Rhetorical Analysis The Four Freedoms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetorical Analysis The Four Freedoms - Essay Example Therefore, he began his address on a note of warning to the Americans, with the assertion that the nation’s international position was â€Å"unprecedented†(2) and raised apprehensions about the security of America by stating that â€Å"at no previous time has American security been as seriously threatened from without as it is today.†(2) What was that threat? He did not specify and he was just trying to create deep anxiety for his audiences. By stating next, that past leaders of America did not aim â€Å"at domination of the whole world,† (7) he was making it clear about the new role of America in the world scenario of politics and the duties and responsibilities involved in it. To highlight the necessity of participation in World War II, he chose to belittle the importance of the previous wars and said they were not â€Å"a real threat against our future or against the future of any other American nation.†(12) Quickly, he had built up the suspense rhetoric well which created some apprehensions like who was the enemy precisely? What were the intentions of the enemy so-projected? What threat he constituted? At the sixth minute of his speech, the President was more vocal about describing the enemy. He specified the enemy as â€Å"the new order of tyranny† (11) who had the hidden agenda and â€Å"that seeks to spread over every continent today.†(11) He said â€Å"every realist knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed in every part of the world–assailed either by arms, or by secret spreading of poisonous propaganda by those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord in nations that are still at peace.†(12) This observation was highly important. He regaled his audience and warned them that the enemy was treacherous on every count. The President was referring to the enemy dictators and their armies, the Communist countries

Vark learning style Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vark learning style - Research Paper Example Nilson (2010) said that the VARK (visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic) learning style assessment emphasizes on learning styles that utilize an individual’s senses (sight, touch, hearing). Fleming and Mills (1992) were the ones who came up with these classifications that mirror their students’ knowledge, involvement, and encounter when it comes to learning. According to Fleming (2011), individuals’ learning preferences are respectively assessed in the VARK Learning Style Questionnaire. Information being portrayed in symbols, colors, and other means like pie charts and fish diagrams can be readily absorbed by a student with a high visual preference. Those who score high in the aural mode can better recognize information via verbal means or other forms of audible media. For them, their sense of hearing is quite utilized in understanding data. Learners who received high results in their reading and writing category may pick up facts best when these are express ed in written words. As its category suggests, a person in this mode may prefer reading texts a lot as well as writing them. In the kinesthetic learning preference, a person’s experience is crucial in indicating his learning progress. Students in this mode would like to move and practice the concepts so they can better grasp the ideas being presented to them. For this group, experience is indeed the best mentor. The results in this questionnaire can reveal a person’s potential in learning.... Nowadays, almost anything can be accomplished with just a lift of a finger or a push of a button. Information that could be communicated in an hour through lecture can be depicted through multimedia in just 5 minutes. This kind of scenario is invading homes and minds of people. When individuals enter the classroom, many of them get uninterested especially when the teacher merely employs a single mode of instruction. Many students may get perked up when there is an involvement of power point presentations with relevant videos or pictures. Other learners feel that they can actually learn more when experience is incorporated into the discussion. Each student may have his own unique way of learning. As an example, there is a student who gained a percentage of 13 in visual, kinesthetic, as well as reading and writing. He got a percentage of 8 in the aural category. Using VARK, stability may be acquired by encouraging an educator to utilize different kinds of strategies and materials to ad dress the varied preferences of young minds. The student in this situation may help himself by incorporating techniques in his studying lifestyle. Since this person is noticeably multimodal, he may prefer understanding the lesson with the use of pictures and other figures, word games and mnemonics, including different kinds of movement. For instance, he can draw symbols on the side of his notes to give him a clue regarding the topic’s essence. He can also come up with acronyms to help him enumerate certain processes. Walking while memorizing or practicing a speech may also be beneficial. Analysis People do not need to be bothered for a long time with this kind of assessment. Since this type of questionnaire just employs a few items, it can be quickly answered.

Impact of Leadership Development in Healthcare

Impact of Leadership Development in Healthcare A crucial factor dominating health organisations in NSW, Australia and the world has been identified as patient safety and quality of care. Literature indicates that in order to achieve these objectives, there is need for effective clinical leadership to occur. This essay will discuss and analyse the impact of leadership development, with a focus on transformational leadership and related matters, on both the individual and health care. To understand how and why leadership in health care emerged as a necessity to avoid failure in health care, it is important to consider the Garling Report (2008) and the Mid Staffordshire Report (2013), of which both provided a multitude of recommendations for NSW and British public hospitals, following an inquiry into their systems after a number of high profile incidents which brought into question patient safety and quality of care. Garling SC (2008) and Francis QC (2013) both identified that in order to overcome these endemic issues, it is necessary to make a widespread cultural change within the public hospital system and as part of that process, it is imperative to engage frontline clinicians in ongoing leadership education and training. Garling SC (2008) also indicated the need to reform and redesign traditional leadership models in order to improve the delivery of health care, which is increasingly reliant on effective clinical leadership at all levels. Focus should be on creating an inter-disciplinary team approach to patient care, which according to evidence, produces the greatest possible outcomes (Garling SC 2008). This aims to continuously provide the best level of patient-based care and patient safety. Having considered why effective leadership emerged as a necessity, it is important to review the concept of leadership. It is an interactive relationship between the leader and followers (Kouzes and Posner 2012). For a culture shift towards a patient based care model to occur, leaders must effectively define, communicate and guide the vision for the organisation in order to ensure engagement at all levels Frampton et al. (as cited in Cliff 2012, p381). Effective leadership is vital for inspiring, engaging and motivating others to achieve greatness. Govier and Nash (2009), highlight that is through having a shared vision that moves people towards achieving the necessary common goal of providing safe and high quality health care, that leadership can occur at all levels. Covey 2006 (as cited in Govier and Nash 2009), indicated that in order to increase the effectiveness of management, leadership needs to come first. This therefore indicates the need for management and frontline clinicians to work together to tackle the many challenges that exist within health care. Furthermore, this is indicated by Vaill 1996 (as cited in Govier and Nash 2009) who argued that there is always a need for management in order to effectively run everyday procedures, however successful handling of the constant changes and instability, begins with effective leadership. As Kouzes and Posner (2012) suggest, to achieve this success, effective leaders must employ their Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, including; Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart. This incorporates leading by example, inspiring others through shared desires, making changes through risk taking and challenging oneself, whilst promoting an environment where team work, mutual respect and trust is exercised and where successes are celebrated. Personal experience suggests that through the variety of courses and workshops now offered via NSW health, the necessary ongoing education in leadership is occurring. As Health Workforce Australia (2013, p.4) prominently state ‘capable leadership, governance, and management are cornerstones of successful efforts to improve the quality of lives and to achieve the maximum impact from health investments’. Having worked the past three years within a team leader role in Occupational Therapy, continuous education has enabled successful running of a strong, caring, hard-working, energetic team, whose primary focus is on patient care and safety. After all, these are the core values of Occupational Therapy practice. Literature supports the ongoing education of leaders, as Kouzes and Posner (2012) state, leadership is a skill set obtainable by anyone. This is also consistent with Health Workforce Australia (2013) who highlights in their LEADS framework, that in order for successful improvement to occur and endure the ever-changing health care system, specific knowledge and skills are required to become an effective leader. As Covey 2006 (as cited in Govier and Nash 2009) emphasised, by employing a solid foundation of core values, incorporating trust, contribution, dignity, empowerment and growth, the ability to react and adjust appropriately to these changes is possible. Garling SC (2012) emphasises that by creating individual clinical leaders throughout the health care system, patient safety and quality health care will be continuously achieved. It is through the reflection, ongoing development and improvement of one’s self, that enables this leadership to begin occur (Kousez and Posner 2012; Health Workforce Australia 2013). Health Workforce Australia (2013) have created a model which encompasses the concepts of the transformational leadership theory whereby, once self-awareness and personal development is achieved, individual leaders within the organisation are able to engage others by sharing values, communicating openly and honestly, supporting other team members in growing and developing to continue to strengthen as a department, team and organisation. From here, leaders will work closely with colleagues and patients to ascertain, guide and set achievable goals that realise the shared vision. They will continue to evaluate outcomes, cele brating successes along the way. An environment fostering the awareness and need for positive changes will be promoted and encouraged, this in turn will continue to inspire others to achieve positive outcomes and best possible care for patients. The results of a study by Wylie and Gallagher (2009) around transformational leadership behaviours in allied health professionals revealed that one of the most significant influences on self-reported leadership behaviours is that of leadership training. Those who received training within the leadership area were able to score a significantly higher aggregated transformational leadership score, compared with those allied health professionals who had not. These results correspond with the findings of Kouzes and Posner (as cited in Wylie and Gallagher 2009), found that transformational leadership and self-awareness are more evident those who received leadership training. To best rise to the challenge and meet the recommendations of both inquiries, there is the need for implementation of not only leadership, but more specifically transformational leadership. This because, although over time there have been many other leadership theories, they have generally concentrated on what an effective leader is, rather than how to effectively lead (Armandi et al. 2003). Transformational leadership embodies the principles that are able to combat the instability and constantly changing environment in hospitals. Research by Halter and Bass (as cited in Armandi et al. 2003, p. 1079) and Weberg (2010), indicated that when transformational leadership is implemented within the health care setting, there is a positive impact on staff retention, job satisfaction, loyalty, burnout rates and overall staff well-being. From experience, this positive impact results in safer, improved patient care. This is supported in the article by Govier and Nash (2009), who reported that in large organisations such hospitals, there are increased levels of pressure on frontline staff to produce quality work and outcomes. If this occurs, stress levels and reduced performance also occurs and this leads to the potential harm of those being cared for. If leaders empower frontline clinicians and place ownership of care in their hands, then health care can be transformed from the bottom up, rather than top down, therefore meeting the recommendation of Garling SC (2008). Having previously worked closely with a manager and mentor, who embodied transformational leadership principles, had open, honest communication, trust and respect for all staff, this enabled both personal and professional growth, as well as positive development as a clinician and leader. As the article by Rolfe (2011) indicates, transformational leadership is a cyclical process whereby leaders empower their followers, which in turn fosters the growth and development of these followers into leaders themselves. Having experienced this first hand, it is safe to say that this enabled better leadership of the inpatient Occupational Therapy team, empowering and inspiring them to achieve positive improvements in patient care. Stepping into a team leader role three years ago was an enormous challenge. After gaining insight into recent times and history of the Occupational Therapy department, it was clear that instability, uncertainty and low morale had taken over. There had been a multitude of changes both within the hospital and wider organisation as well as within the department itself. Facing the challenge head on was the only way to make significant improvements. By closely building relationships with the individual team members and gaining an understanding into their driving forces, trust and mutual respect began to emerge. Through the implementation of a weekly inpatient team meeting, a structured environment was created to facilitate open communication and allow the discussion of complex cases and individual issues together in order to increase knowledge and solve problems as a team. This further instilled a sense of trust and confidence by showing commitment to self and the organisation, demonstrating strong open, honest communication skills and being supportive with a mentorship approach, with the main purpose of ensuring best possible care for patients. As Kouzes and Posner (2012) state that when a relationship is built on mutual respect and confidence, the greatest of difficulties can be overcome and a lasting impact remains. This is supported in the article by Govier and Nash (2009), who emphasise the importance of being a proactive leader, by solving problems with a positive approach, rather than reporting problems whilst others resolve them. They go on to say that leadership is then seen as a choice rather than a position and will therefore be focussed on ensuring that things get done in a positive way, therefore enhancing patient care. Based on experience with clinical supervision with junior staff, the traits of transformational leadership are also carried out. Regular supervision sessions with staff have enabled growth within the leadership area as well. It has enabled ongoing education and knowledge to be imparted on staff through discussion of their practices on the ward, with attention to solving complex issues and cases. Through the method of asking reflective, open-ended questions, it has empowered the team to review their own values and performance, which has resulted in an increase in staff engagement and a stronger sense of purpose, as a direct result of a leader investing in them. Evidence supports this, for instance Porter-O’Grady and Malloch (as cited in Weberg 2010 p. 246), report that transformational leaders are not only inspiring, however also assist their staff or followers to solve problems by assisting them to be aware of issues and develop the necessary means to overcome their difficulti es. Transformational leadership looks at the relationship between the leader and followers and states that when followers are able to have input into a team or organisational vision, there is an increase in their sense of value and hence this relationship is improved (Rolfe 2011, p. 55). From personal experience as a trained Essentials of Care facilitator, this is accurate. The process involved being trained in working with frontline staff to make the necessary changes to improve patient-based care. Through working closely with multi-disciplinary staff to review their personal and professional values, a shared values statement emerged. It is through this shared value and vision, that staff became empowered to start making frontline changes to improve patient care. Daft (as cited in Rolfe 2011, p. 55) stated that when staff feel empowered and have a sense of purpose, then the workplace environment becomes more positive, with increased motivation and job satisfaction. This then has a direc t impact on quality of patient-based care. From personal experience, being the representative for Occupational Therapy on the hospital falls advisory committee has demonstrated such leadership characteristics as leading by example and being a role model for other members of the department. This committee focusses directly on patient care and is comprised of a multi-disciplinary team who guide and lead the hospital in falls prevention best practice. It is through teamwork and shared leadership and expertise that successes are generated (Ward as cited in Rolfe 2011, p. 56). In summary, it can be seen that in order to achieve and maintain best possible patient-based care and safety, leadership must be developed throughout all areas of health care, focussing on frontline clinicians. It is through ongoing investment in training and education in the field of leadership that this can be accomplished. Through learning and practicing transformational leadership, staff at all levels are empowered, motivated and inspired to provide the best possible care for patients. This in turn has a positive impact, which affects individual staff, teams and organisations within health care and as a result, the quality of patient care. REFERENCE LIST Armandi, B, Oppedisano, J, Sherman, H 2003, ‘Leadership theory and practice: a â€Å"case† in point’, Management Decision, vol. 41, pp. 1076-1088. Cliff, B 2012, ‘Patient-Centered Care: The role of healthcare leadership’, Journal of Healthcare Management Nov/Dec, p. 381-383. Garling SC, P 2008, Final Report of the special commission of inquiry: Acute care services in NSW public hospitals, Overview, prepared for State of NSW, through the special commission of inquiry, NSW. Govier, I Nash, S 2009, ‘Examining transformational approaches to effective leadership in healthcare settings’, Nursing Times, vol. 105, no. 18, viewed 29 March 2014, http://www.nursingtimes.net Health Workforce Australia 2013, Health LEADS Australia: the Australian health leadership framework, Health Workforce Australia, Adelaide, SA. Kouzes, JM Posner, BZ 2012, The leadership challenge: how to make extraordinary things happen in organisations, 5th edn, Jossey-Bass, San Fransisco, CA. Rolfe, P 2011, ‘Transformational Leadership Theory: What every leader needs to know’, Nurse Leader, April, p. 54-57, viewed 29 March 2014, http://www.nurseleader.com Weberg, D 2010, ‘Transformational leadership and staff retention: An evidence review with implications for healthcare systems’, Nursing Administration Quarterly, vol. 34, pp. 246-258. Wylie, DA Gallagher, HL 2009, ‘Transformational leadership behaviors in allied health professionals’, Journal of Allied Health, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 65-73. Frances QC, R 2013, ‘Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry Report: Executive Summary’, Crown, The Stationery Office Limited, UK.

