Dorothy Parker’s “Arrangement in Black and White” is set during a dinner party for the host’s friend, Walter Williams, an African American musician. Though the party is celebrated in his name, most of the conversation takes place between the host and the main character, the woman with pink velvet poppies. From the conversation, the audience can deduce that though this woman admires Walter Williams’s musical talent, she is unable to let go of the racist sentiment against his African American heritage. The author adds a flavor of sophisticated cynicism as she makes this point clear by having the main characters ironically make frequent references concerning how “untroubled” she is about the color of his skin. This argument is further emphasized when she greets Walter Williams; her body language and topic choice gives her predicament away. Through this story Parker implies that with the end of slavery did not entail the changing of the heart’s and mind’s of its supporters, no matter how much one can deny it to oneself.
Dorothy Parker sets up her main character be in conflict with all her possessed qualities. For example, although her age is never stated, she seems young judging by her energetic and outspoken qualities, but old enough to be married and have set opinions toward other races. Also, though she comes across as a woman with a forward nature—shown as she grabs the host’s arm to get her attention—she also is seen as a nervous character, bec...
As Floyd is falling down on the stage, my heart is teared apart resonating with miserable life of African-American people in 1940s Pittsburgh. I have seen how people struggle with their assigned and unfair destiny and how the brutal reality smashes their dreams and humanity; I have seen that there were a group of people singing, dreaming, fighting, loving and dying in the red-brick house, which I might pass by everyday, all in this masterpiece of August Wilson. It is always difficult to reopen the grievous wound of the dark period during America history; however, the hurtfulness would be the most effective way forcing people to reflect the consequence of history.
First, Egan believes that the Chicago Syndicate, as well as the government, took part in causing the Dust Bowl. The Worst Hard Time began with an explanation of how the land was inhabited after the Comanche were kicked off. Texas wanted an extravagant state capitol building after the Civil War. In order to fund this building, Texas agreed to give land to whoever would take on the endeavor of building the structure. The Chicago Syndicate decided
For various reason the Dust Bowl was deadly for livestock, including choking on dust, and starvation or mass culling of jackrabbits and later cattle to stabilize prices (The Great Plow Up). FDR 's New Deal unintentionally made society and especially farmers begin to rely on government in times of crisis. The Dust storms only got worse as the 1930s progressed. They were particularly demoralizing and frightening for many people but for the children the dust particles often lead breathing issues such as pneumonia. Women in particular were in a constant losing battle as the dust always came inside building and covered everything. In the garden which they needed to feed their family it was almost impossible to grow anything. Face coverings became a necessity to escape the blinding, unbreathable air found especially in the worst of storms. Depression both psychological and economic became commonplace, leading to many outstanding debts, foreclosures, and
The dust bowl was a very tedious time to live in. It was also a time when money could be made very quickly and can be lost just as fast as it was gained. The problems of the dustbowl were caused by a cascade of events. The biggest of these events would undoubtedly be because of drought. There was no rain, no moisture and that meant that no farmer in the plains could plant any crop there to make a profit for his or her family.
According to the International Foster Care Organization “Foster care is a way of providing a family life for children who cannot live with their own parents.”(2004) Foster care is supposed to provide temporary care while parents get help dealing with problems, or to help children or young people through a difficult period in their lives. Children will return home once their parents are able to provide a safe enviorment for them. However if parent are unable to resolve the issues that cause their child in foster care their children may stay in long-term foster care, some may be adopted, and others will move on to live independently. (IFCO, 2004) Foster care has been a problem for many years and although there have been many attempts to improve it; it there still seems to be negatively impacting
Then, in the play, Wilson looks at the unpleasant expense and widespread meanings of the violent urban environment in which numerous African Americans existed th...
Ursula Le Guin’s novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, is set on a planet called Gethen where the inhabitants are androgynous, or in somer, until a period of time during the month where they become either male or female, or in kemmer. At this time, only one can become male and the other female and if one gets pregnant they remain female until they give birth. Because of this, Gethen is a world where gender has been removed or distributed so that it is no longer limited to some individuals and not others. Nevertheless, Joanna Russ argues that Gethen is just a “world of men” because the emphasis on politics, the lack of attention to family life, and the use of male pronouns for all characters. She claims that this reinforces our own gender norms and undermines our experiencing a “genderless” world.
