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Quantitative Analysis of Anthropomorphic Animals in Picture Books: Roles and Features of Animals
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 6, November 2020
Pages:
308-315
Received:
24 October 2020
Accepted:
9 November 2020
Published:
19 November 2020
Abstract: Children can have indirect contact with animals daily through media, such as picture books. Picture books can enrich children’s imaginary world and help them develop an adaptive life that can cope with various experiences. Because anthropomorphic animals in picture books are a typical fantasy, they may contribute to the development of relationships between children and animals. Previous studies have mainly focused on children and anthropomorphic animals in picture books using qualitative or case-study methods. This study quantitatively examined the appearance of anthropomorphic animals in picture books by categorizing them by species (animal kinds). In 1,386 picture books, 178 species of anthropomorphic animals appeared. The most frequently depicted animals were, in order, rabbits, mice, and bears. The protagonists were often anthropomorphic animals, children and males. Different species of anthropomorphic animals had different characteristics in their sex and roles. Many picture books depicted bears, dogs, and foxes as males and rabbits and pigs as females. Bears were more likely to be protagonists, squirrels and foxes were less likely to be protagonists, and cats were less likely to act as supporting characters. These results reveal that children see various kinds of anthropomorphic animals in picture books, and that anthropomorphic animals in picture books reflect social images of animals and the history of human-animal interactions.
Abstract: Children can have indirect contact with animals daily through media, such as picture books. Picture books can enrich children’s imaginary world and help them develop an adaptive life that can cope with various experiences. Because anthropomorphic animals in picture books are a typical fantasy, they may contribute to the development of relationships...
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The Gnostic Drive for Narration in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 6, November 2020
Pages:
316-319
Received:
26 October 2020
Accepted:
12 November 2020
Published:
19 November 2020
Abstract: As a top-ranking novelist in contemporary America, E. L. Doctorow is distinguished at his literary innovation of juxtaposing historical and imaginative texts, and is acknowledged as a “postmodern author”. However，after surveying his creative doctrines and artistic concept, we may perceive a kind of spiritual ring that is out of tune with postmodern literature, but quite compatible with Gnostic principles. The Gnosticism emphasizes the “intuitive process of knowing” which can be reflected in Doctorow’s novelistic creation. This study intends to prove that in Doctorow’s fiction there exists an ongoing drive to relate the story which stems from the author’s Gnostic consciousness; the power of Doctorow’s narrative right derives from human desire to reestablish the lost spiritual connection with other human beings by means of mysterious signs and symbols of language. The endeavor to interpret Doctorow’s literary creation with the help of Gnostic spirits and attitudes may bring dynamics to Doctorow criticism, inspire the appreciation of Doctorow’s works, and attempt to redress his stereotypical title as a “postmodern writer”.
Abstract: As a top-ranking novelist in contemporary America, E. L. Doctorow is distinguished at his literary innovation of juxtaposing historical and imaginative texts, and is acknowledged as a “postmodern author”. However，after surveying his creative doctrines and artistic concept, we may perceive a kind of spiritual ring that is out of tune with postmodern...
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A Satirical Reading of Wole Soyinka’s A Play of Giants
Ademola Adenigbo,
Matthew Alugbin
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 6, November 2020
Pages:
320-325
Received:
14 October 2019
Accepted:
13 July 2020
Published:
23 November 2020
Abstract: Satire is the literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking towards its attitudes manner in which the follies and foibles or vices are unmasked by the satirist. The great modern age of satire was the neo-classic period when the satiric spirit was everywhere present and a return was made to formal verse satire. This paper examines how Soyinka has responded to the socio-political and economic situation in Africa by creating A Play of Giants. It also examines how Soyinka, a sensitive playwright, in A Play of Giants mirrors events in the African society in such a daring and imaginative manner by satirizing them. The findings reveal that Soyinka presents his characters as hollow men to show their worthlessness and emptiness despite being at the helms of power. Soyinka reveals the hollowness of the characters exposing their linguistic incompetence. This study identifies some devices technically deployed by Soyinka to include irony, humour, wit, sarcasm and symbolism. Through the use of satire, Soyinka targets African political leaders who have become monsters because of the powers they wield. Wole Soyinka uses satire to raise the consciousness of the people and prick the conscience of the ruling political elite in Africa.
Abstract: Satire is the literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking towards its attitudes manner in which the follies and foibles or vices are unmasked by the satirist. The great modern age of satire was the neo-classic period when the satiric spirit was everywhere present and a return was made to formal verse satire. This paper...
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Deconstructing Sexuality and Xenophobia in Africa: A Critical Discourse on The Thing Around Your Neck and Under the Udala Tree
Elisabeth Noumbouwo Mimiafou Ayuk-Etang,
Charlotte Munge
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 6, November 2020
Pages:
326-334
Received:
3 November 2020
Accepted:
20 November 2020
Published:
4 December 2020
Abstract: This study demonstrates that prejudices towards homosexuals in Africa are stifling. Such bigotries stem from deeply rooted African traditional beliefs, and partly from the “ideals” of adopted religions. It is, therefore, unlikely for conformists of heterosexuality to experience resistance and homophobic tendencies. Adherents to this view include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Chinelo Okparanta in there texts The Thing Around Your Neck and Under the Udala Tree respectively. These writers also hold that restraints, constraints and exclusion of all sorts form the caucus of xenophobia towards homosexuality in Africa. The paper argues that, homosexuality is not strictly a global northern issue; but also, an African phenomenon, even though it meets with unprecedented resentment and resistance due to received religions and socio-cultural stereotypes. The objective of this study is to examine, interpret, and analyze the texts, and showcase the deplorable attitude of Africans towards LGBT practitioners. The analytical framework is based on indebt examination of the tests, using Queer and Deconstructionist perspectives as theoretical constructs. The study reveals that no form of sexuality is superior to another, as a result, no form should be encourage or discourage, because sexuality is innate. Also, heterosexuality is seemingly a sexual preference in Africa, but wrapped – up in a cluster of homosexuality which existence is behind the scene in Africa.
