Native Son character Essay

The protagonist and main character of Native Son is Bigger Thomas. He is the focus of the novel and the embodiment of its main idea–the effect of racism on the mental state of its black victims. Richard Wright’s exploration of Bigger’s psychological corruption gives us a perspective on the effect that racism had on the black population in 1930s America. Some critics of Native Son have questioned the effectiveness of Bigger as a character. For instance, the famous black writer James Baldwin has considered Bigger as too narrow to represent the full scope of black experience in America, but I believe he is a powerful and disturbing symbol of black rage. As a 20-year-old black man cramped in a Chicago South Side apartment with his family, Bigger has lived a life defined by the fear and anger he feels toward whites. Bigger is limited by the eighth-grade departure from school, and by the racist real estate practices that forced him to live in poverty. Furthermore, he is subjected to messages from a popular culture that portrays whites as civilized and sophisticated and blacks as barbaric and subservient. Racism has severely reduced Bigger’s opportunities in life and even his conception of himself. He is ashamed of his family’s poverty and afraid of the whites who control his life–feelings he works hard to keep hidden, even from himself. When these feelings overwhelm him, he reacts with violence. â€Å"These were the rhythms of his life: indifference and violence; periods of abstract brooding and periods of intense desire; moments of silence and moments of anger–like water ebbing and flowing from the tug of some far-away, invisible force.† (31) Bigger robs people with his friends–though only other blacks, as the gang is too frightened to rob a white man–but his own violence is often directed at these friends as well. Bigger sees white people as an overpowering and hostile force that is set against him in life. Just as whites fail to conceive of Bigger as an individual, he does not really distinguish between individual whites–to him, they are all the same, frightening and untrustworthy. Bigger feels little guilt after he accidentally kills Mary, the daughter of his white employers. In fact, he feels for the first time as though his life actually has purpose and meaning. Mary’s murder makes him believe that he has the power to assert himself against whites. Wright goes out of his way to show  that Bigger is not a conventional protagonist, as his brutality and capacity for violence are extreme, especially in graphic scenes such as the one in which he decapitates Mary’s corpse in order to stuff it into the furnace. Wright does not present Bigger as a hero to admire, but as a frightening and disturbing character created by racism. Wright’s point is that Bigger becomes a brutal killer because the dominant white culture fears that he will become a brutal killer. Wright emphasizes this vicious cycle of racism: though Bigger’s violence stems from racial hatred, it only increases the racism in American society, as it confirms racist whites’ basic fears about blacks. In Wright’s depiction, whites effectively transform blacks into their own negative stereotypes. Only when Bigger meets Max, his white, communist lawyer, does Wright offer any hope of breaking this cycle of racism. Through interaction with Max, Bigger begins to perceive whites as individuals. Only when sympathetic understanding exists between blacks and whites will they be able to see each other as individuals, not merely as members of a stereotyped group. After he meets Max and learns to talk through his problems Bigger begins to redeem himself, recognizing white people as individuals for the first time and realizing the extent to which he has been affected by racism. Early on in Native Son, Wright describes how Bigger retreats behind a â€Å"wall† to keep the reality of his situation from overwhelming him. This passage from Book Two shows the destructive effects of Bigger’s retreat. â€Å"There was something he knew and something he felt; something the world gave him and something he himself had†¦Never in all his life, with this black skin of his, had the two worlds, thought and feeling, will and mind, aspiration and satisfaction, been together; never had he felt a sense of wholeness.† (225) He is isolated not only from his friends and family, but from himself as well. It seems that the black psyche is always divided. Bigger’s mind is split in two, leaving him unable to interact with others and unable to understand himself. It is this quest for wholeness that dominates Bigger’s  life. Tragically, it is not until he has murdered two women and is soon to be executed that he is able to understand and grasp this wholeness. He is thrilled by his new realization, yet tormented by the fact that it comes too late, when he has only precious little time left to live.

