Heart Of Darkness Essays (1402 words) - Congo Free State

Heart Of Darkness Part I In the novel, Second Class Citizen, the main character, Adah, is a strong, Nigerian women who faces sexism from within her own culture since she was born. She explains, ?She was a girl who had arrived when everyone was expecting and predicting a boy... She was so insignificant? (Emecheta 7). In the Ibo culture that Adah grew up in, being a girl was looked down upon. Giving birth to a boy was a major accomplishment, whereas giving birth to a girl was an equally major disappointment. Girls were taught to be useful, not intelligent: ?A year or two would do, as long as she can write her name and count. Then she will learn to sew? (Emecheta 9). In Ibo culture, girls were valued for their domestic abilities. Adah refused to be measured by this, instead she was determined to go to school and get an education. She worked had to overcome the sexist attitude that her culture held. This sexist attitude continued after she got married to Francis. Francis is a typical Ibo male. He held the view that the males should go and get educated and the female should stay home, or in Francis' case, work to support his education. Adah knew his attitude, ?The sharpness seemed to say to her: ?It is allowed for African males to come and get civilsed in England. But that privileged has not been extended to females yet'? (Emecheta 36). Francis is a pure reflection of the values held by the Ibos. All Francis wanted from Adah was money, to pay for his education, and sex: ?As far as he was concerned marriage was sex and lots of it, nothing more? (Emecheta 41). To Francis, Adah was a sexual object. As far as he was concerned, her feelings didn't matter, she was not a real person. Adah knew she was up against the enemy when she challenged Francis, but she was able to rise about he sexism and leave Francis. Not only does she go against her own culture, but she wants her children to reject the sexist attitude as well: ?My sons will learn to treat their wives as people? (Emecheta 121). Adah is a strong women who will not let herself be objectified and will not let the sexism of her culture keep her down. Adah would dislike the way that women are portrayed in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness because women are treated as though they do not belong in the real world. Women are treated as objects instead of people with thoughts and feelings. It is this treatment that Adah worked hard to overcome. Part II In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow, the narrator of most of the story, tell the story of his journey into the Congo searching for the lost ivory trader, Mr. Kurtz. Throughout Marlow's journey, he encounters different types of women. In his encounters with his Aunt, the African women, and Mr. Kurtz's intended fiancee, Marlow shows his demeaning and sexist view of women. Marlow objectifies women depending on their race. The white European females are looked upon as domestic beings who should tend only to their home worlds, while the only African women is portrayed as a sexual object. It is this objectivity that causes Marlow to never reveal the truth about Mr. Kurtz's life and death. The first woman that we meet is Marlow's aunt. She is the one paying for his trip to the Congo, yet Marlow does not respect her views. Marlow says, ?She talked about ?weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways,' till, upon my word, she made me quite uncomfortable... It's queer how out of touch with women are? (Conrad 11). In essence, Marlow is saying that women are out of touch with reality, even though it is clear that his Aunt's views about Africans reflect the popular view of the time. That view being to Christianize Africa and get rid of their traditional culture. This view was held by the likes of Rudyard Kipling, Leoplod II and other prominent men of the time. Marlow does not recognizes his Aunt's views simply because she is a women and he doesn't think women belong in the real world. He says, ?They [women] live in a world of their own, and there had never been anything like it, and never can be? (Conrad 11). Marlow expresses the fact that women live in sort of a alternate universe, that is that they are out of touch with reality.

Free Essays on Ireland Early 20th Century

In order to understand Ireland’s development in the 20th century, we must first look at its overall history. In this installment we will see the struggle of the Irish to regain control of their land and establish a government independent of British rule. While there is much conflict between the Irish peoples themselves, their struggle helps us to understand how far they have come in the 20th century alone and some of the conflicts that still exist today. The first invasion of Ireland by Britain is known as the Norman Invasion. This invasion occurred in 1169. The Irish clans battled Norman lords from Wales, the Irish were very persistent and spirited fighters but in the end King Henry II of England claimed Ireland as part of it’s kingdom. The English established control of Ireland, with the exception of the Northern Province Ulster. For nearly four hundred years, Irish clans defended their last province under self-rule. The Irish had the advantage of rugged terrain; water, woods, and mountains that would provide an advantage to those familiar with it. By 1603 Gaelic chiefs were forced to surrender Ulster to English authority. Subsequently, all of Ireland was put under English law. (Wells 19). Ulster was attractive to Presbyterian Scots and Anglican English colonists because it offered generous amounts of land. The native catholic Irish of the area were forced to the outlying areas and Protestants quickly became the majority. The native Irish saw these colonists as alien intruders who spoke a different language, had a different way of life, and most importantly a different religion. The Irish Catholics who originally inhabited the lands, mostly all peasant farmers, were dispossessed. In 1641 the Catholics staged an uprising and massacred a few Protestants, but the number was greatly exaggerated by England. To the Protestants the uprising was a symbol of Catholic brutality, hate, and an attempt to expel the colonis... Free Essays on Ireland Early 20th Century Free Essays on Ireland Early 20th Century In order to understand Ireland’s development in the 20th century, we must first look at its overall history. In this installment we will see the struggle of the Irish to regain control of their land and establish a government independent of British rule. While there is much conflict between the Irish peoples themselves, their struggle helps us to understand how far they have come in the 20th century alone and some of the conflicts that still exist today. The first invasion of Ireland by Britain is known as the Norman Invasion. This invasion occurred in 1169. The Irish clans battled Norman lords from Wales, the Irish were very persistent and spirited fighters but in the end King Henry II of England claimed Ireland as part of it’s kingdom. The English established control of Ireland, with the exception of the Northern Province Ulster. For nearly four hundred years, Irish clans defended their last province under self-rule. The Irish had the advantage of rugged terrain; water, woods, and mountains that would provide an advantage to those familiar with it. By 1603 Gaelic chiefs were forced to surrender Ulster to English authority. Subsequently, all of Ireland was put under English law. (Wells 19). Ulster was attractive to Presbyterian Scots and Anglican English colonists because it offered generous amounts of land. The native catholic Irish of the area were forced to the outlying areas and Protestants quickly became the majority. The native Irish saw these colonists as alien intruders who spoke a different language, had a different way of life, and most importantly a different religion. The Irish Catholics who originally inhabited the lands, mostly all peasant farmers, were dispossessed. In 1641 the Catholics staged an uprising and massacred a few Protestants, but the number was greatly exaggerated by England. To the Protestants the uprising was a symbol of Catholic brutality, hate, and an attempt to expel the colonis...