Homeschooling Essay -- Homeschool Education Teaching Essays

Homeschooling The definition of homeschooling is to instruct a pupil in an educational program outside of established schools (www.Dictionary.com). Homeschooling is a good alternative to public schools because of certain religious issues, standardized test success, and variety of options for homeschool students, but in some states homeschoolers are having trouble with the school system. Homeschooling has been on the rise in the United States and its popularity continues to grow among American families. According to the U.S Department of Education, in 2003 there were 1.1 million children in grades K thru 12 being homeschooled . The 3 most popular reasons for homeschooling are concerns about the environment of other schools, desire for religious or moral instruction, and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools (2003 National Household Education Survey). Many parents have resorted to homeschooling their children because of certain religious issues and beliefs that these families see as not being taught in the public school systems. Many parents choose this method because most public schools do not participate in religious activities and parents want their children to be taught religion also, aside form everyday studies. Religion is also a big factor because the beliefs of these families and things they value and some believe that their child being in a public school environment will tamper with these beliefs and values. Some public schools around the country do still teach good values to their students and do believe in praying before school. There are a lot of religious organizations around the country encouraging parents to make a sacrifice for their children and teach them at home. Some... ...are put in society. Schools were setup to educate people who are not educated and help students to their best ability in order to prepare them for the outside world (Lyman,Isabel). With most schools just passing kids through school instead of taking the time to actually teach them, they are not doing society a favor because these kids have no skills to bring to society to better it. Homeschooliing provides the personal With the ever growing population of kids being homeschooled it is no surprise that more people are starting to realize the benefits of homeschooling and seeing it as an positive alternative to public schools. Some states are having problems with regulations, but most are doing just fine with the adjustment. Homeschooling is a good idea because of religious issues, its success on standardized tests, and the options open to kids who are homeschooled.

The Reality of Married Life

John J. Robinson in his book â€Å"Of Suchness† gives the following advice on love, sex and married life. â€Å"Be careful and discreet; it is much easier to get married than unmarried. If you have the right mate, it's heavenly; but if not, you live in a twenty-four-hour daily hell that clings constantly to you, it can be one of the bitterest things in life. Life is indeed strange. Somehow, when you find the right one, you know it in your heart. It is not just an infatuation of the moment. But the powerful urges of sex drive a young person headlong into blind acts and one cannot trust his feelings too much. This is especially true if one drinks and get befuddled; the lousiest slut in a dark bar can look like a Venus then, and her charms become irresistible. Love is much more than sex though; it is the biological foundation between a man and a woman; love and sex get all inter-twined and mixed up†. Problems Almost everyday, we hear people complaining about their marriages. Very seldom do we hear stories about a happy marriage. Young people reading romantic novels and seeing romantic films often conclude that marriage is a bed of roses. Unfortunately, marriage is not as sweet as one thinks. Marriage and problems are interrelated and' people must remember that when they are getting married, they will have to face problems and responsibilities that they had never expected or experienced hitherto. People often think that it is a duty to get married and that marriage is a very important event in their lives. However, in order to ensure a successful marriage, a couple has to harmonize their lives by minimizing whatever differences they may have between them. Marital problems prompted a cynic to say that there can only be a peaceful married life if the marriage is between a blind wife and a deaf husband, for the blind wife cannot see the faults of the husband and a deaf husband cannot hear the nagging of his wife. Sharing and Trust One of the major causes of marital problems is suspicion and mistrust. Marriage is a blessing but many people make it a curse due to lack of understanding. Both husband and wife should show implicit trust for one another and try not to have secrets between them. Secrets create suspicion, suspicion leads to jealously, jealousy generates anger, anger causes enmity and enmity may result in separation, suicide or even murder. If a couple can share pain and pleasure in their day-to-day life, they can console each other and minimize their grievances. Thus, the wife or husband should not expect to experience only pleasure. There will be a lot of painful, miserable experiences that they will have to face. They must have the strong willpower to reduce their burdens and misunderstandings. Discussing mutual problems will give them confidence to live together with better understanding. Man and woman need the comfort of each other when facing problems and difficulties. The feelings of insecurity and unrest will disappear and life will be more meaningful, happy and interesting if there is someone who is willing to share another's burden. Blinded by Emotions When two people are in love, they tend to show only the best aspects of their nature and character to each other in order to project a good impression of themselves. Love is said to be blind and hence people in love tend to become completely oblivious of the darker side of each other's natures. In practice, each will try to highlight his or her sterling qualities to the other; and being so engrossed in love, they tend to accept each other at â€Å"face value† only. Each lover will not disclose the darker side of his or her nature for fear of losing the other. Any personal shortcomings are discreetly swept under the carpet, so to speak, so as not to jeopardize their chances of winning each other. People in love also tend to ignore their partner's faults thinking that they will be able to correct them after marriage, or that they can live with these faults, that â€Å"love will conquer all†. However, after marriage, as the initial romantic mood wears off, the true nature of each other's character will be revealed. Then, much to the disappointment of both parties, the proverbial veil that had so far been concealing the innermost feelings of each partner is removed to expose the true nature of both partners. It is then that disillusion sets in. Material Needs Love by itself does not subsist on fresh air and sunshine alone. The present world is a materialistic world and in order to meet your material needs, proper financing and budgeting is essential. Without it, no family can live comfortably. Such a situation aptly bears out the saying that â€Å"when poverty knocks at the door, love flies through the window†. This does not mean that one must be rich to make a marriage work. However, if one has the bare necessities of life provided through a secure job and careful planning, many unnecessary anxieties can be removed from a marriage. The discomfort of poverty can be averted if there is complete understanding between the couple. Both partners must understand the value of contentment. Both must treat all problems as â€Å"our problems† and share all the â€Å"ups† and â€Å"downs† in the true spirit of a long-standing life partnership.

