Com Studies IA: Final Portfolio- Speech & Reflective Piece

7/28/2019 Com Studies IA: Final Portfolio- Speech & Reflective Piece

1/9

1 | P a g e

General Intro duc t ion

The themes of the portfolio are political corruption and domestic violence. The

themes were chosen because they are major social issues in the Jamaican society. The

purpose of the portfolio is to educate persons especially the intended audience-

electorates and adolescent and adult females, so that they can improve themselves and

their lives.

The theme of the exposition piece is political corruption. This research informs

readers and listeners about corrupt politicians and how they adversely affect the future

and current generations of the country. In order to lessen the election of such

politicians, electorates need to analyze their political representative carefully. Although

it was concluded that electorates are continuing to represent corrupt politicians, it is my

hope that this research can aid electorates to cease and be more cautious when

choosing a political representative. With such an important decision being made wisely,

electorates can better themselves and their lives in Jamaica.

The reflective piece highlights domestic violence. In the short story, the accused

thought that shakingwas a simple reprimand and denies that it was domestic violence.

The story depicts to adolescent and adult females that appearances can be deceptive,

all that glitters is not goldtherefore one must never judge a persons personality

according to outward appearances, because anyone is capable of being violent. More

importantly, the story declares that no one should tolerate domestic violence. Domestic

violence breaks the spirit of the victim and instills fear. However, one can better

themselves from a life of such abuse if appropriate procedures are taken.


2/9

2 | P a g e

According to Jamaican laws, both themes create punishable offences. Due to the

fact, that I am currently a law student and I hope to be a prospective lawyer, I would like

to try to limit these issues which are plaguing Jamaicas society. I will one day be

upholding the rule of law and I would like to start here, by just being informative.

My personal interest stems from the numerous cases I have seen and heard of

corrupt politicians and domestic violence and I strongly detest that the numbers of these

issues are rising drastically.


3/9

3 | P a g e

Preface

A Beautiful Thunderstormwas written for adolescent and adult females. This

short story was written because of the numerous domestic violence cases in my

community and surrounding communities, hence I want to inform the intended audience

that domestic violence should never be tolerated and that any person is capable of

being violent even persons who seem to have everything. The intended audience was

selected from observations of my community, which have led me to believe that

domestic violence mostly occurs to adolescent and adult females.


4/9

4 | P a g e

Reflect ion

ABeautiful Thunderstorm

Gregory Davis, one of my closest college friends, was probably one of the most

physically attractive men I have ever known. However, he seemed unaware of hisgood looks. He was too busy following his dream of becoming an actor and

playing his guitar to notice.

He was beautiful not only because of his physical attributes, but alsobecause he was humble, creative, and passionate. Paradoxically, his greateststrength, his passion, was also his greatest weakness.

Gregory was 6 ft 1 with a slender, athletic built. Sometimes he wore a diamondstud in his right ear. He had caramel brown skin, tight, black curls and a sexyDenzel Washington like smile.

Although Gregory received a lot of attention from ladies, he remainedhumble and unassuming. He never seemed to notice how women would stop inmid-sentence and publicly gawk at him when he walked by in his faded, wellfitted jeans and Roca Wear shirts. Women often stopped him and asked, Dont Iknow you?, or Can you tell me how to get to? They always approachedhim with their tongues in check, trying to impress him, by using the AcrolectEnglish instead of Creole. He was always so gracious to them and he would tryhis best to remember if he knew the deceptive temptress from somewhere orto help the damsel in distress find her way to a place that she already knewhow to get to.

The bolder girls would come right out and ask if I was his girlfriend andhe would gently explain, No, Danielle is one of my best friends, my girlfriendattends another college.He spoke with a slight hint of British accent adapted from hischildhood home in England.

Gregorys creativity was amazing. He played the guitar and wrote songs. Buthis true love was creating films where he was always playing the leading role.

Gregory danced to the beat of a different music than everyone I knew, but it

was an exotic beat all the same. And even though he seemed to be in his ownworld, he never hesitated to come out and visit mine.

I always have a movie in my head; the reason I dont always hear youthe first time you call to me, he once told me. However once you hadGregorys attention, he made you feel as if you were the most important personin the world. For instance, the first time I dived into the deep end of the pool inmy beginners swim class, I had ran to his dorm.


