Passage analysis Chapter 4- The Thief and the Dog

So this is the real Rauf Ilwan, the naked reality- a partial corpse not even decently underground. The other Rauf  Ilwan has gone, disappeared, like yesterday , like the first day in the history of man - like Nabawiyya's love or Ilish's loyalty. I must not be deceived by appearances. His kind words are cunning, his smiles no more than a curl of the lips his generosity a defensive flick of the fingers , and only a sense of guilt moved him to let me cross the threshold of his house. You made me and now you reject me. Your ideas create their embodiment in my person and then you simply change them, leaving me lost - rootless, worthless, without hope-- a betrayal so vile that if the whole Muqattam hill toppled over and buried it, I still would not be satisfied. 

I wonder if you ever admit , even to yourself, that you betrayed me. Maybe you've deceived yourself as much as you try to deceive others. Hasn't your conscience bothered you even in the dark? I wish I could penetrate your soul as easily as I've penetrated your house , that house of mirrors and objets d'art , but I suppose I'd find nothing but betrayal there: Nabawiyya disguised as Rauf , Rauf disguised as Nabawiyya , or Ilish Sidra in place of btoh - and betrayal would cry out to me that it was the lowest crime on earth. Their eyes behind my back must've traded anxious looks throbbing with lust , which carried them in a current crawling like death, like a cat creeping on its belly toward a bewildered sparrow. When their chance came, the last remnants of decency and indecision disappeared, so that in a corner of the lane , even in my own house Ilish Sidra said:" I'll tell the police. We'll get rid of him." and the child's mother was silent -- the tongue that so often and so profusely told me :"I love you, the best man in the world." was silent. And i found myself surrounded by police in Al Syrafi Lane -- though until then demons themselves with all their wiles had failed to trap me - their kicks and punches raining down on me. You're just the same Rauf - I dont know which of you is the most treacherous - except that your guilt is greater because of your intelligence and the past association between us : you pushed me into jail , while you leapt free, into that palace of lights and mirrors. You've forgotten your wise sayings about palaces and hovels haven't you? I will never forget 

In this passage Sa’id recalls his memories about his former friend Rauf , and the rise and fall of their friendship. After having been rejected by him because he had been to prison, he begins to realise how much Rauf’s principles have changed. He describes the dramatic change in Rauf by comparing it to the disappearance of “Nabawiyya’s love or Ilish’s loyalty.”  This reference further highlights his feelings of betrayal towards all the people that he thought were to be trusted. 

The next lines reveal that Sa’id doesn’t take credit for any of his actions, that he doesn’t perceive them as errors , rather he blames Rauf for having taught and raised him on the same principles that he now pretends to have forgotten: “Your ideas create their embodiment in my person and then you simply change them, leaving me lost- rootless , worthless, without hope.” His character appears to be very attached to Rauf, basing all his actions on the way he choses to react to them. When Rauf clearly rejects this mentality, Sa’id immediately feels as though he has wasted his life or done wrong. He can not stand on his own two feet psychologically and identity wise and thus decides to use the tactics that Rauf taught him against him. It is almost as if Sa'id returns to his creator, only to find his back turned against him and his entire purpose in life lost. 

Ironically he contemplates : “ Hasn’t your conscience bothered you even in the dark?” His entire life , he commits crimes and feels no remorse, let alone addresses his conscience. However when Rauf  commits more or less the same action, morals and such suddenly become a topic of interest and criticality to Sa’id. 

He continuously compares everyone around him to predatory animals as that is his way of deciphering the people around him, describing them :”Like a cat creeping on its belly toward a bewildered sparrow.”, Him being the sparrow he views himself as the victim in the situation. Sa’id blames Rauf’s advice on his consequences with the law, he blames Sana for rejecting him because he’d never been there for her, he blames his wife for cheating on him and abandoning him for leading a dishonest life and going to prison. His thoughts reveal that he is a problematic person who avoids facing his weaknesses and instead seeks revenge and who to blame for his own actions. 

