The Culture Of The And The Tempest By William Shakespeare

The culture of a space has a powerful influence on the people inhabiting that space, an influence that alters inhabitants to varying degrees. Through the writings of Kant, Montaigne, and Shakespeare–in particular their works What is Enlightenment?, Of Cannibals, and The Tempest, respectively–this idea of cultural influence is able to take shape. Culture is something that all people carry with them, pieces of places and people they have known and groups to which they have been a member. The natural state of people is twisted by culture until there default worldview is changed as if looking through a bias lens. All people carry with them a view of normalcy that is a product of their environments. Montaigne presents this argument about culture’s creation of a bias lens in Of Cannibals. The reader is forced to acknowledge that a view of barbarism stems from what is unfamiliar. Cannibalism is not a norm of the reader’s culture, and as such the reader is forced to question why cannibalism appears so barbaric when compared with the atrocities of their own culture. The familiarity of the evil that is known is what makes that evil appear less barbaric. In reality, and as Montaigne helps his reader to see, the forms of torture that are familiar to the reader are no less indecent than the cannibalistic society, but the culture that practices cannibalism seems uncivilized because to the reader because cannibalism is something taboo in their culture. Societal structures and norm create aShow MoreRelatedComparing The Cultures of The Tempest and Ours in The Tempest by William Shakespeare894 Words   |  4 PagesComparing The Cultures of The Tempest and Ours in The Tempest b y William Shakespeare All men are created equal is one of the declarations that American culture is built on. This declaration means that all men no matter of race, religion, or creed are equals in the eyes of society, as well as the law. This was not always true in history, especially not in Shakespeares day and age. During this time, society had levels of classification where men were considered superior to other menRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1603 Words   |  7 PagesShakespeare’s play, The Tempest, power is manifested in several forms: the investigation of the power of love, the power of magic and illusion, or the power of nature. However, in The Tempest, power is most clearly defined as dominance. Throughout the play, there is a universal pursuit of dominance over other people, dominance over property, or dominance over cultural ideals. These pursuits of dominance are used in an attempt to further ones authority, and, ultimately, one’s life. In The Tempest, a motif ofRead More tempcolon Confronting Colonialism and Imperialism in Aime Cesaires A Tempest1403 Words   |  6 PagesColonialism in A Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   A Tempest by Aime Cesaire is an attempt to confront and rewrite the idea of colonialism as presented in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.   He is successful at this attempt by changing the point of view of the story.   Cesaire transforms the characters and transposes the scenes to reveal Shakespeare’s Prospero as the exploitative European power and Caliban and Ariel as the exploited natives.   Cesaire’s A Tempest is an effective response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest because heRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1705 Words   |  7 PagesLiterature Mr. Nath 5 December 2014 The Tempest Written between 1610 and 1611, The Tempest by William Shakespeare is the final play penned by the famous Bard. The play portrays the illusory struggle of power and conscience through the character of Prospero and his egocentric motives. Politically, the play can be seen as an analysis of important political issues relevant to that of oppression and imperialistic tendencies of the time. Artistically, The Tempest emphasizes the nature of art, more prominentlyRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1351 Words   |  6 Pagescritique rank’s Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ as one of the most preeminent and descriptive plays addressing the role of colonial power and conquest in literature. One of Shakespeare’s last plays, ‘The Tempest’ explores the direct parallel between the working proletariats and wealthy bourgeois. Therefore the focuses of this paper are the implications of hegemony and class alienation, the commoditization of human subc lasses, and the commonalities with â€Å"The Tempest† and Shakespeare’s life. The analysisRead More Prospero in William Shakespeares The Tempest Essay1246 Words   |  5 PagesProspero in William Shakespeares The Tempest Prospero has long been read as one of Shakespeare’s most cherished and provocative protagonists. His timeless role in â€Å"The Tempest† has provided readers and critics with insights into many attributes of Shakespeare as a man, his works, and the political views that are personified in his play. The historical context of