Black like me Essay Example for Free

Black like me Essay A middle-aged white man from Mansfield Texas named John Howard Griffin is the main character and author of Black like Me. He was a man deeply committed to the cause of ending racial discrimination. In 1959, Griffin decided to take a pertinently extreme measure just to understand the plight of the black people. He underwent medical treatment to change the color of his skin and temporarily become a black man. Griffin’s experience was funded by George Levitan, the owner of Sepia, a black oriented magazine in return for an article about it. Griffin sets out for New Orleans. He finds a contact- Sterling Williams, an articulate, soft-spoken, and engaging shoe shiner. Along the way, Griffin experiences oppression, hardship, and prejudice. It is impossible to find a job, he is forbidden from ordering a drink at the soda fountain and he wasn’t allowed to use a restroom used by whites. Clerks refuse to cash his checks as well. Griffin travels to Alabama and into the Deep South and Mississippi and finds that the condition is even worse for blacks. He finds their condition alarming. Black communities seem defeated and run down. All day long, the word nigger† seems to echo everywhere he goes. After two months of a depressing life as a Black man, Griffin stops taking his medication and lightens his skin back to its original color. He notices that when he is a white man, whites treat him with respect and blacks treat him with suspicious fear; when he is a black man, blacks teat him with generosity and kindness and whites seem to look at him with contempt and hostility. The article is published in 1960 and he was called to do interviews. The article is published around the world and he receives both congratulatory mails and hateful reprisals. Mansfield consists of many racists so Griffin and his family moved to Mexico in August of that year. Griffin issues a plea for tolerance and understanding between the races so as to avoid the possible outbreak of terrible violence. II. A critique on the book Black like me is more of a memoir rather than a novel; it is an autobiographical memoir in particular. It springs out from the author’s real experiences as well as his personal opinions rather than from mere imaginations or artistic creativity. The book itself stared from a research project. Griffin ostensibly desires to experience hoe it is to be like a black man so that he may understand firsthand the hardships and obstacles that they encounter in their daily lives. The books main theme is racial discrimination. Griffin’s quest for equality and social justice led him to temporarily change his identity from a white man to a black one. This transition is one clear proof to the crucial importance of one’s skin color as a factor in determining one’s position in this world. Griffin writes about the hardships of finding shelter and food as a black man; the difficulties of cashing a check despite the fact that he didn’t change his identity; riding a bus or even just finding a restroom where blacks are allowed to use. Blacks and whites behave differently when in one another’s company. Whites look at blacks with contempt and hostility and blacks treat whites with suspicious fear. This behavior is different however when they are with their groups and just among themselves. They treat each other with respect, kindness and generosity. Neither race has an understanding of the other. Griffin’s Black like Me explores the themes of segregation, racism and the capacity of humans to love their fellowmen. In this novel, there is the presence of men who made a different stand. P. D. East, Sterling Williams, George Levitan, Adele Jackson, and Sam Gandy support Griffins advocacy; A proof that there is some goodness in this world. Black like me is a short book, but considered one of the finest pieces of literature ever produced. The social message of the author’s experience is clearly advocated through the narrative structure of the book. III. 3 incidents that I personally find interesting and why? †¢ When Griffin underwent a medical treatment – the ultraviolet radiation combined with oral medication to darken his skin pigmentation. I find it personally interesting because it is a rare occasion that a person will consider doing the same experiment as Griffin did. He did a pertinently extreme measure just to feel exactly how it is to be like a black man. The medical procedure that Griffin underwent is neither tested nor safe. He experienced pain and other side effects from his exposure to the ultraviolet as well as with the medication. †¢ When Griffin spends the day working on the shoe shine booth together with Williams and Joe and that they only have raccoon meat and rice eaten out of a tin can for their meals. This spells the gap between a white man eating in a luxurious restaurant and a black man who regards having enough to eat, no matter how crude the meal is, as a mark of dignity. †¢ When a white bully follows Griffin around, calling him names and threatening him. This incident only proves the material difference between whites and blacks. This incident portrayed the constant threat of violence, prejudice and oppression. In this particular scenario, he is treated like an animal being chased away just because the color of his ski is black.

