Within a group, your role is defined as the way you communicate with others in your group.
The way a person behaves, the position, the way the person interacts with the rest of the members of the group determines the role that this person would perform. Leadership, expectations from the other members of the group, assignment etc.
Poverty: it is easier said than done
Social studies teachers have always given lessons about the causes of poverty at college. They tend to look very concerned about the issue. Although they will never teach how to solve the problem of poverty, they make us think about solutions. However, in my opinion, they like lecturing us on poverty but they do not like facing real poverty. It is easier for them to talk about poverty than to do something about it.
To exemplify my point, I can describe what a teacher of mine did some weeks ago. Laura Sanders is her name- she is still teaching at college- . She has been teaching Social Studies for many years. She loves giving books and notes about authors who analyse poverty. All her classes finish with these words: " You have to do something about poverty. Have you ever thought about the drunk people in the streets?".
Alcoholism seemed to be related to poverty for Laura Sanders. Therefore, some weeks ago I asked her why she always mentioned the drunk people in the streets. She answered my question. She gave a long explanation about the connection: in her opinion , poor people felt miserable and needed alcohol to feel better. However, drunk people might be dangerous for the people in the cities. As a conclusion, she wanted us to help the drunk people in the streets. In her opinion, we had to start with the drunk people in our neighbourhoods.
Guilt was more real than help. I always felt guilty after Sander's classes; I could not feel helpful. I did not know how to help the angry drunk people in the streets. Some weeks ago, after Sander's class, I felt very worried. I left college late in the evening. I saw Laura Sanders leaving college at the same time. I was walking behind my teacher when I saw something strange. There was a drunk man lying near the bus stop opposite college. Sanders saw the bus. People were getting on the bus. Sanders ran to catch it; she stepped over the drunk man to catch the bus!! I got paralised.
My term ended and I sat for my Social Studies exam. One of the points in the exam was to reflect upon the number of drunk and poor people in the streets. I could not write my full reflection but I could write this question: " Are the drunk people near bus stops less drunk than the people in books?". I failed my exam. Laura Sanders is still teaching about the connection of alcoholism and poverty.
For this analysis I will deal with the element of characterization in the short story "The Instrument" by Canadian writer Wayde Compton. It tells the story of twin brothers Albert and Donald. They used to be siamese, conjoined at the back of their heads until they underwent surgery as children to separate them.
The conflict in the story arises when one of them wants to record a documentary about their father, a former musician that seems to have become mentally ill after years of drug use. The person financing the documentary is the same millionaire that paid for the surgery decades before. While Donald wants to record the documentary and interview his father, Albert will try to stop it because he thinks their father is crazy and he will embarrass himself.
The conflict is framed through the separation between the two brothers, both physical through the surgery they underwent and the resultant emotional separation. At one point, Donald sees Albert for the first time in a while, "Donald runs a hand over his own scalp, seems to catch himself doing it, puts his palm down flat on the white table". This quotation points out that the first thing that comes to mind when they see each other is how they were joined or connected, and we may hint some longing for reconnection, even if it is through reflex actions like touching the scar in the scalp.
The verbal exchange that occurred between the two opposing armies in Act 5.1 is short and bitter. Anthony and Octavius were qutie distressed during the exchange which resulted in the two of them leaving the small conference. Brutus and Cassius were left behind to get ready for the battle.
