The Great Leap Forward launched by Mao in 1958 Essay Example for Free

The Great Leap Forward launched by Mao in 1958 Essay When the Communist party came to power in 1949 after a brutal war against the Nationalists, China was in a devastated state. War against Japan had resulted in the destruction of many of its cities including Beijing. Chinas people were left scared with the horrific memories of the Japanese armys horrendous acts. Rescuing China from the gutter was to prove to be a difficult task for Mao Zedong and his communist comrades. In order to understand the fundamental problems with the Great Leap Forward, previous reforms must be considered in order to fully assess the reasons for the its failures. One of Chinas most notorious problems was land ownership. Most of Chinas land was owned by cruel landlords. Peasants were being exploited and were forced to work long hours for poor pay and terrible living conditions. Mao used this in order to take a fundamental step in assuring that he had total control over the people. He introduced the policy of land reform. Mao re-distributed 40% of Chinas land and gave it to the peasants. This proved to be a truly brilliant political decision as he swept the hearts of the peasants on his side. He realised that as 90% of Chinas population were peasants, he needed to appeal to the masses. This policy was considered a success as an estimated 60% of the entire population benefited form the reform. However, this was to be a sign of Maos disregard for human life as this policy resulted in the death of 2 million landlords, by means of public execution during struggle meetings. Mao also started an early form of collectivisation, by 1952, 40% of peasants were collectivised. The next step was the encouragement of cooperatives, these favoured central management of land under private ownership, and by 1956 80% of peasants were part of cooperatives. The important factor of the land reform policy is that Mao was able to gain support from the peasants, the same peasants he would later use to conduct the Great Leap forward. Despite claiming to be a Marxist, Mao considered rural peasants to be the seeds of agricultural success but thought that industrial peasants were the backbone of the economy. The Great Leap Forward was to be the second economic reform Mao was to launch in China. Inspiring himself from Stalins economic model, in 1953 Mao launched the first 5 year plan. This plan was to be extraordinarily successful. The first of his 5 year plans set high production targets in oil, steel, pig iron and chemical fertiliser. Most of these targets were achieved, notably steel production quadrupled. Mao was able to cut inflation down from 1000% to only 15% by introducing a new currency the Yuan. Maos reforms were all interlinked. He used his social reforms to back up his economic reforms. Mao made revolutionary changes to womens lives in modern China. New sets of laws were introduced giving women the right to work, education and custody rights over their children. This was a significant improvement from the harsh days of foot binding. Mao also deemed it important to educate the Chinese population, another success was his improvement of literacy, and by his death 90% of China was literate. Not only did Mao revolutionise Chinese social life, but he put an end to corruption the government. However, these changes were to contribute to the launch of the great leap forward in a crucial way, by giving women the right to work Mao had significantly enlarged his work force which was important considering his beliefs in mass mobilisation. By the time the he announced the launch of the great leap forward 70% of women were employed. The success of the first 5 year plan can be explained by several factors. The targets set were plausible and most importantly Mao had the help of Russian economic and agricultural experts. However Mao deeply mistrusted experts. Some may argue that this was one of the main reasons for launching the hundred flowers campaign. In order to lure out intellectuals and opposition Mao gave a speech in 1957. During this speech Mao encouraged the intelligentsia to constructively criticize the communist party. At first the movement was slow to take of but once Mao forced the media to get behind it, people started speaking their minds about Maos regime. Communist party members were being heavily criticized and the Chinese people demanded reform. Mao, not uncharacteristically decided to reverse the policy in May 1957. This was to result in a crackdown on the intelligentsia known as the anti rightist campaign. Over 300,000 people were sent to labour camps. The hundred flowers was not simply a way at removing the intelligentsia, it was a way of removing Maos opponents, and this was to make the launch of the Great leap forward less difficult and certainly less questioned for the few experts that remained would be too terrified of speaking against the communist party chairman. The scene is now set for the introduction of the Great Leap Forward. Mao dreamed of transforming China into one of the worlds leading economic powers. Maos dream was to become Chinas nightmare with the launch of the great leap forward in 1958. Maos goal was to transform China into an economic superpower overnight. Many peasants knew little of what the Great Leap forward was for, most thought it was simply a plan to overtake major capitalist countries. However, to serve a higher purpose, Mao saw nuclear power as an essential element to become a superpower. However Maos secrete ambition was expensive. In order to mobilise labour, Mao had to further collectivise cooperatives in the rural parts of China. Mao believed that industry and agriculture were equally important, hence