How to read political texts effectively

Politics is an important issue that most of people know as something linked to government and power. However, sometimes we are confused about the term “political text” that what it is written about, and what its purpose is. First, we should know political in a concrete meaning, according to Longman Dictionary, “political” means something “relating to the government, politics, and public affairs of a country” and “the ways that different people have power within a group, organization.” In a so-called way as I understand, political text is a form of non-fiction with strong argument to explain and convince readers about a specific political issue. It has a particular format to help us more easily to find and understand the author’s argument and the evidences supporting for that argument.

The first thing we should do when reading a political text is finding the basic argument and then try to think about author’s goal through the article like that article is to suggest or propose; to demonstrate or support an idea, an explanation, or a theory. For example, in “More than 100 Million Missing Women” by Amartya Sen, the author’s purpose is to explain the world’s population, the ratio of women to men and the problem of “missing women.”  Another example, in “Women’s Capabilities and the Right to Education in Bangladesh” by Mary Arends-Kuenning and Sajeda Amin, the goal of the article is to demonstrate the important role of education for women as an “input into human capital” (Arends-Kuenning, 125) in Bangladesh.

Secondly, after deciding the author’s goal, we should consider the persuasiveness of the article by thinking about the evidences that author uses; they are convincing or not and how they support to the author’s argument. The author can analyze his/her ideas by using many kinds of evidences like statistic, results of other researches or surveys, historical and current information. It is difficult to understand a political text because in order to convince reader, the author has to use many of evidences; it related to not only politic but also some others aspects like philosophy, sociology, history, economic, etc. In “More than 100 Million Missing Women,” Sen uses a lot of statistics about the ratio of women to men to demonstrate his argument about “missing women;” the background about women status in Europe, America, Asia; or some historical information about the economic reforms in 1979 in China to explain about the different effects of women status on the economic development in different countries. We also can see clearly about the way of using evidences in “Women’s Capabilities and the Right to Education in Bangladesh.” The authors use a lot of evidences from others sources to support for their argument, the benefices from education for women for the human capital, such as “many studies also find that women’s education has a strong impact on children’s health and nutrition,” or “current research shows that mother’s education is an important determinant of children schooling, usually having a stronger impact than father’s schooling” (Arends-Kuenning, 126).

Thirdly, after identifying the author’s purposes and the way the author does to support his/her claim, one important thing is thinking by yourself about that political issue impartially to have objective view about that issue. By critical reading, political texts can provide us a background about political process, and help us to understand the study of political behaviors among people in different societies who interpret their lives and roles in different way.

Works Cited

Arends-Keunning, Mary, and Sajeda Amin. “Women’s Capabilities and the Right to Education in Bangladesh.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society. 15.1 (2001): 125-142. Print. 06 Apr 2013.

“Political.” Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Web. 06 Apr 2013. <http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/political&gt;

Sen, Amartya. “More Than 100 Million Missing Women.” Nybooks Archives. 20 Dec 1990. Web. 06 Apr 2013.

China, a perfect and typical example

The writer, Amartya Sen, in his essay, “More than 100 Million Missing Women,” emphasize the roles of social and cultural elements to explain about “the influence of gainful employment on women’s prospects for survival” (Sen). Economy is not the only reason to explain the case that women outnumber than men in one area or one country. In most of countries have developed economy such as in Europe and North America; the number of women is more than men. Conversely, be also a country with developed economy, China has different problem that the rate of survival of women is lower than men. The author uses the fact in China to support for his claim; we can see it clearly in the third paragraph, part 4.

In this paragraph, the author’s claim is that after economic reforms, China successes with remarkable achievements and the fast economic speed; however, in population, the ratio of women to men decreased. The author use strong evidences: the facts in China, the statistic and the evidence from another source “World Development Report.” By using the real situation in China, economic reforms in 1979, the author emphasize that as Europe and North America, China has a developed economy. “Those economic reforms immediately increased the rate of economic growth and broke the agricultural stagnation” (Sen). However, then the author gives the differences between China, and Europe and North American that in China, after the reforms, the mortality rates increase, it is “also a worsening of relative survival of women” (Sen). The author demonstrates that issue by giving the population ratio of women to men, the ratio “went down from 94.3 in 1979 to 93.4 in1985 and 1986” (Sen). Continuous, to contribute the persuasiveness of this paragraph, the author uses some concrete numbers about age in “World Development Report,” “a life expectancy of sixty-nine years for men and sixty-six year for women” (Sen) to assert the worsening of women’s survival prospects.

