Invisible Man By Ellison Essays (1151 words) - Invisible Man

Invisible Man By Ellison While the civil war ended one form of slavery in America, another system of oppression was ready to take its place. In Ralph Ellison's acclaimed novel Invisible Man, a young black, nameless narrator struggles through a series of hard-won lessons as he makes his journey from the Deep South to Harlem, New York, from naivet? to disenchantment, from illusion to insight. Like most of us, he stumbles down the path of identity, adopting several along the way in an attempt to solve his relationship with a hostile, prejudiced American society. Testament to the narrator's various identities is the symbol of his briefcase, which he receives as a prize after the disturbing ?Battle Royal' and proceeds to carry until the end when he is in the coal bin, and truly an invisible man. Its contents -his high school diploma, representing his southern black identity, the recommendation letters representing his college identity, the anonymous letter and the slip of paper with his brotherhood name representing his brotherhood leadership identity, Clifton's paper doll symbolizing his disillusionment with the brotherhoods ideals and finally, the shattered pieces of Mary's bank, perhaps signifying his identity in the context of white America -each an identity others dictated by others, not developed by himself. While in the cellar, he creates torches out of these objects as though lighting his past on fire, using his history to guide him out of the hole and out of illusion. The beginning is a nightmare. A young, eager Negro boy, valedictorian of his high school class believes he is to deliver a speech to a group of white benefactors. Instead, he finds himself together with several other Negroes in a ?Battle Royal', a disgusting free-for all in which, blindfolded and barebacked like savages, the boys are instructed to beat each other. After the battle, the narrator is called upon to make his speech, his mouth full of blood and his head spinning from the blows. In his speech, the narrator makes allusions to Booker T. Washington, the great black accommodationist, reflecting that he too believes in playing by the white people's rules, meaning never ask for more than they are willing to give. At the end of this traumatic scene, he receives a ?prize' briefcase containing a scholarship to a Negro college. In this society, we often rely on others as a means of learning about ourselves- a dangerous habit, especially when surrounded by those who are blind to the individual person. The narrator adores college and is under the illusion that it is a place of perfection, an institution at which he aspires to acquire a position as the assistant of his idol, Dr. Bledsoe, the president of the college and great leader of his race. But while the college is supposed to be a fountain of knowledge, of wisdom, it is rather like the broken fountain out front- dry with nothing to sustain real life. In his third year at the school, he is expelled for innocently showing a white trustee, Mr. Norton, the reality of black life in the south by inadvertently taking him to the home of an incestuous farmer and then to a whorehouse appropriately called ?the Golden Day'. The headmaster, who admits he'll see all Negroes hang before he gives up his power , offers the shattered young boy false hope in the form of seven letters of recommendation. Grateful, the narrator carries these letters in his prize briefcase to New York where his truth, his identity are dealt additional blows when he discovers that they are in fact letters of condemnation and meant only to keep him running, to keep him hoping for that golden day. Disillusioned, with growing sense of personal rejection and social invisibility, it is at this point that the narrator begins metamorphosing into the invisible man. Recruited by the ?Brotherhood', a mixed-race group of social activists, he now becomes a spokesman for the organization. Brother Jack, one of the white leaders hands the narrator a slip of paper on which is written his new brotherhood name. His truth, his new identity is shaped by this organization, and his sense of purpose, importance is temporarily restored as he slips it into his briefcase. He admits, "I am what they think I am". However, the brotherhood, like Mr. Norton and Dr. Bledsoe, does not believe that the individual is important. Of the brothers, the narrator eventually discerns"they were blind, bat blind, moving only by the echoed sounds of their voices. And because they were blind they would destroy

