...White or Black? A not so silent part of society at the time, racism is the main theme in Toni Morrison’s short story, “Recitatif”. The story is a recollection of the memory of a friendship effected by many factors, but mainly influenced by race. Although the races are ambiguous to the reader, the main characters Twyla and Roberta deal with an increasingly strained friendship until the two eventually reconcile at an older age. Through the use of first person narration, Morrison presents the issue of race and racism in a controlled, but effective perspective. Twyla’s first person narration is the only view of events we see and in turn becomes our own view. From the beginning of the story when Twyla and Roberta meet we get the sense that there is already a great divide between them, “It was one thing to be taken out of your own bed early in the morning-it was something else to be stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race” (139). We never find out what race Twyla or Roberta is, but this initial introduction shows that at least Twyla is uncomfortable being around Roberta. Is it really important that we know which race is which? Many people, myself included, read this over many times looking for clues that would indicate Twyla and or Roberta’s race. However, the only conclusion I reach is that it is unimportant whether or not we know. The fact that the friendship is interracial is enough to convey the theme. In fact, by not specifying either race it makes the...
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...Black and White The 1962 integration of the University of Mississippi by James Meredith represented a challenge of the social constructs that had defined the racial identity of many white southerners. This identity had been exclusively synonymous with a higher quality of employment, housing, and education. The movement embodied in Meredith’s efforts to obtain one of those privileges was well documented by the national media as one commentator in the described “the last gasp of the civil war.” However, underneath the apparent unified resistance of Mississippians and neighboring southerners, there were a variety of viewpoints , fears, and erroneous stereotypes that easily were overshadowed by the generalized sentiment of “We don’t want negroes in our school.” The national media depicted rejection of black integration into Mississippi schools by racist central protagonist and there supporters as the sole theme of the conflict, but they failed to incorporate the perspectives of those who took on the roles of passive bystanders and dissenters . The dominant narrative represented in the “Fighting Back” segment of The Eyes on the Prize was the total resistance and rejections of blacks as equal counterparts in higher education in the south. The sentiment was collected from the popular Jeffersonian belief amongst whites that their whiteness was a distinct trait of superiority to the identity blacks, a innately inferior race. This inferiority was the reasoning behind deficient...
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...BLANCO Y NEGRO MALORIE BLACKMAN Bestseller internacional Un libro absorbente e impactante LA AUTORA Malorie Blackman es una de las más importantes autoras en Gran Bretaña. Ha sido galardonada en numerosas ocasiones y ha recibido prestigiosos premios en los últimos años. Sus obras, magistralmente construidas, buscan provocar a los lectores. En esta novela Malorie Blackman logra estimular al lector de manera brillante, y enlaza una trama, inteligentemente construida, que atrapa al lector y le deja con ganas de más. LA OBRA Esta obra es el primer libro de una serie de cuatro novelas. Profundamente conmovedora y totalmente absorbente, esta novela es intrigante con un final impactante. Síntesis de la obra Sephy y Callum han sido grandes amigos desde su infancia y ahora, ya mayores, se dan cuenta que quieren algo más, pero la complicada realidad de sus vidas, en una sociedad segregada, empieza a tener sus consecuencias. Callum es un Cero, un ciudadano de segunda clase en un mundo dominado por las Cruces, y Sephy es una Cruz y la hija de uno de los hombres más poderosos del país. Las barreras que tienen que salvar para estar juntos parecen pequeños obstáculos para los dos jóvenes idealistas pero pronto esas barreras amenazan no sólo su amistad sino sus vidas. Comentarios “Este libro es simplemente brillante… una proeza de la imaginación. El libro más importante de ficción que he leído en muchos años” New Stateman “Llena de amor, intriga, sufrimiento...
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...The Black and White of Abortion Abortion is arguably the most controversial issue that exists today. Abortion is a religious matter, questioning the humanity of a fetus and if one has the right to kill it. This issue also causes disagreement between men and women, and whether women have the right to bodily autonomy. Furthermore, abortion questions which right is stronger, the right to bodily autonomy or the right to life. Mary Anne Warren and Judith Jarvis Thomson have similar stances on the issue, although both claim to be pro-choice. Thomson, through the famous violinist example, argues women have the right to bodily autonomy, which is stronger than a fetus’s right to life. Warren, on the other hand, states fetuses are not persons because they do not attribute the five-personhood traits. In this paper I will agree and disagree with both philosophers, to a certain extent. Two central issues surround abortion. First, is it permissible to kill a potential human being? Most Christians believe that at the moment of conception, a human life is created. Other people believe a fetus is not a person until after the period of time when it becomes illegal to have an abortion, typically after five months. Judith Jarvis Thomson is pro-choice. She believes the woman’s right to bodily autonomy is stronger than a fetus’s right to life, and proves so through the famous violinist example. She believes a person does not have a moral obligation to stay connected to the famous violinist...
