document_title: FIFA World Cup top goalscorers

question_text: who has scored the most goals in the fifa world cup

text: FIFA World Cup top goalscorers

text: Overall top goalscorers[edit]

text:
Players with at least 5 goals at the FIFA World Cup tournaments[1][7]

Rank
Player[nb 1]
Team
Goals
scored
Matches
played
Goals
per game[nb 2]
Tournaments[nb 3]
Notes

1
Miroslav Klose
 Germany
16
24
0.67
2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
[8]

2
Ronaldo
 Brazil
15
19
0.79
[1994], 1998, 2002, 2006
[9]

3
Gerd Müller
 West Germany
14
13
1.08
1970, 1974
[10]

4
Just Fontaine
 France
13
6
2.17
1958
[11]

5
Pelé
 Brazil
12
14
0.86
1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
[12]

6
Sándor Kocsis
 Hungary
11
5
2.20
1954
[13]

Jürgen Klinsmann
 Germany
17
0.65
1990, 1994, 1998
[14]

8
Helmut Rahn
 West Germany
10
10
1.00
1954, 1958
[15]

Gary Lineker
 England
12
0.83
1986, 1990
[16]

Gabriel Batistuta
 Argentina
12
0.83
1994, 1998, 2002
[17]

Teófilo Cubillas
 Peru
13
0.77
1970, 1978, (1982)
[18]

Thomas Müller↑
 Germany
13
0.77
2010, 2014
[19]

Grzegorz Lato
 Poland
20
0.50
1974, 1978, 1982
[20]

14
Eusébio
 Portugal
9
6
1.50
1966
[21]

Christian Vieri
 Italy
9
1.00
1998, 2002
[22]

Vavá
 Brazil
10
0.90
1958, 1962
[23]

David Villa↑
 Spain
12
0.75
2006, 2010, 2014
[24]

Paolo Rossi
 Italy
14
0.64
1978, 1982, [1986]
[25]

Jairzinho
 Brazil
16
0.56
1966a !(1966), 1970, 1974
[26]

Roberto Baggio
 Italy
16
0.56
1990, 1994, 1998
[27]

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
 West Germany
19
0.47
1978, 1982, 1986
[28]

Uwe Seeler
 West Germany
21
0.43
1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
[29]

23
Guillermo Stábile
 Argentina
8
4
2.00
1930
[30]

Leônidas
 Brazil
5
1.60
1934, 1938
[nb 4][32]

Ademir
 Brazil
6
1.33
1950
[nb 5][35]

Óscar Míguez
 Uruguay
7
1.14
1950, 1954
[36]

Rivaldo
 Brazil
14
0.57
1998, 2002
[37]

Rudi Völler
 Germany
15
0.53
1986, 1990, 1994
[38]

Diego Maradona
 Argentina
21
0.38
1982, 1986, (1990), 1994
[39]

30
Oldřich Nejedlý
 Czechoslovakia
7
6
1.17
1934, 1938
[nb 6][40]

Lajos Tichy
 Hungary
8
0.88
1958, 1962, [1966]
[41]

Careca
 Brazil
9
0.78
1986, 1990
[42]

Andrzej Szarmach
 Poland
13
0.54
1974, 1978, 1982
[43]

Johnny Rep
 Netherlands
13
0.54
1974, 1978
[44]

Hans Schäfer
 West Germany
15
0.47
1954, 1958, (1962)
[45]

36
Josef Hügi
  Switzerland
6
3
2.00
1954
[46]

Oleg Salenko
 Russia
3
2.00
1994
[47]

Max Morlock
 West Germany
5
1.20
1954
[48]

Erich Probst
 Austria
5
1.20
1954
[49]

György Sárosi
 Hungary
5
1.20
1934, 1938
[50]

James Rodríguez↑
 Colombia
5
1.20
2014
[51]

Salvatore Schillaci
 Italy
7
0.86
1990
[52]

Davor Šuker
 Croatia
8
0.75
1990b ![1990], 1998, (2002)
[nb 7][53]

Helmut Haller
 West Germany
9
0.67
1962a !(1962), 1966, (1970)
[54]

Hristo Stoichkov
 Bulgaria
10
0.60
1994, (1998)
[55]

Diego Forlán
 Uruguay
10
0.60
2002, 2010, (2014)
[56]

Asamoah Gyan↑
 Ghana
11
0.55
2006, 2010, 2014
[57]

Dennis Bergkamp
 Netherlands
12
0.50
1994, 1998
[58]

Rob Rensenbrink
 Netherlands
13
0.46
1974, 1978
[59]

Rivellino
 Brazil
15
0.40
1970, 1974, (1978)
[60]

Bebeto
 Brazil
15
0.40
1990a !(1990), 1994, 1998
[61]

Arjen Robben
 Netherlands
15
0.40
2006, 2010, 2014
[62]

Zbigniew Boniek
 Poland
16
0.37
1978, 1982, (1986)
[63]

Thierry Henry
 France
17
0.35
1998, (2002), 2006, (2010)
[64]

Wesley Sneijder↑
 Netherlands
17
0.35
2006a !(2006), 2010, 2014
[65]

Robin van Persie↑
 Netherlands
17
0.35
2006, 2010, 2014
[66]

Mario Kempes
 Argentina
18
0.33
1974a !(1974), 1978, (1982)
[67]

Lothar Matthäus
 Germany
25
0.24
1982a !(1982), 1986, 1990, 1994, (1998)
[68]

59
Pedro Cea
 Uruguay
5
4
1.25
1930
[69]

Silvio Piola
 Italy
4
1.25
1938
[70]

Gyula Zsengellér
 Hungary
4
1.25
1938
[71]

Peter McParland
 Northern Ireland
5
1.00
1958
[72]

Tomáš Skuhravý
 Czechoslovakia
5
1.00
1990
[73]

Juan Alberto Schiaffino
 Uruguay
6
0.83
1950, 1954
[74]

Geoff Hurst
 England
6
0.83
1966, 1970
[75]

Jon Dahl Tomasson
 Denmark
6
0.83
2002, 2010
[76]

Alessandro Altobelli
 Italy
7
0.71
1982, 1986
[77]

Kennet Andersson
 Sweden
7
0.71
1994
[78]

Fernando Morientes
 Spain
7
0.71
1998, 2002
[79]

Romário
 Brazil
8
0.62
1990a !(1990), 1994
[80]

Marc Wilmots
 Belgium
8
0.62
1990b ![1990], (1994), 1998, 2002
[81]

Tim Cahill↑
 Australia
8
0.62
2006, 2010, 2014
[82]

Luis Suárez↑
 Uruguay
8
0.62
2010, 2014
[83]

Valentin Ivanov
 Soviet Union
9
0.55
1958, 1962
[84]

Roger Milla
 Cameroon
9
0.55
1982a !(1982), 1990, 1994
[85]

Emilio Butragueño
 Spain
9
0.55
1986, (1990)
[86]

Hans Krankl
 Austria
10
0.50
1978, 1982
[87]

Raúl
 Spain
11
0.45
1998, 2002, 2006
[88]

Gonzalo Higuaín↑
 Argentina
11
0.45
2010, 2014
[89]

Garrincha
 Brazil
12
0.42
1958a !(1958), 1962, 1966
[90]

Johan Neeskens
 Netherlands
12
0.42
1974, (1978)
[91]

Fernando Hierro
 Spain
12
0.42
1990b ![1990], 1994, 1998, 2002
[92]

Zinedine Zidane
 France
12
0.42
1998, (2002), 2006
[93]

Landon Donovan
 United States
12
0.42
2002, (2006), 2010
[94]

Henrik Larsson
 Sweden
13
0.38
1994, 2002, 2006
[95]

Michel Platini
 France
14
0.36
1978, 1982, 1986
[96]

Zico
 Brazil
14
0.36
1978, 1982, (1986)
[97]

Lionel Messi↑
 Argentina
14
0.36
2006, (2010), 2014
[98]

Lukas Podolski
 Germany
15
0.33
2006, 2010, (2014)
[99]

Franz Beckenbauer
 West Germany
18
0.28
1966, 1970, (1974)
[100]

text: Timeline[edit]

text:
Progressive list of footballers that have held the record for most goals scored at the FIFA World Cup final tournaments

Goals
Date
Player
Team
Match
Opponent
Previous goals
Ref

1
July 13, 1930
Lucien Laurent
 France
 1930 – Group stage
 Mexico
N/A
[nb 8]

Bart McGhee
 United States
 1930 – Group stage
 Belgium

Marcel Langiller
 France
 1930 – Group stage
 Mexico

André Maschinot
 France
 Mexico

Tom Florie
 United States
 1930 – Group stage
 Belgium

Bert Patenaude
 United States
 Belgium

Juan Carreño
 Mexico
 1930 – Group stage
 France

2
André Maschinot
 France
 Mexico
1930 vs Mexico

July 16, 1930
Carlos Vidal
 Chile
 1930 – Group stage
 Mexico
1930 vs Mexico
[103]

July 17, 1930
Ivan Bek
 Yugoslavia
 1930 – Group stage
 Bolivia
1930 vs Brazil
[104]

3

Bert Patenaude
 United States
 1930 – Group stage
 Paraguay
1930 vs Belgium, Paraguay
[105]

4

July 22, 1930
Guillermo Stábile
 Argentina
 1930 – Group stage
 Chile
1930 vs Mexico (3)
[106]

5

6
July 26, 1930
 1930 – Semi-final
 United States

7

8
July 30, 1930
 1930 – Final
 Uruguay

June 19, 1938
Leônidas
 Brazil
 1938 – 3rd place
 Sweden
1934 vs Spain
1938 vs Poland (3), Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovakia, Sweden (2)
[107]

July 13, 1950
Ademir
 Brazil
 1950 – Final round
 Spain
1950 vs Mexico (2), Yugoslavia, Sweden (3), Spain
[35]

June 27, 1954
Sándor Kocsis
 Hungary
 1954 – Quarter-final
 Brazil
1954 vs South Korea (3), Germany (4)
[108]

9

10
June 30, 1954
 1954 – Semi-final
 Uruguay

11

June 28, 1958
Just Fontaine
 France
 1958 – 3rd place
 West Germany
1958 vs Paraguay (3), Yugoslavia (2), Scotland, Northern Ireland (2), Brazil, West Germany (4).
[109]

12

13

July 3, 1974
Gerd Müller
 West Germany
 1974 – Second round
 Poland
1970 vs Morocco, Bulgaria (3), Peru (3), England, Italy (2)
1974 vs Australia, Yugoslavia
[10]

