Of mIce and Men, how Steinbeck creates sympoahty and animosity towards Curley’s Wife Essay

In of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife sparks much debate and controversy, being an extremely important character in the book as she symbolises the gender inequality and discrimination of the period. At the start of the novella, we assume she is just a plot device, but later on find out that there is much more about her and she has a very important role in the book as being the only woman. During the 1930’s women were treated unequally to men, and weren’t treated with as much respect, which is reflected later when we realise that Curley’s wife isn’t addressed with a name. The attitude to women at the time contrasts with how gender inequality is now; women have the right to vote and they are now appreciated. The novella is set in the 1930s in Soledad, near Salinas, California. The novella was set during the American depression. Soledad, meaning loneliness in Spanish is also cleverly used as the place name of where the fictional ranch is set. This merges in with the theme of loneliness that runs throughout the novel, foreshadowing what we later find out about Curley’s wife’s life on the ranch. The Great depression was triggered by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and left millions of people unemployed. All the while people lost confidence, felt insecure and the American Dream had vanished, linking to what all the men on the ranch want, but now seems impossible to achieve. Because of the ranch being an isolated and primitive, the lifestyle was lonely. Steinbeck uses his personal experience as a ranch worker to describe how the workers felt: George says that â€Å"ranch workers are the loneliest people in the world and don’t belong nowhere†. Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. Perhaps the loneliest character, which Steinbeck creates in the novel, is Curley’s wife. She is the only female in the ranch and although she is married, you never witness the distinct couple of Curley and his wife together. She is never really noticed, hence the sense of sexual discrimination. Section 1: Of Mice and Men is filled with tragic events which come in a crucial structure that are hinted throughout the book. In fact, even the title foreshadows the unfortunate situations that take place. â€Å"Of Mice and Men† comes from the poem by Robert Burns – To a Mouse. ‘The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/ gang aft agley./ An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain./ Forn  promis’d joy!’. The poem tells us that the best things always go wrong and leave you with nothing but grief and pain, this relates to the novella well because the best dream for Curley’s wife was to be in the ‘pitcures’, but because her mother took them away (she believed) her dreams was shattered and now is left in an unhappy marriage on a ranch where she doesn’t belong. The first moment that we hear about Curley’s wife is when Candy describes her in the bunkhouse, through gossip. He describes her as a sex object, sounding quite negative towards her. Steinbeck first describes her in a less judgmental way, not really showing a strong opinion of her, unlike Candy’s view which is much more frustrated and clear: ‘well i think Curley’s married†¦a tart’. When Candy describes her as a ‘tart’ and the use of an ellipsis, shows that he recoils when using such a derogatory term. The reader already pictures Curley’s wife in their head, and we immediately seem to dislike her, but also sympathise for her because she is gossiped about before the reader even meets her and can make their own decision. One of the reasons why we first hear about Curley’s wife before we meet her is because the men on the ranch all dislike Curley, and they all presume she is as mean as he is. Again, when she is introduced, an ill feeling overcomes the atmosphere indicating that Lennie will be getting into a mess with her. George states in the very beginning that he is always getting into mishaps, â€Å"You do bad things and I got to get you out,†. In the first scene, we learn that Lennie likes to stroke mice and other soft creatures, but has a tendency to kill them accidentally. This foreshadows the death of his puppy and the death of Curley’s wife. Furthermore, when George recounts that Lennie grabbed the woman’s dress in Weed and would not let go, the reader anticipates that similar trouble will arise at the ranch, especially once Curley’s flirtatious wife appears on the scene. Lennie being naà ¯ve and has limited intelligence, showing that he is somewhat childish and interprets his feelings different to how we might understand these feelings. When he describes Curley’s wife as ‘Purty’ we get the sense that he considers her on her looks alone. The vernacular language again shows that he is childlike, and makes him sound real. In society, from where the book was published up till now, the elderly are no longer useful because they aren’t as able. The shooting of Candy’s dog symbolises that there is not need for the elderly to live, representing that Lennie is the dog, because he is not as mentally  able as the other men on the ranch. Candy mirrors George- he has to suffer and has lost his partner, just like Candy lost his dog that kept Candy company, but no longer can, linking back to the idea of everyone always ending up lonely. The contrast between the first chapter and the last also shows his death because the same scene goes from the peaceful field to the violent death of the water snake at the beginning of the novella. Section 2: Throughout Of Mice and Men, we feel that a lot of the characters feel real to us. This is because of the vernacular Steinbeck uses. Curley’s wife seems to be a hard character, but might not be as strong as she would like to appear. She strives to make an impression in front of all the men, because she is the only woman on the ranch, one could interpret this like she knows that the men might be attracted to her and thinks she has an advantage. ‘She was heavily made up’ describes that she wears a lot of makeup; this makes the reader get a sense of ill feeling towards her, although whilst also feeling sensitivity for her because this could illustrate that she wears so much makeup to hide herself, and uses it as a mask. Also, she could be so made up because she still wants to imagine herself as an actress; all the stars where makeup and look magnificent. When Curley’s wife first speaks, her voice is described with having ‘a nasal, brittle quality’. The word ‘nasal’ suggests a high, whiney voice, which does not match her powerful facade and links to previous suggestions of being fake and disguising her real persona with her appearance. The fact that she feels unable to show her true self for fear of being hurt, creates sympathy in the reader. After the gossip we hear about Curley’s wife, we finally meet her. Her physical appearance of ‘full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made- up’, as well as ‘fingernail painted red’ and elaborate hair, further build on our preconceptions of her. Red, the colour of her attire and the style of her hair and makeup suggest some sexuality. Additionally, she use suggestive and provocative body language, ‘she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward’, and her flimsy excuse to be with the men in their quarters contribute to the rancher’s view of her as a ’tramp’. She both talks and acts playfully and flirtatiously in  front of the other ranch workers. She could behave in this manner because her sexuality is her only weapon to gain attention, thus Candy’s description of her seems accurate after her first appearance in the novel. Through her physical appearance and her own actions, Candy’s description of Curley’s Wife seems accurate after her first appearance in the novel. On the other hand, Curley’s Wife’s appearance could be seen as naivety and simply youthful desire to be found attractive. Red is a primary colour therefore children are attracted to it, it is a colour children want to wear because it is bright and has an element of happiness in it. Therefore Curley’s Wife wearing the colour red may symbolise a child’s attraction to bright colours portraying her as youthful or girly. Curley’s wife is such a complex character, and we see this in the letter Steinbeck wrote to Miss Luce describing her. Steinbeck heard that Miss Luce was struggling to play the role of Curley’s wife in 1938, in the letter he included her as ‘knowing utterly nothing about sex’ and Curley’s wife is an innocent woman under all the defenses she has built up against all the comments directed to her. In of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife sparks much debate and controversy, being an extremely important character in the book as she symbolises the gender inequality and discrimination of the period. At the start of the novella, we assume she is just a plot device, but later on find out that there is much more about her and she has a very important role in the book as being the only woman. During the 1930’s women were treated unequally to men, and weren’t treated with as much respect, which is reflected later when we realise that Curley’s wife isn’t addressed with a name. The attitude to women at the time contrasts with how gender inequality is now; women have the right to vote and they are now appreciated. The novella is set in the 1930s in Soledad, near Salinas, California. The novella was set during the American depression. Soledad, meaning loneliness in Spanish is also cleverly used as the place name of where the fictional ranch is set. This merges in with the theme of loneliness that runs throughout the novel, foreshadowing what we later find out about Curley’s wife’s life on the ranch. The Great depression was triggered by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and left millions of people unemployed. All the while people lost confidence, felt insecure and the American Dream had vanished, linking to what all the men on the ranch want, but now seems impossible to achieve. Because of the ranch being an isolated and primitive, the lifestyle was lonely. Steinbeck uses his personal experience as a ranch worker to describe how the workers felt: George says that â€Å"ranch workers are the loneliest people in the world and don’t belong nowhere†. Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. Perhaps the loneliest character, which Steinbeck creates in the novel, is Curley’s wife. She is the only female in the ranch and although she is married, you never witness the distinct couple of Curley and his wife together. She is never really noticed, hence the sense of sexual discrimination. Section 1: Of Mice and Men is filled with tragic events which come in a crucial structure that are hinted throughout the book. In fact, even the title foreshadows the unfortunate situations that take place. â€Å"Of Mice and Men† comes from the poem by Robert Burns – To a Mouse. ‘The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/ gang aft agley./ An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain./ For  promis’d joy!’