Deconstruction component of the 1998 and 2001 film RUSH HOUR Essay

Deconstruction component of the 1998 and 2001 film RUSH HOUR - Essay Example However, the two films also portrayed negative aspects of films, including the fact that they both perpetuate stereotypes of the two characters – Tucker's character is the stereotypical black man, and Chan's character is the stereotypical clueless foreigner. Another negative aspect is that the two films minimize Chinese culture, despite the fact that one of the leads is Chinese, and much of the action in both films takes place in Hong Kong. This paper will attempt to show scenes in which the stereotyping, the cultural differences, and the overall disrespect for Chinese culture are more pronounced. Analysis of the films The two movies are very similar in tone, but different at the same time. The biggest difference is that, in the first film, the two men become acquainted with one another. In the second film, there is not a need to build the relationship between the two men, as the relationship is already established. This is how the two movies differ in how they build tension. For instance, in the first movie, the tension at the start of the movie comes from the fact that the two men do not know one another, and that there are cultural differences between them (Min, 2011). ... In Los Angeles, it is the opposite. This change in culture is apparent in two different scenes, one in the first movie, and one in the second movie. The two sequences that will be described are important, because they each show how culture, and not knowing the language and culture of the non-native country, can get people into trouble. The first sequence is in the first movie, and this is a sequence when Chan gets into trouble because he does not know colloquialisms or the customs of the African-American male in the United States. Specifically, Chan did not know the term â€Å"nigger,† and did not understand that this term is offensive, as Tucker used the term to identify people in the bar. Chan, just getting in to this country, knowing very little English and no slang, was just emulating Tucker when he casually goes to a bartender and refers to the bartender as â€Å"my nigger.† This, of course, leads to a fight. Why the term would not be offensive when Tucker uses it, but is offensive when Chan would use it, it is difference in culture, in and of itself. Naylor (1986) explains why. She states that the term is used amongst African-Americans as a term of approval, a term of endearment, or a term of disapproval. For instance, an African-American may state, approvingly, that a certain â€Å"nigger† worked so hard that he was able to put a down-payment on a house. Or another African-American may refer to her husband as â€Å"my nigger.† For the disapproval, an African-American may refer to somebody as a â€Å"trifling nigger.† Kennedy (1999/2000) agrees with this, stating that blacks in America use the term to simply identify other blacks, as a term of disapproval, or a term that refers to somebody who is the very

Definition of art Essay Example for Free

Definition of art Essay A number of people have asked about the value of addressing aesthetics, the philosophy of art, or the definition of art. The reasoning is that if it is so difficult to define, it must therefor be ultimately subjective, and each person should just determine for herself what it is. Perhaps we all do determine for ourselves the meaning of anything. Because, as in the tree falling in the forest example, the meaning does not exist if it does not exist for me personally. I am allowed to define table or chair any way I wish for myself, but if I hope to communicate with others about tables and chairs, the meaning or definition must be shared. And that shared meaning derives from a combination of (a) acquired meanings from those whom we give credibility and (b) connotations developed from our experiences with tables and chairs. If there were really no way to define art, there would be no way to determine what is art, and art could be anything. Fortunately, art can be defined, although not succinctly in verbal form, as we might define table or chair. We learn the definition indirectly through understanding why works have been labeled art by critics and artists in the past, and directly by understanding the perspectives of those critics and artists. From the standpoint of complete subjectivity, if art can be anything, it is meaningless as a term == art is everything and nothing. There is nothing that is not art, so everything is art. The term art has no shared meaning and has no value in communication, and yet we use it all the time. By what criteria do you determine what is art for yourself? Because it pleases you? Because it pleases your friends, or someone you respect, or most people around you? What criteria constitute pleasing? What does it do to please? From another perspective, other than pragmatic needs, by what criteria do we select a season? Or what material we place in museums? By what criteria do we judge quality? How do we determine good from not good? Whatever criteria we use become our criteria for our aesthetic, which then become, in fact, our definition of our art. It is useful and valid for us to question what those criteria are, to challenge the validity of those criteria, and to constantly explore new criteria to define the art experience. In order to comprehend the options of criteria, the kinds of questions to ask of our criteria, the possible limits of our personal vision, it is worthwhile to explore the explorations of others. Understand that the definition of art and the determination of quality are linked and mutually affected. Alter one and the other is changed. One additional concern is the value in trying to understand how art works have meaning. Once we begin to explore this as artists, our work instantly changes dimension. It moves from the surface to the soul and allows us to refocus on the meaningful.

