A girl named Maria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A girl named Maria - Essay Example It has been believed that certain individuals have specific roles to play in society. During the ancient times, males were already considered as the providers and protectors of their families and their tribes. Females had the role of taking care of the children and the home.Patriarchy, which was the setup during the olden days up until centuries ago, is the sociological condition wherein the males are considered to be more dominant than the females. More often than not, in this particular type of social setup, males are those in positions of power and enjoy more rights than the females. The society is said to be reigned by either a single male or a group of males. Females, including children, as a result of this type of social organization, are then forced to assume subordinate roles.In Latin America, the culture has been influenced by several other cultures, mainly by the Europeans and the Africans. Nonetheless, just like any other society and culture, which have the tendency to evo lve through time, patriarchy in Latin America has already experienced a decline, giving females much more power and responsibility, somehow offering them a more solid stand as to their place in society.On the other hand, another pressing issue worldwide, which also takes place in Maria's story, is political corruption. In its very sense, political corruption is the improper use of government or political power, usually for personal gain. No form of government is safe from corruption. Though it may display itself in different manners, the most common manifestations are "patronage, bribery, extortion, influence peddling, fraud, embezzlement, and nepotism" (Wikipedia, 2006). When a country is experiencing political corruption, it will be much more difficult for the country to progress, including its citizens. Not only does it compromise the general development of the country, but its development in all other aspects as well. With the political and economic status of Colombia, it is imminent that its citizens will suffer the consequences of other people's actions, with Maria being one perfect example of such an individual. Living in a patriarchal society, she is unable to exercise her rights in the fullest sense, as women are not given that much power, voice, and opportunities. Coupled with the kind of poverty that Maria and her family are experiencing, it is not surprising that she will want to look elsewhere for other opportunities, in order to give herself, her future child, and her family a better life than what they have at present, and something that they most definitely deserve. Just like any other person who is under extreme poverty, Maria made a quick life-changing decision without weighing the consequences and understanding the possible risks involved. She was only focused on the goal of earning more money through a seemingly easy job in order to uplift herself and her family's status in life. The film Maria Full of Grace gives an initial impression of the movie being of a religious sort. However, when one takes a second look at it, realizations of the real meaning and the true story come out. Maria Full of Grace is a story of a young woman who embarks on a journey from her present life at Colombia to the possibility of a better life in New York. Maria Alvarez, the heroine of the story, is a newly-pregnant 17-year-old who lives with her family in Colombia. With her job removing thorns off roses in the farm, she supports those in her family who are financially dependent on her, what with her meager wage. However, just like any other person who is experiencing poverty, she wants more out of life. She wants to be able to escape the life that she is currently experiencing and move on to greener pastures, so to speak. Not only for

The Children of Hammerstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Children of Hammerstein - Essay Example The three daughters were often grouped together and called the ‘von Hammerstein Sisters’ but the truth was that even though they had their fair share of similarities, they had their own personalities and lived different lives. The main thing they had in common was their stand against Nazism. Till the 1920s in Berlin – the years when they finally came of age – they socialized greatly be it the gymnasium, university, the social and/or political movements and so on. Once the political upheaval rose to great heights, all of them helped the victims in their own ways, not worried about the risk they were taking of their lives by opposing the Weimar Republic and later the Third Reich. Maria Luise was the oldest daughter of the five children. She opposed Hitler by joining the German Communist Party in the late 1920s. In fact, whenever her father departed from the house, she would take the opportunity to go through this safe in hopes of finding documents with import ant information on them. She even told the Soviet Union about Hitler’s political and military plans which he informed to his generals in his secret speech. This made her a traitor to her country but her father was not against it. It was during this time period also that she had a relationship with Werner Scholem but later he was shot dead. Maira Luise decided to remain in her homeland for the duration of the war. It was at some point in the 1950s that she changed her residence to the German Democratic Republic. The second daughter was Maria Theresa and she was quite an activist. She was less ideologically at risk than her sisters but she did empathize with left wing views, especially the educated middle class Jewry. She alerted the Jews if they were in danger of being deported or arrested by extracting the necessary information from her father. She would move the Jews and some Germans to Prague and helped many of the marked to hide. She also brought materials such as newspape rs to the Nazi community over there. Maria Theresa is lauded for saving innumerable Jews from extermination. She got married to a Jewish man in 1934. They travelled to Palestine but had to return and were cross examined a lot of times by the Gestapo. So, they went to exile in 1935 to Japan. Over there also, she was not safe but she managed to survive and had four children. After the war was over, they shifted to the United States of America. Helga von Hammerstein, like her eldest sister Maria Luise, was part of the German Communist Party. She helped out her sister in carrying out her parts. She had a relationship with one man called Leo Roth who lived a very dangerous live and was shot in a prison in 1936. Helga, along with her mother and youngest brother, was held in captivity by the Nazis for the duration of the last weeks of the War. They were first imprisoned at Buchenwald, then at Dachau, and then at South Tyrol. They were interrogated and asked the hiding place of her brotherà ¢â‚¬â„¢s but they did not break. She remained in Germany during the length of the war. After the end of the war, they were given freedom by the Allied Forces in 1945 when they liberated the camps. Franz von Hammerstein was the first son. He was excused from the duty of working for the army due to medical reasons. He was the brother who was imprisoned and questioned by the Gestapo along with Helga and his mother. Later, he was also freed with them by the Allies. After the war