â€Å"The Tempest† is one that convincingly conveys the political views of the English people of his time, relating to the colonizationRead More A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night1505 Words   |  7 PagesNights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night In all of Shakespeares plays, there is a definitive style present, a style he perfected. From his very first play (The Comedy of Errors) to his very last (The Tempest), he uses unique symbolism and descriptive poetry to express and explain the actions and events he writes about. Twelfth Night, The Tempest and A Midsummer Nights Dream are all tragicomedies that epitomise the best use of the themes and ideology that Shakespeare puts forth. Read More Cultural Diversity in The Tempest Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesCultural Diversity in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we look at Shakespeares atypically short play The Tempest, the character of Caliban represents a noble savage who is enslaved, exploited, and endowed with low-self esteem due to the ethnocentric views of those who encounter him.   In much the same way as the British originally exploited the Hindus or Americans exploited Native Americans, Caliban is considered the property of those who encounter him, solely because he is not of the same heritageRead MoreEssay about Discrimination Exposed in The Tempest1119 Words   |  5 PagesDiscrimination Exposed in The Tempest  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Within ‘The Tempest’ there are obvious social implications regarding the hierarchy, with the representations of characters such as Caliban, Prospero etc.   During Shakespeares time social classification was much more rigid than today and some members of society were considered superior to other members. Shakespeare attempts to provide an example of this rigid social structure. Shakespeare illustrates how superior men differentiated themselvesRead More Essay on the Importance of Language in The Tempest1326 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Language in The Tempest      Ã‚   In discussing Derridas view of Western literature, Geoffrey Hartman writes that Western tradition has been marked . . . by a metaphysics of light, by the violence of light itself, from Apollonian cults to Cartesian philosophies. In the light of this emphatic light everything else appears obscure; especially the Hebraic development of aniconic writing and self-effacing commentary of textuality (xix). This point is well illustrated by the nature

The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast, And Sleeping Beauty

Historical children s tales have been the basis of every person’s childhood for years. These stories, however, do have original versions that should be analyzed when researching the true meanings of these children s stories. Walt Disney portrays children s tales as a simple, fun form of entertainment, but the original stories reveal the bigger truths, changes, and adversities of these children books. The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty are three of the many children s stories that have controversial backgrounds. No matter the time frame, these stories have their differences, but strangely enough have more than plenty similarities. Mid-1994, Walt Disney Pictures released what could arguably be one of the best animated features of all time, The Lion King. The original story however, was written by one of the most famous literary artists still to this day, William Shakespear. The work of Disney s The Lion King parallels none other than one of Shakesphear†™s most prized literary works, The Tragedy of Hamlet. The film shadows this work so closely, that the resemblances between the main characters themselves are wildly apparent. Even with a four hundred year gap these two stories resemble each other to a high degree and definitely make their mark on past and future generations. In The Lion King and in The Tragedy of Hamlet, both of the main families are royal and considered the highest in the land. Simba is the main character in The Lion King, he isShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of A Fable And Tortoise And The Hare 2287 Words   |  10 Pagesthat taught me a horrible life lessons verses the classic moral Aesop’s was intending us to learn. We commence with the movie The Lion King. The moral lesson that was portrayed by Walt Disney in this animal tale of a movie was: In order to be successful, sometimes people have got to die. We all know Simba was going to succeed his father, Mufasa, as the next Lion King. But fate rained down on poor little Simba when his dear old dad got trampled to death by a wildebeest stampede caused by the evilRead MoreAdverse Influence of Disney Movies on the Younger Generation2049 Words   |  9 Pagesportray these values. Many of the Disney Classics that our generation has grown to know and love have exposed children to many bad values. Classics such as: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Pocahontas display lessons not suitable for those of