17 (2). With such a high percentage of distracted drivers, the likelihood of accidents, with and without fatalities has also increased. In 2008 alone, there were 5,870 fatalities and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported† (Madden and Lenhart 3). Every time a driver decides to use a cell phone while operating a vehicle, they are not only putting their lives in danger, but also the lives of their passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers. Since the invention of the cell phone, its uses and capabilities have become a part of an everyday American life, an everyday life which cell phones has impacted society negatively.With an increased dependency on the cell phone, society and its growth have experienced major setbacks. Socialization, personal financials, and automotive drivers have all been effected in negative ways. This is mainly because the cell phone has evolved and is now made to do nearly anything one may think of. So although the cellphone was intended to help with one’s everyday life, what seems like a good idea at first may not affect society positively in the long run.

Prehistoric civilization in the philippine

A powerful and highly civilised nation comes in contact with a barbaric and isolated people, who have nevertheless advanced many steps on the road of progress, it would naturally be thought that the superior and conquering race would endeavour to collect and place on record information concerning such people: their manners, customs, language, religion, and traditions. Unfortunately, in the case of the Spanish conquests of the sixteenth century, that nation appears never to have considered it a duty to hand down to posterity any detailed description of the singularly interesting races they had vanquished.As it was with the Guanches of the Canaries, the Aztecs of Mexico, and the Quichuas of Peru, so was it with the Chamorro of the Ladrones, and the Tagalo-Bisaya tribes of the Philippines. The same Vandal spirit that prompted the conquistadores to destroy the Maya and Aztec literature also moved them to demolish the written records of the Philippine natives, and but few attempts were ma de to preserve relics or information concerning them.The Spanish priests, as the lettered men of those times, were the persons we should look to for such a work, but in their religious ardour they thought only of the ubjugation and conversion of the natives, and so, with the sword in one hand, and crucifix in the other, they marched through that fair land, ignoring and destroying the evidences of a strange semi-civilisation which should have been to them a study of the deepest interest. Fortunately, however, there were a few in that period who were interested in such matters, and who wrote accounts of the state of culture of the islanders of that early date.Some of these MSS. have been preserved in the archives of Manila, and have lately attracted the attention of Spanish scholars. Such is the article from which the greater part of these notes are taken. In the volume for 1891 of the Revista Ibero-Americana, published at Madrid, there appeared a series of papers contributed by the B ishop of Oviedo, and entitled â€Å"La antigua civilizacion de las Islas Filipinas,† in which he gives a very interesting description of the natives and their mode of life.The source of this information is – 119 an old folio manuscript written on rice-paper in the year 1610 from data collected at the period of the Spanish conquest of the Philippines by Legaspi. It is extended to the ear 1606, and relates minutely the condition of the islanders prior to the arrival of the Spanish. The codex is divided into five books, and these again into 183 capitulos or chapters.The writer lived in the group for twenty-nine years in order to complete his work, which is authorised by authentic signatures of responsible persons. Extracts have also been made from Miguel de Lo-arca's account of the Philippines written in 1583, Dampier's voyage in the Pinckerton collection, and Antonio de Morga's â€Å"Sucesesos de las Islas Filipinas† The first historical existence of the Malay pro per is traced to Menangkabau in theArchipelago, and by their vigour, energy, and skill have made themselves masters of the original inhabitants. At an early period they probably received instruction from Hindoo immigrants in the arts of working metals, spinning, weaving, ;c. As to the whence of the various Malayan tribes of the Philippines, it is most probable that they originally reached the archipelago from Borneo, or the Malay Peninsula. From northern Borneo the Sulu islands form a series of stepping-stones across to Mindanao.As the Tagalo language is looked upon as one of the purest of Malay ialects, and contains the least number of Sanscrit words, it may be inferred from this that the race has occupied the islands from an early date. It is possible that the first settlers were carried thither by ocean currents, and that the Kuro Siwo, or Black Current, which sweeps up past Luzon is also responsible for the existence of the Kabaran (a Malay tribe) in Formosa.From ancient times b oats and men have drifted up from the Malay Islands to Japan, and W. E. Griffis, in his â€Å"Mikado's Empire,† states that Shikoku and Kiushiu were inhabited by a mixed race descended from people who had come from Malaysia and South-Eastern Asia. It is most probable that Micronesia was settled from the Philippine Group, which thus became the meeting ground of the northern migration of Polynesians from Samoa, and the Micronesians proper.The Spanish codex before