The importance of emotions and emotional quotient Article

The importance of emotions and emotional quotient - Article Example "A survey of the children's parents and teachers found that those who as four-year-olds had the fortitude to hold out for the second marshmallow generally grew up to be better adjusted, more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable teenagers. The children who gave in to temptation early on were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and stubborn." (Gibbs) Therefore, the author of the article has been very effective in providing evidences from the various studies in psychology to prove that emotions are more credible measures of intelligence than IQ. Nancy Gibbs also brings out the various misconceptions and misjudgments with regard to the measuring of intelligence. She maintains that the scientists have long worshipped the hardware of the brain and the software of the mind whereas the elements of emotions were completely ignored. Here, she makes out significance of the phrase 'emotional intelligence' which was coined by the Yale psychologist Peter Salovey and the contribut ions of Goleman are analyzed in detail, along with the studies by other scholars. Therefore, the article by Nancy Gibbs makes a central contribution to the study of psychology with regard to emotions and IQ in the measure of human intelligence. J. ... ich the author is trying to find a good explanation of why the cases of autism and closely related disorders like Asperger's are exploding in number with a seeming suddenness and the various arguments and opinions about the issue are thoroughly analyzed by the author. Significantly, the rise in autism and Asperger's is not confined to high-tech enclaves or to the children of computer programmers and software engineers and it occurs in every job category and socioeconomic class and in every state. The author provides alarming statistical data to prove that these disorders are fast becoming serious threat to the US society and one in one fifty kids below 10 years of age may be affected by autism or a related disorder. Considering the seriousness of the issue, the parents in the contemporary society are besieging the offices of psychologists and psychiatrists in their search for remedies whereas scientists are racing to identify the genes linked to autism and to examine environmental fa ctors contributing to the development of autism. In the next sections of the article, Nash deals in detail with the genetic roots of autism, a difference of mind, and a matter of misconnections and the author makes use of the rich new insights by the scientists into the baffling spectrum of disorders gained in the process of contemporary studies. Various factors contributing to the increase in autism and other disorders are analyzed in detail. "In the end," the author remarks, "it is not merely possible but likely that scientists will discover multiple routes--some rare, some common; some purely genetic, some not--that lead to similar end points. And when they do, new ideas for how to prevent or correct autism may quickly materialize. A decade from now there will almost certainly be more

Software Development Life Cycle Models and Design Techniques Essay

Software Development Life Cycle Models and Design Techniques - Essay Example Let us take a look at the contemporary models being used by the software industry. This is the first derivative of the classic Software Development Life Cycle model which goes through the processes of requirement capturing and analysis, System Analysis and Design, Code Generation, testing and maintenance. Water fall model (Royce,1970) differs from the sequential software development life cycle in inserting iteration at the end of every phase to reduce large iterations over several phases which could turn out to be costly exercises. It also provides for a validation at the end of every phase output, defining the deliverables at the end of every phase. In this process, incremental development was introduced for both requirement capturing and for development, along with a clear validation at the end of every phase made this process more successful than the sequential SDLC. Software projects more controllable. This model, though under use in various unofficial forms across the developing community, became a standard process in 1991. (Pomberger,1991). The phased model that was introduced in the waterfall model was seen more as an iterative possibility. At the end of every phase, a prototype was made and shown to the customer. ... During this methodology, experiments are conducted on the prototype at every iteration to check the effectiveness of the prototype for various functionalities expected out of the system. This way when the customer receives the software, he is very satisfied. 4.0 Object Oriented Life Cycle Model In this model, we do not train our eyes on the functionalities of the software needed, rather on the objects that we have and we can construct. After the requirement analysis, which is very similar to the other models discussed earlier, the objects are identified and development is taken up for those objects that need to be done fresh. Others that could be inherited, are taken from the earlier objects already existing. Advantages of this life cycle is that, since it inherits and reuses many of the objects already existing, the development cycle time should be coming down. By the same measure, it should also bring down the time to test, the time to maintain and the time to make changes in the software. Primarily, this model postulates reusability of objects and classes within programs / projects and across programs / projects2. Clubbing with the prototyping model, most of the common object models use prototyping of individual classes / objects with their performances resulting in easy spotting of errors and inconsistencies early on. Error fixing and modifications are much more easily understood and presented under such conditions resulting in easier fixes. 5.0 Design Techniques Derr (1995) is the first major proponent of the object model that follows the following steps to reach design solutions: 1. A Problem Statement 2. Identify object classes and their attributes 3. Discard unnecessary classes and attributes 4. Inherit

