Preview

The Justice Game

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
407 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Justice Game
Is the glass half full or half empty? I'm sure most of you have been asked this question before and I'm sure everyone in this room has a different answer. This is because 'truth' is relative, it is personal. Some might say half empty and some may say full, depending on our circumstances.
I'd like to start by defining absolute truth. Absolute truth is something that is true regardless of the context. My definition itself being different to that of esras proves truth is relative to circumstances. Our 'truth' today depends on the side of the debate we are on. The link here is the fact that we use our language as a tool against truth, and this language is filled with kludges that block the existence of absolute truth. Geoffrey Robertson does the same when writing, adding his perspective To the prisoner of Venda. The justice game, being a non-fiction book, automatically causes us to see the content as truth. Robertson uses this medium to position himself on a level of superiority where he tells us, the readers, his perspective in such a way that we see it as a fact. This links to Robertsons context as a lawyer, as a lawyers purpose is to show a representation of truth that will defend someone, rather than an absolute truth. If there was an absolute truth there'd be no need for lawyers. Robertsons value of human rights causes his perspective to conflict with the perspective of the ruling white class at the time. His tone towards Robert ratshitanga is admirable. In the opening lines of the chapter he refers to ratshitanga as the most courageous man I ever met. This is because to Robertson, Robert ratshitanga was an innocent man with great dignity. From the perspective of the south African apartheid group ratshitanga was a criminal. The difference in tone used by the judge and the tone used by Robertson shows that although personal truth does exist, absolute truth is restricted by the term 'absolute'. He uses hyperbole when referring to him as the epitome of courage.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Justice In 'Enemies And Friends'
    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page

    Justice In 'Enemies And Friends'

    In “Enemies” and “Friends” Tim O’brien explores the idea of justice in two ways; Jensen’s attack on Shrunk and Jensen’s relief at Shrunk’s death.…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Kevin Boyle's Arc Of Justice
    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Kevin Boyle's Arc Of Justice

    Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle does a lot more than tell an account of an incident in 1920s Detroit, it goes deeper into the problems of people within the city as well as the city itself. The story focuses on Ossian Sweet, a man from a small town called Bartow, Florida whose parents sent him up north so he could have a chance to make something of himself, which he did. This, however, did not change the fact that he was a black man living in early 20th century America, and moved into the city of Detroit which was known to be the most segregated city in the United States (p. 344) Boyle digs into the personal life of Sweet, as well as the lives of people around him- black and white- to give the reader a clear, realistic aspect of how life was…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Color Of Justice Summary
    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Color Of Justice Summary

    The chapter from the book is dealing with the topic of the meaning of race within the legal processes. The reading titled The Color of Justice is dedicated to the problem of jury members choice, providing a strong evidence of the practice of exclusion of the black people from the jury in the historical perspective. Based on the analysis of court cases, the author provides a background for the issue and emphasizes the problematic aspect of the court system. At the same time, the writing emphasizes the role of police in the promotion of racial inequality regarding the war on drugs and the concentration of their activities in ghettos. With regard to this, it also draws attention to the baseless police activities in the places with little drug…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    justice
    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages

    justice

    Eddie Mabo is one of the most famous and significant Australian Aboriginals. He is famous for campaigning for Indigenous land rights. He was born on the 29th of June, 1946, on Murray Island, in the Torres Strait. Eddie Mabo married Bonita Newhow and together they had ten children. In 1982 Eddie Mabo and four other Torres Strait Islanders initiated action against the Australian Authorities calming ownership of their land on Murray Island. Eddie Mabo was exiled from Murray Island when he was sixteen. During this time he lived and worked across Northern Queensland.…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Trial Of Oz The Justice Game Analysis
    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Trial Of Oz The Justice Game Analysis

    They still send me Tharunka, the student newspaper of the Uni of New South Wales. I was its editor in 1963. It was confronting and radical then, and it still is today. Obviously, throughout my years at Oz, Tharunka’s influence was with me.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Anatomy Of A Verdict Analysis
    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Anatomy Of A Verdict Analysis