14
July 7, 1974
 1974 – Final
 Netherlands

June 22, 2006
Ronaldo
 Brazil
 2006 – Group stage
 Japan
1998 vs Morocco, Chile (2), Netherlands
2002 vs Turkey, China, Costa Rica (2), Belgium, Turkey, Germany (2)
2006 vs Japan
[110]

15
June 27, 2006
 2006 – Round of 16
 Ghana

June 21, 2014
Miroslav Klose
 Germany
 2014 – Group stage
 Ghana
2002 vs Saudi Arabia (3), Ireland, Cameroon
2006 vs Costa Rica (2), Ecuador (2), Argentina
2010 vs Australia, England, Argentina (2)
[111]

16
July 8, 2014
 2014 – Semi-final
 Brazil

text: Top goalscorers for each tournament[edit]

text:
Top goalscorers at each FIFA World Cup final tournament[112]

World Cup
Player
Team
Goals
scored
Matches
played
Golden
Boot
Other FIFA Awards

 1930
Guillermo Stábile
 Argentina
8
4

 1934
Oldřich Nejedlý
 Czechoslovakia
5
4

 1938
Leônidas
 Brazil
7
5

 1950
Ademir
 Brazil
8
6

 1954
Sándor Kocsis
 Hungary
11
5

 1958
Just Fontaine
 France
13
6

 1962
Garrincha
 Brazil
4
6

Vavá
 Brazil
6

Leonel Sánchez
 Chile
6

Flórián Albert
 Hungary
4

Best Young Player

Valentin Ivanov
 Soviet Union
4

Dražan Jerković
 Yugoslavia
6

 1966
Eusébio
 Portugal
9
6

 1970
Gerd Müller
 West Germany
10
6

Best Young Player

 1974
Grzegorz Lato
 Poland
7
7

 1978
Mario Kempes
 Argentina
6
7

Golden Ball

 1982
Paolo Rossi
 Italy
6
7

Golden Ball

 1986
Gary Lineker
 England
6
5

 1990
Salvatore Schillaci
 Italy
6
7

Golden Ball

 1994
Hristo Stoichkov
 Bulgaria
6
7

Bronze Ball

Oleg Salenko
 Russia
3

 1998
Davor Šuker
 Croatia
6
7

Silver Ball

 2002
Ronaldo
 Brazil
8
7

Silver Ball

 2006
Miroslav Klose
 Germany
5
7

 2010
Thomas Müller
 Germany
5
6

Best Young Player

David Villa
 Spain
7

Silver Boot, Bronze Ball

Wesley Sneijder
 Netherlands
7

Bronze Boot, Silver Ball

Diego Forlán
 Uruguay
7

Golden Ball

 2014
James Rodríguez
 Colombia
6
5


document_title: Harley Quinn Smith

question_text: harley quinn smith jay and silent bob strike back

root

text: Harley Quinn Smith

text: Early life[edit]

text: Smith was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, the daughter of filmmaker Kevin Smith and actress Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. She was named after the Batman villain Harley Quinn.[1] She is good friends with and frequent co-star of Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of actor Johnny Depp, and actress Vanessa Paradis.[2]

tag: p

text: Career[edit]

text: Smith made her acting debut in her father's film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, by portraying the elder Smith's usual character, Silent Bob, as a child.[3] In 2004, she had an uncredited cameo as Tracy Colelli in the drama film Jersey Girl and two years later in the comedy film Clerks II.[4] In 2014, she had a small role in the thriller film Tusk, a role she reprised in 2016's Yoga Hosers.[5][6] In January 2016, it was announced that Smith will play her father's character's daughter in the half-hour comedy Hollyweed.[7]

text: In 2017, Smith was cast as Lindsay in All These Small Moments, which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.[8][9]

text: Filmography[edit]

text: Film[edit]

text:
Year

Title

Role

Notes

2001

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Baby Silent Bob

2004

Jersey Girl

Tracy Colelli

Uncredited[10]

2006

Clerks II

Kid in Window

2014

Tusk

Colleen McKenzie

2016

Holidays

Holly

2016

Yoga Hosers

Colleen McKenzie

2018

All These Small Moments

Lindsay

tag: table

text: Television[edit]

text:
Year

Title

Role

Notes

2014

Comic Book Men

Herself

1 episode

2017

Supergirl

Izzy Williams

Episode: "Supergirl Lives"

2017

Big Hero 6: The Series

Jodie Fischer

Voice role

TBA

Hollyweed[7]

TBA


document_title: Boromir

question_text: where does boromir die in lord of the rings

text: Boromir

text: Literature[edit]

text: Boromir, was born in the year 2978 of the Third Age to Denethor II and Finduilas, daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth.  His younger brother Faramir was born in T.A. 2983. The following year, Denethor became Steward of Gondor, succeeding his father, Ecthelion II, and Boromir simultaneously became heir apparent, inheriting the Horn of Gondor.

text: Boromir was named after the son of Denethor I, who was Steward around 500 years before the War of the Ring. The first Boromir was known as a great captain who cleared Ithilien of orcs of Mordor and was feared even by the Witch-king himself, setting high expectations for his namesake.

text: When Boromir's mother Finduilas died in T.A. 2988, he was aged only 10. Denethor became sombre, cold and detached from his family, which drove the brothers Faramir and Boromir to confide and depend on each other. Denethor always favoured Boromir over Faramir—Denethor loved Boromir "too much, perhaps; the more so because they were unlike"[1]—but this caused no rivalry between the brothers. Boromir, more fearless and daring, always protected and helped Faramir.

text: Boromir was made Captain of the White Tower, and quickly became Captain-General, also bearing the title High Warden of the White Tower. He led many successful forays against Sauron's forces, bringing him great esteem in the eyes of his father.

text: In response to prophetic dreams that came to Faramir and later to himself, Boromir claimed the quest of riding to Rivendell from Minas Tirith in T.A. 3018. His journey lasted a hundred and eleven days, and he travelled through "roads forgotten" to reach Rivendell, though, as he said, "few knew where it lay".[2] Boromir lost his horse halfway along, while crossing the Greyflood at the ruined city of Tharbad where the bridge was broken. He had to travel the remaining way on foot[3] and barely arrived in time for the Council of Elrond.  (Tolkien wrote of Boromir's journey that "the courage and hardihood required is not fully recognized in the narrative".)[4]

text: The Fellowship of the Ring[edit]

text: Boromir first appears in The Lord of the Rings arriving at Rivendell just as the Council of Elrond was commencing.  There he told of Gondor's attempts to keep the power of Mordor at bay.[5] He attempted to persuade the Council to let him take the One Ring to defend Gondor, but he was told that it would corrupt and destroy its user, and alert Sauron to its presence. He accepted this for the moment, and pledged as part of the Fellowship of the Ring to protect the Ring-bearer, Frodo.

text: Boromir accompanied Frodo south from Rivendell with the Fellowship. Before departing, he sounded the Horn of Gondor, saying he "would not go forth like a thief into the night". On the journey south, Boromir frequently questioned the wisdom of their leader,  the Wizard Gandalf. Boromir did, however, prove himself a valuable companion on the Fellowship's attempt to pass over the Misty Mountains: he advised that firewood be collected before the attempt to climb Caradhras, and this saved them from freezing in a blizzard. In the retreat from Caradhras, Boromir proved his strength and stamina as he burrowed through shoulder-high snowbanks alongside Aragorn to clear the path back down the mountain.

text: The Fellowship then passed under the mountains through the caverns of Moria, where Gandalf was lost, and Aragorn became their new guide. At the borders of the Elven realm of Lothlórien, Boromir was unnerved by the thought of entering—he pleaded with Aragorn to find another way "though it led through a hedge of swords", citing stories of elvish witchcraft, and the "strange paths" they had been taking which had already caused them to lose Gandalf.  Once in Lórien, Boromir was greatly disturbed by the Elven Lady Galadriel's testing of his mind; he told Aragorn "not to be too sure of this lady and her purposes." On parting, Galadriel gave Boromir a golden belt and an Elven-cloak.

text: Boromir always favoured taking the Ring to Minas Tirith, despite the consensus reached at Rivendell that it must be destroyed in Mordor. As Frodo pondered his course from Parth Galen, Boromir privately urged Frodo to use the Ring in Gondor's defence rather than to "throw it away". Finally, he succumbed to the temptation to take the Ring for himself, justifying this by his duty to his people and his belief in his own integrity.

text:
“

True-hearted Men, they will not be corrupted. We of Minas Tirith have been staunch through long years of trial. We do not desire the power of wizard-lords, only strength to defend ourselves, strength in a just cause. And behold! In our need chance brings to light the Ring of Power. It is a gift, I say; a gift to the foes of Mordor. It is mad not to use it, to use the power of the Enemy against him. The fearless, the ruthless, these alone will achieve victory. What could not a warrior do in this hour, a great leader? What could not Aragorn do? Or if he refuses, why not Boromir? The Ring would give me power of Command. How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner![6]

”

text: After seeing that Frodo was unconvinced, Boromir half begged, half commanded him to at least lend the Ring, and when Frodo still refused, Boromir leaped to seize it. Frodo vanished by putting on the Ring and fled, intending to continue the quest alone. Boromir, realizing his betrayal, immediately repented his actions and wept. Searching unsuccessfully for Frodo, he told the Fellowship of Frodo's disappearance, though not of his own misdeeds. The hobbits in a frenzy scattered to look for Frodo.  Aragorn, who suspected Boromir's part in Frodo's flight, ordered him to follow and protect Merry and Pippin, which he did without question. The Fellowship was then attacked by a band of orcs.

text: The Two Towers[edit]

text: During the scattered fighting against orcs near Parth Galen, Boromir was mortally wounded by arrows while defending Merry and Pippin, redeeming himself for trying to take the Ring. The fighting is described through Pippin's eyes:

text:
“

Then Boromir had come leaping through the trees. He had made them fight.  He slew many of them and the rest fled.  But they had not gone far on the way back when they were attacked again, by a hundred Orcs at least, some of them very large, and they shot a rain of arrows: always at Boromir. Boromir had blown his great horn till the woods rang, and at first the Orcs had been dismayed and had drawn back; but when no answer but the echoes came, they had attacked more fiercely than ever.  Pippin did not remember much more. His last memory was of Boromir leaning against a tree, plucking out an arrow; then darkness fell suddenly.[7]

”

text: Blasts from Boromir's horn alerted Aragorn, but he came too late to prevent the hobbits' capture. As Boromir lay dying, he remorsefully confessed to attempting to take the Ring from Frodo, and accepted his own impending death as penance. He urged Aragorn to save Minas Tirith, as he himself had failed. Aragorn reassured him that he had not failed, that "few have gained such a victory". Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas placed Boromir's body in one of their Elven boats, with his sword, belt, cloak, broken horn, and the weapons of his slain foes about him. They set the boat adrift in the river toward the Falls of Rauros, and sang a "Lament of the Winds" as his funeral song.

