Essay about Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye - Female...

Female Childhood Icons in Morrisons The Bluest Eye In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison weaves stories of violation and hardship to examine the ugliness that racism produces. In this novel, the childhood icons of white culture are negative representations instrumental in engendering internalized racism. For the black child in a racist, white culture, these icons are never innocent. Embodying the ideals of white beauty, they expose the basis for Claudias bewilderment at why she is not attractive and Pecolas desperate desire for beauty. They nourish neither innocent desire, nor the need for acceptance, but denigrate the very idea of blackness. The worship of ideal white beauty, by adults as well as by children, coalesces into a†¦show more content†¦Appearing on screen with male and female, African-American actors, Shirley Temple also symbolizes the directed energy of African-American adults toward the care of white children. Subservient to her needs, and trapped in the stereotyped roles available to them, the adult actors who appe ared as her caretakers often appeared to be childish, rather than childlike, a demeaning position, especially when contrasted with the simulated adult behavior exhibited on screen by Shirley Temple. She keeps them in their place partly by imitating Little Eva, the wise and noble, white child of Uncle Toms Cabin, and partly by her mere presence on screen. As a representation of Little Eva, Shirley Temple characterizes the saintliness of the good child, a saintliness worthy of glorified attention and near worship. If we think of Shirley Temple as Little Eva, then we might also visualize her companions as Uncle Tom or Aunt Chloe, who love their own children, but in embracing the conditions of slavery, willingly put the welfare of white children above their own. On screen, the presence of Shirley Temple as a white child signifies the neglect of the African-American child. For Claudia, Shirley Temple represents her own absence in the attention of her family. Claudia hates Shirley Temple, Not because she was cute, but because she danced with Bojangles, who was my friend, my uncle, my daddy, and whoShow MoreRelatedThe Effects of Scientific Racism on Black Women Essay5776 Words   |  24 PagesBlack adolescent girl who is sexually abused by her stepfather. By writing letters to God and forming supportive relationships with other Black women, Celie finds her own voice, and her voice enables her to transcend the fear and silence of her childhood. By creating Celie and giving her the language to tell of her sexual abuse, Walker adds Celies voice to muted yet growing discussions of the sexual politics of Black womanhood in Black feminist thought. Black feminists have investigated how rape

The Effects Of Social Media On The World Of Technology,...

Wes Williams Mr. Bellissimo ENG-4UI-01 4 November 2015 Desensitizing Society In today’s fast paced world of technology, news and material travel at a supersonic speed. Subjects are then conversed, deliberated as well as disputed feverishly on the virtual landscape: giving way to argument and counter argument, thus leaving no stone unturned. Social media has undeniably played an operative role in sanctioning the common age. Unfortunately though, there is also a flip side. Social media has become a part of our everyday lives, and is a viable tool for learning, communication, and ultimately keeping up to date. What we are not realizing is that we’re becoming desensitized to the real world, we are focused on things that were not even†¦show more content†¦They can carry this out flawlessly without even being known in person. It has created many common problems among teens such as depression, and struggle with confidence on and off social media. I read an article online by The National Council on Crime Prevention reported that in an investigation of young adolescents, 81% said they believe other people cyberbully because they think it’s amusing. They don’t see their victims’ feedbacks in person, cyberbullies may not grasp how much damage they are doing (See Figure #1). Youth also run the risk of involuntarily disclosing their private information since on most occasions; they usually neglect to read carefully websites privacy policies. Whenever young people fail to read the policies and disclaimers, they are exposed to risks of having their personal information disclosed. I can closely relate to this as I tend to not read the instructions, or anything of that nature as I am eager to do whatever I am doing. Social media has desensitized our somewhat balanced understanding of what might happen if I accept this disclaimer, or check the box to accept the terms and agreements. This is exclusively a serious matter in the rising cases of cybercrimes such as identity theft. We have all heard of cyber-attacks, one in particular that stood out to me is the huge wide-spanning cyber espionage operation from Iranian hackers targeting social media platforms in the U.S. I quote, â€Å"Using the fake personas, including

