Exploring The Jungle: The True Impact of a Literary Masterpiece Essay

Literature is a powerful and persuasive tool. History holds the proof that a well-written novel, even a work of fiction, has the power to profoundly impact society. One such novel is Upton Sinclair’s 1906 expose of the American immigrant, infamously titled The Jungle. The story is of the trials and tribulations of a Lithuanian family struggling to earn a living in the slaughterhouses of Chicago. The issues faced by this family are some of the most disturbing fictional depictions of the lower class, and some of the most well-read in the past century. The Jungle, now hailed as a literary masterpiece, is credited with being the reason for the Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act of the early 1900’s (Ewers). Though Sinclair’s story is revered for supposedly helping to reform a corrupt industry, research of both the current day meat packing industry and life of the twenty-first century immigrant proves that the story actually had very little consequence. In addition, research about Sinclair himself raises a number of questions about his motives and credibility. Although Sinclair’s novel was well received and thought to have made a major impact on society, it actually had very little effect on anything but the American psyche. To further understand what has not changed because of The Jungle, it is first important to understand what the initial impact of the story was, and how it is perceived today. The very famous words of Upton Sinclair explain the forceful impact of his story perfectly, â€Å"I aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach (Cohen).† When The Jungle was first published in 1906, it was a series of short stories describing the plight of the main character, Jurgis, and his poverty-stricken f... ...Regulation.† Issues and Controversies on File. Facts on File News Services, 19 Dec. 2008. Web. 2 Mar 2011. Hinderliter, Justine. â€Å"From Farm to Table: â€Å"How This Little Piggy was Dragged Through the Market.†University of San Fransisco Law Review. Vol. 40 Is. 3. P. 739-76, 2006. Klein, Julia M. â€Å"Sinclair Redux.† Columbia Journalism Review 45 no 2, 58-60. Aug 2006. Web. 2 March 2011. Preston, Julia. â€Å"After Iowa Raid, Immigrants Fuel Labor Inquiries.† New York Times, July 27, 2008. Web. 2 March 2011. Reed, Lawrence W. â€Å"How a food safety myth became a legend.† Consumer’s Research Magazine. Vol. 78, Is. 2, p. 23-24. Feb 1995. Web. 2 March 2011. â€Å"The Jungle.† New Republic, Vol. 236, Is. 1-3, p.7. 1 Jan, 2007. Web. 2 March 2011. Wenzel 8 Walsh, Bryan. â€Å"America’s Food Crisis and How to Fix It.† Time, Vol. 174, Is. 8, p. 30-37. 31 Aug, 2009. Web. 2 March 2011.

Family in the play Essay

The issues of parentage and family are profoundly of paramount importance in the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, both as primary forces motivating the plot and as subjects yielding philosophical speculation and debate. Parentage can be defined as the group of individuals descending from a common ancestor and in Victorian England the issue of parentage was largely touched upon. In fact, appropriate parentage was a key to proving ones place as a member of the upper class of that particular era. Through his work, Wilde attempts to express his views on the matter through his so called â€Å"trivial comedy for serious people† and these views, along with integrated examples from the play itself, are what will form the basis of this essay. The issue of family is introduced from the very first Act, where we observe Algernon Moncrief expecting a visit from his aunt, Lady Bracknell, and her daughter Gwendolyn Fairfax. Even though Algernon has devised the act of Bunburying so as to be able to avoid confronting his family members in order to keep up appearances he agrees to meet Lady Bracknell for tea, even arranging for cucumber sandwiches to be made specially for her visit. The extended cucumber sandwich joke further exemplifies the superficiality of Algernon’s relationship with his Aunt when without realizing it; he steadily devours all the sandwiches that have been meticulously prepared for her visit. The arrival of Algernon’s kin, towards the middle of the first Act is signalled by the sound of the electric bell in a way that â€Å"only relatives, or creditors, ever ring in that Wagnerian manner†, according to Algernon. When Gwendolyn and her mother arrive the issue of parenting immediately comes to the foreground. Lady Bracknell immediately urges her daughter to join her in the kindest of manners: â€Å"Won’t you come and sit here, Gwendolyn? † in an attempt to keep her at her side. Her domineering nature, even over her own daughter, is exposed once again when, rather than asking as before, she states â€Å"Gwendolyn, you will accompany me (into the music room)† . Nevertheless, as in mother-daughter relationships of the present day, children always defy their parents and Gwendolyn does so by intentionally staying behind so as to confront Jack about their relationship. Gwendolyn’s determination and conduct during her brief encounter with Jack does show evidence of her mothers affect on her. Therefore, it is proven true that as stated in one of the most famous witticisms