text: Boromir passed over Rauros on 26th 'February' T.A. 3019. Three days later, Faramir, to his and their father's great grief, found the boat bearing his dead brother floating down the River Anduin:

text:
“

But in Gondor in after-days it long was said that the elven-boat rode the falls and the foaming pool, and bore him down through Osgiliath, and past the many mouths of Anduin, out into the Great Sea at night under the stars.[8]

”

text: Faramir later observed to Frodo that Boromir "died well, achieving some good thing. His face was more beautiful even than in life."

text: Characteristics[edit]

text: Tolkien describes Boromir's appearance as reflecting his Númenórean descent: tall (Tolkien wrote he was 6'4" or 193 cm), fair, dark-haired, and grey-eyed.  He was noted even beyond Gondor's borders for his bravery and skill in battle, and was accounted one of the greatest Captains of Gondor.  He was noble and lordly, and at the same time deeply loyal, acting from strong love for his people and his family.

text: Boromir's character changes throughout Book II of The Fellowship Of The Ring, in line with the epic's progression towards the catastrophe that ends Book II.  Boromir is shown as having the habit of command. According to his brother Faramir, even as a boy Boromir chafed under the notion that the Stewards were not kings, though they ruled in all but name.[9] He insisted on taking for himself the quest to Imladris, though the dreams had come first to Faramir.  At Rivendell he, using what critic Tom Shippey describes as "slightly wooden magniloquence", sets forth Gondor's claim to primacy in the War of the Ring.[5]

text: As Book II continues, Boromir is shown as displaying increasing "bravado and recklessness."[10]  The Captain of the White Tower craved honours, was irked at having to flee from orcs, resisted Aragorn's claim to leadership, and played a key role in the catastrophe that sundered the Fellowship of the Ring.  In an opening scene of Book III, Boromir redeems himself.  Fatally injured by orc-arrows, Boromir admits his failure, advises Aragorn, and urges him to lead Gondor and save its people.  Boromir's loyalty to his native City is shown as redressing the catastrophe he had brought upon the Fellowship by assaulting Frodo in his madness.

text: Names and titles[edit]

text: Boromir was the son and heir apparent of Denethor, the ruling Steward of Gondor.  Appendix A calls him "Captain of the White Tower",[11] while Faramir called him "High Warden of the White Tower" and "our Captain-General".[12]

text: Boromir was described by Tolkien as a name "of mixed form",[13] and possibly combines Sindarin bor(on)- 'steadfast' with either Sindarin mîr or Quenya míre 'jewel'.[14] But the Stewards of Gondor also often bore names "remembered in the songs and histories of the First Age",[13] regardless of meaning, and the name Boromir did appear during the First Age in The Silmarillion.[15] The eleventh steward of Gondor, Denethor I, had as well a son called Boromir who was described as a great warrior. This might have been an inspiration for Denethor II to name his first son.[16]

text: Interpretation of the character[edit]

text: Boromir's desire for the Ring has been described as well-intentioned but oblivious of the potential danger. His perception of Middle-earth is biased by a belief that divine powers have chosen Gondor to lead the fight against evil.[17] He is always eager to praise the great deeds of Gondor, including his own.[18] Boromir's hubris makes him prey to the malign power of the Ring, and he seals his own doom when he attacks Frodo to seize it.[17] He makes way thereby for Aragorn to become the future king of Gondor, in a manner similar to Virgil's character Turnus.[18]

text: Boromir has been compared to other Tolkien characters such as Fëanor or Túrin Turambar who display vainglorious excess, a trait in leaders that Tolkien himself despised.[19]

text: The character of Boromir has also been compared to the medieval legendary hero Roland. Both blow a horn in the distress of battle and both are eventually killed in the wilderness while defending their companions, although Roland is portrayed as blameless and heroic throughout.[20]

text: Portrayal in adaptations[edit]

text: In both Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film and in the subsequent BBC Radio serial, Boromir is played by Michael Graham Cox. In the former, he is dressed in barbarian garb, which is departing from Tolkien's text completely.

text: Boromir is played by Carl-Kristian Rundman in the 1993 Finnish miniseries Hobitit.

text: In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Boromir is played by Sean Bean. In a departure from the structure of Tolkien's book, Boromir's death is shown at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), instead of being related at the beginning of The Two Towers. In the film, Boromir is mortally wounded by three large arrows fired by the Uruk-hai leader Lurtz, a character created for the films, instead of by numerous arrows from orcs led by Uglúk. He is found by Aragorn, who slays Lurtz before the latter can deal a final blow to Boromir.

text: In The Two Towers (2002), Boromir appears in the theatrical version only briefly during the beginning flashback sequence of Gandalf's fight with the Balrog in Moria.  The Extended Edition adds two additional flashbacks: first when Faramir remembers finding Boromir's body and his cloven horn in the elven boat washed up on shore; and in considerably longer flashback (the only scene of the film trilogy where Boromir and Faramir are seen speaking to each other), after Boromir's victory in Osgiliath and before his departure for Rivendell. The two brothers are seen celebrating and laughing before their father speaks, and the scene ends as Boromir leaves, saying to Faramir, "Remember today, little brother".  Here Boromir apparently knows that "Isildur's Bane" is the One Ring, and he is chosen specifically by his father, despite his reluctance to go, in response to a summons from Elrond.  He is thus aware of the true meaning of the phrase "Isildur's Bane" when he arrives at Rivendell on horseback.

text: In The Return of the King (2003), Boromir appears in the theatrical version during a brief flashback as Pippin remembers his heroic self-sacrifice. Due to that scene alone, Sean Bean's name and portrait appears in the closing credits of the film. In the Extended Edition of the film, Boromir appears briefly when Denethor looks at Faramir and imagines for a moment that he sees Boromir walking towards him, smiling.


document_title: Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

question_text: who built the mission san carlos borromeo de carmelo

text: Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

text: History[edit]

text: Mission Carmel was the second mission built by Franciscan missionaries in Upper California. It was first established as Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Monterey, California near the native village of Tamo on June 3, 1770. It was named for Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, Italy, and was the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California.[5] When the mission moved, the original building continued to operate as the Royal Presidio chapel and later became the current Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo.

text: Relocation to Carmel[edit]

text: Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California from 1770 to 1774, kept his headquarters in the polity's capitol, at the Presidio of Monterey. Fages worked his men very harshly and was seen as a tyrant. Serra intervened on behalf of Fages' soldiers, and the two men did not get along.[16][17] Fages regarded the Spanish installations in California as military institutions first, and religious outposts second. The soldiers raped the Indian woman and kept them as concubines.[16] Serra wanted to put some distance between the missions neophytes and Fages' soldiers.

text: Serra found that the land near the mouth of the Carmel River (named Río del Carmelo by Vizcaíno in 1603[18]) was better suited for farming.[19] In May 1771, Spain's viceroy approved Serra's petition to relocate the mission. The mission was established in the new location on August 1, 1771; the first mass was celebrated on August 24, and Serra officially took up residence in the newly constructed buildings on December 24.[20]

text: The name of the relocated mission was extended to Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo. It was within a short distance of the Rumsen Ohlone villages of Tucutnut and Achasta. The latter village may have been founded after Mission San Carlos was relocated to Carmel. The mission was about 10 miles (16 km) from the nearest Esselen territory, Excelen.[21]

text: Indian baptisms[edit]

text: After the Carmel mission was moved to Carmel Valley, the Franciscans began to baptize some natives.[22] By the end of 1771, the population of mission was 15 with an additional 22 baptized Indians, out of a total population of northern California of 60.[19]

text: Farming was not very productive and for several years the mission was dependent upon the arrival of supply ships.[19] Historian Jame Culleton wrote in 1950, "The summer of '73 came without bringing the supply ship. Neither Carmel nor Monterey was anything like self-supporting."[19]

text: To improve baptismal rates, they sought to convert key members of the Esselen and Rumsen tribes, including chiefs. On May 9, 1775, Junípero Serra baptized what appears to be the first Esselen, Pach-hepas, who was the 40-year-old chief of the Excelen. His baptism took place at Xasáuan, 10 leagues (about 26 miles (42 km)) southeast of the mission, in an area now named Cachagua, a close approximation of the Esselen name.[21] This persuaded some Indians to follow them to the mission.[citation needed]

text: Forced labor[edit]

text: The Esselen and Ohlone Indians who lived near the mission were baptized and then forcibly relocated and conscripted as forced laborers. Neophytes were taught to be farmers, shepherds, cowboys, blacksmiths, carpenters, bricklayers, furniture makers, tanners, weavers and candle makers. Disease, starvation, overwork, and torture decimated these tribes.[23][24]:114 In 1794, the population reached its peak of 927, but by 1823 the total had dwindled to 381.[citation needed] There was extensive "comingling of the Costanoan with peoples of different linguistic and cultural background during the mission period."[22]

text: Crops and livestock[edit]

text: In the beginning, the mission relied on bear meat from Mission San Antonio de Padua and supplies brought by ship from Mission San Diego de Alcalá.[19]

text: In 1779, the natives Americans at Carmel Mission harvested 1660 bushels of wheat, 700 bushels of barley, 165 bushels of beans, and 85 bushels of maize. Four years later, the native laborers produced enough crops to support 700 people. The mission had more than 500 cattle and sheep.[23]

text: Carmel mission continued to grow during most of the 18th century. The largest population was neophytes was 876 in 1795. By 1800, agriculture production at Carmel Mission was near its peak. The Mission reported to Mexico that it had 2180 horses and cattle, and 4160 smaller livestock including sheep. The total grain harvested was about 3700 bushels per year with a high of 7400 in 1797.[23]

text: In December 1832, the mission reported to Mexico that it had 2,100 cattle, 3,300 sheep, 410 horses, and 8 mules.[25]

text: Serra's headquarters[edit]

text: "Mission Carmel", as it came to be known, was Serra's favorite[26] and, because it was close to Monterey, the capital of Alta California, he chose it as his headquarters. When he died on August 28, 1784, he was interred beneath the chapel floor. After Serra's death, Father Fermin Lasuén replaced the adobe structure with one made of stone quarried from the nearby Santa Lucia Mountains.[27]

text: Secularized and abandoned[edit]