This paragraph supports for Sen’s claim, he uses China as an epitome for a developed economic country with deteriorated survival problem of women. China is a country different from some developed countries in Europe or North America, not only about economic situation but also about culture and society. China is a perfect example for the author to convince his readers that the status of women not only depends on economic factors but also cultural and social factors.

Works Cited

Sen, Amartya. “More Than 100 Million Missing Women.” Nybooks Archives. Dec 20, 1990. Mar 31, 2013.

The fate of Shakespeare’s sister, Judith

In “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf, the imagined Judith Shakespeare appears in a different way from the images of “woman” provided by historians and poets that Woolf had been reading. In the author’s society, the role of women was considered not as important as men. There were many books and articles writing about men, but about women there were only little writing about some famous woman like Elizabeth queen and “great lady” Mary. Most of the middle- class women in society did not have good education and they must get married before they were twenty-one, most of them were married in the age of fifteen or sixteen. These were something very common and had strong effects on the way most of women did gender. However, Judith, Shakespeare’s “wonderfully gifted sister” did not want to do those things. She was “adventurous,” “imaginative,” and “agog to see the world.” She could not go to school but she tried to find books and papers to read by herself, but then when her parents knew that they forced her to stop reading and thinking of that book, they loved their daughter so they wanted her to know “the conditions life for a woman.” Her parents wanted her to marry but she did not agree. After that, she chose another way, she left her home and went to London. Similar to Shakespeare, she was interesting in theater, she wanted to do and live like a man, but she could not because of the social justice, it not allowed the women to do like that. At the end, she died on the road in the winter’s night. Although, she is not the real character but her life, which the author creates make the people think about the status and the fate of talented women.
Woolf chooses to tell the story of the fictional “Judith Shakespeare” instead of telling the story of a real woman. Using the fictional image of women helps the author to create the attractive and convincing essay to the reader. In that society, the status of women was so low, most of people contended that the women were not as intelligent as men were, so it was very difficult to convince the reader by “a real women,” it can make many arguments about the real life of the “real woman,” and it would reduce the author’s persuasiveness. And, another reason he chose the women as a Shakespeare’s sister, it will help the author convince the readers the talent of her because at that time. The author also creates the question for the reader why both Shakespeare and his sister are gifted but only Shakespeare became famous and most of people knew that he was smart and talented.
Works Cited
Woolf, Virginia. “A Room of One’s Own.” Fort Washington: Harvest Book. 1981. First published 1929

Sex and Gender

In the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary, sex is “the state of being male or female.” When we mention about the differences between men and women, sex is a dominant issue. The first thing we can see clearly is the differences in physic and biology. However, in life, it is not easy to know exactly the physical and biological state of someone. We usually pay attention to their name, their bodies, their characters and their behaviors to discriminate between them. For example, the person who has high voice, long hair, wear dress is a woman; and the person who has low voice, wear jean and T-shirt is a man. Sometime, we also have some mistakes to distinguish exactly male and female in that way. In society, sex cannot help us differentiate man and women but “gender done” (54).

Gender is “the fact of being male or female, especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences, not differences in biology” (Oxford Advanced American Dictionary). In “Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender,” Lorber said that gender is “a familiar part in life” (54). Gender plays an important part in organizing society; each of gender has its own task in the social construction. “The gendered practices of everyday life reproduce a society’s view of how women and man should act” (58). The duty of man and women is divided in most of societies. Commonly, the status of men is higher than women; while women have to do domestic, take care of children and can has a low position in policy, man can take part in policy, military and get a high position. Gendered society makes the inequalities between man and women.

Works Cited

Lorber, Judith. “Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender”. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Print. 19 Feb. 2013.

“Sex.” Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Web. 19 Feb. 2013

<http://oaadonline.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/sex&gt;

“Gender.” Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Web. 19 Feb. 2013

<http://oaadonline.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/gender&gt;

Plato, Is he a feminist in ancient society?

In Oxford Advanced American Dictionary, the definition of “feminism” is “the belief and aim that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men; the struggle to achieve this aim.” Feminism is very important to decide the status of women in the society. In Plato’s ancient society, there was an inequality between man and women; the women status was lower than men were. While the men could go out, take part in policy, have education; the women must be at home and do housework. Particularly, the preconception of this society is that the men were smart and the women were unintelligent; the social barriers made the women not be credit. So feminism was unpopular issue in Plato’s society. For this reason there are many controversies about Plato is feminist or not.

