Age of exploration Essay Example for Free

Age of exploration Essay Which term best describes the period? God,Gold, and Glory European adventures explored North America with the motivation of God,Gold, and Glory This alone tells you that this was an age of exploitation. I believe it was Hernan Cortez who told the Aztec natives that his men suffered from a disease that could only be cured by Gold. Let us not forget that at this time Spain was trying to become a world Power. After Columbuss first voyage in 1493 Spain sent out ships to the Pope demanding rights to Columbuss discoveries. The Pope agreed and Spain was entitled to any non-christian western Lands discovered but only if the native population were converted to Christianity. At these times religion was used as a form of control.. Many can argue that the Pope could have also benefited from letting the conquistadors explore the western lands and convert the natives to Christianity. Many European countries were expanding and exploring for several reasons..By claiming more Territory and resources,A country would become more wealthier. And powerful. After Cortez conquered Mexico all there natives were used as slaves and Most of the valuable riches were transported back to Spain. All natives were killed by disease or slave work and the few that survived were forced to convert to Christianity. What once may have started as exploration would soon get consumed by Greed,power,and Exploitation. Many European countries were expanding and exploring other countries for several reasons many European countries were expanding and exploring other countries for several reasons

Illiteracy Rate Of Mozambique At A Glance Education Essay

Illiteracy Rate Of Mozambique At A Glance Education Essay The purpose of our research is to have a better understanding about the condition of illiteracy in Mozambique such as the reasons of high illiteracy rate in Mozambique, gender issues and solutions to reduce illiteracy. Illiteracy is defined as the condition of being unable to read and write. Our area of study is focused on Mozambique which is one of the country of Bottom Billion. We also hope to raise the awareness among all nations about the importance of education through this research. The sampling method we used throughout this research is purposive sampling and snowball sampling. We have sent out our questionnaire which consists of 9 questions to 30 respondents who came from Mozambique. They are all full time students resident in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP). Each of them is given 15 minutes to answer the questions. Our research is a small scale study which concentrates only on Mozambican students in UTP. From our research, we found out that most of the respondents grade illiteracy rate as average. Besides, the main reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique is due to insufficient budgets. Female has higher illiteracy rate than male is because of the cultural background of Mozambique. Introducing more high quality teachers and provide enough facilities are among the effective solutions to reduce illiteracy rate, as stated by our respondents. In conclusion, the Mozambique government should revise their current plan in reducing the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Besides, the government should also compromise and develop strategies with international communities to contain enough funds for education facilities and adult literacy programs, so that every Mozambicans can gain access to basic education. The limitations of our research are that our scope of study is narrow and it does not represent the overall opinions of every Mozambicans. Thus, the research is encouraged to be carried out outside UTP with a larger group of respondents involved, so that the data obtained is more reliable. The time allocated to complete this research should be increased too, in order to intensify our understandings and researches on the illiteracy in Mozambique. CONTENTS Abstract à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.2 Chapter 1: Introduction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.4 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Mozambique (Country Context) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.6 2.2 History of Literacy in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.6 7 2.3 Statistics of Illiteracy in Mozambique .à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.7 8 2.4 Structure of the current educational systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.8 2.5 Reasons, solutions and consequences regarding illiteracy pg.9 10 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Overview à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.11 3.2 Population/Sample à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.11 3.3 Location à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.11 3.4 Limitation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.11-12 3.5 Sampling technique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.12 3.6 Procedure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.12 3.7 Materials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.13 3.8 Statistical Treatment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.13 Chapter 4: Results à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.14 18 Chapter 5: Discussion 5.1 Reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.19 5.2 Effects of illiteracy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.20 5.3 Illiteracy rate among women and men in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.20 5.4 Solutions to overcome illiteracy in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.20 21 5.5 The role of the international communityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.21 5.6 Limitations and Recommendation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.22 Chapter 6: Conclusion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.23 References à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.24 25 Appendix Sample Questionnaire à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.26 27 Chapter 1: Introduction Our group has decided to study the issue of illiteracy which still exists, in fact, getting more serious for the Bottom Billion. Based on Oxford dictionary, illiteracy is defined as the condition of being unable to read and write. It can be further explained as the ignorance resulting from not reading. The Bottom Billion refers to those people living in impoverished countries which fail to progress, despite international aid and support. Collier (2007) points out that the majorities of the 5-billion people in the developing world are getting richer at an unprecedented rate, however, a group of countries, where mostly in Africa and Central Asia, are stuck and that development assistance should be focused heavily on them. In this context, the conflict of illiteracy is rather important and need to be resolved immediately. Our area of study is focused on Mozambique. Mozambique situated in south eastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, with almost 17.5 million inhabitants living in an area of 801,590 km2. The countrys main economy is based on agriculture where more than 70% of the population live in rural areas and work mainly in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. In All Africa (2011), Deputy Education Minister Augusto Jone pointed out that the illiteracy rate was 60.5% when the First Literacy and Adult Education Strategy were approved in 2005, however in between 2005 and 2010; the rate was cut to 48.1%. Besides, South African Press Association (2007) stated, Ernesto Muianga, the national director of adult education in the ministry of education and culture said illiteracy level in the country is still low where only seven out of 100 Mozambicans could read and write. Melo (n.d.) mentioned that Mozambique is still lack of schools and teachers to guarantee education for the nations youth after independence in 1975 where an estimated 60% of adults still cannot read and write, with the illiteracy rate higher among women. These studies focused on the illiteracy rate in Mozambique which has fluctuated. Our research paper is to get a better understanding and to investigate the condition of illiteracy in Mozambique. The increasing interest in the issue of illiteracy has heightened the need for education as a necessary element of development and fundamental human right. An educated population is essential to national development. Education is considered a key factor in promoting social well-being and in poverty reduction because it can have a positive impact on national productivity. This investigation hopes to create awareness among all nations so that the development of a country and human civilization is not neglected due to insufficient education. Our research paper hopes to answer the following questions: What are the reasons behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique? What are the effects of illiteracy? Why is the illiteracy rate among women higher than men in Mozambique? What are the solutions to overcome illiteracy in Mozambique? How effective is the role of the international community in helping to improve the situation? We hope our research paper is able to answer these questions. To complete this task, interview has been used as methodology. Our respondents are the Mozambiques students studying in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) so that we can obtain the information directly. Our numbers of respondents are expected to be around 30. