Representation of gender in The Crucible and Macbeth - Literature Essay Samples

Drama is the performance of a narrative by actors on stage, and differs from prose fiction in that it is interpreted and presented by others rather than the individual viewer. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a drama that illustrates a theocratic society corrupted by expectations and pressure to maintain a respectable reputation. These ideas are highlighted in the text through the use of dramatic conventions such as dialogue, stage directions, body language and lighting. Another play: Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, conveys a similar message of the manipulation and exploitation that is experienced by mankind. This manifests itself through the use of character development and relationships as well as language and symbolism. Both of these texts make comment on what it is to be a man or a woman, and how each gender is expected to conform in order to meet society’s expectations. However they do differ in the way they communicate this message to their audience. David Gilmore explains manhood as â€Å"a precarious or artificial state that boys must win against powerful odds.† It is a concept that has a significant impact on the minds of men, who are constantly faced with the expectation of being a strong and powerful figure. The notion of masculinity has a major impact in The Crucible because it affects the decision-making and overall personalities of some of the characters, who struggle to come to terms with what it is to be a man. One character whose personality is moulded by this concept is Danforth: a harsh judge whose intentions are to convict as many people as possible. The reasons behind his actions are simple; he wishes to remain respected and superior as a judge and as a person. The more dominant and powerful a person can appear, the more masculine society tells them they are. Danforth makes many irrational decisions to get people to see that he will not be taken lightly nor will he step down from his pedestal, he demonstrate s this by ignoring the truths presented to him. In the closing scene of the play he can be seen begging Proctor to confess saying things like, â€Å"You will give me your honest confession in my hand, or I cannot keep you from the rope.† The tone of his voice is angry and despairing, indicating how desperate he is to have this confession in his hand so he may maintain his reputation. He also ignores Proctors pleas due to the fear of being proven wrong because it would cause him to show signs of â€Å"weakness,† making him seem less powerful. John Proctor is another character in Miller’s play whose actions are navigated by his overwhelming need to protect his reputation and thus his masculinity. This is evident in the final Act when he yells, â€Å"Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!† His name is a representation of everything he has gained in life, his family, his land and his reputation. This explains the immense emotion pres ent in his body language and dialogue as he feels that by signing his name to lie he is throwing away his dignity and forgoing his masculinity. William Shakespeare did not have much faith in traditional gender roles, and this is evident through his constant subversion of these roles in the submission of men. In a similar way to Arthur Miller he illustrates his feelings that much was amiss in society, with the pressure of gender conformation and stereotypes playing heavily on peoples actions. His results are striking in the creation of a cast who each represent something unique about humanity. Two of his male characters, in Macbeth and Macduff, are crucial to exploring the notion of what it is to be a man. Macbeth knows what he must do, that is kill Duncan, but he needs something more to spur him on because as Lady Macbeth says he is â€Å"too full o’th’milk of human kindness.† This implies that he is too full of womanly qualities, through the metaphor of carrying milk like a mother would. She sees him as too feminine which leads her to compensate for him by saying things such as, â€Å"unsex me here,â⠂¬  and â€Å"come to my woman’s breast and take my milk for gall.† As the gender roles begin to subvert Shakespeare’s vision of the unnatural masculine figure becomes clear. Macbeth represents a figure struggling with the idea of being a man, and due to external influences is conflicted as to whether feeling emotions and upholding morals is acceptable for a man of his status. Another character who presents an aspect of what is to be a man is Macduff, who at a pivotal moment of the play, demonstrates tremendous courage, compassion and self-assuredness as he is told to take the news of his families murder â€Å"like a man.† To which he retorts, â€Å"I shall do so/But I must also feel it as a man.† This line serves as an accusation of the Macbeth’s for believing that sensitivity is unbecoming of a man. In the final Act of the play it is shown that Macduff is the person that is finally able to kill Macbeth, demonstrating that he is in fact th e stronger one of the two men. Macduff may be Shakespeare’s ideal vision of a man, or at least, one ideal vision of a man; but there is not just one ideal, because, as the play indicates, it is more important for a person to know themselves than try to live up to an ideal set forth by anyone else. The notion of feminism is a growing movement with the intention to abolish any inequalities that women may face in comparison to men. Although Macbeth does explore the stereotypical role of women through his characters of Lady Macduff, he also illustrates an attempt at breaking free from any lingering ideas of femininity in the form of Lady Macbeth. Perhaps the greatest way of showing this is in the line, â€Å"I have given suck and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: I would while it was smiling†¦have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed he brains out.† This demonstrates how removed Lady Macbeth is from her femininity, which she clearly believes was limiting her ability to commit any act of horror or to achieve what she truly wants. It is her fiery desire to â€Å"unsex† herself that reveals some of the problems with the traditional female identity; her words and actions are the result of her frustrations with her perceived na tural limits. Her estranged ability to manipulate her male counterpart of Macbeth, through a feminist lens, challenges the notion of a patriarchal society of which she lives in, indicating that her character was created to challenge rather than endorse norms. In comparison the character of Lady Macduff is one that does conform to the standards of society, as she fills the role of a marginalized and subordinate female. She refers to herself as â€Å"his wife,† which indicates that she views herself as no more than a mans property and she continues to say â€Å"his babes, his mansion, and his titles,† demonstrating that nothing is her own. These characters show two contrasting representations of the female form and perhaps reflect the turmoil that was occurring in society with women realizing their strengths and beginning to manipulate their oppressors. From the very beginning of the play Shakespeare disrupts the notions of femininity with the physical description of the witches portraying them as masculine, withered and wild that reflects in their hunched body language and dark attire. This is exaggerated with Banquo going as far as to say, â€Å"You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.