G e n e r a l In t r o d u c t i o n The themes of the portfolio are political corruption and domestic violence. The themes were chosen because they are major social issues in the Jamaican society. The purpose of the portfolio is to educate persons especially the intended audienceelectorates and adolescent and adult females, s o that they can improve themselves and their lives. The theme of the exposition piece is political corruption. This research informs readers and listeners about corrupt politicians and how they adversely affect the future and current generations of the country. In order to lessen the election of such politicians‘ , electorates need to analyze their political representative carefully. Although it was concluded that electorates are continuing to represent corrupt politician s‘ , it is my hope that this research can aid electorates to cease and be more cautious when choosing a political representative. With such an important decision being made wisely, electorates can better themselves and their lives in Jamaica. The reflective piece highlights domestic violence. In the short story, the accused thought that ‗shaking‘ was ‗shaking‘ was a simple reprimand and denies that it was domestic violence. The story depicts to adolescent and adult females that appearances can be deceptive, ―all that glitters is not gold‖ therefore gold‖ therefore one must never judge a person‘s personality according to outward appearances, because anyone is capable of being violent. More importantly, the story declares that no one should tolerate domestic violence. Domestic violence breaks the spirit of the victim and instills fear. However, one can better themselves from a life of such abuse if appropriate procedures are taken.
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According to Jamaican laws, both themes create punishable offences. Due to the fact, that I am currently a law student and I hope to be a prospective lawyer, I would like to try to limit these issues which are plaguing Jamaica‘s society. I will one day be upholding the rule of law and I would like to start here, by just being informative. My personal interest stems from the numerous cases I have seen and heard of corrupt politicians and domestic violence and I strongly detest that the numbers of these issues are rising drastically.
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Preface
‗A Beautiful Thunderstorm‘ was written for adolescent and adult females. This short story was written because of the numerous domestic violence cases in my community and surrounding communities, hence I want to inform the intended audience that domestic violence should never be tolerated and that any person is capable of being violent even persons who seem to have everything. The intended audience was selected from observations of my community, which have led me to believe that domestic violence mostly occurs to adolescent and adult females.
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Reflection A Beautiful Thunderstorm Gregory Davis, one of my closest college friends, was probably one of the most physically attractive men I have ever known. However, he seemed unaware of his good looks. He was too busy following his dream of becoming an actor and playing his guitar to notice. He was beautiful not only because of his physical attributes, but also because he was humble, creative, and passionate. Paradoxically, his greatest strength, his passion, was also his greatest weakness. Gregory was 6 ft 1 with a slender, athletic built. Sometimes he wore a diamond stud in his right ear. He had caramel brown skin, tight, black curls and a sexy Denzel Washington – like smile. Although Gregory received a lot of attention from ladies, he remained humble and unassuming. He never seemed to notice how women would stop in mid-sentence and publicly gawk at him when he walked by in his faded, well fitted jeans and Roca Wear shirts. Women often stopped him and asked, ―Don‘t I know you?‖, or ―Can you tell me how to get to…?‖ They always approached him with their tongues in check, trying to impress him, by using the Acrolect English instead of Creole. He was always so gracious to them and he would try his best to remember if he knew the ‗deceptive temptress‘ from somewhere or to help the ‗damsel in distress‘ find her way to a place that she already knew how to get to. The bolder girls would come right out and ask if I was his girlfriend and he would gently explain, ―No, Danielle is one of my best friends‘, my girlfriend attends another college.‖ He spoke with a slight hint of British accent adapted from his childhood home in England. Gregory‘s creativity was amazing. He played the guitar and wrote songs. But his true love was creating films where he was always playing the leading role. Gregory danced to the beat of a different music than everyone I knew, but it was an exotic beat all the same. And even though he seemed to be in his own world, he never hesitated to come out and visit mine. ―I always have a movie in my head; the reason I don‘t always hear you the first time you call to me,‖ he once told me. How ever once you had Gregory‘s attention, he made you feel as if you were the most important person in the world. For instance, the first time I dived into the deep end of the pool in my beginner‘s swim class, I had ran to his dorm. 4|Page