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 16

Philosophy - Essay Example But both the types of existentialists think that existence precedes essence. In simple words, idea of the object comes first and then, based on that idea, objects are created. Thus, according to Christian existentialist, man is the result or realization of a specific concept of God. Atheist existentialist says that human reality was created that gave identity to man and it was man himself, who defined how and what he will be. Therefore, according to atheist existentialist, since God does not exists, there is no concept of human nature but once man comes into existence, he is, what he makes of himself to be. This is a very interesting concept of human reality. Man, being a subjective reality, can mold himself into any desired image that he can conceive for himself. When a man makes a choice, he needs to be responsible because he is also representative of mankind and indirectly responsible for all men. It means that man cannot transcend human subjectivity. When a man decides to act in certain manner, he does so because he thinks that is the right way to act and that is how he would expect others to act. Similarly when he makes a choice, he opts for something that he accepts is important and which has considerable value for him. One can never deliberately choose evil so it can be correctly interpreted that we always make effort to choose things and actions that are good. Since things can only be good for one if they are considered good by one and all, therefore, it can be said that one’s responsibility becomes greater because it involves all human-being. Indeed, when he says that â€Å"Existentialism is nothing other than an attempt to draw all the consequences of a coherent atheistic position†, he implies that man acts in a certain manner because he knows those actions have some definite value for him and therefore,

The Themes In A Dolls House

The Themes In A Dolls House Sacrifice is a powerful theme that pervades these two plays, and expresses itself through its characters as well as its plot. However, the manner in which it is portrayed to the reader varies between these two plays. While sacrifice was depicted as combined with surrender in A Dolls House, in Antigone, it came merged with insurgence. There is sacrifice of love, hate, and morals and ultimately, sacrifice of self. Not only was this integrated into its protagonists lives, but it also came from its supporting characters as well. In this essay, I aim to explore the different ways in which Sophocles and Ibsen incorporated the theme of Sacrifice in their respective works. In A Dolls House, the sacrificial role of women was expressed exhaustively by Ibsen. The portrayal of women, beyond economic and social borders, sacrificing their love, children, morals and dignity touches a nerve among its readers. The picture where women were consistently giving up what were important to them just so they could please those around them was so universal and relatable to in this classic novel. In A Dolls House, Nora, while she was of a better social class and status than Mrs. Linde or her maid, was no different from them when it came to giving up those important to her. She renounced her own father when he was in his death bed just so she could save her husband and Mrs. Linde chose to give up her true love, Krogstad, when she was obliged to save her family from poverty. Even the maid in their home had to forgo bringing up her own children just so she could bring up someone elses and earn the money to support hers. This shows unconditional sacrifice for someone else. In Antigone, the situation is no different. Antigone sacrifices her love, Haemon, so she can fight for justice. Although she prioritizes justice over Haemon, she still makes a big sacrifice in her life to go through with her fight. On the other hand, at the very end of the play, Eurydice kills herself for she could not continue living without her son. This shows that she was willing to do anything for someone she loved, including killing herself. While the women in both plays portray unconditional sacrifice to those near and dear to them, the men completely represent the opposite. Torvald, Noras oppressive and condescending husband makes it clear that he would give up anything but his integrity. His status and prestige matter so much to him that he is willing to go to any lengths to show off his house as perfect and flawless to the society, including forcing Nora to stay at home even though he renounces her. He prioritizes his reputation over his own wife and states à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦no man would sacrifice his honor for the one he loves. This situation is recreated in Antigone when Creon is contemplating his reaction to finding his own niece, Antigone, doing the one thing he forbids, burying Polynices. He is willing to save his niece from the cruel fate that was promised to anyone who disobeyed his law, but he is unable to let her go free in front of the public eyes. He too, like Helmer, prioritizes his repute over his own niece and sentences her to die. He refuses to bend his laws to save his own kith and kin at the fear of losing his name. Another form of sacrifice is the sacrifice of ego and recognition. Nora performs this form of sacrifice throughout the story until up to the very end. All her value and abilities are suppressed by Torvald and she bears his condescending, and patronizing attitude with humility and meekness. She belittles herself and resigns to accept her place as inferior to Torvald. Ibsens usage of metaphors and imageries of birds which symbolize the weak, feeble and vulnerable, represent Noras position in her family. She is powerless and susceptible to her husbands every whim. Nora hides the fact that she had single-handedly saved her husbands life as she was hesitant to tell him that he owed a woman his life. She is proud of her achievements, but she is forced to keep it a secret, thus sacrificing recognition. Yet again, she was protecting Torvalds ego by sacrificing hers. She continuously boosts her husbands pride by saying things like Everything you do is quite right, Torvald while welcoming him to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦criticize [her] and correct [her]. Then there is sacrifice of love. Mrs. Linde chooses to leave her one true love, Krogstad when she was obliged to save her family by marrying another, richer, man. While she never stops loving Krogstad, she is bound by her duties as a daughter. While Nora does the opposite, they are both similar in the fact that they give up someone close to the good of another and they have had to make tough choices. In Antigone, Antigone sacrifices her love, Haemon, so she can protect him. Although she still loves him, she chooses to hurt him in order to protect him from the consequences of her actions. This act of selflessness was noble and just like Nora and Mrs. Linde, it was for someone she loved. Another form of sacrifice that is most vivid and poignant is the works is the sacrifice of ones happiness. Nora does outrageous, sometimes ridiculous, things just to make her husband happy at the expense of her own. She indulges Torvalds craze and dances the tarantella just so she could play up to Torvalds desires. She hides her stealthy eating of the macaroons and knitting so she could à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦have everything just as Torvald likes it. She also goes without buying a Christmas present for herself so she can save it repay the money she borrowed for Torvald. Nora hardly seems to listen to her heart or her head and blindly follows what she knows would make Torvald happy. Most times, Torvalds happiness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦comes out of [her] own necessaries of life. Sadly, Torvald never seems to notice à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it was often very hard on [her] In Antigone, Creon repeatedly tries to convince Antigone that it was not worth sacrificing herself for her brother. However, Antigone refuses saying I want everything of life , I do; and I want it total, complete; otherwise I reject it! I will not be moderateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. If not, I want to die! When Creon proceeds to tell Antigone that she could not afford to be so demanding and she had to accept life with all its complexities, Antigone explodes furiously. She claims that happiness was nothing if she had to compensate her perfect ideals and she decides that she would have all or nothing. Thus she sacrifices the happiness she could have had by choosing to ignore Creons words. She wants to live in a surreal utopia or die. This inability to adjust and cope with lifes tirades eventually brings about her demise. Lastly, the ultimate act of sacrifice is when Nora does is when she decides to leave her children in the end when she opts to leave her dolls house and go see the world. She obviously loves them deeply, as seen in Act One by the way she interacts with them. But she believes that she makes a worse and a corruptive parent than her maid and her husband and she makes the heart-wrenching decision to leave her children. This concern and love she has for her children makes her want to give them the best she can and she does that by leaving them. Finally, in Antigone, Antigone performs the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice of herself. She hangs herself before she could be killed by Creons guards and by doing that, she takes the last stand before Creon. Thus, Antigone stages her last act of revolt for Creons laws and decrees. What Antigone does is reflective of many societies where many women take such rash and impetuous actions to demonstrate their mutiny. While it was a self-less act of sacrifice and for the betterment of her society, it was also reckless and damaging. Haemon, too, sacrifices himself, but his was for love while Antigones was for justice. In conclusion, while contexts, settings, time period and surroundings varies between the two plays, the theme of sacrifice unites them beyond social and cultural barriers. The act of giving up something or someone was connected them both. However, certain disparity occurs when the extent of sacrifice is delved into. The Greek era, the era in which Antigone was set in, showcases a time of extremes where perfection and power were the baseline to the lives of the people, thus sacrifice of ones self for a petty reason was not a terrible, horrendous issue as it would have been in the more modern times. While a Norwegian play set in the modern realistic times (A Dolls House) brought about slightly more acceptable sacrifices such as the sacrifice women make, it also brings about issues of extreme societal boundaries and excessive expectations of certain behavior from the man and woman of the household. Today, in the modern realist perspective, those requirements would be far more uncommon a nd unusual.