Ice on Fire Chemistry Demonstration

Ice on Fire Chemistry Demonstration Set real water ice on fire using a simple chemical reaction. This easy chemistry demonstration is sure to please! Ice on Fire Project Materials calcium carbide chips or granulesice2-liter beaker Set Ice on Fire Pour about a teaspoon of calcium carbide in the bottom of the beaker.Fill the beaker with ice.Use a long handled lighter to ignite the ice. Alternately, you could secretly place a bit of calcium carbide in a large bowl, fill it with ice, and toss a burning match onto the bowl of ice. How It Works As the ice melts, the water reacts with calcium carbide to produce acetylene gas, which is flammable, and calcium hydroxide. The reaction proceeds according to this chemical equation: CaC2(s) 2 H2O(l) → C2H2(g) Ca(OH)2(s) The acetylene produces a burst of flame when it is ignited. More acetylene is produced as the ice melts and reacts with the remaining calcium carbide. Safety Dont add the ice or expose the calcium carbide to water/humidity until you are ready to perform the demonstration. You dont need a build-up of acetylene.Its fire this demonstration should only be performed by an adult.Its advisable to place a plexiglass blast shield between the container and the audience, in case the beaker shatters from thermal stress or the fire expands outward too much. These are not expected to occur, but are reasonable safety precautions.As always, its good to wear safety goggles, gloves and protective clothing, plus it looks cool for the demonstration.Perform this demonstration away from other sources of flame or from flammable materials. Related Chemistry Demonstrations Fire and Flames Chem DemosSelf-Carving Jack-o-LanternColored Fire Spray Bottles

Is black cohosh a safe and effective substitute for hormone Article

Is black cohosh a safe and effective substitute for hormone replacement therapy - Article Example She tries to evaluate if black cohosh is an effective and safe substitute for hormone replacement therapy. According to the facts presented in the editorial, it is rather palpable that approximately 85% of women in the world experience night sweats and hot flashes, which are closely associated with menopause. These symptoms are triggered by the hormones in the body of the individual. Research asserts that black cohosh is a herb that is used to deal with vasomotor symptoms as a substitute for the hormone replacement therapy. The herb is widely used in the United States and Europe (Becker, Letham & Stoehr, 2009). However, black cohosh has numerous side effects to the women. As stated above, there are several inconsistencies that have been associated with the use of black cohosh. Some of these discrepancies are related to the dosing and side effects of the drug. Some of the complications that are able to result from the use of black cohosh include hepatitis, muscle damage and liver failure among other conditions. Several experts have critically evaluated the efficacy of the black cohosh for the vasomotor symptoms (Becker, Letham & Stoehr, 2009). In the clinical trials, there were several adverse effects of the drug to the

Women - are better listeners than men Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Women - are better listeners than men - Essay Example Capital punishment is no deterrent to crime. Pros: 1) There is statistical evidence that capital punishment is by far not a panacea; 2) even if in one country it works, it does not automatically mean that in every society it will work in the same way; 3) there is a sentiment that a murder for the sake of deterrence is a crime by itself; 4) society may benefit more from life imprisonment and controlled employment of criminals. Cons: 5) Capital punishment in some cases reflects the dominant public opinion; 6) zero tolerance to some criminals may if not reduce crime, but at least keep it in check. "Hard" sciences such as math are more difficult than "soft" sciences such as sociology. Pros: 1) "Hard" sciences often require more extensive basic knowledge; 2) fewer people are good at "hard" sciences in comparison to "soft" sciences; 3) "hard" sciences are usually less intuitively understandable than "soft" sciences. Cons: 4) Many "soft" sciences like sociology are based on observations, wh ich, while making them seem simple, in reality makes the process of research quite difficult; 5) there is no objective ground for differentiation, only inclinations of different people.

Economics (merit good) education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics (merit good) education - Essay Example Moreover, education makes one be in a position to acquire employment, obtain income and consequently have an improved way of life (Ver Eecke, 2003, p. 701). Other merit goods include goods and services like health services that the government provides for its citizens for the benefit of the community. This is usually conducted because it would lead to under-provision within the community. It also generates difference between the social and private expenses in addition to the advantages of creation and exploitation leading to the risk of not selling the goods and services (Besley and Ghatak, 2003, p. 235-249). Merit goods are also those goods and services that the government thinks consumers will under utilize, and they ought to be provided free for the entire society. Both private institutions and the government offer education, but in case education was left to be an expense, where parents are expected to pay for education then education would be under-consumed by the members of the society. Poor parents might not understand the importance of education. Similarly, their children might not see the benefits of education (Besley and Ghatak, 2003, p. 235-249). In reality, education should provide peripheral benefits that could not be considered by the open market. The benefits include increasing profits and production for present and future productions and expansion in the work-related movement of the work force, which must assist in the reduction of unemployment and consequently lower welfare expenditure (Dixit, 2002, p. 38). The administration provides this merit good to urge its utilization so those particular optimistic externalities related with merit commodities can be realized (Dixit, 2002, p. 38). They also aim at overcoming the failures of information connected to education, not when the private longer-term benefit of utilization is better than the shorter-term advantage of utilization. The government also believes that consumption

