Why Beloved Should Still Be Taught in Schools Essay Example for Free

Why Beloved Should Still Be Taught in Schools Essay The concept of having Beloved banned in public schools is just a ludicrous idea and should be removed by the schools that currently enforce it. Although many students may not like reading, the book helped me realize the importance of the things I take for granted after reading the book. Beloved should still be taught in schools because of the major values it teaches including racism, family, and the true meaning of freedom. Beloved helps recognize the true meaning of freedom due to the many past experiences that are played out in the story. An example of freedom in the book is how harsh and cruel schoolteacher was to all of the slaves on the plantation. From Mr. Garner to schoolteacher, the conversion was horrific. Mr. Garner treated his slaves with respect and even gave his slaves last names, something that they had never had before. The chokecherry tree is a significant piece in the story because it is a collection of scars from all the whippings that Sethe had and is a memory of everything that she wen t through when she was still a slave. All the whippings that she received from schoolteacher align into the shape of a chokecherry tree. A final point of slavery is how Halle worked to buy Baby Suggs her freedom. After many years on the plantation and excruciating pain, Halle thought it was only right to free Baby Suggs from Sweet Home. Another important lesson that the story teaches is the value of family through the events that occur at 124. For example, the character Paul D is a character that falls in and out of the story. In the beginning of the book, Paul D temporarily stays with Sethe setting the tone that Paul D, Sethe, and Denver could all work together as a family. â€Å"The shadows of three people still held hands. (Morrison 49) As explained in the quote, the three of them held hands via shadow when they went to the carnival and seemed like everything would work out in harmony, all until Beloved was brought into the picture and throws off the balance in the house. The importance of family is also explained when Denver, Beloved, and Sethe develop a relationship upon each other developing the concept of she is â€Å"mine†. â€Å"You are mine†,( repeated three times by each character)( Morrison217) A final example of love for family is the point in the book when Sethe killed Beloved for her wn benefit to protect Beloved from being raised into slavery. A final example of why Beloved should still be taught in schools is because of the various points of views that it has on racism which is what connects all the characters in the story together. Sethe had been raped, robbed of her milk, and conditions forced her to kill her daughter Beloved. Paul D had been imprisoned in a cube in an all blacks prison after attempted murder, and Stamp Paid was forced to give his wife away to another white man who took his wife away for over a year. One of the racist events that occurs in the book is when Sethe was branded, lashed out, and thought of as a baby mill to her master thus putting her in inhumane conditions where she is treated and worked like an animal. Another incident of racism is when Sethe is at work and a woman is making racist remarks towards Sethe. A final example of racism in the book, is a time with Paul D where he is muzzled and gagged so he cannot speak or make any comments, putting him in poor work conditions and under schoolteacher’s rule, being treated like an animal. The poor memories that Paul D does not want to remember are stored in his â€Å"tobacco tin†.

Communication as a Means of Stability Essay -- Essays Papers

Communication as a Means of Stability As demonstrated throughout various Native American texts, communication tends to be the Native’s greatest challenge in that they are unable to develop successful relationships with the outside world. Ultimately, broken treaties have become the unfortunate model for miscommunication between the European Americans and the Natives. Granted the white culture and the Natives share very few of the same beliefs or traditions, neither culture has yet to successfully compromise and broken through the barrier that so obviously separates them. Therefore it remains crucial that these very different cultures develop a good enough rapport with one another that would allow either culture the freedom to practice and express their beliefs non offensively, and prevent future communication from being null. From these Native novels, in particular Louis Owen’s Bone Game and Henry Gordon’s The Light People, we learn that communication and compromise are key to the success between these cultures, and lack of it will result in feud and confusion. The plot unfolds in Bone Game as a Native American professor Alex Yazzie unleashes a large cultural discrepancy between Natives and the white people as he skins a deer at his Santa Cruz residence for faculty housing. Since this act is atypical and shunned by the white community by which Alex is surrounded, tensions rise as his actions are perceived as barbaric. It is Cole, the story’s protagonist and a fellow Native, whom the university calls upon to mediate and resolve this disturbing â€Å"Indian Emergency† (Owens 23). Contrary to the school’s understanding and the laws that govern the county, this native is simply partaking in traditional Indian practices and u... ...ion aspect of it, but more importantly the â€Å"potential† it had as a future tourist location (Henry 101). According to Webster’s Dictionary, an agreement is defined as an arrangement made by negotiation between two parties. The word negotiation infers somewhat of a compromise or acceptance through successful communication by both parties. Yet through historical events, especially those pertaining to Native American’s, society has developed an understanding that language tends to often be dishonest. As Owens puts it, â€Å"The realization that words can say what they don’t mean and mean what they don’t say†¦[indicates] to an Indian [that] every sentence in English may be a broken treaty† (Owens 43). Works Cited Henry, Gordon Jr. The Light People. University of Oklahoma Press: Oklahoma, 1994. Owens, Louis. Bone Game. University of Oklahoma Press: Oklahoma, 1994.

