The Browning Version a play about changing national identity in England Essays

The Browning Version a play about changing national identity in England Essays The Browning Version a play about changing national identity in England Paper The Browning Version a play about changing national identity in England Paper Essay Topic: Play The Browning Version is a play written by Terence Rattigan. It is built around a public school, and one of the main themes in the play is how Englishness and national identity in England change over time. To show this change in Englishness Rattigan builds the play around Andrew Crocker-Harris, he represents the old pre-war Englishness that was fading away during the time when the play was written. In contrast to Andrew, the younger, Frank Hunter stands for what is to come, and what can be seen as the new post-war Englishness. The play was written in 1948 and as scholars have argued the change in Englishness was as fierce as ever during this period. One factor that influenced the change in national identity was the change in political power, from The Conservatives to The Labour Party. The fact that England lost its position as the worlds most powerful empire after the Second World War also influenced the rapid change in Englishness. The unpopular Mr Crocker-Harris is a Latin and Greek master, both Latin and Greek were languages with decreased importance during this period. Emerging languages whit higher status were for instance French and Spanish. The author gives the reader the feeling that Mr Crocker-Harris is conservative and unchangeable by giving him these old fashion features. Something that might be traced back to the Englishness that dominated in the pre-war era, a stubborn person that was unwilling to see the new things coming. In contrast, Hunter stands for the new, he is a science teacher and everyone seems to like him. He is an open-minded person and Taplows, a pupil at the school, highest wish is to start science instead of language class. This might be seen a metaphor for the old, Latin and Greek, to give way for the new, science and other languages. It seems like no one really likes Andrew, he is called The Crock and Himmler of the Lower Fifth by his pupils, he is also considered not to have any heart or feelings. He is even forced out of the school by the headmaster to give way for a new language teacher that is supposed to teach new languages instead of Latin and Greek. Neither his wife seems to like him, she has an affair with the younger Frank Hunter, a metaphor which might show a shift from the old to the new, a shift in the importance from language to science. In conclusion, Rattigans play The Browning Version tackles the change in Englishness and Englands national identity. He does so by giving Mr Crocker-Harris features that were interrelated with the Englishness before the Second World War and before The Labour Party won the election and laid the ground for the welfare state. The most prominent of all these features are the shift in importance of the Latin and Greek language. Other features that Andrew possesses that are connected with the old Englishness are his way of being strict and authoritarian and his reluctance to accept new things coming. In contrast Hunter stands for what is new and gives a picture of what is to come.

Skate Characteristics and Information

Skate Characteristics and Information Skates are a type of cartilaginous fish that have a flat body and wing-like pectoral fins attached to their head. If you can picture a stingray, you know basically what a skate looks like. There are dozens of species of skates. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, the common skate is the largest skate species - it can reach over 8 feet in length. At only about 30 inches, the starry skate is the smallest skate species. Description of a Skate Fish Like stingrays, skates have a long, whip-like tail and breathe through spiracles. Breathing through spiracles allows the skate to rest on the ocean bottom and get oxygenated water through openings in their head, rather than breathing in water and sand from the ocean bottom. Skates may also have a prominent dorsal fin (or two fins) near the end of their tail, while rays usually do not. While many fish propel themselves by flexing their bodies and using their tail, skates move by flapping their wing-like pectoral fins. Unlike stingrays, skates do not have a venomous spine in their tail. Classification Skates are a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the order Rajiformes, which contains a dozen families, including the families Anacanthobatidae and Rajidae, which include skates and smooth skates. Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ElasmobranchiiOrder: Rajiformes Feeding Skates eat shellfish, worms, and crabs. They have strong teeth and jaws, allowing them to easily crush shells. Habitat and Distribution Skates live throughout the world. Skates spend most of their time on the ocean bottom. Reproduction Reproduction is another way that skates differ from rays. Skates bear their young in eggs, while rays bear live young. Thus, skates are oviparous. With rays, the young develop in eggs that are retained in the mothers body, thus they are ovoviviparous. Skates mate at the same nursery grounds each year. Male skates have claspers that they use to transmit sperm to the female, and eggs are fertilized internally. The eggs develop into a capsule called an egg case- or more commonly, a mermaids purse - and then are deposited onto the ocean floor. These mermaids purses sometimes wash up on beaches. The egg cases may sit on the ocean floor, or attach to seaweeds. Inside the egg case, a yolk nourishes the embryos. The young may remain in the egg case for up to 15 months, and then hatch looking like miniature adult skates. Conservation and Human Uses Skates are harmless to humans. Skates are commercially harvested  for their wings, which are considered tasty (Skate Wing With Butter, anyone?). The flesh of a skates wing is said to be similar to the taste and texture of scallops. They are usually harvested  using  otter trawls. Skate wings can also be used for lobster bait, and to make fish meal and pet food. In addition to commercial fisheries, skates may also be caught as bycatch. Some U.S. skate species, such as the thorny skate, are considered overfished, and management plans are in place in the U.S. to protect skate populations through methods such as fishing trip limits, and possession prohibitions. Skate Species Below are some examples of skate species found in the U.S.: Barndoor Skate (Dipturus laevis)Big Skate (Raja binoculata)Longnose Skate (Raja rhina)Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata)Winter Skate (Leucoraja ocellata)Little Skate (Leucoraja erinacea) Sources Bester, Cathleen. Ray and Skate Basics (Online). Florida Museum of Natural History: Icthyology.   Canadian Shark Research Lab. 2007. Skates and Rays of Atlantic Canada: Reproduction. Canadian Shark Research Lab.   Coulombe, Deborah A. 1984. The Seaside Naturalist. Simon Schuster. Sosebee, Kathy. Skates - Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern US. NOAA NEFSC - Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division. World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). WoRMS Taxon List.