The Russian Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Russian Revolution - Essay Example The Russian revolution can be distributed into two time slots. The first slot covers the timeframe when the Tsars left Russia leaving their autocratic fallacies behind. After the departure of the tsarist power in which the autocratic environment did not allow individuals or organizations to be politically active, the provisional government came into existence in which the DUMA took charge forming the provisional government. The DUMA were the elected middle class that caused the tsar to leave Russia, the tsar were at that time in full control over the bureaucratic setup and the army. The Duma however criticized the tsar’s leadership thus converting the country into a provisional government setup. The formation of the provisional setup was a turnaround for the Russian autocratic setup but this too was coupled with conditions. The ruling out of tsar happened when the tsar left the government in the hands of his wife in order to lead and rally the Russian armies. But rumors, ulter ior motives and mismanagement lead to the departure of tsar, a much appreciated and awaited revolution by all classes of the Russian community. The higher and middle class celebrated as they foresee a more focused and strong war effort; on the other hand the lower class associated good living conditions in the form of better wages and food with the formation of the provisional system. However this form of government was anti-reforms and did not support any political reforms. The continuation of war by Prime Minister Alexander Kennedy was considered a sign of national duty by other socialists as well because it avoided the disintegration of the Russian peasant army. The revolution did not stop at the formation of the provisional government, the parallel ruling of the council of workers worked as the rival of the provisional setup. The Petrograd Soviet or the council of workers and soldiers’ deputies consisted of intellectuals who believed in the revolutionary democracy. They c onsidered themselves the product of the new Russia that is free from the autocratic culture and is democratic in nature. The parallel workings of the national socialists and the provisional government continued but there were many dips in the forms of strikes and protests leading to the second part of the revolution that hit Russia in the month of October 1917. In October, Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik party took complete control and all parallel forms of government were removed leaving the socialists in charge of the setup. However this setup too had its ups and downs. The true political revolution requires more than mere changes of the ruling hands and it holds greater benefits than just switching from an autocratic setup to a democratic one. The demands of the political revolution involve formation of the organizations that is revolutionary and different from the workers’ organization. The worker organizations specialize in trade but the revolutionaries take up revolut ion as their profession. Revolutions require a professional setup and people with a professional training into revolutionaries. They are different from the workers in their thought processes, intellect, training, education and in their profession. We have seen that revolutions hit the masses directly who become the parts of it, however, the requirement is of organization who deals with

CMG490 MOD 2 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CMG490 MOD 2 SLP - Essay Example There is also a poor life cycle and workflow in the visibility of the contract. In the contract processes and procedures, there are no guidelines or templates that are proven for particular terms and clauses needed for different types and value of dollars in the contract. There is also an inadequate and insufficient reporting system to the senior management. Finally, there are high costs of staff that are incurred in the routinely carried out review or administrative tasks. Contract management is responsible for the excessive costs due to lack of the expiring contract dates that result into low rates of contract renewal. Insufficient performance monitoring and terms of contract lead to late fees, overpayment, and failure to collect discounts or rebates, and penalties. However, this inefficient monitoring may lead to failure in collecting late fees, underpayment, and awarding of unearned rebates and discounts on the part of suppliers. There are high risks involved in the contract resulting from non compliance. This is due to the lack of policies documented and incapability to show adherence to the written policies related to the contract. The company is also unable to determine if the supplier is complying with the contract terms and conditions. The contract risks also result from inadequate controls of ensuring that those writing contracts possess appropriate legal and risk management and/ or other appropriate mode of authorization before making changes to the terms and language of the contract. The contract risks are also associated with lack of automated reconciliation and integration with the financial systems. This may be due to the company’s inability to rapidly and routinely identify high risk clauses in the contract. In addition, the organization has no monitoring and reporting tools of contract

Anti Oppressive Theory And Practice Social Work Essay

