Women in Vietnam Essay Example for Free

Women in Vietnam Essay In Vietnam, women were encouraged to serve within the government and other sectors within the state. Unlike in other countries where women are stereotyped as being weak, in Vietnam, it was different. (Insun, p47-p56) Women were treated as equals. They were given the same positions as those ones of women and were given the same respect. Women were especially encouraged to take up the jobs which were believed to be a man’s reserve. They went out of their way to serve their country as humanitarians, entertainers, military dependents, USAID, civilian nurses, in military, as correspondents and in special services. (Insun, p78-p80) There were a good number of women in Vietnam who served as professionals in the field of medicine, teaching, law, professional nurses, controllers of air traffic, language and intelligence specialists, photographers, physical therapists, aerial reconnaissance, legal officers, security officers and administrative positions. Civilian women in Vietnam also served in the Red Cross, journalists, humanitarian organizations and as flight attendants. They were also leaders in the churches. (Chen, p78) Despite the fact that these women were active then, they kept a low profile. Today, nobody can tell who these women are. This is because they don’t show off and have camouflaged. Women made very noble contributions towards the wars in Vietnam. They fought alongside men and did everything men did and they in fact did it a better. (Insun, p34-p67) It has been said that if the country of Vietnam must heal, women must come forward to reveal their involvements and experiences in the war. Unfortunately, they have not been recognized and acknowledged as significant in the history of Vietnam. The situation has been worsened by their silence and the pain and struggles kept deep within them. Women do not believe that they deserve the same recognition and respect like that given to men. (Woodside, p678) Women in special services were mostly under the army. These armies as well as civilians were under the employees’ defense department. The departments that were served by women were related to recreation and morale and included the bases of the Army in the states. (Song, p456) Most of the divisions were also related to works of arts and crafts, service clubs, libraries, movies, sports and entertainment. These women administered special programs, for example, ‘Rest’ as well as the program relating to recreation. The reason why women were entrusted with these positions was their warm hearted nature. They were icon of hope to the whole of Vietnam; they had a role of encouraging men and giving them morale during wars. They ensured that the homes did not fall apart despite their involvements in other services. Women were good volunteers in these services and they had the welfare of the country and the people in mind. It was not a burden to serve their country since they could see the big picture. (Taylor, p267) As librarians, women gave magazines, books and newspapers to the soldiers. The books served as sources of the correspondent courses they were taking and also for leisure. Most of their wonderful memories were hopping flights, clubs, time shared with friends as well as the loved ones. However, there were still some enmities created during the early days. Women fought wars along the beautiful coastline and peaceful villages and rice fields. These areas were My Lai, Chu Lai, the Que Son Valley, A Shau, Da Nang, Phu Bai and hue. Women witnessed the demise of thousands five bases as well as landing zones. (Woodside, p567) At the military, women served with pride. They knew that their efforts were for a worthy cause. They knew that their victory was a victory for all. During the women’s anniversary, they gathered their past and present achievements. There were at least one thousand and two hundred soldiers selected from the women population and served as band leaders and translators, clerks and typists. (Insun, p78)

Yeats’ Leda and the Swan and Van Duyns Leda Essay -- Leda Swan Essays

Yeats’ Leda and the Swan and Van Duyn's Leda  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   In Greek mythology, Leda, a Spartan queen, was so beautiful that Zeus, ruler of the gods, decided he must have her. Since immortals usually did not present themselves to humankind in their divine forms, Zeus changed himself into a great swan and in that shape ravished the helpless girl (Carey 58-59). Both William Butler Yeats and Mona Van Duyn base their poems "Leda and the Swan" and "Leda," respectively, on this story of a "mystic marriage." Yeats' focus on the sexual act itself, along with his allusions to Leda's progeny, manifest a grave and terrifying tone. While he raises Leda to a status similar to that of Mary, mother of Jesus, Van Duyn portrays Leda as a universal mother. By making both figures, Leda and Zeus, ordinary, she gives a "surprising twist" (Greiner 337) to the original myth, emphasized by her witty tone. In addition, whereas Yeats suggests that Leda has gained something from her encounter with Zeus, Van Duyn asserts that she has gained nothing, portray ing women in general as primarily objects of men's satisfaction. Yeats begins his poem by concentrating on the mere depiction of the rape scene. Words such as "beating, dark, helpless," and "terrified" provide this violent act of intrusion with negative connotations. The victim, Leda, is helpless against the power of the aggressor, Zeus, and terrified by his actions. Recalling the original Greek myth, Yeats clearly shows Leda's resistance at every step ("staggering girl," "helpless breast," "terrified vague fingers push"). Zeus' relationship with Leda parallels human interaction in general with either Satan or God. In Christianity, the prevailing religion of Yeats' time, pious men attempt to push away ... ...f violence, and underlying religious motif. Overall, Yeats instills fear into the reader, while Van Duyn elicits an occasional laugh; however, both poems are equally effective, one for its religious message and the other for its man bashing.    Works Cited    Barnhart, Clarence L. and Robert K. The World Book Dictionary. Chicago:Doubleday, 1985.    Carey, Gary. Cliffs Notes on Mythology. Lincoln: C.K. Hillegass, 1973. Greiner, Donald J. "American Poets since World War II." Dictionary of LiteraryBiographies. Detroit:Doubleday, 1980.    Heaney, Seamus. The Redress of Poetry . New York: Noonday, 1995.    Magill, Frank N. Critical Survey of Poetry. Engelwood Cliffs: Salem Press, 1982. Vol. 7 "Torah: The Five Books of Moses." Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1985.      

