Once Were Warriors Essay Example for Free

Once Were Warriors Essay â€Å"Forget the big players in the world; it is the people in the margins of our society whose stories are most compelling. † To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied. The Heke family that feature in the ground-breaking New Zealand film from 1994, ‘Once were warriors’ directed by Lee Tamahori are clearly a family living on the margins of society. They live in a state house next to a busy and noisy motorway in South Auckland, New Zealand. Their story is undoubtedly a compelling one: an abusive husband with a love of beer drinking and parties who gains respect from the use of his fists at the local pub; a long-suffering wife who has somehow managed to hold the family together through an obviously tumultuous 18 year marriage; a disillusioned older son who flees the dysfunctional household to join a gang; a pubescent daughter who is the de-facto mother of the family; another son who has gotten in with the wrong crowd and is committing petty theft and two younger children, Polly and Huata. Director Lee Tamahori uses a range of camera and sound techniques, dialogue and compelling themes to teach us about the dangers of excessive alcoholism and moving away from our ancestral connections. Jake ‘the muss’ Heke is a compelling protagonist. After being laid off from his job, he uses his redundancy money to bring home seafood for his family. We are initially positioned to see him as a loving and caring family man, that is until his wife Beth discovers he has been laid off and sees her dreams of buying their own home go out the window. Jake is a man of excuses who sees the dole as being â€Å"only 15 bucks a week less than my wages† and bursts into a tirade of abuse when his wife Beth resists his sexual advances after discovering the truth. Jake also excuses his own propensity for violence when he says, â€Å"Look when I get like that, get out of my way, but you’ve got to get all lippy on me. Sure I’ve a temper, but who hasn’t? † It is apparent that Jake has an inferiority complex dating right back to his courting days of Beth saying â€Å"I was never bloody good enough† and that he descends from a â€Å"long line of slaves† unlike Beth who originates from more upper-class Maori roots. What this highlights is that domestic violence, while inexcusable can often have its origin in insecurities from years beforehand. This is why men in particular need to seek help when they are struggling with issues instead of resorting to excessive bing-drinking to numb emotional pain. Jake’s wife, Beth is also on the margins of society as we see her struggling to raise her family amidst all the physical and verbal abuse around her. Gradually the low angle shots of Beth become more prominent as her courage to stand up to her abusive husband increases as also seen in her dialogue. I won’t have any more of these parties or your bloody ugly mongrel mates coming over. † Tragically, Beth’s surge in power in response to Jake’s failure to take the family to see Boogie in the Boy’s home comes too late, as unbeknownst to her, Uncle Bully has raped her daughter, Grace sending her into a downward spiral which culminates in her suicide. Beth’s cou rage in standing up to Jake and restoring the family without him is compelling. It must have inspired many women across New Zealand and indeed the world to leave behind dysfunctional and violent domestic set-ups. The fabulous low-key lighting and low angle shot of Beth at the end as she calmly informs Jake that ‘from now on I make the decisions for my family’ is inspirational and reminds us of the ‘mana, pride and spirit’ that many Maori have. She finally goes ‘home’ to her Maori ancestral roots as well as literally home to restore her devastated family in the wake of Jake’s departure. Perhaps the most compelling story of hope in the film is that of younger son, Boogie who is ‘sent into welfare’ after the state decides his family can no longer control him after his mother, Beth fails to accompany him to a court hearing (due to suffering a beating and rape at the hands of Jake) as a result of a string of petty crimes. Boogie finally gets the tough love he needs from Maori man, Bennett a distinguished tane who teaches Boogie to use ‘his taiaha on the inside,’ instead of on the outside. Boogie learns that true mana is found by using your mind and developing the inner-strength and resolve to solve problems instead of resorting to violence. Bennett, initially called a ‘black bastard’ by Boogie despite being Maori trains Boogie to reconnect with his maori tikanga and culture which effectively clears up Boogie’s confusion about his Maori identity and that this can be a source of pride. This shows that with the appropriate guidance, initially wayward youth can have a chance to redeem themselves, although this is a job parents and to a lesser extent teachers need to be doing. State foster homes should only be a last resort. In conclusion, ‘Once Were Warriors’ left an indelible mark on the psyche of many New Zealanders with its brutal violence and depiction of problems such as binge-drinking and poverty that previously were swept under the carpet. Only by examining characters on the margins of society can we truly learn how easy it is to get there ourselves if we do not value our families, our education or seek help when we are struggling with issues from our past. The story of the Heke family is a compelling one and a story we would do well to consider seriously.