Correlation between Oil and Gold Prices and the US Dollar

Correlation between Oil & Gold prices and US dollar The History The forex exchange market is one of the largest and most liquid securities exchanges in the world with over $3. 2 trillion in average daily turnover. This equates to 10 times the average daily turnover of global equity markets and 35 times the average daily turnover of the New York Stock Exchange. The forex market is open 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, with the EUR/USD accounting for 27% of total turnover. There is plenty of opportunity to make and lose money in currency exchange. The gold standard era in the U. S. officially began with the passing of the Gold Standard Act in 1900. But it was not until World War II that brought about the need for a worldwide standard for currency values and exchange rates. The Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 established two very important international institutions: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (now the World Bank). What came from this agreement was that all the world’s currencies would be pegged against the value of gold, and with the U. S. dollar on the gold standard, the U. S. dollar effectively became the world’s reserve currency. The value of gold was fixed at $35 per ounce until the gold standard was effectively withdrawn in 1971 as President Nixon ordered an end to the out-dated system and the price of gold was allowed to â€Å"float†. Now, every major currency is no longer on the gold standard but rather is referred to as â€Å"fiat† currency. This basically means that a country’s own currency is intrinsically worthless because it is not backed by any type of reserve, such as gold. The value each currency is therefore based citizen’s perception of their economy, supply and demand for money in general, and how their currency is compared to other country’s currency. Something to think about though is 40 years ago, the world’s currencies used to be pegged against the price of gold and ultimately the Dollar. Now it would not be a stretch to say that global currency is on an Oil Standard. From 1944 until 1971, US dollars were convertible into gold by central banks in order to adjust for any trade imbalances between countries. Up to that point, the price of gold was fixed at US$35 per ounce, and the price of oil was relatively stable at about US$3. 00 per barrel. Once the US ceased gold convertibility in 1971, OPEC producers were forced to convert their excess US dollars by purchasing gold in the marketplace. This resulted in price increases for both oil and gold, until eventually oil reached US$40 per barrel and gold reached US$850 per ounce. In 1975 when the U. S. Government made a deal with Saudi Arabia and OPEC to only trade oil in U. S. Dollars, their â€Å"partnership† effectively gave the USD a monopoly over all other currencies when it comes to oil trading. The US has enjoyed inexpensive oil-based energy for nearly a century, and this is one of the prime factors behind the unprecedented prosperity of its economy in the 20th century. While the US accounts for only 5 percent of the world's population, it consumes 25 percent of the world's fossil fuel-based energy. It imports about 75 percent of its oil, but owns only 2 percent of world reserves. Because of this dependency on both oil and foreign suppliers, any increases in price or supply disruptions will negatively impact the US economy to a greater degree than any other nation. The majority of oil reserves are located in politically unstable regions, with tensions in the Middle East, Venezuela and Nigeria likely to intensify rather than to abate. Because of frequent terrorist attacks, Iraqi oil production is subject to disruption, while the risk of political problems in Saudi Arabia grows. The timing for these risks is uncertain and hard to quantify, but the implications of Peak Oil are predictable and quantifiable, and the effects will be more far-reaching than simply a rising oil price. In the early 1950s, M. King Hubbert, one of the leading geophysicists of the time, developed a predictive model showing that all oil reserves follow a pattern called Hubbert's Curve, which runs from discovery through to depletion. In any given oil field, as more wells are drilled and as newer and better technology is installed, production initially increases. Eventually, however, regardless of new wells and new technology, a peak output is reached. After this peak is reached, oil production not only begins to decline, but also becomes less cost effective. In fact, at some point in this decline, the energy it takes to extract, transport and refine barrel of oil exceeds the energy contained in that barrel of oil. When that point is reached, extraction of oil is no longer feasible and the reserve is abandoned. In the early years of the 20th century, in the largest oil fields, it was possible to recover 50 barrels of oil for each barrel used in the extraction, transportation and refining process. Today that 50 -to-1 ratio has declined to 5-to-1 or less. And it continues to decline. The Correlation between Oil & Gold Is there a strong correlation between the prices of gold and oil? It depends on which data are  used to measure. Many price movement studies suggest that the correlation between the two commodity prices over time is quite strong. Typically, these studies rely on data covering extensive periods of time and show that when oil increases in price, gold will inevitably follow. On the other hand, there are correlations calculated from data that show a weak relationship between the two prices. The data in these cases usually cover periods as short as years or months. â€Å"From 1965 to 1994, the monthly correlation between gold and oil weighed in at a  very  impressive +0. 879. From 1995 to 2000, however, this correlation seemingly vanished with a negative 0. 133 reading,† according to a May 2004 article by Zeal LLC. â€Å"Since 2000 though, the historical oil and gold correlation has been restored, now again running positive at +0. 715. †Ã‚  It would seem that gold may be well correlated with oil in the long term, but it is not necessarily so in the short term. While oil prices have exploded and gold prices have shown marked appreciation, protagonists of a tight long-term correlation between the two evoke previous historical price movements such as those in last half of the 1970s. From the mid-1970s to 1980, oil prices rose from around $20 USD per barrel to  more than  $100 USD per barrel in 2008 dollars. Gold followed along and roughly quadrupled in price during that same time period. [pic] The long-term chart above is also very valuable to help visualize just how closely gold and oil prices tend to correlate over strategic time frames. If one looks at major secular trends measured in years, gold and oil pretty much move in lockstep. Yes, they deviate tactically over shorter periods of time as their respective supply-and-demand influences dictate, but over the long run they travel the same path. Their prices tend to oscillate around each other and periodically cross on this chart. Over the entire four-decade span of time charted on this graph, these monthly gold and oil prices have a correlation coefficient of 0. 835 and an R-Square value of 69. 7%. These are very impressive numbers over such a long period of time and really drive home just how closely gold and oil are intertwined. If one focuses his attention on the far right side of this graph, however, a glaring anomaly becomes instantly apparent. Since oil bottomed near $11 in December 1998 ($13 in 2004 dollars) it has surged up dramatically in several subsequent uplegs achieving a mammoth 312% bull-to-date gain. But over the same period of time gold has lagged dramatically, only rallying by 39% or so in nominal terms. So far the gold price has not been able to even attempt to retain parity with oil in recent years. Now the only other similar time in history when oil was strong and gold lagged was in the late 1970s. As this chart reveals, for years gold lagged oil but when it finally did decide to catch up it powered higher with a vengeance. Gold, Oil and Dollar Relationship The answer to this question begins with the historical desire of Arab producers to receive gold in exchange for their oil. This dates back to 1933 when King Ibn Saud demanded payment in gold for the original oil concession in Saudi Arabia. In addition, Islamic law forbids the use of a promise of payment, such as the US dollar, as a medium of exchange. There is growing dissention among religious fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia regarding the exchange of oil for US dollars. Oil, gold and commodities have all been priced in US dollars since 1975 when OPEC officially agreed to sell its oil exclusively for US dollars. Today, apart from geopolitical threats in oil-producing regions, supply/demand imbalances from Peak Oil and increasing demand from developing countries, the price of both gold and oil can be expected to increase as the US dollar declines. With an ever-increasing US money supply, growing triple deficits and mounting debt at all levels, the US dollar is likely to continue the decline that began in 2001. Long term trend analysis shows negative correlation between gold prices and the value of dollar but gold price does not increase proportionately to the diminishing dollar. Market is not so simple that every down-day for the dollar corresponds to an up-day for gold and every up-day for dollar correspond to down day for gold. The effect may not be immediate and the lagging can sometime be attributed to the information gap and time lag which an individual wastes in doldrums not being able how to react to the changes. Daily and weekly fluctuations are not important at all as they don’t give analyst any idea of clear cut trend and interrelationship between them. Inflationary 1970’s saw soaring of gold above $800 while dollar fell. Dollar bounced back in 1980 and rallied before peaking in 1985, while concurrently gold peaked in 1980 and dropped all the way down to $300 during the same 5 years that dollar rallied. The Future of Gold, Oil and Dollar The word â€Å"recession† has been hurled around the biggest financial capitals in the world from New York to London to Tokyo, and no one really wants to be the one to drop the bomb. While all the experts and economists around the world want to debate who is or is not in a recession right now, it is pointless and frankly useless information. The incessant chaos and obvious current state of the global economy is clear cut enough that the world is facing major hurdles in moving forward with our economies. The fact of the matter is, all the major economies are hurting badly and answers are becoming more infrequent and costly as time continues. Amongst a multitude of important topics to discuss in relation to a worldwide recession, the currency markets are a great source of risk and sometimes guaranteed investing opportunities no matter how unpredictable the world’s stock markets are trading. It’s quite clear that over the past six months, the Euro was the place to be if one wanted to lose a lot of money. Sure it was trading at all-time highs versus the Dollar back in May, but with the U. S. slashing interest rates, the Euro has given all of those wonderful gains back and then some, to the tune of 2 year lows. It seemed that an even one-to-one exchange rate was the next stop for the EUR/USD, until the past 10 days when bad went to worse. As bellwether, blue-chip companies continue to fold across the U. S. the only solution the world can come up with is to give them all the money they need to stay alive and skip out on the much publicized Chapter 11. The average U. S. consumer simply cannot handle reality in times of massive financial distress and force the government to hold their hand through this horror movie that is the year 2008. With government money flooding the economy and interest rates on their way to 0% and beyond in the U. S. , inflation is on the brink of exploding and no one is going to want to be anywhere close to a U. S. Dollar. [pic] Oil Relief Rising crude oil prices over the last two years and the general rush to commodities has been a major roadblock for the U. S. Dollar. As discussed above, there has generally been a negative relationship between crude oil prices and the value of the U. S. Dollar. It is no coincidence that as oil prices peaked in May, the Dollar was at all-time lows versus the Euro, and conversely as oil prices have shed over 60% in value since then, the Dollar has rallied against most major currencies. Something that has been a very debatable topic is how crude oil prices have fluctuated so wildly in the past 12 months and the role of speculators in the commodities market. With oil prices falling this year primarily on falling consumption and increasing reserves, how countries like the U. S. and China react to the recent economic turmoil will determine the fate of crude oil prices going through 2009. The recession affecting all the major economies will remain dire without substantial relief in sight in the near future. Provided speculators do not drive the prices up and the recent terrorist attacks in India fail to spread panic in the Middle East, crude prices will remain modest and will not have a major effect on the U. S. Dollar. Nonetheless, if there happens to be a large run-up in oil prices back towards the $100 mark, the Dollar will be back on the defensive. As far as gold is concerned, with such a huge demand for gold coming from around the world, it is no wonder that the price is projected to reach an almost unbelievable $1000 per ounce. One of the biggest importers of gold is China, constituting a large chunk of the price hike. Most of the gold usage is jewellery related. Supply is also a factor. With such a high demand, gold is becoming scarcer. Miners are searching for new sources to combat the possible shortage. The Federal Reserve has a lot of control over the value of the dollar. When it raises interest rates, usually the value of the dollar goes up. Now, with the Fed lowering interest rates in hopes of promoting trade between banks, the value of the dollar is going down and so, the value of gold is going up.