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Mozambique (Country Context) Mozambique, with almost 17.5 million inhabitants living in an area of approximately 801590 km2, has the highest population among the former Portuguese African colonized country. (Mario Nandja, 2005) The main economy of Mozambique is depends on agriculture. Thus, most of the Mozambicans live in rural areas which make up of 70% of total population. They work mainly in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. According to the World Bank (2011), Mozambique also have large share of youth population with about 44 per-cent of population is younger than 15 years old. After independence from colonization of Portugal for about 470 years in 1975, Mozambique was left with a very high illiteracy rate among adults with the illiteracy rate of about 93%. According to USAID (2009), an estimated of 60% of adult is still unable to read and write in 2009 where the rate decrease for about 33% with higher illiteracy rate among female. 2.2 History of Literacy in Mozambique During the colonial period, formal education in Mozambique was provided by Koranic schools in Muslim towns. In 1907, education is conducted in Portuguese and some other native languages, where schools and textbooks were subjected to government approval. The class of Assimilados was firstly introduced in 1927 which separates Africans who possess a fluent command of Portuguese. In 1930, the education system has reached an amount of 47 elementary schools with 11217 students, 186 rudimentary schools where basic Portuguese were taught to just fewer than 30000 Africans and one secondary school in the capital of Mozambique. (Wikipedia, 2012) Unfortunately, in the Mozambique Civil War (1977-1992) after the national independence from Portugal in 1975, schools were a particular target of Renamo attacks which causes the literacy rate decreases from 20% in 1983 to 14% in 1990. According to Mario and Nandja (2005), this first phase of education, from 1975 until the mid-1980, has recognized the importance of education as one of the main element of the national education. Mario and Nandja states that: This phase was marked by a dynamic and multifaceted process in which the people were mobilized in national reconstruction tasks, forging national unity and affirming their Mozambican identity. Accordingly: a number of nationwide adult literacy and education campaigns were conducted; a series of planned and agreed adult education and training schemes involving particular enterprises, communities and social sectors considered strategic for the social and economic development of the country were launched. From mid-1980s until 1995, the second phase of education in Mozambique went on and was marked by a substantial reduction in adult literacy and education activities owning to the escalation in the destabilization war. When National Adult Education Department was disbanded, this phase ended where their activities were taken over by National Basic Education Department. The third and as well as the last phase began in 1995 and is still going on that it can be as a process of rediscovery and rescue of adult literacy and education. In 1998, United Nations has estimated a literacy rate of 40% in Mozambique, where the literacy rate among women was almost half of the men. 2.3 Statistics of Illiteracy in Mozambique According to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (2012), the adult literacy rate of Mozambique in 2009 is 55.06% out of the total population of people aged greater than 15 years old. For Malaysia, the adult literacy rate in 2009 is 92.46%. The difference between the two countries is about 37.4%. The youth literacy rate of Mozambique in 2009 is 70.87% whereas for Malaysia is about 98.55% (Index Mundi, n.d.). The difference is approximately 27.7 % which is 10% less than the difference for adult literacy rate. The rate of youth literacy is higher than the adult literacy for both countries. Similarly, CIA World Factbook (2009) stated that the literacy rate of Mozambique is 47.8%. If compared with worlds highest literacy rate countries such as Andorra, Finland, Georgia, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway and Vatican City which have 100% rate of literacy, Mozambique is about 52.2% lesser. Mozambique is ranked as 199 out of 213 countries for the world literacy rate. (CIA World Factbook, 2009) Women have high illiteracy rate if compared with men in Mozambique. According to the data published by the National Institute of Statistics in 2004, the illiteracy rate for female is 69% whereas male with 38% of illiteracy rate only. However, Millennium Development Goals (2010) as cited in United Nations Development Programme (n.d.), reported that the illiteracy rate of female has decreased as time goes, with about 66.2% in 2004 and dropped to 56% in 2009 after the launching of the literacy programmes. It also stated that the female literacy rate in rural areas is 31.3% while in urban is 70.1% 4. Structure of the current educational system Currently, there are several policies in Mozambique that govern the education system. Among them, the most noticeable are the Republic of Mozambique, which states that every citizen has the rights to receive education and education consists of a means of achieving national unity, eradicating illiteracy, mastering science and technology and providing citizens with moral and civil values. The 1990 Constitution enshrines modernized the National Education System (SNE), bringing it into line with the new economic and political model. Besides, the eagerness of government and society in reducing the illiteracy rate due to the awareness towards the importance of education in the development of the country is further highlighted through the implementation of Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA) which defined literacy and adult education as primary goals in education programme from 2001 to 2005 as well as the National Strategy for Adult Literacy and Education and for Non-F ormal Education (AEA/ENF) to eradicate illiteracy. The purposes and objectives of Education For All (EFA). (Mario and Nandja, 2005) 2.5 Reasons, solutions and consequences regarding illiteracy According to Mario and Nandja (2005), the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique is because most of the population does not have an adequate and full command of Portuguese, the countrys official language after the colonization of Portugal. Despite the governments intention to increase funding budget for education, the amount instead remained the same without much significant difference. It is undeniable that the country has developed since its civil war but ineffective policies, government mismanagement and prolonged drought have haunted its economy. Mozambiques annual budget depends much on foreign assistance and a large of the population lives under extreme condition. As mentioned by Linden and Rungo (2004), due to insufficient budget, the condition during learning is considered bad. The students face an amount of problems, such as lack of information, lack of classrooms and learning materials and inconvenient timetables. Lessons under a tree or in buildings of weak construction are co mmon. These results in some of them have negative attitude towards the path of learning. Well, according to de Melo (n.d.), the reason behind the high illiteracy rate is mainly due to the legacy of colonialism and 16-year civil war. Also, in this context, gender inequality plays vital role in contributing to the high rate of illiteracy. Mario, Nandja (2006), and Linden, Rungo (2004) highlighted the effect of unequal gender opportunities towards this issue. Linden mentioned that women seemed to be more interested in programmes specialized to enhance their lives and well-being of their families. Cultural background also affects significantly, where many women dropped out as they were kept at home when family members