The Thief and the Dogs - stream of consciousness technique

The novel, The thief and the Dogs, written by Naguib Mahfouz, exhibits the technique of Stream of Consciousness. This technique is defined to be “a kind of selective omniscience: the presentation of thoughts and sense impressions in a lifelike fashion—not in a sequence arranged by logic, but mingled randomly.” -Psychologist William James.

 More clearly, it is characterised by a manner of:" writing in which a character's thoughts or perceptions are presented as occurring in random form, without regard for logical sequences, syntactic structure, distinctions between various levels of reality, or the like."

 So in essence, stream of consciousness technique is a rather diverse writing style that attempts to capture the entity of a story's worth, its ability to branch out several ways, each specific branch creating another path for the reader to be enlightened by. This technique is clearly evident in Thief and the Dogs, which is convenient to the translator as its multiple access to voices and opinions enables the translator to bring forth prominent attributes of a character and their environment, adding depth to the story and its characters. 

In the Thief and the Dogs, Mahfouz effectively uses stream of consciousness as a way to reveal Sa'id through different angles and thus give the readers some perspective on his character and how to evaluate him. By allowing Sa'ids raw thoughts to surface amongst other descriptions of a scene Mahfouz consequentially opens a door for the reader , enabling them to be exposed to a characters genuine opinions, fears and hopes. Often deviating from this technique causes the reader to judge a character based on other characters interpretations or a situation ; both of which could have bias. However, those thoughts being shown , it also may cause the reader to dislike the character as they come to know their true motives and wrongly interpret other minor characters whose only source of opinion stems from a main character as well as losing focus on the plot; clearly there are downsides to both aspects of writing style. It depends on the authors intentions , however, to find the suitable technique and approach towards how they would want to portray a character , story line or purpose of the story. In The Thief and the Dogs, Mahfouz sacrifices the opportunity of adding more depth and quality to the other characters and the story line itself for the price of a critical and true character. Mahfouz keeps the story line diverse as he constantly shifts from third person to indirect narration, creating a more open path for the story , allowing the reader to experience a situation and immediately gain knowledge of Sa'id's interpretation and thus be introduced to other characters and brought back to Sa'id's inner monologue. 

 In Chapter one of the novel, Sa'id had just been released out of prison and is soon resenting his freedom as he views all the scenery around him as ungrateful, not giving him any credit for his sacrifice. We're brought in touch with his personal thoughts and concerns as he thinks:"How will he look when he first sees you? how will his eyes meet yours ? have you forgotten ilish ? How you used to rub against my legs like dog?" Here, we exhibit the technique of Soliloquy , an internal monologue that is directed at someone and we are given some insight into his anger and hatred that could've not been expressed as explicitly written in third person. Also , some of his vulnerability is exposed through direct monologue : "Through all this darkness only your face, sana, smiles." At this moment of the first chapter, Sana, his daughter appears to be his only refugee of calm, hope and good in him. 

Mahfouz provides this insight into the character to perhaps give him a chance to shape his own image, with his side of the story and his experience and circumstances that have brought him to prison and then back into his life, just to be rejected by his daughter. Ultimately, Sa'ids  rejection by his daughter and essentially life is set up as a trigger for Sa'id, to prove that Sana really was the only great left within him, his only chance to redeem himself. 

In chapter eleven Mahfouz uses indirect inner monologue wherein the author serves as a presenter, a commentator: "Leaving his hideout made him all the more conscious of being hunted. He now knew how mice and foxes feel , slipping away on the run. Alone in the dark he could see the citys lights glimmering in the distance, lying,waiting for him." In this scene, Sa'id had given in to his urge to leave the house, to leave safety for the satisfaction of doing something, for revenge. By this indirect monologue, one is presented with Sa'id's familiarity of being hunted for and how he feels about the city's regulations.