the younger years. In short, Disney movies have a bad influence on the younger generation by exposing them to subliminal messages, rac ist valuesRead MoreAll s Not Well And Land Of The Lion King 1450 Words   |  6 Pages In the article â€Å"All’s Not Well In Land Of â€Å"‘The Lion King’†, Lazarus discusses how the movie: â€Å"The Lion King† negatively portrays society to children by using racism, homophobia, and social inequality. In American culture, racism and homophobia are both very common and controversial. Discrimination in today’s society is not primarily associated This essay is not completely effective because children do not yet understand social concepts and she did not have enough reasons to back up some of herRead MoreAll s Not Well And The Land Of The Lion King 1452 Words   |  6 Pages In the article â€Å"All’s Not Well In The Land Of â€Å"‘The Lion King’†, Lazarus discusses how the movie: â€Å"The Lion King† negatively portrays a society to children by using racism, homophobia, and social inequality. In American culture, racism and homophobia are both very common and controversial. Discrimination in today’s society is not primarily associated This essay is not completely effective because children do not yet understand social concepts and she did not have enough reasons to back up some ofRead MoreWaking Sleeping Beauty : The Lion King Vs. Disney928 Words   |  4 Pageshurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it,† explains Rafiki, the wise baboon from The Lion King, to Simba, a young cub, in order to teach him a valuable lesson: to use other peoples’ mistakes to avoid making the same ones; when people reflect on their past and are willing to confront the mistakes head on, they can be very successful. Waking Sleeping Beauty, directed by Don Hahn, gives viewers an inside look from 1984 to 1994 when Disney reached the peak of â€Å"The DisneyRead MoreWaking Sleeping Beauty Analysis939 Words   |  4 Pageshurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it,† explains Rafiki, the wise baboon from The Lion King, to Simba, a young cub, in order to teach him a valuable lesson: to use other peoples’ mistakes to avoid making the same ones; when people reflect on their past and are willing to confront the mistakes head on, they can be very successful. Waking Sleeping Beauty, directed by Don Hahn, gives viewers an inside look from 1984 to 1994 when Disney reached the peak of â€Å"The DisneyRead MoreThe Correlation Between A Fable And The Ant And Tortoise1781 Words   |  8 Pagesat Disney movies that taught us horrible life lessons verses the classic moral Aesop’s was intending us to learn. Let’s start with by looking at the Lion King. I don’t really think Disney was trying to portray the message to be successful, sometimes people got to die. We all know Simba was going to succeed his father, Mufasa, as the next Lion King. But fate spit in poor little Simba s face, when his dear old dad got trampled to death by wildebeests. And we all know that Mufasa s death was reallyRead More Animal Influences in Paleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art Essay1428 Words   |  6 PagesPaleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art There are numerous ways in which animals have resonated within the human mind. Throughout history there have been representations ranging from the realistic, to myths, legends, symbols, and even horrific murderous beasts; at the same time providing fascinating perspectives of our own humanity. Various forms of art have conveyed ideas and concepts of animal’s intelligence, as well as behavior, from generation to generation. Animal art is used as a tool to makeRead MoreCharacteristics Of Disney Movies906 Words   |  4 Pagesentertaining for the younger audience even older audiences. Another example of talking non-humans is in the movie The Lion King - talking animals. They communicate just like humans do which makes the movie relatables and understandable for the younger audience which would be another factor how a movie is great. Last example for a non-human speaking movie is Beauty and The Beast. In this movie the beast and non-organic items talk. This makes the movie orginal, because after that other movies started copying andRead MoreHow Does Disney Movies Alter A Child s Perception1984 Words   |  8 Pagesfiction and not real life scenarios for young children. ` How does Disney Movies Alter a Child’s Perception What’s your favorite Disney movie? Walt Disney is well known for their animated children movies. From Beauty and The Beast to their most recent movie Princess and the Frog, many children grow up watching Disney movies. While watching these movies many people probably never thought of Disney movies as being stereotypical or racial, but as one continues their education

Adventures Of Huck Finn And History Essay Example For Students