    They had all heard the same case, but due to the vast differences in their personal lives, they had all come to different conclusions. With two very strong willed and different individuals arguing, I found it surprising that they had managed to reach a point in which they decided a compromise was best. The idea of compromise, however, brought something completely different into account, the relationship of law and justice. The distinction between the two is very interesting, what really draws the line between the two? Does justice appeal more to emotion and law more to logistics? If that’s the case then how can someone reasonably mix the two in order to get a fair punishment if one is…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Trials of Oz
    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Trials of Oz

    “Those who control the spread of information control the truth. Composers have ultimate control over the “truth” in their texts. Composers of texts have the ultimate control over the “truth” in their text - through the use of techniques to shape meaning, they can construct the reader’s opinion. Geoffrey Robertson in The Justice Game crafts many textual elements in his book about the legal system, the cases and about himself. Other composers also set their own agenda, and these biases cannot be overlooked.For example, in the Trials of Oz Robertson exercises supreme authority to decide who is guilty or innocent. He uses language to describe the defendants as “honest young men” and to characterise Oz as a “harmless coffee-table magazine for the revolution that would never happen”. Robertson also uses language to construct the reader’s disapproval of Justice Argyle, whom Robertson casts as extremely “conservative” and “out-of-touch”. The judge cannot pronounce “cunnilingus”, and is unaware of the famous musical “Hair”. Robertson uses this as evidence Argyle is an old crone, willing to bend the rules of law to convict the defendants.Robertson crafts language to present him in a most undignified manner “…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Arc of Justice
    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Arc of Justice

    During the period in time covered in Arc of Justice the Great Migration is in full swing. Myriads of blacks are leaving the South and Jim Crow in search of work and opportunity. The story begins in 1925 Detroit, when Dr. Ossian Sweet attempts to move his family out of the ghetto into a bungalow located in an all white, working-class neighborhood. Suspecting that his neighbors would not take kindly to his arrival Sweet brings nine men and arsenal of guns with him. When the mob does indeed form outside the bungalow, and the police do nothing to deter their violence, Sweet’s younger brother Henry fires into the crowd killing one man and injuring another. The eleven black adults in the home including Sweet's wife, were then taken to jail and charged with first-degree murder.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Meow Lol
    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Meow Lol

    offrey Robertson’s non-fiction text, The Justice Game, is a clear example of a composer deliberately selecting and emphasising various facts and events in order to influence a reader. Through The Justice Game, Robertson presents his perspective of the British legal system, which he believes to be archaic and unjust, with too much potential for the transgression of human rights, through an evidently biased, subjective view, using the techniques of selection and omission to highlight various arguments to persuade readers. The Trials of Oz recounts the obscenity trials of the editors of Oz Magazine, highlighting the issues of freedom of speech and censorship, as well as the overarching concept of conflicting perspectives which are inherently present in every event or situation. The conflicting perspectives that are present in this case are instantly clear, as the avant-garde editors of Oz are challenged by the significantly more conservative character of Judge Argyle, whom Robertson views as a personification of the legal system. Judge Argyle, who presided over the case, is immediately presented in an unfavourable light, characterised as a conservative, out-of-touch and perhaps backward man, who Robertson implies sees his judgeship as “a career consolation for the Tory MP he had tried several times to become”. In his recount of the trials of Oz, Robertson expresses disdain for Judge Argyle, describing him in a condescending, sarcastic tone, effectively mocking how old-fashioned Argyle is- for example, highlighting his lack of familiarity of contemporary colloquial, “revolutionary” language, when Judge Argyle confuses the term “right on” with “write on”. In contrast, a more progressive value system and way of thinking is epitomised in the editors of Oz, which Robertson emphasises through pop culture references, such as to the iconic singer Bob Dylan, to appeal to a progressive audience. Hence through The Trials of Oz, Robertson clearly establishes his perspective,…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Twelve Angry Men Suggests That Justice and Truth Are Different
    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Twelve Angry Men Suggests That Justice and Truth Are Different

