Orwells Animal Farm Genre Untangled English Literature Essay

Orwells Animal Farm Genre Untangled English Literature Essay Out of George Orwells repertoire many of his works can be described as somewhat ambiguous in terms of genre. For instance, Down and Out in Paris and London is a recount of his personal experiences flavoured with fictional elements, a semi-autobiography, but it is written in the objective voice of a report, article or documentary with additional sociographic speculations. Many of his essays linger on the boundaries of the short story, as well. Animal Farm is no exception of this Orwellian tendency to fuse different genres. It is often labelled as a dystopian allegorical novella or satire, but has been called a fable in the Aesopian tradition as well. In the present paper I will analyse Orwells work from the viewpoint of all these genres separately keeping in mind of course, that the genres themselves overlap each other in some characteristics and examine how Animal Farm functions as a dystopia, a satire and a fable. While Animal Farm fits some of these characteristics it also lacks in others. It certainly portrays oppression in the form of a totalitarian centralized power, however, in contrast with some well known works strongly associated with the genre including Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four as well it describes the process of how the utopian dream develops into the dystopian nightmare. Considering displacement it is not really in line with the dystopian trait either. It is for certain that the story takes place somewhere in the English countryside, we are even given the name of Willingdon and The Red Lion, an existing village and pub in East Sussex. Otherwise there is no special importance in the geographical location of the Farm, suggesting that it is not important where it takes place, and consequently, that it could happen anywhere. As for temporal coordinates they are even less specified or notable; the story is not tied to, and thus not untied from any particular date or era. The story could have taken place yesterday just as well as a hundred years ago or in the distant future; it is not dissociated or displaced from either Orwells or todays readers time. (Of course depending on the interpretation of the story, it does allude to the Stalinist regime and the Russian revolution but only externally as its mere allegory not internally to the novellas fictional universe.) However, it could be argued that there is some kind of displacement, not in spatial or temporal terms but in the very nature of the story as a fantastic beast fable or fairy story as Orwell called it. Its characters of talking animals who read and write and manage a farm on their own is surely not a picture of our everyday life. The feature Animal Farm most clearly adopts from the dystopian genre is the intention of warning. It warns of the danger of communist dictatorship and raises the attention as well of the existing conditions present at the time in the Soviet Union; or in a more general interpr etation the corrupting effect of power when exercised by anybody  [1]  . However, the element of warning or at least criticism of human vices or follies with the intention of improvement  [2]  is also representative of the satire. Although it is usually meant to be funny, its purpose is not just humor for its own sake but an attack on something the satirist strongly disapproves of and to persuade the reader (or viewer depending on the medium) to strive for a solution to the problem presented, using the weapon of wit, irony, and caricature.  [3]   In Animal Farm the satirical irony emerges from Orwells style of narration and his use of the animal allegory. The narrative style he employs is characterized by simple language and light, objective even impersonal voice with the limited point of view of the enslaved animals. The plain language on the one hand is to reflect the naÃÆ' ¯ve perception of the animals  [4]  , on the other this terse phrasing is set in ironic juxtaposition[to] the crassly elitist, manipulative, unintelligible, and circumlocutory discourse of the pigs, through which the fictitious passes off as factitious.  [5]  Samir Elbarbary in his essay Language as Theme in Animal Farm even argues that the conscious derangement of language, and linguistic superiority which sustain the assumption of power, is one of the novellas fundamental thematic concerns. Language and how language can influence or even determine the way people think is often a recurring theme in Orwells works, for example the idea of Newsp eak in Nineteen Eighty-Four, and he even addresses the problem directly in essays, such as Politics And The English Language, in which he attests for simple uncomplicated language in scholarly and especially in political contexts. According to Elbarbary, in Animal Farm the revolution is, in a sense a language-focused enterprise, a product of specifically aggressive linguistic energy, and language  [6]  , which can efficiently control reality, is the source of the tragic outcome rather than its mere reflection. Those animals who have an underdeveloped language, are compleatly overpowered by the linguistic skill of the pigs; their ensnarement is less a matter substance than of generic linguistic impotence and deficient semantic memory.  [7]   Even thought the point of view of the narrator is limited (or at least it is more distant from the feelings or thoughts of the pigs than that of the other animals), the narration still implies more to the reader than the animals themselves are aware of. We understand the difference between the truth of a situation and what the characters know about it, while the characters remain ignorant of the discrepancy, which creates dramatic irony. For example when Squealer explains that the van in which Boxer was taken to the hospital formerly belonged to a horse slaughterer and that the veterinarian who now uses it did not have the time to paint over the horse slaughterers sign on its side, the narrator says: The animals were enormously relieved to hear this.  [8]  The reader however, can assume the truth right when the van appeared to carry the horse away. Another level of satire is in the characterization. Orwell attributes easily recognisable human traits to animals, which remain absolute, that is they are character types rather than fully developed characters, without the ability to grow or change, the animals shall stay both animal and human. It removes the possibility of very complex characterization.  [9]  In the light of the parallel that can be drawn between the story and the Russian revolution, some characters are clear caricatures of exact historical figures (like Napoleon-Stalin, Snowball-Lenin) others of specific social groups or classes or even tools used to uphold dictatorship (e.g. Boxer-working class, Squealer-propaganda), creating a grotesque mirror image not just of the events but the figures involved in it, enhancing the validity of the satirical parallel. The third genre considered here is the already mentioned beast fable. It is usually a brief tale that conveys a moral lesson, usually by giving human speech and manners to animals. It is a very old form of story related to folklore and proverbs, the fables in Europe descends from tales attributed to Aesop, a Greek slave in the 6th century BCE. The French fabulist La Fontaine revived the form in the 17th century with his witty verse adaptations of Greek fables.  [10]  The form can be associated with the satire as well as the beast fable is also used as a culturally universal satirical technique. It is basically the dramatic realization of a metaphor and satirists have always found this translation of metaphor to dramatic fact an extremely effective way of portraying the true nature of vice and folly. As far as characters, style and language (its simplicity thus serving double causes) Animal Farm fits the criteria of the genre. According to Christopher Hollis the writer of the beast fable must throughout be successful in preserving a delicate and whimsical balance due to the overall absurdity of animals behaving and talking like humans and discussing complicated intellectual problems. He argues that Orwell is able to maintain this balance by avoiding any unnecessary explanation of the fantastic elements of the story in an otherwise realistic setting.  [11]   However if we take into account its length it is considerably longer than the traditional fable. In addition, some point out that its moral lesson is questionable or nonexistent as it is impossible to attach a moral to any familiar sense to Animal Farm, where wickedness ends in triumph and virtue is utterly crushed.  [12]  I do agree that there is no lesson to be learned in the fashion of for example The Tortoise and the Hare, however I believe that there are moral undertones embedded in the overall message of the novella, like power corrupts; it is a moral lesson without answers, or a moral tragedy of humankind. In conclusion, Orwells Animal Farm seems to function best as a satire but he consciously incorporated techniques and elements of other literary forms, most elaborately of the beast fable, to use it as his satirical vehicle. As for the dystopia genre it seems to be a little farfetched to attach the term to Orwells novella, it is more like a loud hee-haw at all who yearn for Utopia.  [13]  