Reflection Summary Essay

The previous week’s objectives covered PowerPoint in Microsoft Office, Presentation Tools, and System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). What could be applicable to your workplace or personal, and how your knowledge has increased as a result of what you experienced through the learning activities. We learned about presentation tools that are available in the marketplace and their advantages and disadvantages that they may have. Our team agreed that Microsoft Power Point is the most common and most used in the workplace and market place. We were all very familiar with how the system works, we all have worked with Power Point before. We were all very comfortable with Microsoft Power Point. There are many other presentation tools that can be used, and that are available but overall the most common is Microsoft Power Point. The next topic we had discussed was about what business go through to implement new technology. The second discussion question posted we learned was in regards to six stages of the systems development life cycle. The system development life cycle (SDLC) has six processes in which information system is process: systems investigation, system analysis, systems design, programming and testing, implementation, and operation and maintenance. These six processes are important for organizations to use when deciding on an information system; however, these processes are not only for organization, but also for personal use as well. When deciding whether to get a new operation system for a personal computer, you can have some of the same challenges. Consumers have to decide what kind of budget they have, what will the system do for them, and will the system last for a long time before having to get another system. We didn’t realize what business have to go through to implement new technology into the business plan. We learned that it can be a very long, in depth and costly process to implement a new system in the work place. In conclusion, we have learned many great things as a team about Microsoft power point, and presentation. How everyone uses power point for work and personal life. We also learned about System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). How the process can be long and expensive depending on the system  requirements. We agreed and disagreed on many things but in the end we were able to learn from one another. Working as team has made it better and easier to learn, we each collaborated on putting this reflection summary together. It has made it an even better learning experience working together as a team.

Zheng's Contribution to World Regional Geography Research Paper

Zheng's Contribution to World Regional Geography - Research Paper Example Introduction Zheng He (1371-1435) may not be as well-known, at least in the west, as other explorers of medieval times such as Magellan and Columbus, even though he was earlier and covered a larger area. According to Bishop et al (2004, page 21) he was castrated while very young and taken from his home to the Beijing palace. However according to Israeli ( 2001) the admiral had already decided as a child, after hearing tales from his father, that he would travel across the seas and reach Mecca, the religious center of Islam. In order to do this however he lost home, family, his ethnicity and even his inherited religion of Islam. They cite the legend that even his name was invented. Background Working during what Iwabuchi et al refer ( 2004, page 129) to ‘ the expansive period of the Ming dynasty’ although not widely known, Zheng He is still remembered. In 2004 there were celebrations to mark the 6ooth year since his first voyage, although Jin Wu, a distinguished oceanic s cientist, admits that the literature on his discoveries is thin on the ground. According to Gunde ( 2004), following orders given by the then emperor Yongle, and later by his successor, Xuande. Bloom ( 2010) claims that the emperor was aware that:- The influx of foreign goods and currency would help swell his war chest, and, by enhancing his esteem abroad would help buttress his claim to the throne.’. Zheng He, a eunuch in the imperial service, led seven exploratory expeditions, beginning in 1405 and the last setting out in 1430. The emperor ordered the first voyage when he acceded to the throne and they ceased when he died. Rather strangely perhaps Finlay says that there is no way in which Zheng He could be regarded as an explorer, but purely as a military man acting on behalf of a very militaristic emperor. ( Finlay 2000, page 295) Finlay goes on to describe the controversy as to the long term value of the voyages ( Finlay 2000, page 296) describing how Needham had seen Zhe ng He as scholar leading a scholarly enterprise, in contrast to the aggressively colonizing men who followed him out into unknown seas over the next two centuries. He also cites Janet Abu-Lughod who declared that historians believe it is impossible to solve the riddle of why Zheng He’s voyages failed to lead on to world dominance for China. Also quoted is William McNeill who in 1998 said that â€Å"Chinese navigators might well have rounded Africa and discovered Europe before Prince Henry the Navigator died (in 1460)." Yet, just like Columbus who came later Zheng He :- often did not really even know where he was, believed that India was centered in the Middle East and that Christianity and Islam as well as Buddhism originated there. ( Bloom 2010) His purposes and achievements. When the Han Chinese people overthrew the Mongol invaders and created the Ming Dynasty late in the14th Century, as described by Bloom ( 2010) they inherited the already established fleet of ships, as w ell as a wide spread network of trade routes. The voyages of Zheng He built on these. The expeditions set out west from China, the first voyage reaching Sri Lanka, ( Maritime Lanka, undated) and later his ships went as far as the Cape of Good Hope on the southernmost tip of South Africa, building , at least for a time, a trading empire without imperialism, although Finlay ( 2000, page 294) , says that merchants were less important to the expeditions than the astronomers and geomancers i.e. those who measured the earth, as well as doctors and naturalists searching for new pharmacological useful materials. The mariners had two purposes – to let the world see the glories of the Ming dynasty, and also to enable the emperor to collect