Diversity within Society Essay Example for Free

Diversity within Society Essay This essay will discuss some of the changes brought to Britain by immigration and new religious teachings. It will briefly analyse some of the benefits and how these still contribute to our society by improving this country. Furthermore, it will show that immigration has led to religious diversity making us a multicultural society. Britain nowadays is an extremely diverse country. There are people of different nationalities and religions all around us and we have learnt to adjust to their own ways and beliefs. With immigration we have embraced new changes: fashion, food, music and festivals. New religions have taught us to be a more tolerant society and become more accepting of other faiths. Some fashion is influenced through migrants, for instance the Hindu sari’s colours and style have helped shape the evening backless gowns. The burka however, still creates great controversy. Although there is a merging of fashion similarly fashion can also separate. It would seem people are judged by their sense of dress, whether they dress for cultural or religious reasons. Today there are even magazines in the media to help expand our knowledge of Islam. Most notably, the Emel is a British lifestyle magazine that reports on contemporary British Muslim culture. Launched in 2003, it was previously only available in Muslim bookshops. It has since become the most widely read British Muslim magazine in Britain and now attracts interest from non-Muslim readers too. As well as covering fashion it also informs on other aspects of life such as consumerism and politics, health and education. The whole aim of the magazine is to explain the positives aspects of Islam to non-Muslims and reduce fear and tension. (Emel, 20/05/2013) Another example of change in the fashion is that Indian people have brought with them their knowledge of threading, a method of facial hair removal, which is currently very popular amongst both women and men. One particularly striking aspect that affected Britain tremendously is new food. Immigration and religion have enriched Britain’s diet. These days there is a large variety of restaurants presenting foreign cuisines. We can have our pick of Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Indian, Italian, Spanish, Mexican and many  others to suit our tastes. Amazingly, there are even some restaurants that of fer a mix of cultural gastronomy allowing us the luxury of selection and variation on the same plate. For some people these days, the Indian dish, the curry especially, is a favourite meal and most popular in Britain. In particularly, some people also choose to adapt a Mediterranean diet for health reasons. The food we consume is also determined by our religious beliefs. In Christianity, fish is eaten on Good Friday as a way of celebrating Jesus whereas in Islam and Hinduism, pork is out of the menu as the pig is seen as a dirty animal. Also in Hinduism, beef is not consumed as Hindus believe the cow is holy. British popular music also shows many influences from immigration. Immigrants have brought new musical sounds like reggae, ska and calypso. Black music, most notably RnB has had a lasting impact on British popular culture. Pop music is another indicator of the multicultural nature of Britain today. In most UK towns and cities it is possible for worshippers of Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and many other religions to find somewhere to celebrate their faith in a community safely with others. The most known religious festivals in Britain are Christmas and Easter as part of Christianity. Eid is the second most important festival in the Muslim calendar. In the same way Christians celebrate Jesus at Christmas, Muslims celebrate Raham at Eid. Both events are about sharing, music, party and simply good fun. In Hinduism, Diwali is perhaps the most well-known Hindu festival. It is known as the ‘festival of lights’ and this five day festival honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. The Notting Hill Carnival in London is the largest street festival in Europe. It originated in 1964 as a way for Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their own cultures and traditions. It celebrates the abolition of slavery and freedom. It takes place every August Bank Holiday weekend and since festivals invite participation, every year people get together to enjoy this amazing, lively event and savour the Caribbean food on offer. On the whole, it is obvious immigration has brought significant benefits to Britain. Immigrants have enriched our society by working hard and creating jobs. They have offered us all the beneficial changes previously mentioned and we could no longer live without them. As a result, Britain is now a far  stronger society. Immigration has educated us to be more aware the ‘other’ making us open, tolerant, diverse and welcoming and this is something Britain should be proud of. BIBLIOGRAPHY Emel, http://www.emel.com/, (2O/05/2013) BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/islam/eid_haj.shtml, (20/05/2013) BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/hinduism/diwali.shtml, (20/05/2013) http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2013/03/25/david-cameron-immigration-speech-in-fullpolitics.co.uk, (20/05/2013)