Steroid Use in Professional Sports :: Athletics Drugs Papers

Steroid Use in Professional Sports For fans, the issue of steroid use in professional sports is one of growing concern. Professional athletes were once hailed as roll models for young Americans, now there is an asterisk next to many names once idolized. Is he legitimately getting bigger, faster, and stronger? Is he one of the league’s best, strictly due to his talent and work ethic alone? Or is he one of â€Å"those guys†? Maybe former NBA great, Charles Barkley, had it right when he said, â€Å"I am not a roll model.† But maybe, just maybe, these men and women have a responsibility to the kids who adore them to do the right thing; to compete at the highest level with absolute legitimacy in the way they go about doing it. Maybe they are roll models and because they are, they must conduct themselves in a way that is respectable and â€Å"right†. The problem of steroid use in professional sports is perpetuated because the current testing policies in such leagues as Major League Baseball are n ot strict or comprehensive enough to curb the benefits athletes gain from steroid use. They have sub-par policies and are conducting sub-par testing practices. Since we cannot count on the athletes themselves to rid the leagues of this problem, the leagues need to take steroids on and defeat it with stricter regulations. Testing of steroids is simply ineffective in professional sports and until something is done the negative influence it has upon America’s youth will continue to grow. Anabolic steroids, which can be taken as a pill or as an injection, are a derivative of and mimic the effects of the male sex hormone testosterone. Both men and women naturally produce testosterone, although women make very small amounts in comparison to men. Testosterone's role in the body is two-fold: first, it maintains the male reproductive system, including production and maintenance of the male sexual characteristics of a deeper voice, greater amounts of body hair, larger body size, and greater muscle mass. Second, for a short period of time at the onset of puberty in young men, testosterone production rises dramatically to stimulate the bulk of the male physical maturation process which leads to full bone growth, deepening voice, and growth of facial hair. It is this ability to promote muscle growth, increase lean body mass, and decrease body fat that entices teenagers to take anabolic steroids.

