What about cloning…?!

Text: “We must not clone humans, Bush tells the Senate”

1. Content

- deals with the debate between US President Bush and the scientific community concerning the, today still, highly discussed topic of cloning

- President Bush is an absolute opponent of cloning, generally, whereas the scientific community very much supports it, especially research cloning in order to search for cures to diseases such as cancer or diabetes, for example

- in order to start finding a solution which would cope with each party, either opponents or supporters of cloning, a bipartisian Bill outlawing cloning has been passed by the House of Representatives but there still exists disagreement when discussing the topic of cloning

Quotations

- “we must stop human cloning before it starts(…) even the most noble ends do not always justify the means” (Bush)

- “Life is a creation, not a commodity(…)our children are not products” (Bush) “even stem cell research using embryos would mean killing human life” (Bush)

- “fundamental principle that no human life should be exploited or extinguished for the benefit of another” (Bush)

–> In general: scientific community is opponent of reproductive cloning –>but research cloning would have a chilling effect on all scientific research in the US

1.1 Style

- written like a more or less “usual” newspaper report

–> third -person narration

- both: reported speech and direct speech–> remarkable: direct speech only used when citing George Bush

–> this makes the reader guess that the author of this article considers Mr. Bush’s opinion to be right

- long sentences, including much information

- maybe the end causes the reader to be curious for the development of this debate due to the words “it has heightened alarm ahead of the vote”

- relatively high level of writing (?)

- l.32: “a nightmarish vision” it seems as if the author himself thinks that cloning people is a nightmarish vision, so as if he, himself, had said it

- he doesn’t make a difference between the story and the facts. He treis to write the way he would talk

- catching the reader’s attention due to, on the one hand, the heading “cloning humans” (which at all is an interesting theme, probably) and , on the other hand, maybe due to his introductory sentence which doesn’t only roughly summarize what the article will be about but directly “pitches” the reader into the conflict about cloning

- he doesn’t weigh down his readers with a mass of facts, instead he uses direct and indirect speech to depict what the different opinions in that conflict were and adds some extra information in short sentences well fitting in the context

- he doesn’t assume the standpoint of an omniscient narrator–>objectively reporting

- sounds more or less like an intelligent conversation

- is a short factual narrative based upon careful research

1.2 Author’s postion on cloning/GM

- the citing of only President Bush’s words in direct speech probably depict the author’s position of being an opponent of cloning and GM

- “nightmarish vision” (l.32) –> as if he had said it himself

1.3 Scientific background

- different methods of cloning

a) cloning in agriculture

b) cloning in medicine

a) is used in order to improve the “defensibility” (Haltbarkeit) etc. of plants; fertility, to have benefits concerning trade and sale

b) stem cells taken from an embryo who hasn’t fully developped (still a cell), in order to be used for people suffering from certain diseases which concern the own genetic cells or organs etc.

–>”production” of organs?!

1.4 Development

- Birth of the first genetically cloned human being “Eva” (2003)

- embryos having been cloned don’t have the right to live because most of them cannot become “usual” human beings (2003)

- forgery of (Fälschung) research work by a Japanese scientist (2004)

- outcome(Ergebnis): stem cells can make a heart work better after an heart attack(2004)

- stem cells have been won without having destroyed embryo (2004)

- scientists allowed to create an embryo with the DNA of two mothers (2004)

- cloning of a castrated (kastriert) horse (2005)

- majority supporting the allowance of research cloning (2005)

- getting of insulin out of stem cells (2005)

- stem cells supporting the fight against “chagas- disease” (heart disease) (2005)

- stem cells supporting the fight against cancer ?! (2005)

- Switzerland giving allowance of embryonic stem cell research (2005)

- Henk Haagsman trying to rear (züchten) meat out of stem cells (2006)

- stem cells used to heal wounds of racehorses (2006)

- new immune system made out of stem cells helping in the fight against MS (multiple sclerosis) (2006)

