Criminology - sociology -philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminology - sociology -philosophy - Essay Example According to Phillipson, traditional criminology fails to understand criminal law. The subject matter of criminology is defined by non-criminologists thus placing limits on the discipline (Phillipson:4). Even though criminology is acknowledged as the study of crime and criminals, it fails to understand criminal law because sorts of behaviours that are branded as crimes and the people who are convicted as criminals emerge out of social processes which are independent of the professional criminologists’ activities (Phillipson:3).. Traditional criminology, therefore, has his subject matter given to him through the society’s formal definitions of crime (illegal behaviours). It is also the society that identifies the individuals who commit criminal acts and not criminal law. In addition, traditional criminology has been a failure because legal definitions of what is a criminal behaviour vary within any society (Phillipson:6).. This is because what is regarded as  a crime i n a  given  Ã‚  society may not be in another because different societies have different definitions of criminal behaviours. For instance, some societies accept homosexual behaviour, gambling and drug use while others consider them criminal offenses. This, therefore, means that there is no one universal behaviour that is always and everywhere criminal because societies’ reactions to crime change with regards to time and place (Phillipson:5). Traditional criminology has ignored social processes upon which criminal law is made. It however rests upon an implicit acceptance of the legal status quo. This unquestioning acceptance of upheld values limit the questions criminologists ask as well as the answers they get from questions relating to the causes of crimes (Phillipson:7). This restricts the focus of traditional criminology in search of causes to individuals who were officially convicted of criminal offences. The limited vision of

The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor Essay

The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor - Essay Example In â€Å"The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,† Sherman Alexie portrays a character immersed in humor so to say, from the cradle to the grave and from the womb to the tomb! Jimmy Many Horses is an individual who owns problems galore to make his life miserable and humorous. His never-ending concerns are relationships, alcoholism, modern society versus traditional values and above all doomed lives. He regales the readers with his version of the history of his relationship with his wife, Norma. In the trials and tribulations of life, even when one is afflicted with the life-threatening disease like cancer, humor is the potential energy giver that lightens the burden of the painful and stressful hours and days of the patient, and those around him. My chosen aspect in this story is humor, humor, and more humor! That runs through each and every turn of the story. Detailed analysis and evidence has been provided in the ensuing paragraphs and at this stage, I need to make a speci al mention of the encounter of the couple with a policeman patrolling the highway and Sherman Alexie describes, â€Å"We watched him walk back to his cruiser, climb in, and drive off, breaking four or five laws as he flipped a U-turn, left 166 rubber, crossed the center line, broke the speed limit, and ran through a stop sign without lights and siren.† (5) Amazing observation! Jimmy struggles to come to terms with his alcohol addiction and terminal cancer that will carry him to the grave undoubtedly. Yet he is jovial and is unconcerned about his health concerns. He asserts with confidence, â€Å"Listen . . . if I stole 1,000 horses, I’d give you 501 of them.†(2) This man Jimmy is not an ordinary human being. He is willing to laugh in a near death situation and he goes on with his tantrums in all seriousness. Norma finds it difficult to put up with his willful laughter dispositions and leaves him temporarily to join the powwow circuit. Notwithstanding the abrupt separation, internally she intensely remembers the psychological bond with Jimmy and returns to him in his last days and by that time, she has ingrained something from his original asset of humor as she explains the significance of her return journey, in this meaningful composition, "Because someone needs to help you die the right way," she said. "And we both know that dying ain't something you ever have done before.† I had to agree with that." And maybe," she said, "because making fry bread and helping people die are the last two things Indians are good at." "Well," I said. "At least you're good at one of them." And we laughed. (6) Humor is contagious and Jimmy must have enjoyed the sparks of wit now seen in his wife. During the X-ray examination the tumor is identified and on Jimmy’s getting that information, he puts his stamp of humor and he offers its description by stating that "Well, I told her the doctor showed me my X-rays and my favorite tumor was just about th e size of a baseball, shaped like one, too. Even had stitch marks."(1) But at the end of the story, Norma has come to terms with his sense of humor and their domestic dialogues attain a new dimension. In the middle of the story, Jimmy’s metaphorical remark steals the thunder and he candidly says, â€Å"Still, you have to realize that laughter saved Norma and me from pain, too. Humor was an antiseptic that cleaned the deepest of personal wounds (4).  Ã‚