mentioned states that the Tagalo-Bisaya tribes were thought to be derived from the coasts of Malabar and Malacca, and that, according to tradition, they arrived at the islands in small vessels called barangayan, under the direction of dato or maguinoo (chiefs or leaders), who retained their chieftainship after the landing as the basis of a social organisation of a tribal kind, nd that every barangay (district or tribal division) was composed of about fifty families.Nothing definite appears to have been obtained from th eir traditions as to the original habitat of the race, and this may be accounted for by the supposition that the migration occurred at a remote period, and that all knowledge of their former home was lost. When a migratory – 120 race takes possession of new regions it maintains little or no correspondence with those left behind; thus in time they forget their old habitations, and their geographical knowledge is reduced to obscure and fading traditions.On arriving at their new home the invaders must have ejected the indigenous Aieta from the low-lying country, and driven them back into the mountains. Juan de Salcedo, the Cortes of the Philippines, in his triumphal march round the island of Luzon, was unable to conquer many of the hill tribes, both Aieta and Tagalo, some of whom have remained independent until the present time. The Spanish Government forbade all intercourse with these mountaineers on pain of one hundred lashes and two years' imprisonment, and this edict had the effect of preserving the ruder, non- agricultural hill-races.This invading race of Malays was divided into many different tribes, the principal ones being the Tagalo of Luzon and the Bisaya of the southern isles. The Tagalo or Ta-Galoc were the most numerous, and were endowed with all the valour and politeness which can be expected in a semi-civilised people. The Pampango and but easily civilised. The Bisaya were also called Pintados or â€Å"painted ones,† by the Spanish, from their custom of tatooing the body. Within this community of tribes there are numerous differences of dialects and customs, clothing, character, and physical structure, which in many cases indicate obvious traces of foreign mixture.As a race, the Philippine natives of the Malayan tribes are of moderate stature, well- formed, and of a coppery-red colour, or, as De Morga quaintly describes them, â€Å"They were of the colour of boiled quinces, having a clever disposition for anything they undertook: sha rp, choleric, and resolute. † Both men and women were in the habit of anointing and perfuming their long black hair, which they wore gathered in a knot or roll on the back of the head. The women, who were of pleasing appearance, adorned their hair with Jewels, and also wore ear-pendants and finger-rings of gold.The men ad little or no beard, and both sexes were distinguished for their large, black eyes. The Zambales, or Beheaders, shaved the front part of the head, and wore on the skull a great lock of loose hair, which custom also obtained among the ancient Chamorro of the Ladrones. Most of the tribes filed their teeth, and stained them black with burnt cocoanut shell; while among the Bisaya the upper teeth were bored, and the perforations filled with gold, a singular custom observed by Marco Polo in China, and which was also practised in ancient Peru and Egypt.Many of the tribes are spoken of y the early Spanish navigators as being endowed with fair intellectual capacities, possessing great powers of imitation, sober, brave, and determined. The Tagalo character, according to some later writers, is difficult to define: the – 121 craniologist and physiognomist may often find themselves at fault. They are great children, their nature being a singular combination of vices and virtues.The costume of the men consisted of a short-sleeved cotton-tunic (chinina), usually black or blue, which came below the waist, a coloured cotton waistcloth, or kilt (bahaque), extending nearly to the knees, and over this a belt or sash of silk a andbreadth wide, and terminating in two gold tassels. On the right side hung a dagger (bararao) three palms long, and double-edged, the hilt formed of ivory or gold, and the sheath of buffalo-hide. They wore a turban (potong) on the head, and also leg-bands of black reeds or vines such  ¤s are seen among the Papuans of New Guinea.Chains, bracelets (calombiga), and armlets of gold, cornelian and agate were much worn, and he was reckoned a poor person who did not possess several gold chains. Hernando Requel, writing home to Spain, stated: â€Å"There is more gold in this island of Luzon than there is iron in Biscay. † The Tinguiane had a peculiar custom of wearing tightly-compressed bracelets, which stopped the growth of the forearm, and caused the hand to swell. Women wore the top's, a bordered and ornamented cloth wrapped round the body, which was confined by a belt, and descended to the ankles.The bust was covered with a wide- sleeved camisita, or frock (baro), to which was sometimes added a handkerchief. The women of Luzon were without head-dress, but made use of a parasol of palm-leaves (payong). Among the Bisaya the women wore a small cap or hood, and in the slaves. Both sexes wore the same dress among the Ilocanos, the chief article of attire eing a loose coat (cabaya) similar to those of the Chinese. The dress of the Chiefs' wives was more elegant than that of women of the common people (tim aguas). They wore white robes, and others of crimson silk, plain or interwoven with gold, and trimmed with fringes and trinkets.From their