need care or the family ran out of money. There are also cases where men do not allow their wives to attend classes. They feel that womens responsibilities are to stay at home, handling chores and it is pointless or rather ridiculous for them to learn new knowledge. To most of them, they assumed that wives must not be smarter than their husbands because if they do, they will start to disobey and become disobedient, opposing the usual cultural background. After all, due to the high illiteracy rate, there a lot of measures that has been done in order to control and rectify this problem. de Melo (n.d.) told us that  actually, IBIS has been working on 2 programmes, Education for Change in Rural Communities (ECRC) and a Governance programme. In ECRC, it is known that this intervention aimed to upgrade teachers training in the poorest parts of the countryside besides ensure better educational methods in the classroom with improved teaching materials. The main objective of ECRC is to introduce new concepts that underpin and inspire the reformations of Mozambican education. On the other hand, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has employed a food security strategy which provides rural Mozambicans knowledge to be used to increase their incomes. To reduce the consequences brought by illiteracy, USAID recognized this problem by providing funds to literacy instructors in 10 specified rural districts to supplement the governments struggling literacy program. In addition, the Ministry of Education of Mozambique is expanding its adult literacy program and now are able to incorporate the USAID-funded instructors into its payroll. (USAID, 2009) Community, school and technology are the three fundamental components in order to improve literacy. As globalisation occurs, Karchmer, Mallette, Soteriou and Donald (2005) strongly agree the importance of ICTs as the central technology for eradicating illiteracy. Hargreaves (1994), as cited by Glover and Law (2002), stated that the teaching force should be trained and retrained in order to cope with the demands of a national agenda for school improvement. Self-evaluation is also important in improving literacy rate. Education system in a country should aware about the initiative to develop a more effective planning processes, monitoring and evaluating techniques. Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Overview This chapter would focus on the methodology that was employed to enable the collection of data from the respondents points of view regarding the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Our task is to give out questionnaires to find out whether the causes, effects and solutions that we had listed out in the past chapters were agreed by our Mozambican respondents. These questionnaires were then compiled and the information obtained were analysed and interpreted. 3.2 Population/Sample To conduct our research to find out more about the illiteracy rate in Mozambique, 30 individuals which were full-time students at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) were randomly selected to answer the questionnaires, we had prepared beforehand. Our respondents were fellow students of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), who came from Mozambique to further their studies in our country. They were from different courses, programmes and social background. 3.3 Location Our location for the research was in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP). The campus is built on a 400-hectare (1,000 acre) site strategically located at Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia. All of our respondents lived inside the campus. Majority of our respondents lived in Village 2, while some lived in Village 1, Village 5 and Village 6. 3.4 Limitation There were some of the limiting conditions that affected the accuracy of our research paper. For example, there were limited Mozambican students in our university to be respondents which mean we could not get sufficient information in details from that country. In addition, we had to search for them in order to have the questionnaire session because of the limited Mozambican students in our university. Besides, there were some conditions where the Mozambican students were reluctant to collaborate to carry out the research where most probably were due to their heavy language accent and some miscommunication. 3.5 Sampling Technique The sampling techniques that we used were snowball sampling and purposive sampling. Using the snowballing technique, we found a group of Mozambican students to reach our target of 30 respondents by contacting some of our Mozambican friends. This technique helped us to obtain the information easily and precisely by approaching the Mozambican community in our University. The Mozambican community in our University are definitely literate and is able to aid in our research. 3.6 Procedure The questionnaires were based on the respondents opinions on aspects related to the research, multiple choice questions were provided. Firstly, we contacted our Mozambican friends and went to their room to conduct the research. The Mozambican friends were helpful to bring us to meet the others Mozambican students in UTP and some even gave us their friends contacts for us to approach them. Mostly, we met them at their place of living and some in front of the market in UTP. We had also borrowed a car to reach Village 6 to approach the respondents there. All respondents were given fifteen minutes to complete the questionnaires on the spot. We had explained the questions in the questionnaire to those who didnt understand and assisted them while answering to complete the research. After the time limit, we collected the questionnaires back and thanked them for their co-operation. The collected quantitative data was analysed and illustrated in tables, bar graphs and pie charts as in the res ults section. 3.7 Materials We decided to use a quantitative method, instead of qualitative to obtain our results in regarding to the topic of research. We prepared a set of questions with 9 questions for them to fill up with multiple choice questions provided. Besides, we also provided a grading scale from very poor to excellent, from low to high or from strongly disagree to strongly agree, to ease the respondents answers and feedback. (Refer sample of questionnaire in Appendix 1) 3.8 Statistical Treatment After we obtained the results or questionnaires from the respondents, we compiled the questionnaires according to the answers they had done. After that, we compared each questions and the answers in one questionnaire with the others. With different responses from the respondents, the data were able to compile effectively and efficiently. The answers from the 30 respondents are calculated and converted into percentages. Then, we substituted the information obtained into pie chart and bar chart form for easier analysis. Lastly, the statistics obtained from our results are interpreted and further discussed in the discussion section. Chapter 4: Results Figure 4.1: Illiteracy rate in Mozambique According to the column chart above, most of the respondents consider that the illiteracy rate in Mozambique is neither high nor low. Figure 4.2: Reasons for higher illiteracy rate in female than in male According to the pie chart above, cultural background is the main reason behind the high illiteracy rate among female. Figure 4.3: What illiterate affect the most According to the pie chart above, illiterate affects employment prospects the most. Figure 4.4: Reasons for the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique According to the pie chart above, insufficient budget is the main reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Figure 4.5: International community in helping to reduce illiteracy rate in Mozambique From the column chart above, most of the respondents disagree that international community is helping in reducing illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Besides, the statistics above also shows that the percentage of respondents grade it as Average and Agree are the same. Figure 4.6: Education system in Mozambique According to the column chart, most of the respondents feel that the education system in Mozambique is considered average. Figure 4.7: Public awareness towards education in Mozambique As shown in the column chart above, most of our respondents grade the public awareness in Mozambique towards education as average whereas none of them grade it as very poor. Figure 4.8: Effort of government in reducing illiteracy rate in Mozambique From the column chart above, most of the Mozambicans grade the effort of government in reducing illiteracy as average whereas only 10% of respondents grade it as very poor. Figure 4.9: Ways to reduce illiteracy rate in Mozambique According to the pie chart above, high quality teachers and sufficient facilities show the highest percentage proportion in the ways to reduce the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Chapter 5: Discussion In this chapter, the quantitative results are discussed with the support of past research. Similarities and differences between the results and our literature review are explained logically and concluded for a more comprehensive discussion. The aim of this discussion is to investigate the reasons, consequences, solutions and the role of international community in regarding the illiteracy in Mozambique. 