Thursday, October 3, 2019
Prejudice and racism
Prejudice and racism How do the writers Nadine Gordimer and Mildred Taylor explore prejudice and racism in different cultures? Both writers explore racism and prejudice in their books, but you can spot racism and prejudice in one book much quicker. Both writers show how racism affects not only black people but also the whole of society and your family. Both stories are set in different locations and have different affects on the people and society. Racism is shown in different ways in both stories. â€Å"Country Lovers†is set in South Africa, during the time of apartheid. â€Å"The Gold Cadillac†is set in North America and a black family goes down to South America and face a new experience. The new experience they face is racism and it affects the family in many ways. â€Å"Country Lovers†is written by Nadine Gordimer, it is written in 3rd person, while â€Å"Gold Cadillac†is written in 1st person. Both view points are effective. The 3rd person view point shows us an unbiased and direct view of what is happening, without any interference. The 1st person view point in â€Å"The Gold Cadillac†is also very affective as you are seeing out of the eyes of a young child, whom doesnt understand racism and its affects. We see quite clearly the reaction of the little girl when she doesnt understand what is being said. In â€Å"Country Lovers†, the black children play together with the white children, at a very young age. This is because the pressure of racism in the society doesnt influence small children as they are still young. However, when the white children go to school ‘they soon dont play together anymore. This shows us that racism is already starting to spread even though the children have only started to go to school now. This is due to the fact that the society is evolving around these children and the ‘vocabulary of boarding school has brain-washed them into believing that white people are the masters and black people are the servants. The black children start calling their former playmates ‘missus and baasie this is described as an ‘easy transition but surely it cant be due to the fact that their body is changing as well as their minds. Black children are turning into teenagers and they feel that calling their former playmates ‘missus and baasie is a normal transformation for every black person. In â€Å"The Gold Cadillac†on the other hand we can acknowledge the fact that not all black people are inferior to white people. Racism is better concealed in â€Å"The Gold Cadillac†. We dont know if the family is black or not until we reach line 166, where ‘Lois father says he wants to go down to Mississippi with the ‘fine car. Mr. Pondexter says ‘Not much those folks hate moren to see a northern Negro coming down the in a fine car. Although, the text only reveals the fact that they are black but we have been given clues on the speech and dialect by ‘Lois. Wilbert doesnt change his mind even though he was told it was too dangerous for a black man to go down South even though he was told they would ‘lynch you. The word ‘lynch sent a shiver through ‘Lois and her sister even though they dont know about racism. By this we can see how racism in the north has not affected the two black girls at all. The educational system started with both white and black children in primary education where they spoke local dialect and then after that the white children went to secondary education, where they learnt Standard English and the black children went to work, on farms of the white people, and they learnt the language of authority and how to obey it. Immorality Act 1950 1985 was one of the first Apartheid laws in South Africa. It attempted to forbid all sexual relations between whites and non-whites. In 1949, interracial marriages had been banned by the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act. This law is to separate black and white. This caused trouble for Paulus Eysendyck and Thebedi (two main characters in this story) as they were secretly in a relationship between a white boy and black girl (which was against the Immorality Act). ‘She had to get away before the house servants who knew her, came in at dawn. This shows the compassion and determination to keep their relationship ongoing. The only relationship that can be between blacks and whites is servant and master, no other relationship is permitted under the legal laws of South Africa. Families have to stick together and also stick together with friends. In â€Å"The Gold Cadillac†, the dad of ‘Lois decided to go all alone to Mississippi but was then persuaded to go down there all together, so that they were stronger to tackle racism and prejudice believes and views. A group of people are mentally and physically stronger than one person all alone and with no one to back him/her up with. They were leaving to go down South to Mississippi. In the second paragraph of â€Å"Country Lovers†it said ‘The first holiday after he had gone to boarding school he brought home for Thebedi a painted box he had made in his wood work class. Here we can see how he developed their relationship even though they havent been in contact for a while. He couldnt give the box directly to Thebedi because ‘he had nothing for the other children in the kraal. Thebedi is shown to be inferior to Paulus, ‘He told her, each time when they would meet again. This clearly