Anti Oppressive Theory And Practice Social Work Essay Anti-oppressive theory and practice in social work seeks first to recognise oppression  in communities, societies, and cultures, and thereafter to eliminate the pressure and undo the sway of such oppression. Anti-oppressive practice is by and large understood to be an omnibus term that includes, but is not limited to, diverse practice approaches like feminist, anti-racist, critical, radical, and structural frameworks. Anti-oppressive social work stands as such for a variety of theories and practices that adopt the perspective of social justice. It should thus more appropriately be considered to be a perspective or stance toward practice rather than a practice approach. Dominelli (1998) perceives anti-oppressive social work to be a type of social work practice that searches for social barriers and structural inequalities in activities that are conducted with service users or workers. Anti-oppressive practice tries to offer more suitable, responsive and perceptive services by reacting to the needs of individuals without considering their social status. Dominelli (1998) feels that it represents a person oriented philosophy and an egalitarian system of values that is concerned with lessening the venomous results of structural inequalities upon the lives of people. It is a methodology that focuses both on processes and on outcomes and is an approach of structuring relationships between persons that strives to empower users by lessening the adverse results of hierarchy during their interaction with each other and the activities they do together. Social workers need to reinforce their abilities and attitudes for the conduct of anti-oppressive practice in many ways. Dalrymple and Burke (1995) state that social workers should obtain knowledge and understanding of their own selves, the majority social systems, different groups and cultures, and of fundamental human rights in order to effectively face issues on personal and structural levels and pursue anti-oppressive practices. This short study takes up the need of social workers to become aware of and familiar with human rights and various cultural issues, especially those relevant to their service users, in order to engage in effective anti-oppressive practice. Special emphasis is given in the study to domestic violence against women of ethnic and immigrant communities in Ireland, many of whom face physical and mental abuse in their households, even as they otherwise suffer from the discriminatory attitudes and behaviour of people of mainstream and dominant communities. Readying Social Workers for Anti-oppressive Practice Oppression is essentially entrenched in society for the maintaining of its unequal status quo. Contemporary social workers are experiencing the unique development of an anti-oppression approach that is gradually replacing long-established social work models of individual rehabilitation and self fulfilment. The verbalisation and mounting sophistication of the anti- oppression approach has been and continues to be considerably influenced by ethnic, feminist, gay and lesbian, disability, and other social movements. The need to challenge inequality is an important driver of anti-oppressive practice, even as it is important to recognise that all challenges may not be successful and furthermore be distressful for the person or group who are challenging and those who are being challenged. Anti-oppressive practice plainly draws from a social model of difference. It builds on social constructionist models of differences, racial, ethnic, gendered, and others, which are created within the conte xt of unequal social power relationships. It thus strongly argues for the development of practice that confronts, challenges, and alters unequal structures at all levels. An important dimension of challenging inequality concerns the building of self-awareness and understanding of how the social location of the social worker influences the communication between the worker and the individuals or groups who are being challenged. The practice of reflecting and thinking is intrinsic to the anti-oppressive way. Dominelli (2002, p 9) argues that knowledge of oneself helps in equipping individuals for undertaking anti-oppressive tasks. Self-knowledge, for Dominelli, is central to the range of skills required of a reflective practitioner. Social workers, to be successful in anti-oppressive practice, should be able to critically reflect on their own selves in practice and on the ways in which their biographies influence their practice relationships. The ability to critically assess the experiences of oppression of service users requires them to examine the ways in which personal, cultural and structural issues and processes fashion the difficulties that service users bring up with service agencies. An understanding of human rights and various cultural issues, experts feel, can also help them significantly in knowing their own selves, realising the impact as well as the reasons for continuance of oppression in modern day society, and in addressing such issues. Human Rights and Cultural Issues Anti-oppressive practice, with its focus on reduction of all forms of social inequality, is closely associated with the bringing about of social justice. Much of modern day oppressive activity goes against the tenets of social justice and concerns the undermining, denying or taking away of fundamental human rights of individuals or groups of people. Human rights constitute the fundamentals on which modern day society has developed in the post Second World War era. Whilst human rights have progressively developed over centuries, widespread awareness about them grew only after the 1940s in the aftermath of the holocaust atrocities and the demise of colonialism. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 by the United Nations was a step taken by the global fraternity to ensure that human rights would not be compromised in future by the actions of people, groups or states. Such rights include the right to life and property, the right of expression, the right to security from discrimination and the right to protection from physical and mental harm. Oppression nevertheless continues to occur in societies across the world, and often with the tacit of overt support of various governments that signed the UN declaration and thereafter legislated to protect human rights in their own countries. Whilst oppression and empowerment in social work practice do relate to bringing about of social justice, they do not specify minimal and fundamental requirements for human existence. This compels social workers to view individuals who have to arrange for themselves when they are denied human rights by dominant powers. Social workers who are familiar with human rights can however readily and effectively apply human rights perspectives to spot violations. They can view situations of oppression and discrimination as circumstances in which various infrastructural and legal resources can be applied for effective elimination of oppression or negation of its impact. The awareness of human rights and adoption of human rights