To me, the first time I read Symposium, I really thought that Plato was not definitely a feminist because most of his writing mentioned about man, just a little bit about women and in chance, it made the controversies among the readers. I also thought that woman in this writings was also not really equal about right and opportunity with man. Although, in his society, the status of women was very low but he also could give some situations that women try to over and break down the social barriers to increase their low status.

However, when I read Symposium again and looked back the society when Plato was living, it was very difficult for him to bring his female characters into his stories like man. I believe that Plato was a dominant philosopher who had different perspective on the women abilities. Some other readers also claimed that he was not feminist because in his stories, the female characters were desexed into male, decreased their femininity or put them into the guardian class. They were changed not only their body but also their soul. In symposium, the appearance of Diotima was convinced me that she was not be desexed or put in high status. She was the only women in the party but it did not mean she was changed her sexuality, she was still a woman and she put men and women in the same status, she could be a feminist. In her speech, she told that both man and women were pregnant in body and in soul and they were “naturally desire to give birth” (Plato, 489). She was not be put in high guardian, Plato respected her because she was a talent philosopher in an equal state with men and even he gave prominence to the intelligence of women.

Love is a perfect harmony.

I have ever thought that love is just a strong emotion between human and human, or human and thing. It is simply a feeling. However, when I read “Symposium” by Plato, I was really impressed on the Eryximachus’s philosophies; love is not just affection, in broader meaning, love is a harmony. His definitions bring a new outlook about love for audiences. In his speech, he connects with Pausanias’s argument; he agrees that love is the attraction of “human soul” and “human beauty” (470). And also, he supplements that love does not only restrict itself to human but also occur in animals, plants and even gods. In the following part, he gives his argument that love need harmony, everyone and everything can be reconciled to create love. He presents many of evidences to support for his argument about the harmony in medicine, music and season.

In medicine domain, it is the harmony between “healthy and diseased constitutions.” We know that a diseased constitution and unhealthy body is very easy to find each other but it is not the harmony. Eryximachus says that “the Love that is noble from the Love that is ugly and disgraceful. A good practitioner knows how to how to affect the body and how to transform its desires” (470) so the relationship between them need medicine as a remedy to make them become healthy, a healthy body will make healthy love. As a physician, he can implant good love or reduce bad love. And his task is to reconcile and create good love between bodily elements like “hot to cold, bitter to sweet, wet to dry” (470). Or another example about the harmony he show in his speech, they are the harmony among opposite elements in music. Similar to medicine, music need agreements to make good love. A beautiful song is the connection among the “high and low notes” and “fast and slow rhythms” (471). He proceeds to mention about the concord in season domain. “Hot and cold,” “wet and dry” are the elements of climate and their agreement can bring plentiful harvest and good health for everyone and everything (471).

Opposite elements can even create a great harmony to make good effects and the love is that perfect combination.

How to read a poetry

Through “Introduction to poetry,” Billy Collins presents his view on interpreting poem and also shows some mistakes that everyone can make when they read a poem or a piece of art in general. In the poem, the speaker talks about the way he reads a poem; his way is different from most of people do. He reads the poem by connecting senses. He observes, listens and imagines to understand it. By his experiences, he found that the poem that can be a picture, a beehive, a maze, a dark room or even a beach. In the first stanza, to him the poem like a picture so he uses his eyes to read and focuses on the imagery in the poem. “Press an ear against its hive,” the poem can be a beehive where the sound is not clear so he uses his ears to hear, he also has to be more intense not just looking and listening. The poem also can be a maze of mouse; a mouse doesn’t run in a straight line, it has to wander and also take some wrong turns before it find the way out. Similarly, the speaker reads the poem many times, it also can be disorder among lines, to find out the meaning of poetry. In the fourth stanza, the poem is a dark room and when he walks in that room he will ask himself how he feels, what he is thinking. They are important questions to make sense poetry. In the next stanza, the poem is a beach and the poet will “waterski across the surface,” he reads poetry not only see the words but also go beyond the limit of that word and contact with his knowledge.

However, the way most of people do to find the meaning of the poem is different from him. They try to read each of word to understand it without dropping their soul in poetry. So they usually “tie the poem,” “torture a confession” or “hitting it with a hose” to understand it. For them, reading poem like doing a hard work. But poem is not like algebra problems which need exact methods, to read poem we are have to truly experience and enjoy it; not only the imagery but also the rhythm of the poem.

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