Understand Your Fats and Fibers

Dr. Joseph F. Robare Bad tats are saturated and trans tats. Saturated tats are mostly in meats, dairy products and tropical oils. Saturated fat raises both bad cholesterol and good cholesterol, while trans-fat only raises bad cholesterol. This makes trans fats technically worse than saturated fats. The better fats would be monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated will lower your cholesterol, and unlike polyunsaturated they do not lower your good cholesterol.Your best fats would be the omega-3s (fish oil). This fat has shown to protect people from sudden cardiac death (Schardt,2002). Before you can understand the difference between good and bad fats, you need to some information about them. There are four major types of fats: monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans-fats. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are known as good fats because they are good for your heart, your cholesterol, and your overall health. These fats are found in o live, soybean, canola, and corn oils, avocados, fatty fish, and soymilk.Saturated fats and trans-fats are known as bad fats because they increase your risk of disease and elevate cholesterol. These bad fats can be found in high-fat cuts of meat, packaged snack foods, butter, cheese, vegetable shortening, fried foods, and candy bars. Foods containing trans-fats, or trans fatty acids, are harmful because they are known to increase the risk of heart disease, increase total cholesterol levels, and cause your healthy HDL (good) cholesterol levels to drop. They are also responsible for clogging arteries and causing obesity.Saturated fat is a fat that contains only saturated fatty acids, is solid at room temperature, and comes mainly from animal food products. Some examples of saturated fat are butter, lard, meat fat, solid shortening, palm oil, and coconut oil. Saturated fat tends to raise the level of cholesterol in the blood. Unsaturated fat is a fat that is liquid at room temperature a nd comes from a plant, such as olive, peanut, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, or soybean oil. Unsaturated fat does not to raise the level of LDL (‘bad') cholesterol in the blood.Trans-fatty acids are an unhealthy substance that is made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation solidifies liquid oils and increases the shelf life and the flavor stability of oils and foods that contain them. Trans-fatty are acids found in vegetable shortening and in some margarine, crackers, cookies, and snack foods. Trans-fatty acids are also found in many deep-fried foods. Trans-fatty acids raise the ‘bad' (LDL) cholesterol and lower the ‘good' (HDL) cholesterol levels in blood, increasing the risk of heart disease.Trans-fatty acids are also known as trans-fat. Hydrogenated fats are saturated-like fats made from plant oils and fats that have been heated and pressure-processed. Hydrogenated fats are created when oil that is largely unsaturated, such as corn oil, has hydrogen added to it, causing fat to become more solid at room temperature. Lipids include such compounds as fats, fatty acids and cholesterol. Their most prominent function is providing energy for the body. Fiber and lipids are two different kinds of carbohydrates that are very important parts ofa human's diet.Fiber is what carries fats and cholesterol out of the body. It also helps in having a healthy diet and will help in managing your weight. Fiber is considered to be in the soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber is a type of fiber in which the dissolves in the water to form a gel like material. This process can help lowering cholesterol and the levels of glucose in the human digestion. Soluble ?ber is tound in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus, truits carrots, barley and psyllium. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010).Insoluble fiber cannot be bsorbed as well as dissolved in the water; in its original form, it will pass the digestive tract. Insoluble fiber has benefits in t he digestive system. Insoluble fiber offers many benefits to intestinal health, including a reduction in the risk and occurrence of colorectal cancer, hemorrhoids, and constipation (My Food Diary). Some good sources of insoluble fiber and they are whole wheat in bread, rice, nuts as well as some vegetables.