perspectives can help social workers to frame circumstances concerning oppression into those of violations of rights, thereby making governments and citizens accountable for addressing and resolving such violations. Domestic violence, discrimination and inadequate education thus become instances of violation rather than of inadequate satisfaction of needs. Social workers with human rights perspectives can apply greater force to the challenging of unfair resource distribution, inequality and oppression. Awareness about the culture of service users and the differences that exist between the cultures of social workers and different service users can also help social workers on understanding different ways of oppression, especially so in groups like immigrants or ethnic minorities, whose cultures are vastly different from members of the dominant groups. Culture represents the integrated and distinct patterns of behaviours, including thoughts, values, beliefs, customs and actions of racial, religious, ethnic, or social groups. It is considered to be the totality of ways that is passed through generations and includes ways in which individuals with disabilities or persons from different religious or ethnic backgrounds experience their environments. With the main mission of social workers being the enhancement of well-being and helping to satisfy fundamental human needs of persons who are poor, vulnerable, and oppressed, they can improve their practice effectiveness significantly by understanding and becoming sensitive to cultural diversity and uniqueness. The acquisition of such knowledge can help social workers in understanding the essence of social diversity and oppression with regard to race, ethnic background, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation and physical or mental disability. Such knowledge and understanding can help in the achievement of cultural competence and enable them to integrate and transform their knowledge of persons and groups of people into specific attitudes and practices. Whilst the development of cultural competency is important for social workers, the diverse backgrounds of service users, especially in urban locations, make this process difficult and challenging. Oppression and Domestic Violence against Women Domestic violence against women results directly from the inequalities between men and women. It denies women their very basic human rights, i.e. the right to health and undermines the development of communities and societies. General factors like marginalisation and poverty and specific aspects like race or ethnicity, result in some women becoming more vulnerable to domestic violence. Whilst men also face domestic violence, the lower social status of women, especially in certain communities and cultures exposes them to greater risk, even as the number of incidences of domestic violence against women appears to increase at an alarming pace. Domestic Violence refers to the use of physical or emotional force or threat of physical force, including sexual violence; in close adult relationshipsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.The term domestic violence goes beyond actual physical violence. It can also involve emotional abuse; the destruction of property; isolation from friends, family and other sources of support; threats to others including children; stalking; and control over access to money, personal items, food, transportation and the telephone. Such violence causes extensive physical, emotional and mental damage to women. It prevents them from participating in society, limits their access to resources and their ability to take part in activities like work, travel and education. Apart from such adverse consequences, domestic violence against women damages the physical, emotional and mental development of children, hurts their performance in school and affects their life chances. Domestic violence also results in economic costs for the individual and for society that arise from missed work, health care costs and costs of social work assessment and intervention for women and other affected family members. Domestic violence against women is a serious problem in Ireland. A 2002 report on Sexual Abuse and Violence revealed that one woman in four in Ireland had faced some sort of sexual abuse during her lifetime and one in five had suffered sexual assault as an adult. Ireland witnessed 109 murders of women between 1996 and 2005, 72 of which occurred in their homes. All the murders were perpetrated men and 50 % of these by partners or ex-partners. Ireland has been experiencing rapid inward migration since the 1990s, a phenomenon that has made one of the most homogenous societies in the EU culturally and ethnically diverse. Whilst domestic violence occurs across race, religion and class, migrant women experiencing violence at home face additional structural barriers on account of immigration status, lack of familiarity with language and racism, which significantly hamper their options for protection and support. A 2008 study by Paula Fagan reveals that migrant women experiencing violence at home face four important barriers, namely (a) immigration legislation, (b) restrictions on usage of public funds, (c) racism from larger society and ostracism from own communities on re[ort of abuse, and (d) cultural differences with, and lack of understanding from, mainstream society, which increase their distress and vulnerability, reduce their options with regard to social security, exacerbate their fear of isolation and create barriers their seeking of assistance and protection. Fagans report reveals that the discretionary character of the countrys immigration system presents unique challenges both for women and social workers in establishing rights, entitlements and protections for migrant women experiencing abuse. With no protections yet in place for women whose status are dependent on their husbands/partners or for those restricted from social welfare payments, options for keeping women safe are severely restricted. A key finding of this report is that, while there needs to be improvements in Irelands domestic violence legislative and policy framework for all women, there are specific failures in this system for migrant women linked to immigration legislation, policy and procedures.