    ’12 Angry Men suggests that there is a difference between justice and truth’. Do you agree?…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Arc of Justice
    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Arc of Justice

    The book Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle is about race and discrimination in the early and mid 1900’s, it is very depressing. The story begins in 1925 Detroit, an ever growing city so tight with racial tension. Dr. Ossian Sweet and his wife Glady’s and fourteen month old girl Iva have moved to a bungalow on Garland Avenue (a mostly white neighborhood) in Detroit. The Sweet’s left the baby at her grandparent's at first, until they were sure they would be safe. He brought along with him nine friends to help protect if needed, and a bagful of guns in a gunnysack. He brought a shotgun, two rifles, and six pistols, and a bulging brown satchel filled with four hundred rounds of ammunition. ₁ The first night they stayed in their house they were terrified, They stayed up all night with their rifles at their sides. Their new neighbors rioted, throwing rocks at the Sweet’s house, breaking glass and scaring everybody in the house. The hired police officers meant to guard the Sweet’s against danger made no effort to stop the mob. Suddenly, someone inside the house shot out into the street, wounding one white man named Eric Houghberg and killing a man named Leon Breiner, and the 11 black adults, including Sweet's wife were taken to jail immediatley and charged with first-degree murder. Under the racial rules of engagement for 1925 America, what should have happened to the group of black defenders is that they all would be dragged from the house into the streets and immediatley lynched. However, the NAACP hired the iconic lawyer, Clarence Darrow to defend them.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Time for Justice Response
    • 263 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Time for Justice Response

    I learned many new things from this video. I learned that many people died in the black’s non-violent revolution for freedom and rights. I also learned that most African Americans were paid an average of only about $700. African Americans were denied education at all white schools, and were only allowed a less than average education at black schools. Under the Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education, a number of African American Honors students integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Every day they had to endure abuse from a huge angry mob that protested integration and wanted segregation. I feel that I would not have been able to put up with all that abuse. Those nine students that integrated Central High had great determination and never gave up hope. I also learned that it was a very long and hard struggle for all blacks during the Civil Rights Movement. The KKK terrorized blacks and killed them. Many African Americans were killed before they won the rights that they deserve. I was very proud of all the African Americans that participated in things like the Montgomery bus boycott because it showed that they weren’t afraid of standing up for themselves. I felt joyful that they always had the courage to stay non-violent, because if they turned to violence, the situation would not have turned out the same way. Now I will do anything that I can to eliminate discrimination of anyone because it is a very serious and destructive…

    • 263 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Community Justice
    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Community Justice

    As I’ve learned in previous chapters and during one of my essays, community justice is a type of reform. One of its focus’s is to try and prevent crime. It also embraces the nonpolice functions of adjudication, sanctioning, and correcting (Clear, Hamilton, Cadora, 2011). Traditional correctional functions include reforms for offenders such as parole and probation.…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Unjust Justice
    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Unjust Justice

    The 14th amendment of Constitution of the United States grants every American Citizen the right of due process of the law. This right is being denied juveniles sentenced to “life without parole”. Recent Supreme Court rulings have held that “life without parole” is cruel and unjust punishment for those juveniles sentenced for non-homicidal crimes, because of limited capacity. Life without parole is essentially cruel and unjust punishment for all juveniles sentenced, regardless of crime committed.…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Views on Justice
    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Views on Justice

    The picture above best symbolizes my views on justice for the common good. In general the courts are expected to be impartial and fair institutions in a system of good governance, it should through this method be a system that can uphold the rule of law and protect human rights. Justice is symbolized through lady justice, blindfolded, holding a pair of scales and wielding a double edged sword. The blindfold represents justice being blind to all outside sources like money, power or political views; Even-handedness. The pair of scales represents truth and fairness balancing the two appropriately, which I find would be hard to do if one is not candor. The double edged-sword is there to be wielded for either party which stands before lady justice and it represents the power of reason and justice.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More