The Guest by HwangSukYong, the significance historically, politically Essay

The Guest by HwangSukYong, the significance historically, politically and cutullay - Essay Example Notably, the same time saw the arrival of the American military that expressed its resilient support for the staged anti-communist efforts. Sin-chon was the center of all the horror that transpired, and is a historically significant place as signified by the museum erected in the same place as a memory of the past. The book ‘The Guest’ offers vivid descriptions of the 1950 events, presented through dreams of some characters who witnessed the atrocities. The context of the book thus exhibits a cultural, historical, and political relevance. This paper will highlight the relevance of its context in the three aspects. The author of the book ‘The Guest’ focused on one of the most sensitive subjects to both the south and northern Korea. In his introductory note, the author presents the contextual justification of the title selected for his work. A weighty analogy appears between the issues discussed in the book and small pox. Evidently, when the smallpox pandemic was of critical concern in Korea, the people regarded it as a ‘foreign disease’ and coined the term ‘sonnim’ that translates to guest in its reference. With the novel focusing on the adverse effects of Christianity and communism, the analogy to small pox becomes relevant. The fact that both of these ideologies were not concepts that had not emanated from the Korean people, but rather from foreigners justified them to bear the reference as guests. Moreover, the American army that has received immense criticism as the principal cause of the massacre, was a guest among the Korean (Lee 195). The book offers a salient criticism of the issues that transpired. Contrary to the common belief that the American army bears the ultimate blame for the atrocities that happened, the book offers an expose of the real perpetrators of the extreme violence that was carried out against the people in 50 days that those who witnessed the events would

A Comparison of the Education System in China and the USA Research Paper

A Comparison of the Education System in China and the USA - Research Paper Example It would be easier for working parents and provide children with a better education. The summer break often creates a situation that what has been learned the year before is not successfully retained, thus much of the next year is spent reviewing what had already been taught. This wastes time and children suffer for nostalgia for a system that no longer has a specific purpose. Another reason that this system prevails is that communities have complete control of their school systems, only complying with federal standards where financial incentives put pressure on the districts. Education is not universally standardized from one community to the next, thus there is no nationally recognized conformity. Certain standards are expected and assessed through tests which allow federal funds to become available, but the systems are still autonomous (Ravitch 105). The American systems are burdened by this autonomy with each community having a different set of expectations and standards that mus t then be set into a position to conform to state and then federal systems in order to qualify for funding that supplements the community’s own funding for the schools. While this helps community schools to have structure, it does not standardize education across that nation. This creates wide disparities from one educational system to the next. Pressures on students in American schools is most often assessed through per pressures as students compete in the social setting, immaterial to academic achievement. Students do not take their academic achievement near as seriously as the social pressures within their classes and their social structure creates classifications that stereotype each individual student’s experience.... This paper approves that both systems would benefit from a reconstruction of the way in which education is approached. Both systems tend to focus on the needs that the state puts forth for student achievement, rather than the purposes of education. The systems require cultural adjustments to how education is perceived. Both systems are subject to social beliefs that hamper the true purpose of education which is to increase the intellectual responses that students have to the world. Because of being stuck in cultural morays that dictate belief systems that are focused solely on financial success, a great loss of potential is experienced as the end is seen as the only goal, rather than the journey towards that end. Culture is getting in the way of meaningful learning. This essay makes a conclusion that while greatly diverse in cultural systems, the Chinese and the American school systems suffer from similar results that come from very different sources. The problems with the education in both systems are defined by the failures of the cultures to assess the true needs of students as they head towards the future. While the Chinese culture supports a more realistic foundation of the needs of success, the American system allows for the pursuit of more individuated goals and experimentation with outside activities. The nature of education, however, the ability to become resources for innovation towards a better future is stunted in both systems as students face pressures that are not about academics, but about beliefs that are defined by social pressure.