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez is a novel that is filled with imagery and subtext. In this novel, the description of individuals and their environment is used to expose and discuss the duality surrounding them. It draws into question the differing ways in which the natures of characters like Santiago Nasar and the Vicario twins can be interpreted. Throughout the novel, Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez’s descriptions Santiago Nasar lend themselves to two contrasting depictions; he is either the antagonist or the protagonist of the story. Either quality can be supported by the imagery Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez used in conjunction with the description of his character. One of the first things Nasar is associated with is bestial imagery, specifically that of falcons. Nasar is said to have learned the â€Å"mastery of high-flying birds of prey† (7) from his father, and that he carries his â€Å"falconry equipment† (5) with him during partridge season. Being a master of these predatory animals establishes him as a predator as well. Simply using falcons would be enough to associate him with predators but not enough to make him become one; however, being a master of these birds, having complete control over them, shows that he is a predator too. This lends support to the idea that Nasar is the antagonist of the story because inste ad of a falcon’s prey of snakes and rodents, his prey is young girls, especially virgins. On page 13, Nasar is described by Divina Flor, a young woman, as havingShow MoreRelatedChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1229 Words   |  5 PagesThe novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, a journalistic account of a historical murder, is written by author Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez. Continually through his career â€Å"Garcia Marquez employs journalistic writing techniques in his fiction, and particularly in Chronicle of a Death Foretold in order to produce a seemingly more authentic and credible work†( Gardener 3-4). This particular novel reads as if it is fictional. However, readers are interested to know that the account is based on a factualRead MoreChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1371 Words   |  6 Pagesyou can even learn from the events taking place within the novels. Stories I have read this semester includes â€Å"Chro nicle of a Death Foretold† by Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez will show racism, international racism, and cultural traditions that I have learned about. The conviction and idea of respect in the Columbian culture introduced in Chronicle of a â€Å"Death Foretold† by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is among the choosing parts of the character s convictions and activities. Any move done made to safeguard oneRead MoreChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1388 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Fake News†: Analyzing Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez’s subtle commentary and use of minor characters through syntax, juxtaposition, and periphrasis Chronicle of a Death Foretold revolves around the reporting of the murder of Santiago Nasar by the author; Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez, who operates under the pretense of impartiality and journalistic integrity to create a subdued commentary through his minor characters. Mà ¡rquez provides commentary on sociopolitical controversies frequent in his portrayed ColumbianRead MoreChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1325 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Society as Shown by Female Characters in Chronicle of a Death Foretold Emily Quinn Candidate Number: Works in Translation 35 B2 Ms. Prestash April 9, 2015 Through a Different Lens: The Exploration and Criticism of the Oppression of Women in Latin American Society as Shown by Female Characters in Chronicle of a Death Foretold The representation and portrayal of women in the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Mà ¡rquez provides an in-depth understanding of the diverseRead MoreChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1492 Words   |  6 PagesHowever often this may happen, Latin Americans are indeed American. Dealing with this identity crisis, many turned to writing as an outlet. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a successful author that utilizes this form of expression.Writing Chronicle of a Death Foretold, a story surrounding the true life of a Latin American at an earlier time in history. This enabled Marquez to extract his personal interpretation of America and exaggerate it in such a way that it is unique and believable in comparison to thatRead MoreChronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez661 Words   |  3 Pages In the novel, a murder becomes a mystery case. The plot of the novel is to not only distinguish who committed the crime, but also, his/her rationale behind doing so. In order to avoid the reader having to feel like a speculator, perhaps, Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez uses inconsistencies in writing to incite the confusion in the reader. This concept is best explained through the New York Time literary criticism article entitled, â€Å"MURDER MOST FOUL AND COMIC† (Michaels). Essentially, this criticism seeksRead MoreChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1354 Words   |  6 PagesIn the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Mà ¡rquez, multiple themes are brought to the table to shed some light on the tragedy that occurred in this small town in the novel. These themes, like social class, construct these personas that become the cultural norms that the citizens of this town seem to follow. The citizens’ ideas of social class have constructed the pyramid of power. People like Santiago Nasar and Bayardo San Romà ¡n are on the top of the pyramid while the Vicario familyRead Mor eChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1636 Words   |  7 Pages In â€Å"Chronicle of a Death Foretold† by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author creates an interpretation of a small Colombian town, which is the home of a Narrator who recalls the details of the murder of a man named Santiago Nasar. Marquez employs a unique, non-linear narrative in order to detail the events and outcomes of the whole ordeal of both Santiago’s death; in addition to the events that were transpiring during the matter. Spread intermittently throughout the narrative are traces of methodicalRead MoreChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1453 Words   |  6 PagesIn the novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez, developments in the plot occur because of the significance and effect of the patriarchal society, as well as the role of women in Colombia at the time the novel was written (1950’s). These developments occur with Gabriel Marquez’s use of technique and literary devices. In the novel, women were given considerably less choice in their life compared to women today. This ultimately leads to every significant conflict in the novelRead MoreChronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez1060 Words   |  5 Pages Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez, is structured in such a way that the single event the novel revolves around isn’t necessarily chronicled, as the name would suggest. With the death of Santiago Nasar being foretold on the very first page, the plot itself is not a mystery. However, the fact the Chronicle is incessantly a mind-blowing masterpiece is because â€Å"Art is not a thing - it is a way,† as Elbert Hubbard wisely defines art. Mà ¡rquez weaves together the multiple perspectives Chronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez Through a Different Lens: The Exploration and Criticism of the Oppression of Women in Latin American Society as Shown by Female Characters in Chronicle of a Death Foretold Emily Quinn Candidate Number: Works in Translation 35 B2 Ms. Prestash April 9, 2015 Through a Different Lens: The Exploration and Criticism of the Oppression of Women in Latin American Society as Shown by Female Characters in Chronicle of a Death Foretold The representation and portrayal of women in the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Mà ¡rquez provides an in-depth understanding of the diverse ways in which patriarchy is developed, established, and recreated in the Latin American context and experience. The women in Mà ¡rquez’s†¦show more content†¦Angela’s state of affairs raises questions concerning class exploitation as well as the role and circumstances laid upon women under the Catholic value system. For Bayardo San Roman, Angela is merely a passive object of his sexual desire. His class and wealth allow him the privilege of merely conquering whichever woman he finds suitable to his taste. In his essence, Bayardo is a personified representation of the foreign imperial presence throughout Latin America. At the beginning of the novel, it is established that Angela feels no attraction whatsoever to Bayardo San Roman. She had in no way any appreciation for his public display of interest in her and was not pleased with the manner in which he did not court her nor show any interest in her personal feelings, and was rather disappointed with the fact that he had â€Å"bewitched [her] family with his charm† (34). Mà ¡rquez thus criticises this exploitative system that leaves women without the ability to assert their own opinions. He conveys how family pressure, fueled by the anticipated proposal of social mobility, makes the situation worse. This is shown when the narrator

Okonkwos Foil - 849 Words

Diana DeBernardis, 5 Mr. Rosenberry Honors English 11 December 19, 2012 Okonkwo’s Foil â€Å"Opposites attract.† This is a very clichà © quote used by physicists and other scientific personnel, but it rings true in many different ways. In literature, the correct term for a character that sets off or enhances another character by contrast is called a â€Å"foil.† Pairs of characters that are foils to each other have very opposing views and personalities, but their presence with each other illustrates the qualities in a better light. The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a fictional novel which includes a main character named Okonkwo. Okonkwo has some very distinguishing features about him, but the fact that he has a foil in the novel†¦show more content†¦When Okonkwo explains to Obierika how he would strive to have a son like his because he is so strong and mighty, Obierika answers with a very pacifying response. â€Å"‘You worry yourself for nothing,’ said Obierika. ‘The children are still very young.’† (Achebe 66). This passage shows that Obierika is not so concerned about power and supremacy. Because of the contrast in Obierika’s traits, he is definitely a foil to Okonkwo because Okonkwo is very strong-minded, dogmatic, and hot-tempered. If something does not go his way, Okonkwo will do something very irrational about it. When Okonkwo asked his second wife where his third wife, Ojiugo, was he became angered because his second wife lied to him about Ojiugo’s whereabouts. â€Å"He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily† (Achebe 29). Okonkwo’s rationale of beating his third wife was in very poor judgment because he beat her during the Week of Peace. The Week of Peace was a week among the tribes where there was supposed to be no violence. This shows that Okonkwo has a very short temper and he does not tolerate nearly as much as Obierika can tolerate. Not only does Okonkwo differ from Obierika in the fact of their personality traits, but Obierika is a foil to Okonkwo because of Okonkwo’s hunger for power. Okonkwo himself was known as the most powerful man in his village because he threw Amalinze the Cat, who was a great wrestler who hadShow MoreRelatedChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart916 