5.1 Reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique In Figure 4.1, 33.67% of the respondents think that the illiteracy rate in Mozambique is considered average, where in fact; the adult literacy rate of Mozambique in 2009 is 55.06% which is at a place of 199 out of 233 countries. The illiteracy rate is still most likely to be high, as approximately half of the Mozambican community is illiterate. In our study, there are only about 13.33% of our respondents considered the illiteracy rate in Mozambique as very high. None of them chose very low while grading the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. This is contradicting to our literature review which is possibly due to the low public awareness, specifically from the respondents. Furthermore, it was found out that the major reasons that contribute the most to the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique is due to insufficient budget where 40% of the respondents supported as shown in Figure 4.4. After the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975, surviving from the colonization era and the Mozambique Civil War which happened from 1977 to 1992, these probably result to insufficient budget and then the abandonment of education. Linden and Rungo (2004) mentioned too that, due to insufficient budget, the condition during learning is considered bad. The students face an amount of problems in the learning process which further results to the unresolved illiteracy problem in Mozambique. The education system in Mozambique is a catalyst to improve literacy rate. In Figure 4.6, 40% of our respondents rate the current education system in Mozambique as average. Several policies in Mozambique that govern the education system are not noticeable, which indirectly causes the low level of respond from the Mozambican community. To achieve Education for All (EFA), a good education system provides a strong basis to attract the awareness of all Mozambicans, and to eradicate illiteracy. 5.2 Effects of illiteracy Figure 4.2 shows 46.67% of our respondents feel that illiteracy affects employment prospects the most. The respondents realize that being literate and armed with knowledge are able to guarantee a job with promising aspects. In addition, the current condition in Mozambique depends mostly on agriculture, forestry and fishery as their main source of income. Mozambicans have to go by leaps and bounds to develop an advanced country, by exploring industries that require high qualifications and education, where literacy plays a pivotal role in increasing chances of employment prospects. Only 10% of them think that illiteracy will affect family life. This low value is likely to show that the awareness of education is still low. They may feel that they have adapted themselves perfectly in the traditional way, ignoring the importance of literacy and progressing. 5.3 Illiteracy rate among women and men in Mozambique Based on Figure 4.2, 56.67% of the respondents stated that illiteracy rate among women is higher than men because of cultural background. It has been a tradition that males are the leader and also the sole bread winner of the family, whereas females should stay at home to do the house chores and nurture their children at home. Females are always prohibited from learning due to cultural purposes that causes the significant lower illiteracy rate among females. There are also possibilities that the programmes offered by the schools are mainly favouring the male students. Women seem to be more interested in programmes designed to improve their lives and the well-being of their families as stated by Mario and Nandja (2005). 5.4 Solutions to overcome illiteracy in Mozambique We found out that both introducing more high quality teachers and providing enough facilities for education show the highest percentage (30%) in reducing the illiteracy rate in Mozambique as in Figure 4.9. This is due to the reason that there are still lacks of sufficient teachers in school especially in rural areas. Besides, there are also insufficient classroom where the children have to learn under extreme conditions in Mozambique. Thus, most of the respondents may think that both of the ways above are the solution to reduce the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. As shown in Figure 4.7, most of the respondents grade the public awareness towards education among the Mozambicans as average with 40%. This is more likely to happen because of the less effectiveness of the campaign carried out which only stress on the importance of education to parts of the Mozambique nation and also yet being practiced thoroughly. It is clearly to be seen that the public awareness towards education should be increased and measures have to be taken drastically to resolve this issue. Furthermore, as stated in Figure 4.8, 33.33% of our respondents grade the effort of the government in improving the literacy rate as average. It is possible that parts of the Mozambican do not recognize the policies introduced by government in reducing the illiteracy rate. Moreover, it is more likely that some of the respondents may think that the government did not increase the funds for adult literacy and education programmes. Besides , the plans in improving the education are not translated into action. 5.5 The role of the international community From Figure 4.5, it shows that most of our respondents (30%) do not think that the international community is helping in reducing the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Only 6.67% of them agree that help has been provided. There are contradictions as United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has employed a food security with the purpose of increasing the Mozambicans incomes. Besides, financial assistance is also provided with literacy instructors in 10 specified rural districts are given funds. The existence of contradictions most probably results from the lack of awareness towards this issue in improving literacy. 5.6 Limitations and Recommendations The result of the research is considered reliable. However, there are som

Lion King vs Hamlet Essay -- essays papers

Lion King vs Hamlet The movie, The Lion King, and the book, Hamlet, both have a similar story line. In both stories, the king is killed and revenge is sought by the king’s son. The murderers in the stories are the king’s brothers who want the power of the throne. After the death of the Kings, both of the villains successfully took over the kingdoms. While these villains ruled, the kingdoms slowly deteriorated. Neither of the sons liked the villains, but they did not know at first that they had anything to do with their father’s death. It took an outside force to convince them that they must vow revenge for their father’s death. Both sons had the wit to approach revenge strategically. They wanted the villains to know that they knew about how their fathers were murdered. The leading roles in each of the stories had a corresponding role in the other. The corresponding characters shared a number of similarities, but it was the ways in which they were different that determined their fate and that of the kingdom. In Hamlet, the prince is Hamlet. He is in deep grieving of his father’s death. He is angry because he believes that everyone has already forgotten how great of a king his father was. Hamlet does not know for sure who is responsible for his father’s death, but he suspects Claudius who is his uncle and the new king. Hamlet decides that if he can convince everyone that he is insane, then maybe he will be able to get someone to tell him more about his father’s murder. In The Lion King, Simba is the prince. Simba’s father, Mufasa, is killed after he falls from a cliff into a herd of hyenas. Simba falls into a deep depression after his uncle Scar twists things around and convinces Simba that he is the one responsible for th e Mufasa’s death. Simba can not deal with what has happened and he runs away from the kingdom. In Hamlet, The new king Claudius is able to gain respect from the kingdom. He even steals the love of Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. The old king’s councilor, Polonius, becomes Claudius’s councilor and his best friend. He helps Claudius keep an eye on Hamlet and tries to keep him from finding out anything about his father’s death. Polonius believes that if he helps Claudius that he can make life better for himself and for his daughter and son. But in the end, his actions get him slayed, drive his daughter to insanity, and eventually set... ...f her son. She starts to feel the poison and she warns Hamlet of it before she dies. It is too late though, the poisonous sword had cut Hamlet. In anger, Hamlet steals the poisoned sword and runs it into Laertes. He then charges Claudius and runs it into him. He also takes the wine and forces Claudius to drink from it. Both Claudius and Laertes die before Hamlet. Hamlet regains his throne for a few seconds, until the poison sets in and takes his life. The Lion King has a happy ending. Simba returns to his kingdom and he finds Scar. He tells Scar that he knows about his father’s death. Scar lies to Simba by telling him that the Hyenas were the ones who killed Mufasa. This upsets the Hyenas. They leave Scar to fight Simba by himself. Simba wins the fight and throws Scar off a cliff, into the herd of the Hyenas. The hyenas show no remorse for Scar and they trample over him, killing him. Once Simba takes back the throne, the whole kingdom becomes beautiful again and everyone i s happy. The two stories had similar plots and characters. But in the end, the small differences in how the characters acted separated the tragedy of Hamlet from the happy ending of Disney’s The Lion King. Lion King vs Hamlet Essay -- essays papers Lion King vs Hamlet The movie, The Lion King, and the book, Hamlet, both have a similar story line. In both stories, the king is killed and revenge is sought by the king’s son. The murderers in the stories are the king’s brothers who want the power of the throne. After the death of the Kings, both of the villains successfully took over the kingdoms. While these villains ruled, the kingdoms slowly deteriorated. Neither of the sons liked the villains, but they did not know at first that they had anything to do with their father’s death. It took an outside force to convince them that they must vow revenge for their father’s death. Both sons had the wit to approach revenge strategically. They wanted the villains to know that they knew about how their fathers were murdered. The leading roles in each of the stories had a corresponding role in the other. The corresponding characters shared a number of similarities, but it was the ways in which they were different that determined their fate and that of the kingdom. In Hamlet, the prince is Hamlet. He is in deep grieving of his father’s death. He is angry because he believes that everyone has already forgotten how great of a king his father was. Hamlet does not know for sure who is responsible for his father’s death, but he suspects Claudius who is his uncle and the new king. Hamlet decides that if he can convince everyone that he is insane, then maybe he will be able to get someone to tell him more about his father’s murder. In The Lion King, Simba is the prince. Simba’s father, Mufasa, is killed after he falls from a cliff into a herd of hyenas. Simba falls into a deep depression after his uncle Scar twists things around and convinces Simba that he is the one responsible for th e Mufasa’s death. Simba can not deal with what has happened and he runs away from the kingdom. In Hamlet, The new king Claudius is able to gain respect from the kingdom. He even steals the love of Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. The old king’s councilor, Polonius, becomes Claudius’s councilor and his best friend. He helps Claudius keep an eye on Hamlet and tries to keep him from finding out anything about his father’s death. Polonius believes that if he helps Claudius that he can make life better for himself and for his daughter and son. But in the end, his actions get him slayed, drive his daughter to insanity, and eventually set... ...f her son. She starts to feel the poison and she warns Hamlet of it before she dies. It is too late though, the poisonous sword had cut Hamlet. In anger, Hamlet steals the poisoned sword and runs it into Laertes. He then charges Claudius and runs it into him. He also takes the wine and forces Claudius to drink from it. Both Claudius and Laertes die before Hamlet. Hamlet regains his throne for a few seconds, until the poison sets in and takes his life. The Lion King has a happy ending. Simba returns to his kingdom and he finds Scar. He tells Scar that he knows about his father’s death. Scar lies to Simba by telling him that the Hyenas were the ones who killed Mufasa. This upsets the Hyenas. They leave Scar to fight Simba by himself. Simba wins the fight and throws Scar off a cliff, into the herd of the Hyenas. The hyenas show no remorse for Scar and they trample over him, killing him. Once Simba takes back the throne, the whole kingdom becomes beautiful again and everyone i s happy. The two stories had similar plots and characters. But in the end, the small differences in how the characters acted separated the tragedy of Hamlet from the happy ending of Disney’s The Lion King.

Cleopatra Essays -- essays research papers

When you think of Cleopatra you tend to think of Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile. Which isn’t far from the truth. Cleopatra was queen of Egypt, which is located on the Nile River. In her lifetime she had every luxury imaginable, which she used to gain the popularity of the roman authority. She was very important in terms of Egyptian history. However she was also very well known in terms of Roman history. She seduced some of most well known Roman men of her time. Cleopatra was a seductress. Who used her fame and fortune to seduce these men. Some of these men included such men as Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. Cleopatra was born in 69 BC She was the last Ptolemaic ruler. Her father was the Ptolemy XII. She was very, which added to her popularity of the Egyptian and Roman world. Cleopatra t...

David Garrick :: essays research papers fc

David Garrick (1716-1779) David Garrick’s contemporaries felt it would be vanity to describe his acting (Stone and Kahrl 27). Vanity has never stopped Shane Davis from doing anything ! David Garrick was considered to be the most influential and skilled actor of his time. Garrick is credited with revolutionizing the portrayal of character. His concept of ‘experiencing’ the feelings of the character, is a concept that helped lead 18th-century theatre into a new naturalistic era. It was an approach to acting that was directly at odds with the theatrical philosophy prior to Garrick’s inception (Stone and Kahrl 35). Garrick’s innovative style known as naturalism, led the extremely popular and successful actor James Quin to remark " If this [method of Garrick’s] is right, then we are all wrong" ( Cole and Chinoly 131). The style that was so admired and later copied by Garrick’s peers was a combination of naturalism, classical representation of the passions, and exaggerated physicality. Garrick was not the originator of naturalism ,that distinction is Charles Mackilin’s, although he is credited with its success. Pure naturalism can be characterized by Macklin’s instruction of his players to ignore the cadence of tragedy, but simply speak the passage as you would in common life and with more emotional force (Cole and Chinoly 121). The term used to describe this new style of speech is called broken tones of utterance. It is a method of speech which concentrates more on the emotion in a verse rather than its meter. David Garrick was a opportunistic actor who borrowed from many different acting techniques (Stone and Kahrl 345). Garrick’s naturalism was concerned more with the feeling of true emotion , the uniqueness of character, combined with the physical representation of the passions. Representation of the passions was an accepted artistic convention for expressing emotion. Le Brun, a late 17th-century century artist , wrote a "grammar" of the passions from Descartes earlier work. In doing so he gives a formal explanation of the 17th and eventually 18th-century representation of emotion. Le Brun’s manual explains that Contempt is expressed by the eyebrows knit and lowering towards the nose, and at the other end very much elevate; the eye very open, and the pupil in the middle; the nostrils drawing upwards; the mouth shut, and the corners somewhat down, and the upper lip thrust out farther than the upper one. (Le Brun) Le Brun’s descriptions along with many suggestions of mannerisms which should accompany them were reprinted in the acting manuals of the time.