. The poem tells us that the best things always go wrong and leave you with nothing but grief and pain, this relates to the novella well because the best dream for Curley’s wife was to be in the ‘pitcures’, but because her mother took them away (she believed) her dreams was shattered and now is left in an unhappy marriage on a ranch where she doesn’t belong. The first moment that we hear about Curley’s wife is when Candy describes her in the bunkhouse, through gossip. He describes her as a sex object, sounding quite negative towards her. Steinbeck first describes her in a less judgmental way, not really showing a strong opinion of her, unlike Candy’s view which is much more frustrated and clear: ‘well i think Curley’s married†¦a tart’. When Candy describes her as a ‘tart’ and the use of an ellipsis, shows that he recoils when using such a derogatory term. The reader already pictures Curley’s wife in their head, and we immediately seem to dislike her, but also sympathise for her because she is gossiped about before the reader even meets her and can make their own decision. One of the reasons why we first hear about Curley’s wife before we meet her is because the men on the ranch all dislike Curley, and they all presume she is as mean as he is. Again, when she is introduced, an ill feeling overcomes the atmosphere indicating that Lennie will be getting into a mess with her. George states in the very beginning that he is always getting into mishaps, â€Å"You do bad things and I got to get you out,†. In the first scene, we learn that Lennie likes to stroke mice and other soft creatures, but has a tendency to kill them accidentally. This foreshadows the death of his puppy and the death of Curley’s wife. Furthermore, when George recounts that Lennie grabbed the woman’s dress in Weed and would not let go, the reader anticipates that similar trouble will arise at the ranch, especially once Curley’s flirtatious wife appears on the scene. Lennie being naà ¯ve and has limited intelligence, showing that he is somewhat childish and interprets his feelings different to how we might understand these feelings. When he describes Curley’s wife as ‘Purty’ we get the sense that he considers her on her looks alone. The vernacular language again shows that he is childlike, and makes him sound real. In society, from where the book was published up till now, the elderly are no longer useful because they aren’t as able. The shooting of Candy’s dog symbolises that there is not need for the elderly to live, representing that Lennie is the dog, because he is not as mentally able as the other men on the ranch. Candy mirrors George- he has to suffer and has lost his partner, just like Candy lost his dog that kept Candy company, but no longer can, linking back to the idea of everyone always ending up lonely. The contrast between the first chapter and the last also shows his death because the same scene goes from the peaceful field to the violent death of the water snake at the beginning of the novella. Section 2: Throughout Of Mice and Men, we feel that a lot of the characters feel real to us. This is because of the vernacular Steinbeck uses. Curley’s wife seems to be a hard character, but might not be as strong as she would like to appear. She strives to make an impression in front of all the men, because she is the only woman on the ranch, one could interpret this like she knows that the men might be attracted to her and thinks she has an advantage. ‘She was heavily made up’ describes that she wears a lot of makeup; this makes the reader get a sense of ill feeling towards her, although whilst also feeling sensitivity for her because this could illustrate that she wears so much makeup to hide herself, and uses it as a mask. Also, she could be so made up because she still wants to imagine herself as an actress; all the stars where makeup and look magnificent. When Curley’s wife first speaks, her voice is described with having ‘a nasal, brittle quality’. The word ‘nasal’ suggests a high, whiney voice, which does not match her powerful facade and links to previous suggestion In of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife sparks much debate and controversy, being an extremely important character in the book as she symbolises the gender inequality and discrimination of the period. At the start of the novella, we assume she is just a plot device, but later on find out that there is much more about her and she has a very important role in the book as being the only woman. During the 1930’s women were treated unequally to men, and weren’t treated with as much respect, which is reflected later when we realise that Curley’s wife isn’t addressed with a name. The attitude to women at the time contrasts with how gender inequality is now; women have the right to vote and they are now appreciated. The novella is set in the 1930s in Soledad, near Salinas, California. The novella was set during the American depression. Soledad, meaning loneliness in Spanish is also cleverly used as the place name of where the fictional ranch is set. This merges in with the theme of loneliness that runs throughout the novel, foreshadowing what we later find out about Curley’s wife’s life on the ranch. The Great depression was triggered by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and left millions of people unemployed. All the while people lost confidence, felt insecure and the American Dream had vanished, linking to what all the men on the ranch want, but now seems impossible to achieve. Because of the ranch being an isolated and primitive, the lifestyle was lonely. Steinbeck uses his personal experience as a ranch worker to describe how the workers felt: George says that â€Å"ranch workers are the loneliest people in the world and don’t belong nowhere†. Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. Perhaps the loneliest character, which Steinbeck creates in the novel, is Curley’s wife. She is the only female in the ranch and although she is married, you never witness the distinct couple of Curley and his wife together. She is never really noticed, hence the sense of sexual discrimination. Section 1: Of Mice and Men is filled with tragic events which come in a crucial structure that are hinted throughout the book. In fact, even the title foreshadows the unfortunate situations that take place. â€Å"Of Mice and Men† comes from the poem by Robert Burns – To a Mouse. ‘The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/ gang aft agley./ An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain./ For  promis’d joy!’. The poem tells us that the best things always go wrong and leave you with nothing but grief and pain, this relates to the novella well because the best dream for Curley’s wife was to be in the ‘pitcures’, but because her mother took them away (she believed) her dreams was shattered and now is left in an unhappy marriage on a ranch where she doesn’t belong. The first moment that we hear about Curley’s wife is when Candy describes her in the bunkhouse, through gossip. He describes her as a sex object, sounding quite negative towards her. Steinbeck first describes her in a less judgmental way, not really showing a strong opinion of her, unlike Candy’s view which is much more frustrated and clear: ‘well i think Curley’s married†¦a tart’. When Candy describes her as a ‘tart’ and the use of an ellipsis, shows that he recoils when using such a derogatory term. The reader already pictures Curley’s wife in their head, and we immediately seem to dislike her, but also sympathise for her because she is gossiped about before the reader even meets her and can make their own decision. One of the reasons why we first hear about Curley’s wife before we meet her is because the men on the ranch all dislike Curley, and they all presume she is as mean as he is. Again, when she is introduced, an ill feeling overcomes the atmosphere indicating that Lennie will be getting into a mess with her. George states in the very beginning that he is always getting into mishaps, â€Å"You do bad things and I got to get you out,†. In the first scene, we learn that Lennie likes to stroke mice and other soft creatures, but has a tendency to kill them accidentally. This foreshadows the death of his puppy and the death of Curley’s wife. Furthermore, when George recounts that Lennie grabbed the woman’s dress in Weed and would not let go, the reader anticipates that similar trouble will arise at the ranch, especially once Curley’s flirtatious wife appears on the scene. Lennie being naà ¯ve and has limited intelligence, showing that he is somewhat childish and interprets his feelings different to how we might understand these feelings. When he describes Curley’s wife as ‘Purty’ we get the sense that he considers her on her looks alone. The vernacular language again shows that he is childlike, and makes him sound real. In society, from where the book was published up till now, the elderly are no longer useful because they aren’t as able. The shooting of Candy’s dog symbolises that there is not need for the elderly to live, representing that Lennie is the dog, because he is not as mentally  able as the other men on the ranch. Candy mirrors George- he has to suffer and has lost his partner, just like Candy lost his dog that kept Candy company, but no longer can, linking back to the idea of everyone always ending up lonely. The contrast between the first chapter and the last also shows his death because the same scene goes from the peaceful field to the violent death of the water snake at the beginning of the novella. Section 2: Throughout Of Mice and Men, we feel that a lot of the characters feel real to us. This is because of the vernacular Steinbeck uses. Curley’s wife seems to be a hard character, but might not be as strong as she would like to appear. She strives to make an impression in front of all the men, because she is the only woman on the ranch, one could interpret this like she knows that the men might be attracted to her and thinks she has an advantage. ‘She was heavily made up’ describes that she wears a lot of makeup; this makes the reader get a sense of ill feeling towards her, although whilst also feeling sensitivity for her because this could illustrate that she wears so much makeup to hide herself, and uses it as a mask. Also, she could be so made up because she still wants to imagine herself as an actress; all the stars where makeup and look magnificent. When Curley’s wife first speaks, her voice is described with having ‘a nasal, brittle quality’. The word ‘nasal’ suggests a high, whiney voice, which does not match her powerful facade and links to previous suggestions of being fake and disguising her real persona with her appearance. The fact that she feels unable to show her true self for fear of being hurt, creates sympathy in the reader. After the gossip we hear about Curley’s wife, we finally meet her. Her physical appearance of ‘full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made- up’, as well as ‘fingernail painted red’ and elaborate hair, further build on our preconceptions of her. Red, the colour of her attire and the style of her hair and makeup suggest some sexuality. Additionally, she use suggestive and provocative body language, ‘she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward’, and her flimsy excuse to be with the men in their quarters contribute to the rancher’s view of her as a ’tramp’. She both talks and acts playfully and flirtatiously in  front of the other ranch workers. She could behave in this manner because her sexuality is her only weapon to gain attention, thus Candy’s description of her seems accurate after her first appearance in the novel. Through her physical appearance and her own actions, Candy’s description of Curley’s Wife seems accurate after her first appearance in the novel. On the other hand, Curley’s Wife’s appearance could be seen as naivety and simply youthful desire to be found attractive. Red is a primary colour therefore children are attracted to it, it is a colour children want to wear because it is bright and has an element of happiness in it. Therefore Curley’s Wife wearing the colour red may symbolise a child’s attraction to bright colours portraying her as youthful or girly. Curley’s wife is such a complex character, and we see this in the letter Steinbeck wrote to Miss Luce describing her. Steinbeck heard that Miss Luce was struggling to play the role of Curley’s wife in 1938, in the letter he included her as ‘knowing utterly nothing about sex’ and Curley’s wife is an innocent woman under all the defenses she has built up against all the comments directed to her. s of being fake and disguising her real persona with her appearance. The fact that she feels unable to show her true self for fear of being hurt, creates sympathy in the reader. After the gossip we hear about Curley’s wife, we finally meet her. Her physical appearance of ‘full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made- up’, as well as ‘fingernail painted red’ and elaborate hair, further build on our preconceptions of her. Red, the colour of her attire and the style of her hair and makeup suggest some sexuality. Additionally, she use suggestive and provocative body language, ‘she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward’, and her flimsy excuse to be with the men in their quarters contribute to the rancher’s view of her as a ’tramp’. She both talks and acts playfully and flirtatiously in  front of the other ranch workers. She could behave in this manner because her sexuality is her only weapon to gain attention, thus Candy’s description of her seems accurate after her first appearance in the novel. Through her physical appearance and her own actions, Candy’s description of Curley’s Wife seems accurate after her first appearance in the novel. On the other hand, Curley’s Wife’s appearance could be seen as naivety and simply youthful desire to be found attractive. Red is a primary colour therefore children are attracted to it, it is a colour children want to wear because it is bright and has an element of happiness in it. Therefore Curley’s Wife wearing the colour red may symbolise a child’s attraction to bright colours portraying her as youthful or girly. Curley’s wife is such a complex character, and we see this in the letter Steinbeck wrote to Miss Luce describing her. Steinbeck heard that Miss Luce was struggling to play the role of Curley’s wife in 1938, in the letter he included her as ‘knowing utterly nothing about sex’ and Curley’s wife is an innocent woman under all the defenses she has built up against all the comments directed to her.

