The Johannesburg I grew up in was in the white, middle class, English speaking suburbs. My childhood was Friday afternoons at my grandmother’s house with my cousins when it smelled like grass stains and swimming pool water on hot bricks. My protected life included private school education, a house full of books and an appreciation for wooden dining room tables. It was only in high school that the realisation of a gigantic, real Johannesburg occurred to me, and strangely, appealed to me.
Firstly, it was religion that changed. The catholic school I went to influenced me greatly. At first, I was very religious. I drank in every word they said to us, I believed God Herself had Her finger pointed at me. Slowly, however, I began to question. By the end of high school I was a firm believer that there was no God. I had the Vatican’s slimy “organising” of humanity all figured out. They edited the Bible, they married the church for monetary reasons, they killed millions at the hands of God. As Karl Marx so aptly put; “Religion is the Opium of the people.” [4] But Johannesburg questioned me. Driving into town on Sundays on the highways that pass over the mine dump and seeing the Zionest congregations clustered in their white robes with green cloth, a seemingly fragile fight for beauty in the otherwise barren landscape, I began to doubt myself again. Ivan Vladislavic writes, “Where would his congregation meet? In a clearing in the veldt near the municipal dump near Elandsfontein?” [1]
Michael MacDonald’s memoir All Souls captures a time and place of unrest with such finesse that in my own memoir piece I can only hope to produce a fraction of the masterpiece that he has created. The reader, as an outsider, receives a deep as well as insightful portrait of 1970’s and 80’s Southie. MacDonald provides a balanced, and therefore seemingly contradictory account of what is was like to grow up in such a violence riddled, drug infested, and all around bleak situation. While MacDonald captures the dispiriting side of Southie, he also illustrates the way in which Southie seemed like a wonderful place to live at the time.
The National party supported and enforced Apartheid, because it provided them with absolute power and political dominance in South African society. The National Party and whites who supported them believed in white superiority, and utilized apartheid laws as physical evidence that they were “superior”. In March of 1948 the National party released a statement which explained that Apartheid was necessary as it would be in the best interest of every race, and it was the only way to prevent a national suicide for whites (Doc 1). Because the National Party was white, and prioritized white superiority, they wanted to retain their power using Apartheid laws. For example, one discriminatory law the government imposed were pass laws, which stated Black South Africans had to carry passes which authorized their presence in white areas.
Pennhurst Asylum By: sarah hill The air stands still as you walk around the decaying buildings. The feeling of something watching you is heavily present in your thoughts. An oder, a damp, musty, moldy odor, fills your nose as you try to peek inside and see what 's in these decrepit buildings.
Religion can help make sense of anything that occurs in one’s life whether good or bad. If it’s good, it is of God, but if it’s bad, it is automatically stated that it is of the devil. People are devilish and they should be rebuked and the devils cast from the souls of hell. Religion has been stated to provide inspiration, and is the force that bind individuals together. However, organized faith has its disadvantages.
While most studies and theories are concerned with the differences between religion and culture, Bellah (1967) spent a lot of time examining the similarities of religion specifically in America. While Rousseau is credited as the one who coined the term “civil religion”, Bellah provided an in-depth study (2007:167). Based in presidential inaugurations, he continuously recites that people in authority often cite a generalized god, one that does not belong to any set religion (Bellah 1967). He goes on to explain that in America, there are “certain common elements of religious orientation that the great majority of Americans share” (Bellah 1967:166). This is important to understand in the sociology of religion because it shows how cultures and ideas can combine to create something the majority of society agrees on, even if it’s something as strongly held as
The use of God as a shield works on believers, but not on nonbelievers. The question “why bad things happening to good people” still cannot be answered for the nonbelievers, a common critique of religion itself. Regardless of the problem of theodicy, however, religion has worked really well to create and maintain the reality. Berger explains that it is because religion legitimates effectively. “Religion has been the historically most widespread and effective instrumentality of legitimation….
Introduction: Apartheid is a system of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa. In 1948, the all white government separated the country into four faces, white, black, colored, and Asian. Soon enough, they forced blacks into homelands, and left the rest of the land for whites. In 1911 color bans were implemented on certain jobs and whites were granted higher pay.
Mill even posits that religion becomes stunted under such absolute power. Religion, as a possible source of moral knowledge and Faith, ceases to have a social aspect; the human person begins to only have a spiritual relationship with the divine .As such, one’s religious concerns become ones of private salvation with no concern for
Andy Warhol once said, “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself”. Change is affected by time and by people in different ways. A negative change can ultimately have a positive outcome. Change is not always bad, but in order for it to be good you need to make it good. Change occurs all the time, and it happens to everyone at one point in his or her life.
Religion–it is something that has been in existence since the beginning of time. It brings meaning to life and death. It creates a sense of belonging in the world. On the other hand, religion, or lack thereof, has also been, in many instances, the cause of oppression, warfare, and even terrorism. Sometimes religion is used to the advantage of one’s self.
Week Outline Preliminary Thesis Statement: Religion is an essential constituent of any civilization with a unique spiritual pathway. Main Point: Religious spirituality establishes the framework for human social and cultural development. 1. Topic Sentence:
New York is many cities in one. Most people think that New York has been explored in every corner and up to its smallest points but did you know that the big apple is filled with hidden gems and treasures that are yet to be explored. So let’s take a tour around New York and look beyond hustle and bustle of the flashing skyline and skyscrapers and you will see New York’s beautiful spots that are hidden from most travelers.
Book review – Boyhood The novel ‘’ boyhood ‘’ (1997) is written by the author J.M. Coetzee and is about a young boy and his childhood in South Africa in the town Worcester. The boy in the book is the author Coetzee and his life between the age 10 to age 13 and his way to adjust to the society and to find himself as a person. The book describes the love and the hate that Coetzee has for his mother, and the shame that he feels for his father combined with the isolation from his classmates. Boyhood is not only about Coetzee himself but also about South Africa and the apartheid.
AN AMAZING TRIP TO LAGOS Lagos is one of the best loved and darling regions of Africa that captures the attention of hundreds of people from various corners of the world. Known to be the most vibrant, pulsating and happening destination of this planet it offers a charismatic and magical ambiance that attracts plenty of locals and hundreds of foreigners who just love to capture and enjoy the charm and bewitchment of this flamboyant destination. Lagos is located in the south-western part of Nigeria and occupies the region of more than 3,577 square kilometres and is very popular for being the superb and magnificent metropolis of the country. It is highly appreciated and famous for the jaw dropping and spell-casting islands; the worth-watching ones include Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Iddo and plenty of others. Though the list of such fascinating and enticing spots is very long but some of the most popular and worth-seeing ones are discussed as below.
This essay will discuss the elements of fiction found in the novel “Welcome to our Hillbrow” by Pheswane Mpe. Through the author’s intelligent honesty in exploring thematic apprehensions relevant to post-apartheid South African society, one may suggest that the main theme of the novel is the reflection of old and new sets of problems facing South Africa. The essay will specifically discuss how characterisation and narration contribute to other small themes like crime, Aids, xenophobia and suicide that make up to the main theme of post-apartheid issues that the new and democratic South Africa is currently facing and it will also explain what is meant by the term microcosm. The essay is aimed at making a link between the elements of fiction found in the novel and the theme and also explaining the