―Mi do it!‖ I shouted. ―Mi jump inna deep en‘ by miself!‖ My raucous, Creole entrance caused his friends to stare at me in awe. I had not thought that his friends would be in his dorm. Nonetheless I received his undivided attention. ―I‘m so proud of you‖, he said sincerely. Then he asked, ―How did it feel?‖ Even though he had been jumping into the deep end since he was eight. He let me tell him every single detail. Gregory‘s passion was a good thing, however, it had its dow nfalls. Once, he called me well after midnight. He did not even say hello, all he said was, ―Danielle, I shook her.‖ His voice was harsh and abrupt . ― I did not mean to hurt her. You have got to believe me.‖ Gregory said that he had accused his girlfriend, Zara, of cheating on him and when he confronted her, she blamed everything on our relationship. She told him he had two girlfriends, and one of them had to go. Gregory apparently snapped and shook her violently causing her to hit her head on a chair. I said very little that night. I mainly listened to what he had to say. However, the next day, when things settled down, I told him the truth. ― It neva right to hit a woman!‖ ―I am not like him,‖ he said, referring to his father. ― I did not hit her, I shook her !‖ I was dumbfounded by how he thought that shaking and hitting were two different things. I was angry because he seemed not to know that what he had done was horrible, and hideous. I was also hurt because he was not perfect anymore. Zara and Gregory eventually got back together. I stepped aside because I didn‘t want him to have to choose between the two of us. Also because I cannot tolerate a man hitting a woman. After our friendship burnt low, I made new friends, but all of them put together could not fill the void I felt. Gregory was the most complicated and magnificent man I had ever known, an humble and brilliant musician, a tormented, violent soul — a beautiful thunderstorm. 5|Page
Analysis
In the story, Danielle the narrator compares Gregory to a beautiful thunderstorma thunderstorm is a beautiful event with its magnificent lightening and heavy rain but it is also dangerous, therefore a thunderstorm is a beautifully violent disturbance. Similarly, Gregory is an attractive man that possesses a violent nature. Dialectal variation refers to the spoken or written differences in the use of language. In the story, the dialect varies between Standard English and Jamaican Creole. The Standard English is used throughout the story by both the narrator and Gregory and also by women who approached Gregory. The narrator uses Standard English because narration is a formal situation, Gregory uses Standard English because he adapted it from his childhood education abroad and the women who approached Gregory uses Standard English because they are unfamiliar to him which is a formal situation. Creole was used by the narrator, for instance, ―Mi jump inna deep en‘ by miself!‖ The narrator uses Creole when she was speaking with Gregory her best friend which is appropriate because it is an informal situation. Attitudes to language refer to the varieties of English spoken in the Caribbean. Gregory‘s friends were shocked when Danielle burst into the dorm blurting Creole, ―my raucous, Creole entrance caused his friends to stare at me in awe‖. This shows that Gregory‘s friends have a negative attitud e towards the speaking of Creole because they associate the language with the uneducated and they showed their contempt by staring in awe. However when Danielle speaks Creole to Gregory instead of trying to imitate his accent, she shows pride for the language and confidence.
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Exposition
The Speech ‗Electorates should not continue to vote for corrupt politicians who today‘s society cannot emulate‘ Speech-Opener Are electorates, the ones really to be blamed for the behavior of today‘s society. Many hold the point of view, that they indeed, should be held responsible and deserve the criticism , after all they elect and vote for the politicians who are not good role models. It is wise to remember that without an electorate‘s vote a politician could not be born! On the other hand, it is said that the politicians should be held accountable because they are well aware that they are influential to society. This is why ―Electorates should not continue to vote for corrupt politicians who today‘s society cannot emulate.‖
Statement of Issue Political entities have improved from systems of self governance to the complex democratic systems existing today (retrieved from Wikipedia). However after many years of developments, electorates still continue to allow poor governance to lead their country. Jamaica is governed by a constitutional parliamentary democracy , that is, the legislature‘s dominant party determines the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister‘s powers are restricted by a constitution. Why do corrupt politicians continue to reap large numbers of votes at the polls, regardless of the poor role models they have become? However some electorates hold the view that they should be shunned as society cannot emulate them. Personally, my interest in this topic stems from daily articles that are printed in newspapers about dishonest politicians and their actions which makes me wonder if they are good role models for today‘s society. My sources of information for this research includes newspaper articles, a questionnaire, the internet and the television.