MacBeth is Responsible for His Downfall Essay -- Macbeth essays

MacBeth is Responsible for His Downfall    There were many wrongs committed in "MacBeth." But who should bear the major responsibility for these actions? The witches' prophesising? Lady MacBeth's scheming and persuasion? Or should MacBeth himself be held responsible? No doubt the witches and lady MacBeth influenced MacBeth in the course of action he took in his rise to power, but ultimately he must bear the major responsibility for his fate.    The witches played an undoubtedly large role in MacBeth, being the instigators of the entire plot. In act one scene three, the witches say: `all hail, MacBeth! Hail to thee, thane of cawdor! ... All hail, MacBeth, that shalt be king hereafter!' (Line 47-50) these prophecies throw into his mind the possibility of further advancement to the highest level of the nobility. If the witches had not told MacBeth of their prophesies, there is little chance he would have thought about them himself, and even less chance he would have murdered king Duncan.    In act three scene five, the witches are talking to hectate, the...

Vincent Van Gogh Essay -- Essays Papers

Vincent Van Gogh The people back in the 19th century really didn’t accept Van Gaogh’s truthful and emotionally morbid way of expressing the way of art is to himself. It finally was seen as art through the people’s eyes. This set a stage of art that is now known as Expressionism. It is best characterized by the use of symbols and a style that expresses the artist’s inner feelings about his subject. His style of painting is exemplified by a projection of the painter’s inner experience onto the canvas he paints on. Van Gogh’s paintings are done with his feelings that goes on in his life. (Mark Harden’s Artchive) In Vincent’s own words he said, " What lives in art and is eternally living, is first of all the painter, and then the painting." (Mark Harden’s Artchive) A lot of people think that Van Gogh’s life had a lot of failure and that’s why his paintings are about his feelings, but his experiences demonstrate biological and psychological abnormality, causing behaviors that alienated those around him. He started to become isolated from the society, by working on his paintings all the time. He began to use all his energy and all the outburst into his paintings. This caused him to be institutionalized, due to working on his paintings all the time and nothing else. It became so serious that he committed suicide by shooting himself at the age of 37. (Shearer West) During his short life, he only sold one of his art works. He sold it four months before his death and sold it for 400 francs, It was titled "The Red Vineyard," even though he produced so many masterpieces that will go in history. Most art lovers see Van Gogh as a troubled person, but a successful artist. This is far from the actual truth of his turbulent life, which was fraught with failure in every occupational pursuit he attempted, including painting and was marked by intermittent episodes of depression, violence, and out going behaviors. ( Encyclopedia of Arts – Mark Harden’s Artchive) They have nearly completed t he understanding the feelings, experiences, and views Van Gogh had, by the notes that were preserved that he sent to his friends and family, especially the all the ones sent to his brother Theo. Mark Harden’s Artchive) Before Vincent became a painter, he was a Protestant minister and a art dealer. He failed at both of these and then started to study art world. His... ...ure. That’s it as far as I'm concerned†¦ I feel that this is the destiny that I accept, that will never change." (Mark Harden’s Artchive) One of the last paintings Van Gogh did was "Wheat Field With Crows." There's dark clouds in the background that seem hopeless and depressive. Psychologist say that Van Gogh might have had polar disorder, which means manic depression. On July 27, 1890 Vincent killed himself with a gunshot to the chest and then six months later Theo died of lung disease. (Encyclopedia of Arts) Van Gogh is considered one of the most powerful Expressionist. His paintings sell for millions of dollars today even though he only sold one during his lifetime. (Voyager) WORK CITED "Vincent Van Gogh." Mark Harden's Artchive http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/vangogh/vangogh_bio.html (7 April 99) "Van Gogh: Starry Night." Voyager http://voyager.learntech.com/cdrom/cataologpage.cgi?starrynight (7 April 99) "Vincent Van Gogh." Encyclopedia.com http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/13346.html (7 April 99) "The Bulfinch Guide to Art History." Shearer West Ref 700.9 B871gu page 475 "Encyclopedia of the Arts." Ref 703 En19 1966 pg 348