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...World Literature 3, May 2012 BLACK and WHITE Obscurity Honor Jealousy Self-Destruction- One Man's Journey When a reader begins a book they want a story that will enthrall them; they want to be captured in every moment of the characters life. In Shakespeare's Othello, the reader gets swept away in a story of a man and woman that defied the odds of the Elizabethan Times. When the love story of Othello and Desdemona is being played out, the reader must have to wonder of its modern age theme. Is an interracial relationship any more accepted in today's society? Was the deception and lies of the men in Othello because they were truly racist, jealous, or both. As we look at Othello, we will see how a man went from being obscure to the reader in the beginning to being a loving, honorable, self-destructive, jealous man that was so trusting it ultimately ended the world he knew to be true. When Shakespeare wrote Othello it was before its time. The thought of an interracial couple coming together could be construed as an exploration of sorts as the author did in many of his plays. It seems he wanted to extract a real reaction from his audiences and with the coming together of this couple he did just that. As Othello and Desdemona begin their life, we begin to see that the men Othello believed to be true and loyal to him start to deceive and plot against him. In the beginning we don't really know Othello by name only described by Iago as "the Moor"; and by...
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...Студента 1 курса Экономического факультета РАНХиГС Тюменцева Вячеслава Черный и белый ящик. Конечное состояние. Понятие черного ящика традиционно приписывается английскому психиатру, специалисту по кибернетике, Уильяму Россу Эшби, использовавшему этот термин в книге «Введение в кибернетику», 1959г. Вообще черным ящиком называется система, устройство которой неизвестно в силу каких-либо причин, очень сложно, а потому не может рассматриваться полностью или неважно при решении данной задачи. Данный термин был введен впервые в кибернетике, т.к. именно в кибернетике исследователи имеют делосбольшими системами, не поддающимися детальному описанию. И для их изучения лучше всего подходит метод черного ящика. Метод черного ящика используется при решении задач, когда неизвестно внутреннее строение системы либо система очень сложна. Известны лишь данные идущие на вход(раздражители системы) и данные на выходе – реакция системы. Важно, что при решении таких задач, главная цель – понять поведение системы. На деле метод представляет собой ввод определенных данных, а затем сбор и анализ данных, полученных на выходе. По мере увеличения количества данных типа «вход-выход», становится возможным, делать предположения о поведении системы. Тем не менее, в независимости от объема данных, сделать однозначный вывод о внутреннем устройстве черного ящика нельзя, т.к. различные системы могут обладать одинаковым поведением. Хорошим примером применения метода черного ящика является изучение...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird: Black and White Have Never Just Been Colors Angie Scott IVY Tech Community College To Kill a Mockingbird, Black and White Have Never Just Been Colors Discrimination and prejudice transcend the ages, and the 1962 Oscar nominated film To Kill a Mockingbird shows us exactly that. It shows us that emotional, physical, and social choices we as human beings make will affect us and our world for generations to come. The film provides us with lessons in mankind that we can use in our world today. Upon your first viewing, you may not feel like it has relevance in your life today. You may be of the opinion that the world that Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson lived in is a far cry from our world today, but current events reflect otherwise. Most of us can remember the famous words spoken during the Los Angeles riots in 1992 by Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”, and we all can never forget where we were the moment the towers were struck on September 11, 2001. Very different in their own rights, each of these events was caused by prejudice or discrimination. While the top notch acting is unsurpassed in our world of CGI, 3D, and High Definition movie making, no breathtaking stunts, superheroes, fantastic cliffhangers, or 3D glasses are required to watch To Kill a Mockingbird. Gregory Peck, the actor who portrayed Atticus Finch, still stands 49 years since its original release, the greatest movie hero of the 20th century (American Film Institute, 4...
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...Black or White By Michael Jackson The song Black or White is a hip hop, rap song about racial discrimination written and first performed in 1991. The song was written by Michael Jackson in conjunction with Bill Bottrell. Black or White was a popular song reaching number one in 20 countries also, becoming the second best-selling single of the year. The message of the song and why Michael Jackson wrote the song is him not caring about whether you’re black or white. “The lyrics of this song are a plea for racial tolerance.” As stated in Songfacts. Michael uses many effective language features in his song black or white. The song makes use of some minor repetition, including the phrases “I am tired of this” and “I ain't scared of” each repeated...