Women Priests? :: Essays Papers

Women Priests? A topic long debated within the contexts of the Catholic Church and even outside the Catholic Church is the policy of an all male priesthood. There are many other churches within the Christian faith that have women clergy, and so the debate as to whether or not the Catholics should include the opposite sex in the clergy is a very hot topic. One person that has a fascinating view of the topic is a man by the name, Paul E. Dinter, the author of the article, â€Å"Christ’s Body as Male and Female.† In this article Dinter, a former man of the cloth, presents his take on the issue attempting to show his audience that the policy of the Church in indeed flawed. However before any member of Dinters audience can formulate an educated opinion on the topic three aspects of the article must be questioned: credibility, logic and reason, and how the article appeals to emotion. One part of this article that must be assessed is the credibility of the article, and the author is the first source that must be examined. â€Å"Paul E. Dinter spent twenty-three years in the ordained ministry, fifteen of them as Catholic chaplain at Columbia University.† Obviously this is a man that is a creditable source fore this particular topic. Not only is he an ordained minister but also a former Catholic priest. The article also stated that he is a published author and also currently a teacher in New York. It is safe to say that Dinter can be considered an expert in the field, and also builds good credibility being that he has first hand experience, as a priest. Another assessment that must be made is the credibility of the sources that the author uses. Dinter uses many different sources of which include other expert opinions, quoted from others used to explain his feelings towards the topic, and also many different verses from the Bible. One example of another expert that Dinter uses as a source is Paul Ricoeur, author of the book The Metaphysical Process. A good example of Dinter using a quote to express one of the ways that he feels about the topic is a quote that expresses his opinion on the current policy and the people in charge on the policy.

Kenney’s Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address in January 20, 1961 was a good representation of the enormous amount of things that were taking place in that setting. Kennedy’s inaugural address enlightened America and the world on his goals for his presidency; within his speech he used a form of comparing and contrasting, repetition, and exposition. Applying these helps Kennedy’s address inspire his audience. Kennedy takes advantage of one of his most prominent strategies, repetition, to emphasize his various points. To drive in the idea of change, Kennedy repeats words like, â€Å"to those† or â€Å"to our†. Those phrases formally address the old allies, new states, or the sister republics to show respect to them and to also cause each area feel special. By specifically addressing them for the one line, it gives them acknowledgement, which places Kennedy on their good side; also making the respective audiences listen up, like a call to attention. Relating to his main goal of world peace, this strategy elaborates on the definition of â€Å"world† by noticing the spots across the globe. â€Å"Let both sides† repeats because Kennedy wants to expand the peace part of his goal. For example, Kennedy utilization of â€Å"both† elaborates the unity that he strives for, and the word â€Å"sides† refers to sides of the world and sides of â€Å"problems which divide us†. With positive change and willingness in his tone, Kennedy invites them to join him. The section states the steps of what they need to do and the positive effects that could come from their unity or the negative consequences that might evolve if the world didn’t form an alliance. Within his repetition were statements that juxtapose positive and negatives ideas of how he will execute his goals, Kennedy’s address conveys his objectives for the future to his audience. His main goal is to get â€Å"both sides begin anew the quest for peace†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Kennedy starts off with an idea of positive hope, expressing this by utilizing words like: good, pledge, assist, free, and then â€Å"casting off the chains of poverty†. Those positive words convey Kennedy’s goal to keep peace with the sister republics of the south, relating to his goal of striving for world peace. However, he then introduces the negative, which comes as a warning. The diction changes and the tone quickly go from conciliatory to authoritative, †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦in a new alliance for progress-to assist men and free government in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become prey to hostile powers.† Because Kennedy doesn’t believe striving for world peace defines as weak, he provides a warning meanwhile, showing that America still will remain a world power. â€Å"But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom†¦Ã¢â‚¬  To his audience, he warns them â€Å"to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.