text: Eight months later, in August 1833, the newly independent Mexican government secularized the mission and all its lands. It stipulated that half the mission lands should be awarded to the native people, but this purpose was never accomplished. Most mission property was bought by government officials or their wealthy friends.[23] The priests could not maintain the missions without the Indians' forced labor and the mission and lands were soon abandoned. The Indians were forced from the mission. Some attempted to return to their native ways, and others found work as ranch hands or servants on farms and ranches.[27]

text: By 1850, the mission was nearly a ruin. The stone chapel building was deteriorating while most of the adobe buildings were eroding away. The roof collapsed in 1852. The U.S. federal government returned the mission and its lands to the Catholic Church in 1859.[25]

text: Restoration[edit]

text: When Mexico ceded California to the United States following the Mexican–American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored, but required that the owners provide legal proof of their title. As required by the Land Act of 1851, Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany filed a claim on February 19, 1853 on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. He sought return of all former mission lands in the State. The state agreed to return the original mission buildings, cemeteries, and gardens to the church.[28]:31-32

text: When the Roman Catholic Church gained full control of the buildings on October 19, 1859, the mission was in ruins.[27] In 1884 Father Angel Casanova was able to gather enough private funds to replace the roof on the chapel sufficient to preserve it until the 1930s. In 1931 Monsignor Philip Scher hired master cabinet maker Henry John ("Harry") Downie who had a excellent reputation for restoring Spanish antiques. Scher initially asked Downie to restore some statues at the Carmel Mission but his job quickly expanded and he was put in charge of restoring the entire mission.[29][25] Two years later, the church transferred the mission from the Franciscans to the local diocese and it became a regular parish church. Downie lived nearby in Carmel and worked almost daily for almost 50 years to restore the mission, ancillary buildings, walls, and grounds. He painstakingly researched the church's architecture and site, often relying on original Spanish sources, and gathered genuine artifacts from across California.[27]

text: He first restored the padres' quarters, then the roof of the chapel in 1936, and over the next five years the interior of the basilica.[27][30] In 1941, he oversaw restoration of the former soldiers' quarters on the east side of the quadrangle. In 1943 he began restoration of a building that had been on the south side of the quadrangle, although nothing was left but the eroded adobe foundation and a few ruined walls. The building was originally a segregated, locked dormitory for girls called the monjero (nunnery). They were separated from their families at age 8. The boys and unmarried men also had their own dormitory, though it was less confining.[31]:117–119

text: The building was reconstructed and made into classrooms for Junipero Serra Elementary School. In 1946, the ruin on the east side of the quadrangle that had been the original padre’s kitchen and a blacksmith shop was rebuilt. It is used today as a chapel. Downie also consulted on the restoration of the missions that are considered the most authentic, including San Luis Obispo, San Juan Bautista, and San Buenaventura. He also helped the Native Daughters of the Golden West to reconstruct Mission Soledad.[29] He was knighted by Pope Pius and by King Juan Carlos of Spain.[32][27]

text: In 1960, the mission was designated as a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII. In 1987, Pope John Paul II visited the mission as part of his U.S. tour.[33][34]

text: The original bell nicknamed Ave Maria was made in Mexico City in 1807. It was placed at the Mission in 1820. When the mission was secularized in 1834, the bell was removed and held onto by local Native Americans for safekeeping. It was finally lost and relocated once again during restoration. It was re-installed in the mission bell tower in 1925.[15][35]

text: Modern use[edit]

text: As a result of Downie's dedicated efforts to restore the buildings, the Carmel mission church is one of the most authentically restored of all the mission churches in California. Mission Carmel has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. It is an active parish church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey.[36][37]

text: In addition to its activity as a place of worship, Mission Carmel also hosts concerts, art exhibits, lectures and numerous other community events. In 1986, then-pastor Monsignor Eamon MacMahon acquired a Casavant Frères organ with horizontal trumpets. Its hand-painted casework is decorated with elaborate carvings and statuary reflecting the Spanish decorative style seen on the main altar.[citation needed]

text: The mission also serves as a museum, preserving its own history and the history of the area. There are four specific museum galleries: the Harry Downie Museum, describing restoration efforts; the Munras Family Heritage Museum, describing the history of one of the most important area families; the Jo Mora Chapel Gallery, hosting rotating art exhibits as well as the monumental bronze and travertine cenotaph (1924) sculpted by Jo Mora;[38] and the Convento Museum, which holds the cell Serra lived and died in, as well as interpretive exhibits. At one end of the museum is a special chapel room containing some of the vestments used by Serra.[39][40][41]

text: The mission grounds are also the location of the Junipero Serra School, a private Catholic school for kindergartners through 8th grade.[42]

text: Modern restoration[edit]

text: In 2012, the Carmel Mission Foundation began a project to restore the roof of the basilica installed during a restoration in 1937. The project was the third major reconstruction of the basilica since it was built in 1797. The contractor installed additional wood and steel beams to reinforce and tie the roof structure together. To strengthen the walls, they drilled over 300 center-cored vertical and horizontal holes in the 5 feet (1.5 m) thick walls, into which they inserted steel rods that were grouted in place. The project also updated the electrical system and added a fire suppression system. The interior lighting was replaced and custom-made chandeliers were added. The project upgraded the radiant heating system and included construction of an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant restroom. The project was funded by the Carmel Mission Foundation, which raised about $6.2 million.[37]

text: In 2016, the foundation funded reconstruction of the Quadrangle Courtyard at a cost of $2.0 million. The uneven, cracked concrete surface was a hazard. It was removed and new water and fire lines, drains, sewer, electrical, and communications lines were installed before a new concrete, durable concrete surface was poured.[37]

text: The foundation is planning a larger $20 million dollar project in time for the 250th anniversary of the basilica in 2020. It includes seismic retrofits, infrastructure improvements, and restoration of the several historic structures, including the Downie Museum and Orientation Center, Mora Chapel Museum, Convento Museum (including the museum store), and Blessed Sacrament Chapel.[37]

text: Vandalism[edit]

text: On September 27, 2015, in response to Serra's canonization, the San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission was vandalized. The statue of Serra was toppled and splattered with paint, and the cemetery, the mission doors, a fountain, and a crucifix were as well. The message "Saint of Genocide" was put on Serra's tomb, and similar messages were painted elsewhere in the mission courtyard.[43][44]

text: Notable interments[edit]

text: Several notable people are buried in the church and churchyard.

text:
Juan Crespí (1721–1782), Spanish missionary and explorer
Fermín Lasuén (1736–1803), Spanish missionary and explorer
José Antonio Roméu, (1742? – 1792) Spanish governor of California
Junípero Serra (1713–1784), founder of the Spanish missions in California and Saint

tag: ul


document_title: Occupation of Japan

question_text: what kind of government was installed in japan after ww2

text: Occupation of Japan

text: Japanese surrender[edit]

text: Initial phase[edit]

text: Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 14, 1945, when the Japanese government notified the Allies that it had accepted the Potsdam Declaration. On the following day, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender on the radio (the Gyokuon-hōsō). The announcement was the emperor's first ever planned radio broadcast and the first time most citizens of Japan ever heard their sovereign's voice.[5] This date is known as Victory over Japan, or V-J Day, and marked the end of World War II and the beginning of a long road to recovery for a shattered Japan. Japanese officials left for Manila, Philippines on August 19 to meet MacArthur and to be briefed on his plans for the occupation. On August 28, 1945, 150 US personnel flew to Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. They were followed by USS Missouri,[6] whose accompanying vessels landed the 4th Marine Division on the southern coast of Kanagawa. Other Allied personnel followed.

text: MacArthur arrived in Tokyo on August 30, and immediately decreed several laws. No Allied personnel were to assault Japanese people. No Allied personnel were to eat the scarce Japanese food. Flying the Hinomaru or "Rising Sun" flag was initially severely restricted (although individuals and prefectural offices could apply for permission to fly it). This restriction was partially lifted in 1948 and completely lifted the following year.[7]

text: On September 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered with the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender. On September 6, US President Truman approved a document titled "US Initial Post-Surrender Policy for Japan".[8] The document set two main objectives for the occupation: (1) eliminating Japan's war potential and (2) turning Japan into a democratic-style nation with pro-United Nations orientation. Allied (primarily American) forces were set up to supervise the country, and "for eighty months following its surrender in 1945, Japan was at the mercy of an army of occupation, its people subject to foreign military control."[9] At the head of the Occupation administration was General MacArthur, who was technically supposed to defer to an advisory council set up by the Allied powers, but in practice did not and did everything himself. As a result, this period was one of significant American influence, described near the end of the occupation in 1951 that "for six years the United States has had a free hand to experiment with Japan than any other country in Asia, or indeed in the entire world."[10] Looking back to his work among the Japanese, MacArthur said, "Measured by the standards of modern civilization, they would be like a boy of twelve" compared to the maturity of the US and Germany, and had a good chance of putting away their troubled past.[11]

text: SCAP[edit]

text: On V-J Day, US President Harry Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), to supervise the occupation of Japan. During the war, the Allied Powers had planned to divide Japan amongst themselves for the purposes of occupation, as was done for the occupation of Germany. Under the final plan, however, SCAP was given direct control over the main islands of Japan (Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu) and the immediately surrounding islands, while outlying possessions were divided between the Allied Powers as follows:

text:
Soviet Union: North Korea (not a full occupation), South Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands
United States: South Korea (not a full occupation), Okinawa, the Amami Islands, the Ogasawara Islands and Japanese possessions in Micronesia
China: Taiwan and Penghu

text: It is unclear why the occupation plan was changed. Common theories include the increased power of the United States following development of the atomic bomb, Truman's greater distrust of the Soviet Union when compared with Roosevelt, and an increased desire to restrict Soviet influence in East Asia after the Yalta Conference.

