Literature - In the Pond Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature - In the Pond - Essay Example Desperately longing to escape from the single room he and his wife and child have been living in, Bin’s rage is induced by the fact that he fails to obtain an apartment that would provide him and his family with a better life. He feels he has been treated unfairly and that others have been rewarded for political reasons. Unwilling to resort to something as low as bribery, he subjects himself as well as his family, to the endless waiting list for the new apartment, despite his seniority and right to one. It is evident that for some time Bin was able to function in this society quite well. But, the moment he required more than he was given, his dissatisfaction emerged from the depths of his soul. Because, in such a society, one’s power equals the amount of money he owns or people on higher positions that he knows. Effort and hard work are unjustly neglected as unnecessary qualities in a worker, while those that blindly and brainlessly follow orders, are being pushed up th e corporate ladder, praised and rewarded. Seething with anger, the hapless Bin turns to the words of the Han dynasty scholar Wan Chong to find solace. His talents as a calligrapher go unappreciated, and after working all day, he can only give vent to his artistry by night. This is where Bin’s personal epic battle between good and evil commences. He gets the idea to use his talents to gain revenge by placing a satirical cartoon in the provincial paper, which is full of vigor, almost resembling a miniature revolution. Feeling utterly overcome by rage, he does not think things through, but acts rashly, and later wishes his wife stopped him. But, it is already too late. His rage has put into motion something much larger than himself and now that it is out, he cannot stop it anymore. It is said that a good artist can channel any emotion into a work of art, and this is exactly what Bin does. Feeling as low as one can possibly feel, he transforms his anger and utter dissatisfaction into expressive art. He uses his almighty calligraphy pen to fight the establishment and this is the only part of him they are not able to put down and control. It is from this part of his soul that his rebellion is teeming forcefully. Bin becomes transformed from a mindless drone into the everyman of human society, the universal man whose spiritual awakening has just found him and whose dreams have just been set in motion, despite his circumstances, despite his possibilities, despite his reality. Party leaders, secretly alarmed by the accuracy and cleverness of the cartoon, rally hastily. Calling a workers meeting, they bluster and sneer over the political incorrectness of his artwork. They respond with a pay cut and Bin creates another art piece that attacks their greed and their anti-revolutionary tendencies. Bin never backs down from the threats launched his way, and occasionally with his wife’s prodding, he continues to look for justice at the commune level, then with th e county hierarchy, and finally in Beijing. Because his case becomes so famous, his supervisors are unable to just have him beat up, or to simply fire him. Bin tilts at windmill after windmill, undaunted, unwilling to give in to what he knows is wrong. His supervisors dock his pay, humiliate him, and refuse to employ his talents as a calligrapher and choose to hire an outsider instead, but he still stubbornly persists in his efforts. Both sides are caught in an accelerating spiral of recriminations and revenge, the universal human cycle of

Workers and the Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Workers and the Economy - Essay Example Therefore, capital is a very critical aspect of socioeconomic resource because it influences the production, transformation of natural resources, consumption and plays a significant role in the creation of the by-products thus an important aspect of pollution. There are two major types of capital variable and constant capital. On the other hand, investment of these capitals creates or reduces the value of production, and this is the basis of the term surplus value. The assignment aims to discuss constant capital, variable capital, and surplus-value with an illustration of how they lead to capital accumulation. Marx defined constant capital as the materials and materials that production of a certain commodity requires (Evans, 2013). In this case, constant capital is the capital proportion that investors channel on the materials as well as the purchased components. On the other hand, the value forms part cost of selling the product thus constant capital remains the same until a product is sold to the market. Constant capital includes the cost of using materials, machinery, and tools since they are all inclusive of the production process. For instance, if the production process involves using a million dollar worth of machinery in producing 10,000 cars then each car will have $100 of the machinery. However, constant capital is measurable when a commodity or a product has now worn out or depreciated. Therefore, constant capital sums up both unit and fixed costs implying that no matter how amount of materials, machines, and components are brought into the production and sold, they do not add a ny new value to the product. The implication is that whether the factors of productions undergo prolonged storage in the warehouse, or used in the production, there is no difference in the amount of capital. Marx concluded that whatever value the materials add when capitalists buy them for production purposes, they assume the same value even