Abstract: This study demonstrates that prejudices towards homosexuals in Africa are stifling. Such bigotries stem from deeply rooted African traditional beliefs, and partly from the “ideals” of adopted religions. It is, therefore, unlikely for conformists of heterosexuality to experience resistance and homophobic tendencies. Adherents to this view include Ch...
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The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 6, November 2020
Pages:
335-340
Received:
22 November 2020
Accepted:
2 December 2020
Published:
8 December 2020
Abstract: The development of feminism marks its influence on women’s and likewise men’s life, which is captured and presented by filmic works. The Hollywood film The Full Monty directed by Peter Cattaneo some 20-odd years ago, still reminds the world audience that we’ve already stepped out of the era when female body was the sole object to be gazed and now male body can also be on show. Superficially, the film seems to suggest that man is obliged to turn in their dignity, gazing power and above all, their authority to women partially because of the development of feminism. As the director Cattaneo says, this film is “a reaction to feminism”. However, below the surface the film is not only reaction “to” but “against” feminism by reason that the glorification of masculinity can be detected in many parts of the film with the help of film languages like montage, camera movements and angles. Therefore, this paper starts to explore for what purpose the public has changed its understanding and definition of masculinity, then questions whether the man-stripping phenomenon is a progress or setback for either the society or the development of feminism. Seeking recourse to Judith Butler’s “performative” statements and Michael Foucault’s theory on power, it intends to answer the question whether this film is a reaction against feminism, and to prove the hypothesis that this film demonstrates masculinity in an alternative “language” and thus glorifies it while man was disguised as victim of the feminism development.
Abstract: The development of feminism marks its influence on women’s and likewise men’s life, which is captured and presented by filmic works. The Hollywood film The Full Monty directed by Peter Cattaneo some 20-odd years ago, still reminds the world audience that we’ve already stepped out of the era when female body was the sole object to be gazed and now m...
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Exploration of the Ultimate Reality in the Katha Upanishad
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 6, November 2020
Pages:
341-348
Received:
7 November 2020
Accepted:
23 November 2020
Published:
11 December 2020
Abstract: This research paper attempts to explore the proclamations of the ultimate reality postulated by the Katha Upanishad with the tenets of transcendental philosophy. The Katha Upanishad, which is one of the principal Upanishads, crystallizes the concept of the ultimate truth that remains beyond the realm of senses and reasons. Therefore, this article aims to interpret the dimensions of the fundamental truth that the Upanishad exposes in vivid ways. The entire dialogues between Yama, the Lord of Death, and the inquirer of knowledge, Nachiketa, in this Upanishad lead us from this world to make out the point that ultimate reality lies beyond the frontiers of mind and experience. The manifested phenomenal world, which we perceive, is just a play. Thus, to realize the truth as divinity, one should transcend the realm of logic and senses. The concepts of the Western transcendental philosophy propounded mainly by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza, and Kant also make the same proclamations about the nature of absolute reality. This article provides the new insights to view the speculations of the Katha Upanishad and the Western Philosophy of transcendence about the nature of the genuine reality as they both disseminate the same tunes, showing the unity in diversity.
Abstract: This research paper attempts to explore the proclamations of the ultimate reality postulated by the Katha Upanishad with the tenets of transcendental philosophy. The Katha Upanishad, which is one of the principal Upanishads, crystallizes the concept of the ultimate truth that remains beyond the realm of senses and reasons. Therefore, this article a...
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Ashwaghosh’s Sundarananda: Transition from the Physical to the Liberation- Existing Not to Exist
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 6, November 2020
Pages:
349-355
Received:
12 November 2020
Accepted:
27 November 2020
Published:
16 December 2020
Abstract: Sundarananda, the Sanskrit epic on the Buddhist theme of Moksha and Nirvana, has become a trendsetter in the epic writing in Sanskrit and Nepali. Hindu born poet and philosopher, Ashwaghosh has composed this text after his deep-rooted impression on Buddhism. The epic has the narrative on how Buddha’s half brother, Nanda has undergone the severe practice for Moksha. He has adopted his family life, he has the close affiliation to the worldly things and he appears to be closely inclined to the material world. Buddha, not as a person, but as a philosophy or a practice, has provided him a pathway to the mode of liberation from the worldly life. At the beginning, Nanda is a common man, but by the end of the epic, he has got transition from the physical to the mode of unworldly realization. The whole epic describes his different steps of transition, dilemma between worldly and unworldly, confusion between love to life and love to beyond, and ultimately gives his successive transformation into the point of physically liberated life on earth. This study examines how he has made a resourceful transition from the physical love to the love beyond. Also, it raises some typical questions on the Buddhist negation of the material world, suffering and the debate on rebirth with the close observation on the relationship between body and mind, and ‘being’ and ‘non-being’. Sundarananda, not as a pure Buddhist text in this study, but as a literary creation, has adopted the lessons of Buddhism and at the same time, it has opened the discussion of existing for not to exist. The epic has provided a strong platform to interpret the text as a Buddhist quest for the non-existence through the existence.
Abstract: Sundarananda, the Sanskrit epic on the Buddhist theme of Moksha and Nirvana, has become a trendsetter in the epic writing in Sanskrit and Nepali. Hindu born poet and philosopher, Ashwaghosh has composed this text after his deep-rooted impression on Buddhism. The epic has the narrative on how Buddha’s half brother, Nanda has undergone the severe pra...
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