of the play â€Å"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy†. Nevertheless, the instance during the play where the notion of parentage proves pivotal is during Lady Bracknell’s â€Å"interview† of Jack, so as to see if he would make an eligible husband for her daughter. Here, it is noticeable that even though Lady Bracknell is willing to negotiate with Jack on his political beliefs, hobbies and rather â€Å"unfashionable† place of residence she condemns his marriage to her daughter unless he manages to â€Å"produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over†. To back up her decision she further clarifies that neither herself nor Lord Bracknell would ever allow their only daughter â€Å"to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel† as she sweeps out in majestic indignation (as designated by Wilde’s stage instructions). On the basis of Lady Bracknell’s words and actions, it is evident that the fact that Jack was abandoned as a baby without any indication of which family line he descends from excludes him as a potential husband for Gwendolyn, proving just how significant parentage was in the Victorian era. It is common knowledge that above all else both parents and family are responsible for the upbringing of their children by setting the right examples. When crafting the character of Cecily, Wilde depicts the norm that occurs when one loses his/her relatives at a young age. In this case, even though Jack is not Cecily’s blood relative, she is his ward and he -apart from being as her legal guardian- acts as her father figure. Out of sheer respect Cecily addresses him as: â€Å"Uncle Jack† and her gratitude is even more evident in her engraving on his cigarette case: â€Å"from little Cecily with her fondest love†. Ward’s were not uncommon in the Victorian era as mortality rates were high and the average life span was a little over 50 years, but Cecily differs from Jack in the sense that she knows which family line she descends from. To conclude, it has been confirmed that the notion of family and parentage is influential throughout the play. First, it is what drives Algernon to the act of Bunburying. Second, it causes ideals to be projected from mother to daughter (from Lady Bracknell to Gwendolyn). Third, the absence of parentage in Jack’s case constitutes a barrier to his marriage to Gwendolyn and finally in Cecily’s case the absence of her family augments her relationship to Jack, as his beloved ward.

Federalism Research Paper - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2604 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/02/13 Category Politics Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Federalism Essay Did you like this example? Abstract Federalism is a political system through which two or more governments have shared authority over the same geographical area. Most democratic countries in the world are governed by a federal system, including Canada, the U.S., Australia, India and Argentina. Federal systems are often governed by a Congress, with a President or a Parliament with a Prime Minister. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Federalism Research Paper" essay for you Create order All federal systems have a central government, a Constitution and a certain procedure that must be followed to resolve any disputes. Federalism has an impact on public budgeting and impacts the spending of public budget as will be discussed within the countries of the United States of America, Israel, and Turkey. Federalism Research Paper Federalism is a political system through which two or more governments have shared authority over the same geographical area (AskHON, 2018). Most democratic countries in the world are governed by a federal system, including Canada, the U.S., Australia, India and Argentina (AskHON, 2018). Federal systems are often governed by a Congress, with a President or a Parliament with a Prime Minister (AskHON, 2018). All federal systems have a central government, a Constitution and a certain procedure that must be followed to resolve any disputes (AskHON, 2018). The Constitution serves as a guideline, which the different constituent entities use to check on one another (AskHON, 2018). The Articles of Confederation originally established the United States as a confederation, where each of the states operated separately and independently from one another (Study.com, 2018). The United States Constitution set up our current federal government and replaced the Articles of Confederation (Study.com, 2 018). The Constitution recognizes the federal government as the highest governmental power (Study.com, 2018). United States of America The United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution recognizes the federal government as the highest governmental power (Study.com, 2018). The Constitution expressly grants broad powers to the federal government but not to the states (Study.com, 2018). The Constitution stresses what the states cant do. The Bill of Rights tempers some of the imbalance concerning the states’ rights (Study.com, 2018). The Tenth Amendment gives the states all powers not delegated to the national government or denied to the states (Study.com, 2018). Impact on constitutionally