George Berkeley His View Of God Essay Example For Students

George Berkeley: His View Of God Essay As man progressed through the various stages of evolution, it isassumed that at a certain point he began to ponder the world around him. Ofcourse, these first attempts fell short of being scholarly, probablyconsisting of a few grunts and snorts at best. As time passed on, though,these ideas persisted and were eventually tackled by the more intellectual,so-called philosophers. Thus, excavation of the external world began. Asthe authoritarinism of the ancients gave way to the more liberal views ofthe modernists, two main positions concerning epistemology and the natureof the world arose. The first view was exemplified by the empiricists, whostated that all knowledge comes from the senses. In opposition, therationalists maintained that knowledge comes purely from deduction, andthat this knowledge is processed by certain innate schema in the mind. Those that belonged to the empiricist school of thought developed quiteseparate and distinct ideas concerning the nature of the substratum ofsensible objects. John Locke and David Hume upheld the belief thatsensible things were composed of material substance, the basic frameworkfor the materialist position. The main figure who believed that materialsubstance did not exist is George Berkeley. In truth, it is theimmaterialist position that seems the most logical when placed under closescrutiny. The initial groundwork for Berkeleys position is the truism that thematerialist is a skeptic. In the writing of his three dialogues, Berkeleydevelops two characters: Hylas (the materialist) and Philonous (Berkeleyhimself). Philonous draws upon one central supposition of the materialistto formulate his argument of skepticism against him; this idea is that onecan never perceive the real essence of anything. In short, the materialistfeels that the information received through sense experience gives arepresentative picture of the outside world (the representative theory ofperception), and one can not penetrate to the true essece of an object. This makes logical sense, for the only way to perceive this real essencewould be to become the object itself! Although the idea is logical, itdoes contain a certain grounding for agnosticism. Let the reader considerthis: if there is no way to actually sense the true material essence ofanything, and all knowledge in empiricism comes from the senses, then thereal material essence can not be perceived and therefore it can not beposited. This deserves careful consideration, for the materialist has beenself-proclaimed a skeptic! If the believer in this theory were asked if amythical beast such as a cyclops existed he would most certainly say no. Aspart of his reply he might add that because it can not be sensed it is nota piece of knowledge. After being enlightened by the above proposedargument, though, that same materialist is logically forced to agree that,because the material substratum1 itself can not be sensed, its existencecan not be treated as knowledge. The materialist belief has, in effect,become as futile as proving that the cyclops exists; his ideas have leadhim into skepticism. Having proven that the materialist is, at best, a doubter, Berkeleygoes on to offer the compelling argument that primary and secondaryqualities are, together, one thing. As the materialist believes, primaryqualities of an object are those things that are abstract (not senseoriented). Examples of these would be number, figure, motion, andextension. Secondary qualities are those things that are concrete (senseoriented), such as color, smell, sound, and taste. The materialist feelsthat these primary qualities persist even when the secondary ones are notthere. Thus, if a person were blind, then that individual would not beable to hear or to touch items; yet the so-called real qualities such asfigure would remain existent in the objects. As previously shown, thematerialist is agnostic in his belief of these real (primary) qualities. It is here that Berkeley directs an alternate hypothesis: that the abstractprimary qualities dont exist at all. In fact, the immaterialist positionstates that these qualities are merely secondary in nature, as they, too,can not be perceived as being separate from an object. For instance, if aperson is asked to imagine a primary quality alone, as an abstraction, itis impossible. To illustrate this point, suppose that a person is asked tothink simply of number alone. This person may reply that the idea he isformulating is that of three red spheres. In truth this is not an abstractidea, because when the qualities of color (red) and shape (sphere) aretaken away, all that is left is three of nothing! Thus, it is impossibleto think of the abstraction of number, given that an abstract quality cannot focus on anything concrete (such as red spheres in the above mentionedexample). Therefore, it follows that, since no primary, abstract qualitycan exist alone, it is the same as a secondary quali ty in which an actualobject must first be perceived. Berkeley moves on to show that the perceived qualities of an objectare ideas which exist only in a mind. To do this, he states that asensation is an idea. This is logical, for sensations can not be felt bymindless objects. However, it is this point which Berkeley scrutinizes inthe materialist statement that an external object is a material substancewith the sensible qualities inhering in it.2 The materialist isproclaiming that sensible qualities, which exist in the mind only, areactually in the object. Logically, the only possible way for this to occuris if the external object had a mind for the qualities to be thought of andstored by. The