Selection Decision Making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Selection Decision Making - Case Study Example A selection plan gives an overview of how the job looks like thus making it easy for the recruitment panel to pick the most desirable applicant. It contains key job responsibilities, makes it clear of what must be performed and acts as a guide in selection procedures. The format is as given below. The table above illustrates scores of all the ten applicants. The analysis was based on multiple predictor methods; clinical prediction and rational weighing. However, since clinical prediction and unit weighing produce similar results, it was considered wise to include the unit weighing column. The unit weighing figures were derived from averaging each applicant’s scores in individual assessment methods. Basing on the unit weighing results, tangle wood will consider the highest scores. Therefore, Heckman; 76, Reznor; 73 and Scores; 70 will be the most preferred applicants. The rational weighing results were obtained by assigning a weight to every assessment method and summing up the scores. The assigned weights were biodata; 30%, Applicant exam; 10%, Retail knowledge; 30%, Conscientiousness; 15%, Extraversion; 15%. Biodata and retail knowledge were allocated the largest weights because the job position demands experience from applicants. Applicant exam was assigned the lowest weight mainly because it measures the least important KSAOs required in the managerial position. From the data, Tangle wood will consider Heckman; 76, Reznor; 69, Renoir; 67.5. If tangle wood decides to use multiple hurdle selection as its first stage in identifying the best five applicants, and further apply interviews and resumes to get the top three finalists, the five suitable candidates would be Reznor, Yorn, Greer, Renior and Durvall. This is quite interesting since Heckman who tops in both rational and unit weighing does not appear in the top five when using test scores. Since conscientiousness and extraversion prove the ability and suitability of an applicant to perform and

Breast Cancer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Breast Cancer - Research Paper Example There are many studies and intensive research is underway in order to identify the most important factors that are the reason for the constant increase of the incidence of breast cancer in the last several decades. The results and information’s from this research should help us reduce the morbidity and mortality from breast cancer and increase the self-awareness of the general population about the risks for this disease. In this study we will conduct a systematic research on the risk and other factors that are the most important factors in the etiology of breast cancer and also we will discuss the challenges of effective screening and treatment of breast cancer. Introduction Breast cancer is malignant neoplasm that is originating from the tissues of the breast. It has significance as one of the most common cancers in the population that almost exclusively affects the female population, however in small percentages this malignancy is present in the male population also (less than 1% of all cases of breast cancer) (Florescu et al. 2011). Breast cancer is the most common type of invasive malignancy that affects women and contributes up to 23% of all invasive cancers that affect female population worldwide. It is registered that in year 2008 13.7% of cancer mortality in the female population in the world was caused by breast cancer or 6% of all cancer mortality worldwide (men and women) was caused by breast cancer (GLOBOCAN 2008). These numbers are alarming and show that breast cancer has severe impact on the global morbidity and mortality especially on the female population. It is also alarming that incidences of breast cancer are constantly increasing dur ing the last three decades and this tendency is maintained till the resent day (Louwman et al 2008). It is believed that this is caused by the modern way of life and the changes that appeared in the habits and diets of modern way of living, changes in the reproductive behavior of the female population and other factors (Dignam et al 2003). This fact can be elaborated more clearly if we understand that the incidence of breast cancer is higher in western, developed countries and in countries that accept western way of lifestyle. For example incidences of breast cancer in population of 100 000 in western Europe is 78, in North America is 90 and these rates are significantly higher when compared to eastern Asia with 18 cases per 100 000 population, in sub-Saharan Africa 22 etc. (Stewart and Kleihues 2003). United States has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the world with 128 new cases of breast cancer on 100 000 women and in United States breast cancer is the second most common cancer after the skin cancer and the second most common cause of cancer mortality after lung cancer (American Cancer Society 2007). As we can see from the above statistics breast cancer has significant effect on the mortality in the population worldwide but especially in the developed countries. 3. Risk factors for breast cancer 3.1. Unchangeable risk factors for breast cancer There are many factors that is believed are the risen for the increase of the incidence of breast cancer in developed countries. In order to understand these factors we will look at the risk factors that are found to be associated with increased incidence of brea

