Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Analyze a story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyze a story - Essay Example Her approach to her subject is quite diverse with respect to the locations and the variety of the crimes done by men to women. The paper seeks to analyze the story or article through the vivid presentation of the facts that the author is trying to say. At the initiation of the story, the author defines the boundaries of her analysis. She observes numerous atrocities occurring in various parts of the world but desists from tackling them with the reason that similar problems with the same magnitudes frequently occur in America. She claims that many people ignore the oppression existing at the very doorsteps of Americans, According to her; Americans suffer under the delusion that women in America have achieved equality. The real perception that she tries to tell her audiences is that they should not be complacent in the fight against inequality with respect to women. Instead of focusing on the problems of the world, Valenti throws a strong challenge to the contemporary Americans to stay focused and boldly face the atrocities beckoning at their door-steps. In addition, she tries to say that there is substantial progress that women movements have achieved in the past. However, she is skeptical about justifying that the prevalence of atrocities has halted. She emphatically says, â€Å"Women are still being raped, trafficked, violated and discriminated against -- not just in the rest of the world, but here in the United States† (Valenti 1). Through giving some of the recent examples of injustices such as the sexual assault of women in Colorado the author aims to open fresh wounds and induce the need for urgency in addressing the matter. The author introduced another dimension of perceiving the vulnerability of women to cases of injustices. She gives examples of instances where close colleagues and work partners have raped women. For instance, women serving in the military in Iraq are likely to become preys to fellow