- gen- modified stem cells helping against amyotrophia (Muskelschwund) (2007)

- for the first time: cloning of custommed (maßgeschneidert) cells taken from a monkey (2007)

- stem cells reparing the brain after injuries (2007)

- rescue of a patient having suffered from a heart attack by means of stem cells (2007)

- Britons allowed to rear (züchten) embryos out of stem cells taken from both humans and animals (2007)

- Japanese having cloned a pig in the fourth generation (2007)

- Germany: research by means of stem cells becomes easier; a total interdiction of stem cell research is disapproved (2008)

- stem cells apparently having been taken from an embryo without having killed it?! (2008)

http://www.3sat.de/3sat.php?http://www.3sat.de/nano/diverses/75735/index.html

Evaluation of working with a blog

Honestly, I do/did not like working with a blog very much because I am not really interested in designing pages with the computer. Furthermore, it is absolutely time- consuming to create a blog and I personally always felt being under pressure because there is, on the one hand, the feeling of having to match with the class mates, that is concerning the content and the design of the blog, and, on the other hand, a pupil, at least me (xD), feels being more or less “supervised”.

Concerning our “Heat and Dust” blogs, I have to admit that I definitely hate producing a reading log because it is quite time-consuming. But nevertheless, I also believe it to be quite a good invention in order to analyse certain passages in the book and to get a general idea of how the single parts of the stories are to be related.

Beside these aspects, I actually consider a blog and its creation as quite a positive way of working with special topics in school because pupils permanently have the possibility to use the internet while writing an entry which has as a consequence that they more or less immediately get the information they need, helping them by enlarging their knowledge. I guess that working with the internet appeals to pupils’ interest and makes working with school topics become much more interesting. Furthermore, the “lazy pupil” has the possibility to relax in between creating an entry by having a look at other, to him/her interesting websites.

But unfortunately this aspect depicts a further danger concerning the effectiveness of working out topics on the computer: I think that the temptation to have a look at webpages not concerning the topic the pupil should work on is much too big and as a consequence leads, on the one hand, to a lower learning succes and, on the other hand, makes the pupil be distracted so that the he/she probably cannot and does not keep the recently read information as easy in his/her mind as in case of having searched for information in books, for example. But this problem does not specifically concern the creation and working process of and with a blog- it is a general risk, I think, which always appears when being asked to search for certain information.

I guess the reader of this evaluation may already realize himself that I cannot absolutely decide for considering the method of working with a blog as either positive or negative and this is exactly what I would like to add as a conclusion. I think that there are several aspects depicting the benefits of working with a blog but also others showing “risks and dangers”. Therefore I cannot definitely say whether it is a good invention or rather not.

All in all, I liked creating my own blog and, for me, it was an absolutely new experience.

Film/Book review…

“Heat and Dust”- the title of both the book and the film does not make the reader imagine a story or, in case of this novel/film, rather two stories of two woman “living and loving in India”. This is an aspect, making it, on the one hand, interesting because the title sounds a bit mysterious when thinking about the “deeper sense”; on the other hand, rather unattractive because the reader cannot really persume what the story could be about.

In case, one decides to read the book, he/she will get to know the story of Olivia, an English woman having travelled to India with her husband Douglas in the 1920s where she, first, has an affair with the Nawab, a rich Indian prince whom she gets pregnant of and, later, has an abortion. Thereof certainly results trouble with Douglas and at the end of “her story”, none is really happy and both Olivia and the Nawab die lonely whereas Douglas marries his second wife.

The reader also gets to know the story of the female narrator whose name stays unknown until the end of the book. Inspired by letters Olivia has written the narrator decides to trace the footsteps and recreate the experiences of her grandfather’s first wife. This story takes place in the India of the 1970s and is comparable to Olivia’s story: she falls in love with Inder Lal, her Indian landlord, gets pregnant but, unlike Olivia, does not have an abortion and decides to have the baby.