the slogan walking on two legs. However, the first 5 year plan had been beneficial to industry but agriculture had stagnated. One of Maos main concerns was Chinas population was outgrowing food production. In 1957 food production had grown 1% whilst the population had grown by 2%. Mao was distraught by the fact that the countrysides production was being used up in by the rural population. This posed a real economic problem for China. It meant that industry was not going to be sufficiently supported by agriculture and thus meant that Maos ambitions could not be realised. Maos answer to this problem was to decentralise control and enable enlarged agricultural units produce food and industrial products. These new super collectives would be known as Peoples Communes. These communes were under the control of local cadres whos main order were to extract as much labour as possible from the peasants. These cadres forced peasants were forced to hand over their property, thus reversing his policy of Land reform. The first of people communes was created in Henan in April 1958. It was composted of 27 collectives with over 9369 households joined together, by December 1958, 740,000 cooperatives had been turned into 26,000 communes. Mao had successfully militarised Chinas society, militia units squads were formed and were composed of everyone between 15 to 20 years of age. Living conditions in the communes were nothing short of appalling. Peasants eat, slept and washed together. All privacy was swept away from them, Mao even considered getting rid of peoples names and replacing them with numbers. According to Jung Chang and Jon Halliday Mao aim was to dehumanise Chinas 550 million peasants and turn them into the human equivalent of draft animals Mao had betrayed the peasants and was going to trade the peasants life for economic growth. Mao expected far too much from these communes. This may explain why the harvest predictions were astronomically high. Mao would have done well to examine the previous harvesting results. The normal yield was a ton per acre. The previous harvest of 1957 yielded a poor 195 million tons of grain. In 1958 Mao announced that the harvest figures for that year had been 430 million tons, western experts place this figure around 200 million tons. This demonstrates how much the production figures were exaggerated. Mao s political secretary Chen Boda told Mao that China was accomplishing in a day what it took capitalist states 20 years to accomplish. Production actually decreased during the Great Leap Forward by significant amounts, the harvest of 1959 was yielded a disappointing 170 million tons the CCP reported it at 282 million tons. This figure was to get even lower in 1960 when it fell to 143 million tons. This can be attributed to poor agricultural techniques. Close planting and deep ploughing were considered to be at the hear t of agricultural success. During these years Mao was asked how he intended to pay for his newly ordered soviet heavy machinery. Mao answered by claiming that China has unlimited food supplies. Consequently China increased its food exports towards Russia.

Alcohol as an acceptable adjunct for occasions in our society Essay Example for Free

Alcohol as an acceptable adjunct for occasions in our society Essay There are approximately 50% or 126 million of Americans whom are past month alcohol drinkers, or also known as current drinkers. Also, approximately 23% or 55 million of Americans binge drink, and 6.6% or 16 million Americans reported heavy drinking. The estimated spending for healthcare services to treat alcohol problems, and its medical consequences of alcohol is 18.8 billion dollars a year. Alcohol is also officially linked to at least over half of all highway fatalities. To date, alcohol has been tried by 41% of 8th graders, 63% of 10th graders, 75% of 12th graders, and 87% of college students. Also there was an estimated 82 billion dollars lost in potential productivity due to alcohol and other drug use. We all know that alcohol is offered almost everywhere we go. At parties, in bars, in clubs, in stores, and restaurants. People consume alcohol for every occasion they can think of, or just to make their problems go away and to make them feel better, even though it is just for a limited amount of time. We all know what alcohol does, and can do. Why do we always chose alcohol at a party, in a bar, at a restaurant, or in a store? People can have fun without it. Alcohol is used to socialize better, but why cant people socialize without it? Why is alcohol used as an acceptable, unnecessary addition to celebrations such as parties, weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries, and as a way of relaxing and relieving stress and anxiety? People know what alcohol is about but yet continue drinking massively into more disasters. Reference: Drugs and Society Tenth Edition Chapter 8 p.182-191, U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alcoholconsumption.html#cat1 People use alcoholic beverages to enjoy while chatting with friends. Thinking about the effects of alcohol on the health of a person using it is never apparent. The holidays are the time when alcoholic beverages are mostly abused of which includes parties and small gatherings of friends and families. In this case, the people responsible in that activity such as hosts and party organizers must think of the safety of every drinking pattern. Any risky of harmful pattern must be regulated and prevented. I am not saying that it is acceptable to use alcohol during parties. What I am trying to say is that when drinking alcoholic beverages cannot be prevented during holidays, proper caution must be used in doing so to prevent untoward incidents.