Wedding Toasts - Best Man, Brother of the Groom Essay -- Wedding Toast

Wedding Toasts - Best Man, Brother of the Groom Good Evening! I’m standing up here tonight, pretty boastful I have to admit, of my brother, Bobo, and his bride Twiggy. I have come to sing their praises, and if I happen to embarrass either one of them in the process, I apologize right now! On behalf of our family, we want to welcome each of you to the wedding today. It is a true testament to Bobo and Twiggy that you have taken time from your busy schedule to come and witness their marriage. I have never seen a more beautiful bride than Twiggy, and my brother looks just plain button busting proud, doesn’t he? Bobo and Twiggy do not come lightly into this marriage. They have each led successful lives up to this point, and each is a wonderful individual alone. However, as wonderful and unique each of them is, together they make the perfect couple! Bobo, a man of patience,...

The Realities of Slavery and the Black Movement as Reflected in August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

August Wilson is a great playwright and this can be proved by his numerous plays. However, more than being a great playwright, August Wilson is a great man who had the capability to make the world see the reality behind the African slavery. In this paper, one of August Wilson's play will be analyzed through the historical context of which the slavery is involved. Joe Turner's Come and Gone is a very gripping play which shows the drama and the reality of life at the same time — which is sometimes what literature should be all about or what literature is trying to depict. Literature has been known to record and to serve as a witness to the various dramatic and historical events of life. The notion of whether literature is actually a record in itself can be also true since authors, novelist, and poets alike have been either inspired by the events that are happening around them or want to record the harsh realities and brutalities brought by Man and by Nature and to Man and to Nature. Thus, it is not questionable why literature has made so much impact in the lives of many people — as it enables them to be inspired by what they read or what they are seeing. Sometimes, literature is still able to reflect the whole being of a person or as a mirror to a whole nation's dreams and ambitions. August Wilson was able to do both — his poems and plays are able to reflect his personality while at the same time showing the rest of the world the realities of the harsh slavery brought to African-Americans. The most wonderful thing about August Wilson is the fact that the actual slavery or the actual moments of brutalities are left to the imagination of the readers or viewers — what the audience is looking into are the after-effects of slavery and discrimination. The actual scenes are not present in the play — what is present is the psychological state of the characters as they set about living in their respective environments? What is more is that the actual environment of the play is in itself a character. This is the case in August Wilson's play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone. A Brief Overview of Joe Turner's Come and Gone The play in its entirety is very enthralling both in its complexity and simplicity. It seems that there is no one central and main character — that the audience is to decide who the real protagonist and antagonist are in the play is the cause of the complexity. Not realizing that it was one person all throughout as it would be only revealed at the actual end or culmination of the play is what makes it actually simple. Joe Turner's Come and Gone begins in the small town of Pittsburgh's Hill which is actually the place of birth of August Wilson. This is very significant as the area contains a very rich and diverse racial background which contributes to the formation of the personality of the playwright as well as the personalities (or their lack of) of the characters of his play. Nonetheless, the play concentrates on the race of the African-Americans and the aftermath of the slavery they experienced. It opens with a couple by the name of Seth and Bertha Holly who are arguing over a strange man by the name of Bynum Walker. Bynum is a traditional African man who still practices the customs and thus earning the spite of Seth since Bynum kills the pigeons for his rituals. Seth owns a rental place wherein visitors can rent rooms, and Bynum is one of those renters. The play progresses with the coming of Herald Loomis and his daughter and Zonia who are in search of Martha, Herald's wife, and Zonia's mother. Martha supposedly left when Joe Turner, a brutal and notorious man, got to Herald Loomis and enslaved him. The arrival of Herald becomes the catalyst as the turn of events happens. There are other characters in the play as well, but Herald and his story are what is the most important. Seth initially does not trust Herald, but later on learns that Herald is actually unable to do things normally like talking, relating, and forming relationships with people because of what happened to him in the past. As the play progresses, the audience or readers soon discover that Herald once served Joe Turner — a very ruthless man who enslaves Africans or African-Americans. Because of this, Herald lost his personality as a character and his love patriotism for his culture and country. In fact, during one Bynum's rituals, the renters of Seth gather and together sing the juba. Herald gets enraged by this, and it is in this scene that Bynum informs him that Herald has lost his song. Of course, this has extreme significance as the Africans are very talented people and would perform many songs and dances in their rituals and traditions. Thus, if Herald loses his song, then it could just mean that he has lost his heritage, and this is most likely due to what Joe Turner has done to him. Later on, Martha, Herald's wife, returns and begs him to welcome Jesus since it is through Jesus that Herald would be able to forgive, live, and find his missing song. However, Heralds becomes angry at this and lashes out that no Jesus or god has come to his aid when he needed a Jesus or a god. In Herald's anger, he hurts himself and bleeds. With this furious act of intentionally hurting himself, Herald announces that he has freed himself and finally finds his own song. He leaves the rental place and the people behind, and thus, the play ends. The Man Behind the Play In Mary Bogumil's book entitled Understanding August Wilson, we are given a brief account of August Wilson's past as well as the things that have inspired him. Most important to mention is his participation in the Black Movement. In fact, his plays serve as a proof to this. August Wilson's ten plays which symbolize the ten decades of the slavery brought to Africans and African-Americans are full of suffering, pain as well as redemption of the characters. The Black Movement can be considered as the fight of the African-Americans for equality and moreover is for respect. It is a well known fact that they have suffered tremendously when it comes to slavery and discrimination. The time of the early 90's has been times of misery for them but they have endured greatly. A person can only imagine what could have happened even before that. One great and terrible account is the famous Middle Passage. According to the Resource Bank, the Middle Passage was considered as one of the most terrible things that happened to the Africans. They were treated as commodity and were forcefully brought to the shores of the West to become as slaves. From the moment that they were bought by the English or by the Americans, the start of their turmoil began. As they travel to the West they are deprived of basic rights such as sleeping quarters, sufficient food and water and care. In fact, during the Middle Passage, a lot of Africans died due to sickness. Many would attempt to starve themselves so they would not endure the hardships anymore. However, the English or Americans (depending on who bought them) would force them to eat as they want slaves who would serve them or slaves whom they can sell. This continued for many years, thus the connotation that Africans were inferior or low-lifes started as they were transported as slaves. Once they reach the shores of the West, more suffering awaits them as they are poorly treated by the White Americans or the English. This occurrence could have been one of things which have awakened August Wilson to the unjust treatment of the white people to the Africans or African-American. As the mother of August Wilson is an African, it is natural that she would have history or know the real story of what happened to Africans. Because of this August Wilson became an active advocate and pioneer for the rights and for the fight of the African nation. However, this fight would be long and enduring as the Africans or African-Americans would suffer and be miserable in the hands of the white people for many years. In fact, even in the modern times that society experiences today, there are still many African-Americans, even Hispanics and Asians who suffer discrimination tremendously. Considering the fact that President Barrack Obama has won, there is still a tantamount of discrimination experienced by many people. The Beliefs and Principles of the â€Å"People's Playwright† as Reflected in the Play As such, it is only natural that August Wilson — who was dubbed as the â€Å"People's Playwright† by James Keller would naturally be inspired by his heritage and what other races has done to his people. He is dubbed as the â€Å"people's playwright† not because he is very famous for his numerous plays but because his plays served as the eyes, ears, and voices of the people. What he has done is to say what the people are feeling, to makes others feel what they have felt and most of all, to make others people see that there was injustice done which has been imprinted into the hearts and souls of the African race. When Kim Pereira wrote a book about August Wilson is in a voyage or in an odyssey because of the plays that he wrote, it is both true and false. August Wilson did went to a voyage to discover his roots but most of all, the voyage he has were together with other people of the African race who have felt and experienced what he has written about. Conclusion The greatest thing about August Wilson and the play is the fact that the play in itself is a declaration that he is proud of his African heritage, even if he had to go to a voyage just to find it. This voyage or journey of August Wilson is by no means an actual adventure. This voyage is more historical, mental, psychological and personal all at the same time. August Wilson had to reconnect with the actual events that have happened in the past so the characters can have their own personality and history. However, more than bringing color and personality to his character, August Wilson is making means for them to find their own voices which was the whole point of the play as it is the climactic and dramatic theme of the whole work. That the character of Herald Loomis is unable to have any character at all is what the whole play was driving at. As according to Bynum Walker, Herald has lost his â€Å"song† (Wilson, p. 73) which could also translate to a person's being. In fact, Herald was so affected by what has happened to him that he cannot function normally. In conclusion, the play does indeed show August Wilson's belief and principles in an implicit way — one has to only look at the character of Herald Loomis and realize that more than finding his own personal song, he symbolizes the unearthing of the African's yearning for freedom, redemption, forgiveness, and most of all—acceptance.