If the stories were told like this, which means without “being interrupted”, the reader probably did not have the problem of getting the gist and was informed about India, its changes and traditions. But they are always alternating so that the reader as well as the viewer cannot concentrate on one certain story. Suddenly there is an “Inder Lal” instead of a “Nawab” and who again was married with Douglas…? How does the reader of a book or rather the viewer of a film feel when being permanently interrupted by a different story? I think this permanent changing is quite confusing and depicts a great problem when trying to understand the plot of the story/stories.

Furthermore, the “problem” about the film is that it does not conform to certain aspects in the film. One example is the Nawab growing fat in the novel but staying slim until the end of the film.

It is the same about Harry- he is described to be fat but in the film he looks absolutely “normal” or rather “slender”.

But disregarding these points, I think the film is quite a good additional means when dealing with the book “Heat and Dust”, especially in order to have an impression of what Indian country and the people living there are like. In case of not “analysing” and really “working” with the book or rather the film, I would not recommend neither of them because I think they are constructed in a much too complicated and confusing way and do not appeal to me too much.

Cover of the film; interesting to look at:

http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://content8.flixster.com/movie/83/48/28/8348286_det.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flixster.com/movie/heat-and-dust&h=252&w=180&sz=10&hl=de&start=12&tbnid=2WiPGoHDS6edFM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=79&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dheat%2Band%2Bdust%2Bfilm%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DG

A happy ending?

When I left Maji’s hute, I felt much better and…

definitely looked forward to having a, yes, to having my baby. Thanks God that I did not really have this abortion. But what actually do I do here? Whydo I take care for the story of a woman having lived in India in the 20s more and more luring herself on to destruction and dying at least due to depressions?!

No, I definitely do not want to offer this perspective of life to my baby. Returning to London as fast as possible seems to be the best solution for both my baby as well as for me, myself. But what about the father…My baby will need his father – Inder Lal? Will he agree with me concerning my decision to leave India and at least: Will he join us?…

Nevertheless, I will undoubtably move back to England without spending any further attention to Olivia, her story and the problems she was confronted with in past times.

Comparison: Film and novel

It is not only the outlandish atmosphere which both the reader and the viewer are conveyed but also similarities concerning the content. In the film as well as in the novel one of the main characters is represented by a Nawab who has much influence and property. Which I found quite amusing was this certain “picnic-scene” included in both the film and the novel, even if a bit differently in each of them.

Furthermore, there exist parallels concerning the presentation of the Indian culture and the conditions these people have to live with/are confronted with: heat outside, little water, bad hygenic conditions etc.

Besides these points, the Hindu religion is a matter in the novel as well as in the film.

Especially interesting are the similarities focusing on Mrs. Quested’s feelings towards her husband and the Nawab: She and Olivia, both, are not sure about their feelings towards these two men and the two women do not seem “strong” enough to decide for one of them, which means that they, on the one hand, do not want to lose their husband but, on the other hand, have developped feelings for the Nawab.

So, generally seen, the plot in the film seems to slightly differ from the one in the novel but as already described, there are many parallels among the single aspects which both the novel and the film allude to/concern. Therefore, you may almost think that the film is a kind of copy of the novel.

Bad living conditions gone better?

The living conditions in India described in the novel, so based on the situation in the years around 1970, have improved throughout the last 40 years but they have still not reached a comfortable status.

Today, people living in India are still poor and most of them earn less than a dollar per day. They have little or rather almost nothing to eat and many children already have to start working quite early to support their parents and the other family members, especially concerning nutrition.

There is little employment for these people and many inhabitants suffer from numerous infects and worse afflictions (especially HIV) resulting from the bad hygenic conditions and often causing death.

Which has slightly improved is the road network offering better conditions for trade, for example.

So there has not too much changed about the bad conditions which India was confronted with in the ’70s as described by Olivia or rather the narrator because they also describe the hygenic conditions to be absolutely inadequate, most inhabitants as totally poor and the question of sufficient support as absolutely worrisome.