How Poverty and Poor Education Affects Life

Getting an education is considered a blessing too many, in America many of us believe that everybody should get equality when it comes down to education, but is that really the case? I believe that education is something that many of us take advantage of, especially when you are a kid and you think your education is free and you dread waking up early in the morning for school. Though, when you grow older we are glad that we have received an education and we can contribute to new technology, or we have the opportunity to create a top selling novel, learn about the history of the world, or just knowing why the sky is blue. We all know, and if you don’t you should, that many of the poorer regions in the world don’t receive a proper education, but could living in a poorer region of the United States of America affect your opportunity for education? I hold this to be true. Many of us believe that we can accomplish just about anything when we set are minds to it, but does this inspirational quote fluctuate when you are poor? Poverty perpetuates poverty and the reason for this is that poverty provides the factors preventing proper education in America (Jayashanker, 2009). Public taxes are mostly funded by property taxes, so if the houses cost less, that means less funding for computers, good teachers, books, and anything else a school need in order to thrive. Also people with money can also obviously hire private tutors. When the No Child Left Behind act was passed in 2002 by George W. Bush, it awarded the schools that preformed better then other school, by awarding them with a source of supplies and materials, while schools that performed unwell, were punished by less funding to the school. I believe that the NCLB act was not reasonable, because the schools that perform better are usually the schools that are in higher income areas, I believe this act w as another reason why poorer people receive less education. Poverty also could have other negative affects on an individual such as; absence of health care, the consumption of less nutritious food, the on going influence to join a gang, or desperate attempts to make money such a robbing and selling drugs. At the same time I do realize that being rich could also have it negative affects such as a less strive to receive and education, because they may feel that they don’t need to, because everything is already given to them on a silver platter, but I believe this to be true to the ones that were spoiled. Bad influences are all around in poverty areas, or the â€Å"ghetto†, these â€Å"bad influences† will usually convince the children in the ghetto region, to do things that severely impact their education, which just adds to the ongoing cycle where the rich stay rich and the poor remain poor. I found a study on www.virtualcap.org, the found statistics that show children living in poverty areas that there 2 times as likely t o repeat a grade, 3.4 times as likely to be expelled from school, being a dropout from the age of 16-24 were 3.5 times as likely, and the chance of them from graduating from a four year college was cut in half. Poor education in children does not just affect them; it affects the rest of the nation. â€Å"Child poverty costs the U.S. about $500 billion a year, the equivalent of nearly 4 percent of the GDP (the total market value of all the goods and services our country produces)† (Baer, 2010). â€Å"Poverty puts children at an unfair disadvantage for future opportunities (Defining Poverty and Why It Matters for Children, 2005)†. I believe that children who are living in poverty areas are lacking the inspiration because of there economic conditions, so I wanted to talk about the story of Oprah Winfrey whose story inspired me to go to college and get an education, and also to strive to become financially successful. Oprah Winfrey was born to a 13 year old mother, In Kosciusko, Mississippi. While growing up she said she learned how, â€Å"to turn misery to wisdom†. She first grew up with her grandmother on a pig farm with no running water. â€Å"She then lived with her mother who moved to Milwaukee where she was sexually abused for the first time by a friend of her family and her own relative (Best Inpirational Stories, 2009)†. Oprah Winfrey, at the age of 14, gave birth to a baby boy, but unfortunately he died a week later. Her mother lost her patience with young Oprah, the result of this was the punishment of sending her to live with her dad. While living with her dad she learned discipline and learned how to use her great intelligence, from potential to kinetic use. At school she was know for her intelligent speaking and she received a scholarship at Tennessee University. She majored in broadcast communication and she scored a job as a reporter at a Nashville TV station. â€Å"Oprah left school at the age of 19 years old to become the first Afro-American woman broadcaster in Nashville (Best Inpirational Stories, 2009)†. She made various amount of mistakes at her new job, she felt exhausted all the time. The Nashville station management team didn’t like her attitude towards the camera; too, on top of that, they didn’t like her â€Å"appearance†. â€Å"They complained about her hair style, her big nose and the distance between her eyes. Tempted to glamourize her appearance, they sent her to a good salon in New York which did a disastrous remodeling that made her hair fall off (Best Inpirational Stories, 2009). She was ranked down from a TV boardcaster to a presenter of the show called â€Å"People Are Talking†, which was basically a talk show for housewives. After seven years of presenting the show â€Å"People Are Talking†, she gained the attention of a station in Chicago. They offered her to be the host of there show called â€Å"A.M. Chicago†, in basically a month she made the show â€Å"A.M. Chicago† to one of the most viewed shows in Chicago. In 1985 the â€Å"A.M. Chicago Show† was rename â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show†, and it began to be nationally broadcasted. Oprah said, â€Å"Failure is the way God chooses to remind you that you are on the wrong track†. Despite her troubled childhood the Oprah Winfrey show is one of most nationally viewed shows today. Oprah Winfrey is now estimated at an astonishing $2.4 billion dollars, according to Forbes Magazine. Oprah’s story was inspirational to me, and I hope for many others, to succeed in life. I believe when growing up in a ghetto region there are many roadblocks on receiving a superb education and go to a good college, but this is not impossible, nothing is considered impossible now-a-days, especially in America. It is relevant that as a country we need to break out of the cycle of poverty. Anne C. Lewis suggested that low levels of an individual’s literacy will usually result in low paying jobs. Anne C. Lewis suggests four steps in leading individuals out of the cycle of poverty. â€Å"For young children already in the system, educate their parents, especially the mothers, to the hilt. The educational level of mothers is the most important influence on the educational attainment of children (Lewis 186). Adults need to take advantage of educational programs that are sponsored by the schools. The second step is, â€Å"for welfare mothers (most of them teenagers) who must now make it in the job world, combine educational and contextual training. This means direct education for meaningful job goals. Cognitive researcher Thomas Sticht, drawing on results from the military, business, and education, argues that young people can learn basic skills best when education is embedded in job preparation (Lewis 186). It has been proven that improved literacy skills can raise their productivity levels in the workplace, while it can also increase your child’s vocabulary. The third step is to implant the idea of going to college in the child’s head as early as you can, according to a survey by Educational Longitudinal, students who have thrive to go to college in 8th grade were much more likely to graduate. The fourth and final way to break out of the ongoing cycle of poverty, according to Anne C. Lewis, is to start the development of literacy in the child as soon as they are born. Young parents from poor circumstances ought to leave the hospital as participants in support networks that will help them develop the language abilities of their babies. That support should be consistent and continuous until the school system becomes a partner with parents (Lewis). So basically what I’m trying to say is that poverty does have its severe impact on an individual’s education, but even though it may be harder for a child from the ghetto regions of Los Angeles, California to receive an equal amount of education then a person living in Beverley Hills, California. Just remember that is nothing is impossible in American, and a college education is available to almost anyone! This quote helped me with my education, and I wanted to end my conclusion with this quote, and it states, it's not about stuffing people's minds with knowledge. It's something inspirational and more†¦. It's about instilling a love for learning. It's about educating kids from your heart. It's about teaching others and oneself to learn from mistakes. It's about encouraging one to have the courage to lead one's life, and about helping others to raise to a higher level of awareness. When you choose to educate with a heart full of love, what you can do will reach far beyond what you can ever imagine.