In The Camps Essay examples -- essays research papers fc

In the Camps Concentration camp is a term that stirs up many emotions. How did they come about? What were they exactly? And just what went on inside those walls? Many have tried to give a full description of what life in the camps was like. With toady’s fast moving and knowledgeable media the public has become very informed on the subject at hand. The fact still remains that few were there, so few can know what really happened. These three poignant questions posed above could each take eternity to fully understand. This is a short explanation of the atrocities that the Nazi’s handed out to the innocent victims of the Holocaust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How exactly did concentration and extermination camps come about, legally speaking? On first glance it seems that in toady’s modern and civil world that nothing of this nature could ever happen. In fact it happened due to article 48, paragraph 2 in the German Constitution. Here the president is given far reaching emergency powers. This article was used by Paul von Hindenburg in 1933 giving protective custody to protect the state’s security. From there in momentum gained. On April 12, 1934 an edict from the Ministry of the Interior was introduced governing protective custody grounds for establishment of camps. This edict also decreed that those sent to concentration camps were under the rule of the Gestapo and their release was indicative to the discretion of this secret service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power is a strange phenomena. Once the Gestapo had legal rights to cruelty the act of playing God became easier to abuse. Terrence Des Pres explains this best by stating: â€Å"As power grows, it grows more and more hostile to everything outside itself. Its logic is inherently negative, which is why it ends by destroying itself. . . The exercise of totalitarian power, in any case, does not stop with the demand of outward compliance. It seeks, further, to crush the spirit, to obliterate that active inward principle whose strength depends on its freedom from entire determination by external forces. And thus the compulsion, felt by men with great power, to seek out and destroy all resistance, all spiritual autonomy, all sign of dignity in those held captive. . .The death of the soul was aimed at.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This verifies the purpose of these camps as given by Bruno Bettleheim. He ... ... Press, 1994. Levi, Primo. The Drowned and the Saved. excerpt on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.spectacle.org/695/clothes.html. Orenstein, Henry. I Shall Live: Surviving Against all Odds. New York: Beaufort Books,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1987. â€Å"Auschwitz and Birkenau.† on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. â€Å"Pincus at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Rudy at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust. on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Zyklon-B.† on-line. available from http://www.spectacle.org/695/zyklonb.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/concentration.html. In The Camps Essay examples -- essays research papers fc In the Camps Concentration camp is a term that stirs up many emotions. How did they come about? What were they exactly? And just what went on inside those walls? Many have tried to give a full description of what life in the camps was like. With toady’s fast moving and knowledgeable media the public has become very informed on the subject at hand. The fact still remains that few were there, so few can know what really happened. These three poignant questions posed above could each take eternity to fully understand. This is a short explanation of the atrocities that the Nazi’s handed out to the innocent victims of the Holocaust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How exactly did concentration and extermination camps come about, legally speaking? On first glance it seems that in toady’s modern and civil world that nothing of this nature could ever happen. In fact it happened due to article 48, paragraph 2 in the German Constitution. Here the president is given far reaching emergency powers. This article was used by Paul von Hindenburg in 1933 giving protective custody to protect the state’s security. From there in momentum gained. On April 12, 1934 an edict from the Ministry of the Interior was introduced governing protective custody grounds for establishment of camps. This edict also decreed that those sent to concentration camps were under the rule of the Gestapo and their release was indicative to the discretion of this secret service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power is a strange phenomena. Once the Gestapo had legal rights to cruelty the act of playing God became easier to abuse. Terrence Des Pres explains this best by stating: â€Å"As power grows, it grows more and more hostile to everything outside itself. Its logic is inherently negative, which is why it ends by destroying itself. . . The exercise of totalitarian power, in any case, does not stop with the demand of outward compliance. It seeks, further, to crush the spirit, to obliterate that active inward principle whose strength depends on its freedom from entire determination by external forces. And thus the compulsion, felt by men with great power, to seek out and destroy all resistance, all spiritual autonomy, all sign of dignity in those held captive. . .The death of the soul was aimed at.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This verifies the purpose of these camps as given by Bruno Bettleheim. He ... ... Press, 1994. Levi, Primo. The Drowned and the Saved. excerpt on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.spectacle.org/695/clothes.html. Orenstein, Henry. I Shall Live: Surviving Against all Odds. New York: Beaufort Books,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1987. â€Å"Auschwitz and Birkenau.† on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. â€Å"Pincus at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Rudy at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust. on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Zyklon-B.† on-line. available from http://www.spectacle.org/695/zyklonb.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/concentration.html.