Urban Regeneration Of The Melbourne Docklands Area Environmental Sciences Essay

Urban Regeneration Of The Melbourne Docklands Area Environmental Sciences Essay It can be a challenge to introduce sustainable mixed-use infill development elements into existing cities because of the density issue. Since the attitude of communities of the public is that; high densities contribute to crime (Dekle and Mofson 1997) While plans are created for the redevelopment of urban centres and former industrial areas in Australia (VicUrban 2006) and around the world, many existing cities, struggle with environmental, and economic problems, shattered urban areas, as well as present of public health social problems of inequality. Sustainability measures can be included as a key part of any infill strategy. to improve social equity (HSP and PIA 2009) The demand for new homes in Melbourne is unsatisfied as elsewhere around Australia. Redeveloping brown-fields to meet part of this demand can add valuable benefits other than meeting the need for homes within the city (Melbourne 2007). It can add to any city vitality, also it can reduce the need to develop  ¿Ã‚ ½green-fields ¿Ã‚ ½ sites. As well as closeness of homes near to centres of activity encourages use of public transport, walking and cycling in addition to reduces the dependency on private cars. (HSP and PIA 2009) Measures of diversity in the SD plan have to taken into concidiration needs are best met by ensuring that an appropriate range of small, medium and large family homes is available. So the market will not over supply of small homes and a shortage of  ¿Ã‚ ½lifetime ¿Ã‚ ½ homes The recent growth of urban brown-field redevelopment and greenfield initiatives is a positive indicator of the redirected priorities of the public and private sectors to re The following case study reveals how the inclusion of sustainable growth in a large-scale urban redevelopment can strengthen a shattered urban area and create an efficient functional and iconic ESD Case Study: Urban renewal of Melbourne Docklands, Australia Pre-conditions leading to infill development: The Docklands Area it is located on Victoria Harbor in South Australia (SA) in the heart of Melbourne city; situated nearby the Yarra River and directly southwest of the Melbourne central business area (DSE 2005). Since 1970 to 1990s the Docklands Area was a major source of pollution to the harbor neighbourhood in Melbourne city due to past industrial activities (DSE 2005) because of that the area has endure from disinvestment. However, the need for quayside areas in developed countries in the 1980 including Australia has reduced due to globalization; Shipping, heavy industry and manufacturing has been repositioned to developing nations such as China (Dekle and Mofson 1997). One of the difficulties to redevelop in Docklands was; land contamination, since most of it has been used for industrial activities for years (Commonwealth 2009). The Docklands area needed major design involvement to renew the vacant land as well as clean up the nearby stream (REF). Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD): Melbourne Docklands In the recent peak oil era and the promote trend of globalisation and sustainability, it was apparently predictable that Melbourne CBD and Docklands area would be converted from heavy industry and shipping activities to a high-rise residential and light commercial areas (VicUrban 2006). In addition to the value of real estates in Australian cities, as in Europe increases; by means of closeness to both the central business quarter and waterfront (REA 2010) While Docklands land is state-owned, it has been developed in partnership between the government and the private sector with national and international developers. (VicUrban 2010a). Docklands redevelopment is one of largest Brown-field urban renewal projects in Australia (Commonwealth 2009). As shown in map below Docklands redevelopment is a 200-acre Brown-Field development (VicUrban 2010a) The Docklands redevelopment began in 1989 with the intention of setting a worldwide precedent to incorporate all aspects of sustainability; social, cultural, economic, and environmental (VicUrban 2006) There are eight ESD principles for Melbourne Docklands as indicated in the ESD Guide 2006: 1. Conserve and protect natural resources 2. Create long-term value 3. Maximise precinct opportunities 4. Balance economic, social and environmental outcomes 5. Set standards, requirements and benchmarks, and continually review 6. Develop a collaborative approach, and capture and communicate knowledge 7. Promote alternative transport opportunities 8. Create a healthy urban environment In 2004 the PIA Victoria Division has awarded the Docklands Development with Planning Excellence in the Community Based Planning Category and Planning for Health and Wellbeing (PIA 2004) The (VicUrban) Victorian Governments sustainable urban development agency has entered the award through a strategic plan that has engaged extensive research and consultation with local residence of Docklands community, local government and developers to deliver; public services and social sustainability at Melbourne Docklands.  ¿Ã‚ ½Place and Community: Implementing Sustainable Communities at Melbourne Docklands 2004-2020 ¿Ã‚ ½ plan (VicUrban 2004) Source: (Melbourne 2010) VicUrban Plan for community wellbeing identifies facilities, superiority of service and presents an on-going monitoring program that keep an eye on execution of the plan (VicUrban 2004). This Practical fresh approach is driven from innovative service organizations to deliver the needs of the existing and future community of Melbourne. The plan has advertise itself as  ¿Ã‚ ½healthy and active Docklands ¿Ã‚ ½ by focusing on variety of strategies and services intended to endorse diversity of community, its development and inhabitants wellbeing as well as workers and visitors (PIA 2004). In addition, the plan aims to create alternative active modes of transportation; such as walking and cycling, road safety (VicUrban 2004). As it is predicted by the Department of Sustainability and Environment in Victoria (DES); in 2030 population of Melbourne will grow by one million people (DSE 2005) as a result the need to redevelop or regenerate more of existing brown-fields sites in inner city is essential to achieve goals of sustainable environment, urban amenity and community development (PIA 2004). This approach has been adopted by Victoria government and VicUrban to change the face of Melbourne traditional CBD and to improve waterfront of the city by creating more compact with higher density developments that is easy to be serviced in a sustainable way. The plan is to create  ¿Ã‚ ½development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs ¿Ã‚ ½ (WCED, et al. 1987) pp1 To Achieve a Sustainable Developments (SD) in Docklands that meets present and future needs the plan focuses and balance between three aspects or the  ¿Ã‚ ½three bottom lines ¿Ã‚ ½ Environment, Social (Equity) and Economy (Gilbert et al., 1996). As shown in table below according with state of Victoria strategy population projections of Docklands it is estimated to increase from 6,000 residents in 2009 to 17,000 by 2020 (VicUrban 2010a) Population Start 2009 End 2009 2015 2020 Residents 6,000 6,500 11,000 17,000 Workers 12,000 19,000 30,000 40,000 Visitors 8 million p.a. 10 million p.a. 13 million p.a 20 million p.a. Development investment $5.5 billion $6 billion $9 billion $12 billion TABLE 1: DOCKLANDS POPULATION PROJECTIONS, Source: (VicUrban 2010a) While Docklands land is state-owned, it has been developed in partnership between the government and the private sector with national and international developers. (VicUrban 2010a). Docklands is one of largest Brown-field urban renewal projects in Australia (Commonwealth 2009). It is a mixed-use development includes eight precincts as shown in table XXX late 2009 $6 billion of development is either completed or under construction with a final development value of $12 billion by 2020 that will create a wide variety of jobs for 40,000 people (VicUrban 2010a)

America the Philosophical :: Philosophy Science Papers

America the Philosophical Although convention dictates that America is an unphilosophical sort of country, fonder of Super Bowls than supervenience, the development of philosophy away from Socratic strategies that presume eternal right answers to the classical philosophical problems suggests a second look is in order. This is particularly true if one accepts many of the notions currently in the air about "post-modern" or "post-analytic" philosophy — that its roots lie in classical rhetoric and pragmatism, or that its notion of truth holds the latter to be what issues from the most wide-open sort of informed deliberation possible. In that case, it begins to seem as if America is to philosophy as Italy is to art, or Norway to skiing: a perfectly designed environment for the practice. This, at least, is the provocation intended by this paper. America the Philosophical? It sounds like Canada the Exhibitionist or France the Unassuming: a mental miscue, a delusional academic tic, a Dead-On-Arrival body emitting gases of pure intellectual wish-fulfillment. Everyone knows that Americans don't take philosophy seriously, don't know much about it, don't pay any attention to it, and couldn't name a contemporary academic philosopher if their passports depended on it. As historian Richard Hofstadter drily observed in his Pulitzer-Prize-winning Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1962), "In the United States the play of the mind is perhaps the only form of play not looked upon with the most tender indulgence." But if the title phenomenon of Hofstadter's classic indeed boasts "a long, historical background," the peculiar attitude directed at philosophy softens that hostility by increasing the dosage of unfamiliarity or contempt. Philosophy often seems sufficiently unthreatening to the practical on-the-go American that Arthur Schlesinger's stinging old charge — that on these shores, "Anti-intellectualism has long been the anti-Semitism of the businessman" — feels overwrought. The American middle manager confronted with a devoted philosophy type is most likely to recycle the old cliche, "What are you going to do, open a philosophy store?", and leave it at that. If, of course, the information has been accurately downloaded. Tell your middlebrow seatmate on an commuter flight that you're "in philosophy" and the reply is likely to be, "Oh, that's great. My niece is in psychology too." The infrequent philosophy blips on America's media screens suggest that philosophy doesn't quite register on the American psyche with the gravitas professionals in the field might like. According to the Macy's window of American gossip, the New York Post’s "Page Six," model emeritus Lauren Hutton regards Camille Paglia, the media's 15-minute joy-toy of the `80s, as "the greatest living American philosopher.