As the ending of chapter one said in indirect inner monologue:" Said leafed through them, picking up one volume after another,"yes", he remarked sadly "most of them have been lost". Here the term "most" might not only apply to his beloved books, but also the love of his daughter and the loyalty of his wife that had both betrayed him. So as the story commences, one is already presented with Sa'ids deepest fears and highest hopes through stream of consciousness ; his decisions are all based on his feelings towards his daughter and ex-wife and as such expressing them through stream of consciousness technique has a more profound effect than simply describing it in third person.

In the novel Things fall Apart , Achebe choses to describe his main character, Okonkwo in third person. We learn that Okonkwo has a troubled past and is highly dependant on his tribes opinion of him as well as the stigma of his late father who did not live up to the Igbo expectations. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo commits questionable crimes that can not necessarily be justified by the reader. If Achebe had written about Okonkwo using the stream of consciousness technique, perhaps the readers would've been able to emphasise with him to an extent as he kills his adopted son in cold blood, beats his wives and refuses to offer emotional support to anyone, thus causing a broken family. However in The Thief and the Dogs, the many unjust actions of Sa'id, trying to steal from Rauf, shooting a stranger with the intention of shooting Ilish and making his wife fear and suffer, by knowing Sa'ids true intentions, his actions can just as equally not be justified. Interestingly, both authors bring out the fact that even though they used different ways to describe a character, those techniques were tailored to the story and its purpose ; both characters ended up dead by their own deeds and for both characters little solace can be found in their actions.

Value of studying literature in translation

Your task is to write a blog post that evaluates the value of studying literature in translation. Your post should demonstrate an awareness of specific benefits and challenges through references to today’s readings, as well as make tangible connections to the learning outcome from Part 3 of the course. This post should be an analytical response. See attached articles from our activity today.

As our course has recently shifted its focus unto translated Literature, the novel The thief and the Dog, approaching this topic analytically will further expand our understanding. Having read the readings, some interesting bits of information emerged from the usual familiar content. From the interview with  Daniel Hahn, director of the British Centre for Literary Translation , some things stated were rather relevant to this evaluation. When asked how he translates literary works , the process of it, he replies that its near to impossible to translate a story word for word. That there is no single word that fully suits the chosen word and it is rather a creative process. Daniel explains how translation is a slow careful process wherein the translator must approach the test creatively and analytically , deciphering the meaning behind every word and why the author chose to use that specific term etc in order to correctly translate. So in essence, translation is nearly writing another story entirely, where words have to be chosen rather than found. Studying literature in translation provides us with a new perspective on literature as when different languages and cultures create stories that are highlighted by their take on the world, we're closed off from a variety of mentalities and perceptions. Accessing a translated literary text opens a door for us in terms of really becoming familiar with how a translator chose to engage the english language with another one, how he/she has managed to create the same exact suspension, anger, nervousness and happiness within the readers through a different language. Studying this will enable us to see how a translator has to work with the culture and general atmosphere of the location as well as the characteristics of the author and the people within the story in order to achieve the same effects, linguistically. It is also evident how controversy can arise from the translation of literary works. Lin Fen, a popular author who" spoke in the language of the people, writing vividly of youth discovering sex and poking fun at Communist dogmas, a writer who did not dress up his often profanity-littered language in the formalities beloved by the political establishment." so he effectively comunicated his work and that raised criticism.  Feng did not expect that his translation of 'Stray Birds', a collection of 300-odd short verses penned by Tagore in 1916, would turn out to be perhaps his most controversial." So there are definitely some negative aspects to translating works, as the translator may be blamed for his skills or chosen words.

Perfect Paper 1 - completed version

The first text was a news article from a news paper named Miami Herald located in the business section, its title being "Squatters take on developers and was published in 2007. It discusses the problems of invasion and exploitation within the Caribbean's through factual information. As this article takes place in 2007,its purpose may be more against the idea of colonialism. The second text was an advertisement for "The Great White Fleet in 1922", a pompous  poster promising a pleasant journey around the Caribbean. Both texts fall under the theme of expansion as their topics main concern circles around the Caribbean and its involvement with foreigners. Their concerns, however, lie on different spectrums.  The difference in time frame but similarity in audience will thus shape the main elements such as tone mood , structure and style of those texts which will be examined in this essay. 