† From this, the audience can see Kennedy’s goals and his standards for the America future as well as the future for upcoming states and those who will be their ally. The importance of making sure the audience knows Kennedy will not be a weak president, benefits Kennedy because everyone knows a leader of a nation should never be known as weak. In addition to positive and negative statements, Kennedy employs exposition, or logic. Without logic and reasoning, his address wouldn’t be as inspiring. Kennedy employs exposition to tell America why we can succeed and why we should try to succeed. He remarks, â€Å"In your hands† to indicate that America has the power to change and that â€Å"the final success or failure of our course† rests in America’s hands more than the Kennedy’s hands. The remarks stand as a representation of teamwork and coming together to achieve Kennedy’s goal of world peace. Kennedy also observes that striving for freedom is in America’s history, therefore is another reason for America to help out with Kennedy’s goals. â€Å"Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.† This gives another fact to the audience, particularly that Americans should help since we are proud of our heritage. To explain that we have responsibility, Kennedy claims that â€Å"the trumpet summons us again† and with our power, we should take that responsibility and fight â€Å"the common enemies of man.† Kennedy implements smart wording like â€Å"trumpet† because it’s usually associated with nobility; and words like enemies, struggle, and graves to indicate negative consequences or ideas that America needs to fight. Then Kennedy puts even more responsibility on Americans by stating, â€Å"only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom† and asking America if they will make history by joining him. Since Kennedy has a position of power and influence, he states that he welcomes the responsibility and he advises other to welcome it, putting more pressure for America to join his change. Kennedy’s address effectively showed his passion for achieving world peace and that he wants the world to join him by employing repetition, juxtaposition, and exposition.

Expression versus expectations in Chekhov’s The lady with the pet dog

In The lady with the pet dog, Chekhov’s notion of romantic love coincides with his idea of the duplicitous self and society. Central to Chekhov’s discussion of romantic love is the individual and the institutions that define him (in particular, marital and domestic ones) which Chekhov sees as anything but intact. What whole is perceived on the surface is in reality a fragmented clumsily held together by bogus and empty morality tantamount to hypocrisy. In this case, the romantic impulse comes as a liberating and redeeming sensibility. However, Chekhov asserts, the survival, let alone existence of the romantic love is possible only in the dark—in the small, private (and forbidden) enclave away from the persecuting and prying eyes of the collective. Chekhov (2007) writes of Gurov, â€Å"†¦everything that in which he was sincere and did not deceive himself, everything that made the kernel of his life, was hidden from other people; and all that was false in him†¦all that was open† (chap. IV). Indeed what stands out in Chekhov’s work is the clash between individual sentiments and social expectations; defiance versus the norm, liberating passion as opposed to the stifling demands of pseudo-propriety. Such contestation of values is played out in the characters of Anna Sergeyevna and Dmitri Gurov. Both are trapped and paralyzed by their family and marriages, relationships which are more nominal than actual. Both suffer from a breakdown of communication with their partners and more importantly, their selves. Hence, the disruption of self-expression. Their efforts toward self-definition and determination are brutally countered by the conventions of their sexuality and status. As a result, what occurs is an extinction of their personality and consequently, the imperilment of their love. In this climate, masks are the only means of self-preservation. Gurov, for one, is a man of several faces. His faà §ade appears to be in strict compliance with the behavioral codes attendant of his class and gender. His misogynistic gestures belie his genuine nature. He â€Å"always spoke ill of women, and when they are talked about in his presence, used to call them the lower race†¦. yet he could not get on for two days together without the ‘lower race’† (I). Convention, together with his pretensions, reduces Gurov to a flat and passive character. So flat, in fact, that his entire life and personality can be summed up by the following words: â€Å"He was under forty, but he had a daughter already twelve years old, and two sons at school† (I). In this respect, Gurov is a typical family man. He is head (or better yet, cog) of a family the stability and comfortability of which is owed more to economic and social factors than human warmth and understanding. The family stands for the simple reason that Gurov and his wife, no matter how superficially are playing their parts well. Paradoxically and yet, understandably, Gurov’s extra-marital affairs offer no significant threat to the solidity of his domestic sphere. His women are but fleeting muses, objects of a passion that fades just as quickly as it ignites. Such transient and cold encounters inevitably deteriorate: â€Å"†¦every intimacy which at first so agreeably diversifies life and appears a light and charming adventure, inevitably grows into a regular problem of extreme intricacy, and in the long run the situation becomes unbearable† (I). In a sense, Gurov’s relationships with other women are simply extensions of his mechanical family life. Gurov is deader than alive; older than his years. Despite his numerous preoccupations— â€Å"He already felt a longing to go to restaurants, clubs, dinner parties, anniversary celebrations†¦ entertaining distinguished lawyers and artists† (III)—his hunger for life and love remains unsatisfied. His romantic sensibility continues to stagnate. Gurov’s fate is a microscopic version of the spiritual inertia plaguing larger society. As Gurov laments, â€Å"What senseless nights, what uninteresting, uneventful days! The rage for card playing, the gluttony, the drunkenness, the continual talk always about the same thing† (III). Apparently the preoccupied life of the materially comfortable fail to fill the gaping hole within the individual, in this case, a premature organism at most. What intactness is gained through the observance of superficial social rituals is nothing but conformity and monotony. Gurov’s premature self translates to the frustration of his artistic sensibility. Gurov â€Å"had taken a degree in arts, but had a post in the bank; that he had trained as an opera singer, but ad given it up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (I). Again, passion has given way to practicality and material considerations. Though practically nameless (indeed, one can only name her through Gurov, and partially at that), Gurov’s wife is far from being a peripheral and passive figure. She enters the story (one can even say, intrude) almost simultaneously as Gurov does. The first glimpse of Gurov is intertwined with that of her that one appears to be the foil of another. Chekhov’s description of her evokes strength (and to a degree, death and deadliness) uncommon of her sex: â€Å"†¦his wife seemed half as old again as he†¦. as she said of herself, intellectual. She read a great deal†¦he secretly considered her unintelligent, narrow inelegant, was afraid of her, and did not like to be at home† (I). His wife’s sense of individuality proves corrosive to their relationship. Not that Chekhov despises individuality in women, Anna’s struggle toward self-definition show otherwise. What makes Gurov’s wife’s fatal is that it consumes, by emasculating, Gurov. An individuality such as her hampers union and unity, disadvantageous to love. The juxtaposition of Gurov and his wife’s sensibility lays bare a glaring incongruity, symptomatic of the failure of their marital communication. The marital environment isolates them both. For Gurov â€Å"in his home it was impossible to talk of his love, and he had no one outside†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (III). And when his wife catches on and reacts to   his hints on love: â€Å"†¦no one guessed what it meant; only his wife twitched her black eyebrows, and said: ‘The part of a lady-killer does not suit you at all, Dimitri’† (III). Their marital union is grounded on repulsion and revulsion. In stark contrast to his wife is the character of Anna Sergeyevna, whose individuality, at least in the beginning, is yet to be defined. Which is not to say that she is empty, for like Gurov, Anna is in search of a life above the mundane: â€Å"To live, to live!†¦ I was fired by curiosity†¦I could not control myself; something happened to me, I could not be restrained† (I). The amorphousness of Anna and Gurov serves as a point of connection, a common ground for them. Anna’s gradual progression from anonymity to indiviulaity is paradoxically combined in her identity as â€Å"the lady with the pet dog†. When Gurov’s â€Å"romance with an unknown woman† (I) unexpectedly escalates to full-blown romance – â€Å"that sweet delirium, that madness† (II) — Anna’s personality becomes indelible: â€Å"Anna did not visit him in dreams, but followed him about everywhere and haunted him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (II). Indeed, what marks Gurov’s love for Anna is its sense of permanence and identity. Anna’s face is not gobbled up by oblivion, nor does it fade in the crowd. To Gurov, she is the only â€Å"lady with the pet dog†. This sense of eternity is not bound to be challenged though. Society looms as a more powerful and sinister force in the lovers’ lives. Their love is taboo, a truth which they can only postpone but never defeat: â€Å"†¦it seemed to them that fate itself had meant them for one another, and they could not understand why he had a wife and she had a husband†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (IV). Chekhov does not negate the potency, even necessity of genuine romantic love. He does not offer false hopes about it either. Gurov and Anna can only dwell in the present; what the future has to offer is far from hopeful: â€Å"†¦and it was clear to both that they still had a long road before them, and that the most complicated and difficult part is only just beginning† (IV). References Chekhov, A. (2007). The lady with the pet dog. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from   http://www.enotes.com/lady-pet-text.