Homestead Act Essay example -- essays research papers fc

I THESIS STATEMENT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Homestead Act of 1862 made surveyed lands obtainable to homesteaders. The act stated that men and women over the age of 21, unmarried women who were head of households and married men under the age of 21, who did not own over 160 acres of land anywhere, were citizens or intended on becoming citizens of the United States, were eligible to homestead. This paper will show how the Homestead Act came to be enacted, who the homesteaders were and the effects of the Homestead Act on the pioneers. II WHAT EVENTS LEAD TO THE HOMESTEAD ACT? The distribution of Government lands had been an issue since the Revolutionary War. Early methods for allocating unsettled land outside the original 13 colonies were chaotic. Boundaries were established by stepping off plots from geographical landmarks. As a result, overlapping claims and border disputes were common. The Land Ordinance of 1785 finally implemented a standardized system of Federal land surveys that eased boundary conflicts. Territories were divided into a 6-mile square called a township prior to settlement. The township was divided into 36 sections, each measuring 1 square mile or 640 acres each. Sale of public land was viewed as a means to generate revenue for the Government rather than as a way to encourage settlement. Initially, an individual was required to purchase a full section of land at the cost of $1 per acre for 640 acres. The investment needed to purchase these large plots and the massive amount of physical labor required to clear the land for agriculture w ere often insurmountable obstacles. According to all available indexes of growth, the United States grew enormously between 1840 and 1860. The continental limits of the nation were reached, with the exception of Alaska, by 1854 through the acquisition of the Mexican Cession territory and the Gadsden Purchase. The population continued its upward spiral, moving from slightly over seventeen million in 1840 to over thirty-eight million in 1860. New canals, steamboats, turnpikes, and railroads knit the nation together into an integrated economic unit. Hundred of thousands of people crossed the Atlantic to take up residence in the dynamic nation, while other hundreds of thousands moved into the Western regions of the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Legislative efforts to improve homest... ..., September 8). New Homestead Act would help rural America. Grand Forks Herald. Potter, L. A. (1999). The Homestead Act of 1862. Cobblestone, 20(2), 4. Red River Valley Genealogical Society (n.d.). Time passages, genealogy of the Dakotas. Retrieved from, Web site: http://www.fargodigital.com Schaetzl, R. J. (n.d.). Settlement of the new frontier: The Homestead Act of 1862. Retrieved from Michigan State University, GEO333: Geography of Michigan and the Great Lakes Region Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/ South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development (n.d.). Prairie Pioneers. Retrieved from South Dakota Department of Tourism Media, Web site: http://www.mediasd.com/ facts/pioneers.asp US Department of Education ERIC (2003, January 14). The Homestead Act of 1862. Retrieved from US National Archives & Records Administration Web site: http://www.archives.gov/ digital_classroom/lessons/homestead_act_1862/homestead_act.html U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (1995, 1998). Homestead Act (1862). Retrieved from Teaching with Documents: Using Primary Sources From the National Archives Web site: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=31