Both texts are addressing similar audiences, however the nearly hundred year difference in time causes the message and aim to carry opposing ideologies, displaying the change in priorities and awareness over the years. The news article is most likely directed at the people located outside Panama , perhaps investors who may not be aware of the impact of their actions (american and european retirees) within the tourism industry. The primary purpose of this text serves to provide the audience with factual information and instigate a call for action. This is done through the linking of Panama with people who reside there and the effects of tourism that they suffer from, such as eviction from their own home. So in effect, Pathos is used to stimulate sympathy within the audience so as to abstain from and rethink their choices about the Caribbean's. 

The other given text consisted of an advertisement for the cruise company, “The Great White Fleet” that travels around Central America and the Caribbean. The targeted audience in this case is more specific ; it is directed at wealthy middle class aristocrats who can afford to travel and plan on going on vacation stating that: "Only First class passengers are carried”. Unlike the article , the purpose of this advertisement is to persuade the audience of the quality of the cruise by focusing on the benefits to the passengers that the cruise provides and the exotic beauty of the countries. Considering the advert being during the colonial times, the people who could afford to where still highly encouraged to explore and dominate, not as exposed to the natives and the downsides it would cause for them. The article has moved well beyond that into the post colonial perspective, exhibiting strong opposing views of the exploitation of Caribbean's beauty,neglecting its people and their rights. 

The message of the content of this article can be described as the act of corporate injustice found within the tourism industry in Panama, wherein hardly earned land is stolen from the natives for the entertainment and enjoyment of wealthy foreign investors and tourists. It provides the current state of Panama and presents a strong opinion on what occurs there. Judging from the name of the title "Squatters take on developers" , within it lies the idea of domination. The Squatters can be defined as individuals that unlawfully occupy land, which in this case is the natives. The developers would be the American entrepreneurs that technically have the right to propel the Caribbean's economy forward for their own benefit. Clearly, the writer of the article addresses the issues that arise for the natives through the market of tourism and development and how they face eviction of their own homes due to that. In doing so, this links to the overall theme of expansion as it discusses colonialism. The advertisement transmits the message of relaxation and privilege through promises of excellent food, great scenery and the title stating "the great white fleet". Great and white being associated with the audience being of european descent and powerful through their wealth , evoking a sense of pride and inclusion within the audience. Also at the time this advertisement was published, America was just experiencing the economic boom which meant that a much greater number of people were now wealthy enough to reach out to other countries in a more exploring manner. This further enhances the theme of expansion. The two messages in these texts are quite different as on one side (text 1) the audience is provided with unbiased factual information that asks for reconsideration of what text 2 has created to become the norm: tourism and exploitation of exotic underdeveloped countries. 

The news article has a rather serious tone expressed through the factual information that highlights the graveness of the situation for the natives. The writer of this article expresses himself in a moralistic manner wherein he challenges the foreigners right to exploit the Caribbean's. This can be seen here: "For centuries this Caribbean Island has been a beautiful place to be dirt poor. But in recent years , a booming real estate market has brought american entrepreneurs into direct conflict with Afro-Caribbean and indigenous Indians who occupy these once-isolated isles." Here the writer is acknowledging the natives and their birth right to reside in their own country. He mentions how being poor there was of no importance as that was the norm and the country provided enough resources. Now that the American entrepreneurs entered territory, they can no longer afford to live in their own way and are forced out of their homes as they cannot afford to stay. With continuous accusations the article progresses with a defensive mood. In the advertisement, the tone is rather flattering as can be seen through the word choice here: "Only first class passengers carried". This clearly states that not everyone can take on this exquisite journey ; the passengers must be wealthy. The greatness of the trip is further enhanced through the descriptions of the locations that the passengers will visit, such as Jamaica, Havana and the Panama Canal and how in those specific places the temperature will never rise above 88 degrees, improving its reputation. The overall mood of this advertisement could be described as exited with all the grand promises being made. 