How To Translate To and From Spanish and English

How To Translate To and From Spanish and English Some of the best advice you can get when you start translating to and from English or Spanish is to translate for meaning rather than to translate words. Sometimes what you want to translate will be straightforward enough that there wont be much difference between the two approaches. But more often than not, paying attention to what someone is saying - not just the words the person is using - will pay off in doing a better job of conveying the idea that someone is trying to get across. Key Takeaways When translating from one language to another, aim for conveying the meaning rather than translating individual words.Literal translations often fall short because they can fail to take into account the context and nuances of meaning.There is often no single best translation, so two translators can legitimately differ on their word choices. Translation Raised Questions One example of an approach you might take in translating can be seen in the answer to a question that a reader raised via email about an article that used to appear on this site: When youre translating from one language to another, how do you decide which word to use? Im asking because I saw recently  that you translated llamativas as bold, but that isnt one of the words listed when I looked up that word in the dictionary. The question referred to my translation of the sentence  ¿La fà ³rmula revolucionaria para obtener pestaà ±as llamativas? (taken from a Spanish-language Maybelline mascara ad) as The revolutionary formula for getting bold eyelashes? The writer was correct was correct that dictionaries dont give bold as a possible translation, but bold at least is closer in concept to the dictionary definition of what I used in my first draft: Then I used thick, which isnt even close to any standard of llamativo. Let me explain the various philosophies of translation before discussing that particular word. In general, it can be said that there are two extreme approaches in the way one can translate from one language to another. The first is seeking a literal translation, sometimes known as formal equivalence, in which an attempt is made to translate using the words that correspond as exactly as possible in the two languages, allowing, of course, for the grammatical differences but without paying a great deal of attention to context. A second extreme is paraphrasing, sometimes called making a free or loose translation. One problem with the first approach is that literal translations can be awkward. For example, it might seem more exact to translate the Spanish obtener as to obtain, but most of the time to get will do just as well and sounds less pretentious. An obvious problem with paraphrasing is that the translator may not accurately convey the intent of the speaker, especially where precision of language is required. So many of the best translations take a middle ground, sometimes known as dynamic equivalence - trying to convey the thoughts and intent behind the original as close as possible, veering from the literal where needed to do so. When Theres No Exact Equivalent In the sentence that led to the readers question, the adjective llamativo doesnt have an exact equivalent in English. It is derived from the verb llamar (sometimes translated as to call), so broadly speaking it refers to something that calls attention to itself. Dictionaries usually provide translations such as gaudy, showy, brightly colored, flashy, and loud (as in a loud shirt). However, some of those translations have somewhat negative connotations - something certainly not intended by the writers of the ad. The others dont work well for describing eyelashes. My first translation was a paraphrase; mascara is designed to make eyelashes appear thicker and therefore more noticeable, so I went with thick. After all, in English thats a common way to describe the kind of eyelashes that Maybelline customers would want. But upon reflection, that translation seemed  inadequate. This mascara, another part of the ad pointed out, not only makes the eyelashes look thicker, but also longer a nd exageradas or exaggerated. I considered alternative ways of expressing llamativas, but attractive seemed a bit too weak for an advertisement, enhanced seemed too formal, and attention-getting seemed to convey the thought behind the Spanish word in this context but didnt seem quite right for an ad. So I went with bold. It seemed to me to do a good job of stating the purpose of the product and is also a short word with a positive connotation that might work well in an ad. (If I had wanted to go for an extremely loose interpretation, I might have tried  Whats the secret to having eyelashes people will notice?) A different translator very well might have used a different word, and there very well could be words that would work better. In fact, another reader suggested striking - a great choice. But translation is often more art than science, and that can involve judgment and creativity at least as much as it does knowing the right words.