Words   |  4 Pagesthe foil character. This character is the complete opposite of the main character. Usually, a foil goes through the same events as the main character however he will see things differently and have a different opinion. The purpose of this character is to shed light on the main character, and to show how things could work out differently if the main character would have thought differently. In the novel â€Å"Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe there are multiple characters that could serve as foils forRead MoreTheme Of Racism In Joseph Conrads Heart Of Darkness1008 Words   |  5 Pagesangry that he cant do any thing when a group of Christians come and change things in the villages. Through character foils, diction and irony, Achebe develops the theme that a persons race should not factor into his characterization. First, Achebe uses character foils to shows that just because you are a certain race, it doesnt mean that you are a certain way. A man from Okonkwo’s village said looking at Okonkwo was like â€Å"‘Looking at a kings mouth,...one would think he never sucked at his mothersRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1341 Words   |  6 Pagesand divine wonder. Achebe emphasizes this difference to sardonically address how white men deemed their actions benevolent. 4.) Title The title belongs to a line from William Butler Yeats’s â€Å"The Second Coming†. Throughout the book, events such as Okonkwo’s decline in power and the arrival of white men reflect modernist ideas presented by the poem. Both literary works explore a breaking down of social norms and its psychological effect on people. 5.) Setting Achebe’s novel takes place during the 1890sRead MoreList Of Major Characters In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1345 Words   |  6 PagesFall Apart by Chinua Achebe Historical Date the Book was Published: 1958 List of Major Characters: Okonkwo: Main character, leader, power hungry man, tragic flaw leads to downfall Nwoye: Okonkwo’s son, joins Christianity, Okonkwo believes he is weak and unworthy, feels outcasted from community Ezinma: Okonkwo’s favorite kid, understanding, Okonkwo wishes she was a boy Mr. Brown: White missionary, brings peace and understanding to the Igbo people, builds schools and hospitals 4. List of Minor Characters:Read MoreThings Fall Apart and the Case Against Imperialism1433 Words   |  6 Pagesto achieve greatness as defined by his culture? How does he differ from Western heroes? What are Okonkwo’s strengths and weaknesses? 3. Describe Unoka, Okonkwo’s father. What are Okonkwo’s feelings toward Unoka, and why? How does the example of his father shape Okonkwo’s character and actions? Would Unoka be viewed differently in a different culture? 4. What do the early descriptions of Okonkwo’s success and Unoka’s failure tell us about Igbo society? How does one succeed in this cultural contextRead MoreAn Exploration of Proverbs in Things Fall Apart by Achebe Essay974 Words   |  4 Pagesthe dwarf wall of the barn. He [presses] the trigger and there is a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children.† This proverb sheds light on Okonkwos tragic flaw which is he always suppresses his feminine side. The proverb means that when you balance your feminine and masculine sides, you will be successful. Okonkwos problem is he was afraid of being thought weak so he always relies on his masculine side. Because he doesn’t listen to his feminine side, when he murders IkemefunaRead MoreCommentary on Passge (Page 124-125) of Things Fall Apart by Chnua Achebe1162 Words   |  5 Pagesis the sin of murder. While he is attending a funeral for a man named, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, Okonkwo’s gun accidentally explodes and kills Ezeudu’s sixteen-year-old son. Killing a clansman is a crime against their earth goddess, thus, Okonkwo and his family are sent into exile, being forced to go back to his motherland of Mbanta. The men of the family who have experienced the loss in this accidental death burn Okonkwo’s houses and kill his animals to cleanse the village of his sin of murder. Th ey do thisRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1617 Words   |  7 Pages In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the characters Ikemefuna and Obierika are used as â€Å"foil characters,† and reveal pertinent traits of Okonkwo’s true nature. The traits of Ikemefuna and Obierika contrast the traits Okonkwo, and allow the reader greater insight into Okonkwo’s fear of emasculation and his trepidation for the transformation of Igbo culture. Both Obierika and Ikemefuna accentuate the abhorrence Okonkwo has for becoming epicene and opprobrious like his father. Obierika also is skepticalRead MoreOkonkwo And Nwoye Analysis807 Words   |  4 Pageswas not as manly as he should be, and that he was quite lazy. Nwoye’s behavior began to change when Okonkwo brought Ikemefuna into the family. â€Å"Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who was two years younger, became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything. â€Å" (Achebe 35) In the novel , Ikemefuna was well admired in Umuofia, and was also Nwoye’s foil character. He knew everything that a person could possibly know, and taught Nwoye that laziness isn’t the answer. Nwoye’s change in behavior stoodRead MoreEssay on Gender in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1881 Words   |  8 Pageswe are not privy to the psychological workings of Okonkwo’s mind we are made aware of his blatant physicality that is projected outward in all directions in effect incarnating him as his society’s ideal of manhood. It is this attitude and manner that develops into an overbearing masculinity. On more than one occasion we are alerted to the fact that Okonkwo’s adoption of the manly ideal is excessive. Obierika seems to have been conceived as a foil to Okonkwo so that his attitude indicates the possibility

Communicating Through Numbers in Toni Morrisons Beloved...