ears were suspended golden pendants of excellent workmanship, and on their fingers and ankles were massive gold rings set with precious stones. The timaguas and slaves went barefooted, but the upper class wore shoes, the women being daintily shod with velvet shoes embroidered with gold. Both men and women were very cleanly and elegant in their persons and dress, and of a goodly mien and grace; they took great pains with their hair, rejoicing in its blackness, washing it with the boiled bark of a tree called gogo, and anointing it with musk oil and other perfumes. They bathed daily, and looked upon it as a remedy for almost every complaint. On the birth of a child the mother repaired to the nearest stream, and bathed herself and the little one, after which she returned to her ordinary occupation. Women were well treated among these people, and had for heir employment domestic work, needlework†in which they – 122 excelled†the spinning and weaving of silk and cotton into various fabrics, and also the preparation of the hemp, palm, and anana fibres.The Philippine natives, with the exception of some of the hill tribes, were diligent agriculturalists, this being their chief occupation. In some mountainous regions they adopted a system of terrace cultivation similar to that of China, Peru, and Northern Mexico in bygone times, and which may also be seen in Java. They cultivated rice, sweet potatoes, bananas, cocoanuts, sugar-cane, palms, various vegetable roots and ibrous plants. They hunted the buffalo, deer, and wild boar. The flesh of the buffalo, or karabao, was preserved for future use by being cut into slices and dried in the sun, when it was called tapa.Rice was prepared by being boiled, then pounded in a wooden mortar and pressed into cakes, thus forming the bread of the country. They made palm wine (alac or mosto) from the sap of various species of palms. Food was stored in raised houses similar to the pataka of the Maori. The first fruits of the harvest were devoted to the deified spirits of ancestors, called anito. l The Bisaya, hen planting rice, had the singular custom of offering a portion of the seed at each corner of the field as a sacrifice.The ordinary dainty among the islanders was the buyo or betel quid, consisting of a leaf of betel pepper (tambul or Siri) smeared over with burnt lime and wrapped round a piece of areca nut (bonga). â€Å"The Filipinos,† says the old Spanish padre, â€Å"lived in houses (bahei) built of bamboo, cane, and palm leaves, and raised upon foundation-piles about six feet from the ground. † These dwellings were supplied with cane screens in the place of divisions and doors. The elevated floor, where they ate and slept, was also made of split cane, and the whole structure was secured by reeds and cords for want of nails.They ascende d to these houses by a portable ladder, which was removed when the inmates went out, a sign that no person might approach the dwelling, which was otherwise unsecured. The house was surrounded by a gallery or verandah (batalan), earthenware, and copper vessels for various purposes. They had, moreover, in their houses some low tables and chairs, also boxes called tampipi, which served for the purpose of keeping wearing apparel and Jewels. Their bedding consisted usually of mats manufactured from various fibres. The houses of the chiefs were much larger and better constructed than those of the timaguas.Many of their villages were built on the banks of rivers and the shores of lakes and harbours, so that they were surrounded by water, in the manner of the seaside dwellings of New Guinea and the Gulf of Maracaibo. Among the Tinguiane tree houses were made use of. In these they slept at night, in order to avoid being surprised by enemies, and – 123 defended themselves by hurling do wn stones upon the attacking party, exactly in the ame manner as the natives of New Britain do to this day. The external commerce of the Tagalo tribes was principally with China, of which nation there were vessels in Manila on the arrival of the Spanish.They are also said to have had intercourse with Japan, Borneo, and Siam. They had no coined money, but to facilitate trade they utilised gold as a medium of exchange in the form of dust and ingots, which were valued by weight. Magellan speaks of their system of weights and measures. These people were skilful shipwrights and navigators. The Bisaya were in the habit of making piratical forays among the isles. Their vessels were of arious kinds, some being propelled by oars or paddles, and others were provided with masts and sails.Canoes were made of large trees, and were often fitted with keels and decks, while larger vessels, called virey and barangayan were constructed of planks fastened with wooden bolts. The rowers, with busey (pad dles) or oars (gayong), timed their work to the voices of others, who sung words appropriate to the occasion, and by which the rowers understood whether to hasten or retard their work. Above the rowers was a platform (bailio) on which the fighting men stood without embarrassing the rowers, and above this again was the carang or awning. They sometimes used outriggers (balancoire) on both sides of the vessel.The lapi and tapaque were vessels of the largest kind, some carrying as many as two hundred and fifty men. The barangan, a type of vessel used from the earliest times, was singularly like those of the ancients described by Homer. Society among the Tagalo-Bisaya tribes was divided into three classes, the chiefs and nobles, the common people (timagua), and the slaves. The principal of every