Biopsychosocial Perspective Essay

Psychologists past, present, and future desire the answer to one basic question; â€Å"what factors influence a person’s physical and mental health are they related if a relationship exists†; thus Health Psychology emerged. In pursuit of the answer several models or perspectives came about. Over time psychologist realized that focusing on one causal factor results in partial information for analysis of health and illness. Thus, the biopsychosocial model became the primary perspective used and is the focus of this paper. â€Å"This perspective recognizes that biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces act together to determine an individual’s health and vulnerability to disease; that is, health and disease must be explained in terms of multiple contexts† (Straub, 2012, p. 16). Achieving an understanding of biopsychosocial perspective requires a description of the systems and three contexts of this theory, examination of the influence of this theory on the biomedical viewpoint, and examination of how the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors influence a person’s health. Through a hypothetical scenario an illustration of the ways in which all three factors interacts and influences an individual’s health and well-being will emerge to reaffirm understanding. Three systems and contexts The biopsychosocial model consists of systems and three contexts: immune system, endocrine system, nervous system, and cardiovascular system, as well as biological context, psychological context, and social context. As most humans know the immune system is how people fight off disease and illness. If the immune system is weak then the disease or illness will take over and weaken its host. The endocrine system is the glands within the body and the hormones produced by the glands. The nervous system controls the glands  through stimulation. The hormones released from the glands interact throughout the body to maintain homeostasis. The nervous system comprises the brain, the sensory organs, the spinal cord, and all the nerves connecting these organs with the rest of the body. The primary job of the nervous system is controlling the body and communication within its parts. The cardiovascular system is the blood, blood vessels, and the heart. The primary job of the cardiovascular system is to carry oxygen, nutrient, cellular waste products, and hormones within the body. All these systems work together to keep the body functioning and healthy. If any system is weak for any reason the body is vulnerable to disease and illness. The systems work together within the human body, but they also interact with the biological context, psychological context, and social context to influence health and well-being (Albery & Munafo, 2008). The biological context examines how genetics influence health. The psychological context examines how psychological influences (coping strategies) affect health and illness. The social context examines how social influences (culture, family, society†¦.) affect health and illness. These systems and contexts work together like the gears of a clock to influence an individual’s health and well-being. If a gear gets nicked the clock starts to slowly lose time, but repair the gear and the clock is good as new. This is true of the biopsychosocial model of health and well-being also. The biopsychosocial model was not the first model psychologist used to explain health and well-being it was the biom edical model. Influence on Biomedical Model The biomedical model considers the absence of disease is physical wellness. This model is good practice but it has limitations. The biomedical model focuses on health and well-being as biological issues with biomedical solutions (Sutton, Baum, & Johnston, 2005). On the other hand, the biopsychosocial model takes into account the whole person leading to extensive research in many aspects of wellness. It addresses more than physical well-being as many people now are ill but they have no presence of disease. Socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity and generational differences all play important roles in this model of wellness (Marks, Murray, Evans, & Estacio, 2011). The biopsychosocial model is an expansion of the biomedical model. This new model agrees that biological issues influences health and  well-being, but also believes that psychological and social issues influence health and well-being as well. Three factors influence on health and well-being A 30 year old mother of four children under 10 goes to her physician complaining of extreme fatigue and a loss of energy. Many people would say â€Å"of course you are tired. You have four young children†. She has high blood pressure, but her medication controls it so that is ruled out as the cause of her fatigue. Her doctor runs blood work, sends her for a sleep study, and asks questions about social and psychological issues that could be bothering her. When all the results are in there is no answer for her fatigue so the doctor diagnosis her with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which means that no one knows why you are tired. Over the next several years she is in and out of her doctor’s office. The fatigue has such a toll on the woman that she gets sick easily and more often. Until she turned 30 this woman only had seasonal allergies and never got the flu or a cold. Now she seems to be sick more than not. Using the biopsychosocial model to examine this woman’s health and well-being will show how the biological, psychological, and social contexts as well as the systems are interacting to influence her health. When the doctor was questioning the woman about her psychological and social well-being he was ruling out depression as the cause. The woman is not fatigued because she is a busy mom rather the cause is a deficiency of a chemical in the brain. Through the numerous visits to her doctor she learns of a vitamin D deficiency, an underactive thyroid, and finally the root cause of her fatigue; Narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder which affects an individual’s waking hours as a result of insufficient sleep. This disorder leaves the woman needing to take medication to sleep and medication to stay awake, but still feeling fatigued about half the time. The systems involved in this individual’s health issues are the nervous, endocrine, and cardiovascular. Looking back at the clock analogy, three of the gears of her clock have nicks. Since three of her systems are weak this woman is vulnerable to disease and illness. The biological context of her health is the deficiency of t he chemical within the brain. The psychological context of her health is how she copes and over comes the issues surrounding her disorder. The social context of her health is how her family, friends, and  community react to her disorder. On a daily basis she struggles to function adequately. She is now 37 years old and works as a substitute teacher, working on her masters, wife, and mother. Every day she wakes up feeling as though she could go back to sleep and did for the first two years. She could sleep eight to nine hours at night get her kids off to school then sleep all day till her kids get home. With the medication she takes now the day time sleepiness is not as severe, but can still be overwhelming some days. Imagine the social issues that can arise as a substitute teacher if her medication is not working and she falls asleep while with students. Trying to function with narcolepsy when life previous to the disorder consists of outdoor activities, energy, and multi-tasking can cause psychological issues. Having a strong social support system, following medical advice, and a strong will to succeed keep the woman psychologically strong. The woman does struggle in her academic life, but refuses to give up. So tir ed and rundown daily she fights thru any issues that arise from the disorder that now runs her biological, psychological, and social life. Although, her clock may lose time as a result of the nicked gears, she duck-tapes the nicks and reset her clock daily. Narcolepsy is a life altering, mysterious neurological disorder that can pose serious problems for the ones affected by it.   Although, there is no cure for narcolepsy research shows that with medication, education on the disorder, counseling, support from family members and friends, that there can be some relief from the symptoms. Conclusion Over time psychologist realized that focusing on one causal factor results in partial information for analysis of health and illness. Thus, the biopsychosocial model became the primary perspective used and was the focus of this paper. An understanding of the biopsychosocial perspective attained through a description of the systems and three contexts of this theory, examination of the influence of this theory on the biomedical viewpoint, and examination of how the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors influence a person’s health. The hypothetical scenario looked at a woman with narcolepsy and the issues she faces daily from a biopsychosocial perspective. References: Albery, I. P., & Munafo, M. (2008). Key Concepts in Health Psychology. Thousand Oaks, Ca: SAGE Publications. Marks, D. F., Murray, M., Evans, B., & Estacio, E. V. (2011). Health Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks, Ca: SAGE Publications. Straub, R. O. (2012). Health Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Sutton, S., Baum, A., & Johnston, M. (2005). The SAGE Handbook of Health Psychology. Thousand Oaks, Ca: SAGE Publications.

WE 5 Mandi crj 546 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WE 5 Mandi crj 546 - Essay Example She goes ahead to show their relevance systematically, allowing a reader to gain a clear understanding of her work. In addition, her work is written in a logical manner, ultimately engaging the reader, making him or her yearn to learn more. Personally, I have learned through her work about three types of photographs that play an insignificant role to the investigator regarding the crime scene. Jennifer’s article focuses on technological advancements used to detect fingerprints at crime scenes such as macro lens and alternate light source. Her clear abstract gives the reader an idea on what to expect from the article. Consequently, a reader becomes interested in the processes. Additionally, she clearly elaborates how these advancements work and how the forensic photographer is able to gather relevant evidence from the crime scene. A major enlightenment from this article is that forensic photographers must always take photographs without a standard of measure because it ensures that there is no alteration or removal of evidence. Lastly,I can firmly attest that her article greatly enlightens the reader on fingerprint photography and keeps the learner engaged from the start as information flows smoothly throughout the entire

Levels of Analysis, Realism, and Liberalism Essay

Levels of Analysis, Realism, and Liberalism - Essay Example In the individual level, it is posited that a particular war -- which is a form of an international phenomenon -- is caused mainly by an individual, generally or specifically. Further, the factor at the individual level is substantially an immediate one (Cashman and Robinson 4). It is widely believed that the immediate cause of the 2003 Iraq War was primarily in the individual level. More specifically, U.S. President George W. Bush was the mastermind on why America went to war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. His personality or belief system was an important factor in realizing the war. If Al Gore had been the U.S. president, Levy and Thompson assert that America would probably have not invaded Iraq in the post-9/11 era (212). In the state level of analysis, war -- such as the Iraq War -- is significantly caused by the nature or form of the state, government, or political party. Hallenberg and Karlsson contend that the 2003 Iraq War had materialized due essentially to the Republ ican Party’s neo-conservative stance (233). Also known as neo-imperialism, the Republican Party believes in the so-called â€Å"manifest destiny† in which America is tasked to free the â€Å"savage† countries from fascism, terrorism and others. It must be noted that Iraq, in the pre-Iraq War, was dominated by a dictatorial leader. To free the Iraqi people from bondage and oppression, America via the Republican Party went to war against terrorism. ... Particularly using the realist paradigm, scholars and people are able to view this war phenomenon in a more objective fashion. Perhaps it is true that the individual level is somewhat compelling in saying that it is immediate cause of the Iraq War; nevertheless, the whole picture elucidates that there are bigger forces or factors that greatly shaped the realization of war: power politics. In the pre-Iraq War period, the U.S. arguably felt threatened, real or imagine, with Iraq’s rising military power under Saddam Hussein. Based from the realist framework, the logical action for the superpower U.S. to do was to invade Iraq in order to secure America’s survival. The system level provides a much bigger picture in analyzing why America went to war. Compare and Contrast: Realism and Liberalism D’Anieri differentiates the two popular paradigms prominent in the field of international politics: between realism and liberalism. These two theories or praxes differ markedly on how they generally view the world politics. On the one hand, realism sees the international political arena in a more pessimistic way (D’Anieri 60). As its fundamental precept, the praxis of realism stipulates that states or nation-states greatly vie for power. D’Anieri notes that realism highly considers the theories of hegemonic stability and balance of power. Their similarities basically define the concept of realism: (1) anarchy is the major condition that constrains state action and/or policy, (2) rational/unitary states are the fundamental actors in the international political scene, (3) distribution of power defines and confines the system, among other things