text: The Soviet Union had some intentions of occupying Hokkaidō.[12] Had this occurred, there might have eventually been a communist state in the Soviet zone of occupation. However, unlike the Soviet occupations of East Germany and North Korea, these plans were frustrated by Truman's opposition.[12]

text: MacArthur's first priority was to set up a food distribution network; following the collapse of the ruling government and the wholesale destruction of most major cities, virtually everyone was starving. Even with these measures, millions of people were still on the brink of starvation for several years after the surrender.[13] As expressed by Kawai Kazuo, "Democracy cannot be taught to a starving people".[14] The US government encouraged democratic reform in Japan, and while it sent billions of dollars in food aid, this was dwarfed by the occupation costs it imposed on the struggling Japanese administration.[15][16]

text: Initially, the US government provided emergency food relief through Government and Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA) funds. In fiscal year 1946, this aid amounted to US$92 million in loans. From April 1946, in the guise of Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia, private relief organizations were also permitted to provide relief. Once the food network was in place MacArthur set out to win the support of Hirohito. The two men met for the first time on September 27; the photograph of the two together is one of the most famous in Japanese history. Some were shocked that MacArthur wore his standard duty uniform with no tie instead of his dress uniform when meeting the emperor. With the sanction of Japan's reigning monarch, MacArthur had the ammunition he needed to begin the real work of the occupation. While other Allied political and military leaders pushed for Hirohito to be tried as a war criminal, MacArthur resisted such calls, arguing that any such prosecution would be overwhelmingly unpopular with the Japanese people. He also rejected the claims of members of the imperial family such as Prince Mikasa and Prince Higashikuni and demands of intellectuals like Tatsuji Miyoshi, who sought the emperor's abdication.[17]

text: By the end of 1945, more than 350,000 US personnel were stationed throughout Japan. By the beginning of 1946, replacement troops began to arrive in the country in large numbers and were assigned to MacArthur's Eighth Army, headquartered in Tokyo's Dai-Ichi building. Of the main Japanese islands, Kyūshū was occupied by the 24th Infantry Division, with some responsibility for Shikoku. Honshu was occupied by the First Cavalry Division. Hokkaido was occupied by the 11th Airborne Division.

text: By June 1950, all these army units had suffered extensive troop reductions and their combat effectiveness was seriously weakened. When North Korea invaded South Korea in the Korean War, elements of the 24th Division were flown into South Korea to try to fight the invasion force there, but the inexperienced occupation troops, while acquitting themselves well when suddenly thrown into combat almost overnight, suffered heavy casualties and were forced into retreat until other Japan occupation troops could be sent to assist.

text: Organs running in parallel to SCAP[edit]

text: The official British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF), composed of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand personnel, was deployed on February 21, 1946. While US forces were responsible for the overall occupation, BCOF was responsible for supervising demilitarization and the disposal of Japan's war industries.[18] BCOF was also responsible for occupation of several western prefectures and had its headquarters at Kure. At its peak, the force numbered about 40,000 personnel. During 1947, BCOF began to decrease its activities in Japan, and officially wound up in 1951.

text: The Far Eastern Commission and Allied Council for Japan were also established to supervise the occupation of Japan.[19] The establishment of a multilateral Allied council for Japan was proposed by the Soviet government as early as September 1945, and was supported partially by the British, French and Chinese governments.[20]

text: Outcomes[edit]

text: Disarmament[edit]

text: Japan's postwar constitution, adopted under Allied supervision, included a "Peace Clause", Article 9, which renounced war and banned Japan from maintaining any armed forces. This clause was not imposed by the Allies: rather, it was the work of the Japanese government itself, and according to most sources, was the work of Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara.[21][22] The clause was intended to prevent the country from ever becoming an aggressive military power again. However, the United States was soon pressuring Japan to rebuild its army as a bulwark against communism in Asia after the Chinese Civil War and the Korean War. During the Korean War, US forces largely withdrew from Japan to redeploy to South Korea, leaving the country almost totally defenseless. As a result, a new National Police Reserve armed with military-grade weaponry was created. In 1954, the Japan Self-Defense Forces were founded as a full-scale military in all but name. To avoid breaking the constitutional prohibition on military force, they were officially founded as an extension to the police force. Traditionally, Japan's military spending has been restricted to about 1% of its gross national product, though this is by popular practice, not law, and has fluctuated up and down from this figure. Prime Ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe, among others, have tried to repeal or amend the clause. The JSDF slowly grew to considerable strength, and Japan now has the eighth largest military budget in the world.[23]

text: Liberalization[edit]

text: All the major sectors of the Japanese society, government, and economy were liberalized in the first few years and won strong support from liberals in Japan.[24] Historians emphasize the similarity to the American New Deal programs of the 1930s.[25] Moore and Robinson note that, "New Deal liberalism seemed natural, even to conservative Republicans such as MacArthur and Whitney."[26] The issuing of the Removal of Restrictions on Political, Civil, and Religious Liberties directive by SCAP on October 4, 1945, led to the abolishment of the Peace Preservation Law and the release of all political prisoners.[27][28]

text: Emphasis on stability and economic growth[edit]

text: From late 1947, US priorities shifted to internal political stability and economic growth. Economic deconcentration, for example, was left uncompleted as GHQ responded to new imperatives. American authorities encouraged business practices and industrial policies that have since become sources of contention between Japan and its major trade partners, notably the United States.[29] During the occupation, GHQ/SCAP mostly abolished many of the financial coalitions known as the Zaibatsu, which had previously monopolized industry.[30] Along with the later American change of heart, and due in part to the need for an economically stronger Japan in the face of a perceived Soviet threat, these economic reforms were also hampered by the wealthy and influential Japanese who stood to lose a great deal. As such, there were those who consequently resisted any attempts at reform, claiming that the zaibatsu were required for Japan to compete internationally, and looser industrial groupings known as keiretsu evolved. A major land reform was also conducted, led by Wolf Ladejinsky of General Douglas MacArthur's SCAP staff. However, Ladejinsky has stated that the real architect of reform was Hiro Wada, former Japanese Minister of Agriculture.[31] Between 1947 and 1949, approximately 5,800,000 acres (23,000 km2) of land (approximately 38% of Japan's cultivated land) were purchased from the landlords under the government's reform program and resold at extremely low prices (after inflation) to the farmers who worked them. By 1950, three million peasants had acquired land, dismantling a power structure that the landlords had long dominated.[32]

text: Democratization[edit]

text: In 1946, the Diet ratified a new Constitution of Japan that followed closely a 'model copy' prepared by the GHQ/SCAP,[33] and was promulgated as an amendment to the old Prussian-style Meiji Constitution. The new constitution drafted by Americans allowed access and control over the Japanese military through MacArthur and the Allied occupation on Japan.[34] "The political project drew much of its inspiration from the U.S. Bill of Rights, New Deal social legislation, the liberal constitutions of several European states and even the Soviet Union.... (It) transferred sovereignty from the Emperor to the people in an attempt to depoliticize the Throne and reduce it to the status of a state symbol. Included in the revised charter was the famous 'no war', 'no arms' Article Nine, which outlawed belligerency as an instrument of state policy and the maintenance of a standing army. The 1947 Constitution also enfranchised women, guaranteed fundamental human rights, strengthened the powers of Parliament and the Cabinet, and decentralized the police and local government."[35] One example of MacArthur's push towards democratization implemented the land reform and redistribution of ownership within the agricultural system.[36] The land reform was established in order to improve not only the economy but the welfare of farmers as well.[37] MacArthur's land reform policy redistribution resulted in only 10% of the land being worked by non-owners.[36] On December 15, 1945, the Shinto Directive was issued abolishing Shinto as a state religion and prohibiting some of its teachings and rites that were deemed to be militaristic or ultra-nationalistic. On April 10, 1946, an election with 78.52% voter turnout among men and 66.97% among women[38] gave Japan its first modern prime minister, Shigeru Yoshida.

text: Trade Union Act[edit]

text: In 1945 the Diet passed Japan's first ever trade union law protecting the rights of workers to form or join a union, to organize, and take industrial action. There had been pre-war attempts to do so, but none that were successfully passed until the Allied occupation.[39] A new Trade Union Law was passed on June 1, 1949, which remains in place to the present day. According to Article 1 of the Act, the purpose of the act is to "elevate the status of workers by promoting their being on equal standing with the employer".[40]

text: Labor Standards Act[edit]

text: The Labor Standards Act was enacted on April 7, 1947, to govern working conditions in Japan. According to Article 1 of the Act, its goal is to ensure that "Working conditions shall be those which should meet the needs of workers who live lives worthy of human beings."[41] Support stemming from the Allied occupation has introduced better working conditions and pay for numerous employees in Japanese business.[36] This allowed for more sanitary and hygienic working environments along with welfare and government assistance for health insurance, pensions plans and work involving other trained specialists.[36] While it was created while Japan was under occupation, the origins of the Act have nothing to do with the occupation forces. It appears to have been the brainchild of Kosaku Teramoto, a former member of the Thought Police, who had become the head of the Labor Standards section of the Welfare Ministry.[42]

text: Education reform[edit]

text: Before and during the war, Japanese education was based on the German system, with "Gymnasien" (selective grammar schools) and universities to train students after primary school. During the occupation, Japan's secondary education system was changed to incorporate three-year junior high schools and senior high schools similar to those in the US: junior high school became compulsory but senior high school remained optional. The Imperial Rescript on Education was repealed, and the Imperial University system reorganized. The longstanding issue of Japanese script reform, which had been planned for decades but continuously opposed by more conservative elements, was also resolved during this time. The Japanese written system was drastically reorganized with the Tōyō kanji-list in 1946, predecessor of today's Jōyō kanji, and orthography was greatly altered to reflect spoken usage.

text: Women's rights[edit]

text: Prior to World War II, women in Japan were denied the right to vote and other legal rights. With the defeat of the traditionalist government, the occupation authorities, on the order of general Douglas MacArthur, began drafting a new constitution for Japan in February 1946. A subcommittee including two women, Beate Sirota Gordon[43] and economist Eleanor Hadley, was enlisted and assigned to writing the section of the constitution devoted to civil rights and women's rights in Japan. They played an integral role, drafting the language regarding legal equality between men and women in Japan,[44] including Articles 14 and 24 on Equal Rights and Women's Civil Rights. Article 14 states, in part: "All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin". Article 24 includes:

text: Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis. 2) With regard to choice of spouse, property rights, inheritance, choice of domicile, divorce and other matters pertaining to marriage and the family, laws shall be enacted from the standpoint of individual dignity and the essential equality of the sexes.

text: These additions to the constitution were vital to women's rights in Japan. "Japanese women were historically treated like chattel; they were property to be bought and sold on a whim," Gordon said in 1999.[45]

text: Release of political prisoners[edit]

text: On October 4, 1945, the GHQ issued the Removal of Restrictions on Political, Civil, and Religious Liberties directive. The directive ordered the release of political prisoners.[46]

text: Impact[edit]

text: War criminals[edit]

text: While these other reforms were taking place, various military tribunals, most notably the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Ichigaya, were trying Japan's war criminals and sentencing many to death and imprisonment. However, many suspects such as Masanobu Tsuji, Nobusuke Kishi, Yoshio Kodama and Ryōichi Sasakawa were never judged, while the Emperor Hirohito, all members of the imperial family implicated in the war such as Prince Chichibu, Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu, Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni and Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda, and all members of Unit 731—including its director Dr. Shirō Ishii—were granted immunity from criminal prosecution by General MacArthur.