As I Lay Dying1 Essay -- Essays Papers

As I Lay Dying1 William Faulkner uses language in a unique way in his novel As I Lay Dying. Language is a form of expression to show thoughts and emotions. Faulkner uses it to convey the individual characters’ thoughts and feelings. He also uses it to draw a line between language and true expression. He shows the limitations of language and the difference between language and words. As I Lay Dying covers the story of a family as they journey to bury the mother, Addie, in her hometown after her death. They all go through the same situations but each experience different emotions and thoughts. They express these through the language they use. What each character says as well as how he/she says it lets the reader see the character'’ underlying meaning. Through Faulkner’s technique of letting each person involved speak in the first person, language takes on an important role in understanding the characters. Darl is an example of the power of language due to him having the most chapters as narrator. His language is more clear and reflective than the other speakers are are. He uses similes and metaphors like the horse to represent his mother. Dewey Dell is different than the rest of her family. Instead of just reporting facts or describing she uses language to express her true feelings. Language is personal to her and demonstrates its power. An example of this is when she describes how the doctor â€Å"could do so much for me if he just would† and how he â€Å"is a ...

Mexicos War for Independence :: essays research papers fc

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico is the northernmost country of Latin America. It lies just south of the United States. The Rio Grande forms about two-thirds of the boundary between Mexico and the United States. Among all the countries of the Western Hemisphere, only the United States and Brazil have more people than Mexico. Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It also is one of the world's largest metropolitan areas in population. Hundreds of years ago, the Indians of Mexico built large cities, developed a calendar, invented a counting system and used a form of writing. The last Indian empire in Mexico, the Aztec, fell to Spanish invaders in 1521. For the next 300 years, Mexico was a Spanish colony. The Spaniards took Mexico's riches, but they also introduced many changes in farming, government, industry and religion. The descendants of the Spaniards became Mexico's ruling class. The Indians remained poor and uneducated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the Spanish colonial period, a third group of people developed in Mexico. These people, who had both Indian and white ancestors, became known as Mestizos. Today, the great majority of Mexicans are Mestizos, and they generally take great pride in their Indian ancestry. A number of government programs stress the Indian role in Mexican culture. In 1949, the government made an Indian the symbol of Mexican nationality. The war for independence is sometimes considered a revolutionary war. It is not, however. The war for independence was fought to end colonial rule. The war was based on politics and a separation of powers. In this essay I will start from the rising discontentment amongst the indigenous population and how the higher ranking classes exploited their failures for their own societal class gain in a system where they have always been favored more by societal leaders. Once New Spain settled in its new territory, inner cores were created as part of the system. New Spain, from now on, would be under direction of the mother country Spain. Its colonial system would be entrenched in the new colony and therefore, its economy would strive to gain profit and make Spain richer and stronger. The economy was based on agriculture, ranching, mining, industry, and commerce. The majority of labor that would go into doing these jobs would be from the indigenous people, or â€Å"Indians†. Although some â€Å"Indians† were paid decent wages, most were treated unfairly or poorly. They worked long, hard hours.

The Booker Prize

The Booker Prize award is considered to be one of the most prestigious recognition of the literary world and it represents one of the most important international rewards for any writer, ne it a famous or a little known one. As any award of its king, it stands as a full acknowledgement of the efforts and endeavors of writers from different periods of time. Despite the fact that it does not have the same international impact as the Nobel Prize for literature, it is viewed as a major asset in the writing career of its winners.However, it can be argued that the contribution of the award is two folded, as there are both advantages and disadvantages for winning the prize. Still, it is rather hard to determine the extent to which one of these two elements prevails. It may be that in the career of an already famous writer the role such a prize plays be rather limited as most often this award is solely a different acknowledgement of the literary merits in a series of awards. On the other han d, for emerging new literary talents or for little known fiction authors, it plays a significant role.This is why, in order to have a better comprehension of the influence the Booker Prize has and the power of the award in itself, first and foremost it is important to take into account the history of the Prize and the tendencies it followed. Secondly, the actual advantages and disadvantages of the prize cannot be determined in general terms, but must be focused on particular examples. In this sense, the present paper aims at discussing â€Å"Vernon God Little† and â€Å"The Inheritance of Loss†, two of the novels which captured this award in 2003 and 2006 respectively.In this context, a coherent analysis can be made in relation to their state prior to winning the award and afterwards. Finally, some conclusions can be drawn which may shed some light on the possible advantages and disadvantages of awarding little known authors the Prize, through