Health Care in Haiti Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Care in Haiti - Research Paper Example A leading example has been in the U.S. that has developed to be a liberated system and fight to attain equality. However, Haiti will be this paper’s focus and derive the measures applied within the health care system in the attempt to offer sustainability to Haitians. About Haiti Haiti’s geographical position is found in the Atlantic Ocean in an area within the Caribbean Sea. Haiti has been since plagued by natural disasters that have threatened the sustainability of the population and these have included famous hurricanes in 2008. The economy has failed to offer sustainable measures to the population that strives to live above the dollar daily. Most Haitians are of lower class with the rising inflation within their economy. Food and fuel have been the chief cause of the impoverished lifestyle leading to some venturing to eat the edible clay cookies. The country has been named as the poorest country within the western hemisphere with the threat placed on natural and fab ricated causes. The inability to offer sustainability to the economy has developed the constraints witnessed to provide sustainable solutions within the health care (Farmer 398). ... The health care system has been the refection of the impoverished living conditions subjected upon Haitians. Despite efforts to invent measures that have been invented to improve mortality and life sustenance in vaccination services, the needed health care reforms is still an outstanding problem. The inadequate distribution of resources and, corrupt political, system has been the leading cause of the problem. The measure has witnessed a minimal amount of $85 vested annually to sustain the ordinary citizen, a figure invested by foreign entities and agencies (Whyte). Moreover, public hospitals and the few clinics available within the economy hold minimal qualified personnel with inadequate supply of the needed medical resources. Most of the qualified doctors have fled Haiti for safer environs and working conditions. The attempt has been made by Cuba to increase the number of trained professionals within the system, but the provision is not enough to sustain the reducing condition. The other provision to destabilize health care has been in the perpetrated violence witnessed in protest against the corrupt government, which instilled fear among health workers to avoid their duties. This has led to the development of ignorance that has threatened sustainability as the natives practice traditional measures to solve health problems. Research has indicated that more women are using herbal strategies to solve health problems as compared to contemporary medicine leaving more children without vaccination. Solutions Non-governmental organizations have been established to offer sustainable measures to sustain the Haitian economy. Haiti Healthcare Partners (HHP) had been established in 2006 to find strategies to accord affordable programs to the natives

Portfolio Project (350 Points) The Portfolio Project is due at the end Term Paper

Portfolio Project (350 Points) The Portfolio Project is due at the end of Module 8. Read the following description carefully. C - Term Paper Example Lastly, it reflects on how the digital aspects have influenced the rise of secular religions with its popularization. Metzger, M. J., & Flanagin, A. J. (2008). Digital media, youth, and credibility. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. This book portrays the way society has unlimited access to broad spectrums of information through extremely portable and easy to access digital forms as compared to the past. It expounds on the comfort brought by the availability of media tools as forms of entertainment and quality information providers. It also touches on the youth as possible audiences and implementers of the same. In addition, it emphasizes on the need by the youth to use the internet as a health information seeking to tool for their personal gain. Miller, R. (2008). Digital art: Painting with pixels. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books. In this book, the digital form of art is on the spotlight by giving the meaning of this art form then building up on its impact on culture. It diffe rentiates the digital way from the traditional form of artistry by presenting its historic background. Additionally, the book encompasses how technology in the digital world has evolved to give birth to sophisticated outputs in the advertising field. Lastly, it gives insights in to contemporary art and the influence that the tool has on cultural growth. Morgan D. (2008). Key Words in Religion, Media and Culture. Taylor & Francis: London. This book is an introduction to cultural interrelation between the digital media and religion. It gives the extent to which the media tool has affected important concepts within the religious walls. Morgan has incorporated a number of scholars in this book to bring out seasoned rationale revolving around inquisitions on the constitution of culture. it provides a basis in to which future generations may refer to when it comes to leads towards theological explanations in the future through the digital media. Finally, it gives insights in to the curios ity that has led to the inception of secular religions and idol worship as part of the digitally revolutionized culture. Ricardo, F. J. (2009). Cyberculture and new media. Amsterdam: Rodopi. In his book, Ricardo depicts the state of the exposure in which the youths have used the digital forms for their own selfish gains. It reflects how distant the youths have gone in terms of the basic concept of internet use. It highlights on the other ways in which the youths have conveniently applied the virtual concepts to promote moral decay and immoral creations. Ideally, it is a study guide that shows disconnect between self-ideologies and societal culture. Shelly, G. B., Cashman J.T., Gunter A. G., Gunter R.E. (2008). Teachers discovering computers: Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom. Boston, Mass: Thomson/Course Technology. The projections in this book explain the transformation of the educational sector concerning dynamic approaches of advanced learning. It covers o n digitized media concepts in relation to the advancement in technological forms of simplified learning. It also depicts the ease within which instructors find their carriers to be more fulfilling than that of past tutors because of the remarkable aspect of simplified learning. Straubhaar, J. D., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2012). Media now: Understanding media, culture, and technology. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. This book

Business Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Research - Essay Example To quote Henry R. Luce, "Business more than any other occupation is a continual dealing with the future; it is continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight." This extract alone tells us the importance of Business Research; the process of obtaining information. This paper, in its first part, will discuss the purpose and importance of business research in detail. It will also put light on how it is conducted and its strength and weaknesses. The second part of my paper will examine and analyze my own business research proposal.With globalization taking its toll in its truest sense, the business world has become more competitive than ever. New businesses are formed, the market keeps growing and changing, competition keeps increasing. In order to remain informed, it is absolutely essential for businesses today to carry out research about the market, about businesses and about anything that helps them to make informed decisions. Research is not only for scholars, but it is for anybody, any business that wishes to update its knowledge base.In the past, there was no such (or maybe just a vague) concept of information. Firms used to sit in their seats and guess which decisions will be successful and which will fail. Today, fortunately or unfortunat ely, guess work will not get most businesses far. It is important to have information before making the right decision. This is the most important aspect of business research; it facilitates in smart decision making.... If, for instance, a firm has some kind of knowledge about some new, relevant technology being developed in the market, and none of the other competing firms have this (because they don't carry out market research), this firm will be at a much better position in its market only because it carried out business research and thus was informed. Finally, some importance should be given to another, related and spawned off advantage; it helps in problem-solving. Business Research is a great tool used for solving any business problem. It makes it easier to see all sides of a problem and gives firms a 360 degree, comprehensive view of the problem at hand. How Business Research is Conducted There are many different ways that a business can conduct research. There is primary research, which means researching a question yourself by going out in the field and then there is secondary research, which means searching using second-hand or desk information. Different groups and sources have different names for methods. Essentially, they are all the same. The following primary methods are useful for our purpose: Appreciative Inquiry, Case Study Design, Focus Groups, Interview Designs, Questionnaire, Observations and Surveys. Some of these are qualitative, for example, interviews while some are quantitative.Additionally, business research is conducted as a process. There are many different stages in the process of business research. It starts off with formulating a research question, that is, the focus of the research must be specified here. Then there is the hypothesis that gives your predictions and analysis of the answer to you research question. To test this hypothesis, some kind of a method (discussed earlier)

Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Essay Example In this poem, the supernatural world plays a role of punishing mariner as a result of his misdeed of killing albatross. Mariner did not have enough respect for the supernatural world when he killed the albatross thus the supernatural decision to punish him in combination with the natural world. As he is subjected to the rigors of the dehydration and hunger he is also revealed dreams of the natural world touched with the supernatural as the ocean turns to sickening and rotting as well as spirits weaves through his vision. There is an interaction of the natural world which are the poem characters and supernatural world. For the natural world, the Ancient Mariner, who is regarded as a kind of mysterious figure, the poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariners, deals with two distinct times. The time of voyage and the time of Mariner are retelling. The interaction of the natural and supernatural world that exists here is that at the time of voyage, the Mariner uses a crossbow instead of firearm and that his ship is said to be the first to sail into the Pacific Ocean. It is clear that Mariners fate is decided by a vehicle of random chance and not just any kind of divine judgment. The Mariner acts this way in order to bring it out clear that he is more than just a natural world, thus kind of trying to compete with the supernatural worlds. For the spirits who comprised of the mysterious pole, spirits have some interaction with the natural world. The spirits resemble angles whereby in being wholly immaterial though have no regular place in Christian cosmology. These spirits are said to be the invisible being that are referred to as the epigraph to the poem. When mariner killed the albatross, he was punished by these spirits in essence that he failed to respect the supernatural world. These spirits in the poem act this way to demonstrate that, however, much one may come to know about the physical world, the spiritual one is far much ahead and different