Functions of Emotions Essay

By definition, emotions are short-lived phenomena in the psychological and physiological systems of rational beings that represent modes of adaptation to the dynamism of the internal and external environment (Fiske, Gilbert & Lindzey, 2010). Emotions are responsible for psychologically altering the attention and shifting behaviors in response to changing demands. They are therefore very instrumental in not only defining inter-personal relationships but also the lives of rational beings (Lewis, Haviland-Jones & Barret, 2008). In this research paper, the author seeks to explain and describe the social functions of emotions in a relationship. I will first identify the emotions that relate to relationships and then proceed to explain the functions they play. Examples of emotions that apply to relationships Emotions are complex and intricately related. There has been confusion in the usage of terms between emotions and feelings while the two are not synonymous. The word â€Å"Feelings† can be used to describe the sensitivity to emotions or morals. In other words, feeling is the passion or sensation of emotions and is therefore a component of emotion (Fiske, Gilbert & Lindzey, 2010). Each emotion leads to the exhibition of a corresponding set of behaviors, both in the movement of the body (emotional expression through skeletal muscles) and in other responses that do not include physical movements. In the context of relationships, very many emotions apply. To every emotion there is an opposite. Examples of emotions which are applicable in the development of interpersonal relationships include love and passion which are contradicted by hatred and disgust and happiness which is contradicted by the emotion of sadness. Pride as an emotion plays a significant role in the development of relationships between parents and their children, between lovers and also between casual acquaintances (Lewis, Haviland-Jones & Barret, 2008). Jealousy, gratefulness and empathy also play a major role in relationships. Emotions and the Capacity to communicate and influence people Emotions are communicated through verbal statements and non-verbal statements including facial expressions, postures or gestures. Most expressions of emotions have a direct and automatic effect on other people, and more so if these emotions are communicated non-verbally. The human conscience is programmed to naturally decode emotions in the action of other people (Fussell, 2002). Therefore, how well a person expresses his or her emotions goes a long way in determining how well other people understand him. People will usually respond to facial expressions and other gestures. Being able to effectively communicate one’s emotions so that they are representative of the feelings held inside plays a major role in either strengthening or weakening the relationship bonds between people. A person who relays his feelings (through emotions) genuinely is less likely to be misunderstood and is therefore more likely to get positive responses to his demands or requirements (Fussell, 2002). Take for example a person whose face lights up upon seeing another person. Such will definitely be interpreted as a reaction to the emotion of love or passion. Upon decoding this, the targeted party is also likely to develop affection for the other person. Strong relationships are founded on how genuinely people communicate their emotions (Knobloch & Solomon, 2003). Emotions are also useful in influencing the actions of others. Disappointment, for example in a parent for his or her underperforming child can trigger the urge to work harder in school so as to please the parent (Dunsmorea, Bensona & Bradburna, 2006). However, constant disappointment in people despite their exhibited desire to improve damages relationships as it induces guilt and shame. In other words, positive emotions most of the time build a relationship and negative emotions like anger, fear, sadness and disappointment will tend to destroy a relationship. Emotions negatively or positively impact on how people process information. They comprise an integral part of interpersonal communication and therefore define how people negotiate with other people or groups (Perlman, 2007). It is the relational problems an individual faces which give rise to emotions and emotions therefore become important in relationships as they define the way the individual navigates though the challenges that arise in the process of relating to other people. Emotions as a motivating factor The human psychological and physiological faculties are pre-programmed to automatically obey or respond to emotions (Fiske, Gilbert & Lindzey, 2010). Emotions on their part prepare and motivate people to act in a specific manner. For example, the emotion of love will prompt its bearer to show the person he or she is in love with the actions which will illustrate his or her passion. Perhaps love is the most instrumental emotion in relationships. It is love which makes people to be concerned with the welfare of other people in their environment and triggers responsible behavior that ensures the society moves towards a state in which the welfare of everyone within that specific society is protected (Perlman, 2007). Another example of emotions playing a part in relationship building is in the way they trigger actions which signify goodwill (Ryff & Singer, 2001). If a person sees his neighbor’s toddler moving towards danger, say in the path of traffic, he or she will feel obliged, through the action of the emotion of fear, to save it. The neighbor whose child has been rescued from imminent danger will be very appreciative of the other person, and through this appreciation their interpersonal relationship will become more cordial. Alternatively, when a person acts in a manner likely to suggest that he or she does not care much about the welfare of the people next to him or her, the relationship between him or her and those people suffers a setback. Emotions empower people to overcome obstacles in their environment and therefore end up defining the way a person reacts on the backdrop of specific circumstances. This ends up defining how a person relates to other people (Ryff & Singer, 2001). For example, before sitting an oral interview, a person will be overcome with the emotion of anxiety. He or she will then be obliged through automatic adaptation to prepare extensively to beat his or her fear. When the time comes, he or she will have garnered sufficient confidence and his or her response to questions presented is likely to be mature, clear and expressive. If this be the case, the interviewing panel is likely to feel attracted to the candidate and will most likely hire him or her to fill the vacancy. A new relationship then begins and will continue to grow based on the candidate’s continued state of emotional competence and capacity to adapt to new challenges. Adaptive functions of emotions within relationships Emotions provide an individual with the capacity to adaptively respond and cope with particular circumstances or situations. Every person is unique in his or her own way, and these fundamental differences in personality have characterized the human species since the beginning (Knobloch & Solomon, 2003). To forge and to maintain relationships, people need to tolerate this diversity, and emotional responses enable us to do so. For example, my friend, spouse or work colleague who looks depressed may be battling a certain stressing issue. If I take the time to encourage or cheer them up, I will have strengthened the bond between us. Emotions, through this adaptive function regulate the social interaction of people. By correctly identifying the emotions other people are feeling through their body language and facial expressions, an individual may be motivated to either move towards them or keep his or her distance (Oatley, Keltner & Jenkins, 2006). This way, relationships are strengthened, formed or damaged to some degree. Through the evolutionary process, members of the human species have learnt to express their emotions through art, poetry and literature to give more meaning to the sense of being human, and it is the celebration of this color or spice that enables people to live cordially with one another. The self-validating role of emotions Who people really are is, to a large extent, derived from their emotions (Fiske, Gilbert & Lindzey, 2010). Emotions are always valid even though they are not necessarily facts, and they therefore give a person the intuition to feel whether something may be right or wrong. The intensity of emotions expressed determines the probability of an individual’s needs being met. For example, a person who strongly feels the need to establish serious relationships with others is more likely to have healthy and objective relationships (Oatley, Keltner & Jenkins, 2006). People who decrease the intensity of their emotions are less likely to be taken seriously, and therefore their relationships are more likely to be weak. Emotions also function to put a limit to relationships and the levels of social interaction by virtue of their being self-validating (Lewis, Haviland-Jones & Barret, 2008). Take an example of a person who feels uneasy about attending a certain social event due to the feeling that something will go wrong. Nevertheless, he or she attends the event, and somewhere down the line, he or she disagrees with another person in attendance and decides to leave. Such a person will most likely develop the tendency to strictly follow their emotions while making decisions in other aspects of everyday life, including relationships. An example of this scenario is when an individual abstains from forming a relationship with another person in their social environment because of the feeling that he or she may not be a nice person, even though this may be totally wrong (Ryff & Singer, 2001). Conclusion In this paper, my objective was to explain and describe the function of emotions in relationships. I began by identifying various emotions which directly impact on relationships. Such emotions include love, hate, pride, jealousy, passion and fear. Secondly, I explained the role emotions play in communication. The ways in which emotions are communicated are verbal statements and non-verbal gestures including facial expressions, gestures or any other type of body language. Communication is a very essential part in the foundation of a relationship, and the role emotions play in communication therefore becomes defining in relationships (Fussell, 2002). I also discussed the function of emotions in adapting to the various challenges that occur regularly in relationships as well as how emotions inhibit people from forming or maintaining relationships based on intuition. In conclusion, emotions, besides adding color and spice to the art living greatly determine how people understand each other and therefore how they relate in the society. References Dunsmorea, J. C. , Bensona, M. J. & Bradburna, I. S. (2006). â€Å"Functions of Emotions for Parent Child Relationships within Dynamic Contexts: Introduction to the Special Issue. † Research in Human Development, 3(1) pp 1-5. Fiske, S. T. , Gilbert, D. T. , & Lindzey, G. (2010). Handbook of Social Psychology Volume Two. 5th Ed. John Wiley and Sons. Fussell, S. R. (2002). The Verbal Communication of Emotions: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lewis, M. , Haviland-Jones, J. M. , & Barrett, L. F. (2008) Handbook of emotions. 3rd Ed. Guilford Press.