Communicating Through Numbers in Beloved Humanity uses numbers as a way to communicate beyond words, evoking ideas more readily than words alone are able to. All religions and cultures have significant numbers that communicate an essence or idea more quickly and completely than words can. It is in this manner that Toni Morrison uses numbers in Beloved. Significant numbers occur starting with the first symbols of the text and the words on the pages before the body of the text starts. 124. The first thing to appear, and we already have a significant number. Sethe has four children. The third one is dead. Numbers 1, 2, and 4 remain. Another number that stands alone in its significance is twenty-eight. Twenty-eight†¦show more content†¦Rather than tell Sethe with words that trying to kill her children was inhuman, Paul D uses numbers: You got two feet, Sethe, not four (165). There are thirty women that arrive to remove Beloved. Thirty is a symbol of justice and order, according to Marianne Schimmel. When schoolteacher arrives with his party, they are described as the four horsemen (148). In fact, the only time a number occurs by itself as a sentence is to describe them: All the while it was coming down the road. Four. Riding close together, bunched-up like, and righteous (157). Each of these is a powerful symbol, though none of these numbers recur in the text, at least not with these meanings. Two is duality, a pair, a division. It is also a unity, two halves of the same whole. Sex is expressed in many cultures as a duality, the yin and yang, father sky and mother earth. In Beloved, twos, fours, and even twenties occur in situations related to sex and children. Baby Suggs has eight children (209), four girls, four boys. Sethe has four. Two boys, two girls. 124 has two stories, and Sethe and Paul D have sex on the second floor. At Mrs. Garners wedding, they ate four sheep (59). From the two buckets of blackberries he picked, Stamp Paid put two into the mouth of four week old Denver (170). At Baby Suggs revival, after talking about your life-holding womb and your life-giving private parts, the crowd sings in four-part harmony (89). Such a performance

Bureaucracy free essay sample

The following case, Wichita Confronts Contamination, involves a vast polluted underground lake containing hazardous industrial waste. The site is located in the heart of the downtown, Wichita business district. The contamination was spreading about a foot a day and it was feared that water quality deterioration and serious health issues would result. The City Manager, Chris Cherches, is faced with the responsibility to draft a plan to resolve the crisis. The following details the process and the dynamics.. During the period of 1990, the down town business district of Wichita, Kansas was experiencing economical hardship due to the skyrocketing oil industry and the nationwide real estate slump. At the same time, the local leaders were in the process of developing strategies for urban renewal and new investments that would stimulate economic growth. They estimated $375 million would cover the entire revitalization project. In the wake of all this activity, they discovered hazardous chemical waste had been detected in some private and industrial wells in downtown Wichita. The Banking industry got wind of this and put a damper on granting loans for real estate. In June 1990, a local manufacturer, Coleman incorporated, approached the legal department about a contamination problem he discovered in the fall of 1988. Panic struck†¦. and it all hit the fan†¦. when the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment, acting on behalf of the Environment Protection Agency, reported that Wichita was sitting on an underground polluted lake -dubbed the Gilbert and Mosley site.. The site was four miles long and one-and one half miles wide. The polluted aquifer was right beneath the â€Å"center† of the business district. The parcels affected had an estimated value of $86 million. This six-square mile area included major banks, hotels, homes and industrial headquarters. During the investigation, (KDHE) discovered a chemical degreaser used on metal was found at Coleman’s â€Å"headquarters† at the north end of the site. Question? Who is the responsible party? City Manager, Chris Cherches developed a comprehensive report that estimated to clean the aquifer could cost about $20 million and take as long as 20 years. Chris Cherches presented his report to the (KDHE) and they had two recommendations: Either the companies responsible could clean up the area, or the state would rank the site for National Priority List, the first step toward activating â€Å"Superfund†. Initiated in 1980, a Superfund site is a toxic waste site that falls under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program. Superfund sites are areas contaminated with hazardous material left by corporate or government entities whose operations may have moved. The federal government launched the landmark Superfund program to wipe out the problem. Under the Superfund law, passed by Congress, companies and other parties found responsible for polluting sites are required to clean up the areas or pay the costs for cleanup to the (EPA). The National Priorities List (NPL) is the EPA’s list of toxic waste sites that the agency has determined present a significant risk to human health or the environment. (2) In addition, KDHE’s report identified 508 other area businesses as Potentially Responsible Parties under Superfund law. Even more threatening, if the financial institutions made real estate loans in the Gilbert-Mosley