Jamaican Culture Essay -- Jamaica Culture Rastafarianism Essays

Jamaican culture is more than just Rastafarianism and Reggae music. The Jamaican culture encompasses every aspect of life from beliefs, superstitions, and practices to art, education, and tourism. However, the most important aspect of the culture is the African roots that still exist today. Religion and music became essential parts of the slave culture for communication purposes and barrier breakers. Culture is 'the property of the individual and it's a property of societies' (Alleyne 9). Jamaica has a very diverse culture with original natives coming into contact with the Spanish and English. Jamaican culture can be split into the primitive era and the modern era. The primitive characteristics are all the effects of the African slave trade. There are several different cultural backgrounds connected to the people of Jamaica. It is one of the truly multiculturalism countries in the world. The native Arwark's were the only group never to root their culture into Jamaica due to their extermination. There are signs of British influence from the official language of English to many of their traditional European customs. Many of the locals speak a dialect of English with African, Spanish, and French elements. 95% of the populations of Jamaica are from African or partly African descent (Verrill 130). The slaves had great trust in folktales and proverbs that have been past down from generation to generation. Jamaica is renowned for being one of the most religious islands in the world with ten churches for every square mile (Jamaicans). Many holidays are celebrated together with either festivals or large family meals. During Christmas the Jamaicans celebrate much like cities in the US with the lighting of a tree in Kingston followed by fireworks and carols (Jamaicans). The major religions practiced are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Rastafarianism. Rastafarianism is the largest growing religion on the island partly due to Bob Marley?s influence. Bob Marley?s national influence of peace was reward with receiving the Order of Merit which is the third highest honor in Jamaica (Wittmann). With so many Rastafarian?s on the island it can not go with out noting how they have created their own identity. They believe in returning to their homeland of Africa where their historical roots lie. Because they do not believe in an afterlif... ...e Jamaican culture. The anthem is very religious with the first line talking about their Father blessing the land. Other parts reveal the love Jamaicans have for the natural landscape that provides the necessities for sustaining life. The anthem also encourages wisdom, strength, vision, and knowledge as major components towards success and progression (Jamaicans). The government has begun implementing policies in order to make positive changes to maintain Jamaica?s identity. The first advocate for national cultural change was Norman Manley in 1938 (Nettleford xxiii). He helped established the Commonwealth of the Caribbean that calls for the progression of cultural action. The island has begun preserving historical sites and monuments that symbolize Jamaicans changing culture. There is an attempt to encourage writing as well as the advancement of sciences and technology. Researches of history, sociology, and culture have become revolutionary ideas in an attempt to preserve the Jamaican identity. The most important issue for Jamaicans is establishing themselves as a respectable nation that contains more than just hotels and tourist attractions. (Nettleford 54-60).

