Language in Copley's Gibraltar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Language in Copley's Gibraltar - Essay Example Dadaism â€Å"unbound† language and played with its potential. I also want to â€Å"unbind† â€Å"language† as a concept by relating it to one of John Singleton Copley's paintings, The Siege and Relief of Gibraltar. I selected the word â€Å"language,† because it has a large role in several defining experiences of my college life. In this essay, I describe painting as a â€Å"language† in itself that can be directly experienced, struggled with, and enjoyed, which is like learning a second â€Å"language.† A painting has a â€Å"language† that can be directly experienced, when the audience try to interpret its implied stories and meanings. The Siege and Relief of Gibraltar tells the story of the battle between two old superpowers, Spain and Great Britain, a battle that can be related to the struggles of learning a second language. The painting asks the audience to see the Battle at Gibraltar in splendid action and drama with definitive winners and losers. It is neatly divided into two planes of the two groups. The British are depicted as an orderly and coordinated team. General Sir George Eliott leads his men through giving orders on how to float the Spanish flotillas or floating batteries. The Spaniards witness their flotillas sinking along with their crew. They are portrayed, not only as the losers, but also as barely human beings, because of the lack of details in how they were painted. I look at this painting and it teases my imagination, as I think about Eliott's ingenuity in planning always three steps ahead. I can feel the experience of the action in the battlefield. I designate myself as an impassioned observer, but amazed at the military tactics and technologies used during these times. General Sir George Eliott has planned everything so well that his men hardly had to do anything, while the Spaniards, in sharp contrast, resemble cats who are at their ninth life. They will try everything to survive. The S iege and Relief of Gibraltar has embedded meanings and implications that â€Å"language† can dismantle. This visual reading is similar to learning a second â€Å"language,† where I also have to make sense of the arbitrary symbols the English â€Å"language.† I find it perplexing to no longer see my native â€Å"language† as arbitrary, because I have grown with it. It is part of my breathing already. Yet this other â€Å"language† loses its natural character and becomes emerged into arbitrariness, transforming it into an alien code that I have to learn and decipher. I understand now why Dadaism undermined the linguistic sign. A foreign â€Å"language† can take a psychophysiological eidetic experience, one that can be broken apart and played with (Rumold 77). In addition, Copley's painting fits what Keats describes as the ability of a work of art to become a â€Å"made† entity that catch the audience by â€Å"teasing [them] out of thou ght† (cited in Behrendt 37). Truly, reading a painting can bring the audience to an â€Å"imaginative alternative reality† (Behrendt 38). Furthermore, the painting, as an experience, pushes the audience to attack the works through reflecting on the process that it is perceived and assessed (Behrendt 38). Learning a second â€Å"language† also invited me to be critical of this perception process. How do I see English as a â€Å"

Why is Corporal Punishment Still Use in Africa What are the Essay

Why is Corporal Punishment Still Use in Africa What are the Alternatives - Essay Example It further revealed that more than 98 percent of the children surveyed reported experiencing corporal punishment. More than a third of these children said they experienced it at least once a week; 20 percent said they had been burnt as a form of punishment; and more than 60 percent of the children said they experienced corporal punishment at school regularly. One out of every seven children said they experienced it every day (D. Naker and D. Sekitoleko 2009). The discussion in this paper provides a criticism of corporal punishment of children within families and schools in the region of Africa. The paper intends to establish that corporal punishment to children is a significant violation of their human rights but it has been embedded in social, cultural and religious aspect of life in Africa. The paper will further explore the reasons why it is common in Africa despite the fact that it extremely damages children’s development, make them sensitive and can harm them in many ways. The paper intends to provide the potential consequences of corporal punishment on children, and suggests how corporal/physical punishment might be eliminated in Africa. In the end the paper will provide the comprehensive detail about the possible alternatives of corporal punishment along with the critical analysis of these alternatives. The critical analysis will provide the discussion that how the alternatives can be more successful as a form of punishment with less damaging effects on children’s body and mind. Why is Corporal Punishment Still Used in Africa? What  are the Alternatives? I. Introduction â€Å"Physical punishment of people, especially by hitting or beating them† Oxford dictionary â€Å"Physical punishment as distinguished from pecuniary punishment or a fine; any kind of punishment inflicted on the body.†