Adventures Of Huck Finn And History Essay The world in which we live in now is much less oppressive than say the world lived in the middle of the 1800s. Up until the Civil War, the South depended on their peculiar institution of slavery, in order to be productive a successful. Most people believed slavery was not wrong, but those who thought otherwise seldom tried to alter it. In general if surrounded by oppressive environment, one does not usually try to make a difference in that world. This is because people are afraid to defend what is right against a whole mass of people who believe otherwise. Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Billy Budd in Billy Budd, and Frederick Douglass in his autobiography all portray individuals who because of their good, innocent qualities go up against the oppression in their society. Living in an oppressive society does not always draw you to do the wrong thing you are still capable of generating change, whether it be for a certain individual or against a whole mass of people. Billy Budd starts off on the ship the Rights of Man, Melville obviously showing his intent in the naming of the first ship. This shows that on this ship where Billy wanted to be and chose to be he had rights. That he and the other crew had choices of what to do and how to be. Then along comes the British navy and decides that they are going to take Billy aboard their ship Power of War. This is when Billy is brought into an oppressive society. This is the navy and wartime during which rules must be followed as well as a lifestyle that must be followed. Billy is a poor innocent boy with a childish stutter. This stutter shows Billys humane side, a flaw, as well as leading you to the thinking that he has the innocence of a child. This stutter is connected to innocence because of its childish qualities. When most children begin speaking they have some sort of stutter, which usually goes away. The stutter parallels innocence because it is showing that you are just learning how to talk and dont really comprehend the correct way to make sounds, as you grow older you learn and the stutter disappears. Like innocence you are born with it, but as you grow older you usually are not portrayed as innocent any longer. Billy is like the premature kid who still has both his stutter and his innocence. Billy is introduced to many people aboard his new ship and is confronted by John Claggart. In this movie Claggart is the one who Billy must actually go up against. Being in an oppressive society and Claggart being the master Billy is forced to listen to Claggart. Although he tries to avoid him he is nevertheless confronted by him. Claggart and Billy are totally opposite in character. Claggart is an evil man who is out to get Billy whereas Billy is a sweet innocent young man who tries to help others. It is these two opposite traits that eventually lead to the death of both of these men. Billy tries to avoid Claggart because he has heard of his evil and does not want to deal with it. It is until he hears of Claggarts accusations that he is involved in a mutiny that he confronts him leading to the deathblow, which Billy delivers to Claggart. Captain Vere now holds a court to determine Billys consequences. Captain Vere is torn here between doing the right thing morally and doing the right thing legally, and in the end he realizes he has sworn to uphold the law and does just that. Billy did indeed kill a higher officer and according to the laws must be sentenced death. On the other hand, Billy was sticking up for himself. Captain Veres legal side wins the battle; Billy is condemned and hanged. Billys hanging meant a lot. It tore the officers among themselves, most saying Billy was justified in his actions therefore should not be punished to the extent of death. This makes a difference in the whole issue of oppression aboard this ship. We now know that the officers, while usually acting inhumane, actually do have a humane side and are capable of being in touch with that side when needed. Billy changes the society by killing Claggart because now no one aboard the ship will have to deal with his evilness again, although Billy and his goodness did not prevail in this oppressive society the lasting effects of his actions will. By killing Claggart he has forcefully removed all of the evil, except Squeek, aboard this ship. During the trial we are shown Captain Veres human side with his struggle to decide which is more important moral or legal. While most would agree that he should have gone with his moral side one realizes that Captain Vere is not evil. He is the medium between Billy who is the best end of good and Claggart who is as evil as it gets. When being hanged Billy yells out God bless Captain Vere, which shows until the end he was still good and makes Captain Vere feel awful, it was now too late to save poor Billy Budd. Billys doing this may have forever changed Captain Vere into making the right decision next time, one can only speculate. Billy was just a boy oppressed onto a ship that he didnt want to be on, but Frederick Douglass was born a black man in the south, a society raging with slavery. And like Fredierick Douglass he was living in an oppressive society and managed to initiate change among the oppressive society. Frederick Douglass was born