The primary objective of this course has been to prepare your writing Essay

The primary objective of this course has been to prepare your writing skills for academic success in the university's net-level - Essay Example One of the most difficult parts in writing an essay is how one starts. For this problem, one can save so much trouble by making a draft. This is the skeletal view of the essay which simply shows how one is to go about the essay. First, there should be an introduction which contains the hook or lead sentence. This is very important because as they say, â€Å"first impressions last† and since this is the first sentence, it should catch the attention of the reader. Informative sentences should follow which are related to the lead sentence as well as the thesis statement. The thesis statement is often the last sentence and it states what is supposed to be discussed in the following paragraphs. The next paragraphs should have definite topics and if needed, they should also contain subtopics. The importance of each topic can be arranged from the least important to the most important depending on how the writer wants to present his ideas. The most important thing to consider in makin g a draft is to write the lead sentence and thesis statement in complete sentences. The other information could be phrases or just words. This will serve as a guide for the writer, making his task a lot easier. Sentence construction is another important thing that I have learned in writing. In this area, I could say that I improved a lot and I know that I need to improve further because I can use this skill in my future writing experiences. Before this class, I had very bad sentence constructions. They were often short but others had difficulty understanding me. However, through hard work and determination, I improved on my grammar and I could say that the people I deal with are now able to understand me better. I am now very careful with my subject and verb agreement as well as with other rules that I should follow in making my sentences. I also use vary the length of my sentences, using short and long sentences alternately to make a better paper. In addition, I also improved in my vocabulary. I am have grown the number of words I know and I try to gain more by using the new words I learn in my daily dealings not only in school but also at home. Equally important that I have learned is the making of paragraphs. I understand that this is not simply a group of sentences that make up a formatted paragraph. Rather, they are sentences which are related to each other. Therefore, it is important that a writer’s ideas should be well-organized in order for the sentences to give a clear picture of what is being discussed. I have learned to organize my thoughts with the help of the draft and also through critical thinking. I also bear in mind that the sentences should give a smooth flow of ideas so that readers will be able to follow my train of thought. Moreover, I learned that transition sentences are important in making paragraphs because they help readers expect that the writer is about to change the subject matter. With the help of this class and the Interna tional Writing Community, I have improved with my writing skills and I could say I am now competent in this area. I have learned to make a draft to make my task easier. I also learned to write my sentences correctly with the use of the right words in order to effectively communicate my thoughts. My paragraphs are now substantial, containing informative sentences that have a smooth flow of transitioning from one topic to another. I believe that I am now ready

Reason for Returning to School Essay Example for Free

Reason for Returning to School Essay The reason of why I decided to go back to school and obtain my Bachelor Degree has never been anything out of the ordinary. In todays society, I see many working adults pursuing their degrees to obtain security and self-fulfillment. While others are looking for the advancement in pay and position in their current or new job. There are even those who need to gain more confidence in their skills to do a good job for their company and they feel that by getting a degree, they can achieve this goal. All of them pertain to me. Especially to todays current economy, I strongly feel that there is a great advantage to having a degree versus to not having one when it comes to searching for a job. More and more each year, I see new programs for education that are designed for working adults. If there were no real demand for these programs, I believe they would not exist. But that demand is real. There is a larger competitive environment in the work force now then there was a few years ago. With many new and fresh graduates coming out of college, I feel the pressure to increase my credentials to be able to compete. Even though I have built my experience through years of on the job education, I feel that by obtaining a graduate or even undergraduate degree is the only way to secure my position against the growing population of new graduates. I believe that you must continue updating your skills to keep up with this very competitive market. Then, there are those current working adults who are already established in their field, but would like to find a way to increase their potential of getting a raise or promotion. By obtaining a degree, this can show the managers how much value of an employee you are to the company. To have the qualifications and experience can give you a better success rate of getting the raise or promotion that you would ask for. Its a way of selling yourself and your worth. With a degree, you just are more armed to the task of requesting for an advancement. Once I have obtained my degree, I can then see myself seriously requesting for an advance of my pay and position from my manager. Most importantly is the ability to feel confident in doing your job and to  have that credential to show people. There were many projects that I have been involved in that required myself to learn new skills. One example was learning how to program in Visual Basic 6 to create an interface GUI for one of our robot systems. Another accomplishment that I achieved was generating a database for system files used by our integration department. In almost each project, there were other managers involved besides my own manager. And each one had their doubts in my ability to succeed in the project. I have yet to fail, but each time a new project is started, these doubts from these managers come along with them. Even though I have five-years of experience in my field, I can see that it is harder to prove your ability in your skills with out a four-year degree. It is also much harder to have the confidence in yourself when there are others that lack that confidence in you. That is why I can se e by obtaining a degree can benefit me in many ways besides security and advancement in pay and position. There are times that I try to imagine how different it would be one I have earned my degree. And each time all I can imagine are anything but positive results. Sure, there are concerns and sacrifices that I would need to make down the road. Sacrifice like time. Time with my family and time for myself. But what is a couple of years of sacrifice compared to a lifetime of advancement? I once read an article about a successful businessman and how he achieved his goals by following one philosophy he recited to himself everyday. He believed the reward in terms of happiness is directly proportional to the sacrifice that each one makes. Great philosophy. And I try to live it everyday.

Philippines Economic Growth Essay Example for Free

Philippines Economic Growth Essay The Philippines has a representative democracy modeled on United States system of government. Its republic type of government has also a presidential system of government with bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary wherein the president is limited to six years of terms. Whenever there are troubles experienced within the government of the Philippines, leaders tends to seek help and often times united States always offers help and assistance to the Philippines. Although historically speaking, they were once the conquerors of the Philippines. Both government are being attcked by terrorist which opposes the kind of leaders and leadership in the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Philippines is considered as one newly industrialized country located in South east Asia. It is also the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia posting a GDP growth rate of 7.5% in 2007s second quarter. (Hookway, 2007.p.A1). As compared to the United States the GDP of the Philippines is really far from US GDP rate of 88% over the past decades and until the present. United States is really a great country and is considered to be where the worlds largest gross domestic product rate is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   GDP per capita of the Philippines is estimated to be $5,700 in 2007 which is far behind the GDP per capita of the United States which is estimated $44,000 for this year.( US treasury Dept. 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unemployment rates in the Philippines is 7.9% while US is just half of it at 4.4%. This reflects how hardworking the Americans as compare to Filipinos who merely wants a simple life and simple way of living. Inflation rates in the Philippines is 2.3% which makes the economy more hopeful in the present statistics. The national government debt as a percentage of GDP rates in the Philippines is as high as $316.65 billion or 69.9% of GDP while United States only has $19billion or 0.16% of GDP. (wikipedia)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The level of technological development in the Philippines is not also as greater than in the United states. The Philippines is attracted to Japan made products and China influenced imitation of much lower quality technologies as compared to hight technological quality provided in the United States. This is one great disappointment regarding consumer decision making bf Filipinos who tends to buy more goods and commodities at a cheaper price but not of high quality. They tend to overlook the specifications of   a certain of product because of high costs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The level of infrastructural development in the Philippines is not really that far, because the country is taking its phase in cities where rises of buildings and commercial establishments are rampant. There are certain issues concerning how this infrastructures will be built because tax in the Philippines is really high thats why investors sometimes thinks twice of getting involved in dealing   businesses in the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The high cost of materials, manpower and cost of permit is sometimes unfair on the part of investor. It becomes a gamble investing on a place where you will think twice if it will really profit once its already made and set up there. While infrastructural developments in the United States can be considerably good because in cities like New York where it is known to as the city that never sleeps, one business establishment will really profit because people keeps on going and going all day and night long.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socioeconomic indicators that greatly affects the statistics of a certain country such as education, access to health care, clean water, etc. is also considered as one great factor in a progressive nation.   For a country like Philippines, educational system can be considered competitive enough because it produces competent and skilled professionals nowadays. As far as United States education is concern because of course reality speaks that American Student are really ahead in terms of quality of education. Going back to History, American are also known as Thomasites which brought up high standards of education in the Philippines. Brain Drain is one common problem in the Philippines, after years of studying where Filipinos receive of high quality education, they goes out of the country and work for a higher salary. The tendency is the economy of such country raises and the downfall of professional statistics in the Philippines is experienced. They prefer to use the knowledge theyve learned from their own country as a stepping stone to more opportunities abroad. Health Problems and medical assistance is also a factor in a countrys economic growth for Filipinos who lives in a country with   more illness there is a bigger tendency not to perform well in school for students who are still studying and for employees who works hard int heir professions. The more persuasive you are working, the more tendency of being sick is. The sad part is that there are some instances that medical assistance is far at hand like in cases that we still need to ask help from other countries like the United States which is more medically advanced and this also results a deduction in our statistics because we need to pay for those medicines and medical experts from foreign countries. Abusing the environment is also one reason why people tends to suffer economically. Improper use of natural resources and pollution is one great threat on the Philippines Economic growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At present, there are many Foreign investors who wants to take risk and be involved in having business with the Philippines and this also provides greater opportunity on the countries statistics because it paves way for a more chance of paying debts and increase employment rates to Filipinos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Talking about change, we really dont need to compete with any other countries, we can content our economic needs by providing what it needs and at the same time going about business in supporting services and exports that have brought in much needed foreign exchange and help raising our economic status at its best. Great rates and percentage economically comes from people who strives hard and decides best in doing businesses and witty decision making. References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Hookway, James. (2007). Wall Street Journal p. A1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     United States Department of Treasury 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.wikipedia.org