Spanish Abounds With Words for Love

Spanish Abounds With Words for Love I love you. I love strawberries. The score is love all. They made love. I would love to see you. Does love mean the same thing in all of the above sentences? Obviously not. So it shouldnt come as a surprise that there are many words in Spanish that can be translated as love. Use the verb amar or the noun amor to translate all the above sentences, and youll sound foolish at best. The idea that almost any word in one language can be translated into just one or two words in another language can lead to serious mistakes in vocabulary. Similarly, the fact that literally dozens of words can be used to translate even a simple word such as love is one thing that makes computerized translation so maddeningly undependable. Understanding context is one key to effective translation. Before you go further, see how many words you can come up with that can accurately translate love as a noun, verb, or part of a phrase. Then compare your list with the list below. ‘Love’ as a Noun aficià ³n (enthusiasm): Tiene aficià ³n por las cosas de su tierra. (She has a love for the things of her land.)amado/a (sweetheart): Mi amada y yo estamos tan felices. (My love and I are so happy.)amante (sweetheart, lover): No quiero que seas mi amante. (I dont want you to be my love.)amistad (friendship)amor (pure love, romantic love): Y ahora permanecen la fe, la esperanza y el amor, estos tres; pero el mayor de ellos es el amor. (And now remain these three: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of them is love.)caridad (charity): Si yo hablase lenguas humanas y angà ©licas, y no tengo caridad †¦ . (If I speak in tongues of humans and angels, and have not love †¦ .)carià ±o/a (sweetheart):cero (score in tennis): Cero a cero. (Love all.)pasià ³n (passion, not necessarily romantic): Tiene una pasià ³n por vivir, una pasià ³n por saber. (He has a love of living, a love of knowledge.)querido (sweetheart)recuerdos (regards): Mndale recuerdos mà ­os. (Send him my lo ve.) ‘Love’ as a Verb amar (to love, to love romantically): Te amo. (I love you.)encantar (indicating strong like): Me encanta escribir. (I love to write.)gustar mucho (indicating strong like): Me gusta mucho este sof. (I love this sofa.)querer (to love romantically, to want): Te quiero con todo el corazà ³n. (I love you with all my heart.) ‘Love’ as an Adjective amatorio (pertaining to love): Me escribià ³ muchas carta amatorias. (He wrote me many love letters.)amorosa (pertaining to affection): Las aventuras amorosas pueden ser estimulantes y excitantes, pero tambià ©n pueden ser perjudiciales y dolorosas. (Love affairs can be stimulating and exciting, but they also can be harmful and painful.)romntico (pertaining to romance): El King compuso numerosas canciones romnticas a lo largo de sus 20 aà ±os de carrera. (The King wrote numerous love songs throughout his 20-year career.)sexual (pertaining to sexuality): Los juegos sexuales son una buena forma de mantener la pasià ³n. (Love games are one good way of maintaining passion.) Phrases Using ‘Love’ amarà ­o (love affair)amor a primera vista (love at first sight)amor mà ­o (my love)carta de amor (love letter)enamorarse (to fall in love with): Me enamorà © de una bruja. I fell in love with a witch.estar enamorado (to be in love): Estoy enamorada de à ©l. (I am in love with him.)flechazo (love at first sight): Fue flechazo. (It was love at first sight.)hacer el amor (to make love)historia de amor (love story)lance de amor (love affair)me quiere, no me quiere (she loves me, she loves me not)mi amor (my love)no se llevan bien (there is no love lost between them)no se tienen ningà ºn aprecio (there is no love lost between them)periquito (love bird or parakeet)por el amor de (for the love of): Por el amor de una rosa, el jardinero es servidor de mil espinas. (For the love of a rose, the gardener is the servant of a thousand thorns.)por nada del mundo (not for love nor money)por pura aficià ³n (for the pure love of it, just for the love of it): Toca el piano por pura aficià ³n. (She plays the piano just for the love of it.) prenda de amor (love token): Hoy te doy este anillo como prenda de mi amor. (Today I give you this ring as a token of my love.)relaciones sexuales (love making)vida sexual (love life)