Tracka History

Tracks are the bars that chain every life-full and lifeless life. It is the reason of being and not being and yet it has no reason to its own being! The Journey of human life Initiates on an aching track Inside a human life. It Is by this way that every track is born from an existing track to give birth to a new track: with the pain and strive for its survival. The birth of a new track, the birth oaf human life continues the agony of Its Journey under Its crafting and being crafted. The track hen widens and branches into various phases that life has to undergo.Every life possesses its own track which lays a unique awe of colors, flavors, and aromas. The human elite begins with the fetal pain and enters the cheerful, merry phase to childhood which is the enlivening arrival of the tracks among other tracks. It chirps with hues of innocence and freedom and the sweet flavor of inexperience and gullibility. Then the phase to adolescence is hoot-marked by the tracks with hues of upcoming m aturity and yet instability, impulsiveness, and sentimental blows, lush and gleam, Inquisitiveness and irresistibility and the sweet fragrance of a fascinating sense of growing up and yet being juvenile.It is all because of the tracks that change their routes and shapes. Then the youth spreads its golden wings with the flavor of velour, passion, potency, piquancy, gallantry. It Is also with beauty and might and the vigor that love adores in; it pours in its thrilling attraction towards other tracks, perception to mingle with another track to beat as one and to produce another out of Its existence. It Is these tracks that bloom relationships as hey connect each other. It is also a sense of belonging, a sense of disparity amalgamated with hot enthusiasm that also leads to confrontations between lives and hence tracks.It Is then that tracks bring human life to adulthood with compassion and ripened maturity with parenthood and sympathy, with Indulgence. Perception and harmony towards ot her beings. It is here that the tracks start to ripen, to make a realization of responsibilities, the ultimate goal of tracks. Then the tracks wrinkle and decolonize, they meager, leaving as much residual wisdom as Seibel; drooping off the lives, growing old, fragile and shaky and finally hand over the bunch to experiences to other tracks to lay hints tort lives to go on and on, however hopeless it may seem to be.The scrawny tracks shed but are yet immortal, as they lay behind evergreen generations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Similarly, the Journey of a seed begins in DARK TRACKS, deep beneath the earth with immense trepidation and yet hopes to have an acquaintance with light, knowing not of the slaughtering and exterminating heat that accompanies It. The suffocating seed striving for growth ruminates, Witt the branching up to its painful track to soar high above earth yet remain anchored and grounded to its roots. The tracks stimulate its germination to the seedling phase, consuming the resourc es and the efforts to lead its formation.It grows with traits of tenderness, softness, and delicacy. The seedling, along with the widening of tracks; widens and blooms into a plant and then into a kind tree. It is then that the tracks take them to places where they have to pay the returns and much more than that utilized. They shed and regret endlessly, with heir fruits given happily or rather taken happily! They serve their master tracks- the human beings as givers. And perhaps sacrifice their lives by letting us brutally cut off their tracks. And then the tracks fall as the life falls.A non-living being also has an expedition of its own, often unnoticed. The pencil enters its expedition with a sense of completeness, wholeness, vividness, originality and totality unlike the living ones. It then enters a phase of sharpening that sets its Journey on until it sheds itself. The tracks gradually become narrower and shrink as they succeed. The pencil harpers itself, hoping to improve the marks it leaves, to paw mark itself to serve its master-the human being, who though is the creator of the pencil, is not the creator of its tracks!It then feeds marking and blackening and writing lives losing its own! And then as it feels it's growing the precedence of tracks deteriorate its existence. The only difference between Journey of a life-full and a lifeless one is that tracks make the former grow up as they change, whereas the latter shrinks down. The formers life is so simply started that it makes it complicated whereas the latter's life s so complicatedly started that it ends simply. It is the beauty and magnificence of tracks that though they lose significance without a traveler, they are not created by the travelers.Although they provide choices to go on, they bind us in chains somewhere in time; of which we realize when we've lost the assumed control. They also depict and bring correspondence to all ‘prisoners' despite their uniqueness and disparity. It dissolv es the boundary of poor and rich, masculine and feminine, black and white, strong and feeble, animals and plants and to an extent- living and non-living! Every track has a Journey- whether a Eng one or a short one, a complete one or an incomplete one.The Journey though different, is always amongst and with all tracks. Every Journey has a purpose and the tracks are those which chain them to it, and so it fulfils its being. Be it Journeys of living beings or of non living beings, all tracks mingle in one point Just as they are born out of the hands of one single creator- the almighty. Here, I remember of a very famous truth, â€Å"Dust thou art, to dust returnees. † They circle around one single destination- death, closure, end†¦ . Every track ends, what differs is Just the pace of ending, it is Just the fate of

