Huckleberry Finn: A Trip :: essays research papers

A Trip Within’ The Heart Of A Colorless Boy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the main characters take a trip within the heart, not just a trip down the Mississippi River. Throughout the trip down the Mississippi River, Huckleberry Finn’s, a homeless waif, thoughts about racism change from a racist unwanted boy to a true human being with a sense of his own destiny. Throughout the novel, Huck narrates his adventure and thoughts upon racism and inequality between “niggers'; and whites. Huck and “nigger'; Jim, runaway slave, float down the Mississippi River as unequal individuals, but towards the end of the novel Huck distinguishes that even African-Americans are as equal as white human beings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Huck never respects the “niggers,'; especially Jim since Huck and Tom Sawyer, a romanticized friend, continuously play tricks on Jim so they can feel superior to the “black'; race. Even though Huck escapes society and his abusive father, Pap Finn, he continues to play tricks on Jim, since Jim ran away from slavery. For example, when Jim explains that he ran off Huck disapproves but promises not to turn him in even though “people would call [him] a low-down Abolitionist'; (50). This demonstrates that Huck is a kind trustworthy racist boy; however, Huck’s superstitious character “curled [a rattlesnake] up on the foot of Jim’s blanket'; as a joke, although in the night the rattlesnake’s mate bit Jim (59). In addition, Huck “warn’t going to let Jim find out it was [his] fault'; nor apologize because he did not want to feel low to a “nigger'; (59). This incident demonstrates that Huck still views himself as su perior to Jim because of his skin color. At this point of the novel, Huck is helping Jim escape which makes him feel low down to civilization; however, he continues to trick Jim so he can be better quality. Huck maintains to treat Jim with little respect and even though he suffers for the trick, he never apologizes to Jim.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As they progress down the river, Huck begins to realize the true character of Jim as an equal man with greatness and kindness in his heart. During their ride down the river Huck decides to play another trick on the so-called unintelligent Jim. The final trick Huck plays on Jim while they are in the fog is making Jim believe that everything that has happened in the storm after they broke-off from each other only occurred in Jim’s mind.

The body of the Indian Woman: A tool of nationalistic discourse Essay

The body of the Indian Woman: A tool of nationalistic discourse The genre of Bollywood film has recently become a popular means of entertainment for the non-resident Indian as well as the western audience. The vibrant color, spontaneous dance numbers, and other alluring factors may have contributed in the popularity of Bollywood films. However, for the NRI, Bollywood films are mean of a connection to the motherland; it brings a sense of nostalgia through cultural and tradition practices. In Chutney Popcorn and Bride and Prejudice, we see how these cultural practices and tradition are preserved by using the woman’s body. A woman’s body is a tool of producing the norms of the Indian national discourses; yet, the woman’s body can be utilized to resist such norms. Norms of rituals, engagement, marriage, procreation, and creation of family are tools that are utilized by Indian society to maintain the heteronormative discourses of the nation. To understand how these film produce and contest such norms, we must look with a critical eye of how the Indian woman’s body is utilize to achieve these goals. Scholars such as Anupama Arora and Christine Geraghty have analyzed Chutney Popcorn and Bride and Prejudice, respectively by viewing the Indian woman’s body as a tool of reproducing and contesting heteronormative discourses of the Indian nation. By following the technique used by Arora and Geraghty, we view these films with a critical eye. First, we must acknowledge that Chutney Popcorn and Bride and Prejudice are different films that tackle similar issues. Chutney Popcorn is an independently made film about a Lesbian NRI living in New York. While Bride and Prejudice is a multimillion dollar film, created by renowned director Gurinder Ch... ...agent of their own will; meaning, they made decisions for themselves without â€Å"falling under pressure.† Reena is the lesbian woman who is the agent of her own will that is not constrained by expectations and culture; however, in the process we see her yearning for acceptance by her mother. Her pregnancy both symbolizes resistance and conformity for pregnancy is a gendered expectation for women; but the fact that she is a lesbian complicates things. Her sexual orientation provides a means of resistance to the idea of a heterosexual family. Lalita on the other hand, follows the norms of Indian culture yet she becomes the agent of her own will by choosing to love Darcy, a white man over Mr. Kholi an American NRI. The ability of both characters to be the agent of their own provides a tool of halting the use of a woman’s body as a tool of promoting oppressive norms.