the experience of the two writers. History and tendencies of the Booker Prize The Booker Prize or the Man Booker Prize at it is known since 2002 was fist established in 1968 and â€Å"aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland† (The Booker Prize Foundation, 2008).Through a process of astute selection, authors in the English speaking world are rewarded for their literary efforts in the area of fictional work and are given the possibility to claim worldwide recognition. The Prize was established by the Booker Company â€Å"but administered since 1971 by the charitable concern the Book Trust (formerly the National Book League), the Prize, first awarded to P. H. Newby (Something to Answer For) in 1969, soon grew into one of Britain's most recognizable cultural institutions† (Huggan, 2001, 107).From this point of view, the prize in itself is therefore viewed as one of the most important literary acclaims of the world. The early star t of the award was directly related to the historical evolutions taking place especially in the Commonwealth but also throughout the world. The end of the 1960s represented not only a time of an increased literary activity but also a time of great political turmoil. In this sense, the decolonization proves was an important factor in outlining not only the national relations inside the former colonies, but also in determining the future contacts with the former colonial powers.The issue of colonialism was raised quite often throughout the history of the Prize, taking into account the fact that the company which organizes and sponsors the yearly event was well known for its sugar plantations in areas such as the West Indies. In this sense, there were certain controversies which arose throughout the years in relation to this matter. In one occasion, in 1972 the winner of the Prize, John Berger, declared that he would support the black extremist movement, the â€Å"Black Panther† in defiance of what he labeled as being a colonial rule on the territory (The Book Prize Foundation, 2007).Therefore, it was important especially for Great Britain to undergo all sorts of programs that would allow it to maintain a good and strong relation with its former colonies. In this sense, the Prize represented a connection between the artistic environments of different countries from the Commonwealth, Ireland, or South Africa. It was yet another element that placed these countries together and defined their common cultural heritage from the past.Therefore, it can be argued that, aside from its literary value, the Prize played a particular role in forging and rewarding the essence of culture and literature in particular from the Commonwealth countries. Despite constant controversy and discussions over the merits and awards given along the years, there have been some important names which have claimed the award, and at the same time, there were impressive newcomers which burst on the literary scene after winning the award. The first winner of the prize was in 1969 P H Newby for â€Å"Something to answer for†.Taking into account the fact that it was the first edition of the awards, it raised without a doubt certain controversies. This was largely due to the fact that the winner was known beforehand and it was considered that a free competition and fairness had not yet been set in place. Still, the author remains in the annals of the Booker Prize as the first winner of the award. There are resounding names which have claimed this literary recognition. Among them, William Golding in 1980 for Rites of Passage, in 1982 Thomas Keneally for Schindler’s Ark, or 1989’s Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day.All these authors and many more considered the prize as being an important asset in their literary careers and remain to this day reference points of the English speaking literature. However, there are little known writers who claimed the pri ze and soon after, emerged as rising stars of the literary world. Some of the names include 1985 winner Keri Hulme with The Bone People. The winner was on his first novel which, following the prize, came to experience incredible success (The Booker Foundation, 2007).Throughout the history of the prize, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the system of awarding the prize, and even the ceremony in itself. However, as the years went by, the format of the prizes, including the actual event in which the prize was given would adapt to the rigors of an emerging global entertainment society. More precisely, if in the beginning the event did not enjoy the spotlight in the literary and television society, in 1976, â€Å"Melvyn Bragg presented the first ever TV broadcast of the Booker Prize, live on BBC2† (The Booker Foundation, 2007).This came to be an acknowledgement of the importance the prize came to have in the literary world and in the English society as well. At the sam e time however, due to the fact that the artistic part of the awarding ceremony became more and more important for the audience and the media coverage the event started to receive, the controversies surrounding the event took an ascending trend. In this sense, â€Å"many have accused the prize committee of catering to either the needs of otherwise unknown authors in the right place at the right time or to the same few authors each year.Political agendas and profit motives have also received much attention in recent years, further fuelling the controversy surrounding the prize† (Jacobson, 1997). From this point of view, one can argue that the controversies surrounding the prize have in most occasions shifted the focus from the literary event it was meant to be in the beginning to a marketing occasion it is now considered to be. The tendency nowadays is rather hard to determine due to the different points of view shared by analysts.In this sense, while the organizers and part o f the media considers it to be â€Å"the world's most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and even publishers† (The Booker Prize Foundation, 2007), others view it as