Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre - The Relationship between Jane and Roches

The Relationship between Jane Eyre and Rochester   Ã‚  Ã‚   Each of us carries within us the seed of a unique plant. When circumstances conspire to caringly nourish that seed in the manner most appropriate to its true nature-- circumstances which, sadly, are as rare as they are fortunate--the germ of our original selves is likely to flourish. When, however, this tender seed receives attention which is insufficient or antithetical to its essential inclination, growth is inevitably blighted in some way. Weaker or more sensitive seedlings may wither outright; others will be irreparably stunted. Stronger plants may yet grow to imposing heights, but they will be bent and twisted at the places where their needs were unmet, and may well feel eternally compelled to somehow loosen the knot of those deforming deprivations, so as to come closer to their originally intended shapes: Jane Eyre and Rochester are two such plants; driven by an indomitable will to find and follow their essential selves, they discover in each other a vital key to t he realization of that end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As every conscientious parent knows, a child needs both roots--love and security--and wings--belief in, and encouragement of, his autonomy--in order to mature. While gifted with the latter--the drive for self-realization previously mentioned--Jane and Rochester have been severely deprived of the foundation of the former. They are both outsiders. The identities they have succeeded in forging for themselves thus have a quality of rare integrity, for they primarily have come from within, not from the outer prompting to please and emulate others. At the same time, these characters lack the sense of security and connectedness which is the vital prop of such gifts. When the tw... ...r love: like two trees in a dense, dark forest, bending, twisting and inter-twining to reach an aperture of warm, bright sunlight, more beautiful to my mind than their unblemished brothers. Works Cited and Consulted Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Penguin, 1985. Gordon, Lyndall. Charlotte Bronte: A Passionate Life. New York: Norton, 1994. Michie, Helena. The Flesh Made Word: Female Figures and Women's Bodies. New York: Oxford UP, 1987. Poovey, Mary. "Speaking of the Body: Mid-Victorian Constructions of Female Desire." Jacobus, Keller, and Shuttleworth 24-46. Rich, Adrienne. "Jane Eyre: The Temptations of a Motherless Woman." Gates 142-55. Roy, Parama. "Unaccommodated Woman and the Poetics of Property in Jane Eyre." Studies in English Literature 29 (1989): 713-27. Sullivan, Sheila. Studying the Brontes. Longman: York, 1986.

Separation of Powers – Importance of Judicial Independence

The Jamaican Constitution (hereinafter â€Å"the Constitution†) came into effect with the Jamaica Independence Act of 1962. The Act was tabled to ‘make provision for and in connection with, the attainment by Jamaica of fully responsible status within the Commonwealth. ’ This document formed the framework for Jamaica’s political independence and created the premise on which this fledgling nation could carve out its own legal system based on its own moral, cultural and political experience.The Constitution though largely reflective of the previous colonial relationship, has within it an innate balance of power between the arms of government that is theoretically and fundamentally positioned to support the country’s self-governance. This balance is so designed, to facilitate the critical functions of government while ensuring that no single body so fully controls the reins of power that it’s will can be imposed without the acquiescence of the oth er parties, and the greater society.This balance is grounded in the principle of the Separation of Powers, implied by the Constitution. With the complex interplay of relationships, and the significance of power within the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, the latter emerges as the keepers of the gate in maintaining this equilibrium through its function as the arbiters of justice. The Doctrine of the Separation of Powers was first proposed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322BC), and made popular in the 17th century by French writer Charles Louis de Montesquieu.Montesquieu argued that for an independent judiciary to exist, the three arms of government must have separate and independent powers within their areas of responsibility, otherwise we run the risk of there being no liberty, arbitrary control, violence and oppression. This principle may be applied to varying degrees in any legal system and may or may not be a legal restriction; however it is a very effective tool used to protect the rights and liberties of citizens from tyranny.The Constitution by virtue of Section 34, establishes Parliament (the Legislature) as the first arm of government and comprises the Queen (represented by the Governor General) and two Houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Under Sections 48 –50, it is given power to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of Jamaica, decide special rights, immunities and powers of the Senate, the House of Representatives and its members; and the conditional power to alter the Constitution.By virtue of Section 68, the Governor General is given Executive power to be used on the Queen’s behalf either directly or through officers under him. Section 69 establishes the Cabinet as the main body to direct policy. The Cabinet, consisting of the Prime Minister and other Ministers chosen by him, manages the general administrative functions of the Government and is accountable to Parliament. The Govern or General together with the Cabinet comprises the Executive arm of Government, the second arm of government.The Judiciary is the third arm of Government. It comprises judges and magistrates from the network of courts that form the legal system. Sections 97 and 103 of the