a black man into pre-Civil war southern society. On January 1, 1834 his master, Master Thomas ordered Douglass, to go to a man named Covey. The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor EssayHis sympathetic and hurtful side is shown when Buck dies later in the novel Huck cries because of how good Buck was to him before he died. Huck and Jim are both alike in that they are both superstitious. This is shown even before they run away when Huck goes to Jim in order for Jim to read his future through the hairball. The first real sign of human relationship on the raft trip is when Huck and Jim stay up all night talking, about moral issues in particular. During this time Huck tries to out reason Jim several times. Then there comes a fight in their friendship. When they are on the raft and they get stuck in fog and Jim falls asleep. When he is awakened Huck pretends they never got separated and that it was a dream on Jims part. When Jim finally realizes it is not a dream but in fact what really happened he gets very mad at Huck and calls him trash leading Huck to apologize. By Huck apologizing for this incident you see that Huck is beginning to look at Jim as a person because he would not apologize to just a piece of property, for property has no feelings and you would need not apologize to something that has no feelings. Huck also notes that Jim must be human to a level when he talks about his family. While Huck doesnt think it is right Jim wants to free his family because they are someone elses property, he still notices that Jim has a family and wants to be with them. The king and the duke are the people who push Jim to act more human than Huck thinks he is. This is because they push Jim to a point when he really starts to suffer. When Huck sees Jim suffering because of the duke and the king he realizes that Jim really is human. Jim says Dese is all I kin stan' showing that he cant take the king anymore. He doesnt think the duke is as bad as the king is. And the king and the duke are the two people who bring the raft trip to an end. After they sold Jim Huck thinks it would have been better for him to have returned him to Miss Watson in the beginning where he knew Jim would be treated better than at some other plantations. Huck knows that society would look down upon him for helping Jim to escape and while Huck realizes Jim is a human it does not change his view of blacks in general. When he tells Aunt Sally that nobody is hurt saying. Nom. Killed a nigger. This shows that while Huck has realized that Jim is not property, but human that it does no apply to all blacks, just to Jim. You understand that Huck sees Jim as a person especially since hell go to hell before he will betray Jim and turn him in. Huck is very surprised that Tom Sawyer is going to help free Jim, when in reality Tom already knew Jim was freed and was doing this stuff to a freed slave, while Jim gives up his freedom in order to help Tom when he gets shot in the leg. By this time Huck already knows of Jims humanness and that is why he tries to help him out of the Phelps plantation. Huck overcomes societys evilness towards blacks in one situation. Although he lives in a society who hates blacks he doesnt necessarily do the wrong thing because of what society says. While Jim got his freedom in the end because of Miss Watson freeing him Huck still tried to help him overcome the societys oppression against Jim. In all three of these instances Billy Budd, Frederick Douglass, and Huck Finn all try to overcome oppression of a society. In Budds case it was not a huge force such as slavery was in the south, but he still had to overcome his own local oppression. Budd killed the real evil on his ship allowing for a better lifestyle for the remaining crewmembers. He also brought reality and morality to a higher level for the officers and Captain Vere, which may have changed them forever and this would not happen again. In Douglass life he overcame oppression for himself and by doing that he tried to help all of those who were affected negatively by the institution of slavery. He ran away; thus, releasing himself from the oppressive nature of the south and after doing so he became an abolitionist trying to help others become like him and be freed. In Huck Finn Huck goes against all of what he knows in society to help Jim runaway. After finally realizing that Jim was human and that he should not give him back Huck does everything in his power to help Jim runaway. Hucks innocence and good heartedness show through even when society would judge him wrong. Huck overcame societys oppression towards blacks for himself because he realized that Jim was a person and not a piece of property. Oppressive societies still remain in todays world although not nearly as prevalent or as torturous as they were in the days of Billy, Frederick, Huck, and Jim. These characters can motivate one to show that you against a large oppressive society can, alone, make a difference. It may be only a small difference to one or two individuals, but any progress one can make is helpful.