The style in "Squatters take on developers" is very straight forward. The imagery that can be seen is verbal as the article is located in the business section of the newspaper and operates as such. There is 

some evidence of the usage of Glittering Generalities which is what the author uses to introduce his article: " ISLA CARENERO, PANAMA-- In the late 1980's , Nicasio Jimenez built two listing shacks with mangrove beams, a roof of scavenged tin , and rough floor planks that allowed Caribbean breezes and tsetse flies to flit through the cracks." There is no particular back up of this piece of information but it certainly serves well as a vague introduction that uses descriptive words on how a native built his home which clearly doesn't rise up to western standards. There is nothing particularly unique about this statement , however used in this context and as a way to introduce the article , it may manipulate the audience into feeling sympathetic before reading anything else. This can also be classified under imagery as the author uses creative words in order to describe a natives house and thus creates an image of romanticised poverty. There is some use of Testimonial technique, as the writer incorporates the opinion of someone influential executive director Osvaldo Jordan who states: " There is this tremendous lust for the coast line. Developers and speculators will use any means necessary to get the land from the people." So here the writer uses the valued opinion of an individual in order to strengthen his argument and push the audience towards forming the same opinion, under the influence of testimonial. Another technique used is card stacking. The author here is clearly against the developers and this can be seen through the emphasis of the bad done by one side, repressing that side. This can be seen here :"In the past year the conflict has spiralled. Armed private security guards patrol disputed beaches. A powerful union of construction workers has levelled charges of "colonialism" against several developers. Homes have mysteriously burned and been torn to the ground." He is careful to only mention the negative and forceful aspects of Americans, never mentioning investors or innocent wealthy people who are not aware of the damage they're causing. This leads to his use of plain folk, a form of propaganda used where the writer presents himself as someone who is able to empathise with other people's issues while remaining humble. He does this by extracting opinionated information from firsthand sources and generally remaining humble in the background of the article. 

In the advertisement , unlike in the article, Images are the main attraction as well as strategically placed keywords that support the aim of the advert. The title is pompous and as mentioned earlier there is some symbolic meaning behind it, the word "white" being white on a black background associated with the word "great" right beside it; this reflects on the privileged part of the American population. The image of the map transmits a better idea of where the journey could go and draws in to the text in the middle with all the locations mapped out again. It is also located on a globe with a large white ship in the background, towering over the waves. This image transmits an idea of domination and conquering. Overall this advert attempts to appeal to its audience through the use of imagery displaying an array of pleased people dressed in expensive clothes, interacting on the ship. This draws in the audience more. There is some use of Hyperbole as the advert is very focused on the benefits for the tourists and their experience, overly exaggerating  but does not address how this may affect the natives negatively.

Conclusively , it has been established that both texts are based on the same theme of Expansion. However due to the difference in time, the aim and content of those texts was fairly different, varying in persuasive techniques and the ideology of both. The news article was against the exploitation and expansion in the Caribbean's while the advertisement highly encouraged it through presenting it in a different light.

Paper one - Comparative essay draft version.

The first text was a news article from a news paper named Miami Herald located in the business section, its title being "Squatters take on developers and was published in 2007. It discusses the problems of invasion and exploitation within the Caribbean's through factual information. The second one was an advertisement for " The Great White Fleet in 1922" , a pompous  poster promising a pleasant journey around the Caribbean. Both texts fall under the theme of expansion as their topics main concern circles around the Caribbean and its involvement with foreigners. Their concerns, however, lie on different spectrums.  The difference in time frame but similarity in audience will thus shape the main elements such as tone mood , structure and style of those texts which will be examined in this essay. 

Both texts are addressing similar audiences, however the nearly hundred year difference in time causes the message and aim to carry opposing messages, displaying the change in priorities over the years. The news article is most likely directed at the people located outside Panama , perhaps investors who may not be aware of the impact of their actions (american and european retirees) within the tourism industry. The primary purpose of this text serves to provide the audience with factual information and instigate a call for action. This is done through the linking of Panama with people who reside there and the effects of tourism that they suffer from, such as eviction from their own home. So in effect, Pathos is used to stimulate sympathy within the audience so as to abstain from and rethink their choices about the Caribbean's. 