The Glass Menagerie Role Of Laura English Literature Essay

The function that Laura played in The Glass Menagerie can non be overlooked as it contributed to the development of the overall subject of the book. The drama is based on the battles that worlds face in accepting world as this is the major subject of the book and Laura Wingfield is one character in the drama that had jobs accepting the challenges that life presented her with. Laura was described as a physically handicapped miss and she had troubles in accepting the world of her status ( Williams ) . Laura wanted a life that was better and would hold loved it, if she was non in the sort of state of affairs she found herself in. Though, it could be argued that, Laura did non truly play a outstanding function in the drama, but the fact remains that, the secret plan and the subjects of the drama are centered on her. Some of the symbols that lend acceptance to the importance of Laura to the overall subject of the drama are the glass unicorn, bluish roses, fire flight and the rubric of the narrative as these symbols represents the character of Laura. Laura could non come to footings with world and this is the ground that she was described as populating a slightly illusional life style in The Glass Menagerie. Due to the challenges and jobs she was faced with, Laura preferred to remain in her comfort zone and she lived in an illusional universe. Laura ‘s life was full of semblances as she lived in what could be described as a universe of glass animate beings. It is this trouble of accepting world that really bonds the Wingfield household together, as each one of them, Tom, Amanda and Laura at one point in clip, had jobs get bying with the worlds of life and its many challenges ( Williams 16-25 ) . Laura could be described as a unit of ammunition nog that suits a unit of ammunition hole as the illusional universe of glass animate beings that she lived is merely a clear representation of the existent universe that was described in the drama. This could be seen in the fact that, the people in the drama tend to deduce more satisfaction in phantasies instead than existent events. Laura created an semblance that is a representation of her inability to accept world as she fantasized about a glass ball ( of glass animate beings ) and a group of people waltzing in the Paradise Dance Hall ( Williams ) . The Glass Menagerie clearly showed that, semblances and worlds inability to accept world has become the norm in our society and Laura absolutely fits into this type of illusional universe. Harmonizing to Williams Laura ‘s fond regard to the glass universe she created is seen when â€Å" there is a ting of shattering glass. Laura cries out as if wounded. † ( qtd in Bloom 38 ) The troubles that Laura faced in accepting world could be traced to her glass menagerie, which was a aggregation of wild animate beings and this is really the chief symbol in The Glass Menagerie. This menagerie represents the illusional universe of Laura in its entirety. It is a universe that is notional and anachronic, but based on the phantasies of Laura. Laura devotes more of her clip to this illusional creative activity of hers and she is merely an illustration of people that, instead than confront the worlds of life, they prefer populating a life of phantasies that does non truly be in the existent universe. The aggregation of animate beings that Laura created was borne out of the defeat and her trouble in accepting the world that, she did non finish high school, she was crippled, and that she could non acquire the love that she desired. It could so be argued that, Laura created her ain universe of glass animate beings to get away from a universe that she felt did non in any man ner favour her. As a consequence of the crippling of one leg that made it shorter than the other, Williams explains that, â€Å" Steming from this, Laura ‘s separation additions till she is like a piece of her ain glass aggregation excessively finely delicate to travel from the shelf. † ( qtd. In Bloom 11 ) . A symbol that appears in the inventive universe of Laura is the glass unicorn and the fact that she used the unicorn merely shows the inexistent universe that Laura lives in. Unicorns are nonextant animals and the visual aspect of a unicorn in Laura ‘s glass menagerie shows that, merely like the unicorn that is nonextant and different from other Equus caballuss, Laura lived an unusual life and was different from other people. Williams says of Laura that, â€Å" the lovely breakability of glass which is her image. † ( qtd. in Bloom 26 ) . Due to the fact that, Laura saw herself different from other people, she lived a alone life and it could besides be said that, she forced herself into being unable to accommodate to the universe and people around her. In position of this fact, it could so be argued that, Laura ‘s trouble in accepting world made her to populate like an castaway. The blue rose is another symbol in the drama that shows Laura ‘s unusual and unrealistic nature. Blue Roses was the name given to Laura by Jim and it symbolizes Laura ‘s unusual but attractive quality. It is pertinent to observe that, bluish roses do non be in the existent universe and the fact that, Jim relates Laura with Blue Roses lets readers know that, Jim besides realized the unrealistic nature of Laura. Another incident that is worthy of note in the book was when Laura slipped on the fire flight in the 4th scene and this shows that, Laura was unable to get away from the hard state of affairs in her life. The drama lacked pragmatism in its entirety as this fact was established by the narrator-character, Tom. The fact that Laura was non realistic in her ideas underlines the importance of her character to the subject of the drama. The abstractionism in the drama could be seen in the assorted sorts of symbols that were used in the drama and Laura was one character that lived a life of semblances