Employee and Student Involvement in Classroom Decisions

Employee and Student Involvement in Classroom Decisions Introduction Employee involvement plays an important role in an organization especially to achieve an organization goals and objectivities. Due to manager limited ability to make the best decision alone, so employee participation in decision making process is very important. Through this process it can generate more diversity and better solutions. So the same concept can be applies on many other activities, not just for the organization or office decision making only. For example, employee involvement also can be apply to many daily activities such as classrooms activities that involve students during the decision making process. When there is student involvement in the decision making process, it is known as participative decision making. Student involvement defined as the degree to which student influence how the decision is organized and carried out. This provides opportunities to students for sharing their knowledge and information between each other when they take part in decision making. However, non-participative decision making process still often occurs. It happen when students did not take part in the decision making process during classrooms activities. It means that these students might not even know the existence of the problem or they are not motivated to provide any information, recommendations, commitment in the classroom or maybe the instructor did not want to discuss with the student when making the decision. On the other side, student involvement can be divided into three levels. At the lowest level of student involvement, students will just provide the information when their instructors ask them. They do not make any recommendation and might not even know what the problem is about. At the medium level, students know the source of problem and they will make recommendations to instructor. At the highest level of student involvement, entire decision making process is handed over to students for them to solve it. These all can be summarized by the figure below. Those are the examples in the level of student involvement in both participative and non-participative decision making process. The higher the rung on the ladder indicates that the higher level of student involvement in the decision making process. Although student involvement in decision making process has many advantages but it also leads to some potential problems that might occur during the process. Problem Identification In this assignment, the main problem is focus to the explanation on how student involvement in classroom decisions typically made by the instructor alone might improve decision quality and the potential problems that may occur in this process. Source of Problems Based on the problem that has been identified, we will elaborate the source of problem according to the problems that may occur during the participative decision making process and also the problems that may occur during the non-participative decision making process. The explanation is made like that, in order to make a comparison between participative decision making and non-participative decision making. The purpose is to give a clear view on how student involvement in classroom decision typically made by the instructor alone might improve decision quality. Besides, this elaboration also can answer the second problem what potential problems that may occur in the participative decision making process. These are the potential problems that might occur during the participative decision making process : Risk of conflict There are two types of conflict undermine the benefits of the student involvement. First, the conflict of ideas. In participative decision making process, many students are involved. Different people come out with different ideas and opinion. So automatically it will generate a lot of ideas, opinions and solutions. This will easily leads to the conflict of ideas. Normally it is hard to reach an agreement on the preferred solution. Second, the conflict between the student individual goal and the overall goal. Sometimes the student goals and the classroom goals will be different, then it will happen conflict within that individual. This will prevent that student to give full contribution in the decision making process. Decision Structure Decision structure is the decision that made based on the past experiences. Usually the problem that happens in this situation is the problem that is routine. It means that the problem had happened before and the solution has been identified in the past. Normally when this kind of problem occurs again, the standard procedure developed with a ready-made solution. So there is no need for the student involvement when making the decision since the instructor already know how to solve it based on the past experience. Lack of Sufficient Knowledge Sometimes students do not have the knowledge that is needed to solve the problem. So even if they participate in the decision making process, they also cannot provide much help since they lack of sufficient knowledge. Decision Commitment Students are made up by variety of people. Some are very active, motivated and