The other given text consisted of an advertisement for the cruise company, “The Great White Fleet” that travels around Central America and the Caribbean. The targeted audience in this case is more specific ; it is directed at wealthy middle class aristocrats who can afford to travel and plan on going on vacation stating that: "Only First class passengers are carried”. Unlike the article , the purpose of this advertisement is to persuade the audience of the quality of the cruise by focusing on the benefits to the passengers that the cruise provides and the exotic beauty of the countries. Considering the advert being during the colonial times, the people who could afford to where still highly encouraged to explore and dominate, not as exposed to the natives and the downsides it would cause for them. The article has moved well beyond that into the post colonial perspective, exhibiting strong opposing views of the exploitation of Caribbean's beauty, neglecting its people. 

The message of the content of this article can be described as the act of corporate injustice found within the tourism industry in Panama, wherein hardly earned land is stolen from the natives for the entertainment and enjoyment of wealthy foreign investors and tourists. It provides the current state of Panama and presents a strong opinion on what occurs there. Judging from the name of the title "Squatters take on developers" , within it lies the idea of domination. The Squatters can be defined as individuals that unlawfully occupy land, which in this case is the natives. The developers would be the American entrepreneurs that technically have the right to propel the Caribbean's economy forward for their own benefit. Clearly, the writer of the article addresses the issues that arise for the natives through the market of tourism and development and how they face eviction of their own homes due to that. In doing so, this links to the overall theme of expansion as it discusses colonialism. The advertisement transmits the message of relaxation and privilege through promises of excellent food, great scenery and the title stating "the great white fleet". Great and white being associated with the audience being of european descent and powerful through their wealth , evoking a sense of pride and inclusion within the audience. Also at the time this advertisement was published, America was just experiencing the economic boom which meant that a much greater number of people were now wealthy enough to reach out to other countries in an exploring manner. This further enhances the theme of expansion. The two messages in these texts are quite different as on one side (text 1) the audience is provided with unbiased factual information that asks for reconsideration of what text 2 has created to become the norm: tourism and exploitation of exotic underdeveloped countries. 

The news article has a rather serious tone expressed through the factual information that highlights the graveness of the situation for the natives. The writer of this article expresses himself in a moralistic manner wherein he challenges the foreigners right to exploit the Caribbean's. This can be seen here: "For centuries this Caribbean Island has been a beautiful place to be dirt poor. But in recent years , a booming real estate market has brought american entrepreneurs into direct conflict with Afro-Caribbean and indigenous Indians who occupy these once-isolated isles." With continuous accusations the article progresses with a defensive mood.  In the advertisement, the tone is rather flattering as can be seen through the word choice here: "Only first class passengers carried". This clearly states that not everyone can take on this exquisite journey ; the passengers must be wealthy. The greatness of the trip is further enhanced through the descriptions of the locations that the passengers will visit, such as Jamaica, Havana and the Panama Canal and how in those specific places the temperature will never rise above 88 degrees, increasing its value. The overall mood of this advertisement could be described as exited with all the grand promises being made. 

The style in "Squatters take on developers" is very straight forward as there is no deception or manipulation of any kind evident in the article. The imagery that can be seen is verbal as the article is located in the business section of the newspaper and operates as such.  There is some use of Testimonial technique, as the writer incorporates the opinion of executive director Osvaldo Jordan who states: " There is this tremendous lust for the coast line. Developers and speculators will use any means necessary to get the land from the people." So here the writer uses the valued opinion of an individual in order to strengthen his argument and push the audience towards forming the same opinion, under the influence of testimonial. Another technique used is card stacking. The author here is clearly against the developers and this can be seen through the emphasis of the bad done by one side, repressing that side. This can be seen here : " In the past year the conflict has spiralled. Armed private security guards patrol disputed beaches. A powerful union of construction workers has levelled charges of "colonialism" against several developers. Homes have mysteriously burned and been torn to the ground." In the advertisement , unlike in the article, Images are the main attraction as well as strategically placed keywords that support the aim of the advert. The title is pompous and as mentioned earlier there is some symbolic meaning behind it, the word "white" being white on a black background associated with the word "great" right beside it. The image of the map transmits a better idea of where the journey could go and draws in to the text in the middle with all the locations mapped out again. Overall this advert attempts to appeal to its audience through the use of imagery displaying an array of pleased people dressed in expensive clothes, interacting on the ship. This draws in the audience more. There is some Hyperbole as the advert is very focused on the benefits for the tourists and their experience but does not address how this may affect the natives negatively.