† This allows readers to see the confusion, which is a major theme in Macbeth, that is created because of Shakespeare’s ability to question norms. In a similar way Arthur Miller, in The Crucible, creates strong female characters such as Abigail Williams, who disrupt the natural order, and to add a basis for comparison he has more stereotypical characters such as Elizabeth Proctor and Mary Warren. These latter females are forced to portray a delicate, victimized role due to the masculine power that is oppressing them, making it so that they cannot gain the full respect that they deserve. One way that these women are held back is the great pressure placed on them to meet the expectation of others and to not draw unwanted attention, this is demonstrated when Abigail proclaims, â€Å"My name is good in the village! I will not have it say my name is soiled!† Additionally the oppression they experience, from men, contributes to their submission, for example when John Proctor yells at Mary Warren, his female slave, â€Å"How do you go to Salem when I forbid it? I’ll whip you if you dare leave this house again.† Th is demonstrates the lack of political power and general control women had over their own lives in a time where being able to speak out was so crucial. However the character of Abigail is able to successfully manipulate many of the characters, especially men, because of her beauty and sexuality that prevents them from seeing all of her lies and deceit: â€Å"Where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel.† Additionally her absolute dictatorship over the court, even the powerful male figure of Judge Danforth, is evident when she begins to accuse women of witchcraft and immediately they are presumed guilty. This demonstrates that the hysteria and the witch trials reverse the gender roles – even the men in society such as Hale and Proctor have no say in the accusations, it also highlights the manipulative power of women, as shown in Macbeth. In a recent adaptation of this drama, Abigail was constantly using her body language in a seductive manner in order to m anipulate characters such as Proctor to do as she says. Also the use of a dimmer lighting when the two characters were alone on stage added to the idea that she was using a romantic connection in order to deceive him. Although it is also mentioned that as soon as Proctor enters, Abigail â€Å"has stood as though on tiptoe, absorbing his presence, wide-eyed,† and Mary Warren â€Å"can barely speak for embarrassment and fear.† This indicates that although Miller portrays women as manipulative and flirtatious, they are ultimately far inferior to men, which endorses what society tells us. â€Å"I dare do all that may become a man,† says Macbeth. This signifies that he is suffering from internal conflicts, particularly the question of what it is to be a man in both his wives eyes and his own. The drama Macbeth comments on the stereotypical gender roles and the problems this can cause when people are forced to conform and struggle to accept the associated and perceived limitations. Through the contrast of characters relationships such as the Macbeth’s and Macduff’s the audience is able to identify the different forms of gender that exist within society, and are left to interpret which they see as ideal. Shakespeare has discussed the idea of feminism, through Lady Macbeth, which suggests that he may have disagreed with society’s treatment of women and indicates that he did not have much faith in traditional gender roles. His unique and questionable representation of gender has clearly been done in order to stimulate the audience. Similarly Art hur Miller, in The Crucible, is making comment on a society corrupted by expectations and pressure to maintain ones reputation. His message manifests itself in the characters of Abigail, John Proctor, and Judge Danforth as well in non-verbal elements such as body language. Although his characters tend to better represent stereotypes of the era, Miller still strays from the norm as he presents the sexuality of women as a manipulative tool. As discussed both of these dramas tell of gender; the principal source of segregation and marginalization.

The US Constitution Essay - 1425 Words

The US Constitution states â€Å"We The People of the United states in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for more common defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.† The main purpose of the U.S Constitution is to establish the basic rights of all American Citizens. This follows that every United States Citizens have equal rights. Belonging to a minority group because of culture, religion or race does not assert that one is unconstitutional. In times of war, evacuation of minority groups only in NOT constitutional; however, evacuation of ALL United†¦show more content†¦Mindful of the hardships during war times for all Americans, the Court implies that it is the responsibility of citizens to bear this burden, â€Å"We uphold the exclusion order †¦Not unmindful of the har dships†¦But hardships are part of war,†¦the burden is always heavier.† (Korematsu, 357). The hardship of one race seemed to outweigh that of another, no mention is made about the fact that the only race ordered to evacuate by reporting to Assembly Centers followed by indeterminate confinement to detention camps were Japanese Americans. The Supreme Court outlines that this case is about an exclusion order and not racial prejudice, â€Å"Our task is simply, our duty clear†¦we are specifically dealing with nothing but an exclusion order. To cast this case into the outlines or racial prejudice†¦merely confuses the issue.† (Korematsu, 358) Korematsu was a loyal citizen of the U.S., his loyalty was never attested; nevertheless, he faced charges against him because he refused to obey an order which singled him out because of his ancestry. â€Å"Guilt is personal and not inheritable† (Korematsu, 364). The military acted to protect the nation against e spionage and sabotage, they were acting in the interest of the nation and at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack time was limited, the loyal could not be segregated from the disloyal. During wartimes however the US Government needs to be mindful that this is a country made of vast cultures, races, religions and the US ConstitutionShow MoreRelatedThe Us Constitution995 Words   |  4 PagesThe US Constitution is made up of three branches, The Legislative, The Executive and The Judicial, each having a part in the US Constitution. The Legislative Branch makes the law and consists of two houses that are the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Executive Branch enforces the law while the Judicial Branch interprets the laws. All branches were given important powers but not enough for one branch to dominate the other branches and the government, which can be supported, by the firstRead MoreThe Us Constitution1758 Words   |  8 Pagesavailable, etc.). Be sure to integrate what you find with what you are learning in your text and other readings and supplement it with additional research. ALSO, as September 17th is Constitution Day, I want you to reflect on this and comment on it in your forums for this week. The preamble of the US Constitution directs the Federal Government to promote the general welfare....secure the blessings of liberty. ..and protect ourselves and our posterity. When thinking about our obligation toRead MoreThe Rartifiation of the Us Constitution1046 Words   |  5 PagesQuestion: What were the major arguments used by each side (the supporters and the opponents) in the debates over the ratification of the U.S Constitution? In the year 1787, early America, officials and delegates came together to form a constitution that would restore the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was the attempt at creating a government for the newly independent America. But, it soon became clear that the document was not strong enough toRead MoreThe US Constitution Essays1703 Words   |  7 Pages33:22; â€Å"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us.