Power Struggles and the Strong Woman

Katherine Hui RAYMOND WATERS CWL320 30 November 2011 POWER STRUGGLES AND THE STRONG WOMAN â€Å"Morning Glory†, directed by Roger Mitchell, is a romantic comedy and a reification of morning television. It is heavily coated in a formula base plot – the female protagonist is faced with obstacles in which she must overcome to prove her worth to those who have doubted her wrong; while simultaneously balancing her love interest. One of the most prominent archetypes in comedy is the strong woman archetype. The strong woman plays an outstanding role portraying power struggles, especially in the workplace.Becky Fuller, 28, is a high-energy and wide-eyed assistant producer. She quickly becomes a likable character in which the audience cannot help but root for. Through her struggles with pursuing her dreams of becoming an executive producer at the Today Show, Becky finds herself hired to revitalize a morning show in turmoil. Throughout the movie she experiences struggles with her self, her network, and the male alazon – Mike Pomeroy, a former news anchor acclaimed for his experience in covering â€Å"real† news.There is a parallel growth between all the characters in the movie as well as the morning show itself. The movie begins with a date, visually framing Becky’s obvious social ineptness and her overt dedication to work. Because of her job in early morning news, the audience sees her on a â€Å"3p. m. dinner† date with a marketing executive, whose job adds into the irony of the duo. Becky is chained to her phone and unable to talk about anything other than her work. She stumbles over her words and acts as if she were still a pubescent teenager on her first date.The marketing executive immediately realizes her awkwardness and incapacity to remove herself from her job and quickly asks for the check. Here the audience sympathizes for Becky, seeing her struggle in trying to fulfill one of life’s basic needs: companionship. T he date is followed by a montage of her daily routine in which we see Becky in her comfort zone; in complete control of what she is passionate about: work. The audience sees the contrast between her dedication with work and struggles ith men; and is able to feel a sense of admiration and respect for the character. Although she lacks in being able to make social connections she makes up for in her devotion to her work. Becky is a highly dedicated to her job at Good Morning New Jersey. She is the â€Å"first one in, last one out and knows a shitload more about news than someone’s whose daddy paid them to smoke bongs and talk semiotics at Harvard. † Becky is tipped off that she would be promoted to executive producer, something that she has pursued since she was 18.Instead she is laid off and expectantly replaced by a male who has more experience with an education from Harvard. This is a constant struggle in society today; women are underrated and easily replaced in the w ork place. The strong women archetype serves to prove society wrong through the comic spirit theme. Although Becky is consistently faced with others doubt in her – including her own mother – she perseveres through the negativity as the strong woman and is given the opportunity as an executive producer on Daybreak, a â€Å"perpetually fourth rated morning show† at IBS.On Becky’s first day she is already confronted with multiple complications: her boss’s lack of faith, the show’s low morale, and its semi-talented staff. Quickly she proves that she posses the type of assertiveness and ardent attitude that Daybreak desperately needs, making the executive decision to fire a long running co-anchor Paul McVee, the epitome of the conceitedness and one of the main reasons for the show’s low morale. Becky again faces another challenge: finding the perfect replacement. Daybreak’s low budget forces Becky to find an unconventional way to hi re a new anchor.Through her wit and ability to think on her feet she finds a loophole in one of IBS’s contracted and retired news anchors. Mike Pomeroy, the braggart male, is a world-renowned and respected television journalist. His opinion of morning television is far from low and is highly reluctant in having to co-anchor Daybreak, finally he is forced to accept the position due to his six million dollar contract with IBS. Pomeroy refuses to cover anything â€Å"un-newsworthy† and becomes a constant struggle in Becky’s effort to improve the show.Pomeroy disregards all of Becky’s requests, even getting drunk before his first day at work, further conveying his role as the braggart male. Becky withstands anything that Pomeroy throws at her, paralleling her strength to his experience. Pomeroy compares morning entertainment to a worthless sugary â€Å"donut†, in which Becky counters by comparing hard news to a boring â€Å"bran muffin. † Both c haracters finally come to reconciliation when they collaborate on their first breaking news story, covering the live arrest of New Jersey’s governor on charges of racketeering.Becky is elated and compares their breakthrough to a â€Å"bran donut. † She is faced with yet another challenge: improving Daybreaks ratings or having to face cancellation. One challenge that television faces today is the quality of entertainment. Often time’s ratings are based on controversy and popular culture and the dumb-ing down of information to appease the commercial audience. Becky fully understands what viewers want and overlooks this issue, completely devoting herself into doing absolutely anything to increase ratings.Through the strong woman archetype Becky shows that she has a clear vision and proves to her co-workers that she has a concrete strategy and ability to meet the audiences needs. Her dedication rally’s morale and like Lysistrata she is able to persuade her cr ew to be just as committed as she is. Becky performs miracles, introducing new segments and changing everything from the weather broadcast to their interviews. This progression is farced paced, paralleling the show’s increasing success.As Daybreak’s ratings go up they’re able to gain access to more famous celebrities, which in turn increases ratings even more. The show’s breaking point comes with Becky’s and Pomeroy’s â€Å"bran donut,† signifying her achievement at Daybreak and her ability to overcome the tribulations of the male alazon through her strong will and perseverance. Throughout the plot Becky becomes romantically involved with Adam Bennett, another producer at IBS. Although â€Å"Morning Glory† is a romantic comedy, it touches lightly on Becky’s relationship with Adam, focusing more on her exchanges with Pomeroy.Expectantly, Becky struggles with removing herself from work while trying to build a relationship with her love interest. Her dedication to work is her Achilles’ heal as well as her inimitable strength. Adam is able to overlook her awkwardness, even to the point adoration. The show’s successes and downfalls parallel with Becky’s growth in her ability to sustain a relationship. Towards the end of the movie, like with all romantic comedies, she is finally able to overlook her obsessions and succeed in overcoming her disability to make a romantic connection.The comic spirit seeks to exhibit strength in those who deserve a chance to exhibit greatness; those who are overlooked by society’s standards. In â€Å"Morning Glory,† Becky’ Fuller’s enduring strength, forceful determination, and self-belief transcends beyond any high profiled work experience or degree from Harvard. Daybreak’s growth parallels with Becky’s relationship with Mike Pomeroy as well the crew’s morale. Becky is a prime example of the strong woman archetype and she triumphs over her inner struggles as well as struggles with the higher forces of society.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 5