Cultural Imperialism in Ake Essay

In the advancement of European empires, the widespread approach to colonizing foreign lands was through violence. The Europeans would arrive in new territories with their sophisticated weapons and ideals, and would forcibly subjugate the indigenous people. However, in the instance of the English colonization of Nigeria’s town Ake, the English colonists implemented colonization through cultural imperialism. The English began implementing their process of cultural imperialism through converting the people of Ake into their religion, Christianity. The English, like most colonizing countries, understood that influencing the Nigerian people would come much easier once they were under religious control. The English utilized the brilliant ploy of employing Nigerians to spread Christianity to their own people. The Nigerians who compromised and promoted English concepts were rewarded for their deeds. For example Wole Soyinka’s family was rewarded by being given the security of a parsonage. However, this was actually given as a result of Essay’s contribution to the spread of English education, through his position as headmaster of the school. Education, therefore, became another aspect of English culture used to promote cultural imperialism in Ake. The Nigerians were made to assimilate many English ideals through the education process, which commenced at a young age. The English also required the Nigerians to study their language. By teaching the people of Ake English, the English colonists were able to engrave their ideals into them. The education system furthermore was able to be used to keep a watchful eye on the students, and to control the mindsets of the best and brightest of them. This use of cultural imperialism helped prevent Nigerian intellectuals from becoming political opponents. The English accomplished this by having a government school for advanced students. Although the English didn’t openly colonize the Nigerians through violence, there was a subtle form of violence often used to inscribe English beliefs through education and religion. For example Wole Soyinka had Christian beliefs beat into him by the frequent use of â€Å"the rod† at home, and English manners impressed upon him by principal Daodu’s use of â€Å"the rod† at school. Additionally, the English colonists imparted the technological cultural luxuries of electricity and the radio on Wole’s family. This made them even more dependent on English ways. The installation of the radio into the Soyinka household played an important role of cultural imperialism by introducing the English culture directly into their home. The media can have an incredible influence on a society. As mentioned in the The Years of Childhood, Essay and his friends became obsessed with listening to the news on the radio. Thus the English were now capable of distorting daily events by controlling the news. An important incentive for Europeans to colonize in Africa was taxation, so it too was used to implement cultural imperialism. The wealth accumulated through taxation was a main factor in the economic success of European nations. Taxation was particularly harsh on Ake’s women. This was so much so that the Nigerians started an uprising to abolish taxes on women. As the English knew, to keep the men of a country under control, they first had to satisfy the country’s women and ultimately agreed to abolish the taxation on women.

William Shakespeare s Twelfth Night - 1729 Words

In William Shakespeare’s comedy play Twelfth Night, a love triangle between the characters Viola dressed as Cesario, Orsino the Duke, and Olivia runs rampant throughout the storyline. This conflict comes to a head in Act 5 Scene 1 lines (in my copy) 109 through 147. This is the first, and only, time during the play that the audience sees all three characters, Viola, Orsino, and Olivia, together. In this climaxing scene, it is apparent that Orsino is distraught with more than friendly feelings for his manservant Cesario, and that Olivia is in love not with Cesario, but with Viola under male clothing. I will be describing this scene as a stage production rather than a screen production. With this in mind, setting for this scene would be†¦show more content†¦This change in lighting, now in Act 5, would provide to the audience a sense that the play is coming to its end. This scene would be efficient in this setting because it would bring the story full circle. In the scen e previously described, Olivia first realizes her love for Viola, and Viola expresses her own love for Orsino. For this triangle of confusion to end in the same place it began would be representative of tying up loose ends. A foyer setting for this scene would also make sense because many people enter and exit throughout the scene, and a foyer is a place where people come and go. However, setting is not the only technical issue that is important during a production. Along with setting, costuming is also, if not equally, important as it will show the characters’ differing personalities, rankings, and expectations for what may transpire. Viola, of course posing as the male Cesario, would be wearing time-appropriate informal clothes. I will not pretend to know exactly what this would entail, but I would have Viola be dressed in darker colored pants and stockings with a matching shirt, but with little to no detail on the clothing. The clothes should also be a size or two too big, as most times women cannot fill out men’s clothing. Additionally, the simplicity of her clothes would demonstrate her lower ranking in comparison to Orsino. Her hair also would be short, but in a ponytail to display her femininity underneath her