History of the EU Single Market

History of the EU Single Market In this paper I intend to look at the two communications presented by the European Commission, to the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. These two communications, Single Market Act I Single Market Act II, both talk about proposals that if implemented, should make the Single Market of the European Union much better by eliminating any obstacles which were found in the systems at the time of writing. To understand better the Single Market, one should look at the history of this on-going process and then, take a look at what the Commission proposed through these two communications. This should lead to a better understanding of how these proposed set of actions would strengthen the EUs internal market. History of the EU Single Market Moving freely within the European Union (EU) today seems to be a very common activity and very often it is taken for granted. Looking back in time and seeking the beginning of this concept, one can better understand why this was necessary and important for the EU, what were the steps needed and what it took to achieve this goal. It is important to mark the landmark political decisions and historical facts that brought us to live this dream, which is also considered as one of the EUs greatest achievements. The need of a common market has been long discussed from 1957, since the Treaty of Rome which created the European Community. The main objective of this proposal was to give Europe a new push, to take integration to an upper level and to have free movement of goods, services, capital and persons, therefore a common market. Of course, this was a vital step since one cannot build a common Europe without having a common market. These four fundamental freedoms were the basis of the real European Economic Community (EEC). This common market became a reality with the removal of barriers and internal borders within the European Union. Although on 1st July 1968 the customs duties on goods going around in the EU member states were completely removed, there remained non-tariff barriers like differences in the requirements of safety and packaging of different member states or between national administrative procedures. Consequently, these barriers did not allow the manufacturers to market the same goods in different European countries.  [1]  After this step, it took until 1985 for the leaders to decide to come back to the realisation of this single market. The single market was a response for a long-standing crisis in the EEC especially created in the 1970s; the things that mostly effected the economy were the oil crisis of 1973 1979 (which caused a lot of inflation with rising prices and which therefore created unemployment), the rapid advancements in technology, t he changes occurring in the economy world and also the emergence of new strong competitors such as Japan and newly industrialising countries from South East Asia.  [2]  The European Commission led by Jacques Delors, in 1985 presented a common response to that of the leaders themselves. The Community decided to complete the construction of the great internal market in stages which was to be finalised at the start of 1993, and therefore, the ambitious date and goal were written into the Single European Act signed in February 1986. This led to the gradual removal of internal barriers and borders within the European Community, national standards were getting harmonised, and rules determining the way governments should buy services and goods were created. There was also the liberalisation of financial institutions, the Value Added Tax (VAT) rates were being set to a standard level and there was also the setting of European business laws. All these measures were taken to create the si ngle market.  [3]  Until 1992, the national regulations of the 12 member states were replaced by one rule which was common to all of them and regulated all the countries in the same manner after the EU adopted nearly 280 pieces of legislation. The monetary union was also planned and the Maastricht Treaty was the first step of the creation of the Euro, which came into use on 1st January 2002. After all these steps and hard work towards this dream, on 1 January 1993 the physical borders between EU countries vanished completely and the European Single Market was officially a reality for the member states of the EU.  [4]   12 levers of the EU Single Market After all the work done to create the Single Market of the EU, there were still some things which were not functioning as they were meant to be and according to their original purpose of creation. Although one of the main benefits of the Single Market was that of bringing economic growth in the member states of the EU as was predicted and argued in the Cecchini Report  [5]  , it has been proven by many studies and statistics that this mission was not fully accomplished and the targets were not fully reached. The faults present in this system were addressed both by the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and the Maltese MEP Louis Grech in their reports A New Strategy for the Single Market Delivering a single market to consumers and citizens, respectively. Taken from the original Cecchini Report Therefore, the only thing that could help to get the expected results was to refine the policies and develop a proactive and cross-cutting strategy  [6]  to give the single market the opportunity to develop its full potential  [7]  . This was done through the Single Market Act I which was presented on 13th April 2011. In this communication, the Commission expressed its proposals which should help to eliminate any obstacles which are not allowing full movement of services, innovation and creativity across the member states. The Single Market Act and the actions which were proposed in this communication are aimed at giving all the citizens and businesses of the EU the ability to have full access and full beneficial that can come out of this Internal Market and strengthen their confidence in this system. All in all, the end result should be a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth  [8]  and also the creation of more jobs for the citizens. This was all presented in the so ca lled Twelve levers which the Commission has come up with. Each one of them is aimed at strengthening the Single Market in different ways. Here are some of the most important levers. Levers related to free movement of capital The first lever talks about the Access to finance for SMEs since the world has gone through financial crises, businesses in the EU have become more restricted and limited and cannot get the loans they need from the banks to advance in their industry by manufacturing innovative products and market them. Through a change in legislation, this lever proposes to make funds more accessible to SMEs so they can invest more and provide a better, smarter, innovative and more advanced technology. This should also be an incentive for SMEs to operate across borders and raise capital abroad.  [9]   Levers Related to free movement of persons The second lever which is about Mobility for citizens, talks about creating a European professional card that will make mobility for workers across the EU easier while building a better level of trust and cooperation between different countries of the EU. Another proposal was the creation of the European skills passport which is a record of the skills possessed by a person who can travel across the EU and find different jobs. This way, the citizens can always have a proof of their skills.  [10]   Another lever aimed at facilitating the free movement of persons is the seventh lever proposed which talks about The digital single market. This lever proposes that there should be a mutual electronic identification and authentication throughout the EU. This will be beneficial not only for people moving from one country to another, but also to businesses and public authorities, therefore it can also help in increasing the effectiveness of public services and procurement, service provision and electronic commerce (including the cross-border dimension). Levers Related to free movement of goods services The fifth lever talking about Services highlights the importance of standardisation as a tool used in the free movement of goods. This tools importance is growing bigger also in the services sector. This will help in improving cross-border services mainly between businesses and combat unfairness, by developing a more effective, efficient and inclusive system.  [11]  This system will work to see that standards are adopted quickly and adapted to new technologies. This will enable SMEs other similar groups to become more involved while standards remain available to everyone.  [12]   Levers Related to Law Enforcement Strengthening the EU Single Market Concluding Remarks