Constitution establish the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, respectively. The Chief Justice and the President of the Court of Appeal are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.The other Puisne Judges are appointed by the Governor General on the advice the Judicial Services Commission. It is important to note that there is some degree of inter-connectivity between the Executive and the Legislature, as members of the Cabinet are also members of Parliament. The sharing of personnel between these two bodies compromises the strict application of the doctrine of the separation of powers. It is therefore imperative that the Judiciary ex ecutes its functions in an independent manner.The Constitution supports the assertion that the Judiciary has not only the right, but the responsibility to review the affairs and policies of the Executive and Legislature to ensure that their powers are being exercised within the limits of the Constitution. In exercising this duty, a court can declare a law unconstitutional and therefore null and void as in the case of Adrian Nation, Kereen Wright v DPP and the Attorney General of Jamaica. In Moses Hinds v. The Queen it was underscored that the fair and effective dministration of justice constitutionally rests only within the powers of the Judiciary and in Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights Ltd. and Others v. Marshall-Burnett and the Attorney General of Jamaica, the Privy Council overruled the judgment of the Jamaican Appellate Court in finding that the three Bills attempting to remove the Privy Council as the final appellate court were unconstitutional. This decision was ba sed on their previous ruling in Hinds.As demonstrated in other Commonwealth jurisdictions, the Judiciary may indirectly place pressure on the Legislature to ensure that laws are drafted intra vires, in the first instance. In attempting to avoid ultra vires rulings, the Legislative often times â€Å"†¦tests its own legislation in the courts. This occurred in Suratt et al v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago wherein the Trinidad and Tobago Government defended an action on the grounds that a Bill seeking to promote equality was unconstitutional by virtue of its being discriminatory. This challenge to legislation is another example of the check and balance of the Separation of Powers. The Judiciary is thus required to rule on complex issues that have direct implications for the members and institutions within society, including the other arms of government; with impartiality and in accordance with the Rule of Law. The rule of law as proposed by A. V. Dicey asserts that no man should be punished except for conduct in clear breach of the law. This assertion supports the fact that the legal system rests on the objectivity of the Judiciary.Where we are governed under a system which rests upon the impartial application of laws, and under which citizens’ rights and obligations are regulated by those laws, there must be an established and accepted system for making law. The law must be publicly known. Interference with rights and obligations must be justified within the law as the perception of rights, freedoms and equality in society is influenced by the quality of Judicial rulings. In the spirit of Judicial Independence, the Judiciary must be impartial and may not be influenced by any source except the law.Within the Constitution, security of tenure and security of salary are entrenched provisions designed to insulate the Judiciary from pressure intended to influence their rulings. Judicial Impartiality is defined as ‘the freedom of each individ ual judge to reach a decision within the law without undue interference or pressure from government, other judges, the media or any other source. ’ While attempts to directly interfere with the fair and effective administration of justice may be limited, it can be argued that several factors undoubtedly affect the court’s ability to properly execute its role.Particularly within the Jamaican context, financial constraints arising out of cost-cutting measures of Parliament and limitations in Ministerial budgets have severely affected the resources and physical infrastructure required for the efficient operations of the machinery of the Judiciary. In recent times, influential voices in the Jamaican legal fraternity have highlighted the need to address the issue of limited resources. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn have stated that â€Å"the country is struggling with a low capacity court situation and that is affecting how the wheels of justice turnà ¢â‚¬ ¦.. ou should have been building more courtrooms and making sure you have more personnel, court reporters, prosecutors, resident magistrates†¦. and that was not being done. † The Judiciary also provides guidance to the citizens and other branches of government on matters relating to the Constitution, through statutory interpretation and application of general principles of law while settling disputes brought before them. Their ability to be fair and impartial is particularly challenged when called upon to interpret and rule on legal documents that are poorly drafted or ambiguous.Although the law lends itself to flexibility and expediency, the question arises in some instances whether the ruling accurately represents the will of the Legislative as some appeals have been advanced on the grounds of statutory misinterpretation as in the case of R v East Berkshire Help Authority ex parte Walsh. Judges may find themselves inadvertently assuming the role of creating legal r ights when required to make plain issues not explicitly addressed by legislation.It has been debated that these so-called ‘created laws’ are not in fact created but are legal principles which lay dormant until judges’ interpretations unearth them. This was the position taken by Brett, M. R, in Munster v Lamb. However, the perception is that this ‘power’ does indeed exist as, in plural societies right and wrong are just as