Metes, Bounds Meanders - Platting the Land of Your Ancestors

In the original thirteen colonies, plus Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Texas, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and parts of Ohio (the state land states), land boundaries are identified according to the indiscriminate survey system, more commonly referred to as metes and bounds. The metes and bounds land survey system relies on several different items to convey a property description: General Location - details on the propertys location, possibly including the state, county, and township; nearby waterways; and acreage.Survey Lines - describes the boundaries of the property using direction and distance.Boundary Descriptions - details on natural features found along the property boundaries, such as creeks and trees.Neighbors - names of neighboring property owners whose land shares a line or adjoins at a corner. How the Land Was Surveyed Surveyors in early America used only a few simple tools to measure direction, distance, and acreage of a parcel of land. Distance was usually measured with an instrument called a Gunters chain, measuring four poles (sixty-six feet) in length and consisting of 100 linked pieces of iron or steel. Indicators hung at certain points to mark important subdivisions. Most metes and bounds land descriptions describe distance in terms of these chains, or in measurements of poles, rods, or perches - interchangeable units of measurement equaling 16 1/2 feet, or 25 links on a Gunters chain. A number of different instruments were used to determine the direction of survey lines, the most common being the magnetic compass. Since compasses point to magnetic north, rather than true north, surveyors may have corrected their surveys by a particular declination value. This value is important when trying to fit an old plot on a modern map, as the location of magnetic north is constantly drifting. There are two primary types of systems used by surveyors to describe direction: Compass Degrees - the standard system used in most locations, compass degree headings specify a compass point (North, South, East or West), followed by a number of degrees, and then another compass point.Example: N42W, or 42 degrees west of north Compass Points - Found in some early colonial land descriptions, compass points, or compass card directions, refer to the 32-point compass card. This system of describing direction was, by its very nature, imprecise and, luckily, was also rarely used.Example: WNW 1/4 N, or the compass point midway between west and northwest by one quarter point north Acreage was usually determined with the aid of tables and charts and, due to meanders and strangely shaped, non-rectangular parcels of land, could often be fairly inaccurate. When a boundary ran along a creek, stream, or river, the survey often described this with the word meander. This usually meant that the surveyor did not attempt to pinpoint all of the changes in directions of the creek, instead noting that the property line followed the meanders of the waterway. A meander can also be used to describe any line noted in a survey which does not provide both direction and distance - even if there is not any water involved. Deciphering the Lingo I still remember the first time that I saw a metes and bounds land description in a deed - it looked like a lot of confusing gibberish. Once you learn the lingo, however, youll find that metes and bounds surveys make a lot more sense than they appear to at first glance. ...330 acres of land lying in Boufort County and on the East side of Coneto Creek. Beginning at a white oak in Michael Kings line: then by sd [said] line S[outh] 30 d[egrees] E[ast] 50po[les] to a pine then E 320 poles to a pine then N 220 poles to a pine then by Crisps line west 80 poles to a pine then down the creek to the first station.... Once you look closer at the land description, youll notice that it follows a fairly basic pattern of alternating calls, consisting of corners and lines. Corners use physical or geographical markers (e.g. white pine) or the name of an adjoining land owner (e.g. Michael King) to describe an exact location on the parcel of land. Lines are then used to describe the distance and direction to the next corner (e.g. South 30 degrees East 50 poles), and may also be described using physical markers such as a stream (e.g. down the creek), or the names of adjoining property owners. A metes and bounds land description always begins with a corner (e.g. Beginning at a white oak in Michael Kings line) and then alternates lines and corners until returning to the starting point (e.g. to the first station). Next Page Land Platting Made Easy One of the best ways to study local history in general, and your family in particular, is to create a map of your ancestors land(s) and its relationship to the surrounding community. Making a plat from a land description may sound complicated, but it is actually very simple once you learn how. Land Platting Supplies Tools To plat a tract of land in metes and bounds bearings -- i.e. draw the land on paper the way the surveyor originally did -- you need only a few simple tools: Protractor or Surveyors Compass - Remember that half-circle protractor that you used in high school trigonometry? This basic tool, found in most office and school supply stores, is an easy-to-obtain tool for land platting on the fly. If you plan to do a lot of land platting, then you may want to purchase a round surveyors compass (also known as a land measure compass), available from specialty supply stores.Ruler - Again, easily found in office supply stores. The only requirement is that it is marked in millimeters.​Graph Paper - Used only to keep your compass aligned perfectly north-south, the size and type of graph paper is really not important. Patricia Law Hatcher, an expert in land platting, recommends engineering paper, with four to five equally-weighted lines per inch.Pencil Eraser - Wood pencil, or mechanical pencil - its your choice. Just make sure its sharp!Calculator - Doesnt need to be fancy. Just simple multiplication and division. Pencil and paper will work too - just takes longer. As you can see, the basic tools required for land platting can all be found at a local office supply store or discount mass merchandiser. So, next time youre on the road and run across a new deed, you dont have to wait until you get home to plat it out on paper. Land Platting Step-by-Step Transcribe or make a copy of the deed, including the full legal land description.Highlight the calls - lines and corners. Land platting experts Patricia Law Hatcher and Mary McCampbell Bell suggest to their students that they underline the lines (including distance, direction, and adjoining owners), circle the corners (including neighbors), and use a wavy line for meanders.Create a chart or list of the calls for easy reference as you play, including only the pertinent information or facts. Check off each line or corner on the photocopy as you work to help prevent errors.If you plan to overlay your plat onto a modern day USGS quadrangle map, then convert all distances to USGS scale and include them on your chart. If your deed description uses poles, rods, or perches, then divide each distance by 4.8 for an easy conversion.Draw a solid dot on your graph paper to indicate your starting point. Next to it write down the description of the corner (e.g. Beginning at a white oak in Michael K ings line). This will help you remember that this was your starting point, as well as including the markers which will help you possibly match it up with adjoining plats.Place the center of your protractor on top of the dot, making sure that it is aligned with the grid on your graph paper and that north is on top. If youre using a semi-circular protractor, orient it so that the circular side faces toward the east or west direction of the call (e.g. for the line S32E - align your protractor with the circular side facing east).