Why Is Religion Important? Essays -- Why Study Religion?

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." -- Dalai Lama In a world where religions plays such a major role in people’s lives, it is not surprising why it is such a major focus in the way choices and decisions are made. There are many religions throughout the world. Some are faiths with a very concentrated following in specific geographic areas, while others span the entire globe and have enormous numbers of followers. Each of the world’s major religions has definite distinctions that set themselves apart from others and that make them unique. These religions, however, all follow the same basic morals and guidelines that are quite similar. The most widely followed faith on the planet is Christianity. Followers of Christianity believe that God sent his own son Jesus to earth to save them from their own sinful ways. They believe that Jesus was killed for his teachings and was then resurrected after lying in a tomb for three days. The main Christian holy day is celebrated on the day Jesus rose from the dead. This day is known as Easter Sunday and is the center of the entire faith. The ultimate goal for Christians is to have their souls join God in heaven when they die where they will live forever in eternal happiness. Christianity is broken up into three different groups that follow similar beliefs but do differ on some. Roman Catholics are the first type. They make up the largest single faith in Christianity. Catholics are united under their leader, the Pope who resides in Rome. They interpret meaning from the Bible to use in everyday life. Roman Catholic scholars, who spend their lives interpreting ... ...s teachings say that all of life is suffering and that this suffering is caused by desire. He said that the only way to end suffering is to end desire and to end desire you must follow the Eight Paths of Enlightenment. There are other smaller groups of religious beliefs like Confucianism, which is basically a respect for elders. Most people in Japan follow this belief. Animism is a faith followed by more primitive cultures throughout Africa and Asia. This centers on the fact that spirits inhabit everything in nature and are thus worshipped for it. Religion remains a crucial part of world politics. It is the driving force behind much of today’s biggest problems, and until everyone learns to respect one another’s differences this unnecessary violence will continue. Dalai Lama Quote http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_religion.html#vM6qqb6vc2q3bDQk.99