Essay about Eco 365 Week 1 - 692 Words

Article analysis: Pump Prices and Oil Prices: A Tale of Two Different Directions By Ernest Guillen University of Phoenix ECO/365 Ver.4 Principles of Microeconomics Instructor: Dr. Christina Espinoza-Alguera Abstract: The following article is regarding what is most important to everyone around us regarding the pricing for gasoline at the pumps. This is a topic that concerns most people on this planet, why are the prices for gasoline so high and is it regarding the greed of oil producing companies to continue to keep rising the gasoline prices as high as possible. We will discuss the many reasons why these fluctuating pricing keeps occurring within our world market. We will use the retail gasoline pricing between the†¦show more content†¦(Rising Gas Prices) Supply and Demand: The supply and demand are the main driving forces within this market, it can cause a change instantaneously overnight, and these cost issues are immediate to the consumer. There could be a fire in one of the local refineries causing product shut down, this can create a panic at the pump as well. There are many reasons why this product is so volatile, it cost too much money to refine and thereby is restricted in the method of refining. Supply means that there is a large supply available for product usage, pricing goes down, too much product, if the Demand is exact opposite occurs and there is short supply and the pricing is extremely quick to be changed at the pump. The markets can be also affected; they can be changed no matter how far the original production occurs, economics are disturbed, countries global markets respond to higher cost factors to operate business development causing inflation to jump to higher records slowing down global progress. My Opinion: I strongly believe that this is an elastic product, it can change pricing to extreme highsShow MoreRelatedEco-Products, Inc.7415 Words   |  30 PagesCAPSTONE CASE 1: ECO-PRODUCTS, INC. 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