give a lot of commitment in the decision making process. However, some students are very inactive, not motivated and will not contribute in the decision making process. Fishbone (Source of Problem) Decision commitment Risk of Conflict Participative Decision Making Lack of sufficient knowledge Decision structure On the other side, these are the potential problems that might occur in the non-participative decision making process : Power Sharing The will of the decision maker or the instructor to share the power with the students. Lack of Alternatives People collectively tend to be better than individuals at generating and picking the best alternative because they have diverse perspectives and a broad representation of values. Decision Commitment Some students are unlikely to accept a decision made without their involvement, especially when the problem is related to them. Problem Identification Sometime instructor alone fails to identify the problem accurately because students are usually the first to know when the problem occurs. Mind-Map (Source of Problem) Learning Outcomes Nowadays, western countries already practice classroom decision making rather than only listen to the lecturers and follow whatever the lecturers have decided. Different people have different thought and one issue or questions may come out with various solutions. This will not happen if students ideas and creativity in decision making process are being ignored or restricted. Therefore, throughout this classroom decision making, we can found out some learning outcomes which can benefit many parties. Of course, the most beneficial party will be students. By participating in classroom decision making process, students are becoming more independent, responsible, aggressive, and more confidence. These outcomes are helping them in their future workplace. In terms of independent, the students can become more independent in making their own decision rather than relying on lecturer to make decision. This also built up students confidence level as they need to be confidence with the decision they made and be responsible of the effect or result from the decision made. Furthermore, students may gain diverse useful information and experience from others through the sharing of different decision making process especially in group assignments. This process is not only beneficial for the students themselves but also other students. Throughout the process, others may absorb different way to make the correct decision or it might be efficient way to make a better decision. Therefore, the students involve less cost occur and yet student may develop their problem solving skills. By realizing the importance of the classroom decision making participation, students may also improve their communication skills. Among all the assignments or coursework, students may be required or encouraged to have it in a group or team for better decision making. By doing this, students are able to share their various decision among all the group members and decision can be made accurately throughout all the discussion that made by group members. This may come out with better results. Indirectly, students can realize that the importance of communication which playing an important role in every decision making process. Generate alternatives to solve the problem The main problem can be solved by two alternatives. It is either to implement participative decision making process in the classroom or non-participative decision making process. Choose alternative to solve the problem We has chosen the participative decision making process instead of the non-participative decision making process. This is chosen based on the analysis that we have done on the potentials problems from both methods. In our opinion, participative decision making that involve student in it is better and more suitable compare to the non-participative decision making that made based on the instructor alone. When there are more people involved in the decision making process, there are a high number of outcomes. So the probability to leads to a better solution is getting higher. Furthermore, recently student in Colorado remarked, We can give you respect. We are able to understand the issues. We can think for ourselves. Its our education. If we have a say, it will make a difference. Based on that remarked phrase, we can see that nowadays students are prefers participative decision making more compare to non-participative. Besides that, we also can affects on the student behavior and values through participative decision making. If we want student to take responsibility for their own behavior and decision, we must first give them responsibility. Moreover student involvement in the decision making process will positively increase their commitment towards the decision that are make in the class either directly or indirectly. Involving student in the decision making process offers a number of advantages. First, it can identify and define the problems better. It is because students are the first one to know when something goes wrong. Other than that, it usually generates more and better solutions than the instructor working alone. Lastly, through student involvement, it is