The Historical Progression of African Americans Essay Example

The Historical Progression of African Americans Essay Example The Historical Progression of African Americans Essay The Historical Progression of African Americans Essay The Historical Progression of African Americans Jeff Brown HIS 204: American History Since 1865 Prof Carl Garrigus May 16, 2010 The Historical Progression of African Americans America in 1857 was a â€Å"Nation on the Brink. † Relationships between the Northern and Southern states had been strained for decades. During the 1850s, the situation exploded. The Compromise of 1850 served as a clear warning that the slavery issue- relatively dormant since the Missouri Compromise of 1820- had returned. African Americans existence in America has been a disaster ever since they have been here. Every avenue of their cultural, economic, literary, political, religious, and social values has been violated to no avail, and then only until the early 60s were there noticeable changes. Between 1865 and 1876, life for African Americans was nothing but sadness and hardships. Two social issues they faced were discrimination and slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 freed African Americans in rebel states, and after the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment emancipated all U. S. slaves wherever they were. As a result, the mass of Southern blacks now faced the difficulty Northern blacks had confrontedthat of a free people surrounded by many hostile whites. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, two more years of war, service by African American troops, and the defeat of the Confederacy, the nation was still unprepared to deal with the question of full citizenship for its newly freed black population. The Reconstruction implemented by Congress, which lasted from 1866 to 1877, was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War, providing the means for readmitting them into the Union, and defining the means by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. The South, however, saw Reconstruction as a humiliating, even vengeful imposition and did not welcome it. After the Civil War, with the protection of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, African Americans enjoyed a period when they were allowed to vote, actively participate in the political process, acquire the land of former owners, seek their own employment, and use public accommodations. Opponents of this progress, however, soon rallied against the former slaves freedom and began to find means for eroding the gains for which many had shed their blood (Edwards, 2007). The U. S. presidency is a meaningful domain in which to explore perceptions of discrimination for at least three reasons. The first reason for exploring children’s views about the presidency concerns the centrality of work to gender and racial differences in American society. There are significant gender and racial differences in workforce participation, occupational roles, job status, and income. Research indicates that children are aware of many of these differences from an early age. The presidency is an especially compelling example of gender and racial stratification within the workforce because all 43 of the individuals who have held the position have been European American males. Because children understand the presidency and other political roles to be occupations, their views about the role that gender and race/ethnicity play in the presidency may be indicative of their broader patterns of thinking about the role of gender and racial discrimination in the workforce. Furthermore, the presidency is important to examine because it is arguably the most prestigious occupation in the world and is unique in its scope. In contrast, children are aware that all adult American citizens are eligible to vote and that election outcome, therefore, represent the judgments of large, representative segments of society. The second reason for exploring children’s views about the presidency concerns the importance of democracy and civic engagement. The presidency represents the pinnacle of American government, arguably the most important institution in the United States. Perceptions of discrimination within the presidency could have serious repercussions for individuals’ political engagement. Indeed, gender and racial differences in participation in U. S. democracy have long been noted. For example, African Americans report feeling disengaged from the political process and frequently believe that their civic activities make little to no difference to their communities. Perceptions of discrimination that arise in childhood may shape individuals’ later civic behavior. A third and final reason for studying children’s perceptions of the presidency is that knowledge of the domain emerges early in the life course. Most children in U. S. lementary schools are introduced to lessons about U. S. presidents in kindergarten. Although children’s understanding of the methods, purpose, and effects of government increases over time, even young children have a rudimentary understanding of the role of the president as a leader of government. The research questions concerned children’s knowledge of the links among gender, race, and the presidency. And the conclus ions were, that it is unlikely that children are explicitly taught that only European American men have been presidents of the United States. Nonetheless, children might acquire such knowledge through observation and constructive processes (Bigler et al. , 2008). Still between 1865 and 1876, there was a culture identity crisis for African Americans. We cannot explain the roots of African American culture without reference to Africa because African values, beliefs, and practices played a crucial role in the formation of African American cultures. It is basically these historical foundations, that many scholars fail to take into account in their treatment of the origins of African American cultures in the New World. Small wonder we have been saddled with accounts that maintain that African captives, in the dehumanizing experience of the Middle Passage, lost their cultural heritage and simply became acculturated to Euro-American customs and beliefs. According to some authors, African captives were a heterogeneous crowd made up of disparate cultures and unintelligible languages with no prior contact. African captives began to create an entirely new social structure and organization in the form of the dyad of two slaves sharing one space on the slave ship. Various shreds of evidence suggest that some of the earliest social bonds to develop in the coffles, in the factories, and especially during the long Middle Passage were of a dyadic (two person) nature. The bond between shipmates, those who shared passage on the same slaver, can be found in widely scattered parts of Afro-America; the shipmate relationship became a major principle for social organization and continued for decades or even centurie s to shape ongoing relations. Through an examination of African languages, patterns of slave importation, slave uprisings during the Middle Passage, baptismal rites, music, dance, and funeral rites, shared much in common culturally. Despite the horrors of enslavement, common African cultural practices among the various African ethnic groups served as an organizing and unifying principle which armed African captives with some sense of solidarity and cultural continuity in their new environment. Neither cultural diversity nor linguistic multiplicity served as major obstacles to the development of African American cultures in the New World. West and Central African cultural practices provide a suitable reference point for understanding the origins of African American cultures in the New World. More importantly, it should be clear that African captives relied upon organizing and unifying principles of African culture- like language, dance, baptismal practices, funeral rites- to enable them to cope with the horrors of slavery and to create a social and spiritual environment in the New World. Their cultural background sustained them as they adopted and created new practices and institutions that allowed them to survive the oppressive conditions of American slavery (Ntloedibe, 2006). Also during this same time frame, African American’s religion was a tale of variety and creative fusion. Preserving African religions in North America proved to be very difficult. The harsh circumstances under which most slaves lived- high death rates, the separation of families and tribal groups, and the concerted effort of white owners to eradicate heathen (or non-Christian) customs- rendered the preservation of religious traditions difficult and often unsuccessful. Isolated songs, rhythms, movements, and beliefs in the curative powers of roots and the efficacy of a world of spirits and ancestors did survive well into the nineteenth century. But these increasingly were combined in creative ways with the various forms of Christianity to which Europeans and Americans introduced African slaves. In Latin America, where Catholicism was most prevalent, slaves mixed African beliefs and practices with Catholic rituals and theology, resulting in the formation of entirely new religions such as vaudou in Haiti (later referred to as voodoo), Santeria in Cuba, and Candomble in Brazil. But in North America, slaves came into contact with the growing number of Protestant evangelical preachers, many of whom actively sought the conversion of African Americans. By 1810 the slave trade to the United States also came to an end and the slave population began to increase naturally, making way for the preservation and transmission of religious practices that were, by this time, truly African-American. This transition coincided with the period of intense religious revivalism known as awakenings. In the southern states increasing numbers of slaves converted to evangelical religions such as the Methodist and Baptist faiths. Many clergy within these denominations actively promoted the idea that all Christians were equal in the sight of god, a message that provided hope and sustenance to the slaves. They also encouraged worship in ways that many Africans found to be similar, or at least adaptable, to African worship patterns, with enthusiastic singing, clapping, dancing, and even spirit-possession. Still, many white owners insisted on slave attendance at white-controlled churches, since they were fearful that if slaves were allowed to worship independently they would ultimately plot rebellion against their owners. It is clear that many blacks saw these white churches, in which ministers promoted obedience to ones master as the highest religious ideal, as a mockery of the true Christian message of equality and liberation as they knew it. In the slave quarters, however, African Americans organized their own invisible institution. Through signals, passwords, and messages not discernible to whites, they called believers to hush harbors where they freely mixed African rhythms, singing, and beliefs with evangelical Christianity. It was here that the spirituals, with their double meanings of religious salvation and freedom from slavery, developed, and flourished; and here, too, that black preachers, those who believed that God had called them to speak his Word, polished their chanted sermons, or rhythmic, intoned style of extemporaneous preaching. In a massive missionary effort, northern black churches established missions to their southern counterparts, resulting in the dynamic growth of independent black churches in the southern states between 1865 and 1900. Predominantly white denominations, such as the Presbyterian, Congregational, and Episcopal churches, also sponsored missions, opened schools for freed slaves, and aided the general welfare of southern blacks, but the majority of African-Americans chose to join the independent black denominations founded in the northern states during the antebellum era. Within a decade the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) churches claimed southern membership in the hundreds of thousands, far outstripping that of any other organizations. They were quickly joined in 1870 by a new southern-based denomination, the Colored (now Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church, founded by indigenous southern black leaders. Finally, in 1894 black Baptists formed the National Baptist Convention, an organization that is currently the largest black religious organization in the United States (Paris, 2008). As slavery ended between 1877-1920, Blacks developed unique solutions to the many problems they faced in attaining literacy and other educational goals. With beginnings in Reconstruction-era legislation to the implementation of the first public schools for Blacks in 1871, Blacks have long struggled with a wide range of problems in their various efforts to develop primary, secondary, and post-secondary educational opportunities. In the midst of what historian Rayford Logan (1954) termed the Nadir (the suffocating combination of Jim Crow legislation, political disfranchisement, sharecropping, and racial violence). Blacks fought a series of battles to create educational institutions and to define the purposes of these schools. In the era between 1877 and 1901, Southern legislators, lynch mobs, the Ku Klux Klan, and even the U. S. Supreme Court rolled back years of progressive change which Black Southerners enjoyed during Reconstruction. With the election of Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency in 1876, the Nadir- a low point in Black history- began and, in the eyes of some observers, was a decided move back towards slavery and Southern White supremacy. In the ensuing chaos, the definition and goals of education became an important set of battlegrounds- among many others- for Black communities throughout the American South. In the post-Reconstruction era, educators including Booker T. Washington emerged to stress vocational and industrial training. This would ultimately be viewed as a call for the acquiescence of Black labor to the dictates of paternalistic and racist Whites as a panacea for all of the ills facing Black Southerners. In this problematic view, if Black Southerners demonstrated their industriousness and work ethic. Whites would accept them into the mainstream, eventually granting Black Americans economic opportunities, social equality, and political rights. Washington unmistakably accepted a subordinate position for Southern Negroes. In the end, putting aside constitutionally guaranteed civil and political rights in the hopes that Whites would learn to appreciate the presence of Blacks in the South was a recipe for disaster. William Edward B. Du Bois and Anna Julia Cooper favored the establishment of college preparatory secondary schools and liberal arts colleges. Du Bois envisioned early in his long career, that this would produce classes of Black leaders rising from the ranks of liberal arts college graduates. Du Bois argued that without the presence of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) emphasizing a liberal arts curriculum- the American Negro would scarcely have attained his present position (Rucker and Jubilee, 2007). Paul Laurence Dunbar presented a curious sight to the passengers who rode his elevator in the early 1890s. The clerks, craftswomen, and business managers of Dayton, Ohio, often saw the Century magazine in his hands. The occupants of that elevator were used to seeing elevator operators reading dime novels. But here was young Dunbar reading the Century, then the nations preeminent magazine of culture. The New York monthly held, as one contemporary observed, a position of undisputed primacy among American magazines. † The magazine could make an authors reputation instantly. For a poet of Dunbars day, there was no surer way of forging a literary career than to publish in the Century. Against seemingly impossible odds, Dunbar not only broke into the Century, he also became one of the few poets enshrined in the magazines literary pantheon. The Century had the distinction of publishing three of Dunbars poems in the year before Howells wrote his infamous 1896 review of Majors and Minors. Thereafter, the Century championed Dunbars career. The magazine published more Dunbar poems than it did any other poet during the decade of his productive career. For Dunbar, the magazine was his most important literary outlet. He published more of his poems in the Century than in any other periodical. ^ The influence of the Century on Dunbars career was immense. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the relationship between Dunbar and the Century editors who promoted his work. This relationship is vital not only for comprehending Dunbars literary career, but also for understanding the racialization of US society around 1900. The defining dilemma of Dunbars literary life was having been born and raised in urban black and in the western part of the state of Ohio. Dunbars westemness complicated his blackness. It put him in close contact with numerous whites and allowed him to develop intimate contacts across the color line. In his youth, for example, he was friends with the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilber. This unique background led Dunbar constantly to confront the question of the source of his identity. What defined him more: his race or his region, his blackness or his westemness? Dunbars marginal status would cause him to struggle with the question of identity throughout his short life, both personally and professionally. It forced him simultaneously to employ and reject the regionalism of Cultural Reconstruction. In the years following 1898 until his death in 1906, Dunbar published upwards of 200 original poems in magazines and newspapers across the country. The great majority were in Negro dialect. None was in Hoosier or any other white dialects. A handful was in standard English. Virtually all were on themes of black history or black culture. Dunbar had come to lose all hope of being a regional voice in the national chorus envisioned in the early formulation of Cultural Reconstruction. By 1901, Dunbar was widely hailed, not as an American poet, or a western poet, or even a southern poet. For those searching to establish black culture, he was the laureate of his race, the expression of a racial genius, the historian of his race, the voice of a race (Dunbars Poems; Nelson; The New Slavery). For those who clung to the darkey stereotype, Dunbar was a black threat: I used to read Dunbar quite a lot, W. E. B. DuBois heard a white Texas woman say, until I found out he was a nigger. † Dunbar had become trapped in a prison-house of literary. Dunbars dialect poetry performed a vital if aesthetically suicidal task in the era of Jim Crows caustic ascendancy. By revealing that black authors could write Negro, Dunbar unmasked the racist stereotype of the African American perpetrated by white authors such as Thomas Nelson Page. But Dunbar could only legitimate this act of unmasking by adopting for himself the metastasizing conception of race as an identity prior to all others. Dunbar, Samson-like, brought the regionalist pretensions of Cultural Reconstruction crashing down on himself. His dialect poetry was the sign that US national identity by 1900 was no longer constructed through the production of regional unity, but through the production of racial difference (Scott-Childress, 2007). Between 1921 and 1945 the Great Depression years, hard times were nothing new to African Americans. When the depression struck, black unemployment surged. Even the skilled black workers who had retained their jobs saw their wages cut in half. Migration out of the rural South dropped. In 1934, the average income for blacks cotton farm workers was under $200 a year. Much of the white population that had left the cities for the suburbs was replaced by African Americans and Hispanics. They were part of a larger migration especially of millions of blacks families leaving the South to search for work in urban cities. Most headed for the Middle Atlanta, Northeast, and Upper Midwest regions. While central cities lost millions of white residents, they gained millions of African Americans instead. By the late 50s, half of all black Americans were living in central cities (Davidson et al. , 2008). During 1946 up until 1976, the roots of the civil rights movement lie deep in the history of this nation. The civil rights movement began with the presence of enslaved blacks in the New World, with the first slave mutiny on the ships bringing them here. The black Odyssey includes some of the bleakest examples of repression and terrorism in the history of this or any nation. Through the first three decades of the twentieth century, the mechanisms that circumscribed black lives remained in place. Individual blacks made breakthroughs into the middle class; the New Deal, grassroots protests, and the stirrings in organized labor in the 1930s, culminating in the March on Washington movement in 1941, encouraged a politics of hope and raised the stakes in the struggle for economic justice. For many blacks, World War II was the turning point in the relationship of African Americans to American society. Not only did blacks lose respect for whites, but those who fought in the war also lost another quality that had been instilled in them over several centuries- fear of whites- and that change would have far-reaching implications as the soldiers returned to their homes. With the end of World War II, the conviction grew that the way it used to be did not have to be, and African Americans, many of them veterans, gave voice to that feeling in ways white America could no longer ignore. Long before Martin Luther King Jr. nd Rosa Parks took center stage, black men, and women, acting mostly as individuals but numbering in the thousands, waged guerrilla warfare on the infrastructure of Jim Crow. During World War II, they violated law and custom, sitting where they pleased in buses, trains, stations, restaurants, and movie houses, waiting to be dragged off by conductors, drivers, owners, and police officers. Capitalizing on the gains made earlier in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, the civil rights movement revolutionized black consciousness and mobilized the black community in ways that captured the imagination of much of the world. Extraordinary changes- some of them symbolic, some of them substantive- transformed the South. The civil rights movement struck down the legal barriers of segregation and disenfranchisement, dismantling a racial caste system that had been evolving, sometimes fitfully, over some four centuries. The achievements were impressive and far-reaching, with striking gains in educational achievement, in clerical and professional positions, in skilled labor, in political representation, and in the entertainment and sports industries. Affirmative action opened positions hitherto reserved for whites, significantly expanding the black middle class. Politically, from 1960 to 1980 the number of black registered voters in the South more than tripled. Even as the civil rights movement struck down legal barriers and transformed the face of southern politics, it failed to diminish economic inequalities. Even as the Supreme Court ended school segregation by law, the justices failed to end segregation by income and residence. With the urban uprisings, the Vietnam war, and the heightened rhetoric and new directions of the civil rights movement, the battles over racial change became too much for many whites to absorb. What compounded the problem was the conviction shared by many white Americans that, in general, blacks had made it. Laws had been passed; Jim Crow had been eliminated. Blacks had been elected to public office. Opportunities were available for blacks if they only seized the initiative. If the failures of blacks persisted, the fault had to lie with the victims, not in deeply rooted economic and social inequalities, not in their economic marginalization. The failure of blacks to succeed reflected inferior intelligence, the unfitness, incapacity, and moral, even genetic and cultural, shortcomings of a race; failure lay in their refusal to put their own house in order, to lessen their dependency on government programs and handouts. How free is free? This question persists. Enslaved labor was abolished more than a century ago, but only after 250 years of uncompensated labor. Jim Crow blocked black access to economic and political power for another century. But even with the dismantling of segregation some four decades ago, the images will not go away. Though expressed with more subtlety today, racism remains pervasive; its terrors and tensions are still with us, and it knows no regional boundaries (Litwack, 2009). After the election of President Barack Obama, millions of Americans rejoiced at the prospect of a changing America. Americans were hopeful that the election of President Obama marked a change in the political landscape, financial condition, and social mindset of the American people. For many in the African American community, his election represented how far America has come regarding race relations and provided new hope for future generations that all things were possible for African Americans in this nation. Unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960s, African Americans today are not fighting for basic civil rights such as the right to vote and attend non-segregated schools. This is not to say that overt and covert acts of racism do not still exist in America and do not continue to affect the African American community. However, with the passing of civil rights legislation over the years, individual minorities and minority groups have the right to file grievances against those who choose to discriminate against them based on race or ethnic background. In the media today, even the hint of racial injustice or discrimination draws automatic fire from the media and action from several groups eager to carry the mantel of equality and justice for all. Many of the challenges facing African Americans today are more subtle and involve a struggle that is more within the African American community than without. The struggle involves pushing against institutional barriers that have been strengthened by those in favor of maintaining a historical precedent or the status quo; it also involves a continued determination to resist an apathetic attitude toward the problems in the African American community. In many instances, it is not the opinionated few who determine the overall outcome, but the indifference of the majority who are usually directly affected by the decision that they fail to be a part of. The issues African Americans face are issues all Americans have to address. There is no sole African American solution to these issues because they are not issues that exclusively affect African Americans. Daily we lead or are led by Airmen who struggle with these issues. It is imperative that we all, as Americans, deliberately and effectively meet the challenges of these issues. In doing, so we become better leaders, followers, and citizens of this great nation.