Political corruption free essay sample

Many political leaders, especially in Africa, are known to engage in financial malpractice involving public funds meant for the communities they represent. The few people who run the resources of a country end up abusing the resources. These resources that are supposed to be channeled to develop infrastructure or educate the citizens end up being misused, misapplied or misappropriated by those entrusted to bring development. For example in Zambia, Constituent Development Funds (CDF) have been diverted by Members of Parliament to their personal use. There is no doubt that financial malpractice by leaders is a stumbling block to meaningful development in any country. One would not expect leaders in a democratic society like Zambia to embezzle funds meant for the welfare and development of their communities. According to Acemoglu and Robinson, this kind of behaviour by leaders is only possible in autocratic regimes. They argue that democracy makes this kind of theft difficult to accomplish and to conceal for two reasons. We will write a custom essay sample on Political corruption or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Firstly, the formal institutions of government such as the legislature constrain the behaviour of leaders. Secondly, popular participation in the process of government ensures that elected leaders are accountable to the citizenry. In a truly democratic society, there will be honesty, fairness, responsibility and accountability to and for each other (Djokoto and Chama: 2006). However, in most democratic societies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, leaders can misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds without the affected citizens raising any serious queries against the culprits. The citizens seem to be indifferent to such occurrences. Their silence or indifference could be a result of either not caring about what goes on around them politically or just being unaware of such things happening. This essay will attempt to explain why citizens do not raise any serious queries against their leaders when they misuse, misapply or misappropriate funds meant for their communities. This essay will begin by defining democracy and give the meanings of the words misuse, misapply and misappropriate. It will then try to explain why the affected citizens do not query their leaders when they abuse community funds. Finally, it will conclude. Democracy is a word with many meanings. Sir Stafford Cripps defines democracy as a system of government in which every adult citizen is equally free to express his or her views and desires upon all subjects in whatever way he or she wishes and to influence the majority of his fellow citizens to decide according to those views and to influence those desires. H. B. Mayo defines a democratic political system as one in which public policies are made on a majority basis by representatives subject to effective popular control at periodic elections which are conducted on the principle of political equality and under conditions of political freedom (Mahajan 1988:794). Democracy is usually understood as majority rule and the holding of regular elections. But if it has to work effectively, it must include active participation by all citizens and a conscious awareness of both rights and responsibilities (Mbewe 2012:16-17). According to the Macmillan English Dictionary, the word misuse means to use something in a wrong way or for the wrong purpose. To misapply is to use something in a wrong or illegal way. Misappropriation means to take for oneself money that one is responsible for but does not belong to them. One of the primary challenges of some democratic societies such as Zambia is the lack of leaders who vie for political office with the goal of serving the people, instead of themselves. During election campaigns, aspiring leaders give false information to people. They promise them of things they fail to give them after elections. This has been the tradition in the Zambian politics. Once voted for, the leaders become part of the rich while the poor Zambians remain cut off. They will invite rich people to dine with him at their newly acquired mansions while the poor who are the majority voters remain poor if not poorer. To host rich people, these politicians will need to have huge sums of money. They also need money to afford their newly acquired status. These people will shun the services in the country; they will send their children to private schools, or to schools abroad. They will seek medical advice outside the country and they will buy their clothes from outside the country. With the above behaviour little or no attention will be paid to improving the services they will never access or to improve the conditions of those who voted for them. Since most of the politicians in poor democratic societies have financially humble backgrounds, where do they get such monies? Records show that it is easy to steal public money in most African countries. The Auditor-General’s report on the Zambian government accounts shows how public funds have been stolen in Zambia. Weaknesses in accounting and revenue collection make it easier for public servants to steal huge sums of public money. At times, the money is not stolen but just misapplied. For example, a forensic audit of Solwezi District Council books by the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) for the financial year ending 31 December 2004 revealed glaring financial irregularities. The auditor’s report showed that the K168 million grant given to the municipal authority with instructions that 70 percent of the money be spent on social services went towards salaries, allowances for councilors and cell phones for chief officers. Only 25 percent of the money went towards social services (op cit Djokoto and Chama). An example of a case of misappropriation of public funds by a leader is one in which a former Defence Minister in the Chiluba administration was found guilty by the Lusaka High Court for using CDF for his campaign during the 2001 elections (ibid). The minister was never jailed but lost his ministerial appointment. Despite such rampant financial malpractices by leaders, the citizens who are deprived of the funds and other amenities fail to raise any serious queries against such leaders. In most cases, revelations about misuse or misappropriation of community funds have been largely driven by the private media. Sometimes, the greatest pressure on government leaders to be accountable for their actions has come from the international media and Western donors. Anti-corruption campaigners such as Transparency International (TI) and other interest groups have also been involved in