text: Before the war crimes trials actually convened, the SCAP, the IPS and Shōwa officials worked behind the scenes not only to prevent the imperial family from being indicted, but also to slant the testimony of the defendants to ensure that no one implicated the Emperor. High officials in court circles and the Shōwa government collaborated with Allied GHQ in compiling lists of prospective war criminals, while the individuals arrested as Class A suspects and incarcerated in Sugamo prison solemnly vowed to protect their sovereign against any possible taint of war responsibility.[47] Thus, months before the Tokyo tribunal commenced, MacArthur's highest subordinates were working to attribute ultimate responsibility for Pearl Harbor to Hideki Tojo"[48] by allowing "the major criminal suspects to coordinate their stories so that the Emperor would be spared from indictment."[49] and "with the full support of MacArthur's headquarters, the prosecution functioned, in effect, as a defense team for the emperor.[50]

text: For historian John W. Dower,

text: Even Japanese peace activists who endorse the ideals of the Nuremberg and Tokyo charters, and who have labored to document and publicize Japanese atrocities, cannot defend the American decision to exonerate the emperor of war responsibility and then, in the chill of Cold war, release and soon afterwards openly embrace accused right-wing war criminals like the later prime minister Kishi Nobusuke.[51]

text: In retrospect, apart from the military officer corps, the purge of alleged militarists and ultranationalists that was conducted under the Occupation had relatively small impact on the long-term composition of men of influence in the public and private sectors. The purge initially brought new blood into the political parties, but this was offset by the return of huge numbers of formally purged conservative politicians to national as well as local politics in the early 1950s. In the bureaucracy, the purge was negligible from the outset.... In the economic sector, the purge similarly was only mildly disruptive, affecting less than sixteen hundred individuals spread among some four hundred companies. Everywhere one looks, the corridors of power in postwar Japan are crowded with men whose talents had already been recognized during the war years, and who found the same talents highly prized in the "new" Japan.[52]

text: Rape[edit]

text: According to various accounts, U.S. troops committed thousands of rapes among the population of the Ryukyu Islands during the Okinawa Campaign and the beginning of the American occupation in 1945.[53][54]

text: Many Japanese civilians in the Japanese mainland feared that the Allied occupation troops were likely to rape Japanese women. The Japanese authorities set up a large system of prostitution facilities (Recreation and Amusement Association, or the RAA) in order to protect the population. According to John W. Dower, precisely as the Japanese government had hoped when it created the prostitution facilities, while the RAA was in place "the incidence of rape remained relatively low given the huge size of the occupation force".[55]:130 However, there was a resulting large rise in venereal disease among the soldiers, which led MacArthur to close down the prostitution in early 1946.[56] The incidence of rape increased after the closure of the brothels, possibly eight-fold; Dower states that "According to one calculation the number of rapes and assaults on Japanese women amounted to around 40 daily while the RAA was in operation, and then rose to an average of 330 a day after it was terminated in early 1946."[57] Michael S. Molasky states that while rape and other violent crime were widespread in naval ports like Yokosuka and Yokohama during the first few weeks of occupation, according to Japanese police reports and journalistic studies, the number of incidents declined shortly after and they were not common on mainland Japan throughout the rest of occupation.[58] Two weeks into the occupation, the Occupation administration began censoring all media. This included any mention of rape or other sensitive social issues.[59][60]

text: According to Dower, "more than a few incidents" of assault and rape were never reported to the police.[61] According to Toshiyuki Tanaka, 76 cases of rape or rape-murder were reported on Okinawa during the first five years of occupation, but according to Tanaka this is "but the tip of the iceberg" as most of the rapes went unreported.[62]

text: Censorship[edit]

text: After the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers abolished all forms of censorship and controls on Freedom of Speech, which was also integrated into Article 21 of the 1947 Constitution of Japan. However, press censorship remained a reality in the post-war era, especially in matters of pornography, and in political matters deemed subversive by the American government during the occupation of Japan.

text: The Allied occupation forces suppressed news of criminal activities such as rape; on September 10, 1945, SCAP "issued press and pre-censorship codes outlawing the publication of all reports and statistics 'inimical to the objectives of the Occupation'."[63]

text: According to David M. Rosenfeld:

text: Not only did Occupation censorship forbid criticism of the United States or other Allied nations, but the mention of censorship itself was forbidden. This means, as Donald Keene observes, that for some producers of texts "the Occupation censorship was even more exasperating than Japanese military censorship had been because it insisted that all traces of censorship be concealed. This meant that articles had to be rewritten in full, rather than merely submitting XXs for the offending phrases."

text: Industrial disarmament[edit]

text: To further remove Japan as a potential future threat to the United States, the Far Eastern Commission decided that Japan was to be partly de-industrialized. The necessary dismantling of Japanese industry was foreseen to have been achieved if Japanese standards of living had been reduced to those existing in Japan the period 1930–1934.[65][66] In the end, the adopted program of de-industrialization in Japan was implemented to a lesser degree than the similar U.S. "industrial disarmament" program in Germany.[65] In view of the cost to American taxpayers for emergency food aid to Japan, in April 1948 the Johnston Committee Report recommended that the economy of Japan should instead be reconstructed. The report included suggestions for reductions in war reparations, and a relaxation of the "economic deconcentration" policy. For the fiscal year of 1949 funds were moved from the GARIOA budget into an Economic Rehabilitation in Occupied Areas (EROA) programme, to be used for the import of materials needed for economic reconstruction.

text: Prostitution[edit]

text: With the acceptance of the Allied occupation authorities, the Japanese organized a brothel system for the benefit of the more than 300,000 occupation troops. "The strategy was, through the special work of experienced women, to create a breakwater to protect regular women and girls."

text: In December 1945, a senior officer with the Public Health and Welfare Division of the occupation's General Headquarters wrote regarding the typical prostitute: "The girl is impressed into contracting by the desperate financial straits of her parents and their urging, occasionally supplemented by her willingness to make such a sacrifice to help her family", he wrote. "It is the belief of our informants, however, that in urban districts the practice of enslaving girls, while much less prevalent than in the past, still exists. The worst victims ... were the women who, with no previous experience, answered the ads calling for 'Women of the New Japan'."

text: MacArthur issued an order, SCAPIN 642 (SCAP Instruction), on January 21 ending licensed brothels for being "in contravention of the ideals of democracy". Although SCAPIN 642 ended the RAA's operations, it did not affect "voluntary prostitution" by individuals. Ultimately, SCAP responded by making all brothels and other facilities offering prostitution off-limits to Allied personnel on March 25, 1946.[67] By November, the Japanese government had introduced the new akasen (赤線, "red-line") system in which prostitution was permissible only in certain designated areas.[68][69]

text: Expulsions[edit]

text: The surrender of Imperial Japan meant reversal of its previous annexations—Manchuria (Manchukuo as a puppet regime under Japan) was returned to China, while Korea regained its independence and was divided in two by the United States and Soviet Union.

text: The Soviet Union claimed South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, with 400,000 Japanese fleeing or expelled. Similar actions happened in Taiwan and Manchuria after their return to China, while Korea saw the flight of over 800,000 Japanese settlers. In all, Japanese repatriation centers handled over 7 million expatriates returning to the Japanese main islands.[70]

text: Soviet activity[edit]

text: In a bid to occupy as much Japanese territory as possible, Soviet troops continued offensive military operations after the Japanese surrender, causing large scale civilian casualties.[71]

text: Politics[edit]

text: Unlike the case in Germany, Japan retained a native government throughout the occupation. Although MacArthur's official staff history of the occupation referred to "the Eighth Army Military Government System", it explained that while "In Germany, with the collapse of the Nazi regime, all government agencies disintegrated, or had to be purged", the Japanese retained an "integrated, responsible government and it continued to function almost intact":[72]

text: In effect, there was no "military government" in Japan in the literal sense of the word. It was simply a SCAP superstructure over already existing government machinery, designed to observe and assist the Japanese along the new democratic channels of administration.

text: General Horace Robertson of Australia, head of BCOF, wrote:[73]

text: MacArthur at no time established in Japan what could be correctly described as Military government. He continued to use the Japanese government to control the country, but teams of military personnel, afterward replaced to quite a considerable extent by civilians, were placed throughout the Japanese prefectures as a check on the extent to which the prefectures were carrying out the directives issued by MacArthur’s headquarters or the orders from the central government.

text: The really important duty of the so called Military government teams was, however, the supervision of the issue throughout Japan of the large quantities of food stuffs and medical stores being poured into the country from American sources. The teams also contained so-called experts on health, education, sanitation, agriculture and the like, to help the Japanese in adopting more up to date methods sponsored by SCAP’s headquarters. The normal duties of a military government organisation, the most important of which are law and order and a legal system, were never needed in Japan since the Japanese government’s normal legal system still functioned with regard to all Japanese nationals ... The so-called military government in Japan was therefore neither military nor government.

text: The Japanese government's de facto authority was strictly limited at first, however, and senior figures in the government such as the Prime Minister effectively served at the pleasure of the occupation authorities before the first post-war elections were held. Political parties had begun to revive almost immediately after the occupation began. Left-wing organizations, such as the Japan Socialist Party and the Japan Communist Party, quickly reestablished themselves, as did various conservative parties. The old Seiyukai and Rikken Minseito came back as, respectively, the Liberal Party (Nihon Jiyuto) and the Japan Progressive Party (Nihon Shimpoto). The first postwar elections were held in 1946 (women were given the franchise for the first time), and the Liberal Party's vice president, Yoshida Shigeru (1878–1967), became prime minister. For the 1947 elections, anti-Yoshida forces left the Liberal Party and joined forces with the Progressive Party to establish the new Japan Democratic Party (Minshuto). This divisiveness in conservative ranks gave a plurality to the Japan Socialist Party, which was allowed to form a cabinet, which lasted less than a year. Thereafter, the socialist party steadily declined in its electoral successes. After a short period of Democratic Party administration, Yoshida returned in late 1948 and continued to serve as prime minister until 1954.