district, they too could incur Superfund liability. As a result, all lending activity was halted. A local developer, David Burk, lost investors because it suddenly became impossible to sell property in that area. As the threats of uncertain liability arose, and the lost of real estate sales, the county appraiser’s office was receiving request for property reduction. Devastation was all over the place†¦with property values going down, groundwater issues, there would be no need for urban redevelopment. City Manager, Cherches had to quickly weigh his options and develop a plan as soon as possible. His first priority was to begin cleaning up the aquifer and second, convince the financial institution to resume lending in the Gilbert-Mosley area. He believed that as long as property values remained at their quota, then the community core could be salvaged. The next urgent order of business was to convince Coleman and others to take charge of the Gilbert-Mosley site because it was a business dilemma. A â€Å"potentially responsible party† or PRP, is a company, organization or individual that the EPA determines possibly played a role in the contamination of a Superfund site. This includes parties involved in generation of the waste, and parties involved in transporting it to the site. PRPs can also include past and present owners of the land or facility, and past and present facility operators. In his research, City Manager, Cherches discovered that groundwater contamination had also occurred three years earlier at a smaller site known as 29th and Mead. The same rhetoric occurred regarding this particular site†¦. banks stopped lending, property values lowered 40 percent , and the city came in agreement with Coleman to pay for the initial (EPA’s) Feasibility Study. However, during that period, negotiations were stalled and the state placed the site on the National Priorities List resulting in years of real estate entanglement. Cherches did not want to repeat â€Å"History† given this experience since time was the essence. There were more than 500 other PRP’s and Coleman was denouncing full responsibility for the over-all contamination. Therefore, the city was in a horrific stance on agreeing who was responsible for what. If there were no agreement resolutions, then there could be no quick clean up action and the Banking industry would not resume lending until the contamination issue had been resolved. The next option and far less appealing was to allow EPA and the Superfund to become involved in the project. (3) If they became involved, the cost of cleaning up Gilbert-Mosley would be astronomical. Cost not limited would include: oversight contractor cost to monitor the work flow of the regular contractor, polluters faced administrative cost of EPA itself and prolonged multi-party litigation cost. In as much, EPA was allowed to charge punitive charges as a means of replenishing their fund and the Superfund law called on EPA personnel to charge their time to the private firms. The Superfund is desperately short of money to clean up abandoned waste sites, which has created a backlog of sites that continue to menace the environment and, quite often, the health of nearby residents. Initially, the program was funded by a tax on polluters, which fed the actual â€Å"Superfund†, a pool of money used to pay for the clean up sites whose polluters were unknown or unable to do the work. But the tax law expired in 1995, under a Republican-controlled Congress, and the $3. 8 billion that had accumulated in the fund at its peak ran day in 2003. As a result of the funding shortage, site clean up plans are stretched out over longer periods of time because there isn’t enough money to get them done quickly and still pay for other ongoing cleanups. Currently, fund-led cleanups are paid for with taxpayer money and any money recovered form PRPs. Accordingly, a number of construction completions have been delayed on purpose. City Manager, Cherches knew that involving the Superfund would be a massive undertaking of funding and lost of momentum. Steps to a typical Superfund cleanup could take up to 10 years of which seven years are spent on study assessment, legal proceedings and creating a remedy before the actual cleanup begins. Mayor Knight consulted with other mayors about his contamination problem and they warned him to avoid Superfund. Manager, Cherches decided to reject both options presented by the (KHDE) and to develop a platform for the city of Wichita to take full responsibility for the Gilbert-Mosley cleanup. Wichita began to develop strategies and create various mechanisms to encourage the banks to start lending in the contaminated area again. The key was to find a way to â€Å"finance† their massive clean up problem. Cherches had to prove to the state and the EPA that he could dead lock funds to support what could be a 20 year project. He knew that Coleman would pay as much as possible, but recouping clean up cost from the other polluters was uncertain. Therefore, Cherches developed a powerful alternative to impose a statewide tax that would spread the burden to the broadest number of constituents. (4) Wichita City Council was not in favor of committing tax dollars for such an arduous task. Before the city of Wichita could undertake this project; they had to be determined to make this work long before a commitment from Coleman and other major contributors was settled. No one knew of any city stepping in to accept liability for a contamination problem it had not caused. The central business district in Wichita could not afford to wait any longer. The success of the