â€Å"an enormously successful marketing vehicle for nominated authors and their publishers alike† (Jacobson, 1997). Yet, for some of the winners, these two perspectives can find a worthy combination which can acknowledge the quality of their work and promote the sale of their books at the same time. The Booker Prize: young writers and first time novelistsOne of the most important aspects of the Booker Prize is given by the possible impact it has on the actual winners. While there is little discussion on the advantages well known authors draw from winning the prestigious prize, a more relevant discussion would be on the effects it has on first time novelists who are awarded the prize. In this context, the effects can be seen more in the careers of first time nove lists due to the fact that it represents the first recognition of their work and therefore its impact can be better assessed. Indeed, the biggest impact the prize has is on the author who actually wins the award.In this sense, D B C Pierre won the award in 2003 with â€Å"Vernon God Little†. His won of the prize is considered to be one of the most interesting surprises of the event. According to the most reviews at the time, the writer was considered to be an underdog in comparison to his rivals, as â€Å"It beat a shortlist including the first novel by Monica Ali, Brick Lane, which was the bookmakers' favorite and has been the biggest seller in the shops, and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the only established author to make it to the final round of judging† (Jury, 2003).From this first perspective, it can be seen the fact that in the judging process the focus of the jury tried to be on first time novelists as well as on established ones. This approach tends to gi ve certain equilibrium to the awarding process and to take into account a wide variety of literary submissions. The choice of the jury at the time was unanimous; therefore there was little doubt on the potential winner. The unity of the choice was considered to be justified due to the important message the text tried to convey.The story of a young teenager from Texas whose life evolves as he tries to face up the challenges of poverty, violence, and family misery was impressive for the panel of the judges who claimed that the book is a â€Å"coruscating black comedy reflecting our alarm but also our fascination with modern America† (Jury, 2003). Indeed the emotional touch on the novel came from the author’s own personal experience as a drug addict in search for his own identity and individual recognition of the self.There are certain objective elements which drew the attention on the novel itself. Firstly, there was indeed the personal affection of the author which tran sformed the book into an impressionable work. Secondly, there was the subject which dealt with a serious issue affecting America at the time. High school shootings and violence among teenagers were considered, and still are viewed as being an essential challenge facing the society due to the questions it actually raises on the values driving the society forward.In this sense, critics considered that â€Å"†the storyline for this book is one that you would as much see played out today on the six o'clock news as read in a novel and has for this reason struck a chord with book lovers† (Jury, 2003). Therefore, the actuality of the story combined with the drama of the personal history of the author made the novel receive the most acclaimed British literary award. The reviews were however split following the award ceremony as not everybody considered such a literary work to be worthy of the prestige of this prize.In this sense, â€Å"picking up on Finlay's notorious past, Th e Daily Telegraph described his win as â€Å"highly embarrassing† for the prize's organizers and sponsor, the Man group. The Guardian called him the â€Å"oddest and most controversial character† to have won the award, while The Independent's literary editor, Boyd Tonkin, said he was a â€Å"novelist whose background makes the antics of most young writers look tame in the extreme† (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2003). Therefore, the cutting edge of the novel was not fully appreciated by traditional literary reviews who considered it to be a choice too daring for the conservatory nature of the award.However, despite the criticism that surfaced after the award ceremony, another element was introduced in the justification for rewarding Finlay’s artistic effort with the prize. Therefore, it was considered that taking into account such a novel and the fact that the winner was in fact a debutant on the literary scene, the focus of the Booker Prize may have shifted from the well acclaimed authors to the ones that have not been top of the selling lists. In this way, the Booker Prize Foundation would engage itself in an endeavor meant at promoting the new talents and at reintroducing young literature to the public.Another important presence on the list of the winners of the Booker Prize is the 2006 jury’s choice in the person of Kiran Desai and her novel â€Å"The Inheritance of Loss†. At 35, she was the youngest female writer to receive the award and this element, along with the quality of her work, attracted the attention of both the jury and the public worldwide. She contested the prize with other five writers, including her mother who had been nominated before for the award, yet never won it (BBC, 2006).Among the other writers from the short list, there were authors with more experience and with more public consideration such as Sarah Waters or Kate Greenville. Still, she became the youngest winner of the award. This was due i n part to the new attempt of the Booker Prize Foundation to try to promote new talents and in part to the emotional story Desai’s novel portrayed, a story of â€Å"globalisation, multiculturalism, inequality and the different forms of love† (Pryor, 2006).From the perspective of Finlay’s experience with the Booker Prize as well as Kiran Desai’s, it can be said that there are both advantages and disadvantages in winning the award. Firstly, one of the most important advantages of the award is the financial aspect. On being awarded the prize, the winner receives ? 