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From the 1920’s up until his death Joseph Stalin was the leader of Russia. What ensued under Stalin’s reign didn’t evoke emotions of love for country within the Russian people. Under Stalin the people lived in constant fear because of an epidemic within their own country, genocide of Stalin’s own people by Stalin himself. From 1934 up until 1939 a period of mass fear swept over Russia and at the helm Stalin with his (helpers?) of mass killings, the NKVD which are the internal police. Russia has always had a form ‘state security service’ commonly thought of now as â€Å"the secret police†, but in 1929 under the direction of Stalin the NKVD was formed and though it may have a new name it still held the infamous fear and practices of its predecessors, the GPU, The GUGB, and others. Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov was alive during this period of fear, and one of the books he wrote titled The Master and Margarita shares a lot more than one s imilarity with Stalin and his regime of fear. In fact it seems like the author created this book as a commentary of the times because of the way he writes ...

Looking for Alibrandi Essay

A world-wide hit in the late 1990s, Author Melina Marchetta wrote a manuscript about a teenage girl searching for herself and the way she is to live. Her name is Josephine Alibrandi who is a 17 year old Italian Australian or ‘wog’ as some know it, in the novel and film of ‘Looking for Alibrandi’. Much of the discussion of Alibrandi has centred around this portrayal of the multi-cultural society of Australia, although remarkably, the novel has managed to largely avoid the negative and superficial â€Å"issues† pigeon-holing so much realist fiction for young adults is victim to. There is no question that Marchetta’s own experiences as an Italian-Australian have informed her story. Nor is there any doubt that in Josephine Alibrandi she has created a fresh non-Anglo-Australian voice of great power and integrity. Nevertheless, Marchetta does find that the focus on the Italian heritage of her protagonist (and herself) can be both distracting and limiting; it was not, she says, her first impulse in telling Josephine Alibrandi’s story; Another legacy of the shared Italian-Australian heritage of both author and protagonist is the common assumption that the book must be autobiographical. The reading of her novel is in some ways complimentary, being as it is an indication of the kind of response readers have to Josephine, and to the lively and truthful tone of the novel; Marchetta has captured her characters, their situation and the inner city suburbs of Sydney acutely and precisely. The ambivalence Marchetta feels towards Josephine is revealed through the characters of Sister Louise, her headmistress, and her boyfriend Jacob, neither of whom hesitate to point out to Josephine when she is being selfish, over-dramatic, or plain stupid. A quite shocking example of this is in the scene where Jacob rescues Josephine from a violent mob of teenage boys in a McDonalds car park, and then abuses her for her stupidity in spitting on and further antagonising the ring-leader. It is an indication of the exasperation that Josephine provokes in those who care about her, and Marchetta agrees with Jacob that Josephine’s dramatic and impulsive behaviour too frequently land her in avoidable unpleasantness. To be fair, Josephine can be fairly hard on herself, and her ability at and willingness for self-scrutiny develops as she matures. It is testament to Marchetta’s care in balancing the complexities of Josephine’s character that the reader can witness her tantrums and drama-queen turns, her often thoughtless and selfish actions, and yet know that this is an essential part of her emancipation, and that it does not detract from her vitality, compassion and intelligence. Young Australian readers will find the setting of the novel very realistic and familiar. They will identify with the portrayal of Australian high school life, attending a debating meeting, the description of suburban Sydney and catching the ferry to Circular Quay, the fact of being part of a dysfunctional family ? all these details of the setting are realistic and will be instantly recognisable. Many teenagers of foreign parentage will relate to Josie’s rebellion against her Italian side and to all the references to the Italian culture.

The Legalization Of Drugs A Controversial Issue

The legalization of drugs has been and still is a controversial issue that is quite difficult to settle. Drugs can be harmful but very resourceful. It is used to relieve minor or major pains but could also send thousands to emergency rooms. Throughout this paper, you will learn about the brief history of the prohibition of drugs and how it led to the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The factors that the prohibition brought will also be discussed in this paper and how the damages of prohibition led to the passing of the 21st Amendment, bringing back prohibited substances. In addition, reasons to why legalization of drugs should be considered like how it could reduce crime and mass incarceration of minorities in the justice system, as well as their importance in the medical field, will be stated in this paper also. History of Drug Use Drugs have been abused for various reasons and have been a rolling factor in every corner of the globe. Alcoholism as well as marijuana and a couple of other illicit drugs have plagued America throughout history. Opium, a narcotic drug which is also known as the â€Å"plant of joy† was used 4,000 years ago; sales of cocaine and heroin solutions to the British royal family were recorded from around 1900 – 1920, and records from the year of 1912 indicate that a cocaine solution was sold to Winston Churchill (Siegel, 2010, p. 366). â€Å"Prior to the 1800 s†¦ most societies used drugs for medicinal or religious purposes†Show MoreRelatedAn Analysis of President Obama’s Remarks about Marijuana Essay624 Words   |  3 Pagesmade some controversial remarks about legalizing marijuana. President Obama stated that he did not think that marijuana was â€Å"more dangerous than alcohol† (Remnick). This comment has caused proponents of legalizing marijuana to praise the President, while opponents are criticizing him for seemingly supporting this banned substance. 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