† http://www.eadshome.com/QuotesoftheFounders.htm The founding fathers of the American Constitution divided the government up into the following three branches to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist; legislative, judicial, and executive. The three braches were created by the Constitution: Article 1, Legislative branch made up of the House and the Senate, collectively known as Congress;Read MoreThe Creation Of The Us Constitution1589 Words   |  7 PagesThe creation of the US constitution was prompted my many different things going on. What established America’s national government and fundamental laws is the U.S constitution. It also guarantees basic rights for its citizens. The U.S constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, Pa. The first document before the U.S constitution was the Articles of Confederation, with that the government wasn’t very strong and the states didn’t act like they do today. In 1787, at the 1787 conventionRead MoreEssay on US Constitution870 Words    |  4 Pages Transformed beyond recognition from the vision of the Founding Fathers’. Discuss this view of the modern US constitution. On March 4th 1789 the constitution of the United States of America came into effect. Derived from the visions of seven political leaders and statesmen and consisting of only seven articles, the US constitution would become the first of its kind, the bedrock of democracy and lay the foundations for democratic political systems across the world. Since 1789, America has progressedRead MoreUs Constitution Essay1653 Words   |  7 PagesIs the constitution still appropriate for America in the 21st Century? Written in seventeen- eighty-nine, being two hundred and twenty-five years old, Today, many of us question whether or not the United States Constitution is still relevant. When our founding fathers wrote the Constitution, it was written according to their needs in the eighteenth century. According to the Bill of Rights, everyone has the right to bear arms, but in the twenty-first century what exactly does it mean to have theRead MoreThe Rule Of The Us Constitution947 Words   |  4 PagesThe words democracy and republicanism are words most commonly used, but often misunderstood. The Father of the US Constitution, James Madison, has been an eye-opener for many who are still uncertain of what the words mean. When we think of the term democracy and republicanism, we automatically make an assumption that reflects on politics, power, voting, elections and parliaments. Madison, however; focused more on liberty, freedom, and what is right for the people. Simultaneously, he felt as if theRe ad MoreEssay on US Constitution992 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"While the authors of the United States Constitution are frequently portrayed as noble and idealistic statesmen who drafted a document based upon their conception of good government, reality is that the constitution reflects the politics of the drafting and ratification process. Unfortunately, the result is a document that is designed to produce an ineffective government, rather than a government that can respond to issues in a timely fashion.† In support of this conclusion, the issues of slaveryRead MoreUs Constitution Essay1164 Words   |  5 Pagesof the United States Constitution. The American Revolution was shadowed by an unembellished economic depression in 1784 and 1785, forcing many states to execute charges on goods from other states to raise up the governments revenue. State governments in the 1780’s did not embrace public rule and wanted separation of powers. The national government was on the threshold of bankruptcy, and paper currency printed by congress was devalued. Having not yet executed the Constitution, the United States of

Database Technology And Its Impact On Business Operations

Introduction Database technology is one of the technologies that is every ware. We can say they almost permeate our lives: Banking, health care providers, libraries, online stores, beauty salons, travel agencies, phone companies, government agencies like FBI, INS, IRS, and NASA — they all use databases.(needs paraphrasing). The question is why are the important? They allow data to be retained and shared electronically and the amount of data contained in these systems continues to grow at an exponential rate. And it allows the users to make critical decisions bases on these data. Considering the importance of data it is essential to secure it Companies success and failure depends o the data â€Å"When hackers and malicious insiders gain access to sensitive data, they can quickly extract value, inflict damage, or impact business operations† according to white paper. Therefor, it is also important to secure these data and insure integrity and availability. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of data breaches tracked increased more than doubled from 2014 to 2015. And the estimated cost of those breaches was raised about 6 percent over the past year. Hackers and crackers have attached many large databases to obtain secure information such as credit card information or personal information in these past years. As a result of the increase on database risk and threats it’s become virtual to have a strong database security. Furthermore, companies need to insureShow MoreRelatedInformation System Proposal1206 Words   |  5 Pageschallenges 3 Internal operations and External operations 3 Information Technology Comparison chart 4 Technology and Information systems benefits and drawbacks 4 Bullets of successful strategy 5 References 6 Thriving as a small business in a competitive market calls for many ingenious strategies to remain afloat. As companies enter into the market they can become easily consumed, overwhelmed and sometimes unnoticeable. Opening business doors as a nostalgicRead MoreEssay on High Availability Database System1268 Words   |  6 PagesHigh Availability Database System Today, we depend so heavily on information systems that system outage or loss of data is more and more intolerable. Sometimes the loss of critical data relates directly to the survivability of an enterprise. This draws our attention to the dependability of information system. According to dependability is â€Å"the ability to avoid service failures that are more frequent and more severe than is acceptable† and availability is one of the most important attributes