Assignment (Economics) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

(Economics) - Assignment Example The ban of a product hurts the consumer markets especially if the good was used by a lot of people. When vendors smuggle the goods and bring them to the marketplace illegally society benefits because these goods are providing a utility that is needed for the consumers. I believe that US citizens should boycott companies that abuse its workers in less developed countries. The only way for these companies to stop these unethical practices is for the customers to take proactive action to boycott these types of establishments. A full boycott of an item that is offered at much lower prices might hurt consumers that cannot afford to pay higher prices. Due to the different in opinions of customers it would be hard to implement a full boycott. Country A should produce toys, while country B should produce pineapples. Country A must trade toys for pineapples and country B must trade pineapples for toys. In general country A produces less toys or pineapples than country B. Their competitive advantage is in toys because country B can produce more than twice the amount of pineapples than country A. Since country B can produce 900 pineapples per day this country should concentrate on producing pineapples. The competitive advantage of country B in pineapples is 2.25 to

Marketing and Branding Strategies Research Proposal

Marketing and Branding Strategies - Research Proposal Example Moreover, Nike controls around half of the sports foot wear and apparels market and the combined strength of Adidas and Reebok will make them able to attain almost the same market share as that of the Nike. Thus the merger will strengthen the competitive power of Adidas and Reebok. The combined company won't want to cut its own bottom line by launching a price war. Others, however, think consumers may see more products and aggressive marketing from smaller players in the industry as they work to protect their shares. (Petrecca, and Howard). The mergers are often welcomed by the consumers because of their anticipation of good quality products for cheaper prices. The inability to reduce prices may reflect as a weakness of merger among the public. Any time two competitors join forces, there is a tendency to stop competing - a concept that looks good on paper but can be deadly in-market (Howard). It is quite possible that the lack of competition and trust between the companies may force them to reduce their expenditure on advertisement like activities which will negatively impact the marketing activities of both the companies. Moreover, the reduced marketing campaign by these companies will open the doors widely for the competitors like Nike. The companies say they have already identified about $150 m... Hence these companies will get an opportunity to spent more moneys in other markets where previously these companies spent less for advertisements. Threats Often when former rivals join forces there is a tendency to try to change product lines so they don't go head-to-head. "The real danger may be in trying to reposition one brand or another to not compete. ... Both brands could be diluted in the process." (Petrecca, and Howard) The decreased competition between these companies will force them to reduce their activities which may result in spoiling of their popular products in the market. Benefit of the merging Uniting two of the world's top sports companies and creating a much stronger challenge to Nike, particularly on the global giant's home turf: the prime North American market that accounts for about half of the category's sales worldwide. (Petrecca and Howard) It is not possible for either Adidas or Reebok to challenge the supremacy of Nike in North American markets. But the merger made them capable of raising stiff challenges to Nike in these markets as well. Possible marketing strategies Retailers are in an advantageous position because of the opportunity to deal with products two famous brands. Adidas which dominates the soccer shoes market have contracts with David Beckham like soccer personalities whereas Reebok has contracts with global basketball stars like Yao Ming (Petrecca, and Howard). Thus they can utilize these sports personalities in a complementary manner conduct their marketing strategies effectively. In short, the merger between Reebok and Adidas made them capable to compete effectively with their main competitor Nike. Works Cited 1. Howard, Theresa. USA TODAY. 2005. "Adidas, Reebok lace up for