Chapter 5 THE SEASON FOR MAKING NEW FRIENDS Theo was doing fifty up Worchester Street when the blond man stepped from behind a tree into the street. The Volvo had just lurched over a patched strip in the asphalt, so the grille was pointed up and caught the blond man about hip-high, tossing him into the air ahead of the car. Theo stood on the brake, but even as the antilocks throbbed, the blond man hit the tarmac and the Volvo rolled over him, making sickening crunching and thumping noises as body parts ricocheted into wheel wells. Theo checked the rearview as the car stopped and saw the blond man flopping to a stop in the red wash of the brake lights. Theo pulled the radio off his belt as he leaped from the car, and stood ready to call for help when the figure lying in the road started to get up. Theo let the radio fall to his side. â€Å"Hey, buddy, just stay right there. Just stay calm. Help is on the way.† He started loping toward the injured man, then pulled up. The blond guy was on his hands and knees now; Theo could also see that his head was twisted the wrong way and the long blond hair was cascading back to the ground. There was a crackling noise as the guy's head turned around to face the ground. He stood up. He was wearing a long black coat with a rain flap. This was â€Å"the suspect.† Theo started backing away. â€Å"You just stay right there. Help is on the way.† Even as he said it, Theo didn't think this guy was interested in any help. The foot that faced backward came around to the front with another series of sickening crackles. The blond man looked up at Theo for the first time. â€Å"Ouch,† he said. â€Å"I'm guessing that smarted,† Theo said. At least his eyes weren't glowing red or anything. Theo backed into the open door of the Volvo. â€Å"You might want to lie down and wait for the ambulance.† For the second time in as many hours, he wished he had remembered to bring his gun along. The blond man held an arm out toward Theo, then noticed that the thumb on the outstretched hand was on the wrong side. He grabbed it with his other hand and snapped it back into place. â€Å"I'll be okay,† the blond man said, monotone. â€Å"You know, if that coat dry-cleans itself while I'm watching, I'll nominate you for governor my own self,† Theo said, trying to buy time while he thought of what he was going to say to the dispatcher when he keyed the button on the radio. The blond man was now coming steadily toward him – the first few steps limping badly, but the limp getting better as he got closer. â€Å"Stop right there,† Theo said. â€Å"You are under arrest for a two-oh-seven-A.† â€Å"What's that?† asked the blond man, now only a few feet from the Volvo. Theo was relatively sure now that a 207A was not a possum with a handgun, but he wasn't sure what it was, so he said, â€Å"Freakin' out a little kid in his own home. Now stop right there or I will blow your fucking brains out.† Theo pointed the radio, antenna first, at the blond guy. And the blond guy stopped, only steps away. Theo could see the deep gouges cut in the man's cheeks from contact with the road. There was no blood. â€Å"You're taller than I am,† said the blond man. Theo guessed the blond man to be about six-two, maybe three. â€Å"Hands on the roof of the car,† he said, training the antenna of the radio between the impossibly blue eyes. â€Å"I don't like that,† said the blond man. Theo crouched quickly, making himself appear shorter than the blond man by a couple of inches. â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"Hands on the car.† â€Å"Where's the church?† â€Å"I'm not kidding, put your hands on the roof of the car and spread 'em.† Theo's voice broke like he was hitting second puberty. â€Å"No.† The blond man snatched the radio out of Theo's hand and crushed it into shards. â€Å"Where's the church? I need to get to the church.† Theo dove into the car, scooted across the seat, and came out on the other side. When he looked back over the roof of the car the blond man was just standing there, looking at him like a parakeet might look at himself in the mirror. â€Å"What!?† Theo screamed. â€Å"The church?† â€Å"Up the street you'll come to some woods. Go through them about a hundred yards.† â€Å"Thank you,† said the blond man. He walked off. Theo jumped back into the Volvo, threw it into drive. If he had to run over the guy again, so be it. But when he looked up from the dash, no one was there. It suddenly occurred to him that Molly might still be at the old chapel. Her house smelled of eucalyptus and sandalwood and had a woodstove with a glass window that warmed the room with orange light. The bat was locked outside for the night. â€Å"You're a cop?† Lena said, moving away from Tucker Case on the couch. She'd gotten past the bat. He'd explained the bat, sort of. He'd been married to a woman from a Pacific island and had gotten the bat in a custody battle. Things like that happened. She'd gotten the house they were sitting in, in her divorce from Dale, and it still had a black marble Jacuzzi tub with bronze Greek erotic figures inset in a border around the edge. The jetsam of divorce can be embarrassing, so you couldn't fault someone a bathtub or fruit bat rescued out of love's shipwreck, but he might have mentioned he was a cop before he suggested burying her ex and going to dinner. â€Å"No, no, not a real cop. I'm here working for the DEA.† Tuck moved closer to her on the couch. â€Å"So you're a drug cop?† He didn't look like a cop. A golf pro, maybe, that blond hair and the lines around the eyes from too much sun, but not a cop. A TV cop, maybe – the vain, bad cop, who has something going on with the female district attorney. â€Å"No, I'm a pilot. They subcontract independent helicopter pilots to fly agents into pot-growing areas like Big Sur so they can spot patches hidden in the forest with infrared. I'm just working for them here for a couple of months.† â€Å"And after a couple of months?† Lena couldn't believe she was worried about commitment from this guy. â€Å"I'll try to get another job.† â€Å"So you'll go away.† â€Å"Not necessarily. I could stay.