plane would depend on â€Å"Intergovernmental Relations† meaning cooperation from †¦. the city manager’s office, the city council, the county commission, the school board, lenders, constituents, Coleman, KDHE, the state legislature, the governor and the EPA. KDHE had warned the city that if a cleanup plan had not taken shape, the state would recommend that EPA take over. If Wichita was unable to solve it, then the inevitability of â€Å"Superfund† was pending. City Manager, Chris Cherches quickly set up a tax increment finance plan that would raise funds for the redevelopment district. Once the improvements were in place, the difference between the old and the new property assessments would create a higher value increment that would be used to pay for the revitalization program. This program is defined as a â€Å"decrement plan†. They would â€Å"devalue† all the property in the Gilbert-Mosley area by 40 percent and then immediately raise values back up to their pre-contamination level believing that the city would restore lost value. The difference would be set aside to finance the cleanup. Cherches round table negotiations with the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment, city council, the public and the EPA were all in favor of his concept. The next order of business was to convince bankers to resume lending. The bankers soon became allies with Cherches because they too would have been held liable for the cleanup as well as losing the value of their Gilbert-Mosley investments. The catch, bankers were reluctant to resume lending until they had some legal protection in place from cleanup liability. The city devised a document called, â€Å"Certificate and Release for Environmental Conditions† to protect and release property owners, businesses, banks and residents from any Superfund cleanup liability. All anyone had to do was just apply to the city for this document. The banking industry embraced the idea of the certificate, but they wanted the city to receive firm assurance from the (EPA) that they wound not take over the Gilbert-Mosley site and override the agreements with KDHE and Coleman or push through to make changes in state law used for long-term projects. (5) With all minds in agreement, EPA agreed and the city followed all requirements, but with (KDHE) acting as the primary oversight agency. All the city had to do was report to regularly to the EPA on its progress. Although no written documents were signed, Morris Kay, Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, guaranteed that as long as the city was operating according to agency requirement, Superfund would not intervene. At the last minute, the city learned that a Kansas state law called â€Å"Cash Basis-Budget† designed to ensure fiscal responsibility would not allow local government to commit operating revenues beyond one year. The city needed an exception and an amendment to TIF law because they had to be able to commit funds raised over a long term period. The Gilbert-Mosley project was a 20 year effort and they needed those funds to contract with (KDHE). To get approval, the decision would be in the hands of the city legislatures who met only from January through April. Noted from previous settings, the legislatures were very antagonistic and hard to convince. Matters didn’t get any better when both the county assessor and the state property director declared the city’s tax increment proposal as unworkable†. In its place, three County Legislators who reviewed the city TIF bill, enacted an amendment that allowed municipalities to earmark 20 percent of a specially created TIF annual property tax for environmental cleanups. It functions like the decrement plan. Each year 20 percent of property tax revenues would go toward ground water clean up for the next 20 years. On March 26, Wichita signed a decree with (KDHE) outlining the oversight responsibility and explaining how the Certificate of Release would come into play. On April 23, Coleman signed an agreement to pay $1 million for the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility study and to pay all cleanup cost for the area where he was the main polluter. In addition, he agreed to split cost with the city in a second area where he was a contributor to the contamination. Coleman acted in good faith because if he Gilbert-Mosley site became a Superfund, he would have been subject to higher cost and endless third party litigations. Surprisingly, one week after Coleman signed his contract, the Kansas Legislators approved the city TIF bill. Finally, on May 14, several banks came in agreement to lend on the security of real properties within Gilbert-Mosley as long as they had obtained a Certificate and Release for Environmental Conditions. One year after the Certificate and Release program began, the business district in the Gilbert-Mosley area returned to normal. (6) In conclusion, the sharing of responsibility and power between Kansas and the government is an example of check and balances. It would be difficult for any one system to make rational decisions to benefit activities or to design any coherent changes in the system itself†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦it requires Interdependence, Complexity and Intergovernmental Bargaining. Power is shared. Instead of one branch controlling decisions about policy, it must be mutual and accommodating. The style of decision making is one of bargaining under conditions of conflict among the participants. The participants in government have different interest to serve and objectives to seek: yet one cannot succeed by acting unilaterally.