Law Essays Public Emergency Liability

Law Essays Public Emergency Liability Public Emergency Liability Title: The privileged treatment accorded by the courts to the emergency services on the question of duty goes too far. It does not merely recognise the importance of their public services, it offers them a degree of protection which allows them to be unaccountable in circumstances where liability should clearly exist. 1. Do you agree? Critically consider by reference to authorities, whether the current law strikes the right balance. Introduction This paper discusses the legal perception of the duty of care owed by the public emergency services, including in particular the police, fire and ambulance services in the context of the burgeoning and ever-evolving law of tort. The statement under review claims that the â€Å"privileged treatment† (some would say limited immunity) offered to the public emergency services â€Å"goes too far†. It is further claimed that the latitude allowed by the courts in relation to the emergency services effectively renders those services unaccountable in circumstances where the imposition of liability is manifestly appropriate. In the following analysis these assertions are critically evaluated against the backdrop of relevant case law. The current balance of the law is identified in what is a constantly changing field. Conclusions are drawn on the basis of the authorities considered. Emergency Services and the Duty of Care It is common knowledge that there is no general, proactive duty of care to undertake ‘rescues’ or interventions in emergency situations, no matter how straightforward such rescues might appear. This is graphically illustrated by the case Barrett v Ministry of Defence (1995), where the failure of the MOD to intervene to prevent the death of an alcoholic soldier was not deemed to merit the imposition of tortious liability. Moreover, the position of English common law is mirrored in the United States on this point as Osterlind v Hill (1928) confirms. This stance was endorsed, by inference, in X v Bedfordshire County Council (1995) (by the House of Lords), and more explicitly in Stovin v Wise (1996). Indeed, Lord Hoffman opined in Stovin that the omission of a public authority to undertake the rescue of a emergency victim should be deemed incapable of deriving liability, except in circumstances where Parliament has expressly and specifically set down a right to redress in the form of financial compensation where the duty to intervene and rescue is not met. Given the above authorities it can come as no surprise that the law has traditionally not imposed a duty of care on emergency services when they are summoned to give assistance. In the case Ancell v McDermott (1993), for example, the court ruled that the police service was not subject to a duty of care to warn road users of dangers on the roads that were known to the service. Moreover, in Alexandrou v Oxford (1993) police were dispatched to retail premises to investigate the triggering of a burglar alarm. However, they omitted to detect the presence of a burglar before departing the shop. In this case the court ruled that the police did not owe a duty of care to the owner of the premises, who suffered loss as a consequence of the service’s failure. The court reasoned that to impose a duty of care in such circumstances would be contrary to the interests of public policy. The court also drew on the concept of proximity to justify its decision, although it is submitted that this seems tenuous given that it is hard to imagine a much more proximate situation. These decisions are in conformity with the earlier case of Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire (1989), in which the issue for the consideration of the court was whether the allegedly incompetent police service should be held to a tortious duty of care over its acquiescence before arresting the infamous Peter Sutcliffe, better known as the â€Å"Yorkshire Ripper†, although the police were in possession of cogent evidence indicating his culpability. The court rejected the action on grounds of public policy and also, this time on a much better-founded assertion of a lack of proximity. It was conceded that the police service owes a fundamental duty to the general public to catch the protagonists of crime efficiently and promptly but the court reasoned that it was impossible to define a specific class of individuals to whom the duty of care should be owed. It can be argued that there is manifest and abundant justification for the decision in Hill. Surely it is not feasible to impose a legally enforceable duty of care on the police force, and thereafter by inevitable implication award pecuniary compensation in the form of damages for every failed (or slow) investigation. The great majority of crimes go unsolved. The potential workload that the courts would be unimaginably huge and the compensation bill, which would ultimately have to be met by the public purse would be colossal. The case of Rondel v Worsley [1969] confirms the approach in Hill and the later cases discussed. In Rondel, unavoidable public policy factors were deemed to take precedence over issues of proximity in the court’s deliberations. That said however, there are limits to the fear of opening the floodgates to claims. If during the course of their operations the police are responsible for directly causing immediate harm to another they may be held liable for those actions. In Rigby v Chief Constable of Northamptonshire (1985), liability was imposed after the negligent use of a CS gas cannister and previously in Knightley v Johns (1982) negligent conduct in the aftermath of a traffic accident was found to justify a claim in tort. These cases, and other of their ilk, show that the police service can be subject to an enforceable duty of care, but only in tightly restricted circumstances and only where close causal proximity is clearly established. A case concerning the fire service shows that the police are not alone in their difficult relationship with tort law. In Capital and Counties plc v Hampshire County Council (1996) the court held at first instance that the fire service was liable for the negligence of one of its officers in ordering that the sprinkler system in a burning building should be turned off. The first instance judge dismissed arguments for immunity based on public policy. It was held (somewhat dubiously it is argued) that potential liability was unlikely to result in fire-fighting being carried out with a defensive frame of mind and the fire brigade’s exclusive control of its operations was a consideration against a public policy immunity. This decision appears to be in accord with the contemporaneous Scottish case of Duff v Highland and Islands Fire Board (1995), where it was held that the fire brigade did not enjoy immunity in tort regarding operational matters. In Duff the fire brigade attended the scene of a fire and then left believing it was extinguished. It was not extinguished and when the brigade was called back they were unable to control the fire and it destroyed the pursuer’s house. Lord MacFadyen opined that, while there was a risk of defensive behaviour among fire-fighters, precisely the same argument could be employed with equal force in the context of medical negligence and other forms of professional negligence and there was no question of extending public policy immunity into these vast spheres. Another contemporary supporting case is Crown River Cruises Ltd v Kimbolton Fireworks Ltd (1996), where the fire brigade was found liable in respect of a negligent failure to extinguish properly an initial fire at a premises. However, it must be noted that Capital and Counties plc v Hampshire County Council (1997) went to appeal at the Court of Appeal joined with two other cases. The facts of Capital and Counties are already known. In the joined case Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints v West Yorkshire and Civil Defence Authority the fire service negligently omitted to source a sufficient supply of water for the purposes of extinguishing a fire and in the third joined case Monroe v London Fire Brigade officers of the fire service failed to check the perimeter of an explosion for secondary fires. The Court of Appeal ruled that the fire service does not owe a general tortious duty of care merely because they had been summoned to give assistance. The Court also held that the fire service’s assumption of responsibility once at the scene of an emergency, coupled with the reliance placed on the service by the parties involved, did not of itself establish a duty of care on the part of the fire service. The consequence of these rulings on principle was that the Church of Jesus Christ and Monroe cases failed on the facts. Liability was only established in the Capital and Counties case on the narrow grounds that the fire service had actually, physically and directly caused the damage suffered in the case, by personally and deliberately switching off the sprinkler system. All that said, a potentially groundbreaking decision was reached in the more recent case of Kent v Griffiths (2001). Here, a pregnant woman suffered an asthma attack at home. Her doctor attended her, realised she was in extreme difficulty and called 999 to summon an ambulance. The ambulance did not arrive for a period of 40 minutes (as opposed to the service’s own guidelines which indicated it should have arrived within a maximum of 14 minutes. It transpired that the ambulance crew entered false records in their logbook in an attempt to cover up their own negligence. The woman ultimately suffered a respiratory arrest, lost her baby and was left with brain damage as a direct result of the delay of the ambulance. Unsurprisingly the ambulance service was sued for negligence. At first instance, Turner J held that it would be â€Å"offensive to, and inconsistent with, concepts of common humanity† to refuse to impose a duty of care in all the circumstances of the case. Equipped with clear evidence of negligence and causation (and even mala fides) Turner J ruled that where the ambulance service accepted the task of providing a timely response and was in a position to do so, it was right to impose a duty of care to carry out the rescue in regards to the rescuee. The decision in Kent v Griffiths was welcomed by some, but feared by others concerned about opening the floodgates to a multitude of claims. The case was appealed. At the Court of Appeal it is submitted that an appropriate balance was struck. The first instance decision was upheld, however, their Lordships were at pains to stress that the precedent should be limited in its future application to the ambulance service. Master of the Rolls Lord Woolf made it clear that Kent v Griffiths could not be utilised in justifying actions against other arms of the emergency services. In confining the case strictly to its facts, Lord Woolf MR made it crystal clear that no general point of principle had been established. Their Lordships focused on the specific relationship between the ambulance service and each individual patient as differentiating the judgment from cases involving services, such as the fire brigade, the coastguard and the police, who owe a more general duty of societal protection. Concluding Comments With specific reference to the title to this work, it is clear that there is a very delicate balance to be struck in the imposition of a legally enforceable tortious duty of care on the public emergency services. It is submitted that both extremes are undesirable: at least that much is relatively uncontroversial. It would clearly be inappropriate to afford the emergency services complete immunity, because to do so would be to allow outrageous examples of highly proximate and gross negligence to go unpunished. Such would give the emergency services carte blanche to act in society under a licence not enjoyed by any other of its members. However, it would be equally unsatisfactory to settle a duty of care on the services that could potentially punish each and every technical incidence of negligence, because to do so would so drastically impair their actions and divert their scarce resources into defending the veritable multitude of civil suits that would quickly ensue. While it is far from ideal to build a framework of law on a case by case basis, it is hard to identify a better approach. The tentative step forward that was taken in Kent v Griffiths was quickly confined to the facts of the case and limited in terms of the scope of its future application. The reasons for this are obvious, and as long as the courts are prepared to extend liability in those cases that demand it, while curtailing the effects of their judgments with a view to the wider and general picture of public policy, then the law should be able to maintain efficiency and integrity in this sphere. In conclusion it is submitted that it is appropriate to open the floodgates just a crack, to allow the courts to deal with the most deserving cases within a rigid framework of liability, but not so far as to impede the emergency services in the work on which we all rely. Bibliography Cases as footnoted to standard citation Kidner R, Casebook on Torts, (2006) Oxford University Press Rogers W.V.H., Winfield and Jolowicz on Tort, (2002) Sweet Maxwell Weir, T, Casebook on Torts, (2004) Sweet Maxwell

