scholarly journals Critiquing Child characters as Heroes, Villains, and Victims in Ru Freeman’s On Sal Mal Lane

Author(s):  
Sneha Choudhary Choudhary ◽  
◽  
Priyanka Chaudhary

Social behaviour and filial background define the formation and development of a character that is bound by cultural influence in South Asian fiction. Ru Freeman weaves numerous characters and their stories in a single lane as a synecdoche of Sri Lankan history. On Sal Mal Lane (2014) showcases the different social groups defining Sri Lankan conflict in the 1980s with the presence of child characters who are unaware of the extent of the ethnic conflict swirling in the background of the narrative. This paper tries to define the concepts of heroes, villains, and victims through the socio-emotional development of the characters to determine the contradiction between their intentions and subsequent actions. The study uses Character Theory and elements of Affect Control Theory for critical analysis. The paper analyses the change in personality traits of child characters in response to the violence wrought by Sri Lankan ethnic prejudices and the extent of destructive development from the unstable familial and societal environments.

2019 ◽  
pp. 267-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly B. Rogers

I use affect control theory (ACT) to show how we apply cultural knowledge to classify and form impressions of the people we encounter, producing inequality as widely shared cultural beliefs are translated into predictable patterns of social action. I apply ACT measurement dimensions (evaluation, potency, and activity) to show that cultural beliefs about social groups, known as “social identity meanings,” convey groups’ relative positions within systems of inequality such as race/ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexuality, religion, and social class. I find that privileged groups (e.g., whites, the rich, heterosexuals, Americans, and Christians) are higher in power (potency) but lower in status (evaluation) than other groups across dimensions of inequality. This meaning profile is shared by roles, traits, and behaviors that signify authority across diverse social domains. I consider the implications of these findings and of ACT more broadly for understanding how inequalities reflected in cultural meanings are often reproduced through interactions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Bergstrand ◽  
James M. Jasper

We examine three basic tropes—villain, victim, and hero—that emerge in images, claims, and narratives. We compare recent research on characters with the predictions of an established tradition, affect control theory (ACT). Combined, the theories describe core traits of the villain-victim-hero triad and predict audiences’ reactions. Character theory (CT) can help us understand the cultural roots of evaluation, potency, and activity profiles and the robustness of profile ratings. It also provides nuanced information regarding multiplicity in, and subtypes of, characters and how characters work together to define roles. Character types can be strategically deployed in political realms, potentially guiding strategies, goals, and group dynamics. ACT predictions hold up well, but CT suggests several paths for extension and elaboration. In many cases, cultural research and social psychology work on parallel tracks, with little cross-talk. They have much to learn from each other.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
R. D. P. Sampath Rajapakshe

Many researchers find out that impacted the types of Chinese foreign policy starting in the mid-1990s. However, Chinese foreign policymakers presented "New Grand Strategy" for the 21st century in the mid-1990s. This strategy exceptionally intended to advance and keep up China's image in the abroad. On the other hand, Policy observers contend introducing of the South Asian region that deliberately essential to emerging China. In addition, Chinese vicinity in Sri Lanka that verbalized by policy observers numerous ways. These contentions express that China's soft power in Sri Lanka that ought to be an extraordinary choice in Chinese policy arrangement. This article investigates current appearance of China's goodwill agenda inspecting two strains of Chinese policy in Sri Lanka that breaking point to observe foreign aid and the Confucius institute that lead the Peoples' Republic of China in 2000s. The paper additionally assesses the achievement of this alleged soft power crusade in Sri Lanka utilizing a worldwide overview to figure out whether the new introduction associates with changed Sri Lankan conclusions about China. This article assesses the adequacy of these endeavors by breaking down public opinion survey accumulated by the Gallup surveying in 2011. Information utilized for this article has been gathered from a substantial number of books, periodicals, magazines, journals. My findings demonstrate that the goodwill agenda has been fruitful at enhancing China's reputation in Sri Lanka.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-241
Author(s):  
Helan Ramya Gamage ◽  
Ananda Wickramasinghe

Risk taking is fundamental to entrepreneurial activities and a central theme of the entrepreneurship literature. However, research on the risk taking propensity of entrepreneurs has met with virtually no empirical evidence on how socio-cultural factors influence on taking entrepreneurial risk in the context of South Asia where entrepreneurs consistently face challenges of high uncertainty due to socio-cultural and politico-economic complexity and instability. Purpose of this paper is to address this paradox by examining entrepreneurial risk through the lenses of socio-cultural, politico-economic and decision making. Given the self-evident that nature of complexity, irrationality and uncertainty in this context, a sophisticated exploration of entrepreneurial social reality of risk taking and management requires the fundamental philosophy of subjectivism and therefore this study adopts qualitative inductive case study methods in a sample of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs. The study found that entrepreneurs do indeed use their social and cultural understanding to a great extent in their decision making.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 343
Author(s):  
Saiful Hakam

This study aims to explain about the rise of the Chinese trading culture, which is considered original at first then change progressively based on the internal process, and become damaged after making contacts with the native civilizations, is completely dissatisfying, though part of the truth is explained. Based on the critical analysis approach from the historical facts written by some scholars, the result of this study shows that the political and cultural changes were absolutely a sign of remarkable shock. Mongol conquests were contributed to these changes, though indirectly. Indian civilization was accepted by the native people, which then also influenced by the native culture. While the Islamic Nuance in Indian Ocean had been colored by Islamic nuance for approximately two centuries, wherein the trades in the middle and Chinese oceans were united naturally. Meanwhile Southeast Asia had grown rapidly after being involved in the hectic trading traffic. There were new social groups with the wealth of mobile capital, with a new spirit as the trades, in which in its development, there was a new form of state which was called as sultanate. One of the most important facts of that period is the rise of Java as a great sea power. Keywords:Chinese politic, Trading, Civilization


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