the fight against abuse of public funds. Through their activism they try to amplify the weak voice of the poor citizens in keeping political leaders in check. However, this is not easy. The constant struggle by these interest groups to hold leaders accountable for their expenditure of public funds cannot be won without the greater involvement of the affected citizens (ibid). Unfortunately, citizens in these societies are just not angry enough. They seem not to care about what happens to the community funds meant to improve their livelihoods. Their indifference to financial malpractices by their leaders does not help the situations at all. As a matter of fact, it increases their already high levels of poverty and widens the gap between the rich and poor. To understand why affected citizens do not take any serious steps against their leaders when they embezzle public funds, there is need to understand the political awareness of the majority of citizens and their involvement in public issues, whether the political system gives a voice to the poor or not, and the way government agencies charged with the responsibility of handling such cases respond to citizens’ grievances. There are quite a number of reasons why citizens choose to keep quiet about the wrongs committed by their leaders. As we try to look at some of these reasons, there is need to understand that people have different levels of awareness with regard to what happens in their communities. There are those that are aware of the situation prevailing in their communities and those that are not. Those that are aware may try to voice their concerns through whatever means are available to them, but their voice will not be heard because it is not strong enough. The reason is that they are just a small minority of the affected citizenry. At times this is made worse by the fact that among this group there may be others who also benefit from the plunder of their community resources by way of receiving gifts or bribes from their community leaders. These will be unwilling to divulge any malpractice by their leaders because they fear losing their extra source of income, which is the bribes they receive to remain silent about the misuse, misappropriation or misapplication of community resources by the leaders. These may even try to protect such erring leaders by hiding whatever information they may know about such happenings to investigative agencies. The other group comprises those that are unaware or have just decided not to participate in such matters, and these are the majority. The majority of citizens are usually not well informed about public issues because of the general lack of information about such issues, especially about government spending policies. For example, in Zambia, there is no community involvement in the budgetary process at whatever level. At community level, there are no access points for ordinary citizens to participate in the budgetary process. The budgeting is done by officials and leaders. Participation of citizens in the budget process is inhibited by lack of access to information on both the national and community budget processes (http://info. worldbank. org/governance/wgi/index. asp). Although citizens may not play a direct role in the preparation process of the budget, they can contribute by fostering leaders’ accountability through positive engagement in monitoring of the implementation of the community projects. If the information about community projects being funded is readily available and understood by citizens, they can easily ask questions when planned projects are not implemented. Unfortunately, this does not happen even in some democratic societies. As a result, leaders continue to misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds and get away with it because citizens are not aware of the malpractices being committed by their leaders. This can be prevented or lessened by availing citizens with all the necessary information pertaining to projects planned in their communities and how the allotted funds are to be used. Another reason why affected citizens fail to complain against the financial malpractices committed by leaders in their communities is the negative or unfavourable response by government agencies and investigative agencies charged with responsibility to deal with such cases. It appears that the government or political statements are, in most cases, not matched by action. For example, in 2005, a former Health Ministry permanent secretary was accused by the Task Force on Economic Plunder of misusing public funds. As he had openly voiced his support for the President, the latter ordered the chief prosecutor to drop the case. However, the prosecutor refused and ultimately managed to secure a conviction (http://www. freedomhouse. org/template. cfm? ). What this implies is that the citizens lose confidence in the ability of the responsible government agencies to ably handle their complaints without undue influence from higher offices. There have also been cases, for instance in Zambia, where the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had given consent to prosecute some government officials but the government has interfered to protect the accused from being prosecuted. People accused of abusing public resources are allowed to remain members of the ruling party. Such inconsistencies erode the credibility of the government’s stance in fighting such vices and make citizens lose confidence in the government. As a result, citizens begin to feel that even if they complained very little or nothing at all would be done by the government to correct the situation. This is a good reason for citizens to keep quiet and not complain against their leaders when they misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds (ibid). In conclusion, it can be said that the citizens’ tendency to remain silent despite widespread acts of financial misconduct by the leaders is mainly due to fear by the affected citizens to lose the financial and material support they receive from the culprits because when leaders steal community funds, they bribe a few members of the community to buy their silence and loyalty. The other reasons are the lack of information pertaining to expenditure of public funds, and the unfavourable response by the responsible government agencies in handling issues of financial malpractice by leaders after receiving complaints from concerned citizens. In order for citizens to become willing, informed and effective participants in issues of democracy and good governance, they must be minimally taught to understand good governance and democratic principles and virtues and in the process begin to practice democracy and good governance themselves.