shows that Paulus has all the power in the relationship and that is controlling the inferior Thebedi. Thebedi doesnt say a single word; this shows the effect or racism and how racism and authority made them believe they were servants had set into their minds and also that they had no control of whether or not to do what is being told. To me in this part of the story it just seems like an affair not like love at all. The family enters South America and they soon start noticing sign like ‘WHITE ONLY, COLOURED NOT ALLOWED. This distracts ‘Lois and she doesnt understand what these signs meant or why they were there. They began to see South America in a different view, the racist view. In â€Å"Country Lover†, Paulus and Thebedi meet on a very hot day at the river bed side. They just sit there at first without talking or anything. Paulus seems to be evolving around the beautiful nature. Nadine Gordimer portrays their meeting and sex as a natural occurrence when she puts it alongside such a beautiful environment, next to the water flow. This just gives us a sense of reality and the richness of this love is seen. ‘he was surprised and she was surprised by it too, they didnt know it could be so lovely and the nature just seems to evolve around both of them. Nadine Gordimer is making a direct remark against the prejudice that black people are ugly and white being the only beautiful colour. This scene also shows the immodesty of the white girls as they are seen in ‘bikinis but Thebedi is shown as ‘her dress bunched modestly. This shows how modest Thebedi is and that she doesnt want to be tricked into believing things to quickly. She is looking o ut for herself. Nadine Gordimer compares this to the cheap plastic relationship they had had in Paulus house when ‘the Mercedes drove away. She portrays as it is much better to have a relationship in the nature. A police car comes and stops the Wilbert family in the Southern States and he ‘eyeballs the car. The police officer call Mr. Wilbert ‘boy which you can see is prejudice as he is already looking down at him. Without asking any questions, the white police man asks whose car it is and Mr. Wilbert tells him its his. But the police officer accuses Mr Wilbert of lying. As you can see the real prejudice of white people is coming out and you can see how they are treating him. This is the real first time ‘Lois has feared this much because she never has felt the full on effects of racism and prejudice acts. The family had lost their relatives or they would have not been enquired by the policeman like this. The policeman would have thought twice about pulling over this car. Njabulo was married to Thebedi but Thebedi didnt tell a single word to Paulus about this and this was the end of their unlawful relationship. A baby was born within two months after their marriage and this was not a shame because it was custom for the husband to check if his wife is not ‘barren. The baby however was mixed race, so Paulus ends up killing the baby. Thebedi took this case to court, which was the first time she went outside the farm. She claimed he had murdered the baby. Paulus claimed his innocence; Thebedi was becoming weaker, ‘she cried hysterically. As time was passing, she couldnt control her emotions. It was up to Njabulo to protect her and give her confidence but on the second trial of the court, Thebedi doesnt say anything. This can be reasoned to the fact that she has accepted the death of her baby and that live always moves on. Wilbert had been released and he decided to go back, he kept on going out of the southern states but he was getting very tired, so he pulled into a grove of trees and fell asleep. ‘Lois on the other hand was terrified and couldnt fall to sleep. She was so scared and she wanted to protect her family. ‘I took hold of it, she was so scared that she had taken hold of a ‘sharp knife and she was ‘ready to strike. The Cadillac is brand new and gold in colour. It shows that the black family who owns it is no longer poor and downtrodden. The car highlights the conflict in the story. There are two main areas of conflict in the family and in society as a whole. Racism effects people in many ways and many people havent felt the full on effect of racism but the reaction we get from Mr Wilbert and Thebedi is acceptance of racism. Both of them get affected by racism. ‘Lois had felt a strong force called racism at a young age so she will know what racism is and how it affects people, she will always remember it. Even though ‘Lois mum said Wilbert could keep the car, Mr. Wilbert went out and sold the car and came back home walking. All the neighbours thought he had lost most his money but this was not the reason, the reason was to pull his family together again. So they were the closest family. The death of the mixed race baby was not all the fault of Paulus it was the fault of Thebedi as well. She knew what he was going to do, but she didnt stop him. She just stood outside waiting for him to finish. She never went to look at the baby on that day. She had accepted it. If she had stopped him, she would have had a baby now but she had accepted that life was life and that racism and prejudice was everywhere in South Africa. Mr. Wilbert could have also ceased the opportunity tom not show ‘Lois what racism was like, but he didnt and she felt the full on effect of racism and also did he. Here we