Worth looking at: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indien#Gesundheitswesen

Narrator becomes an Indian?!

Which I consider as totally interesting is the narrator’s statement on page 94, ll.5-7: “I realised I was changing, becoming more like everyone else. But also I thought that, if one lives here, it is best to be like everyone else.”

First, I think that it is important to say that the narrator gets that certain “change” into being “like eveyone else” straight so that she is aware of what is happening to her mind and her behaviour due to the circumstances in India she is confronted with. I quess that most people, more or less “crept over” by this development, do not even recognize it- one day, they just do not take care anymore of things which maybe mattered to them in past times.

In the narrator’s case, after Maji has got to know about the beggar woman and taken care of her, it even seems as if she, the narrator, is somehow shocked and astonished herself that this change has even “crept over” her, which she probably had not expected starting her trip to India.

Furthermore, it is interesting to read on and get to know the narrator’s explaination why this change actually happens and- based on her statement- seems to be unavoidable (ll.7-10): “Perhaps there is even no choice: everything around me- the people and the landscape, life animate and inanimate- seemed to compel me into this attitude.”

This statement clarifies that the circumstances and the bad conditions both Indian inhabitants and the people visiting India are in, change the people themselves as well as their behaviour and especially their attitude towards certain things because each has to take care of him-/herself to, in many or rather in most cases, to just survive.

Concerning the narrator it is indeed a bit different: in her case it is not really the “struggle for life” which she is confronted with, I think, but it is just the area and the way the Indian people behave influencing her feelings, her thoughts and herself in general. Maybe it is also slightly comparable to our present societies which result from certain attitudes and behaviours pressed by media and habits followed by the majority which, almost logically, then also follow the ones belonging to the minority- like the monkeys do…:)

Incredible behaviour?!

I was, and still am, totally shocked after having read the narrator’s diary entry from 15 June, to be more precise after the passage concerning the Indian peoples’ behaviour towards the old beggar woman lying on the street dying.

I think the inhabitants’ behaviour is absolutely incredible and I, myself, if I had been in that situation in place of the narrator, would have had a totally guilty consciene due to being aware of the woman’s two only “possibilities”: either being immediately helped or dying, which decision was, at least, up to everyone else around her- and, based on the fact that the Indian inhabitans did not feel responsible for other peoples’ lives, the woman’s chances to survive could have been set to zero from right the beginning.

I also cannot support the peoples’ behaviour morally because I think that in this regard, I would feel concerned with the questions to what extent we should take care of ourselves and, in comparison to that, of others and especially what would happen to me if I was in a situation like the beggar woman was in- I guess none of us- and this term concerns the whole human beings existing on this world- none of us would like to be left alone and treated like an old peace of rubbish not being realized anymore because of its umimportance.

But I also think that the peoples’ behaviour can be “evaluated” in two ways: On the one hand, I, as a German inhabitant, well supported with food and medical care, consider the Indians’ way of treating the woman as totally unacceptable and incredible but, on the other hand, what would have happened to me if I had lived in India for several years and had got to know about the –>bad conditions the people there are confronted with each day? Would I still think like people here in Germany think?

I guess I would not because in our contemporary society everybody feels “closest to himself” and tries to achieve the most advantages for one’s own. This “attitude” is comparable to the peoples’ way of treating the beggar woman: they do not want to contract any infect because they fear their lives.

Olivia: Douglas or Nawab?

Which stroke my attention while reading the novel was, on the one hand, the relation between Olivia and Douglas and, on the other hand, the relation between Olivia and the Nawab because she has or rather develops feelings of love and affection for each of them.

Although she is married with Douglas, her feelings of love towards the Nawab grow by-and-by due to his charming behaviour and the attention he offers her. Olivia does not want to tell Douglas about this development which is, for example, expressed on page 50, the situation right after the “picnic scene”: “Not that she didn’t want to tell Douglas- of course she did!- but he was always home so late and then with so many preoccupations of his own she never seemed to have an opportunity to tell him.”