text: Japanese American contribution[edit]

text: Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and surrendered on August 15, 1945. Over 5,000 Japanese Americans served in the occupation of Japan.[74] Dozens of Japanese Americans served as translators, interpreters, and investigators in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Thomas Sakamoto served as press escort during the occupation of Japan. He escorted American correspondents to Hiroshima, and the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Sakamoto was one of three Japanese Americans to be on board the USS Missouri when the Japanese formally surrendered. Arthur S. Komori served as personal interpreter for Brig. Gen. Elliot R. Thorpe. Kay Kitagawa served as personal interpreter of Fleet Admiral William Halsey Jr..[75] Kan Tagami served as personal interpreter-aide for General Douglas MacArthur.[76] Journalist Don Caswell was accompanied by a Japanese American interpreter to Fuchū Prison, where the Japanese government imprisoned communists Tokuda Kyuichi, Yoshio Shiga, and Shiro Mitamura.[77]

text: Japanese Americans in the OSS parachuted down into Japanese POW prison camps at Hankow, Mukden, Peiping and Hainan as interpreters on mercy missions to liberate American and other Allied prisoners.[78] Arthur T. Morimitsu was the only Military Intelligence Service member in the detachment commanded by Major Richard Irby and 1st Lt. Jeffrey Smith to observe the surrender ceremony of 60,000 Japanese troops under Gen. Shimada.[79] Kan Tagami witnessed Japanese forces surrender to the British in Malaya.[76]

text: End of the occupation[edit]

text: In 1949, MacArthur made a sweeping change in the SCAP power structure that greatly increased the power of Japan's native rulers, and the occupation began to draw to a close. The Treaty of San Francisco, which was to end the occupation, was signed on September 8, 1951. It came into effect on April 28, 1952, formally ending all occupation powers of the Allied forces and restoring full sovereignty to Japan, except for the island chains of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, which the United States continued to hold. Iwo Jima was returned to Japan in 1968, and most of Okinawa was returned in 1972.

text: Following the American departure, Japan gained military protection from the United States. However, the United States was soon pressuring Japan to rebuild its military capabilities, and as a result, the Japan Self-Defense Forces were formed as a de facto military force with US assistance. However, following the Yoshida Doctrine, Japan continued to prioritize economic growth over defense spending, relying on American protection to ensure it could focus mainly on economic recovery. Through Guided Capitalism, Japan was able to optimally utilize its resources to economically recover from the war, and revive industry.[80] Some 31,000 US military personnel remain in Japan today at the invitation of the Japanese government as the United States Forces Japan under the terms of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan (1960) and not as an occupying force. US bases in and around Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Aomori, Sapporo, and Ishikari are currently active.

text: Criticism[edit]

text: On the day the occupation of Japan was over, the Asahi Shimbun published a very critical essay on the occupation, claiming it turned the Japanese population "irresponsible, obsequious and listless... unable to perceive issues in a forthright manner, which led to distorted perspectives".[81] The purpose for delaying the return of the Japanese southern islands, the Bonin Islands including Chichi Jima, Okinawa, and the Volcano Islands including Iwo Jima to civil administration was the U.S. military's requirement to covertly base U.S. atomic weapons or their components on the islands where the presence or expansion of U.S. bases remain a heated controversy to this day.

text: Cultural reaction[edit]

text: Hirohito’s surrender broadcast was a profound shock to Japanese citizens. After years of being told about Japan’s military might and the inevitability of victory, these beliefs were proven false in the space of a few minutes. But for many people, these were only secondary concerns since they were also facing starvation and homelessness.

text: Post-war Japan was chaotic. The air raids on Japan's urban centers left millions displaced and food shortages, created by bad harvests and the demands of the war, worsened when the seizure of food from Korea, Taiwan, and China ceased.[82] Repatriation of Japanese living in other parts of Asia and hundreds of thousands of demobilized prisoners of war only aggravated the problems in Japan as these people put more strain on already scarce resources. Over 5.1 million Japanese returned to Japan in the fifteen months following October 1, 1945, and another million returned in 1947.[83] Alcohol and drug abuse became major problems. Deep exhaustion, declining morale and despair were so widespread that it was termed the "kyodatsu condition" (虚脱状態, kyodatsujoutai, lit. "state of lethargy").[84] Inflation was rampant and many people turned to the black market for even the most basic goods. These black markets in turn were often places of turf wars between rival gangs, like the Shibuya incident in 1946. Prostitution also increased considerably.

text: In the 1950s, kasutori culture emerged. In response to the scarcity of the previous years, this sub-culture, named after the preferred drink of the artists and writers who imbibed it, emphasized escapism, entertainment and decadence.[85]

text: The phrase "shikata ga nai", or "nothing can be done about it," was commonly used in both Japanese and American press to encapsulate the Japanese public's resignation to the harsh conditions endured while under occupation. However, not everyone reacted the same way to the hardships of the postwar period. While some succumbed to the difficulties, many more were resilient. As the country regained its footing, they were able to bounce back as well.

text: Leftists looked upon the occupation forces as a "liberation army".[86]

text: Japanese women[edit]

text: It has been argued that the granting of rights to women played an important role in the radical shift Japan underwent from a war nation to a democratized and demilitarized country.[87] In the first postwar general elections of 1946, over a third of the votes were cast by women. This unexpectedly high female voter turnout led to the election of 39 female candidates, and the increasing presence of women in politics was perceived by Americans as evidence of an improvement of Japanese women's condition.[88]

text: American feminists saw Japanese women as victims of feudalistic and chauvinistic traditions that had to be broken by the Occupation. American women assumed a central role in the reforms that affected the lives of Japanese women: they educated Japanese about Western ideals of democracy, and it was an American woman who wrote the Japanese Equal Rights Amendment for the new constitution.[89] General Douglas MacArthur did not mean for Japanese women to give up their central role in the home as wives and mothers, but rather that they could now assume other roles simultaneously, such as that of worker.[90][91]

text: In 1953, journalist Ichirō Narumigi commented that Japan had received "liberation of sex" along with the "four presents" that it had been granted by the occupation (respect for human rights, gender equality, freedom of speech, and women’s enfranchisement).[92] Indeed, the occupation also had a great impact on relationships between man and woman in Japan. The "modern girl" phenomenon of the 1920s and early 1930s had been characterized by greater sexual freedom, but despite this, sex was usually not perceived as a source of pleasure (for women) in Japan. Westerners, as a result, were thought to be promiscuous and sexually deviant.[93] The sexual liberation of European and North American women during World War II was unthinkable in Japan, especially during wartime where rejection of Western ways of life was encouraged.[94]

text: The Japanese public was thus astounded by the sight of some 45,000 so-called "pan pan girls" (prostitutes) fraternizing with American soldiers during the occupation.[92] In 1946, the 200 wives of US officers landing in Japan to visit their husbands also had a similar impact when many of these reunited couples were seen walking hand in hand and kissing in public.[95] Both prostitution and marks of affection had been hidden from the public until then, and this "democratization of eroticism" was a source of surprise, curiosity, and even envy. The occupation set new models for relationships between Japanese men and women: the western practice of "dating" spread, and activities such as dancing, movies and coffee were not limited to "pan pan girls" and American troops anymore, and became popular among young Japanese couples.[96]


document_title: Mary Alice Young

question_text: who did mary alice kill on desperate housewives

text: Mary Alice Young

text: Casting and development[edit]

text: In Marc Cherry's first script for the pilot of Desperate Housewives, the character was originally named Mary Alice Scott, but he was later forced to change the character's surname when the series was picked up by ABC. In the book Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors, a companion to the first season of the series, he explained: "We changed Mary Alice Scott to Mary Alice Young because we couldn't get the name cleared with our lawyers. If over three people in the country have that name you're fine but with anything less than that, they make you use a different name. Apparently there was one Mary Alice Scott in the country."[3] The role of Mary Alice was originally given to Sheryl Lee, who portrayed the character in the original pilot that was filmed for ABC, but Lee was soon replaced by Strong after Cherry and the producers decided that Lee was not right for the part.[4][5][6] Marcia Cross, who would later be cast as Bree Van de Kamp, also expressed interest in Mary Alice, but after reading for the part Cherry insisted that she read for Bree instead.[7]

text: Strong explained in Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors that she believed there to be a "conceptual shift" after the filming of the original pilot with Lee, and "they realized they needed something different", stating: "There certainly wasn't something wrong with what [Lee] did. It was just that instead of vanilla they wanted chocolate, and I happened to be chocolate. When I walked in to audition, Marc Cherry was so sweet. He said, 'I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to close my eyes, because I really want to hear how you sound.' When I was done with the audition, he opened his eyes and this angelic smile crept across his face, and I thought, 'Oh, good. Something went right.'"[8] The actress also explained that she watched the pilot filmed with Lee and while that was helpful for her own portrayal, she saw that what she had to offer for the role was different, saying: "It's a little strange when you watch someone else in a role you're auditioning for because his or her performance lives in your mind. It can be hard to distinguish yourself sometimes, but I had fun with it."[9] Scenes featuring Lee were refilmed with Strong as her replacement.[10] Strong stated years later that her role and narration as Mary Alice led to her voice becoming significantly recognizable, explaining in a 2012 interview with Entertainment Weekly that fans of the series would recognize her in coffee shops solely by her voice.[11] The actress served as the narrator of almost every episode of the series, with the exceptions of the third season episode "My Husband, the Pig" (in which Steven Culp narrates the episode as the deceased Rex Van de Kamp) and the fifth season episode "Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" (in which Nicollette Sheridan narrates the episode as the deceased Edie Britt).[12][13]

text:
"It’s kind of like when you knit a sweater and you pull one thread and the entire thing unravels. I think Mary Alice was the thread that started to unravel the rest of them and it continues to unravel. I think really it’s about getting to the very tapestry of everyone’s story, everyone’s shadow, everyone’s deepest fear and I think in some ways, dealing with the world and what we’re up against, it’s not that dissimilar to how people are feeling about their own lives."[14]