Capitalism Is Not the Best Route of Happiness Essay

For example, US. In the US, the shares of earnings and wealth of the households in the top 1 percent of the corresponding distributions are 15 percent and 30 percent, respectively. As a result of implementing Capitalism, there is a big range of wealth between the rich and poor people. The rich will become richer, the poor will become poorer. As such a negative situation occurs, the crime rate in such country will be higher. When a country is implementing capitalism, the government have no right to intervene in the free market. When such a situation happened, who are going to help those who are poor? The free market will be monopolized by those rich people. For the poor, they have no modal, no resources, no power, and no ability to compete in such an unfair market. How are they going to compete? Even if they owned the ability, the qualification, but they have no the fundamental term to fight with rich people that is money. In a free market, when you are rich, you will only become richer as u have a lots of money and resources to invest into. For the poor, they are not the one who demands how much salary from employer, but they are the one who are looking for how much the employer willing to pay them. As a result, they are forced to accept low wages in order to survive. The paid they get, not worth the effort they pay out. Normally, the wages they get, only enough to support their basic cost of living. As a result, They have no extra modal to help them to grow and to expand their ability. The low wages also influence buying power. As a result, poverty rate will be higher. Some critique argues that the allocation of resources in capitalism is inefficient. For example, in 1995, around 200 million of Indians faced the problem of hunger. In the same year, India economy had exported around $ 625 million of wheat and $ 1. 3 million of rice. In this case, Indian economy is able to export food worth around $ 650 million, but its citizen faced the problem of hunger. Why not the economy allocates those foods to its citizen? It’s because of in capitalism, the property and resources is totally owned by private parties. They have the right to use the resources to maximize their profit. It’s their right and freedom to overlook the problem around them that may stop them to achieve higher profit. There is also an unfair working condition in workplace. Those labors have to work for 14 hours per day. Why are these labors forced to accept such unfair working condition? Without this job opportunity, they are unable to live their life. The owner of resources in capitalism does not work, and exploit its worker. In such situation, it’s exploiting human right. We are all human, have the equal right to live in this world and share the resources together.

I Am Not Esther Essay

In the text ‘I am not Esther’ written by Fleur Beale a character I liked was Kirby Greenland. I liked Kirby because she taught me about the themes of loyalty, deception and a sense of your own identity. I liked Kirby because she had experiences a lot of changes in her life. The most significant change was finding her own identity as she grew and developed as a teenager. She was always determined to find her mother even when it felt like there was a brick wall at the end of the road. I also liked Kirby because she stayed true to who she really is even when she was forced to be someone who she really isn’t and also Kirby is also caring and always there if someone needs her. I am not Esther is about a loving mother and daughter relationship torn apart as a mother had to leave her life behind and leave her life and moves to Africa, but later we discovers that really she is still in the country but in a mental hospital. Her daughter has been told to stay with relatives that he has never heard of but they are no ordinary family, as they are members from a strict, very religious cult. They have changed her name from Kirby to Esther and forced to follow the severe set of social standards by the elders have created. They cannot interact with the normal outside world as there is no television, no radio, no newspaper and no mirrors. She is forced to wear long, modest clothing. She has no idea where her mother is and is beginning to question her own identity.