50,000 and the tacit commitment of the Foundation to continuously promote the novel. In the case of Finlay’s personal history, in the conditions in which he lived a life of poverty following the loss of his family fortune, the financial aspect can be seen as being of considerable importance (Greer, 2003).Secondly, another advantage of young or debutant writers receiving this prestigious award is the wide recognitions they receive following the ceremony. Before the award, Finlay was far from being an award winning character. His life of drugs, alcohol, and misery would not have presented himself as a possible valuable mind for the literary world. Even more, his past has often been invoked as being unworthy of a Booker Prize winner. Yet, after the recognition he received from the Booker Foundation, many of his critics turned to admit his literary merits in presenting a new face of everyday life in America.In this way, aside from the fact that he managed to draw the attention on the misery and distress affecting local societies in America, he also succeeded in underlining the effects of an abuse led life. Similarly, in Desai’s situation, the award represented both a personal recognition of her young talent, as well as a proof of the the attention the issues addressed by her book received following the award. In this sense, â€Å"the judges hailed â€Å"The Inherit ance of Loss† as a magnificent novel of humane breadth and wisdom, comic tenderness and powerful political acuteness† (BBC, 2006).Thus, another advantage of the award received by a young talent is the fact that by recognizing the value of the book, the jury also acknowledges both the new perspective given to certain elements such as cross culture issues and, at the same time, underlines the importance of the issues under discussion for the contemporary society. Probably one of the most important advantages young winners and first time novelists benefit from is the increase in sales of their books. Most winners received not only wide acclaim from the critics, but also from the public.For instance, â€Å"the 1978 winner, Iris Murdoch's ‘The Sea, The Sea’ (†¦) has a rate of continuing popularity which almost all of today's authors would give their eye teeth to equal† (Ezard, 2004). Therefore, most authors du find fame and fortune following the award winner status. Kiran Desai ensured the Penguin fiction division a rise in sales of two percent immediately after winning the Booker Prize award. Thus, the success of her book was also viewed in the choice of the readers. Still, one of the most important elements which drew the attention of the public was precisely the label of Booker Prize winner.Similarly, Fanley’s story was proposed for a film adaptation as a result of the critics’ acclaim (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2004). Hence, each in his or hers own way managed to reach success as a result of the Booker Prize. Aside from the various, especially financial advantages, there are also considerable disadvantages of the Prize being given to young or first time novelists. One of the most important however is the eventual commercialization of the literary content in an attempt to win the prestigious prize.In this sense, â€Å"because of the marketing potential and the industry-renowned judges, the Booker Prize now is a very high stakes award. Authors, in turn, have more reason to tailor their work to the expectations of the Booker arbiters† (Jacobson, 1997). As a result, the quality of the works may decrease in the attempt to write attractive novels for the judges in the panel rather for the public. Hence, the prize has come to be a goal in itself, rather than an actual recognition. Young artists and first time novelists tend to fall in this trap most often due to the lack of experience and a limited identification of their own personal style.Moreover, due to the increased media attention on the prize, the entire process becomes more focused on the financial aspect, rather than on the artistic value of the recognition in itself. It is considered thus that â€Å"all in all, there can be little doubt that the Booker, more than any other literary prize in recent history, has blazed a trail in the commercialization of English-language literature† (Huggan, 2001). Overall, it can be said that the Booker Prize has had an important influence on its winners, but also on the new tendencies it rewards through the acknowledgement of certain artists.However, another true element is the fact that the commercialization of the entire process has led to the dilution of the value of such a prize. This is why it is important that the Booker Prize award new talents or even little known artists, without regard to their personal or ethnical background because it would prove that the most important element the Booker Prize takes into account is talent and literary achievement, rather than fame and public notoriety. Bibliography BBC. â€Å"Kiran Desai claims Booker title†. BBC News. 2006. 6 January 2008 Desai,Kiran.The Inheritance of Loss. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005. Ezard, John. â€Å"Booker prize's long-term fame lottery†. The Guardian. 2004. 6 January 2008 Greer, W. R. Book Review – Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. 2003. 6 January 2008 Huggan, G raham. The Postcolonial Exotic: Marketing the Margins. Routledge. : New York, 2001. Jacobson, Warren. The Booker Prize. 1997. 6 January 2008 Jury, Louise. â€Å"Debut novelist defies odds to win Booker prize†.The Independent. 2003. 6 January 2008 Pierre, D. B. C. Vernon God Little. London: Faber and Faber, 2005. Pryor, Fiona. â€Å"Review: The Inheritance of Loss†. BBC News. 2006. 6 January 2008 The Booker Prize Foundation. About the prize. 2007. 6 January 2008 The Booker Prize Foundation. Hitting the headlines. 2007. 6 January 2008 The Booker Prize Foundation. The Booker Prize. 2008. 6 January 2008