plural and judges must ensure that conclusions sufficiently represent a   fair carriage of justice. If the Judiciary were acting solely as the mouth piece of the Legislature and the Executive with no independent thought or justice-driven compass, this arm of government would hardly be relevant.In Earl Pratt and Ivan Morgan v The Attorney General and The Superintendent of Prisons, Saint Catherine, the Privy Council interpreted inhumane treatment under section 17(1) of the Constitution of Jamaica to include delay between conviction and the carrying out of the death penalty though the constitution was silent on this matter. This interpretation created a legal right which had the effect of automatically commuting death penalty convictions for convicts on death row in excess of five years to life imprisonment.The Judiciary also exercises its constitutional mandate through a process of Judicial Review which is the means by which â€Å"Government departments, local authorities or others with law-making and administrative powers are confined by the courts within powers granted by the [Constitution]. .   Although Jamaica does not have a specific Judicial Review Act, provisions for judicial and constitutional claims fall under Administrative Law Claims in section 56 of the Supreme Court of Civil Procedure Rules, 2002. Judicial Review is an important tool of the Judicial Branch.It is considered a grave and ominous â€Å"responsibility which the courts must not shirk from or attempt to shift to Parliament† â⠂¬Å"as this responsibility in and of itself is a system of checks and balances thus seen as the: last bulwark of citizenry. †   The grounds for Judicial Review includes error of law, failure to observe the principles of equity, abdication of functions, improper delegation of authority, and unreasonableness of a decision. All are supporting grounds for the argument that the maintenance of fair justice is eally what is at the heart of the function of the Judiciary. â€Å"Remedies for judicial review include: Certiorari, for quashing unlawful acts, Prohibition, for prohibiting unlawful acts and Mandarmus, (now mandatory order), for requiring performance of a public duty, including a duty to make a decision or determination, or to hear and determine any case†6. The fair administration of justice by Jamaica’s courts is influenced by the fact that its final court of appeal rests outside its jurisdiction.According to the principle of stare decisis or Judicial Preceden ce, courts are bound follow the ruling of higher or equal courts. With the Privy Counsel being retained by the Constitution as Jamaica’s final appellate court, the discussion arises whether the rulings of that external body are sympathetic to the Caribbean experience and thus a fair and effective administration of Justice. According to Sharma JA of the Trinidadian Court of Appeal in Boodram v.AG and Another, â€Å"even after our independence, our courts have continued to develop our law very much in accordance with English jurisprudence. The inherent danger and pitfall in this approach is that, since Independence our society has developed differently from the English and now requires a robust examination in order to render our Constitution and common law meaningful. † The Jamaican Constitution was so designed to support and to be supported by the Doctrine of Separation of Powers between the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary.Though not free of limitations, th e Doctrine effectively balances power among the three bodies, ensuring that encroachments that are not in the interest of justice are held somewhat in check. The sharing of personnel between the Executive and the Legislative bodies in the Jamaican Parliament, however, can lead to cynicism and has the potential for corruption. It is therefore imperative that the Judiciary be allowed to function independently and be protected from interference from those who would seek to influence its decisions.Despite the intent of the Constitution’s authors, the justice system can only be determined to be fair or faulty based on human factors, the judges. The Constitution is a function as well as a reflection of the society it serves and as such our moral, cultural and economic experience will determine how our justice system evolves and whether the tenets on which it is founded are sufficiently strong and rooted to support Jamaica’s political and legal independence.

Copal, the Blood of Trees Ancient American Incense

Copal is a smoky sweet incense derived from tree sap that was used by ancient North American Aztec and Maya cultures in a range of ritual ceremonies. The incense was made from the fresh sap of trees: copal sap is one of the numerous resinous oils which are harvested from the bark of certain trees or shrubs around the world. Although the word copal derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word copalli, copal is today used generically to refer to gums and resins from trees throughout the world. Copal made its way into English by way of a 1577 English translation of the Native American pharmacological traditions compiled by the 16th-century Spanish physician Nicolà ¡s Monardes . This article speaks primarily to North American copals; see Tree Resins and Archaeology for further information about other copals. Using Copal A number of hardened tree resins were used as aromatic incense by most pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures for a variety of rituals. Resins were considered the blood of trees. The versatile resin was also used as a binder for pigments used on Maya murals; in the Hispanic period, copal was used in the lost wax technique of making jewelry. The 16th-century Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagun reported that the Aztec people used copal as makeup, adhesives for masks, and in dentistry where copal was mixed with calcium phosphate to affix precious stones to teeth. Copal was also used as a chewing gum and a medicine for various ailments. A handful of studies have been