notion that inanimate objects have minds is ridiculous, andthus the materialists belief has been reduced to absurdity. Let thereader consider this example to reinforce the point. A ten-story buildingis erected, and a person who lives in a single-story house in the countrysees the new building. To this person the structure may seem quite tall,as he has never seen any building taller than three stories. However, aconstruction worker comes across the same building and perceives its heightquite differently than the previous man. Since the second man usually workson buildings about thirty stories high, he thinks that the building isfairly short. Obviously, the new building can not be both tall and shortat the same time; yet this is the outcome if one believes that the qualityof tallness is inherent in the object. In fact, if the idealist(immaterialist) position is considered it seems logical that one personcould view something differently than another. This is because the ideaconcerning that thing could be different in the two separate minds. Motorcycle EssayOn the other hand, Gods mind is infinite and is thus able to have multipleperceptions. These perceptions of God are also ideas, and it follows thatthese ideas comprise the reality beheld in the finite human mind. Insteadof the materialists belief in the representative theory of perception,where a material object has real (primary) qualities which humans perceiveas sensible (secondary) qualities, Berkeley has posited an alternatetheory. This is that God upholds all of the ideas which comprise humanreality, and people perceive these ideas as sensations directly from Godsinfinite mind. It should also be noted that just as the finite mind is different fromthe infinite mind, the ideas in each mind have some certain distinctions. The finite mind can only contemplate a limited range of thoughts. Toillustrate this, let the reader attempt to imagine an infinite number ofstars. After some intellection, the reader will realize that it is animpossible task. This is because the human mind can only think in terms ofbounded entities; thus, in the above mentioned case, the reader may havethought of a great many stars. However, the stars were finite in number andcould therefore not represent the notion of infinity. In short, the finitemind can only conceive finite thoughts. Not only this, but, as previouslydisgussed, humans can perceive only one thought at a time. If the readerdoes not think this to be the case, then let her attempt to imagine a smallboy and a thunderstorm as completely separate ideas. Although both ideasmay be thought of, the only way for this to occur is when they are placedin the same mental picture. In summary, the human mind has importantlimits which can easily be observed. On the contrary, the infinite mind of God is limitless in its abilityto perceive ideas. In Gods mind, an infinite thought (a thought withoutboundaries) can exist. This infinite ideas existence in Gods mind ismore that possible; it must necessarily be the case. This is becauseinfinite concepts such as the number system and the universe must comefrom, as do all thoughts, a mind. However, since the human mind is finiteand therefore incapable of conceiving boundless thoughts, then thoseinfinite ideas must arise from the infinite mind of God. Not only doesGods mind contain infinite thoughts, but it also must possess the abilityto think of, in the least, many thoughts at once. This is necessarily thecase for the collection of Gods ideas which people call reality to exist;if God did not have this ability then external objects would not exist whenthe finite mind was not perceiving them. Thus far the immaterialist position has been considered in its parts;at this point it shall be viewed as one simple model. Let the readerpicture an isosceles triangle which is divided into three parts: the top,middle, and bottom. At the apex of the figure is Gods infinite mind. Themiddle portion of the triangle is occupied by the finite minds of people. Lastly, the bottom section contains the ideas perceived by humans. BecauseGod is at the pinnacle of the figure, He also perceives the ideas thatpeople do. However, since the human mind is finite, it can not conceive ofthe infinite ideas in Gods mind at the apex of the triangle. Now, theconcepts of either perceiving or being perceived can be added to thepicture. Both the top and middle portions of the figure are minds, so bothof these sections are perceivers. At the bottom of the model are ideas,and since they do not act of their own volition, they are perceived. Aspreviously shown, perceivers are active and the perceived is passive. Lastly, the concept of existence can be applied to the triangle. Sinceexistence is that which is either perceived or perceives5, and each part ofthe model has been shown to meet one of these criteria, then the entiretriangle must be considered to exist. In the final analysis, it is evident that Berkleys immaterialistposition is logically feasible. From his definitions of minds and ideas tohis careful attribution of their respective qualities, George Berkeley hasproduced a compelling argument for his views. However, this is not allthat he has done; in fact, Berkeley has shown the necessary importance ofGod. In the materialist view, a belief in God is not logically necessaryto uphold the material substratum2. Berkeley shows that God must exist,for He is at the heart of Berkeleys position. In short, the materialistview allows for atheism as a possible option. Notes.George Berkeley. Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous.Reason and Responsibility. Ed. Joel Feinberg p. 175. 2.Berkeley, p. 165. 3.Berkeley, p. 165. 4.Berkeley, p. 191. 5.Berkeley, p. 179.