see racism affects man, woman, boy, girl and even a baby. Racism and prejudice views affect everyone. The Gold Cadillac causes conflict within the family. It impresses the local black community. It causes and exposes jealousy. The car provides a learning experience to Wilbert and ‘Lois who tackle racism for the first time. I think the car finally makes the family stronger and makes their bonds more rigid. Nadine Gordimer shows us how black people had been treated unfairly. She portrays racism to us directly as the script is in 3rd person. I have learnt that racism is all around us in this world. Even the minority of people in one country can affect the majority of people. Education is a key factor in society and in ways to tackle racism. Without education you are always inferior and will be seen as a servant. Both stories are perfect examples of racism and prejudice believes. I think both stories show the reader how racism is felt, but I feel that The Gold Cadillac has a stronger source for racism because Lois has told more from her narration. From ‘The Gold Cadillac Lois being a narrator helped me understand the story better because we can see how she feels when something happens, it looks like your just standing next to Lois when she narrates and I can see a better understanding of the text. In ‘Country Lovers I feel the story was more on love than racism. When Njabulo falls in love with Thebedi is another long paragraph on love. The Immortality act which represents ‘Country Lovers was quite a strong racial point. But still I believe ‘The Gold Cadillac revealed more racism.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Parking the Car :: Short Story New York Papers
Parking the Car Today has been like most days. I wandered in a dreamlike state from class to class, across a campus with falling fiery leaves, up three flights of beer-stained stairs, into a room littered with the debris of my chaotic existence, and straight back into a chronically unmade bed. I chased images and thoughts in my mind, getting nowhere, while faintly aware of music drifting from my computer. I closed my eyes without trying, and dreamt without sleeping, and thought without thinking real thoughts. I spent as much time luxuriating in nothingness as I could, before the bar of guilt and responsibility clamped down on my shoulders, compelling me to do homework, to think about thinking. Now it is back to nothingness. I am lying on our dorm room floor delighting in an unexpected snack. "This is damn good stuff," I say, shoving a tortilla heaped in salsa into my greedy mouth. "This is amazing," Thea agrees, shutting her eyes to intensify the already orgasmic experience of eating homemade chunky salsa. I disregard the desperate and pained pleas of my hall mates as small pieces of tomato fly from my overloaded tortilla onto the rug. The poor chip is terribly weighed down and breaking under the pressure, causing salsa to slide off on all sides. I remember that in a moment of frenzied sanitary obsession last week, I actually cleaned the toilet. There is, therefore, no reason to be clean now. I recline in a salsa-induced stupor, squinting in vague curiosity at a plate of cookies in the kitchen. I try to ignore them, but I just can't. Eat us, they hiss. I saunter lethargically into the kitchen and engage in a momentary face-off with the provocative plate of cookies. My heart speeds up for a moment as I weigh the attributes of each cookie. I don't want to make a mistake and take the wrong cookie. That always happens, and I end up resenting my cookie and asking it why it can't be more like the other cookies. I finally settle on the biggest one, though it does seem to have fewer raisins than the others, a drawback that bothers me. Nonetheless, I secure my fingers around the cookie in a defensive death-grip, which means I'll be eating a cookie as well as a little bit of everything else I've touched today. Oh well.
Morality Essays -- essays research papers
Plato Republic      Socrates engages in conversations with people claiming to be experts, usual in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually reveals that these people were in fact very confused and did not actually know anything about the matters about which they claimed to be an expert. Morality is the ethical matter that is brought up in Plato’s Republic. Socrates argues the response of Cephalus, Polemarchus and Thrasymachus on what morality is.      The question of morality came up when Socrates and Cephalus, who is a rich old man, were having a conversation about money. Socrates asks Cephalus if being rich makes it easier to enjoy old age. At first, Cephalus says no, but he soon admits that there are advantages to being rich. Cephalus says being true and giving things back is what morality is. Socrates gives an example where you can do something good by not giving back. His example was if you borrow a weapon from a friend, and he is sane at the time and at the time you should give it back your friend is insane then you shouldn’t give it back so you can protect him from doing harm, which is also good. Cephalus agreed that Socrates was correct that this was doing something good so Socrates said if that is the case than the definition of morality isn’t to tell the truth and give something back whatever one has borrowed.      Polemarchus is the son of Cephalus, and he â€Å"inherits...