5/9

5 | P a g e

Mi do it! I shouted.

Mi jump inna deep en by miself!

My raucous, Creole entrance caused his friends to stare at me in awe. I

had not thought that his friends would be in his dorm. Nonetheless I received his

undivided attention.

Im so proud of you, he said sincerely. Then he asked, How did it feel?

Even though he had been jumping into the deep end since he was eight.He let me tell him every single detail.

Gregorys passion was a good thing, however, it had its downfalls.

Once, he called me well after midnight. He did not even say hello, all hesaid was, Danielle, I shook her. His voice was harsh and abrupt. I did not mean tohurt her. You have got to believe me.

Gregory said that he had accused his girlfriend, Zara, of cheating on himand when he confronted her, she blamed everything on our relationship. Shetold him he had two girlfriends, and one of them had to go. Gregory apparentlysnapped and shook her violently causing her to hit her head on a chair.

I said very little that night. I mainly listened to what he had to say. However, thenext day, when things settled down, I told him the truth.

It neva right to hit a woman!

I am not like him, he said, referring to his father. I did not hit her, I shookher!

I was dumbfounded by how he thought that shaking and hitting were two

different things. I was angry because he seemed not to know that what he had

done was horrible, and hideous. I was also hurt because he was not perfect anymore.

Zara and Gregory eventually got back together. I stepped aside because I didntwant him to have to choose between the two of us. Also because I cannottolerate a man hitting a woman.

After our friendship burnt low, I made new friends, but all of them put

together could not fill the void I felt. Gregory was the most complicated and

magnificent man I had ever known, an humble and brilliant musician, a

tormented, violent soul a beautiful thunderstorm.


6/9

6 | P a g e

Analys is

In the story, Danielle the narrator compares Gregory to a beautiful thunderstorm-

a thunderstorm is a beautiful event with its magnificent lightening and heavy rain but it is

also dangerous, therefore a thunderstorm is a beautifully violent disturbance. Similarly,

Gregory is an attractive man that possesses a violent nature.

Dialectal variation refers to the spoken or written differences in the use of

language. In the story, the dialect varies between Standard English and Jamaican

Creole. The Standard English is used throughout the story by both the narrator and

Gregory and also by women who approached Gregory. The narrator uses Standard

English because narration is a formal situation, Gregory uses Standard English because

he adapted it from his childhood education abroad and the women who approached

Gregory uses Standard English because they are unfamiliar to him which is a formal

situation. Creole was used by the narrator, for instance, Mi jump inna deep en by

miself! The narrator uses Creole when she was speaking with Gregory her best friend

which is appropriate because it is an informal situation.

Attitudes to language refer to the varieties of English spoken in the Caribbean.

Gregorys friends were shocked when Danielle burst into the dorm blurting Creole, my

raucous, Creole entrance caused his friends to stare at me in awe. This shows

that Gregorys friends have a negative attitude towards the speaking of Creole because

they associate the language with the uneducated and they showed their contempt by

staring in awe. However when Danielle speaks Creole to Gregory instead of trying to

imitate his accent, she shows pride for the language and confidence.


7/9

7 | P a g e

Exposi t ion

The Speech

Electorates should not continue to vote for corrupt politicians who todays societycannot emulate

Speech-Opener

Are electorates, the ones really to be blamed for the behavior of todayssociety. Many hold the point of view, that they indeed, should be heldresponsible and deserve the criticism , after all they elect and vote for the

politicians who are not good role models. It is wise to remember that without anelectorates vote a politician could not be born!

On the other hand, it is said that the politicians should be heldaccountable because they are well aware that they are influential to society. Thisis why Electorates should not continue to vote for corrupt politicians whotodays society cannot emulate.

Statement of IssuePolitical entities have improved from systems of self governance to the

complex democratic systems existing today (retrieved from Wikipedia). Howeverafter many years of developments, electorates still continue to allow poorgovernance to lead their country.

Jamaica is governed by a constitutional parliamentary democracy , that is,the legislatures dominant party determines the Prime Minister but the PrimeMinisters powers are restricted by a constitution.

Why do corrupt politicians continue to reap large numbers of votes at thepolls, regardless of the poor role models they have become? However someelectorates hold the view that they should be shunned as society cannotemulate them.