Study Schedule for a Test Six Days Away

Study Schedule for a Test Six Days Away Your test is coming up in six days, and thankfully, youre ahead of the game because for you, cramming for a test is a huge no-no.  By giving yourself six days to prepare, youve done yourself a big favor. Not only have you reduced the amount of study time needed per session, but you have also given yourself enough time to be perfectly prepped for your test. Great news, huh? Heres a study schedule to help you prepare for a test thats six days away. Have less time? Check out the study schedules below for fewer days. Study Schedule Day 1: Ask and Read In School: Ask your teacher what type of test it will be. Multiple choice? Essay? Thatll make a difference in how you prepare.Ask your teacher for a review sheet if he/she hasnt already given you one. (i.e. test content)Get a study partner set up for the night before the test if possible – even via phone/facebook/Skype.Take home your review sheet and textbook. At Home: Eat some brain food.Read your review sheet, so you know whats going to be on the test.Reread the chapters in the textbook that will be on the test.Thats it for day one! Study Schedule Day 2: Organize and Make Flashcards: In School: Pay attention in class – your teacher may be going over things that will be on the test!Take home your handouts, assignments, and former quizzes along with your textbook and review sheet. At Home: Organize your notes. Rewrite or type them up so theyre legible. Organize your handouts according to dates. Make note of anything youre missing. (Wheres the vocab quiz from chapter 2?)Go through your review sheet, finding the answers for every question on there from your notes, handouts, textbook, etc.Make flashcards with a question/term/vocab word on the front of the card, and the answer on the back. When youre finished, put your flashcards in your backpack so you can study throughout the day tomorrow.Stay focused! Study Schedule Day 3: Memorize In School: Throughout the day, pull your flashcards out and ask yourself questions (when youre waiting for class to start, at lunch, during study hall, etc.)Clarify anything you didnt totally understand with your teacher. Ask for missing items (that vocab quiz from chapter 2).Ask if there will be a review before the test later this week. At Home: Set a timer for 45 minutes, and memorize everything on the review sheet that you dont already know using mnemonic devices like acronyms or singing a song. Stop after 45 minutes and move on to other homework. You have three more days to study for this bad boy!Put your flashcards in your backpack for more review tomorrow. Study Schedule Day 4: Memorize Some More In School: Again, pull your flashcards out and ask yourself questions throughout the day. At Home: Set a timer for 45 minutes again. Go back through your flashcards and review sheet, memorizing anything you dont have down pat. Stop after 45 minutes. Youre done for the day!Put your flashcards in your backpack for review again tomorrow. Study Schedule Day 5: Finalizing memory In School: Throughout the day, pull your flashcards out and ask yourself questions again.Confirm study date with a friend for tomorrow evening. At Home: Set your timer for 45 minutes and run through your flashcards and review sheet. Take a 5-minute break. Repeat the process until your content knowledge is better than your teachers. Study Schedule Day 6: Review and Quiz In School: If your teacher is having an exam review today, pay close attention and write down anything you havent learned yet. If the teacher mentions it today – its on the test, guaranteed! At Home: Ten-twenty minutes before your study partner (or mom) shows up to quiz you for the exam, review your flashcards. Make sure you have everything down pat.Quiz. When your study partner arrives, take turns asking possible exam questions to each other. Make sure each of you has a turn asking and answering because youll learn the material best by doing both. Stop once youve been through the questions a few times and get a good nights sleep.

Plato, Descartes, and Freud's Take on Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Plato, Descartes, and Freud's Take on - Essay Example In an attempt to do just this, a well known philosopher by the name of, Plato, asked the question, â€Å"What is a good life for a human being?† This question carries with it the supposition that all humans have at least two of the same built in devices, reason and human nature. It also implies that these two devices steer people toward the same goal or purpose. It is philosophy that undertakes the study of discovering what this purpose is, by turning people away from mere appearance and toward reality. The ultimate goal of any philosopher is to uncover how the world looks objectively instead of subjectively, and from what truly is good instead of what just appears to be good. By the use of reason three theories have been developed by the world’s most prominent philosophers during their attempt to divide what is reality, and what is merely and illusion of reality. The first theory, The Divided Line Theory, was developed by Plato. The second theory, Method of Doubt, was created by Descartes. The final theory, Psychoanalysis, was developed by Freud. By taking an in-depth look into how each philosopher reasoned his conclusion and the similarities and differences each theory contains, one might develop a broad answer to one of philosophy’s most probing questions. Divided Line Theory To develop his, Divided Line Theory, Plato used the reasoning that human beings live in a world of visible and intelligible things. The visible world is made up of those things that surround humans. What they can feel, tough, taste and see. However, Plato states that the visible world is made up of uncertainty. The intelligible world on the other hand is made up of unchanging products of human reason; this would consist of anything arising from reason alone, such as mathematics, or abstract definitions. The intelligible world therefore is made up of eternal â€Å"forms† or in Greek â€Å"ideas† of things; the visible world, then, is the imperfect and c hanging manifestation in this world of these unchanging forms. An example would be the Form or Idea of a horse is intelligible, and applies to all horses. This form or idea never changes, even though each horse may vary wildly individually, the form of a horse would never change even if all horses across the world were to disappear. An individual horse, on the other hand, is a physical changing object that can easily case to be a horse. Plato therefore describes these two worlds as existing with a line between them; the intelligible world and the visible world. He says that in the intelligible world one can have knowledge and in the visible world one can have opinion. He then further divides each of the worlds in two. The visible world he divides into illusion which is made up of â€Å"shadows† paintings, poetry, etc. and beliefs which is made up of things that can change, such as an individual horse. The intelligible world is then divided into the sub-categories of reason, w hich is things such as mathematics, and intelligence, which is the understanding of the ultimate good. Plato’s theory differs from Descartes and Freud’s in that he doesn’t attempt to apply it in any way, it is a simple method of grouping aspects of the world to further uncover the ultimate truth. Method of Doubt Descartes Method of