ABSTRACT: In light of interpreting a paradox of irrationality, vaguely expressed by Donald Davidson in the context of explaining weakness of will, I attempt to show that it contains a significant thesis regarding the cognitive as well as motivational basis of our normative practice. First, an irrational act must involve both a rational element and a non-rational element at its core. Second, irrationality entails free and intentional violation of fundamental norms which the agent deems right or necessary. Third, "normative interpretation" is only possible for objects that are both natural events and capable of mental operations which presuppose some freedom of will as well as constructive representation of the surrounding reality. Fourth, there is always a question of whether we strike the best balance between fitting individual mental items consistently with the overall behavior pattern and keeping our critical ability in following certain normative principles which constitute our rational background. Fifth, the paradox of irrationality reflects and polarizes a deep-seated tension in the normative human practice under the ultimate constraints of nature. Finally, the ultimate issue is how we can find the best lines on which our normative rational standards are based-"best" in the sense that they are close enough to limits of human practical potentialities and are not too high as to render our normative standards idle or even disastrous.
The process of making a decision previously held two paths, rational and irrational, with rational having the mind at work to think about what were the choices and irrational with no really engagement. Anything beyond that process of thought was not taken until the topic of System 1 and System 2 along with effects of “Relativity” were expressed in Thinking Fast and Slow, by Kahnemna and Predictably Irrational by Ariely, respectfully. Along with the other readings, the process of our decision making were no longer solely based on two very simplified and underdeveloped ideas, but as series of network and systems of decisions the minds functions through.
During the twentieth century, people of color and women, suffered from various inequalities. W.E.B. Du Bois’ and Charlotte Perkins Gilman (formerly known as Charlotte Perkins Stetson), mention some of the concepts that illustrate the gender and racial divide during this time. In their books, The Soul of Black Folk and The Yellow Wallpaper, Du Bois’ and Gilman illustrate and explain issues of oppression, dismissal, and duality that are relevant to issues of race and gender.
One of the biggest misconceptions that we have in our country is that foster care is a great thing; well, it’s not. There are so many flaws in our foster care system to even consider it a good idea. With constant reports of abuse, depression, lack of stability, to even the terrible after effects of the foster care system, like homelessness and incarceration; the foster care system hurts more than it helps. Our foster care system is bad for America, but most of all, our children.
Sexuality and gender have been taboo topics for as long as one can remember, and the approach to these topics have ranged from lightly treaded to head-on. A special characteristic of literature is that the messages can be camouflaged, left out in the open, or be left up to the interpretation of the reader. Science fiction has been known to harbor some incredible insights on society through its creation of an endless array of societies and universes and their respective alien norms and characteristics. The New Wave era of science fiction (1960s-70s), influenced by the progressivism following the Civil Rights movement and the introduction of counter culture, birthed many revolutionary works within the genre that refused to shy away from touchy topics, with one of the best known authors being Ursula K. Le Guin. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness the flexibility of science fiction to allow readers an insight into her sharp criticism of human sexuality and gender.
There is a palpable existence of cultural and ideological disconnect woven throughout Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. Such disengagements are generated by a distortion of our own perceived conventions of sex and gender through the perspective of the main character, Genly Ai. Le Guin employs Ai and his own assumptions of sociocultural and gender norms as a reference point for what occupies the established and biological conducts of Gethenian life, yet he finds their mindset difficult to navigate. These disassociations are supported in the conjectures of the following theorists: Judith Butler, Joseph Culler, Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman, and Steven Seidman.
To the alien race of Gethen in Ursula Le Guin’s speculative novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, gender is not so much a construct as it is an absence. Gethenians ignore it save for during a fraction of their monthly sexual cycle, and as such, figures into their lives as a mere footnote rather than a guiding force. This concept of gender’s absence is not unnoticed by the reader, though, because it is instead brought to the forefront through the eyes of a human emissary named Genly Ai. Sent to the planet to understand more about its people and to invite it into a multi-planet alliance, Genly only achieves full success in the latter. His shortcomings in the former objective are largely due to his inability to unlearn the social constructs he harbors,
On Being Young-A Woman-and Colored an essay by Marita Bonner addresses what it means to be black women in a world of white privilege. Bonner reflects about a time when she was younger, how simple her life was, but as she grows older she is forced to work hard to live a life better than those around her. Ultimately, she is a woman living with the roles that women of all colors have been constrained to. Critics, within the last 20 years, believe that Marita Bonners’ essay primarily focuses on the double consciousness ; while others believe that she is focusing on gender , class , “economic hardships, and discrimination” . I argue that Bonner is writing her essay about the historical context of oppression forcing women into intersectional oppression by explaining the naturality of racial discrimination between black and white, how time and money equate to the American Dream, and lastly how gender discrimination silences women, specifically black women.