conducted on the extensive materials recovered from the Great Temple (Templo Mayor) at the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan. These artifacts were found in stone boxes beneath the buildings or directly buried as part of construction fill. Among the copal-associated artifacts were figurines, lumps and bars of copal, and ceremonial knives with copal adhesive at the base. Archaeologist Naoli Lona (2012) examined 300 pieces of copal found at the Templo Mayor, including about 80 figurines. She discovered they had been made with an inner core of copal, which was then covered with a layer of stucco and formed by a double-sided mold. The figurines were then painted and given paper garments or flags. A Variety of Species Historic references to copal use include the Mayan book the Popol Vuh, which includes a long passage describing how the sun, moon, and stars arrived on earth bringing copal with them. This document also makes it clear that the Maya collected distinct types of resin from different plants; Sahagun has also written that Aztec copal also came from a variety of plants. Most often, American copals are resins from various members of the tropical Burseraceae (torchwood) family. Other resin-bearing plants that are known or suspected of being American sources of copal include Hymenaea, a legume; Pinus (pines or pinyons); Jatropha (spurges); and Rhus (sumac). There are between 35–100 members of the Burseraceae family in the Americas. Bursera are highly resinous and release a characteristic pine-lemony odor when a leaf or branch is broken. Various Bursera members which are known or suspected to have been used in Maya and Aztec communities are B. bipinnata, B. stenophylla, B. simaruba, B. grandifola, B. excelsa, B. laxiflora, B. penicillata, and B. copalifera. All of these generate resins suitable for copal. Gas-chromatography has been used to attempt to resolve the identification issue, but it has proven difficult to identify the specific tree from an archaeological deposit because the resins have very similar molecular compositions. After an extensive study on the examples from the Templo Mayor, Mexican archaeologist Mathe Lucero-Gomez and colleagues believe they have identified an Aztec preference for B. bipinnata and/or B. stenophylla. Varieties of Copal Several varieties of copal are recognized in historic and modern markets in Central and North America, partly based on what plant the resin came from, but also on the harvesting and processing method used. Wild copal, also called gum or stone copal, exudes naturally as a result of invasive insect attacks through the bark of the tree, as greyish drops which serve to plug the holes. Harvesters use a curved knife to cut or scrape the fresh drops off the bark, which are combined into a soft round glob. Other layers of gum are added on until the desired shape and size is achieved. The external layer is then smoothed or polished and subjected to heat to enhance the adhesive properties and consolidate the mass. White, Gold, and Black Copals The favored type of copal is white copal (copal blanco or the saint, penca or agave leaf copal), and it is obtained by making diagonal cuts through the bark into the trunk or branches of a tree. The milky sap flows along the channel of the cuts down the tree to a container (an agave or aloe leaf or a gourd) placed at the foot. The sap hardens in the shape of its container and brought to market without further processing. According to Hispanic records, this form of the resin was used as an Aztec tribute, and pochteca traders transported from the outlying subject provinces to Tenochtitlan. Every 80 days, so it was said, 8,000 packages of wild copal wrapped in maize leaves and 400 baskets of white copal in bars were brought into Tenochtitlan as part of a tribute payment. Copal oro (gold copal) is resin which is obtained by the complete removal of the bark of a tree, and copal negro (black copal) is said to be obtained from beating the bark. Processing Methods Historically, the Lacandà ³n Maya made copal from the pitch pine tree (Pinus pseudostrobus), using the white copal method described above, and then the bars were pounded into a thick paste and stored in large gourd bowls to be burned as incense as food for the gods. The Lacandà ³n also fashioned nodules, shaped like maize ears and kernels: some evidence suggests copal incense was spiritually connected to maize for Maya groups. Some of the copal offerings from Chichen Itzas sacred well were painted greenish blue and embedded pieces of worked jade. The method used by the Maya Chorti included collecting the gum, letting it dry for a day and then boiling it with water for some eight to ten hours. The gum rises to the surface and is skimmed off with a gourd dipper. The gum is then placed into cold water to harden somewhat, then shaped into round, elongated pellets about the size of a cigar, or into disks about the size of a small coin. After it becomes hard and brittle, the copal is wrapped into corn shucks and either used or sold in the market. Sources Case RJ, Tucker AO, Maciarello MJ, and Wheeler KA. 2003. Chemistry and ethnobotany of commercial incense copals copal Economic Botany 57(2):189-202.blanco, copal oro, and copal negro, of North America.Gifford EK. 2013. Organic and Inorganic Chemical Characterization of Artifacts from the Emanuel Point Shipwrecks. Pensacola: University of West Florida.Lona NV. 2012. Objects made of copal resin: a radiological analysis. Boletà ­n de la Sociedad Geolà ³gica Mexicana 64(2):207-213.Lucero-Gà ³mez P, Mathe C, Vieillescazes C, Bucio L, Belio I, and Vega R. 2014. Analysis of Mexican reference standards for Bursera spp. resins by Gas Journal of Archaeological Science 41(0):679-690. Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry and application to archaeological objects.Penney D, Wadsworth C, Fox G, Kennedy SL, Preziosi RF, and Brown TA. 2013. Absence PLoS ONE 8(9):e73150. of ancient DNA in sub-fossil insect inclusions preserved in ‘anthropocene’ Colombian copal.