Argumentative Essay: Guns Make America! :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays
       With the possible exception of abortion, no other current issue has split the country in two like the debate surrounding gun control.  Both sides are equally adamant.  The pro gun side, as represented by the National Rifle Association, continues to oppose all gun control measures primarily on the grounds that any law restricting gun ownership is unconstitutional.  Proponents of gun control argue that gun violence is an epidemic out of control across the country, and call on federal lawmakers to stem the flow of blood with anti-gun legislation.  This side won a crucial battle in the debate two years ago with the passage of the so called â€Å"Brady Bill,†Federal legislation that banned the production and sale of some semiautomatic rifles and initiated a waiting period and background check for gun buyers.  However, more recently than now Republican-controlled Congress, with the backing of the NRA, has reignited that battle with plans to repeal the Brady Bill.                The second amendment to the constitution guarantees Americans the right to keep and bear arms without government interference. gun control advocates seem ready and eager to disregard this right which is currently being exercised by 70 million Americans. (METSKA)                I believe that the governments struggle to keep guns out of the hand of juveniles and criminals is a worthy one, but when it comes to unconstitutional interrogation then its getting out of control. The government is currently trying to implement laws that will keep weapons out of the hands of every one. The people on capital hill say that they want a safer America, they want the youth of America to grow up in a caring non-violent environment, yet all they really want is a more productive best in its class nation.                History proves that criminal behavior cannot be controlled by the government attempting to regulate inanimate objects.  In other words, criminals will always find a way to get a hold of drugs, guns, what have you. Proof: drugs may be illegal yet we still have one heck of a problem with them; thus, if guns of some sort are made illegal then, we will probably end up with one heck of a gun problem. I believe that its not that they need a gun or think its
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
New York City Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing Descriptive NYC
New York City Every time I hear this song it makes me long to leave all of my responsibilities and head off to the city of dreams. A trip to New York has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I have always wanted to visit the place of tall buildings, history, and where culture is intertwined with its people. I have wanted to live the fast pace life of a New Yorker, where I could stand outside and see, smell, and taste all of the experiences that this city has to offer. I have been building and building this ideal image in my mind for so long. If I ever get to New York, will I be disappointed by the city that never sleeps? The city that is a part of almost every movie I watch. Can New York live up to the expectations I have created? In the summer of 2004 my dream of visiting New York came to life. I could hardly contain my excitement to finally live the life of a New Yorker, even if it would only be for a couple of days. The plane ride itself was torture, because of my bubbling anticipation to get to my destination. Once the captain announced the descent into the New York airport my stomach became a bundle of knots. The arrival into the city was everything I had hoped it would be. My husband and I, of course, had trouble finding our way around JFK airport. We couldn't figure out the place that we were supposed to go to get our baggage. My husband and I and everyone from our plane ended up going outside of the airport to gain access to another part of the airport. Eventually things got cleared up and we found our terminal where our luggage was supposed to be. Finally after about a half an hour of being in the airport we figured out how to maneuver ourselves through the airport. As if we had passed our first test we... ...able to see, because of time restraints. The one sight I really wanted to see, but couldn't, was Ground Zero. Heading back to the hotel in the rain was one of my favorite parts of the trip. How awesome to let your guard down long enough for that child inside to take over. My husband and I tried so hard during our walk to keep dry and duck into stores when the rain got worse. My husband and I eventually gave up all hopes of staying dry. Instead we gave caution to the wind and splashed and played in the rain. It was like taking a walk while taking a shower. I know when we both got back to our room that there wasn't any part of our body that was dry. I will forever have this memory in my head for the rest of my life. I will have many wonderful and exciting memories of my trip to New York. I know if I never go back to this city, I will always remember my experiences.