Corporal Punishment and the Damages of Spanking on Children

?CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND THE DAMAGES OF SPANKING ON CHILDREN You have probably heard the expression, â€Å"spare the rod, and spoil the child. † Do you agree with it? Perhaps you were spanked as a kid. Was it appropriate? Some people see spanking as an outdated method of punishment or even child abuse, while others view a swat on the bottom as a parent's prerogative. People differ a lot on their views when it comes to administering corporal punishment on children. While some view it as being barbaric, some consider those who spare the rod and spoil the child to be sloppy in their tutorage of children. The basis for taking an exemption to the administration of corporal punishment on children might stem from legal, educational, medical, communal and even economic reasons. Where do we draw the line when it comes to disciplining our children? When considering if the administration of corporal punishment is good or wrong, some questions have to be initially answered. What can be referred to as corporal punishment? What precipitates corporal punishment? What effects can corporal punishment accomplished? Is the practice healthy in all and any ramifications? Are there noticeable differences in the lives of adults that were/were not subjected to corporal punishments? Based on these, should the practice be discouraged or continued? If these questions are successfully answered without bias or prejudice, the issue of if or if not corporal punishment administration on children will be laid to rest. Corporal punishment is the intentional infliction of pain on the human body for purposes of punishment or controlling behavior. It includes slapping, spanking, and forcing to stand for long periods of time; spanking involves hitting with the palm of the hand. Children often undergo some form of corporal punishment in response to punishment for flouting of rules, regulations or norms, failing grades, exhibition of unwholesome traits and so on. Quite agreeably, corporal punishments might have succeeded in curbing the delinquencies of juveniles in some cases. However, the effects are definitely short lived and results often in astronomical failures! Obedience to an authority out of love and respect is more sustainable as compared to obedience evoke from fear and dominion. It common situations in homes that children often tend to do what is not expected of them to do if there is an element of risk involved (corporal punishment and spanking in this case). If a parent patiently explains why using of a particular brand of drug might be helpful, the child respectfully obeys; however, in cases where threats are issued, intriguing human nature sets in and the rule is disobeyed! If restrictions are placed on the freedom of children without issuance of threats and physical abuse, but lovingness, patience and kindness is expended, the tendency to disobey is greatly reduced. Research have shown that people that end up being serial killers, rapist, drug dependents and who involve in all social vices are most times, the victims of physical abuse brought about by spanking (Gershoff , 2002). Children and people in general that are subjected to corporal punishment lack or have reduced empathy and human compassion for other people (Lopez, Bonenberger, & Schneider, 2001). Any effect of corporal punishment is negative (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1998; Lytton, 1997; J. McCord, 1997; Straus, 1994a). Those who do not become bullies end up being timid and insipid people that have no control over their own minds. Such people do not know what it means to be loved, have self respect and to respect others. The only way they can communicate love is via pain and suffering (at least that is the way they were brought up), and that good and lessons can only be learnt or achieved through hardship, pain and suffering. As adults, they become the inflictor of pain because they have always being the recipient (Gershoff & Bitensky, 2007). Furthermore, parents that practice corporal punishment are often times victims of corporal punishment when they were children. Why should the hate cycle continue? Being spanked is an emotional event. Adults often remember with crystal clarity times they were paddled or spanked as children. Many adults look back on corporal punishment in childhood with great anger and sadness. Sometimes people say, â€Å"I was spanked as a child, and I deserved it. † It is hard for us to believe that people who loved us would intentionally hurt us. We feel the need to excuse that hurt. Spanking often leave bruises, marks and wounds which sometimes may never heal or leave it trails. Medically, this is unacceptable. Bearing marks of manhandling often times results in emotion mess and immaturity, sporadic acts of wickedness, cowardice and lack of self assurance. Peers of children