† Lena moved back toward him on the couch and examined his face for the hint of a smirk. The problem was, since she'd met him, he'd always worn the hint of a smirk. It was his best feature. â€Å"Why would you stay?† she said. â€Å"You don't even know me.† â€Å"Well, it might not be about you.† He smiled. She smiled back. It was about her. â€Å"It is about me.† â€Å"Yeah.† He was leaning over and there was going to be a kiss and that would be okay, she thought, if the night hadn't been so horrible. It would be okay if they hadn't shared so much history in so short a time. It would be okay if, if†¦ He kissed her. Okay, she was wrong. It was okay. She put her arms around him and kissed him back. Ten minutes later she was down to just her sweater and panties, she had driven Tucker Case deeply enough into the corner of the couch that his ears were baffled with cushions, and he couldn't hear her when she pushed back from him and said, â€Å"This doesn't mean that we're going to bed together.† â€Å"Me, too,† said Tuck, pulling her closer. She pushed back again. â€Å"You can't just assume that this is going to happen.† â€Å"I think I have one in my wallet,† he said, trying to lift her sweater over her head. â€Å"I don't do this sort of thing,† she said, wrestling with his belt buckle. â€Å"I had a test for my pilot physical a month ago,† he said as he liberated her breasts from their combed cotton yoke of oppression. â€Å"Clean as a whistle.† â€Å"You're not listening to me!† â€Å"You look beautiful in this light.† â€Å"Does doing this so soon after, you know – does doing this make me evil?† â€Å"Sure, you can call it a weasel if you want to.† And so, with that tender honesty, that frank connection, the coconspirators chased away each other's loneliness, the smell of grave-digging sweat rising romantic in the room as they fell in love. A little. Despite Theo's concern, Molly wasn't at the old chapel, she was getting a visit from an old friend. Not a friend, exactly, but a voice from the past. â€Å"Well, that was just nuts,† he said. â€Å"You can't feel good about that.† â€Å"Shut up,† said Molly, â€Å"I'm trying to drive.† According to the DSM-IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, you had to have at least two of a number of symptoms in order to be considered as having a psychotic episode, or, as Molly liked to think of it, an  «artistic » moment. But there was an exception, a single symptom that could put you in the batshit column, and that was â€Å"a voice or voices commenting on the activities of daily life.† Molly called it â€Å"the Narrator,† and she hadn't heard from him in over five years – not since she'd gone and stayed on her medication as she had promised Theo. That had been the agreement, if she stayed on her meds, Theo would stay off of his – well, more specifically, Theo would not have anything to do with his drug of choice, marijuana. He'd had quite a habit, going back twenty years before they'd met. Molly had stuck to the agreement with Theo; she'd even gotten decertified by the state and gone off financial aid. A resurgence in royalties from her old movies had helped with the expenses, but lately she'd started falling short. â€Å"It's called an enabler,† said the Narrator. â€Å"The Drug Fiend and the Warrior Babe Enabler, that's you two.† â€Å"Shut up, he's not a drug fiend,† she said, â€Å"and I'm not the Warrior Babe.† â€Å"You did him right there in the graveyard,† said the Narrator. â€Å"That is not the behavior of a sane woman, that is the behavior of Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland.† Molly cringed at the mention of her signature character. On occasion, the Warrior Babe persona had leaked off the big screen and into her own reality. â€Å"I was trying to keep him from noticing that I might not be a hundred percent.† â€Å"‘Might not be a hundred percent'? You were driving a Christmas tree the size of a Winnebago down the street. You ‘re way off a hundred percent, darlin'. â€Å" â€Å"What do you know? I'm fine.† â€Å"You're talking to me, aren't you?† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I think I've made my point.† She'd forgotten how smug he could be. Okay, maybe she was having a few more artistic moments than usual, but she hadn't had a break with reality. And it was for a good cause. She'd taken the money she'd saved on her meds to pay for a Christmas present for Theo. It was on layaway down at the glass blower's gallery: a handblown dichromatic glass bong in the Tiffany style. Six hundred bucks, but Theo would so love it. He'd destroyed his collection of bongs and water pipes right after they'd met, a symbol of his break with his pot habit, but she knew he missed it. â€Å"Yeah,† said the Narrator. â€Å"He'll need that bong when he finds out he's coming home to the Warrior Babe.† â€Å"Shut up. Theo and I just had an adventurous romantic moment. I am not having a break.† She pulled into Brine's Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines to pick up a six-pack of the dark bitter beer Theo liked and some milk for the morning. The little store was a miracle of eclectic supply, one of the few places on the planet where you could buy a fine Sonoma Merlot, a wedge of ripened French Brie, a can of 10W-30, and a carton of night crawlers. Robert and Jenny Masterson had owned the little shop since before Molly had come to town. She could see Robert by himself behind the counter, tall with salt-and-pepper hair, looking a little hangdog as he read a science magazine and sipped a diet Pepsi. Molly liked Robert. He'd always been kind to her, even when she was considered the village's resident crazy lady. â€Å"Hey, Robert,† she said as she came through the door. The place smelled of egg rolls. They sold them out of the back, where they had a pressure fryer. She breezed past the counter toward the beer cooler. â€Å"Hey, Molly.† Robert looked up, a little startled. â€Å"Uh, Molly, you okay?† Crap, she thought. Had she forgotten to brush the pine needles out of her hair? She probably looked a mess. She said, â€Å"Yeah, I'm fine. Theo and I were just putting up the Christmas tree at the Santa Rosa Chapel. You and Jenny are coming to Lonesome Christmas, aren't you?† â€Å"Of course,† Robert said, his voice still a little strained. He seemed to be making an effort not to look at her. â€Å"Uh, Molly, we kind of have a policy here.† He tapped the sign by the counter, NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO SERVICE. Molly looked down. â€Å"Oh my gosh, I forgot.† â€Å"It's okay.† â€Å"I left my sneakers in the car. I'll just run out and put them on.† â€Å"That would be great, Molly. Thanks.† â€Å"No problem.† â€Å"I know it's not on the sign, Molly, but while you're out there, you might want to put some pants on, too. It's sort of implied.† â€Å"Sure thing,† she said, breezing by the counter and out the door, feeling now that, yes, it seemed a little cooler out than when she'd left the house. And yes, there were her jeans and panties on the passenger seat next to her sneakers. â€Å"I told you,† said the Narrator.