Prohibition The Power Is In The People Essays -

Prohibition: The Power Is In The People The Power is in the People Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. (The United States Constitution: The First Amendment). By the action taken on December 12, 1791 (when the Bill of Rights was adopted), the United States of America granted its people a power that would prove extremely potent one-hundred and twenty-nine years later. During the era of Prohibition (1920-1933), people took whatever action necessary to get their way, and did so through the rights afforded to them in the First Amendment. Individuals in favor of Prohibition, seeing the benefits of the institution, worked together to sustain it. Those against Prohibition, feeling a violation of their rights, acted just as intensely, if not even more so, to stop the movement. The government, ignoring the voice of the people, was primarily concerned with keeping Prohibition alive. However, the right to individual voice, a principle upon which the United States was founded, made it impossible for an institution such as Prohibition to exist successfully. In the years prior to and during Prohibition, many people did everything within their power to keep the nation free of alcohol. Numerous committees were formed for the purpose of pursuing the enactment and continuation of Prohibition. Church and religion also played a large part in the fight to keep the nation ?dry?. Some individuals even entered politics and took office in the government in an effort to be heard. People made an united effort to reveal the virtues of Prohibition to the nation. The Anti-Saloon League of America was founded in 1893 at Oberlin, Ohio. Throughout Prohibition, its members went from town to town speaking out against saloons and alcohol (Merz 8). On January 16, 1920, they also declared, ?it is here at last - dry America's first birthday? (Kobler 11). Women established a group of their own as well. In 1874, Protestant women formed the Women's Christian Temperance Union. They, like the Anti-Saloon League of America, cited the advantages of Prohibition (Kobler 10). As a whole, groups such as these utilized their First Amendment rights to the fullest to preach what they believed. God and religion were essential to those fighting to keep Prohibition intact. Reverend Billy Sunday incorporated the issue of Prohibition into many of his sermons. In his most well-known of these sermons Sunday claims: The reign of tears is over. The slums will soon be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now. Women will smile and children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent (Thornton 8). The Women's Christian Temperance Union held a strong influence in the church scene . They spoke of Prohibition as ?God's present to the nation? (Kobler 11) and sponsored conventions for all who saw Prohibition as a gift from the Father (Kobler 11-13). Some individuals saw entering politics and taking public office as the best way to make a difference in the fight for Prohibition. Senator Morris Sheppard was determined and confident of keeping the nation alcohol free. He believed that with people such as himself in positions of power, the chances of the 18th Amendment (outlawing anything involving alcohol) being repealed were practically non-existent (Merz ix). Obviously, Sheppard's assumption would prove incorrect. The efforts of those against Prohibition were much more radical than the actions of the opposition. Several groups were formed, allowing many to voice their opinions about the evils that existed in the Prohibition laws. The most severe problems resulted from the illegal manufacture of liquor by individuals, and from numerous rebellious acts that brought about more crime. Because of all the negative things that began to occur, many citizens developed a hatred toward the government for instituting Prohibition. The Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform, The National Association Opposed to Prohibition, The Moderation League, and the American Veterans' Association for the Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment were just a few of the coalitions that existed during the Prohibition Era which complained about