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Sources and Description of data NEWSPAPER SOURCE: Thomas (2010) article entitled Call for Special Prison for Corrupt Politicians, Cops: informed that the corruption rate of high ranking officials has increased drastically. The article mentioned ridding Jamaica of corruption and it quoted Inspector Robyn Wedderburn. The inspector noted that they certainly deserve the negative criticism but it is less than 10 percent of the government that is corrupt. TELEVISION SOURCE: In the television interview between Cliff Hughes and Vybz Kartel, Vybz Kartel addressed a question about influential persons in society. In answering the question, he stated that politicians are the ones with access to money and therefore quite influential however in many cases they are seen committing criminal activities for instance the light bulb scandal. INTERNET SOURCE: How should a politician depict him/her self? According to the webpage Friends of Pakistan, ―a good politician should have characteristics such as a strong tendency towards openness‖, consequently politicians should remain civil, professional and respectful at all times. Politicians‘ are scrutinized daily by the public and a minor misdeed can label them corrupt. That would be unfair, one wrong does not mean the politician is unfit to be emulated; furthermore they‘re humans as well and no one is impeccable. QUESTIONNAIRE: A questionnaire consisting of 10 questions was administered to persons of different age groups and educational level. Questions 1-3 collected the demographic information of respondents, question 4 extracted their educational level and question 5-10 solicited electorates‘ knowledge about corruption in the government and ways it could be solved. Evaluation of information gathered The newspaper article, retrieved from The Gleaner, focused on the opinions and views of Inspector Robyn Wedderburn. Although the article did not pin point that electorates are responsible for the election of corrupt politicians; it stated that political corruption in the nation is having and will continue to have a negative impact on the current and future generations. The article is approved of as a source because The Gleaner is a well known and respected newspaper and its staff comprises of qualified and trained writers and editors. The article is not biased as the Inspector acknowledges that corruption exists within the government and he explains his conceptions for acknowledging that statement. Additionally, reporters are required to report news in an unbiased way, which
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further reinforces that the article is not prejudice. The source is credible and reliable since the Inspector supplies reasoning and facts to support his opinions. Cliff Hughes‘ interview with popular entertainer Vybz Kartel brought out similar opinions from the entertainer to that of Inspector Robyn Wedderburn. Vybz Kartel admitted that politicians are influential persons but their involvement in criminal activities will adversely affect the current and future generations actions and decisions. The interview is authorized and qualifies as a source as it is a part of a broadcasting program which informs Jamaicans with facts. The source is biased as the entertainer is out of his jurisdiction to give accurate responses to political questions. Also, the entertainer is frequently targeted by law enforcers therefore he might detest political figures which encouraged his responses, thus the source is not reliable. The Internet source outlined how a politician should conduct himself or herself. The information is reliable and credible since the contents were available for the public to view. If the information was not reputable it would have been blocked by personnel who keep the site up to date. The information is relevant for it informs electorates about characteristics that good politicians should possess and with this knowledge electorates can analyze their political representative to determine whether or not they will positively or negatively influence young minds. Thirty questionnaires each consisting of ten (10) questions were administered. Ninety three (93) percent of the questionnaires were returned by the respondents. The questionnaire is qualified to give data because it is a research methodology. It is not biased because it was given out to respondents of different age groups, residing communities and gender, also the respondents had freedom to express their views and opinions without force or pressure. According to the data gathered by the questionnaires, ninety three (93) percent of respondents do not believe today‘s politicians can be emulated and th e other seven (7) percent thought they could be emulated only for their high positions within the country.
Conclusion From the information gathered, it can be concluded that electorates indeed continue to vote for corrupt politicians and if they do not cease to elect corrupt politicians, there will be adverse effects, specifically on today‘s youth.
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