—Strong, describing the way Mary Alice's storyline influenced the remainder of the series (2011)

tag: div

text: The mystery surrounding Mary Alice and her family was the main storyline in the first season of the series, and it is resolved in the first-season finale. Cherry had wanted there to be a "definite end" to the mystery, hoping to avoid similar viewer fatigue that Twin Peaks suffered after drawing out its central mystery past its first season.[15] ABC executives initially protested the writers' decision to have Mary Alice purposefully kill Deirdre Taylor (Jolie Jenkins), the woman whose child she had illegally purchased, prompting the writers to make Deirdre violent in order to justify Mary Alice's actions.[15] Although Mary Alice and her family do not have much of a leading storyline thereafter, the mystery surrounding the character's suicide in the inaugural season is said to have informed and influenced every other season of the series.[14] In 2006, when asked during an interview what viewers could expect from Mary Alice for the series' third season, Strong said that the character was "going to be back with an attitude", stating: "She will be a little less surreal, ethereal and a little more sassy, which means the show is going to be sassier."[16] During the series' final season in 2011, the actress appears as Mary Alice's ghost to her suicidal friend Bree (Marcia Cross). Strong enjoyed filming that particular scene, as it was the only scene during the entire series that featured solely Mary Alice and Bree. She described the scene as one of her personal favorites and called it an "extraordinary opportunity", saying: "In a way, Mary Alice becomes [Bree's] conscious and her guide and her muse in knowing what to do with her life. And it was an exquisitely written scene and it was really, I think in my experience on the show, one of my favorite scenes I have ever shot."[14]

text: Storyline[edit]

text: First season[edit]

text: In the pilot episode, Mary Alice introduces herself as the stereotypical American housewife to husband Paul Young (Mark Moses) and son Zach (Cody Kasch). On one Thursday, she proceeds to go to her hall closet to retrieve a revolver, and shoot herself in the head with it.[17]

text: Paul asks Mary Alice’s neighbors and friends, Susan (Teri Hatcher), Lynette (Felicity Huffman), Bree (Marcia Cross) and Gabrielle (Eva Longoria), to go through her clothes and other belongings and then pack them up, as he thinks it will be too hard for him. The women end up finding a letter addressed to Mary Alice, a blackmail note reading, "I know what you did, it makes me sick, I’m going to tell."[17] Thereafter, the women make a series of discoveries concerning Mary Alice’s past and her possible motives for ending her life; she was being treated by Dr. Albert Goldfine (Sam Lloyd) where she revealed that she once went by the name Angela, and she may have had something to do with a baby that went missing.[18][19] Paul soon discovers who sent Mary Alice the note, their next-door neighbor struggling with financial difficulty, Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook), whom he ends up strangling to death out of pure rage and burying her body in the nearby forest.[20] Meanwhile, her son Zach begins having flashbacks and is under the impression he killed a baby named Dana, who he believed to be his younger sister and reveals this to Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen), Susan’s daughter. Paul worries over what Susan is spreading about their family, so he tells Susan in private that Zach accidentally killed his younger sister, Dana, and that he and Mary Alice covered it up to protect him. However, it becomes evident that this is not the case when Paul tells Zach that Dana is still very much alive.[21]

text: Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris), Martha’s sister, soon arrives on Wisteria Lane to find out what happened to her sister. While inside Paul and Mary Alice’s house, she recognizes a picture of Mary Alice and claims her to be Angela, a nurse she worked with years prior in Utah, but Paul is adamant that she is mistaken.[22] Felicia, however, knows that Mary Alice was in fact Angela and later tells Zach that she knew him when he was a baby, and that his original name was so lovely: Dana.[23] In the first-season finale, the mystery behind Mary Alice’s suicide is revealed in full. In March 1990, Todd and Angela Forrest could not conceive and one night a woman named Deirdre Taylor (Jolie Jenkins), a heroin addict whom Angela had treated at the rehabilitation hospital where she worked as a nurse, came to their house looking for money and offered to sell her son to them, to which they eventually agreed. When Deirdre returned to the hospital as a patient soon after and suspicion arose as to where her child was, Angela knew they had to leave town. They moved to Fairview and bought a house on Wisteria Lane, changing their names to Paul, Mary Alice and Zach Young. In 1993, however, Deirdre came to their home, seemingly sober, demanding that she reclaim her son. After a verbal fight, Deirdre went to take her child, when Mary Alice stabbed and killed her. Zach woke up and saw the body, which led to years of his parents brushing off his memories of that night as nothing. Paul and Mary Alice dismembered Deirdre’s body, put it in a toy chest and buried it under their pool.[24] Years later, Martha recognized Mary Alice in a group photo in Felicia’s house, leading to Felicia to tell Martha about how Angela and Todd possibly disappeared with Deirdre’s child and hopefully gave Dana a proper home. Martha then blackmailed Mary Alice and she, in desperation, committed suicide.[23]

text: Later seasons[edit]

text: Mary Alice appears in flashbacks and dream sequences in the remainder of the series, during which several previously unknown details about the day she committed suicide are revealed. In season two, Mary Alice was the first of the housewives to move onto Wisteria Lane, to which she recounts how she met each of them and how they all became friends.[25] In season three, Lynette has a recurring nightmare of the last time she spoke to Mary Alice; while she was reading her blackmail note for the first time on her front lawn, the day she committed suicide. Lynette asks if she is okay, to which Mary Alice says she is and while Lynette knew otherwise, she had groceries that needed refrigeration, so she simply told Mary Alice she would see her later. After a hostage situation at the local grocery store, Lynette has one final dream in which she speaks to Mary Alice and asks how she can help her; she tells her that we can’t prevent what we can’t predict, and to enjoy the beautiful day, as we get so few of them. Afterward, Mary Alice states that this was the last time Lynette would ever dream of her, and for her sake, she is grateful.[26] In season four, Mary Alice appears in two separate flashbacks to when Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany) was first living on Wisteria Lane; in "Now You Know", she and Susan knock on Katherine’s door wondering why there is a moving truck outside her house, to which a rattled Katherine says she got a new job in Chicago.[27] In "Free", Mary Alice is shown to have been babysitting Katherine's daughter Dylan (Hailee Denham) the night the child's father returned, to which Katherine looks immediately panicked and Mary Alice apologizes for any wrongdoing.[28]

text: In season five, Mary Alice appears in multiple flashbacks in "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened", including when handyman Eli Scruggs (Beau Bridges) was first starting out and approached Mary Alice on the street, asking her if she had any work for him. After initially declining, she notices a hole in his shoe and says she has a broken vase that he can glue back together for her. Years later, on the day Mary Alice committed suicide, Eli was at her house dropping something off. He asks if she is alright, to which she says she is, and just as he is about to leave she picks up the vase he glued for her and says she wants him to have it. Eli asks again if she is alright, and she politely asks him to leave. Later that day, after Mary Alice had shot herself, Eli watches police cars and neighbors gossiping from afar, regretting that he did nothing to save her. He then makes a vow to God to not only fix people's belongings but their lives as much as he can as well.[29] In season six, Mary Alice again appears in a flashback in "Epiphany", when she notices four-year-old Eddie Orlofsky (Davin Ransom) witnessing his father leave their family. Mary Alice continues to check on Eddie and his mother Barbara (Diane Farr), bringing them a hot meal and later to bring a teddy bear for Eddie, where she finds the young child left home alone. Mary Alice finds Barbara in a bar, brings her home and scolds her for her poor parenting skills.[30]

text: In season eight, Mary Alice appears in several flashbacks and as a ghost. In "Making the Connection", it is revealed that she contemplated calling her friends for advice and support after receiving the blackmail note, but ultimately chose not to and then committed suicide.[31] In "Putting It Together", Mary Alice appears as a ghost to a suicidal Bree, who asks her if she remembers how happy their lives were on Wisteria Lane when she was alive and if she is happy now, to which Mary Alice says she is not unhappy.[32] The series finale opens with the day Mary Alice arrived on Wisteria Lane. Martha is the first to greet her, and when Mary Alice seems unwilling to talk about where she is from, Martha guesses she has a secret and makes it her mission from that day forward to figure out what it is. At the end of the episode, Mary Alice's spirit is seen with the ghosts of those who have died over the years on Wisteria Lane, explaining her presence all this time has been in the hopes that they can give a message to those left behind that while their lives may be desperate, they are still worth living.[33]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Both the character and her role as narrator were generally well received by critics throughout the series, and for which Strong received nominations for multiple accolades. In his review of the pilot, Tom Shales of The Washington Post complimented Mary Alice character's narrations, writing: "Even though narration has become the most overused technique in prime-time television (needed, perhaps, to help move the narrative along quickly now that hour-length shows have shrunk to as little as 41 minutes plus commercials), the producers of Desperate Housewives use it well, and Strong's uncomplaining perkiness adds yet another layer of irony to the enterprise."[34] Peter Schorn of IGN commended Strong's narrations as well as the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's suicide, calling the character's "dark secret" the "McGuffin that powers this first season".[35] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe described Mary Alice's suicide scene as "mysterious and somber but mostly funny", pointing out that the soundtrack music remains "light and happy" throughout and likened the character's narration to that of Glenn Close in Reversal of Fortune (1990).[36] Celia Wren, also writing for The Washington Post, confirmed that the "idyllic small-town" setting of Desperate Housewives as well as Mary Alice's narration style as a deceased and omniscient narrator were influenced by Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915), for which she complimented the series, writing: "There's a lot of material to work with: Masters's poetic portrait gallery from 1915 gets its oomph from blowtorching the concept of idyllic small-town America. Its largely embittered personalities speak from beyond the grave of murders, seductions, suicides, hypocrisies, political corruption—enough scandalous behavior to make Desperate Housewives look like Little Women."[1]

text: While reviewing the first-season finale, Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly praised the resolution to the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's death, calling it "both shocking and satisfying."[37] On the other hand, Ann Hodgman of Entertainment Weekly was negative in her review and criticized the writers' decision to devoting too much of the episode to the Mary Alice storyline rather than focusing on the other characters.[38] Tanner Stransky, also writing for the magazine, wrote that the producers "artfully blended" the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's suicide with "hot-button and often titillating plotlines" throughout the series' first season.[11] In an article celebrating the tenth anniversary of the airing of the series' pilot episode, Matthew Jacobs of The Huffington Post complimented the "many layers of Mary Alice and her family's mystery" and likened it as "just as captivating" as the first season of Lost.[39]

text: In 2009, Stransky was favorable of both Strong's narration and performance in the fifth season episode "The Best Thing That Could Have Ever Happened", describing Mary Alice's role in the episode as "heartbreaking" and writing: "I know we hear Brenda Strong nearly every week in her voiceovers, but it was so nice to see her on screen again! That lady can act."[40] Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic was bored by Mary Alice's flashback scenes in the sixth season episode "Epiphany", believing them to be unrealistic.[41] Daniel Goldberg of Slant Magazine praised Mary Alice's narration in the series finale in 2012, writing: "There was one resolution that truly resonated. When the ladies all move out of [Wisteria] Lane and politely promise to keep in touch and visit, Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) takes the opportunity to unearth one last lie. With one of her most somber voiceovers ever, she lets us in on a secret that the housewives already know: They won’t keep in touch, and they won’t visit. The moment is far more unsettling and existential than the overblown sequence of the desperately deceased gathering to wave Susan goodbye. Deep friendships and passing acquaintances can never be replicated, and these are the endings we experience every day, even as we try to deny their finality."[42] Writing for Backstage magazine in 2012, Jeffery Self wrote that Strong's narration as Mary Alice led to her voice becoming "one of the most familiar on television".[43] As a result of her popularity as the series' narrator, Anna Silman of Vulture magazine described Strong as "everybody's favorite deceased housewife/omniscient narrator" in 2014.[44]

text: For her narration as Mary Alice, Strong was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2011 and 2012.[45][46] Additionally, as a cast member of Desperate Housewives, she twice received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, among five consecutive nominations for the award between 2005 and 2009.[47]