Baseball’s Antitrust Exemptions Essays

Baseball’s Antitrust Exemptions Essays Baseball’s Antitrust Exemptions Paper Baseball’s Antitrust Exemptions Paper It is a matter of fact the debates whether baseball’s antitrust exemptions should be eliminating is still the agenda as no single agreement has been achieved. Actually, the debates started in 1901 when Napoleon Lajoie decided to join a new team and such action was claimed to violate the National League contract. It meant he had either to continue playing in his original team or to leave baseball. As a result of the conflict, the National Agreement was signed in 1930 claiming that all of the owners are allowed jointly operate the monopoly. According to this agreement, the rules about salaries and contracts of all players were established. Nevertheless, the year of 1998 played crucial role in the debates as the Congress passed the Curt Flood Act and baseball’s antitrust exemptions were recalled and voided. I think that antitrust exemption is a double-edged weapon and either to eliminate or to promote has both negative and positive aspects. My opinion is that antitrust exemptions should be eliminated, but, it is necessary to discuss different perspectives of the argument to have clear understanding of the problem. On the one hand, baseball antitrust exemptions shouldn’t be eliminated because they give professional baseball players and excellent opportunity to ensure and sustain high quality of play because the number of professional teams is restricted and all teams are playing, therefore, in major leagues demanding proper skills and training. No team is willing to be defamed. From this perspective, antitrust exemptions make players work hard raising the popularity of baseball in the country. It is argued that baseball tickets are relatively low as teams have to compete for fans and expensive tickets would prevent them from professional sport and they would find another ways of entertainment. For example, Raymond Keating in his paper supports antitrust exempts mentioning that they ensure teams are in one city. In such a way, antitrust exemptions defend players from owners who may wish to relocate forces. Keating says that exemptions should be provided for all professional sports. On the other hand, antitrust exemptions should be banned primarily because they give sense of superiority over other professional teams and sports. It is claimed that antitrust exemptions keep the tickets relative cheap, but the real situation is another. It is antitrust exemptions that have resulted in increased prices for tickets. Public funding is spent to reconstruction of older stadiums and construction of new ones. Advocates of exemptions claim that baseball players stay in current locations, but players may undergo pressures and threats from the major baseball league. Moreover, exemptions cause discrimination and inequality in opportunities as other leagues are unable to stay in one location because it violates antitrust laws. If to eliminate antitrust exemptions, additional teams would be formed in cities which are fond of baseball. In other words, cities wouldn’t be afraid that team would leave the city in case if a new stadium isn’t constructed. As I mentioned above, antitrust exemption allows leagues to abuse power utilizing illegal resources and influences to scratch people’s money. Simply speaking, cities are forced to use pub expenses to build new sport stadiums and provide major league with all necessitates. If new teams are formed, baseball fans will be provided with more services and cheaper tickets. It will increase the demand for professional baseball and admission prices will be reduced as well. Moreover, eliminating antitrust exemption will prove that cities are able to support more teams, though earlier it was claimed that it was prodigally to support many professional sports leagues. Nevertheless, cities would even save money as public expenses won’t be spent on building new stadiums. For example, Raymond Keating in their paper recommend â€Å"breaking up existing leagues into competing business entities†. Summing up, despite certain benefits, I think that antitrust exemptions should be eliminated as it will assist in forming new teams, reducing public expenses, ensuring cheaper tickets, and providing equal opportunities for all teams. References Barra, Allen. (2000). In Antitrust We Trust. Retrieved October 8, 2007, from salon.com/news/feature/2000/05/19/antitrust/ Keating, Raymond J. (1997). The Economic Woes of Pro Sports: Greed or Government? Retrieved October 8, 2007, from libertyhaven.com//ecowoes.shtml