limited federal government. Madison’s concept of limited government maintained that the powers of the government should be limited internally by the Constitution itself but externally by the American people through the representative electoral process (Longley, 2017). The Ninth Amendment and the Tenth Amendment define the process of limited government as practiced in the United States (Longley, 2017). The Tenth Amendment defines the individual and shared powers of the U.S. government and the state governments forming the American version of federalism (Longley, 2017). The U.S. Constitution provides that Congress shall have the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the various states (Thomas, 2013). Congress has the power under the Spending Clause to require states to undertake certain activities as a condition of receiving federal monies (Thomas, 2013). Impact on public budgeting. Congress has broad financial powers, including the power to tax and spend in order to pay debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States (Thomas, 2013). Congress also has the power to borrow money and to appropriate money from the United States Treasury (Thomas, 2013). The purposes for which Congress may tax and spend are very broad and are not limited by the scope of other enumerated powers under which Congress may regulate (Thomas, 2013). Impact spending of public budgeting. One of the more significant ways that the federal government can encourage state behavior is to impose conditions on the receipt of federal monies by the states (Thomas, 2013). Considering the large number of funds provided to states by the federal government, this represents a significant power for Congress to exercise (Thomas, 2013). Israel Federalism has strong roots in the Judaic tradition of brit or covenant (Mollov, 2018). The idea of covenant which is rooted in Judaism is considered to be the main organizing principle around which the outlook of all Biblically rooted traditions and the worldview of the Bible are built (Mollov, 2018). The aspects of federal relationships are reflected in the Hebraic idea of covenant and are expressed in both social as well as political terms: the covenant relationship is to social and political life what Bubers I-Thou relationship is to personal life. Through covenants humans and their institutions are entered into dialogue and are given a framework for dialogue (Mollov, 2018). Aspects of federalism which have their origins in fundamentally Judaic concepts were well-suited to deal with elements of Israels current reality (Mollov, 2018). In this society of subgroups, a need for inter-group dialogue has increased. This is a reversal of the expectation of Israels founders that the coun try would adopt a more uniform image of the new Israeli as different cultural subgroups would merge into one (Mollov, 2018). Impact on constitutionally limited federal government. In Israel the prime factor explaining the formation of federal factions is the joint desire of two or more parties to increase their political and electoral effectiveness by combining forces (Wittes, 2018). Israeli cultural politics need not be a zero-sum game, imposing the values of one community over others (Wittes, 2018). Solutions are to be found in countries like the United States, Switzerland, India and Spain. Just as U.S. states provide a framework for playing out America’s â€Å"culture wars† on a sub-national level, Israel’s cultural regions could create a more livable status quo (Wittes, 2018). While the U.S. may dwarf Israel’s population and landmass, the U.S. cultural chasms are more varied (Wittes, 2018). And just as the Swiss cantons afford their residents a high degree of autonomy in such areas as education, health and personal-status issues (including marriage), so should and can Israel ’s (Wittes, 2018). Any two-state solution requires execution and tough decisions by leaders in both communities (Wittes, 2018). Impact on public budgeting. Israel has a modern market economy with a thriving high-technology sector that attracts considerable foreign investment (heritage.org, 2018). The discovery of large offshore natural gas deposits has improved its energy security and balance-of-payments prospects (heritage.org, 2018). Despite the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the 2008–2009, 2012, and 2014 wars against Hamas in Gaza, as well as the constant threat of terrorism, Israel’s economy is fundamentally sound and dynamic (heritage.org, 2018). The government plans further economic liberalization, but fiscal consolidation has been deferred in favor of populist spending and tax measures demanded by the governing coalition (heritage.org, 2018). Competitiveness is enhanced by strong protection of property rights, efficient coordination of regulatory processes, and a sound judicial framework that sustains the rule of law (heritage.org, 2018). Impact spending of public budgeting. Protection of property and contractual rights is effective, and businesses face a low risk of expropriation (heritage.org, 2018). The system for recording secured interests in property is reliable (heritage.org, 2018). Bribery and other forms of corruption are illegal (heritage.org, 2018). A