of dependabilityRead MoreInformation System in Business Processes1137 Words   |  5 Pagestoday’s business. We also had chance to delve into what really can IT does to empower the business processes. Additionally, in our opinions, these articles also illustrate very well how IT initiates, facilicates, and enables business processes by using many examples. It makes these technical texts much easier to understand and to digest. Here is the summary of Article 2 and 3 (we couldn’t get in touch with the member who is responsible for Article 1) 1. Article 2 – Information Technology in BusinessRead MoreThe Relevance of Information Technology in Business1126 Words   |  5 PagesINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS 1. How can information technology support a company’s business processes and decision-making, and give it a competitive advantage? One could imagine how inefficient and ineffective a business processes would be without the aid of current information technology. Processes will take time to provide the output needed from any type of business. Speed is the key to all the business processes of today. The need of a business to adapt to the technology to handleRead MoreProject Plan Essay1563 Words   |  7 Pagesrunning for little under two years and already has become a twenty-five million dollar business. Although many of the features of the company are still underdeveloped, there are many opportunities that are forecasted for the growth and success of the company. Currently, the company houses a smaller scale limited information technology infrastructure that has been successfully maintaining the companies technology base. The goals for the company are to expand from one floor to three floors triplingRead MoreLiterature Review1352 Words   |  5 PagesLiterature Review will focus on database management, data mining, and correlation of appropriate data sets within a networked environment. Bardoliwalla, N. (December 1, 2009). The Top 10 Trends for 2010 in Analytics, Business Intelligence, and Performance Management. Enterprise Irregulars. Retrieved from: http://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/5706/the-top-10-trends-for-2010-in-analytics-business-intelligence-and-performance-management/ Laypersons article that allows the business professional to overviewRead MoreApplications And Impacts On Hospitality Essay1596 Words   |  7 PagesApplications and Impacts on Hospitality Traditionally, hotel staff has always been tied down to their desktops, not that they had much of  a choice, any information related to guest is only available in the PMS running on desktops and staff must access this PMS for every single guest related information or operation. Cloud has changed this and now staff can move around hotel servicing guests, they can walk up to the hotel door to welcome guest and complete a checking while accompanying the guestRead MoreInformation Management, The Data, And Infrastructure1120 Words   |  5 Pageswarrants retailers, such as Macy’s, and other big business owners to find solutions for managing enormous amounts of collected consumer data. This writer ascertains information management to be an imperative operational part of an organization because the compiled information is used to assess the past performance of a company as well as predict future events and happenings. (Accelops, 2015). Well-organized information management systems afford business owners the ability to collect, process and interpretRead MoreBS07_BSBADM504B_Admin Systems_ Ass 1_V1.11535 Words   |  7 PagesInstall new database system or update database system. The present system is not enough for their business operation and business growth is about to exceed the capacity of the database. 2) People First Pty Ltd need to business support system for resource, HR, accounting, marketing Etc. (e.g. ERP System). There is no reporting that a system produces for management to thoroughly review business operations. Therefore they need to business support system that monitoring to their business procedure. Read MoreHow Big Data Impact On Enterprise Data Governance And Security1726 Words   |  7 PagesHow does Big Data impact on Enterprise Data Governance and Security Introduction: Big data is nothing but collecting of datasets. Organizations in current world demands data to be broken down which can used to get more high effectiveness and benefit. Big data refers to the large amounts of data which collected from various devices such as mobiles, sensors and social media etc. Generally, large amount of data have been regenerating by IT industry such as satellite data, mobile devices and etc.

Dhaka city Traffic Jam free essay sample

Over the last few years the transportation problem of Dhaka City has visibly been deteriorating steadily. Citizens constantly complain about the unbearable twin problems of traffic jam and air pollution. Democracy watch decided to address this problem through an opinion poll covering around eight hundred households randomly selected from several purposively selected neighbourhoods of the city, representatives of middle and lower income areas. The questions asked focused mainly on three issues: (a) the nature of the problem as perceived by the surveyed residents, (b) their understanding about the causes of these problems and (c) their recommendations on solutions to these perceived problems. Some preliminary results from this survey were presented at a workshop, which was participated by persons associated with the formulation and implementation of traffic policies, rules and programmes . This Draft Final Report benefits from valuable discussion and comments received at the workshop. The methodology of this survey is explained below in brief. It is easy to see that the study extended beyond a standard opinion poll and entered the arena of investigative research in seeking some explanations to perceptions as well as behaviour. The findings are presented mainly in the form of self-explanatory tables with some introductory highlights and conclusions. A further extension of the survey is currently being completed to cover the very poor and the rich categories of residents as was recommended by several participants at the workshop mentioned earlier. Reasons behind traffic jam (a)City lay-out (master plan) and over-population: The causes of traffic congestion in Dhaka city are multifarious. Starting from the city itself, it is observed that the skeleton, structure and lay-out of Dhaka City are not well-planned and well-directed†¦. Traffic Congestion In Dhaka City In today’s world, the success of a city depends on its economy, which in turn is dependant on the infrastructure, among other things. The importance of the infrastructure can be particularly felt by the citizens of Dhaka in its traffic system, as its congestion reminds us of how important it is to have a good transport system. †¢ We the citizens of Dhaka are suffering because our traffic system is failing us, as it is resulting in less efficiency in various fields, such as business. †¢ Due to traffic congestion, our valuable times and energy are being wasted. †¢ The problem of traffic congestion and uncontrolled vehicle emission make life miserable in Dhaka city causing threat to health. †¢ Everyday work-hours are unnecessarily wasted due to traffic jam. It has a great economic impact on production and thus on our economy. †¢ Traffic congestions intensify sufferings of commuters keeping people motionless as well as creating suffocating condition in the streets. Is this essay helpful? Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 600,000 just like it! reasons of Traffic Congestion are mentioned below: 1. The minimum road requirement is 25% for a standard city, whereas Dhaka has only 7.  5% road of its total area which is creating huge traffic. Moreover, if we look at the map of Dhaka city, the road connection of north and south is comparatively better than east and west which is causing people to take a longer route to travel. 2. The district truck and bus travel through heart of the capital city due to no bypass road. For example, a person who lives in Chittagong must enter Dhaka to reach Kushtia. 3. The Export Processing Zone (EPZ) which is established near Dhaka forces the vehicles to move from Savar to Dhaka to Chittagong. Our EPZ is oriented to bulk products like garments and it must be located near sea port. 4. Every day thousand of people are entering the city as our economic activity and administration like education, health sector are all Dhaka centered. There is no attempt for decentralization. 5. Bangladesh population growth is†¦ Thousands of pedestrians in Dhaka jaywalk every day, particularly during rush hours, risking their lives and the lives of motorists and sometimes with fatal consequences. Jaywalking has reached such an alarming state that fatalities are recorded almost every day. Pedestrians are often seen crossing the streets at places they are not supposed to while talking to each other or on mobile phones oblivious to things around them. Some seem to be unaware of the doctrine â€Å"Don’t run across the road†. Jaywalking is so widespread that it has become almost a norm and motorists are often blamed for mishaps despite the fact that the pedestrian he or she hit was jaywalking. The fast Airport Road from Uttara to Mohakhali, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Shaheed Tajuddin Sarani (Tejgaon), and Mirpur Road are the ones where most fatal accidents to pedestrians happen. Largely, people’s tendency to flout traffic rules and lack of adequate facilities for pedestrians, illegal occupation of pavements by parked cars, shops, vendors and construction materials contribute to pedestrians use of the streets, said traffic experts. A journalist died at Bangla Motor intersection while crossing Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue in 2005. Dhaka University student Shammee Akhter Happy was run over by a speeding bus while crossing the Shahbagh intersection in 2005. Sultana Akhtar Sumi, a 20-year student of Narayanganj Art College, died on April 3, 2009, as she stepped on a livewire and fell from the under-construction footbridge near Shishu Park. According to Accident Research Institute at Buet, 380 deaths occur on the streets of Dhaka every year, and 75 percent are pedestrians. â€Å"Lack of enforcement of law to free pedestrians’ facilities is the foremost reason why people go on jaywalking,† said M Rahmatullah, former director (transport) of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Absence of useful underpasses, footbridges and pavements force people into jaywalking, said Rahmatullah. On controlling jaywalking, Selim Md Jahangir, deputy commissioner (traffic west zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said it is practically impossible for the police to stop jaywalking because it is a massive problem with almost everyone having a tendency to break traffic laws. The volume of pedestrians compared to that of vehicles at certain places is many times higher and police have to control traffic, he said. Dhaka City Corporation, entrusted with providing facilities to pedestrians, has been turning a blind eye to pavements occupied by illegal structures, parked cars, makeshift shops and construction materials. The DCC has only 390 kilometres of pavements while it has 1,900 kilometres of roads, said DCC officials. Most of the 52 footbridges in the city remain unused for various reasons. The DCC has four underpasses: one each at Gulistan intersection, Gabtoli bus terminal, Syedabad (Dhalpur) and Karwan Bazar. Apart from the one at Syedabad, the rest are in a poor state. Nargis Chowdhury, a bank employee at Karwan Bazar and a resident of West Raza Bazar, said, â€Å"I never feel encouraged to use the Karwan Bazar underpass as it is often dark and infested with beggars, vagabonds and is very filthy. † Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, noted civil engineer and transport expert, said a key reason behind jaywalking is that most of the city dwellers are rural people who migrated or are first-generation urban dwellers. Another reason is utterly unplanned footbridges that the pedestrians do not feel encouraged to use. Footbridges are not in a favourable state for the pedestrians to use. Some of them have been taken over by vendors, beggars and vagabonds, like the one at New Market, or they have human excreta on them. â€Å"They are not user-friendly,† he said. Provision for on-the-surface pedestrian crossings should also be there too. People’s tendency is not to climb up a footbridge. Moreover, there are no required footbridges across many busy roads like Shaheed Tajuddin Sarani (Tejgaon), Gulshan Avenue, and at intersections like Shahbagh, Nabisco, and Mohakhali. Existing traffic signals are not pedestrian-friendly at all, according to those who research in the transport sector. Physically disabled, elderly people and children have no alternative but to use the footbridges. According Prof Nazrul Islam, an urban researcher, around half the city dwellers go to work on foot. Around 90 to 95 percent of the poor and people of the low-income group go to work on foot. Roughly, one crore people live in the DCC area of around 150 square kilometres. Prof Jubayer-bin-Alam of Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) in a study on Sustainable Transport for Urban Poor found 12 of 20 lakh garment workers go to work on foot in the central part of the city. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the communications ministry, earlier admitted that many footbridges have been built without any proper planning. 3. 2 Reasons behind traffic jam The following reasons are responsible for traffic jam in Dhaka city- (a) City lay-out (master plan) and over-population: The causes of traffic congestion in Dhaka city are multifarious. Starting from the city itself, it is observed that the skeleton, structure and lay-out of Dhaka City are not well-planned and well-directed. Dhaka is also a highly populated city. More than one crore people live here and the figure is increasing day by day. This huge population acts as an auto-catalyst of traffic congestion in Dhaka City. (b) Inadequate and unplanned roads: Dhaka City has very inadequate road networks. For a standard city, where the minimum road requirement is 25%, Dhaka has only 7. 5% road of its total area. 30% of this 7. 