Latino Religions †a Blend of Nationalist and Spiritual Meaning

Latino Religions – a Blend of Nationalist and Spiritual Meaning Free Online Research Papers When asked to define features that seem to be distinctive to Latino religious traditions, there is a list that comes to mind. Firstly, Latino religions have an interesting blend of nationalist and religious meaning applied to their practices and beliefs. For example, the Virgen de Guadalupe has been the symbol of Mexico since the War of Independence. Ever since being credited as an aide to the people in the war, the Virgen has been a strong figure for Mexicans. Eventually she became the official patron saint of Mexico and the Americas. However, at the same time she holds different meaning in a spiritual context. While her role as the patron saint of Mexico and the Americas is recognized by the Catholic Church, she also is believed to provide aide and protection beyond a strictly nationalist identity. The Virgen is also seen as a mother and protector responsible for miracles in daily life, in the home, within the community, or whenever separate from strictly Mexican identity. The veneration of saints such as the Virgen is also something inherently Latino. Saint veneration, most commonly expressed through votive devotion, is homage to God through the mediation of a saint. Latinos feel very strongly about this practice, both going to their place of worship to light candles and most often lighting them at home, too. In order to light these candles in the home, Latinos also generally have altars set up in their residences. These altars are extremely common and are very important to the Latino community. This tradition is mainly in response to the lack of incorporation of Latino aspects of Catholicism into the Anglo-Catholic system as these immigrant communities are growing. Yet another distinctive feature is the emphasis on the suffering and/or oppression aspects of each of their faiths. For example, Mexican-Catholics put great importance on the portrayal of the intense suffering of Jesus within the Passion narrative. By doing this, they are able to rationalize the seemingly unavoidable oppression and suffering experienced by Latino communities wherever they may be. This virtually unavoidable marginalization and persecution of Latino communities almost always leads to community bonding. With Latino communities growing closer together and becoming tighter knit, the already existing emphasis on religion being part of one’s ethnic identity is only magnified. To many, being Mexican simply means being Catholic. Evidence of this connection can be seen with the incorporation of indigenous history in services, celebrations, and traditions. Not only can Aztec dancers be found at many festivals, but many Latinos also visit botanicas, incorporating other traditions like Santeria into their spiritual experience outside of the church. Of course, Latinos also prefer bilingual or Spanish speaking leaders for their services, something some Latinos had the privileged of experiencing and many didn’t. But this ethnic identity goes even further geographically than the botanicas in their neighborhoods. The last and final of the bigger commonalities within Latino religious experience is that of a strong regional identity. Obviously, this comes from the already intense ethnic identity but it is taken a step further. The ethnicity is directly linked back to a home country and village that are reflected on the other side of the border. Latinos tend to create communities in America with the best attempts to reflect their original community from their homeland. By creating this physical region in a transplanted area, Latinos are able to continue to adhere to their strong regional identity and, furthermore, ethnic identity. Each community in the original fatherland was unique, with different patron saints and/or traditions, something that, if it could be transplanted, would help create a comfort zone during a very new and jarring experience upon entering America. Beyond this, many express and act upon the desire to return back to their homeland for spiritual or personal milestones, such as certain festivals or child confirmation. Some are even willing to risk not being able to make it back because they are illegal immigrants. Though all of these traits and traditions are agreed upon by many to be common within the Latino religious experience, it would be a gross generalization of the Latino community. Not only that, it would misrepresent other religious experiences by making each of these aspects seem uniquely Latino. The best way to approach finding out what makes a Latino religion Latino is less about finding a finite list such as this one and checking off each trait for each faith and labeling it Latino if it covers a majority of the traits and traditions. Rather, it would be better to take a quite opposite approach. Firstly, the definition of religion would have to be established and agreed upon before anything else begins. This could take up a whole other paper, so the discussion will, sadly, not be delved into here, but let’s just say the dictionary definition is not the final answer. Secondly, it would need to be decided if the qualifications for a Latino religion would have emphasis on the racial and genetically affected ethnic breakdown of the community. If so, then it’s a simple matter of gathering up statistics regarding demographics and interpreting it for a more mathematical and finite answer. However, I feel that this would probably be the worst cop out ever and would truly miss everything about the emotions and experience of the elusive definition of what a Latino religion is. The best approach, which would (just our luck) be the most difficult approach, would be to somehow observe and document each individual Latino community’s general experience starting with their homeland faith and going through the immigration experience all the way until the present day in their American community. A combination of extensive personal human experience and demographical data would have to be collected in order for this to be done as accurately as possible. The reason why I think this method is best is because I think the personal and spiritual experience of a Latino is the most important factor in their choice of religion. Not only that, but it would further directly influence how that religion would be shaped as far as traits and traditions that may change, be added or removed, or left the same. Using this approach, we aren’t limited to just studying the religion as it is upon the time of discovering that a Latino is biologically Latino. With this information, we are able to create a rough picture of pre-existing religions that changed or remained stoic, religions that merged to create hybrids, and religions that were (more or less) created from the history of Latino evolution. Granted, I also have to accept that there will be generalization to a certain extent since I can in no way find it realistic to even dream