Biological Psychology Essay
Abstract Psychology has its own biological boundaries. This is in the form of biological psychology or behavioral neuroscience. The main aim of this branch in psychology is to have a clearer picture of the relationship of the mind and body, and mind and brain. It tries to link the brain functions to the different mental processes and behaviors. This type of psychology investigates man’s physiological phenomena such as memory and emotions. Biological Psychology Human beings are more then a collection of systems, more than a collection of organs and more than a collection of cells. The human body is complex. It is an operating organism which functions as a whole. The human body involves a great deal of variety of processes. By examining the parts, it does not mean that one can understand the whole organism (Arnold, 1999). Biological psychology is the field of psychology which main endeavor was to link the different brain functions to different mental processes and behaviors. Psychologists in this subdiscipline of psychology are often interested in relating biological variables to psychological or behavioral variables. It deals with biological processes and behaviors that are shared with mammalian animals. This is because biological psychologists utilize animals in their experiments. Some of these processes are sensation, perception, motivation, learning memory and control of motor movements (â€Å"Biological Psychology†).            The history of Biological psychology emerged from various philosophical views in the 18th and 19th century. However, its study started much earlier. It dates back to Avicenna, a Persian psychologist and physician. He recognized physiological psychology in the treatment of illnesses involving emotions. Avicenna also gave some psychological explanations on somatic illnesses. He believed that humidity inside the brain can cause mood disorders. Humidity is brought by the change with the amount of breath. Another is that happiness increases the breath so it contributes to the brain’s moisture. But then, too much moisture can make the brain loss control thus having mental disorders (â€Å"The Mind-Brain Problem†).            The philosophical history of Biological Psychology surfaced from philosophers like Rene Descartes. He believed that the pineal gland was the point of contact between the mind and body. He also proposed a theory that pneumatics or fluid power of bodily fluids is connected to reflexes and motor behavior (â€Å"The Mind- Brain Problem†).            Another philosopher who contributed to Biological psychology is William James.  He is the one who argued that in the study of psychology there should also be consideration to the understanding of Biology. He also stressed that the functions of the brain must be included in the study of psychology. The connection between mind and brain became progressively clearer in the nineteenth century. In this century, the doctors started observing patients who suffered from head injuries. The patients usually exhibited alterations in language and memory and some variation in their personalities. One patient is a refined businessman and a loving father became a vulgar person who lacks in affection for his loved ones after a sever blow in the head. These observations is lead researchers to experiment by producing surgical lesions in animals in different regions of the brain to observe what effects these lesions have on behavior (Westen, 1999). Since its origin, one of the major issues faced by biological psychologists was localization of functions. This entails knowing which different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning. In 1836, a physician named Marc Dax, noted that lesions on the left side of the brain were associated with aphasia or language disorder. Because of this discovery, many other discoveries linking the left hemisphere of the brain with language function appeared (Westen, 1999). These other discoveries led to the finding of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Broca’s aphasia involves difficulty in production of speech, whereas Wernicke’s aphasia involves difficulty in comprehending language (Westen, 1999).            The clinical assumption of Biological psychology is that organisms share similar biological processes and behaviors. Some of the other disciplines in psychology greatly related with biological psychology are comparative psychology, evolutionary psychology, neuropsychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology and experimental psychology (Westen, 1999).            Comparative psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes of animals other than human beings (Westen, 1999). Biological psychologists use animals in their experiments. They compare the results done on these animals to human processes and behaviors. Evolutionary psychology, on the other hand, deals with the explanation of mental and psychological traits and how they evolved to adapt to different stimuli. Neuropsychology is an interdisciplinary field of psychology and neuroscience that aims to explain how the structure and function of the brain relate to certain psychological behaviors (â€Å"Evolutionary Psychology†).            