strong societal intolerance for graft is reinforced by frequent investigations of high-level corruption (heritage.org, 2018). Government economic policies are generally sound and conducive to running a business (heritage.org, 2018). Israel is often supportive of start-up businesses, but restrictive trade policies that favor domestic producers and limit competition are a concern (heritage.org, 2018). The highly skilled and well-educated labor force is the economy’s biggest asset (heritage.org, 2018). Israel uses price controls largely to regulate the price of food, but also for products in markets with monopolies such as cement (heritage.org, 2018). Turkey Turkey is one of the most centralized countries in Europe (Daventry, 2017). Various countries have presidential systems and almost all have federal mechanisms. Presidential systems can gradually turn into totalitarian regimes with all powers vested in one individual and require regional federations with independent decision-making mechanisms if democracy is to remain sound and healthy (Yahya, 2014). Following its official application for European Union membership, Turkey had to adopt the European Constitution and is bound by it (Yahya, 2014). One of the most contentious articles in that constitution for Turkey is the condition imposing local administrations (Yahya, 2014). Turkey has been implementing a system known as the Development Agencies since 2006 (Yahya, 2014). Under this, Turkey is theoretically divided into eight separate regions and the development agencies to be established will have the broader authority to maintain relations with foreign countries (Yahya, 2014). Impact on constitutionally limited federal government. Turkey is divided into several regions. There are 81 provinces, and governor of each province answers directly to the ministry of interior. In Ottoman times, Greeks, Armenians and others did not want to live in a Federal State together with Turks. They wanted to build their own states, and exile (or kill) all the Turks that â€Å"happen† to be on the wrong side of the boundary they drew (Quora, 2016). The seven regions are at least officially, only geographic regions though they also roughly mark some ideological boundaries and ethnicities (Quora, 2016). The Marmara, Mediterranean and Aegean regions are more liberal than the Central Anatolian and Black Sea regions (Quora, 2016). The East and Southeast Anatolian regions were created in the ’40s in order to reinforce the Turkish Republic (Quora, 2016). If federalism was adopted, inter-communal violence would surge and political instability would prevail (Quora, 2016). It is a Kurdish majority region, with many people wanting greater autonomy and cultural rights (Quora, 2016). Impact on public budgeting. President Erdogan enacted a massive purge of citizens with any connection to Fethullah Gulen’s movement, resulting in more than 50,000 people imprisoned and the seizure of more than $10 billion of assets from private companies (Caywood, 2018). Turkey’s move toward authoritarian rule has dire economic consequences as an erosion of rule of law generally does not create a climate hospitable to free markets (Caywood, 2018). Immediately following the 2016 attacks, Turkey’s tourism industry found itself in a state of decline with the overall economy slowing to 3.5 percent for the year (Caywood, 2018). The April 2017 referendum vote further solidified the end of Turkish accession discussions, confirming the threat that Turkey’s descent into authoritarianism poses a severe threat to its economy (Caywood, 2018). Impact spending of public budgeting. The budget bill foresees the revenues and expenditures of the state for the next period and authorizes and permits the executive organ to collect revenues and spending (tbmm.gov, 2018). The budget bill forecasts the expenditures and revenues for the next fiscal year (tbmm.gov, 2018). The fiscal year starts on the first day of January and ends on the last day of December (tbmm.gov, 2018). The budgets of the central government are prepared and executed as the budget of central government, budgets of social security institutions, and budgets of local governments (tbmm.gov, 2018). The budget of central government consists of a general budget, a special budget, and a budget of regulatory and supervisory organs (tbmm.gov, 2018). Judeo-Christian analysis. God still holds men accountable for their actions, and that nations still rise or fall according to the righteousness of their people (Fischer, 1998). If one is to understand the story of the United States of America, it is important to have a proper appreciation for its Christian colonial roots (Hall, 2011). Colonists of European descent who settled in the New World were Christians whose constitutions, laws, and practices reflected the influence of Christianity (Hall, 2011). The Declaration of Independence, proclaims: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness† (Hall, 2011). This references â€Å"the laws of nature and of nature’s God† and â€Å"appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world† and the signers’ â€Å"reliance on the protection of divine Providence† (Hall, 2011) . Covenantal politics links people and communities as partners in