Monday, October 28, 2019

In part two of Silas Marner Essay Example for Free

In part two of Silas Marner Essay The readers are also told that that Godfrey is in fact, secretly married to Molly Farren, with whom he was a child. Dunstan is the only other person who is aware of this situation and blackmails Godfrey, threatening to inform the Squire, how his handsome son is married to that nice, young women, Molly Farren, and was very unhappy that he couldnt live with his drunken wife. (Chapter 3 pg 22) Godfrey fears the Squire finding out because he worries about losing his position of the upcoming squire, and also Nancy Lammeter, since he must irrevocably lose her as well as his inheritance. (Chapter 3 pg 24) So although we are told that Godfrey is, open-faced and good natured, he also could be considered as a very self centered and self serving character. He doesnt face up to the consequences of his actions, and has secrets which he is not prepared to reveal incase they affect his current life style. Inside, he is very conniving and two faced. When Silas turns up at the Red House on New Years Eve, seeking a doctor, holding a little girl and revealing how a woman is injured in the snow outside, Godfrey knows straight away who it is and is shocked and afraid. He is worried that Molly will reveal his secret to the villagers. There was a terror in his mind at that moment the women might not be dead. (Chapter 13 pg 99) He is more concerned with finding her dead than the possibility of saving her, because it will leave him free to marry Nancy, and his inheritance will be safe. Yet again to the villagers, Godfrey appears to have the best interest of the women in mind, by making sure she is not injured and to be assistance. However his inner thoughts betray his shallowness and his ultimate self interest. Deeper down there was a sense that he ought to except the miserable wife and fulfill the claims of the helpless child. But he had no moral courage enough to contemplate the active renunciation of Nancy as possible as him (Chapter 13 pg 101) Equally, his treatment of Eppie is also self serving. Godfrey has the opportunity to claim her, but chooses not to. Silas says, fill anybody shoes, theyve got a right to take her from me, (Chapter 13 pg 102). His other opportunities include: Marrying Nancy (which he does); Starting a fresh, (which he does); having Eppie in the open, but still wedding Nancy, (Which he does not do) Godfrey is anxious but ultimately his attitude is that his life will be better in the future with Nancy if he leaves his secret behind, if she is [dead] I shall be a good fellow in the future. (pg 101) Whereas Silas embraces Eppie, Its a lone thing and Im a lone thing. (pg 102) This turns out to be a fundamental change in the lives of the two men. After 16 years, Silas life has changed enormously since taking on Eppie. He isnt as shallow, and always worrying about money because he has a loving daughter who loves him. His work has slowed down, and he now socializes with the villagers, and has fashionably taken up smoking a pipe! More importantly, his faith has been restored, and is very content because he believes he has everything. Silas did not highly enjoy smoking but a humble sort of acquaintance in what was held to be good had become a strong habit of that new self which has been developed in him since he had found Eppie. (Chapter 16, pg 124) In comparison to Silas, Godfreys life hasnt turned out so positively. He feels discontent that he hasnt achieved anything in his life, because the use of squire has stopped and he feels that he is less than his father. Unfortunately Nancy and he remain childless, and he has no heir. I wanted to pass for childless once, Nancy I shall pass for childless now against my wish (Chapter 20 pg 151) Godfrey finally admits to parentage because he wants to adopt Eppie, to be able to make her an heir, and continue the family name within the Red House. He wants his child to become a lady and have a better life. Once more, even though this change may benefit Eppie, ultimately Godfreys reasons are self serving. Eppies response to Godfreys offer isnt as he expected. She declines his offer, as she wants to remain with her father that brought her up from a small child. She doesnt want to be a lady. Eppie wants to live in a way she is accustomed to, with different friends on the same social group as her own. Marrying Aaron would be forbidden if she was a lady, as he isnt upper class. On the other hand, Eppie isnt familiar with Godfrey, and doesnt see him as a father. Eppie would be lost without Silas, as they do everything together they drink from the same cup. Eppie fears of Silas going back to his old ways if she leaves him and wants to stay loyal to him, as he was the one who took her in as his own. I cant feel as Ive got any father but one Ive always thought of a little home where hed sit in the corner, and should fend and do everything for him: I cant think of no other home. (Chapter 19, pg 150) With the arrival of Eppie, both mens lives have been changed in very different ways. Silas is content with his life, his faith has been restored and his social life is better than ever. Whereas, Godfrey is disappointed with the arrival of Eppie, as he had all he ever wanted until she arrived, and his secret had been kept safe until then. Silas life in Lantern Yard consisted of faith, love, trust and relationships. After being framed and removed from the church, he decides to move to Raveloe, where he isolated himself from the community. Then his gold was stolen from his home, by Godfreys younger brother Dunstan. While Silas is out, Eppie then appears on his doorstep on New Years Eve, after her mother left her while she was injured. Silas takes her in and cares for her as if shes his own blood, believing she is a gift from god to replace his gold. From the up bringing of Eppie, he manages to bring himself out of isolation and regain his faith, relationships, respect and love. Eppie was beneficial to Silas in more ways than one. In Godfreys life, though, his secrets are hidden from the beginning until Eppie arrives. When he realized it was Molly outside Silas house, he was more concerned with finding her dead than alive, to prevent his secrets from being published. The main opportunity was to claim Eppie, but at first, he thought that his life in the future would be better with Nancy if Eppie was remained unclaimed. Unfortunately Nancy is unable to have children and produce an heir for him. This is when Godfrey realizes, as her biological father, that she could be that upcoming heir he desperately needs, to prevent his name leaving the Red House as a Squire. Godfrey puts forward an opportunity to Eppie, for her to move in with himself and Nancy, as, he would provide her with a better future. Eppies response isnt as he expected she says no! The reason is that Eppie doesnt want to lead the life of a lady, and have to change the social group of which she is part. Eppie wants to remain with Silas and look after him until the end, just like he has cared for her. This choice of Eppies, has rewarded those who nurtured her in this case, Silas. Overall, George Eliot wrote this book as a very moralistic novel. Silas deserved to be loved by Eppie as he provided her with a loving home, family and religion; all out of the goodness of his heart. So when Eppie decides she wants to stay with him, it rewards him and returns his gratitude. On the other hand, all of Godfreys choices were self serving. In the beginning he had an opportunity to claim Eppie from Silas, but failed to, supposing that his life will be improved with Nancy, without the difficulties of Eppie. Later on in the novel, he recognizes he made the wrong decision, as Nancy is unable to produce any heirs to take his place. Once more his actions are convenient for him because, he now realizes that Eppie could take that that position. In spite of this when Eppie declines his offer, he deserves it, as in the past he has been a selfish coward. Therefore it proves that life can change, because of the path you choose to lead!!   Kate Martyn English Coursework! 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay -- To Kill a Moc

Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† by Harper Lee is a story of national magnitude that contains complex characters. Harper Lee deals with the emotions and spirits of the characters insightfully. A few of these characters display courage at one point or another in the story. These flashes of courage come during turbulent times of the story, and often led to success. Atticus Finch displayed courage on numerous occasions. Without his wife he had to raise Jem and Scout alone for most of their lives. Because he knew he had to set an example for his children to follow, Atticus tried never to let his emotions get the best of him. He stated on several occasions that he would not be able to tell his children one thing and do another. He believed in teaching by example, and his methods worked. Scout views her father as the bravest person she ever knew when he was cordial to Mrs. Dubose, despite her gibes. In front of the jail, Atticus was reading to Tom Robinson, a Negro he was defending in a rape case. The black versus white mentality was like a wildfire through almost all of Maycomb’s white residents during this case. As he was reading Atticus was approached by a group of men wanting to get at Tom. â€Å"’He in there, Mr. Finch?’ ‘He is and he’s asleep. Don’t wake him up.’ ‘You know what we want. Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch’ ‘You can turn around and go home again, Walter.’†(151) Atticus stood strong against an entire mob due to his strong values. He would not budge, even though he was outnumbered. His voice was cool and collected throughout the entire encounter, proving once more his courage. Atticus was also courageous when he aimed to defend Tom Robinson instead of just allowing the guilty verdict. â€Å"’Lemme tell you somethin’ now, Billy, you know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.’ ‘Yeah but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it.’†(163) In those times many lawyers did not attempt to defend black men against white men. They were biased against their own clients. But Atticus, however, would not do such a thing. He stuck to his beliefs and continued the trial even though he knew that he could never win with a biased jury. To use his own words for him, Atticus was licked before he began but he began anyway and saw it through to the end. Jem is another character that displays... ... his reading. Then an alarm clock would sound and Jem and Scout would be shooed away by Mrs. Dubose’s maid Jessie. â€Å"’Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict. She tood it as a pain-killer for years. The doctor put her on it. She’d have spent the rest of her life on it and died without much agony, but she was too contrary†¦She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody†¦She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did†¦I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know your licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the braves person I ever knew.†(112) Atticus would have made Jem read to her anyway just to realize how courageous she really was. Mrs. Dubose knew that she would be in great pain but stuck to her ideals and came out on top. She was very old and sickly yet still conquered her morphine addiction. As Atticus said, she possessed real courage.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Higher Education, and American Society

After thoroughly reading â€Å"Race, Higher Education, and American Society,† I felt genuinely enlightened. As cliche as that sounds, the article left me with a better understanding of what causes our society to function like it does. But on a deeper level I felt somewhat ashamed of the extreme close-mindedness that seems to run rampant throughout our nation. The argument that stood out the most, and was the most interesting to me was â€Å"The conclusion of most of us is that â€Å"race† does not exist as a biological phenomenon. ut rather that it is socially and culturally constructed† (pg, 216). I wholeheartedly agree and support this argument, it's not that society finds the different pigment of one's skin taboo, but more the various stereotypes one is in a sense â€Å"branded† with by society. The author later explains that for the most part this form of discrimination is somewhat subliminal, in that no one would deliberately admit to it. Moses goes into deeper analysis by saying that stereotypes are based upon people associating certain â€Å"innate characteristics† to specific groups of people. Furthermore I share the feeling of the author of how sad it is that we live in a society that is so â€Å"preconditioned† to the idea of fixed racial categories. I've noticed a pattern in history that makes up our country, it is riddled with persecution, but despite this it seems we've learned nothing. I find it embarrassing that we could once be so ignorant to think that fellow human beings could be inferior based solely on the color of their skin and the location in which they reside. Although this was not mentioned in the article nor have I read it anywhere else, my hypothesis would be that darker skin pigments are a dominant evolutionary trait. For those that live close to and around the equator the darker skin is a defense to constant exposure to a sun that is in a sense â€Å"closer† than it is in the northern hemisphere. The best evidence in support of the above mentioned argument provided within in the article is early and extremely conventional belief that â€Å"some people cannot learn†. What this is saying essentially is certain minorities have inferior brain capacity and therefore can't be taught. This concept itself was most easily seen in our own Constitution, being that people of color, poor white men, and women were not considered to be citizens. Even close to two hundred years later, there was still virtually no educational and social mobility for minorities. Its that sad cliche of â€Å"the rich get richer while the poor remain poor†. The author also explains how certain elements perpetuate the homogenization of elite universities, such as â€Å"grades and test scores constitute merit† (pg. 17). This in addition to the endless cycle that makes up inner-city education: the schools lack resources and the desire to prepare these children, giving them a disadvantage when taking standardized tests and more specifically when trying to be admitted into a institution of higher learning. In conclusion, it is evident from the information within this article that stereotypes and racism are still found in America, and those who perpetuate them by encouraging homo-geniousness are merely trying to keep the rich†¦ rich.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