Other fields of psychology related with biological psychology such as clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, and experimental psychology are connected with biological psychology because these fields aim to link the physiological processes with different mental processes. Clinical psychology focuses on the nature and treatment of physiological processes that lead to emotional distress. Cognitive psychology examines the nature of thought, memory and language. And, experimental psychology examines mental processes in human and other animals (Westen, 1999). Some of the noted modern biological psychologists are Nikolaas Tinbergen, Karl von Frisch, Eric Kandel and Arvid Carlsson. Nikolaas Tinbergen is a Dutch ornithologist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1973. His contribution is the organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns in animals. Karl von Frisch is an Austrian ethologist who won the same award with Tinbergen. He studied the senses of bees and identified they methods of communication(â€Å"Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 1973†)..Eric Kandel is a neuroscientist whose contribution is the analysis of biochemical changes in neurons assiciated with learning and memory storage. Arvid Carlsson is a neuroscientist most noted for his on the neurotransmitter dopmaine and Parkinson’s disease (â€Å"The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 2000†).  Reference Arnold, T. (1999). Mind and Brian Relationship. Retrieved February 8, 2008, from            http://www.hyponoesis.org/html/essays/e022.html Biological Psychology. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from            http://www.psypress.com/common/supplementary/184169360X/part1.pdf Evolutionary Psychology. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from            http://www.psychnet-uk.com/evolutionary_psychology/evolutionary_psychology.htm The Mind- Brain problem. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from            http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~dualism/papers/brains.html The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 1973. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved February 11, 2008,            from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1973/index.html The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 2000. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved February 11, 2008,            from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2000/index.html Westen, D. (2nd Ed.). (1999). Psychology: Mind, Brain and Culture. U.S.A.: John Wiley            & Sons, Inc.
Moped-Room 101
The irritating high pitched whining going on in the back of your ear, going back and forth like a mosquito that needs to be swatted. These are the crippling parasites of today’s modern transport system, loud, slow and pathetically small. These are the major corruptions in today’s youth, not drugs or alcohol, but mopeds, we get taught in school about what harm drugs and alcohol can do, but not mopeds, can a shot of vodka cause your brains to come out of your ears? The only people who really ride mopeds are ‘chavs’ because ‘chavs’ have no real conception of respect and self-humiliation.Mopeds are poorly designed; the majority of mopeds fail on style, speed, and respect. Mopeds should be replaced with motorcycles, motorcycles have brakes, they have proper engines, and most importantly, they have style, strength and agility. People who ride mopeds on roads, like children who ride bicycles on pavements, deserve to be run over, not for pure hatred, a lthough that subconsciously plays a part in it, but for fun, if they choose to use an incomplete motorcycle they should be duly punished.They are loud and inconvenient to other people, causing pain in the ears, and sound pollution. Don’t buy a moped when your 16, buy a bus pass, then stick with it until your 21, old enough to ride a proper motorcycle and not a hairdryer. Mopeds are insolent, toe dragging scooters, which derived from a bicycle rider who was too lazy to pedal, but not brave enough to go fast. Mopeds are normally defined by limits on engine displacement, speed, power output, or transmissions, or by a requirement for pedals.In some countries, the legal driving age for a moped is lower than for larger motorcycles, and consequently mopeds are popular among the youth. Typically, mopeds are restricted to 30–85 km/h (18–53 mph) and engine displacement less than 50 cc. Any modification to the engine size to make it larger will cause it to be classified as a motorcycle, which will then increase tax, and allow the user to be criminally charged for driving without a license.Ask yourself this, do you respect moped owners? The answer will most likely be no, unless you own one yourself. If you were to be confronted by both a motorcyclist and a ‘mopeder’ who would you listen to, and move out the way for, 99% of` the time it would be the motorcyclist, this very simple question depicts the realistic social hierarchy from riding a moped. Helmets were designed to prevent injuries to the head, however, statistics say that most high speed rashes consist of a rider fatality, this is often at a speed of over 50mph and hit by a car going over 50mph also, thus theoretically meaning the crash was at 100mph. But, unfortunately, even though this is a sad statistic, all moped fatalities happen at under 53mph, and in the UK, 30mph. most are actually below that, more around the 5mph figure, where they attempt to do stunts, and end up falling off and breaking their necks. The other minorities are from being hit by another vehicle.
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