Alicia My Story, Book Summary Essay -- essays research papers

The main character in this story is a Jewish girl named Alicia. When the book starts she is ten years old, she lives in the Polish town of Buczacz with her four brothers, Moshe, Zachary, Bunio, and Herzl, and her mother and father . The holocaust experience began subtly at first when the Russians began to occupy Buczacz. When her brother Moshe was killed at a â€Å" Boys School† in Russia and her father was gathered up by German authorities, the reality of the whole situation quickly became very real. Her father was taken away shortly after the Russians had moved out and the Germans began to occupy Buczacz. Once the Germans occupied, they moved the Jewish population of Buczacz into mass ghettos. Alicia and the rest of her family had to share a house with several other families which had also been driven out of there homes. The only source of income in this situation was to sell things at the marketplace, and even there, Jews were forbidden. Alicia went anyway and sold what she could for food and money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One day her brother Bunio disappeared from the ghetto. Alicia and her family found out later that he had been taken to a work camp, but that they could send food packages to him. Shortly after this, Alicia was taken into custody by German officials and put on a train to another work camp. Alicia managed to escape from this train by jumping through a small window. She found her way to a river which led her back to the ghetto. By this time several people in the ghetto had been feeling the effects of the impoverished conditions. Starvation, Typhoid, and other diseases, were beginning to take its toll on the people who lived in the ghetto. Then one day, Alicia found out that her brother Bunio had been killed in the work camp. A boy had escaped so they lined up all the boys and shot every fourth one .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As time progressed, Alicia began assuming more responsibility for the daily tasks of the family such as going out and trading for more food in places other than the marketplace. While this was going on, Zachary and a few other boys from the ghetto had been forming a sort of resistance. One day Alicia was informed that her brother had been hanged. After Zachary’s death, Alicia was befriended by a woman named Bella. She met many good friends in the ghetto including a future friend as well as savior, Milek  ... ...and the police wanted to find out who was buying things from her. Over a span of 8 months they were kept but finally they were released. They received a lot of money from people that had been saved by their withholding of evidence. Alicia and her friend took this money and bought a train ticket to Lodz. They were stopped in Lvov because they went to get some tea while stopped at a station, but the train took off without them and they left all of their belongings on the train. Next they boarded a train to Krakow, and parted ways there. In Krakow, Alicia was staying at a rather large house with another family. She built a sort of orphanage by gathering up homeless children from the neighborhood. She lived with this family for a long time, and during this time she learned about a way that she could go to Eretz Island, Israel where she could be safe. She left her orphanage and went on a long journey where she met many people that were like her, in that she didn’t like to see people suffer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alicia made it to Israel but was taken by British border patrol officers to a jail on Cypress for coming into the country illegally. She was then released from Cyprus.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Essay

Throughout a nurse’s professional career, many difficult ethical and legal situations will arise. Since nurses are given the unique privilege of caring for patients and their families, it is important to uphold certain professional standards. The American Nursing Association (ANA) Code of Nursing Ethics provides a foundation on which a nurse should conduct her professional life. In addition to the Code of Ethics, nurses must also balance their personal values along with legal standards to make the best decisions for their patients. A nurse’s first priority is to the patient and providing safe and competent care. According to the ANA (2001), Provision 1 of the Code of Ethics states â€Å"The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.†(p.1) The nurse is bound by duty to respect the wishes of the patient and family in regards to end of life decisions. In the case of Marianne, a committee is forced to help a family make a difficult decision regarding the life of a loved one. Since the patient is unable to express her wishes and had no advance directive, the nurse has an obligation to ensure that the family is informed and knowledgeable on her care. The nurse needs to support the family in the decision-making process and refer the family to other resources to assist in the decision making process. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, such as consulting with an ethics committee, is one resource that is available to the family to assist in the decision-making process. In addition to difficult end of life decisions, the Code of Ethics can be used to guide decisions in cases of malpractice. Provision 3 states, â€Å" The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to  protect the health, safety, and rights of the patientâ⠂¬  (ANA, 2001). In other words, the Code of Ethics leads the nurse to address practice that is substandard and may jeopardize patient care. The nurse should follow policy and procedures of the facility to report such behavior, but if measures are not taken to ensure the integrity of nursing practice then the nurse may report to outside agencies, such as state departments. The nurse also has an obligation to ensure that the proper assistance or treatment is provided to assist in the impaired nurse’s recovery. While the Code of Ethics provides an important foundation on which to base behavior, any ethical decision involves an evaluation of one’s set of personal and societal values. According to Uustal (1993).â€Å"Nursing is a behavioral manifestation of the nurse’s value system. It is not merely a career, a job, an assignment: it is a ministry† (p.10). Nurses need to be aware of their beliefs so that they can recognize and accept that a patient may have different values and beliefs. The nurse needs to interact with the patient and the family in a nonjudgmental, caring way. The nurse needs to take care not to influence the patient in making choices based on her beliefs or what she believes is right. The nurse’s role is to be supportive to patients and their families in actions that are congruent with the code of ethics. Some conflicts that may compromise the nurse’s personal beliefs may include end of life decisions, abortions or refusal of medical treatment. For example, a nurse may support pro-life decision-making but is bound to respect the patient’s wishes if they seek a legal abortion. Furthermore, a nurse needs to honor a patient’s decision to forego treatment, even if the nurse believes that that treatment represents the best option for the patient. References American Nurses Association. (2001). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/ethics/code/protected_nwcoe303.html. Uustal, D. (1993). Clinical ethics and values:issues and insights in a changing healthcare environment. Educational Resources in Healthcare, 12 (2), 10.

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