Critical Thinking Doesn’t Mean Just Criticizing

Sound thinking in every realm of life is more practical than poor thinking. When an individual is skilled in their thinking it pays off by saving time and energy. When an individual uses sound thinking they are able to control life circumstances whether good or bad. Halpern, D. (2003) states, â€Å"Critical Thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. † (p. 6). Critical thinking can be also considered as teleological in nature. As well critical thinking concerns the attainment of goals and the desired outcomes from achieving them. Critical thinking is not meant just for criticizing. It is the ability to effectively evaluate evidence and use intellectual tools to avoid being gullible to highly questionable or absurd ideas. The development of critical thinking skills is vital because the skill enables people to operate in a capacity to participate effectively in society, make complex choices, commit to social justice, and reflect on beliefs and actions. Advances in technology have placed an abundance of information at the world’s finger tips. Without critical thinking a person will be unable to separate what is valuable from information that is useless. Critical thinking can be compared to strenuous movement because thinking is hard work. For example at the end of ones day if that person stayed open minded and grasped onto different ideas, that person must now evaluated the evidence supporting those ideas. The National Science Foundation surveyed public attitudes and knowledge about science, they found that 70% of American adults said they were interested in science, but fewer than 30% could give a passable definition of a scientific experiment or hypothesis. Therefore even if a person has general knowledge of critical thinking it will not ensure they will be able to recognize the difference between true and false teaching if they do not have an understanding of what constitutes scientific evidence. With proper instruction a humans thought process can become broadly applied, spontaneously generated, precisely focused, intricately complex and more insightfully divergent. To develop these skills will take practice, concentration and coaching. Critical Thinking must include critical reflection on what passes for critical thinking. However critical thinking can restrict a person to the use of criticism to approved topics and can cause one to wonder into unconventional fields of criticism. Critical thinking is not essentially a negative enterprise but should maintain the kind of criticism which is not aimed at rejection, but considers apparent knowledge on its merits, retaining whatever survives critical scrutiny. Being critical has its positive and negative sides. A writer can compose a review of an article that may or may not agree with the readings presented. The writer’s response to the material will depend on their attitude and what type of approach they are trying to bring out of the material. Therefore critical thinking is not to be taken as simple criticism. In order for a person to be an effective critical thinker they cannot accept information at face value in a non-critical or non-evaluating way. In order for critical thinking to have a positive impact in a person’s life they must have the skills of logical analysis and understand how to apply these skills. According to Passmore (1967), being critical is not simply a habit, a skill, or mastery over the art of logic. Passmore goes on to describe critical thinking as more of a character trait that causes one to ask questions about information received. A critical thinker knows how to consciously apply tactics to discover facts and understanding there meanings. The Stanley Milgram Obedience study successfully shows how a higher authority figure can use their position to encourage others under their authority to perform inhumane acts to cause harm to others. The Milgram study showed that 65% of his subjects which where residents of New Haven, were unknowingly willing to give false electric shocks of 450 volts to protesting victims. These victims were faultless for the pain that was apparently inflicted upon them however because of the authority commanded to the subjects, the subjects whether against or for the experiment continued as commanded. When put in this type of position one must have a strong sense of critical thinking to up hold what it right. This experiment surprises me at how many people will engage in activities knowing they are going cause someone else harm. It makes one wonder how people in authority who use their power to cause others harm gained such a position. One would think that this person’s superior would pick up one such an act and bring it to a stop. Not only that but why would the subordinates allow such activities to continue without reporting the situation to the proper authorities. One can only assume that fear for losing their job or level of respect would cause them to continue to adhere to authority figures whether the action being asked to perform is right or wrong. In the economy we live in today one can only assume to these actions are becoming more prevalent and people are obeying the commands given to the just to keep their careers. No one can afford to lose their job and expect to live comfortable. Instead of using critical thinking to overcome the inhumane request the subordinate just goes along with the order being given to remain in good standing with the authority figure. Had I been the participant in the Milgram study and was ordered to continue with the experiment knowing that the person I was shocking was in total disagreement and begging to stop, I would have stopped. My nature and kind heartedness would not have allowed me to continue with such an act. Not only would I have stopped with the experiment, I would have had to make the experimenter aware that what he was doing is wrong and unjust regardless of the excuse that the experiment was important. The first three questions in the think Tank self-evaluation asks you whether you believe there are right and wrong answers and authorities are those who have the right answers, there are no right answers and everyone has the right to their own opinion, and last even though the world is uncertain, we need to make decisions on what’s right or wrong. These three questions represent the three stages of cognitive development. I found myself to agree strongly with the third statement. I am at the stage in my life where I am well aware that the world is full of uncertainty but we as a society must come together and decide on what is right and what is wrong. This is the main reason we have laws, to keep control of the world. The laws give use a uniformed understanding of how our world is supposed to operate. Without laws we can expect that the world would be in chaos. Even though laws are set in place to be obeyed there are still people who set out to challenge these laws and there are others who don’t care what the law states and do whatever the will to do. However even though the laws are set in place they are not black and white. One must use there critical thinking skills to effectively apply the law in their life. This can be a shortcoming because many laws leave a lot to be interpreted as to the true meaning behind them. With this in mind if critical thinking skills are not applied one may assume they are in the right of the law and really not be because of a lack of understanding. What strengthens me at being in this position in this stage of my life is the fact that I don’t jump to rash decisions. I have learned how to take my time and evaluate each situation, weighing the facts and going with the best option available. Taking the time to do this helps to eliminate a lot of heart ache, struggle and regret. All of us have found ourselves in the position where we wished we could go back in time and change some of the decisions we have made. We all know hindsight is 20/20 and the only thing we can do is live and learn. Learn how to use critical thinking and apply to every aspect of our lives. Working a Hardee’s years ago I was placed in a position to make a decision to cook rotten chicken and serve it to the public. The manager ordered me to cook chicken that both she and I knew could be a danger to the public. Refusing in a very disrespectful manner I lost my job and was sent home with a broken heart because my intentions were good but the situation was handled in the wrong manner. I had to regroup and approach the situation from a different manner; therefore because of my beliefs I knew I could not let the situation go. Instead of remaining mad I used critical thinking to come to the conclusion that people could not suffer from eating rotten chicken and action had to be taken. At this point I called the health department and the district manager of Hardee’s and reported the situation and my concerns. By the end of day I had a call from my manager and was asked to come in for a meeting. During this meeting I was informed by the manager who fired me that if I had handled the situation in a more respectable manner she would have understood my point of view and respected it. If I had taken the time to use critical thinking and explained my standpoint for why I refused to disobey I would have never had to go to such lengths to get my point heard. Because I immediately got angry and viewed my manager as an inhumane person I criticized her and got fired. Although my initial reaction was handled in an inappropriate manner, I was able to bounce back and regain control through critical thinking and informing the appropriate authorities of the facts of the situation and regained my employment. From this I learned that critical thinking and criticism have a domino effect. One bad decision not only causes one side effect, it causes multiply until the chain is broken. In my situation the chain was broken when a thinking critical approach was taken and proper authorizes were involved. I could have been critical of what my manager had done and tried to ruin her name around the small town, but that would have only created more problems. Involving the proper authorities help to bring the situation under control, the chicken was thrown out and no one was placed in harms ways by consuming the product. I regained my employment because I stood up for what was right and changed my attitude towards the situation to gain a positive outcome. Society is often faced with the need to rapidly assess situations and make decisions under dynamic conditions and often with limited information. Sometimes the outcomes are good and sometimes they are bad. As long as humans are involved there will be injury to others in some cases which is unacceptable. Criticism can be constructive or destructive and each individual needs to evaluate themselves on which type they are using along with their critical thinking skills to gain the most positive outcomes for their experiences.