Aircraft Law: Liability :: essays research papers fc

Aircraft Law: Liability The problems regarding aircraft liability in the international realm primarily relate to resolving issues of legal status of international airline passengers and cargo. The issues are defined as follows: sovereignty over airspace, the impact of aerospace craft on the environment, the role of aerospace technology in the international system, weather modification, air safety and international aviation relations. Remarkable growth and development in the range of air transport services and technology earned the sector a distinctive international character. The latter is the most outstanding feature of the industry which allowed "every part of the world [to be reached] within a few hours of every other and, in doing so †¦ brought about a revolution in world trade, in business contacts, and in methods of diplomacy." (1) The principles of air law have been evolving at a rapid pace since the beginning of the Twenty-first Century, however, they also remain inadequate to meet the needs of contemporary society. Concern for this immense growth and the accompanying implications produced the impetus to devise a means to ensure orderly and appropriate development. Thus, "The general policy of the world community in regard to emerging issues of air law demands the maintenance and promotion of a balance between technological advance in aviation and the preservation of a wholesome environment by providing adequate policies and prescriptions." (2) The initial governing treaty passed in 1929 is known as the Warsaw Convention. This is a multilateral treaty among nations that governs international air transportation. It was based on the idea that because aviation was in its infancy, there was a risk of destroying the carrier airline if there was a major crash. Therefore, it limits the liability for carriers. Unfortunately, this treaty also limited the liability for damages to injured persons. Because of the latter clause, the U.S. renounced its participation and proceeded to join the international aviation community in entering into the Montreal Agreement of 1965. The Montreal Agreement was a special contract authorized by the Warsaw Convention which states that the parties can agree to engage in certain activities only if there is a consensus. The agreement also raised the limitation of liability, instituted absolute liability for any accident, and developed a criteria for recovery for which the injured party has to prove that the carrier was guilty of willful misconduct. This agreement only applies to flights that start, stop or end or those which connect with an itinerary that stops, starts or ends in the United States. (3) A third and more comprehensive convention was the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 also known as the Chicago Convention.

Jet Crashes :: essays research papers

In this story: 'No chance of rescue' At least 100 cars set afire Pilot reports balance problem RELATED STORIES, SITES From staff and wire reports RANCHO CORDOVA, California (CNN) - The investigation into the fiery crash of an Emery cargo jet that killed all three crew members is focused on a shift in the plane's load shortly after it took off from Sacramento, California. The DC-8 plunged into a nearby auction yard of wrecked cars, leaving a quarter-mile-long trail of burning debris. Authorities said the pilot of Emery Worldwide Flight 17 reported that the jet's cargo shifted shortly after takeoff Wednesday evening. The plane, its balance disrupted, tried to return to Mather Field for an emergency landing. Instead, it crashed in a fireball about a mile east of the airport just before 8 p.m. There were no reported injuries on the ground. 'No chance of rescue' One witness said the plane hit the ground belly first and was immediately surrounded by fire. Nobody on the ground was injured. The plane, bound for Dayton, Ohio, carried three crew members: the pilot, first captain and a flight engineer, all believed to be Emery employees, said company spokesman James Allen. The crew members, whose identities were not immediately released, were dead by the time fire crews arrived, said Capt. Dan Haverty, from the American River Fire Department in Rancho Cordova, California, a suburb of Sacramento. "There was no chance of rescue," he said. Firefighters were hampered by intense flames, which burned for several hours after the crash. Smoke was visible in the moonlit night several miles away. At least 100 cars set afire The plane's cargo included clothing, transmission fluid and a small amount of fuses -- 9 grams, or about a third of an ounce -- used to activate automobile air bags, Allen said. The crash at the Insurance Auto Auctions salvage yard set between 100 to 200 cars on fire, many with gas in their tanks, causing several explosions. Debris cut a swath about 250 yards wide and a quarter mile long. Firefighters worked into the night extinguishing scattered flames. Debris from the plane, including a 15-foot-long piece of the fuselage and a wheel assembly, was found scattered among the wrecked cars. j Dozens of vehicles were crumpled. Pilot reports balance problem The flight took off at 7:50 p.m. and the pilot immediately called back to the airfield's departure control and told them he had a severe problem with the balance of the aircraft, said Jim Whitehead, manager of the Federal Aviation Administration's regional operations center in Los Angeles. The plane hit the ground "in a ball of

We Wear the Mask :: essays research papers

â€Å"We Wear the Mask†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are times in life where we are forced to do something we do not really want to do. There are certain situations like this that come to my mind. Every so often, my family gets together. As a teenager, I do not want to be confined. I realize some of my relatives are a lot older than me and I should spend as much time with them as I can. When my family gets together, I frequently am forced to go to these events and put a smile on my face. I am acting. I am putting on my â€Å"mask† and pretending that I am happy. This artificial face is the subject of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, â€Å"We Wear the Mask.† Dunbar expresses his feelings on what African-Americans were forced to do a century ago. People thought they were happy doing the work they did for the white culture. In reality, they were not. That is the point Dunbar tries to explain to his readers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have never published a poem attacking what my family makes me do and how I put on a joyous face. Dunbar wrote â€Å"We Wear the Mask† in 1903, at the peak of resistance to the Jim Crow laws. Granted, being forced to go to a family reunion is so trivial compared to climbing out of slavery. Fortunately, for African Americans, the turn of the 20th century was when they started to come out from behind the masks. â€Å"We Wear the Mask† was as important to the freedom movement as the TV was for advertising, or the car was for transportation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dunbar uses irony to express what the mask really is. As the poem opens, I for one was confused at what it was about. With no prior of Paul Laurence Dunbar, I had no idea what to expect. The opening lines of the poem read â€Å"We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.† My first thought was this poem was written by an avid actor. I believed he was explaining the difference between himself on and off stage. It turns out I was totally wrong after reading through the rest of the poem. The mask is a symbol. It is a symbol of the heartache each African-American faced in the 19th century. The heartache they rarely displayed because of the fear of what would happen to them if they began an uprising against the white culture. We Wear the Mask :: essays research papers â€Å"We Wear the Mask†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are times in life where we are forced to do something we do not really want to do. There are certain situations like this that come to my mind. Every so often, my family gets together. As a teenager, I do not want to be confined. I realize some of my relatives are a lot older than me and I should spend as much time with them as I can. When my family gets together, I frequently am forced to go to these events and put a smile on my face. I am acting. I am putting on my â€Å"mask† and pretending that I am happy. This artificial face is the subject of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, â€Å"We Wear the Mask.† Dunbar expresses his feelings on what African-Americans were forced to do a century ago. People thought they were happy doing the work they did for the white culture. In reality, they were not. That is the point Dunbar tries to explain to his readers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have never published a poem attacking what my family makes me do and how I put on a joyous face. Dunbar wrote â€Å"We Wear the Mask† in 1903, at the peak of resistance to the Jim Crow laws. Granted, being forced to go to a family reunion is so trivial compared to climbing out of slavery. Fortunately, for African Americans, the turn of the 20th century was when they started to come out from behind the masks. â€Å"We Wear the Mask† was as important to the freedom movement as the TV was for advertising, or the car was for transportation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dunbar uses irony to express what the mask really is. As the poem opens, I for one was confused at what it was about. With no prior of Paul Laurence Dunbar, I had no idea what to expect. The opening lines of the poem read â€Å"We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.† My first thought was this poem was written by an avid actor. I believed he was explaining the difference between himself on and off stage. It turns out I was totally wrong after reading through the rest of the poem. The mask is a symbol. It is a symbol of the heartache each African-American faced in the 19th century. The heartache they rarely displayed because of the fear of what would happen to them if they began an uprising against the white culture.