This passage clarifies that Olivia uses the “little time” Douglas has due to his work as a pretext and as an excuse to prevent herself from telling him about the picnic with the Nawab which she obviously enjoyed and, which she does not want to admit, not even to herself, that there was more than just the feeling of being only good friends.

Although her feeling of affection towards the Nawab grows, she simultaneously tries to hang on her relationship with Douglas which means that she definitely does not want to lose him. One proof for this supposition is the one just mentoned: the concealment of the “secret encounters” with the Nawab and another one is found on page 88: “… but most conspicuous in the endearing character of Husband…’Just like you, darling’ she told Douglas pressing his arm again.” This statement does not only depict that Olivia still has feelings for Douglas and probably does not want to lose him but, in addition to her indecision and confusion concerning her feelings towards the two men or rather the insecuraty because of the Nawab whom she cannot exactly assess yet, that she is scared to be left alone. She does not want to leave or to lose Douglas but she cannot be sure whether the Nawab’s has developped true feelings for her and whether he is honest. You could say that Olivia wants to “keep Douglas on the back burner”.

Heat & Dust in dream reading and psychology

The novel „Heat and Dust“, again and again, confronts the reader with the words “heat” and “dust”, even if each time in different contexts. Therefore it appeared interesting to me to look at these terms more closely with regard to their meaning analysed by psychologists and dream readers.

I did not really expect to come upon any suitable results concerning the novel so I was even more astonished when I found out about its meaning, definitely connectable to “Heat and Dust”.

According to the analysis of dream reading, “heat” expresses that, if a peson, for example, has the feeling that something cold is actually hot, she cannot clearly arrange her feelings.

Although the definiton is based on dreams and, in this case, fouses on the differentiation between cold and hot, I think that it is transferable to the novel. In the situation when Olivia and Douglas talk about Hinduastani, Douglas always insisting on his conviction that transforming certain messages with it is a “men’s game” (p.36) and Olivia dissastisfied due to this perspective, he blames the heat for her bad mood and dissatisfaction. (cf.: p.36, ll.36/37: “It’s the heat, darling, that’s getting you.”). Douglas pretends to think that it is the heat causing Olivia to be irritated because he wants to hide his actual thoughts and aims which he has in mind. Another way of analysing this scene may be to consider Dougla’s statement “It’s the heat, darling, that’s getting you.” is ment honestly and that his really aim is to liberate her from the apparently unbearable climate (p.37, ll.33-37: “Because the climate is making you irritable. That’s only natural, it happens to all of us. And of course it’s much worse for you having to stay home all day with nothing to do. That’s why I want you to go away.”).

But I personally do not really consider this solution to be the right one because to me it seems as if there is something mysterious and special about Dougla’s behaviour and the heat appears more or less like a pretext for something he does not want to admit. Especially his hesitation (p.37: “He considered her question for a moment and then came up with his reasoned reply: (…)) before answering Olivia’s question “Why are we quarelling?” (p.37) which the above statement follows, is a proof for that supposition.

“Dust” is a symbol of the desideratum for a life close to nature based on decent living conditions. Furthermore, swirled dust symbolizes imminent mourning and is a warning to cause too much sensation (http://www.deutung.com/lilith/index.php?symbol=staub&submitbutton=Suchen&method=x)

This definition seems suitable to the situation in which Harry talks to Olivia focusing on the riots in Kathm. (p.61/62). Harry expresses a feeling of being isolated from such riots and, as Douglas does, uses the heat and the dust as a pretext to take care of not becoming too detailed in what he says (cf.: p.63, ll.5/6: “He was silent for a while as if afraid of saying too much (…)”). Therefore the definition “warning to cause to much sensation” seems definitely suitable.

heat and dust