High School Education Essay

Education has been the proposed priority of the different countries all over the world in an effort to develop the social abilities of the children who will be taking over the country in the future and will be leading it to another way of growth. High school is viewed to be an important time for the students especially as it is a transition between the time of elementary learning and into specialized learning (Armstrong, 1998). Moreover, it is also situated during the development years of the adolescent which may factor to their presence of mind while developing for their future needs. In this regard, it is important to determine the overall direction/objectives of High School in this generation and to determine ways on how these objectives can be implemented and achieved. Today, the main objective of High School also known as secondary school is to provide educational program that enhances full potentials of the students in terns of academics and social aspects. In addition, the educational institution today must be able to establish a more comprehensive and efficient High School or secondary school. It has been said that High school is the time wherein the students themselves are finding their cognitive skills developing and thus are also developing their behaviors appropriately, is also then the time where teachers must focus on tackling these factors equally and comprehensively; as such, the authors acknowledge that high schools must prepare their students for specializing and further studies in different universities. Social competence must also be assessed as the teachers must be able to gauge the abilities of their students and thus from that must then be able to construct their goals for the end of the school year that will include the knowledge that the students have gained, the development of their views, as well as their own goals further than the end of their years in their high school Today, high schools are determined to provide a variety of learning methods to reach all students’ needs. Recognizing that in the past, instruction has often been geared to a hypothetical average student rather than to individual students with different backgrounds, attitudes, needs, interests, and abilities, new ways of learning are being created. These ranges from options for students within the school itself, to community involvement, and even to visiting or living in other countries. In order to meet these objectives innovative projects and programs are designed to reach students who have become frustrated and uninvolved in the work of the conventional high school. Options are intended to make learning more interesting, realistic, and meaningful to students. New ways of approaching the academic disciplines, more personal relationships with students, and imaginative learning activities are being invented example of ingenuity in creating many types of options within one school. Aside from that, High School today is now trying to integrate their educational program with information communication technology. It is noted that innovative Information Technology (IT) applications can provide advantages such as: students experienced greater independence and responsibility for their own work and progress; students are more capable of beating deadlines; and fostered students’ ongoing reflection about their work: either by redrafting and/or reviewing it, and especially by comparing it with assessment criteria with the aim of improving their overall standards. Similarly positive, Goodison (2002) said that even if in terms children’s awareness most students are not aware if ICT made them more productive in any way and that some pupils see the complexity of software applications as barriers to task completion, ICT contributes to the promotion of learning independently.

Adolesent Drug Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Adolesent Drug Abuse - Essay Example This is because the two aspects are majorly social and should be successfully and affordably manageable through social initiatives. Controlling risk factors while promoting counter control measures should have, contrary to the current situation, led to minimal level of adolescent drug abuse cases. However, successful initiatives have not been achieved with respect to these useful tools of preventing and controlling substance abuse among the teens. Risk factors such as environmental change and aggressiveness as well as tools and avenues such as â€Å"family relationships, peer relationships, school environment, and community environment† have been identified for their potential role in controlling teen substance abuse and its eventual adverse effects (Physician, 2002, p. 16). However, persistent trend shows that the structures, family, society and school, have failed to utilize their leadership potential to help the adolescents out of drug abuse (Physician, 2002). The most interesting aspect of adolescent drug abuse is therefore the fact that in spite of its social, readily available, and affordable risk factors and control measures, successful efforts have not been made to identify with social structures’ commitment controlling adolescents’ drug