Conclusively , it has been established that both texts are based on the same theme of Expansion. However due to the difference in time, the aim and content of those texts was fairly different, varying in persuasive techniques and the ideology of both. The news article was against the exploitation and expansion in the Caribbean's while the advertisement highly encouraged it through presenting it in a different light.

Poster

Rationale

COMMUNICATORS: We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups. express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups. 
The aim of my Poster is to follow the communicators style in order to unite people from all over the globe.This is done by the incorporation of various pictures that all reflect on different cultures and religions, of people uniting against the common conflict of war.I have used three languages (english german and arabic) in order to appeal to some of the target populations in this matter, which is as many people as possible.Originally i wanted much more languages but that didn't work out. The audience should feel intrigued by the poster and a need to belong, to take part in the action of rebellion and defence against a common enemy ; war. To stop war and that such is only possible with the help of every nation is what this poster aims to demonstrate. That through the use of communication we can achieve peace.

Propaganda 4 corner reflection

Chosen prompt: “It is acceptable for a government to try to shape public opinion through information campaigns.”

My position on this prompt is that I strongly disagree, which was only reenforced through the Pat Tillman article and the documentary. In many cases this sort of 'privilege ' to withheld valuable information from the public is misused for the benefit of the publicist but not necessarily the public. People have a right to truthful accurate unbiased sources from which they can extract their information and form independent opinions on events and political issues that are only influenced by factual information. Often those sources include information that has been manipulated to fit the certain ideology that is meant to be transmitted to the people, as it is considered to be the most suitable according to the media institution. Reading the article "A Son’s Death, a Mother’s Agony, a Country’s Shame" further supports my opinion , as it addresses how a mother was lied to by the very people who fought in the army with her son:"The government gave him a Silver Star and concocted a story about his death. Only later did a suspicious coroner stateside realise that the wounds came from American bullets, not ones used by the other side." Clearly the governments intention was to steer clear of the effects this type of information would have on the public , knowing that they could possibly lose supporters and thus people that are willing to train and fight for their country since their own associates were allegedly shooting at each other. The fact that the truth was very concealed and hard to unearth only worsens the matter and brings forth the negative aspects of altering information to maintain the needed reputation. 

The documentary "The control room" provided me with some insight into the media itself, how they access information, who they associate themselves with and the overall development of events and issues that arise as they publish information. The core of this documentary was the conflicts between Al Jazeera and the US army spokes people wherein they both disagreed in the way al Jazeera only publishes the US army and what they do in Iraq and not the crimes that are apparently being committed by Iraqis, causing them to deserve the attacks. However this was rather ironic as the US army spokes person was not able to bring forward any substantial evidence of the accusations that were made and thus could not prove their validity or have a right to have them published. This made it clear that Al Jazeera's news coverage is absolutely unbiased. As seen in the documentary, journalists risk their lives in order to have access to first hand footage of what exactly takes place in Iraq and what they find, they publish. Nothing is being kept private , whether it aids Al Jazeera or not, they remain faithful to their aim of providing the public with complete and true information , regardless of what the public would prefer to hear or view. The fact that many arabic channels would ban Al Jazeera only reflects on their pre-set ideologies that they do not wish to alter , continuously feeding the public what they want to hear but not what they need to hear. Personally, the media should never contain manipulated or limited information on any incident or social group as the information isn't forced upon, but given to the public.