more likely to select the best option. People collectively tend to be better than individual alone when picking the best alternatives. This is because they have diverse perspectives and a broad representation of values. That is why we choose participative decision making instead of non-participative decision making. There are several ways to solve the potential problems that might occur during the participative decision making process. That is through : Motivating student by rewards Usually, the students always motivate by the reward given by lecturer. The reward can be consists of beneficiary reward and non-beneficiary reward. Beneficiary reward is given something to the students such as pen drive or other stationery. Meanwhile, the non-beneficiary reward is an intangible reward, and this type reward usually come from internal forces or nonverbal. The examples of non-beneficiary are give encouragement (e.g. well done, good job, etc.) Through reward, the students are more motivated to involve themselves in discussion and these can strengthen their commitment to the decision. Complexity of the problem Student involvement is unnecessary when the problem is routine. Instead, the benefits of the student involvement increase with the novelty and complexity of the problem or opportunity. Provide sufficient information If the student is lack of sufficient information, then the instructor should provide them some necessary information first for them before involving them into the participative decision making process. Level of involvement If the student goals and norms conflict with the overall goals, then only a low level of student involvement is advisable. If the conflict of idea is likely, then high involvement would be difficult to achieve, so a low level of involvement is advisable. Team Reflection After completing this assignment, our group felt that it was a great learning experience for every member of the team. Throughout this assignment, we face many problems. Before we start the assignment, we made a discussion to understand the question and also give the opinion about the answer individually. Therefore, communication is very important in this discussion. All of us have to learn how to cooperate in a team and respect different opinions. If there is a member of the team not willing to give their thought to the team members, it will not lead to a complete assignment. Every members opinion is very important in doing this assignment, so we make sure that everyone contributes ideas in running a team before we make the final decision. After that, we have to decide how to present creatively and effectively, who will go to present in front of the class. We had to create a way of present that can attract the attention of the class to listen in a limited time which is only 10 minutes for each group. Therefore, time management is very important in this assignment. We have to estimate the time for presentation and also make sure the slide show is interesting and informative that can caught attention of students to listen. Also, we have to make sure that the presenter is very well in presentation which has the best English communication skills. Because our group consists of four members, therefore we have to separate the task to each of the member. The summarizing which is the most crucial part that needs to transmit clearly as this we will give the strongest presenter who had the best English communication skills to present. While the introduction and the definition will present by the other member. As a conclusion, thi s presentation gives a very good experience to every member and this can help members not to nervous when speaking in front of people. It can also improve member speaking skills in order to become more comfortable when speaking in front of people. Overall, we enjoyed doing this assignment. This is a great challenge for all of us where all members have to overcome those conflicts. Thus, it is a great team building experience for all the members as this can help everyone in future team oriented projects. Conclusion Nowadays, many countries already practice classroom decision making rather than only listen to the lecturers and follow whatever the lecturers have decided. This kind of motivation can make us become more efficient when doing something. From this, we realize that it is importance for us to involve in the classroom decision making process. This is a sharing and learning process. Through participating in classroom decision making process, students are becoming more independent, responsible, aggressive, and more confidence. These outcomes are helping them in their future workplace. From participative decision making, we have the chance to absorb new idea from others. It provides us the sufficient knowledge for making the decision in future. Moreover, the students communication skill can be improved, which serve as a vital skill in our life. As a conclusion, the learning outcomes for this assignment have been achieved and all solutions for the potential problems had been identified. Although the participative decision making process have some sort of potential problems, however, at overall it is still better than non-participative decision making.