about documenting this for each and every individual Latino. I chose the virtually impossible task of trying to document as many communities of Latinos along with a strong number of those who are not part of a Latino community, having experienced less bonding between Latinos and more of assimilation and possible alternate bonding with another non-Latino based community. Even more interesting would be to see if these individuals felt alienated and unsure of their identity. Basically, the answer to this question can’t truly be answered but not just because my approach would require years of research and financing. There is no religion that could ever simply be labeled as Latino. Santeria, one of the religions brought over, is a mix of Latino and African indigenous. If the history of these African religions could be traced back, I’m sure they came from a merge of two or more pre-existing faiths. No sense of identity that anyone claims, whether ethnic, regional, political, etc. can be used to claim any religion because, in all honesty, not one religion is new, original, or separate from the other, much like trying to find an actor not six degrees away from Kevin Bacon. Even Anglo-Catholicism is not truly Anglo tracing back into its history. Latinos cannot create a religion (hybrid or ‘original’) that is exclusive to only them, nor can they take a pre-existing religion and simply throw Latino in front of it and claim any ownership to it. Sadly, the idea that there is any sense of ownership of religion does exist no matter how 100% false that claim is. This study would not give us an answer of whether a religion is Latino or not because that simply can’t be done. The best way I can think to explain this (and maybe it’s only because I’ve been studying for this final lately) is by comparing it to plate tectonics. There are two separate plates, one being Latino community and its current faith, the other representing whatever separate community and faith they are about to encounter. The basic premise of this scenario would be to gather any and all information about each separate plate so that we can properly predict and/or analyze the impending collision. Many scenarios would arise. The Latino plate could prove to be weaker, being forced under by the other plate, with only scattered (yet explosive) uprising magmatic traditions that couldn’t fully be coerced out of them, similar to the Anglo vs. Mexican Catholic experience. Or, the Latino plate could prove stronger and, instead, overtake the other plate, causing the opposite results, something I would personally love to see and hesitantly say could be the impending future of the Catholic church in America. The plates could also, rather than face each other head on, take on a transverse boundary, in which the Latino plate and the other plate violently rub together, causing intense heat, friction, and earthquakes all around the area. While they are not dramatically overtaking each other or drastically reshaping the weaker, they are interacting with each other abrasively where they meet, having effect on each other beyond just where they interact. This is still a situation of give and take, where the rocks actually rubbing at the boundary are mixing and switching in a tense manner. I find this to be most like the tension between the Protestant and Catholic churches, but specifically in the context of Latino conversion where the evangelicals and Catholic power-houses are struggling to keep what they have while also trying to acquire more of the Latinos in the vulnerable or soul-searching state that puts them in this boundary danger zone. Finally, there is the divergent zone, in which is where the two plates are moving away from each other. This is due to the combination of pull and push forces, something that should sound familiar to those who listened to the lectures. The pull force is coming from the other side of the plates that are partaking in the subduction or overtaking of another plate, causing them these two plates to pull away from each other. The push force is coming from the uprising of new magma between the two plates, creating new portions of each plate. This new material not only helps with growth and movement of the plates, but it’s also interesting that two different plates are now made of very similar (if not identical) matter at this boundary. This boundary is harder to put into context though it provides quite an interesting scenario. I would try and think of it as similar to a more relatively current situation in which Protestantism and Catholicism in Mexico have come to exist in each other’s space. They seem to just so sweetly and Christ-like naturally repel each other and desire great distance between them, in a general sense. Granted, Catholicism came ‘first’ and so instead of an even migration, the Protestant plate would be moving far faster and greater as they see the appeal of acceptance in America (pull force) and are virtually unwelcome in Mexico by Catholics (push force). Catholicism would remain more stagnant or, at least, be moving at a slower rate in the other direction. What’s most interesting, however, is what this ‘new’ material that is rising up will be. Could it represent the already clear open-minded and friendlier acceptance of Protestantism that can be fou nd in Mexican cities and villages near the border? Or is there something new on the horizon that we have yet to see? The one thing plate boundaries don’t cover is the existence of two plates that amiably live in the vicinity of each other. This is because not one single inch of a plate boundary isn’t interacting with another boundary. Call me a cynic, but there will never be a situation in which humans will interact in a 100% non-violent or abrasive manner, even if they try their best not to. Religion, like plates, will never stop interacting or changing and not one religion comes out fully unchanged. So, the answer to the question is clearly not here. Instead, I think the question to ask here is broad and consisting of many layers. Considering the consensus that religions are not own-able or entitled to anyone, how does the personal and community experience of Latinos shape the way in which Latino communities and individuals react with other religious experiences they encounter? Do certain similar experiences (boundary types) correlate with similar outcomes (boundary types)? What does this tell us about the nature of Latino practices and traditions, such as why certain traits or traditions are less tightly held on to or how these dynamics lead to a winner in the power struggle? And, of course, in return, we can ask all these questions in regards to whatever religious experience our other plate may represent. Research Papers on Latino Religions - a Blend of Nationalist and Spiritual MeaningAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeHip-Hop is ArtQuebec and CanadaCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Comparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoDefinition of Export Quotas