5% road is also occupied by the hawkers, salesman and shopkeepers. A significant portion is occupied by construction materials and waste-containers of the City Corporation. As a result, vehicles do not get sufficient space to move on. Besides this, in most cases roads are serpentine rather than being straight. This ultimately breeds a number of unnecessary junctions where vehicles automatically slow down. Again, these roads are also not well constructed and regularly repaired. City Corporation, DESA, WASA, BTTB excavate the roads randomly without any integrated and central plan. Lack of proper maintenance causes the vehicle to stop without any prior notice. During the rainy season the situation becomes more critical while the roads go under water due to heavy rain.  (c) Heterogeneous vehicles and inadequate public transport: Dhaka is a city of heterogeneous vehicles. Human puller to latest model automobile, mechanical to non-mechanical, slow to fast-moving, nothing left on the road of Dhaka. It is quite difficult to control all these vehicles on the same road as they have different speed capacity. Besides this, public transport system in Dhaka city is not adequate and properly-routed. Instead of big and spacious buses, presence of large number of mini-buses and private vehicles can only contribute to carry few passengers, but not to reduction of traffic congestion. City transports also stop here and there without any valid reason. The three major bus stations, Sayedabad, Gabtoli and Mohakhali do not have sufficient capacity to accommodate all the buses operating from here. A recent addition to road blockage is the long queue of vehicles at CNG stations, which is really difficult to overcome. Challenges we face (a) People are not law abiding: At this stage, I am going to mention a few problems that we always face to address the traffic issues. Most important problem that we realize ‘people are not law abiding, they do not want to follow traffic rules’. Pedestrians show less interest to use footpath, foot-over-bridge or under-pass. Similarly, drivers neither try to maintain the speed nor follow the lane. In most cases, as the punishment is nominal, they tend to breach the rules again and again. (b) Inadequate logistics: Our traffic management system is not automated and well-equipped. All the junctions are not facilitated with signal lights. Where there are lights, most often those remain out of order. Moreover, uneven flow of vehicles from different directions reduces the effectivity of traffic signals. Besides, we do not have sufficient vehicles to chase a car or bus committed an accident. (b) Shortage of Manpower: We do not have sufficient and well-trained human resources. Four thousand officers work in two shifts- morning and afternoon. Due to administrative and other involvement, only fifteen hundred officers can be engaged in one shift to control the movement of millions of people and vehicles in Dhaka City. This figure is quite insufficient to manage the existing traffic scenario. Achievements of Traffic Division Now I am going to highlight a few of our achievements. We have already made most of the important roads free from non-mechanical vehicles especially rickshaw. You can understand very well, complete withdrawal of rickshaw is a very sensitive and delicate issue. Thousands of people are living their lives by pulling rickshaws, and also this is one of the popular communication means for low and mid-level income group people. However, following the existing rules, and time to time government instructions, we have conducted several operations against illegal rickshaws and filed a number of cases. We have introduced one way vehicle movement strategy in different areas. This has given much better result. We are taking strict legal action against violators of traffic rules. Last year we filed 4 lakh 88 thousand cases and realized 16 crore 50 lakh taka as fine. We have arranged several strategic and motivational meetings with government and transport agencies and finally succeeded to control the movement of truck and other long-route vehicles. Now trucks and long-route buses can enter city only after 10 o’clock at night. We have also conducted special operation against model-out vehicles and the number has reduced significantly. Removal of baby taxi is a notable example. Recommendations However, it is understandable that resolving the problem of traffic jam in Dhaka city is not possible within a short time. It needs both short-term and long-term strategies. Short-term strategies may include re-adjusting the school and office time keeping at least one hour difference, re-routing the public transport, reducing and replacing private transport with convenient and cheaper public transport, fixing different fare for rush and non-rush hour and finally keeping the foot-ways free from hawkers and shopkeepers. Long-term strategies, on the other hand, may be constructing long flyover from one end to another end of city, introducing underground rail service, undertaking co-ordinated and integrated strategies among different agencies working for city development, replacing rickshaws by assuring proper rehabilitation of rickshaw-pullers, constructing under-pass and foot-over-bridge in different important junctions and finally decentralizing the city itself. To reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka City, the most vital prerequisite that I feel, is the development of public consciousness. Unless and until we change our perception and develop a mind to abide traffic rules, whatever strategy we take, that will not work properly. I believe, our law-abiding consciousness, good-intention and sincere co-operation can remarkably reduce traffic jam in Dhaka city. These were all from me. At this stage, I would like to invite questions from you. I believe, your participation will make the session more enjoyable and will definitely enrich my understanding and knowledge. Again, I would like to take the honour to extend my cordial thanks and appreciation to the authority of ‘American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh’ for inviting me here in this scholarly gathering. I do believe, today’s ceremony is a shiny reflection of better friendship and relationship between Bangladesh and US government. I hope and expect, in future, this relationship will bring more fruitful and beneficial results for both the countries. Traffic Management Expected questions (Arguments) 1. Rickshaw -Complexities in withdrawal of rickshaw (a) Huge employment (b) Vehicles for low income and mid level income group people (c) Environment friendly (pollution free) (d) No fuel consumption recommendation (a) Withdrawal of rickshaw phase by phase (b) At present may be allowed in pocket roads 3. Deployment of Army reduces traffic Jam (e) Situation sustains for short time (f) Jam shifts from one place to another (g) Number of manpower increases 4. Cantonment -Traffic Scenario is better (a) Limited vehicles run (b) Most of the people are disciplined as they are military representative 5. Limitations -Police face (a) Manually operated (b) Not equipped with advanced technology (c) Not well trained human resources (d) Most cases Constable does not have arresting power (Sergeant required) (e) Nominal fine (f) (f) do not have vehicles to chase car or buses Achievements of traffic division (a) Roads are free from human puller (b) One way roads (c) Controlled movement of trucks and long-route buses (d) Cases filed – 4 lakh 88 thousand (Year 2007) (e) Revenue earned – 16 crore 50 lakh ( Year 2007 ) 7. Areas to emphasize We need integrated and holistic approach (a) Traffic Education (for mass people) (b) Traffic Engineering (infrastructure) (c) Traffic Enforcement (by police) (d) Traffic Environment (participation of all) 8. Punishment given – 300 officers (2007) From Northern part of Dhaka, main business district Motijheel is about 25 kilometers. If a car moves at the speed of 60 KM per hour, one should reach Motijheel in 25 minutes. If at 30 KM per hour, even than people should reach in 1 hour maximum. But it is a common scenario in Dhaka that to reach from Northern part to the main business district during rush hours one needs more than 2 hours at least. Sometimes it is even 4 hours. During all governments in the recent years, it has been a public demand that government should take steps to ease Dhaka traffic congestion. To ease traffic congestion, during the last BNP government [2001-2006] two FLYOVERS has been constructed in Dhaka. One at Banani and the other at Khilgaon area of the city. Adding of two flyovers doesn’t seem to have done much in easing traffic congestion. Government has to think of other substitutes. Already government has declared building of circular river ways centering Dhaka. During the rule of BNP government a circular river way was made. But because of poor maintenance and improper management, the venture didn’t work. Massive renovation work is required to put the things back in shape. The concerned minister has already taken initiative to restore the river ways around Dhaka. Once it was believed that main reason for Dhaka Traffic Congestion is slow moving Rickshaws. But, now a day almost all the main avenues of Dhaka are free from Rickshaws. Except for a few main avenues and inner lanes, Dhaka is free from Rickshaws. Removing of Rickshaws certainly has been beneficial in doing something, e. g.  , if Dhaka still had Rickshaws plying on the main roads along with the fast moving vehicles, Dhaka would completely paralyze. Expansion of commuter train service connecting Dhaka and adjacent districts in order to reduce pressure of traffic in the capital is under active consideration of the government. The government has a plan to introduce more commuter trains connecting Dhaka with its adjacent districts to free th e capital from traffic congestion. One problem still remains, as some of the Rail-Ways pass through one of the busiest roads in Dhaka, when Trains pass; obstruction has to be created to avoid collision. According to experts that creates congestion not only near the Rail Gates but in the whole city. There is a substitute method in resolving traffic congestion. Many experts believe that there should be no rail roads within the city. These roads which belong to the Rail Ways can be transformed into ONE WAY EXPRESS WAY with FLYOVERS or UNDERPASSES where it meets the existing roads. Uttara Model Town is located in the Northern end of the Metropolitan Dhaka. There is already a Railway station quite adjacent to Uttara. According to many, Trains coming from other districts, should not be allowed to go within the city. Because it hampers the flow of other vehicles. There was a time when Dhaka International Airport was within the city. When the airport was shifted from the main city to the present location, people thought it was needless. But now, need to shift even the present airport to a far-away place is under active consideration. Same way, in case of the Railway Station, the main station is located in the busiest area of the city, Kamalapur. Kamalapur Railway Station was built in the sixties. The railway minister put emphasis on improving the railway system as train fares is cheaper and the service comfortable compared to other modes of transport. But it should be also considered that if more trains run, more of traffic congestion will surely be created as it will interrupt other vehicles to flow smoothly! Men have stepped on the moon. Now they are going from one place to another with few hours. But the citizens of Dhaka(sometimes) can not reach to Gulistan Jatrabari from Mohakhali or Farmgate within few hours. Who is responsible for this? Traffic Jam is that magician. Traffic jam has become a great monster in our modern life. Traffic jam has turned daily trips into nightmares. The business community inevitably suffers for the constant waste of its most precious resource of time. Others commuters complain of being stuck in jam for hours an end, while residents breathe in a lat more lead and almost 10 percent of its population seeks medical treatment each year for air pollution related respiratory illnesses. I. Drivers don’t comply with traffic rules. II. Allegations of police support to makeshift shops on footpaths and street sidelines and illegal automobile and rickshaw parking, which occupy more than a third of the streets. III. Some police officers are busy for extracting money for allowing illegal parking. IV. Lack of automatic traffic signals, slow-moving illegal rickshaws and rail crossings are also causing serious traffic jam. Many roads of Dhaka city are not spacious according to the necessity. As aresult, traffic jam occurs very now and then in the congested areas even of the highways. Overtaking tendency is another reason which causes traffic jam. Moreover, our traffic system is not so modern and the number of traffic police is insufficient. It is a matter of shame that some so-called politicians.  , student leaders and selfish persons also create traffic jam in order to fulfill their evil desires Rickshaws also reate traffic jam. Traffic jam stops our normal course of life. At office time it is painful to mention that the foreigners hesitate to invest in our country for traffic jam. It is very shameful for us. In this way it defames our prestige to the foreigners. Above all traffic jam always poll utes our environment. Obnoxious smell emits form standing vehicles. The following remedial measures can be adopted for eliminating the traffic jam: I. Stricter laws need to be enforced to maintain discipline. II. The number of mobile courts and checkpoints should be increased III. Harsh punishment must be imposed on those law enforcing members who does not carry out their duty. IV. The signal post should be constructed as early as possible. V. The awareness campaign should be launched which will feature community level meetings, opinion pools, roadside banners, leaflets and posters, mass media advertisement and public announcement to build awareness about making road free from rickshaws. VI. Rickshaws should be banned from the roads such as Rokeya Sarani-Mirpur 10-Farmgate, Pragati Sarani-Baridhara-Badda-Mouchak,New Eskaton Road-Banglamotor-Mouchak-Rafarbagh Crossing and Techical crossing-Mirpur-1-Mipur 2 and Azimpur to Tikatauli, Purana Purana Paltan to Sodarghat via North-South road also. VII. According to Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), 77,000 rickshaws and 10,000 vans are registered but about three lakh rickshaws ply the streets. So the authorities need to evict illegal rickshaws. So if we don’t be aware and the authority don’t take the remedial measures to eliminate the Traffic Jam in Dhaka city the situation will turn even more difficult with the illegal automobile and rickshaws parking 22-mile traffic jam on Interstate 10 A pavement rehab project that was to be finished by Sunday morning, Feb. 12, went beyond its deadline and caused a 22-mile traffic jam on Interstate 10 by noon, and caused one of the region’s members of Congress to complain to the federal government about the traffic snarl. – 6 hours ago Toll plaza jam takes toll on heart patient A traffic jam at the toll plaza located at Shahjahanpur village of Alwar district that lasted for almost an hour proved fatal for a 38-year-old man who was on his way to Jaipur following a heart attack. – 33 hours ago Traffic jam leads to gun incident in Maumelle Maumelle police responded to a Maumelle woman who said another woman pulled a gun on her after they were stopped in a traffic jam on Interstate 40. – 28 hours ago The Answer To Jakarta’s Traffic Jam? When I recall all those futuristic TV series such as â€Å"The Jetsons† or the movies such as â€Å"The Fifth Element† (Milla Jovovich was hot!  ) and â€Å"Back To The Future 2? , nearly everybody drives personal aircraft. Posting lengkap dapat ditemukan di: http://politikana. com/baca/2010/09/29/the-answer-to-jakarta-s-traffic-jam. html – 8 days ago Traffic jam brewing for Astros on the infield The Astros have a traffic jam approaching on the infield. At least eight players are vying for six infield spots and another — Rule 5 draftee Marwin Gonzalez — must be kept on the roster for the full season or be offered back to Boston. The competition may be more difficult on the corners, where five players are duking it out for first and third base positions.  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 12 days ago Students block Montreal bridge to protest tuition hikes; traffic chaos ensues MONTREAL – Student protesters triggered a monster traffic jam in Montreal by blocking off access to a bridge this morning. – 9 days ago Transportation Bill Hits Traffic Jam You can add transportation to the long list of issues hitting a roadblock in Washington. Funding for New Hampshire’s I-93 expansion may get s tuck in the beltway traffic jam. – 36 hours ago Repair work causes U. S. 190 bottleneck south of Covington A lane closure on U. S.  190 southbound, south of Covington, has caused a substantial traffic jam Thursday afternoon. Ron Thibodeaux, The Times-PicayuneTraffic has backed up on southbound U. S. 190 south of Covington Southbound traffic backed up two to three†¦ – 15 hours ago VDOT to fine contractor over I-95 traffic jam – Richmond Times Dispatch VDOT to fine contractor over I-95 traffic jam Richmond Times Dispatch VDOT will fine the contractor on the Interstate 95 bridges project for creating a traffic jam during Thursday morning’s rush hour in Richmond. The Virginia Department of Transportation said it intends to penalize Archer Western Contractors $13000 to †¦ and more  » – 7 hours ago Traffic jams waste 1. 9 billion gallons of gas per year – New York Daily News New York Daily News Traffic jams waste 1. 9 billion gallons of gas per year New York Daily News By Josh Max / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Vehicles sit in a traffic jam on the northbound Garden State Parkway Friday, Aug.  26, 2011, near Ocean View, NJ No matter how many miles your vehicle gets to the gallon when it’s moving, its mileage when it’s stalled †¦ and more  » – 2 days ago Traffic Heavy in Parts of Jakarta, Quiet in Others – Jakarta Globe Jakarta Globe Traffic Heavy in Parts of Jakarta, Quiet in Others Jakarta Globe (Antara Photo) Traffic congestion was reported in a number of areas in Jakarta and on toll roads leading to the capital on Friday, as thousands of anti-fuel hike protesters gathered at the House of Repres entatives in West Jakarta, with thousands of †¦ – 4 hours ago RM 620 congestion bad, but maybe not enough to pursue fixes – Austin American-Statesman Austin American-Statesman RM 620 congestion bad, but maybe not enough to pursue fixes Austin American-Statesman Traffic on RM 620 piles up during the Thursday afternoon rush hour northeast of Anderson Mill Road. The volume of vehicles traveling the 18. 5 miles between US 183 in Northwest Austin and US 71 in Bee Cave has tripled in some sections since 1990. – 7 hours ago Toll plaza jam takes toll on heart patient – Times of India Toll plaza jam takes toll on heart patient Times of India ALWAR: A traffic jam at the toll plaza located at Shahjahanpur village of Alwar district that lasted for almost an hour proved fatal for a 38-year-old man who was on his way to Jaipur following a heart attack. Due to the traffic jam at the toll plaza, †¦ and more  » – 34 hours ago Heavy wind causes major traffic jam and property damage – Fox 13 Now – Salt Lake City Fox 13 Now – Salt Lake City Heavy wind causes major traffic jam and property damage Fox 13 Now – Salt Lake City A semi-trailer tipped over and blocked traffic on southbound Interstate 15 near the Point of the Mountain around 8:00 am The accident created a traffic jam that stretched around the point and into southern Salt Lake County. Traffic was diverted into †¦ and more  » – 2 days ago ‘Bumper-to-Bumper Traffic at 90 Miles an Hour’, Ragan Enjoys Challenge of †¦ – WhoWon. com ‘Bumper-to-Bumper Traffic at 90 Miles an Hour’, Ragan Enjoys Challenge of †¦ WhoWon. com STATESVILLE, NC — No one enjoys being in a traffic jam, but David Ragan can’t wait to get into the bumper-to-bumper traffic of Martinsville (Va. ) Speedway. Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 will return Ragan to one of his favorite tracks – the †¦ and more  » – 41 hours ago When you first step foot in the capital city, Dhaka of Bangladesh, the first thing you will notice is the intense traffic jam. Dhaka is facing one of the major problems that is already being faced by other big cities in the world, more vehicle than the amount of the roads. Therefore, as a result, traffic jams are increasing day by day and it is becoming one of the most intolerable factors of the country. Since Bangladesh is a small country, the capital city is considered as one of the biggest one. It has roads as much wide as it was needed and wherever needed. But, in the recent times, there has been a significant increase in the number of vehicles of the city. With the other reasons as well, the whole problem is becoming one of the biggest ones of the country. The main problems identified for the traffic jams are: Increase in the number of vehicles Poor traffic management system Rickshaws Illegal parking Scarcity of parking spots Tendency to break the traffic law The increased number of vehicles is an alarming factor for the country. A recent statistics shows that each day, Dhaka city gets 2000 new vehicles. For these purposes, neither did Bangladesh government plan ahead, nor they are taking any significant measures now-a-days. As a result, more and more traffic jam is making the lives of normal people a living hell. Traffic management system of Bangladesh is still the ones that were used to be in the 80s. Therefore, the new methods of traffic management is not being applied properly. Rickshaws, however, are identified as one of the most common reason for traffic jams. The number of rickshaws is very much high and they don’t maintain any law whatsoever. However, you cannot eradicate them off the street either because they are one of the best ways of communication and the greenest vehicle you may find. Parkings in the country is horrible because there isn’t enough space for parking. Most of the buildings of the country thought of having room for their works inside their buildings b