Personally, my interest in this topic stems from daily articles that areprinted in newspapers about dishonest politicians and their actions which makes

me wonder if they are good role models for todays society.

My sources of information for this research includes newspaper articles, aquestionnaire, the internet and the television.


8/9

8 | P a g e

Sources and Description of data

NEWSPAPER SOURCE:Thomas (2010) article entitled Call for Special Prison for Corrupt

Politicians, Cops: informed that the corruption rate of high ranking officials hasincreased drastically. The article mentioned ridding Jamaica of corruption and itquoted Inspector Robyn Wedderburn. The inspector noted that they certainlydeserve the negative criticism but it is less than 10 percent of the governmentthat is corrupt.

TELEVISION SOURCE:In the television interview between Cliff Hughes and Vybz Kartel, Vybz

Kartel addressed a question about influential persons in society. In answering thequestion, he stated that politicians are the ones with access to money andtherefore quite influential however in many cases they are seen committingcriminal activities for instance the light bulb scandal.

INTERNET SOURCE:How should a politician depict him/her self? According to the webpage Friends

of Pakistan, a good politician should have characteristics such as a strongtendency towards openness, consequently politicians should remain civil,

professional and respectful at all times. Politicians are scrutinized daily by thepublic and a minor misdeed can label them corrupt. That would be unfair, onewrong does not mean the politician is unfit to be emulated; furthermore theyrehumans as well and no one is impeccable.

QUESTIONNAIRE:A questionnaire consisting of 10 questions was administered to persons of

different age groups and educational level. Questions 1-3 collected thedemographic information of respondents, question 4 extracted their educationallevel and question 5-10 solicited electorates knowledge about corruption in thegovernment and ways it could be solved.

Evaluation of information gathered

The newspaper article, retrieved from The Gleaner, focused on theopinions and views of Inspector Robyn Wedderburn. Although the article did not

pin point that electorates are responsible for the election of corrupt politicians; it

stated that political corruption in the nation is having and will continue to have anegative impact on the current and future generations. The article is approved ofas a source because The Gleaner is a well known and respected newspaperand its staff comprises of qualified and trained writers and editors. The article isnot biased as the Inspector acknowledges that corruption exists within thegovernment and he explains his conceptions for acknowledging that statement.

Additionally, reporters are required to report news in an unbiased way, which


9/9

9 | P a g e

further reinforces that the article is not prejudice. The source is credible andreliable since the Inspector supplies reasoning and facts to support his opinions.

Cliff Hughes interview with popular entertainer Vybz Kartel brought outsimilar opinions from the entertainer to that of Inspector Robyn Wedderburn. VybzKartel admitted that politicians are influential persons but their involvement incriminal activities will adversely affect the current and future generations actionsand decisions. The interview is authorized and qualifies as a source as it is a

part of a broadcasting program which informs Jamaicans with facts. The sourceis biased as the entertainer is out of his jurisdiction to give accurate responsesto political questions. Also, the entertainer is frequently targeted by law enforcerstherefore he might detest political figures which encouraged his responses, thusthe source is not reliable.

The Internet source outlined how a politician should conduct himself orherself. The information is reliable and credible since the contents were availablefor the public to view. If the information was not reputable it would have been

blocked by personnel who keep the site up to date. The information is relevantfor it informs electorates about characteristics that good politicians should

possess and with this knowledge electorates can analyze their politicalrepresentative to determine whether or not they will positively or negativelyinfluence young minds.

Thirty questionnaires each consisting of ten (10) questions were administered.Ninety three (93) percent of the questionnaires were returned by therespondents. The questionnaire is qualified to give data because it is a researchmethodology. It is not biased because it was given out to respondents ofdifferent age groups, residing communities and gender, also the respondents had

freedom to express their views and opinions without force or pressure. Accordingto the data gathered by the questionnaires, ninety three (93) percent ofrespondents do not believe todays politicians can be emulated and the otherseven (7) percent thought they could be emulated only for their high positionswithin the country.

ConclusionFrom the information gathered, it can be concluded that electorates indeed

continue to vote for corrupt politicians and if they do not cease to elect corruptpoliticians, there will be adverse effects, specifically on todays youth.

Documents

Com Studies IA: Final Portfolio- Speech & Reflective Piece