common tasks, and allows them space to be free (Hall, 2011). The tribes of Israel, for instance, were in a covenantal relationship with one another. They had common purposes, such as to uphold the law of God and provide for national security, but they also had the freedom to live as they chose, provided they lived according to Gods law (Hall, 2011). Freedom and diversity are possible because the covenant is based on achieving certain goals (Hall, 2011). Outside of those goals, the covenant does not place any restraints on any of the parties (Hall, 2011). Conclusion The strength of federalism lies in its flexibility and adaptability (Elazar, 2018). Federalism seeks to encourage unity and diversity together (Elazar, 2018). Federalism, self-rule/shared rule, involves both structure and process (Elazar, 2018). A federal process must be combined with a federal structure to create a viable federal system or arrangement (Elazar, 2018). A successful federalist process hinges on some sense of partnership among the participating parties based on a commitment to negotiated cooperation on issues and programs (Elazar, 2018). There must be a commitment to open bargaining among all parties to achieve consensus or, at the very least, an accommodation which protects the fundamental integrity of all parties (Elazar, 2018). There are a number of different federal structures successfully functioning in the world today (Elazar, 2018). Many polities combine more than one arrangement and many of these structures can accommodate a multiplicity of needs (Elazar, 2018). What is crucial is that there really be a will to achieve a solution utilizing federal principles, whether it is based on a commitment to federalism or upon interests (Elazar, 2018). Among the factors which must be developed are a commitment to democratic government, a willingness to accept pluralism and power-sharing, an agreement to resolve conflict through negotiation, and finally, a sense of self-restraint in pursuing political goals and in the exercise of power which reaches beyond the other tenets of democratic government to include a commitment to power-sharing (Elazar, 2018). References AKBEY, F. (2014). A Drawback in Turkish Budget Classification: Where Have Public Investments Gone? Erciyes ÃÅ"niversitesi ?ktisadi ve ?dari Bilimler Fakà ¼ltesi Dergisi, 175-202. AskHON. (2018, December 3). What is federalism? Retrieved from History on the Net: https://www.historyonthenet.com/what-is-federalism Caywood, C. (2018, January 23). Turkey: A strikingly familiar tale of a democracy in decline. Retrieved from American Legislative Exchange Council: https://www.alec.org/article/turkey-a-strikingly-familiar-tale-of-a-democracy-in-decline/ Daventry, M. S. (2017, April 13). Confusing Turkish nationalists with federalism. Retrieved from James in Turkey: https://www.jamesinturkey.com/confusing-turkish-nationalists-federalism/ Elazar, D. J. (2018, December 7). Federal/Confederal solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian conflict: Concepts and feasibility. Retrieved from Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs: https://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles/fedconfed-sol.htm Fischer, K. J . (1998). Biblical principals of history and government. Virginia Beach: Robertson School of Government. Hall, M. D. (2011, June 7). Did America have a Christian founding? Retrieved from heritage.org: https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding heritage.org. (2018, December 7). Israel index of economic freedom. Retrieved from heritage.org: https://www.heritage.org/index/country/israel Longley, R. (2017, May 10). What is a constitutionally limited government? Retrieved from Thoughtco: https://www.thoughtco.com/constitutionally-limited-government-4121219 Mollov, M. B. (2018). Federalism and multiculturalism as a vehicle for perception change in Israeli-Jewish society. International Journal of Conflict Management, 144-166 . Quora. (2016, November 22). Why hasn’t Turkey adopted federalism if it is big enough and divided into seven regions? Retrieved from Quora: https://www.quora.com/Why-hasn%E2%80%99t-Turkey-adopted-federalism-if-it- is-big-enough-and-divided-into-seven-regions Study.com. (2018, December 3). What is federalism? Definition factors of U.S. adoption. Retrieved from Study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-federalism-definition-factors-of-us-adoption.html tbmm.gov. (2018, December 4). Budgetary process. Retrieved from The Grand National Assembly of Turkey: https://global.tbmm.gov.tr/index.php/EN/yd/icerik/30 Thomas, K. R. (2013). Federalism, state sovereignty, and the constitution: Basis and limits of congressional power. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research Service . Torgovnik, E. (1986). Federal factions and federated host parties in Israel: Some ideological and structural dimensions. Publius, 113-132. Wittes, B. (2018, August 14). Imagining a federalist Israel: Notes toward a disruptive fantasy. Retrieved from Lawfare: https://www.lawfareblog.com/imagining-federalist-israel-notes-toward-disruptive-fantasy Yahya, H. (2014, July 5). Federalism: A path Turkey must avoid. Retriev ed from Arab News: https://www.arabnews.com/news/596761