social group†styled maguinoo among the Tagalo, bagani by the Manobo, and dat02 by the Bisaya†was the only political, military, and Judicial authority.These chieftainships were heredit ary, and the same respect was shown to the women as to the men of the ruling families. Their power over the people was despotic, they imposed a tribute upon the harvests, and could at any time reduce a subject to slavery, or dispose of his property and children. The slaves were divided into two classes: the sanguihuileres, who were in entire servitude, as also were their children†lived and served in the houses of their masters; while the namamahayes lived in houses of their own, and only worked as slaves on special occasions, such as at harvesting and housebuilding.Among this latter class there obtained a peculiar half-bond system, and their having an only son, that child would be half free and half enslaved†that is, he would work one month for his owner and the next for himself. If they had more than one child, the first-born would – 124 follow the condition of the father, the second that of the mother, and so on. If there were uneven numbers, the last born was h alf free and half bond. Slaves were bought, sold, and exchanged like ordinary merchandise. In their social manners these people were very courteous, more especially the Luzon tribes.They never poke to a superior without removing the turban. They then knelt upon one knee, raised their hands to their cheeks, and awaited authority to speak. The hongi, or nose-pressing salutation of the Polynesians, was an ancient custom in the Philippine Group, and on the island of Timor. It also obtained among the Chamorr03 of the Ladrones, who termed it tshomiko. The Philippine natives addressed all superiors in the third person, and added to every sentence the word po, equivalent to senor.They were given to addresses replete with compliments, and were fond of the music of the cud, a guitar with two strings of copper wire. In regard to Judicial matters, all complaints were brought before the dato of the barangay (district) for examination. Though they had no written laws, they had established rules a nd customs by which all disputes were settled, and the chiefs recovered their fees by seizing the property not only of the vanquished party, but also of his witnesses.Trial by ordeal was common, the usual mode being that of plunging the arm into a vessel of boiling water and taking out a stone from the bottom; or a lighted torch was placed in the hands of the accused, and if the flame flickered towards him he was pronounced uilty. Theft was sometimes punished by death, in which case the condemned was executed by the thrust of a lance. In some cases the thief was punished by being reduced to slavery. Loans with excessive interest were ordinary, the debtor and his children often becoming enslaved to the lender. Verbal insults were punished with great severity.It was also regarded as a great insult to step over a sleeping person, and they even objected to wakening one asleep4. This seems to refer to the widespread belief of the soul leaving a sleeping body. Their worse curse was, †Å"May thou die sleeping. The male children underwent a species of circumcision at an early age, which was but preparatory to further rites. Their oaths of fidelity, in conventions of peace and friendship, were ratified by the ceremony of blood- brotherhood, in which a vein of the arm being opened, the flowing blood was drunk by the other party.Among these people was sometimes seen that singular mania for imitation called by the Javanese sakit latar, on the Amoor olon, in Siberia imuira, and in the Philippines malimali. This peculiar malady, presumably the result of a deranged nervous system, manifests itself as far as I can gather, in the following anner, the afflicted person is seized with a desire to- 125 copy or imitate the actions and movements of others, and will do the most extraordinary and ridiculous things to attain his object.The despair induced by this strange mania and its consequent ridicule, urges the unfortunate to end his life in the dreaded Amok. These unfortunates were sometimes attacked by the amok frenzy. Is is certain that gold and copper mines have been worked in the islands from early implements, and the gold was formed into ornaments, or used as a medium of exchange. The ruder mountain tribes brought much gold from the interior, and raded it to the lowland people in exchange for various coveted articles.Several of the tribes were in the habit of tatooing the body, the Bisaya being the most noted for the practice. The Catalangan Iraya used for tatoo patterns, and as decorations for sacred places certain marks and characters which appeared to be of Chinese or Japanese origin. The Iraya proper used only straight and simple curved lines like those of the Aieta. The Ysarog (Issar ¶), a primitive race of mountaineers who have been isolated for centuries, are said by later writers to resemble the Dyaks of Borneo.Time was reckoned in former days by suns and moons, and feasts were held on the occurrence of certain astronomical phenomena. Brass gongs were much used at these feasts, and also on war expeditions. Such are some of the notes collected in reference to this interesting race. These Tagalo, these Bisaya, these Pampango, and Cagayane were despised by their Iberian conquerors as being ignorant savages; but, as the good old padre says in his MS. , they were worthy of being placed on a superior level to certain ancient people who possess a more illustrious fame. And who shall say it was not so ?