Service Approach through Production line approach in Delivery Essay

Service Approach through Production line approach in Delivery - Essay Example Production line approach remains dependable for the success of service operation in today’s world. This is an approach where employees follow the set rules of customer approach as set by the operation management of that company. Notably, earlier business empires have written in favor of production line approach on customer service. This logic and tactics of manufacturing create a structured order on the service, which a certain company gives to its customers. It is relevant since a majority of the companies in the current world of business make profits out of it. Take for example a case where an employee encounters a business merchant and the customer is new to the products of that company. This is where production line approach comes in since the merchant will need a brief of the company’s product. You will notice that in such situations, the operation management has structured down procedurals for its employees’ to follow in the advent of such scenarios. It wou ld enlighten the client on the basic information, as the employees have to take customer service from stage to stage. The customer benefits from the time and maximum orientation before transactions are sealed. As this is not enough, if a customer establishes himself as regular to a certain service business line, the employee production line approach have to work in favor of the customer until he or she gets are needs well catered satisfactorily. The traditional view of such an approach is that the operational management perceives and believes that when you put your employees into the specialization of their labor, there are economic benefits in it. Through such an operation, the chain of flow on how customers get services is convenient and even creating a non-confusing environment for the customers. This all happens because of the structured procedurals. The success of service industry can multiply with production line approach. The system encourages breaking down of Jobs into multi ple tasks. The positions are then redistributed to employees with each assigned the magnitude of his services (Bowen, 2003:4). Just as the way production industries have broken down their lines of production, the service operation get alike. The employees are assigned areas where they would specialize hence perfecting their skills and register to use upon the customers. The production line of service delivery through specialization makes the quality of customer service efficient. The aim is to reduce wasteful efforts in employees and maximizes greater efficiency. According to Taylor, the procedure focuses on economic achievement as simplicity invents in work delivery. As a

Environmental Health Assessment-Stakeholder Analysis Essay

Environmental Health Assessment-Stakeholder Analysis - Essay Example Stakeholder analysis is resorted to identify people, organizations, groups who will have a valid and legitimate interest and stakes in the projects being implemented and policies being developed. "Participation analysis - or stakeholder analysis as it is sometimes called - seeks to identify all persons, institutions, etc. involved in a project, in addition to the target group and the implementing agency, and speculates on their expected support or opposition to the program. This analysis is used at the preliminary stages of a project in order to incorporate interests and expectations of persons and groups significant to a project or program" (Participation Analysis, 1990). The process of identifying stakeholders is very important for participatory analysis to be effective. There are various methods of doing this. J.M. Bryson (2003) lists eight thirteen different techniques of doing stakeholder identification and analysis. Here the method suggested in the source quoted earlier (Participation Analysis, 1990) has been followed to identify the stakeholders. They are listed below: The new multibillion dollar industry proposed sees an opportunity to create a profitable venture through meeting a huge demand from KPLC. In view of the hazardous nature of the industry, the regulatory authorities in Kenya have asked the company to incorporate certain additional safeguards such as shifting the location away from the city, providing safety equipment to workers, monitoring their health regularly, installing water treatment plant. All this will mean both higher capital and operational costs. The company may have already factored these in its cost calculations. However there must be a limit to which they would agree for cost escalation. Any Risk Management plan must keep these concerns of the company to get a reasonable rate of return on investment and not push the company to incur cost beyond its bearing capacity. KPLC who is the targeted buyer will benefit from procuring from a local manufacturer which would lower their procurement cost and in turn affect the performance of their company positively. KPCL's primary interest would be that the new company formed has competitive advantage over its current overseas supplier at all times. If at all at some point the newly formed company becomes non competitive, it will run the risk of going back to its earlier supplier and re-negotiating, possibly from a point of weakness. This may adversely affect the utility company and power distribution costs in the country. Setting up a local industry will no doubt create direct and indirect employment. The local labor force will be a direct beneficiary. The labor is most likely to be organized into a labor union, possibly with wider industry linkage. The labor force and the supporting labor union will be an