Competitive Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Competitive Strategies - Essay Example Coca- Cola and Pepsi-Cola are two leading soft drinks in the USA. Both are represented by values cherished by the state including democracy, independence, fun and free. The color, taste and amount of carbon dioxide in both drinks are nearly the same. Coca cola is the leading brand across the globe with a leading brand value of $ 67,000 million. Its competitor Pepsi Cola has a brand of $ 12,690 million. Coca-Cola is the best recognized brand in the world and is known for owning top five soft drinks in the world that is, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta (Bodden 2009). Coca- Cola strong brand value has positively impacted in its penetration to new markets as it consolidates the existing market. Coca-Cola was designed in 1885 by John Stith Pemberton who was a pharmacist (Bodden 2009). The name Coke was derived from the presence of cocaine in coke, this cocaine was claimed to reduce depression and made coke drinkers addicted to the drink. The Food and Drug Administration later abolished the presence of cocaine in the drink hence making the industry remove the ingredient cocaine in the drink. Although the company maintained the beverage’s name, its demand started to reduce. The company therefore resulted in aggressive advertising to promote the beverage. Pepsi on the other hand was also designed by a pharmacist, Caleb Bradham in 1898 and was named after its creator as ‘Brad drink’ (Bodden 2008). It also placed emphasis on advertising. Its advertisement challenged that of Coca-Cola since PepsiCo used celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Jackie Chan and Britney Spears among others to advertise its drinks making it popular among sports fans and the young as w ell as promoting the image of non-conformity and confidence (Doole and Lowe 2008). A Pepsi advertisement featuring Britney Spears indicated Pepsi as a drink for all,

Can and should the marketplace be inclusive to all consumers Essay

Can and should the marketplace be inclusive to all consumers - Essay Example It will examine the problem that the aged face when companies decide to advertise and sell their commodity through the media and social networks. The paper will also try to explain how the aged can be integrated in the fashion industry. According to Macnicol (2005), age discrimination has a long history going back to 1930s, and even today it is a topic of debate in Britain. In the current world, many old people have a feeling that they are overlooked and ignored in the market. For example, in the designing of shopping complexes in the street. There are many old people who cannot obtain a service or the product that they want- whether from cinemas, restaurants or newspaper. This is because things have changed, so there is nothing that suits their taste. According to Mumel and Prodnik (2005), this discrimination has led the aged to stay away from this market. They consider themselves less fortunate and burden to society. According to Birtwistle and Tsim (2005), a fashion designer that can adopt and agree to cater for the individual needs of aging women will do quite well because it has a high potential, unsaturated market. Fashion designers have failed to provide old people with clothes that are psychologically, physically and socially comfortable. Psychological comfort gives the old person a well-being sense (Kunze, Boehm, & Bruch, 2011). Old people want clothes that will make the public have a positive mind and respect them. Physical comfort is achieved when the older people put on clothes that protect them from heat, humidity and cold. Their social comfort will be achieved by wearing clothes that will make them presentable and create a good impression to the public. The old also feel excluded in todays media. Images of the youth dominate the media today. Older peoples pictures are of two categories: one portrays old people as decrepit, aimed at generating sympathy and enable other people to contribute to them (

Chinese Yuan vs. US Dollar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chinese Yuan vs. US Dollar - Essay Example The use of the two currencies in trade began in 1985 on a bilateral arrangement between the two countries. In 2008, the volume of imports from China hit the $337.8 billion mark. The China government has increased the use of the Yuan in foreign trade over the years leading dynamism in its exchange rates with other world currencies. According to economists, the China government is suspected to devalue the currency in order to increase the competitiveness of their local industries. In addition, the Chinese Yuan is less flexible with respect to the exchange rate against the US dollar and other world currencies. An effort to increase the flexibility of the Chinese Yuan by the government has resulted to the use of the currency internationally. The objective is increasing the use of the currency and achieving its use as a reserve currency in the long term (Derosa 2011). The last five financial years indicate a relatively stable exchange rate between the Chinese Yuan (CNY) and the US dollar (USD). The table below indicates the official exchange rates posted in the two countries’ markets. The record shows how much one US dollar is equivalent to the Chinese Yuan Year USD Chinese Yuan 2009 1 6.8314 2010 1 6.7703 2011 1 6.4615 2012 1 6.3123 2013 1 6.1910 Since 2009 to date, the value of the Chinese Yuan has been increasing. ... changes in the exchange rate can be attributed to the control efforts of the Chinese Yuan flexibility in the exchange market by the Chinese government (Exchange-Rates.org 2013). From 2005 to 2008, the Chinese government allowed the appreciation of the dollar to 21%. However, the global economic crisis prompted China to stop the appreciation and regulate the exchange rate flexibility. From 2008 to 2010, the exchange indicated minimal changes since the rate was maintained at about 6.83 Yuan (Exchange-Rates.org 2013). Amid the then economic conditions, the Chinese government continued with their reforms in the exchange rate thus increasing the currency’s flexibility again. This led to an appreciation of the exchange rate leading to a loss of value by the Yuan against the dollar. The controlled flexibility of the Yuan leads to a slowed appreciation of the dollar against the Yuan. The slight change in the exchange rate of these currencies is caused by the fixed exchange rate regime maintained by China with regard to their currency. The depreciation of the US dollar over the years also contributes to the decrease in the exchange rate between the CNY and the USD. The USD has lost value against the Yuan and other major currencies across the world especially during the global financial crisis. The Chinese Yuan/US dollar exchange rate in 2012 portrayed several movements that ranged between an increase and a decrease in value of the Yuan against the dollar and the loss of value of the dollar against the Yuan. The table below shows the values of the exchange rates between the Yuan and the dollar. The values are on quarterly basis with the USD as the base currency (Wang 2009). Month (2012) USD Yuan January 1 6.6233 April 1 6.3077 August 1 6.3604 December 1 6.2223

Gender Roles Set in Stone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender Roles Set in Stone - Essay Example They glorified their nudities not only as a mode of stratification but also as a type of life. Woman of Willendorf is a perfect representation of a woman in the early societies. Just as with any other sculpture at the time, the woman is nude. In her nudity, her fertility features are conspicuous. Such features as her large breasts, developed hips and a large pelvic girdle are visible. Such features portray the vital role the women played in the society. Women embodied reproduction in the society. Her fertility features show this thereby presenting her as an established woman of the time. The sculptor emphasized her fertility and child bearing features owing to the childbearing role that women played. A perfect woman was fertile thus had children. Additionally, the sculpture lacks a definite face. The wears a unique headgear hat covers both her head and parts of her face thus concealing her face. Other primary feature of the sculpture was its lack of legs. The statue does not stand on its own. The lack of legs coupled with the concealed face is two primary features included in the sculpture deliberately in an attempt to portray gender roles. Women relied on their husbands and the rest of the society by extrapolation. As such, they relied on their male counterparts who provided and protected the families. The concealed face has a spiritual connotation. Women in the prehistoric society upheld stringent religious values, which they believed, played significant roles in enhancing their fertility and childbearing role. Additionally, concealing the face of the woman shows the society’s interest in her face among other externalities (Adovasio, Jake and Olga 112). Statue of a kouros on the other hand presents the position and roles of the youth in the society. The youthful nude male stands majestically in perfect symmetry. This portrays the features of the youth in the prehistoric society as captured by

Science fiction and film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Science fiction and film - Essay Example Sci-fi films are absolute with heroes, far-flung planets, impracticable quests, dubious settings, incredible places, enormous dark and shadowy villains, revolutionary technology and gizmos and mysterious and bizarre forces. Many other Science Fiction Films feature time travels or extraordinary journeys, and are set either on Earth, in outer space or most frequently into the future time. Like the mainstream of the unsurpassed science fiction, Blade Runner does not relate to the typical false-scientific package of cryptic and difficult to understand jargon. In this regard, science fiction movies, although apparently hinting the opposite with their depictions of aliens and high-end technology, question the very nature of humanity; what, in essence, does it mean to be a human? What elements constitute the very essence of consciousness? This is why directors are able to express themselves with greater freedom in science fiction movies than through fiction, giving them science fiction movies an obvious benefit over their fiction counterparts. The very aspect is explored in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The movie brings to the movie world a theatrical piece that combines human, childlike innocence and ingenuousness to a machine-like strength and ruthlessness. This sets the film in a class of its own, as the most excellent science fiction probes the spirit of life us ing differences out of the bounds of our contemporary world as a fuel to sustain the story (Blade Runner 2000). The movie is unique not only in presenting the typical science fiction traits in a subtly advanced and novel manner but also in the various dynamic themes and questions that have been embedded in it. The movie is set in the year 2019. The human race is on an exodus, from the earth to newly colonized places elsewhere in the universe. However since the exploration of space is a daunting task, androids known as replicants have been invented for the purpose of exploration. As with the