First Generations

In her book First Generations, Carol Berkin basically aims to show the readers the power of women which can be traced through our history. Differentiating itself from traditional historical texts, studies, and researches, the book does not omit the valid experiences of women during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It wants to show that women of all races -European, Indian, and African- were critical components of 17th- and 18th-century American history.As such, the author tried to examine the various cultures, ideologies, belief and political systems that were present during those early times in relation to the roles and norms that enveloped women. With this goal at hand, she tried to find evidences and narrative accounts of the lives of ordinary women. She tried to figure out how these ordinary lives were governed, affected, and altered by the varying social expectations about women.Through all of this, Berkin tries to emphasize that women were active partakers in the makin g of history and the alteration of social norms, values, and systems even at a time when they were denied of equal rights. The book’s efficacy in providing deeper knowledge of American Culture To identify the efficacy of a classified historical narrative and exploration, the bases that will be used are the conciseness of the narrative, and its accuracy.Basically, the book presented a complete and concise narrative since it presented a multicultural setting as it tackles the experiences of women from various cultural and racial backgrounds. It involves the analyses of women of European, Indian, and African originalities. However, the book does not stop at carefully delineating women through their race and culture. Instead, Berkin moves a step higher in careful analysis and examination as she explores not only the popular and prominent women from the various cultural originalities.She presents a book which explores the lives of women through the varied roles that they perform- as wives, as daughters, as mothers, and as social participants- in relation to their occupation and social class. A particular example is Berkin’s citation of Margaret Hardenbroeck, a trader. Berkin was able to track down the life of Hardenbroeck, and illustrate how her colonial life as a businesswoman was altered by English colonization of Netherlands. In the book, Hardenbroeck’s economic problems, legal rights, and socially-related issues were examined in relation to what her husband have experienced.By doing so, Berkin was able to demonstrate the differences among the social expectations and pressures between a man and a woman. Another identity that Berkin also examined in the book was Eliza Lucas Pinckney. Unlike Hardenbroeck, Pickney was not very exposed to matters of businesses, colonization, and governmental restrictions at first. Instead, she was constantly struggling to fulfill her domestic responsibilities that were traditionally assigned to women. By these, it means that Pinckney was more concerned and burdened with her roles as a wife, a mother, and a daughter.However, economic circumstances prompted her to adopt expertise in entrepreneurship as she later became the proprietor of her father’s and late husband’s plantations. Berkjin narrates that overtime, Pinckney then developed â€Å"a consciousness of self and a confidence in reason† which she garnered from her education. Through these two, Berkin made a valid conclusion when she pointed out that social class altered the supposed to be gender-specific roles of colonial American society.In the case of accuracy, it can be observed that Berkin lacked primary materials. As such, she tried to overcome the scarcity of primary sources through thorough research and cross-checking with secondary sources. She even acknowledges the said issue when she stated that though â€Å"studies of New England marriage patterns based on diaries and letters and studies of Chesapeake m arriage patterns drawn from demographic data are equally valid,† such cannot be used for a carefully derived cross-culture comparison.However, it seems that her lapse in conclusive data should not be regarded as an important component in her descriptive analysis of the daily lives of women from various geographic regions. It appears that the careful analysis of women of varied social class, racial background, and geographic location during those times is accurate enough to guarantee that the narrative is a well-researched work fit for collections on women studies.As such, the book gave its readers a deeper knowledge of American culture since it was able to touch on a rarely tackled historical subject and component- women. Moreover, the historical exploration that it presented was rather seemingly complete narrative of women history as Berkin explored marriage, motherhood, social interaction, labor, and beliefs. To add to that, the exploration was done in a compare and contrast manner between the social experiences and pressures faced by men and women.Thus, it was clear why women garnered different roles and patterns of empowerment and development from men. Overall, the book demonstrated that women were important factors in history creation and societal alteration. REFERENCES Berkin, Carol (1997). First Generations: Women in Colonial America. First Generations by Carol Berkin. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from www. powells. com/cgi-bin/biblio? inkey=62-9780809016068-0 First Generations by Carol Berkin. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http://search. barnesandnoble. com/booksearch/isbnInquiry. asp? z=y&endeca=1&isbn=0809016060&itm=2#TABS