It was very interesting
to read the two stories. Both have a great deal to do with the popular news
recently and they are both extremely intriguing. The first story is from the business section of The New
York Times and it speaks on the state of Africa's economy. The second story is from the opinion section and talks
about new laws that are in place in New York City.
First Story
1. Does there seem to be
a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so,
who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are
there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they
play?
Although there are not
true characters in this story, the main focus is on these African nations. The
reporter that wrote this article, was able to talk to a couple business owners
in a few nations and they all told similar stories. The African economy is
struggling to grow because of China's economic struggles. These men and women
are speaking about their specific businesses, but they are also speaking about
Africa in general. The shipments from China are not coming in fast enough due
to layoffs in China and the products are becoming less demanded.
2. Where do the specific
events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the
settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
The main settings in
this story are South Africa and Nigeria. These are the two strongest economies
in Africa historically and they are struggling currently. They are not able to
produce as they used to because of China's struggles. Businesses in South
Africa have had to fire people due to the slowdown in work. Those businesses in
Nigeria have struggled due to the lack of demand for oil, the nation’s largest
commodity. Both countries have been criticized because economic experts believe
the nations could have done better to expand their economies during the good economic
periods but they failed to do so.
3. Is there any kind of
disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who
is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at
stake for the different characters in the story?
The disagreement that
occurs in this story is between different African officials. Some of these
officials believe that China is much more respectable when it comes to
negotiations and loans than the western countries. Others believe that the
Chinese are less romantic about their approaches than they used to be and that
it is simply business now. It feels as though some of these officials are
losing faith in China. They think that their economy is going downhill a bit
and they want a change.
Second Story
1. Does there seem to be
a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so,
who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are
there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do
they play?
The police and the new laws
are the main focus of this story. The author is focused on the fact these new
laws give the police in New York City to be more lenient to those that commit
low level offenses. Although there are no new bench marks for punishments,
these new laws are hoped to give relief to the communities that struggle with
incarceration rates.
2. Where do the
specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe
the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
As stated before, these
laws are intended for New York City. New York City has many people that
struggle with poverty and incarceration and these laws are intended to help
with these two aspects. When people are incarcerated for low level offenses,
they can lose their jobs, homes, and futures for an unworthy reason. If people
are able to just pay a fine or do community service instead of time in a jail
cell, then the GDP of these poor areas can grow and help the overall
population.
3. Is there any kind of disagreement
or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why
are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different
characters in the story?
The argument in this
story comes from those that say the injustice for colored communities will just
shift from one court to another with these laws. Even though they are not
getting thrown in jail as much anymore, does not mean that colored people are
not getting treated unfairly by the system. It is not identified in the story,
but this group thinks that there needs to be a more severe change in the system
in order to truly solve the problem.
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| The U.S. Army. "Meeting the New York Police Department" 03/17/04 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License. |
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