A Pioneer Of American Writing Willa Cather :: essays research papers fc

A Pioneer of American Writing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Willa Cather was born in Virginia in 1873, but moved to Nebraska where the population was diverse. She attended school and also was educated at home. She planned on becoming a doctor early in life. She accompanied a local doctor on his house calls and assisted in many of the examinations. By the time she entered college this was her future. The University of Nebraska accepted her but she had to pay her tuition through writing criticism for the Nebraska State Journal. This is when her career took a change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After college Willa Cather moved to Pennsylvania where she started to write for a magazine. She also taught Latin and English in a high school. She moved again to New York where she wrote for McClure’s magazine. While researching an article in Boston, another author, Sarah Orne Jewett, saw the talent that Cather possessed. Cather was advised, â€Å"find [her] own centre of life, and write from that to the world† (Jewett). Her childhood is where she found this. She visited her brother in Arizona and on her way home she stayed in her hometown in Nebraska to refresh her memories. Cather then went back to Greenwich Village to live where she wrote almost all of her novels. She died in 1947 after writing ten novels, short stories, and a book of essays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willa Cather contributed much to the world of literature. â€Å"Willa Cather wrote a graceful, measured prose that gives immense dignity to her fiction† (Ludwig 16). She reached the climax of her writing career with the novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop. The novel was written in 1927. It shows the importance of the Roman Catholic Church in her life. The characters, Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant, are French clerics. They want to spread the Word of God to the Native Americans living in the Southwest, mainly in the state of New Mexico. They face many difficulties on their missionary journey. The Spanish living in the region are corrupt and unfair. The land is also difficult for them because it is harsh and not arable. It is also difficult for them to preach their message because the Indians are of another religion. They do become successful though in achieving their goal of conversion. With detailed recreation of the hard ships of the early church in the New World, Willa Cather also displays her characters as being smart and intellectual. A Pioneer Of American Writing Willa Cather :: essays research papers fc A Pioneer of American Writing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Willa Cather was born in Virginia in 1873, but moved to Nebraska where the population was diverse. She attended school and also was educated at home. She planned on becoming a doctor early in life. She accompanied a local doctor on his house calls and assisted in many of the examinations. By the time she entered college this was her future. The University of Nebraska accepted her but she had to pay her tuition through writing criticism for the Nebraska State Journal. This is when her career took a change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After college Willa Cather moved to Pennsylvania where she started to write for a magazine. She also taught Latin and English in a high school. She moved again to New York where she wrote for McClure’s magazine. While researching an article in Boston, another author, Sarah Orne Jewett, saw the talent that Cather possessed. Cather was advised, â€Å"find [her] own centre of life, and write from that to the world† (Jewett). Her childhood is where she found this. She visited her brother in Arizona and on her way home she stayed in her hometown in Nebraska to refresh her memories. Cather then went back to Greenwich Village to live where she wrote almost all of her novels. She died in 1947 after writing ten novels, short stories, and a book of essays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willa Cather contributed much to the world of literature. â€Å"Willa Cather wrote a graceful, measured prose that gives immense dignity to her fiction† (Ludwig 16). She reached the climax of her writing career with the novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop. The novel was written in 1927. It shows the importance of the Roman Catholic Church in her life. The characters, Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant, are French clerics. They want to spread the Word of God to the Native Americans living in the Southwest, mainly in the state of New Mexico. They face many difficulties on their missionary journey. The Spanish living in the region are corrupt and unfair. The land is also difficult for them because it is harsh and not arable. It is also difficult for them to preach their message because the Indians are of another religion. They do become successful though in achieving their goal of conversion. With detailed recreation of the hard ships of the early church in the New World, Willa Cather also displays her characters as being smart and intellectual.

Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unr

Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unrest Building a case against racial injustice, Baldwin describes how many blacks joined the U.S. military and were sent to fight in Europe during World War II, although the battles they returned to at home were sometimes worse than the war itself. In ?Down at the Cross,? Baldwin zeroes in on the discrimination against black veterans as the final blow causing many of them to hate their own country and become militant against whites. Historical accounts generally support his argument, even though Baldwin doesn?t speak to a few important points that differ from his personal perspectives on this issue. Overall, Baldwin builds a strong case for the need for social change in America to wipe out this type of racial outrage, especially in the case of black war veterans. Baldwin contends that ?a certain hope died? when black veterans were greeted with contempt by whites when they returned from the war instead of the praise and thanks that they deserved (Baldwin 317). From his observations, this was a wound that had been festering for many years and it was something that had been eating at the heart and soul of the black population since the end of World War II. This was such a terrible insult to blacks that it added fuel to the rage that was growing all across the country, and Baldwin explains that blacks finally felt they had taken too much abuse and that things were going to change ? one way or the other. To summarize his argument, Baldwin reasons it out that if a person is willing to risk his or her life for their country, the very least they should expect is for their country to treat them with the respect they have earned and not as se... ...ry. Baldwin?s essay is, on the whole, true to the facts and feelings in America at that particular period in time as black veterans returned home to face a new battle against racial discrimination in their homeland. Works Cited Baldwin, James. ?Down at the Cross.? 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Fournier, Winston C. ?Desegregated Jobs.? The Wall Street Journal 3 April 1956: 1, 10. Huachuca Illustrated, Vol. 2 Web Page (1996). Retrieved March 2, 2004 from http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/comment/huachuca/HI2-09.htm#27. Lee, Ulysses. (1966). The Employment of Negro Troops. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Murphy, Carl. (1944). This Is Our War. Atlanta Daily World, pp. 5-12. Wynn, Mike. ?We Were There.? The Augusta Chronicle 2 September 2001: 1-14. Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unr Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unrest Building a case against racial injustice, Baldwin describes how many blacks joined the U.S. military and were sent to fight in Europe during World War II, although the battles they returned to at home were sometimes worse than the war itself. In ?Down at the Cross,? Baldwin zeroes in on the discrimination against black veterans as the final blow causing many of them to hate their own country and become militant against whites. Historical accounts generally support his argument, even though Baldwin doesn?t speak to a few important points that differ from his personal perspectives on this issue. Overall, Baldwin builds a strong case for the need for social change in America to wipe out this type of racial outrage, especially in the case of black war veterans. Baldwin contends that ?a certain hope died? when black veterans were greeted with contempt by whites when they returned from the war instead of the praise and thanks that they deserved (Baldwin 317). From his observations, this was a wound that had been festering for many years and it was something that had been eating at the heart and soul of the black population since the end of World War II. This was such a terrible insult to blacks that it added fuel to the rage that was growing all across the country, and Baldwin explains that blacks finally felt they had taken too much abuse and that things were going to change ? one way or the other. To summarize his argument, Baldwin reasons it out that if a person is willing to risk his or her life for their country, the very least they should expect is for their country to treat them with the respect they have earned and not as se... ...ry. Baldwin?s essay is, on the whole, true to the facts and feelings in America at that particular period in time as black veterans returned home to face a new battle against racial discrimination in their homeland. Works Cited Baldwin, James. ?Down at the Cross.? 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Fournier, Winston C. ?Desegregated Jobs.? The Wall Street Journal 3 April 1956: 1, 10. Huachuca Illustrated, Vol. 2 Web Page (1996). Retrieved March 2, 2004 from http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/comment/huachuca/HI2-09.htm#27. Lee, Ulysses. (1966). The Employment of Negro Troops. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Murphy, Carl. (1944). This Is Our War. Atlanta Daily World, pp. 5-12. Wynn, Mike. ?We Were There.? The Augusta Chronicle 2 September 2001: 1-14.

huck finn :: essays research papers

Martin Luther King Jr. The achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. For his people and other nationalities that led to his death.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Influenced by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leader of the Civil Rights Movement and non-violent campaign of the 1950’s and 60’s.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 to direct the Civil Rights Movement.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His non-violent movements were successful and ended segregation in the south as well as other parts of the United States.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His march in Washington was the largest protest demonstration and his famous â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech came from it.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for promoting non-violent tactics.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Led the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wrote ‘Letter from Birmington Jail’ showing his moral philosophy.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Was assassinated on April 4, 1968 by James Earl Ray Jackie Robinson, a great and historical baseball player. Jim, a run-away slave in search of freedom. Both share many of the same qualities. Among them are, they both broke color barriers. One broke the color barrier in the game of baseball, while the other broke it in a book. But both of these heroes are intelligent, courageous, and caring. All these qualities listed equal an ideal hero, whether it might be a real of fictional hero. The first and most important quality a hero needs is intelligence. Both Jackie Robinson and Jim had that. They each carried it out and showed it differently, but they were both intelligent. Even though one was a professional baseball player and the other a runaway slave, they both were intelligent in their own unique way. They both did what their mind told them and accomplished the goal that they wanted to achieve, even though one was real and the other one wasn’t. Jackie Robinson showed his intelligence through his actions. He was not only a great baseball player, but also a good businessman and executive. While he was on the baseball field, he had many fans that loved him and some many who hated him. But he didn’t let them stop him from pursuing his career. Many people who didn’t like him, threw rocks and bottles at him just because he was black, and even sent him death threats to him in the mail. But unlike many people, he did not fight back, instead he ignored them and proved that he was the greatest baseball player at that time: â€Å" Jackie Robinson did not merely play at center stage.