who are being spanked often tease and bully such. They cannot concentrate on their education both in school and at home. Adult survivors of abuse are subject to a substantial array of long term effects of their abuse. In Cruz and Essen (1994) a variety of effects are suggested including emotional roblems, behavioral problems, physical problems, sexual dysfunction problems and social problems. Psychological abuse of children has been described as the most ambiguous to define and yet maybe the most common type of abuse to be inflicted on children by parents. Legally, children have rights under the international human rights charter that are often contravened with the administration of corporal punishments. Can those who carry out corporal punishment set their actions within the confines of the law? Most sadly, no! Studies show that even a few instances of being hit as children are associated with more depressive symptoms as adults (Strauss, 1994, Strassberg, Dodge, Pettit & Bates, 1994). A landmark meta-analysis of 88 corporal punishment research studies of over six decades showed that corporal punishment of children was associated with negative outcomes including increased delinquent and antisocial behavior, increased risk of child abuse and spousal abuse, increased risk of child aggression and adult aggression, decreased child mental health and decreased adult mental health (Gershoff, 2002). While most of us who were spanked turned out OK, it is likely that not being spanked would have helped us turn out to be healthier. It is important to note that corporal punishment is not the only form of correcting undesirable traits in children (Day and Roberts, 1983; Roberts and Powell, 1990). Often times, parent/guardian and children relationship are at best frosty when incidences of child spanking and corporal punishment are melted out. Love and respect fosters better relationship and communal existence, than fear and domination, which is the product of spanking. Children find it easier to deal with daily problems in a mature manner, and they grow up to be responsible and law abiding adults. Even in most species of animals, biting and kicking is absent between offspring and parents, yet communion in such class is excellent; obedience to the call of a parent, following hierarchy and abiding within existing norms and social standings are respected. Should not human parents show some intelligence superior to animal parents? The society has nothing to lose and everything to gain if spanking is abolished. In the absence of corporal punishment, the society thrives happily on the reduction in crimes of juveniles, adult sociopaths and other child abuse related problems. Also, it makes the society saner and more civilized. For instance, children that are continually subjected to corporal punishment see no issue with picking up a fight, being bullies and destructive agents. They often seek companionship with people of their like minds, resulting in the proliferation of delinquent gangs, whose sole end results are vices such as drugs dealing, rape, stealing and robbery, wanton destruction and creating public unrest. An end to spanking and corporal punishment will see an end to a lot of the unnecessary evil crimes being perpetuated in our society. REFERENCES American Academy of Pediatrics. (1998). Guidance for effective discipline. Pediatrics, 101, 723–728. Day, D. E. , & Roberts, M. W. (1983). An analysis of the physical punishment component of a parent-training program. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 141–152. Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal Punishments by parents and Associated Child Behaviors and Experiences: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review. The American Psychological Association. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 128, No. 4, 539-579. Gershoff, E. T & Bitensky, S. H. (2007). The Case against the Corporal Punishment of Children: Converging Evidence from Social Science Research and International Human Rights Law and Implications for U. S. Public Policy. The American Psychological Association. Psychological, Public Policy and Law. Vol. 13, No. 4, 231-272. Lopez, N. L. , Bonenberger, J. L. , & Schneider, H. G. (2001). Parental disciplinary history, current levels of empathy, and moral reasoning in young adults. North American Journal of Psychology, 3, 193–204. Lytton, H. (1997). Physical punishment is a problem, whether conduct disorder is endogenous or not. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 211–214. McCord, J. (1997). On discipline. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 215–217. Roberts, M. W. , & Powers, S. W. (1990). Adjusting chair timeout enforcement procedures for oppositional children. Behavior Therapy, 21, 257–271. Straus, M. A. (1994a). Beating the devil out of them: Corporal punishment in American families. New York: Lexington Books.