Gender Roles Set in Stone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender Roles Set in Stone - Essay Example They glorified their nudities not only as a mode of stratification but also as a type of life. Woman of Willendorf is a perfect representation of a woman in the early societies. Just as with any other sculpture at the time, the woman is nude. In her nudity, her fertility features are conspicuous. Such features as her large breasts, developed hips and a large pelvic girdle are visible. Such features portray the vital role the women played in the society. Women embodied reproduction in the society. Her fertility features show this thereby presenting her as an established woman of the time. The sculptor emphasized her fertility and child bearing features owing to the childbearing role that women played. A perfect woman was fertile thus had children. Additionally, the sculpture lacks a definite face. The wears a unique headgear hat covers both her head and parts of her face thus concealing her face. Other primary feature of the sculpture was its lack of legs. The statue does not stand on its own. The lack of legs coupled with the concealed face is two primary features included in the sculpture deliberately in an attempt to portray gender roles. Women relied on their husbands and the rest of the society by extrapolation. As such, they relied on their male counterparts who provided and protected the families. The concealed face has a spiritual connotation. Women in the prehistoric society upheld stringent religious values, which they believed, played significant roles in enhancing their fertility and childbearing role. Additionally, concealing the face of the woman shows the society’s interest in her face among other externalities (Adovasio, Jake and Olga 112). Statue of a kouros on the other hand presents the position and roles of the youth in the society. The youthful nude male stands majestically in perfect symmetry. This portrays the features of the youth in the prehistoric society as captured by

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Essay Example for Free

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Essay Sometimes in death, it makes people think about their life. In the short story, â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,† written by Katherine Anne Porter, the main character, Granny Weatherall is doing just that; looking back on her life. In the film made based on this short story Granny Weatherall also thinks about her life, but as she is doing things around the house, living her life and not while being shut up in her bed. There are other differences that take place between both the film and the short story. But in the end they both tell the story of an old woman named Granny Weatherall. The short story version of â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall† has a stream of consciousness point of view. It is basically Granny Weatherall, while lying in her death bed, going over previous events that had taken place in her life as they came to her mind and thoughts. Granny Weatherall also thinks about things that she is planning on doing the next day. â€Å"The box in the attic with all those letters tied up, well, she’d have to go through that tomorrow.† (17). That was Granny Weatherall thinking to herself about going through some personal letters she did not want Cornelia, her daughter that she lives with, to find. In the film version of The Jilting of Granny Weatherall the viewers get to see the story of Granny Weatherall in an objective point of view. The story is showed by Granny Weatherall actually being out of bed and doing things. While she is going about her day, the film shows us her thoughts through little flashbacks Granny Weatherall has. Different from the short story, Granny Weatherall actually goes up to the attic and goes through the letters and Cornelia comes up there with her. There is also some symbolism that takes place in the film that does not happen in the short story. â€Å"What does a woman do when she has put on the white veil and set out the white cake for a man and he doesn’t come?† (29). Granny Weatherall thinks about this in the short story, but actually makes a white cake in the film, symbolizing her jilting and how she still thinks of it. After reading the short story and viewing the film, I prefer the actual short story in the book over watching it. Reading it the first time was a little confusing. But after watching the film and then going back and reading the short story over again, it makes enjoy the story so much more. I now know that the story is told through Granny Weatherall’s thoughts and so when I read I can get a better understanding of who Granny Weatherall is. Also, I believe that reading the last sentence of the short story the reader gets to enjoy a better view in their mind then when what the film shows. â€Å"She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light.† (61). Both the film and the short story of â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall† were great. The film is easier to follow the first time watched but the book takes the reader through Granny Weatherall’s inner thoughts. They have some differences amongst themselves but they also both share the common theme of someone thinking about their life right before death comes.

The Sound And The Fury By Faulkner | Analysis

The Sound And The Fury By Faulkner | Analysis William Faulkners modernist novel The Sound and the Fury is a challenge for the reader and actually it is one of the books you have to read twice in order to fully understand because it has no chronology and the use of the stream of consciousness makes it more difficult to read. The stream of consciousness refers to the recording of the flow of a characters thoughts in a fragmentary, nonlinear manner. Images and impressions suggest others through an associative process that ignores distinctions between past, present and future. (Anderson 12) Broadly, The Sound and the Fury is the story of the decline and fall of the Compson family. The novel is structured in four sections, Benjys section, Quentins section, Jasons section and an objective account which is considered by some critics to be Dilseys section. Benjy, Quentin and Jason are the Compson brothers and Dilsey is their black servant. In the first three sections the stream of consciousness is employed and the story is told in flashbacks. The fourth section has an omniscient narrator who is thought to be the author himself. Each section has a different date, the first, the third and the last sections are set around Easter in April 1928 in Jefferson and the second section in June 1910 in Harvard. After a close reading of the novel, the authors concern for the use of time and the passing of time becomes obvious. The purpose of this essay is to analyze how the time motif is employed and emphasized in William Faulkners The Sound and the Fury and how are the characters affected by time. Firstly, I will show the different ways in which the author uses time in the four sections. Secondly, I will analyze how the four main characters, namely Benjy, Quentin, Jason and Dilsey perceive time, how important time and especially the past is for them and what is their attitude towards the past. Faulkner mixes past and present in his novel and often shifts the time sequence back and forth without regard for chronological order. (Roberts 11) Faulkner uses numerous time levels in Benjys section and in fact, the reader is confused by the time shifts between present and past. However, the author in most of the cases uses italics to signal the time shifts and gives clues that point to a particular episode in the story. For instance, Luster takes care of Benjy in April 1928. Although Benjys section is dated April seventh 1928, little of the events and facts that make up the story really happen that day events of the past are constantly juxtaposed with various events in the present or some other time in the past. (Roberts 36) Faulkner has a particular style of writing and he uses linear time only in the last section. In the other three sections, the sense of time is broken and there is an emphasis on the past. This points to the fact that the author is often concerned about how muc h of the past intrudes upon the present. (Roberts 36) In Quentin and Jasons sections the reader is still confronted with the recurring time motif. If in Benjys part, clock time is almost totally disregarded (Roberts 36) in Quentins narrative clocks are very important. Quentin is obsessed with clocks and the past that haunts him. In Jasons section the flashbacks are used too, but unlike the first two sections, it combines thoughts and memories, with many indicators of objective time and space reality. (P. Anderson 199) The last section is written as a third person narrative and it is focused mainly on Dilsey, the Compsons family servant. It sheds light on the events narrated in the previous sections. In order to indicate that the past and the present are both equally important for Dilsey, the author chooses to end the novel with a linear narrative making no use of the stream of consciousness technique or flashbacks. In The Sound and the Fury, each character has a different approach to time. Benjy is a 33 years old man, but with the mental age of a 3 years old child. He is incapable to speak and to distinguish between the past, the present, and the future. His section, which opens the book, is the most intriguing because he is completely oblivious of time (Roberts 36) and he perceives things only through his senses. According to Roberts, for Benjy all time blends into one sensuous experience. He makes no distinction between an event that happened only hours ago and one that occurred years ago. (36) For instance, he waits for Caddy, his sister, to return from school in 1928 even if she left home in 1910. Benjy perceives the past only by making associations Whenever something reminds Benjy of the past, his narration jumps to that past moment. With little understanding of time, Benjy narrates his memories of the past as if they are happening in the present. (Anderson 35) For the mentally disables Be njy the concept of time does not exist. He lives in a world of his own. Quentin, whose narrative is the only one not anchored in April 1928, but in June 1910 expends all his energy trying to understand time. (Roberts 36) His section begins with the memory of his fathers comments about time When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight oclock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfathers and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; its rather excruciatingly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his fathers. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. (Faulkner 89) Throughout his entire narrative he feels haunted by the past and he tries to escape from time. (Roberts 25) In a desperate try to free himself from time he breaks his watch, but it ironically continues to tick proving him that whatever he does the passing of time is unstoppable I went to the dresser and took up the watch, with the face still down. I tapped the crystal on the corner of the dresser and caught the fragments of glass in my hand and put them into the ashtray and twisted the hands off and put them in the tray. The watch ticked on. I turned the face up, the blank dial with little wheels clicking and click ing behind it, not knowing any better. (Faulkner 91) At the end of his section, Quentin committs suicide in the final attempt to escape the clicking of the clock and symbolically time. His last gesture is not made with regret, but rather with joy and a sense of freedom a quarter hour yet. And then Ill not be. The peacefullest words. The peacefullest words. (Faulkner 142) Jasons section precedes Benjys section and it is set in 6 April 1928. According to Roberts he completely denies the past; he functions only in the present. (27) Unlike Quentin, he thinks that the present is more important. However, there are moments when the past signifies something to him. For example, the moments when he remembers that he lost a position in a bank because of his sister Caddy. He is in contrast with Quentin because he does not care about his familys reputation and history therefore the past. Time is important to him, but he is the man of the present at last I found a pad on a Saint Louis bank. And of course shed pick this one time to look at it close. Well, it would have to do. I couldnt waste any more time now. (Faulkner 201) The last section is dated 8 April 1928 and it is narrated in the third person. Dilsey is the main character of this section and the only one who brings the past and the present into a proper balance. (Roberts 24) She is the only one that acknowledges the boundaries between past and present a cabinet clock ticked, then with a preliminary sound as if it had cleared its throat, struck five times. Eight oclock, Dilsey said. She ceased and tilted her head upward, listening. (Faulkner 264) She is both aware of the past and the present. She witnessed both the prosperous past of the Compson family and its fall in the present I seed the beginning, en now I sees de endin. (Faulkner 284) Dilsey is not afraid of the passing of time and she does not regard the past as a menace for her present or even for her future. In conclusion, the aim of this essay has been to analyze how William Faulkner employed the time motif and what impact has time upon the characters in his novel The Sound and the Fury. The analysis of the four sections revealed that in the first three time is not linear and there are always time shifts between the past and the present. Thus, chronology of events is totally disregarded in the first three sections and the stream of consciousness technique and flashbacks are used. On the other hand, in the last section time is linear with focus mainly on the present of the story that is April 1928. The characters Benjy, Quentin, Jason, and Dilsey are all affected by time and especially by the past but some more and others less. Benjy is unaware of the concepts of time and past and he lives in a continuous present. For Quentin the past is very important and he puts the present on a second plan. In contrast with him is his other brother, Jason, who sees the present important and gives no i mportance to the past. Unlike Quentin and Jason, Dilsey is focused both on the past and on the present.