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...Black/White: Kara Walker’s ‘Work in Progress’ I really wanted to know more about this particular piece of art. Yet I have found that I have learned so much more about Kara Walker and her various works. Kara Walker is a contemporary artist from California. She explores race, sexuality, gender, violence and identity in her work. In her silhouettes, Walker’s black characters are cut out of black paper and the white characters live in a white space of reflection. Walker uses black cuts outs of figures to emphasize a more dramatic effect as a silhouette. The majority of her works were inspired by images found in her favorite history books. She uses these images as an example of how whites viewed black slaves in the antebellum south (Shaw). Research into Kara Walker’s work leads me to believe the intent may be deeper than that. Walker’s work often caused an issue with other members of the art community. She was accused of not having a sensitive opinion on the topic of slavery. I am sure this can be due to the fact that she expresses herself through rough imagery which could easily be interpreted as disrespectful or offensive (Michele'Kieffer). Kara Walker addressed the issue in an interview by stating “The work is not about slavery so much as it conjures horrors of reconstruction and 20th-century Jim Crow-ism and the Tea Party.” Since her first exhibit Walker has become an international success, been labeled a genius and has won the MacArthur Fellowship. Kara Walker’s work resonates...
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...Black nor White, slave or slave owner, it doesn’t matter, both races deserve the same quality of medical care, because they’re living human beings who deserve respect and equal rights. Down in the South, in the eighteenth century, doctors were scarce, which forced slaves and slave owners to rely on their own medical practices and some used manuals written by medical professional to concoct medicines. With the limited accessibility to physicians, the slaves became essential in providing medical treatments to people on the plantations. Several different remedies and plants, including “using plants, herbs, roots, and non-herbal substances as ingredients for medicine…[also] peach tree leaves, catnip, sage, raspberry leaves, pine needles, mustard...
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...In this essay I will prove that in the story “White Fantasy-Black Fact” by Jack Davis, people continually judge each other without necessarily meaning to. Often times people like to believe that we live in a world where everyone is equal, but that is not always the case. Even though we have come a long way from the way things were in the past with racism and discrimination, it still exists in the time of this story and it still exists today. In the beginning of the story, a bus driver is driving around thinking about his family, and his new baby, Peggy Sue, it mentions that he dislikes violence, and cruelty to animals. He sends money overseas every year to help the less fortunate. He is happy to live in the country that he does. As it says on page 430 “He was glad he lived in a country that was white, where there was plenty for all, where nobody starved and where everyone was equal.” He seems like a good man, if not a little racist. However, when he approaches an aboriginal family, he doesn’t let them on his bus because he thinks they are disease ridden and dirty. He doesn’t want to bring home their germs to his wife and daughter. He knows nothing about this family but he judges them based on their looks alone, maybe because they aren’t white, because he prides himself on living in a “white” country. The aboriginal family of eight is then left on the side of the road with a problem; they have to get to Perth for the baby’s doctor’s appointment...
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...Running Head: BLACK AND WHITE PRIVILEGE IN AMERICA 1 Black and White Privilege in America Jacki Barnes Davenport University Diversity in Society – SOSC201 Professor Narketta Sparkman October 21, 2012 Black and White Privilege in America There are many definitions of “white Privilege” in text books, media, and on the internet, but all of those definitions include one common thread: It allows white persons advantages over non-whites and it is a form of social privilege. According to Akbar (Koppelman, 2011, p. 44), white privilege originated with the arrival of the white man in America. He states that, “They began to effectively eliminate any contradiction to the imposed redefinition of reality that they dictated.” White privilege has been referred to as rightness of white, meaning that white is normal and any deviation from that is abnormal (Koppelman & Goodhart, 2011, p. 189). It offers economic benefits as well as cultural benefits. Being white means you will most likely be paid a higher salary, receive promotions, and have loans approved. In classrooms, anything that happened prior to white people arriving in America is referred to as prehistory (2011, p. 191). Because of white privilege, there are many things that white people take for granted that people of color have no access to. For example, whites can choose to purchase a home in an area they can afford and want to live in. Researchers at Dartmouth, the University of Georgia...
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...Incarceration has a negative impact socially as well as economically. In The Social Science Research journal, the article Incarceration and Black-White inequality in Homeownership: A state-level analysis discusses the impact of incarceration on the possibility of house wealth. This study evaluated data between incarceration and home ownership for a period over two decades. In addition, what was found is that not only does incarceration decrease the opportunity for home ownership for the majority population but especially for the Black population. Moreover, incarceration affects the inmate and their significant others financial outlook as well. This is another strong factor in the widening the Black-White home ownership gap. This is especially...
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...Part 1: Analyze the impact that the nation’s growing racial diversity will have on schools and students. Neapolitan ice cream because our culture merely merge together in which we have our individual cultural aspects but together they make up the school population. Part 2: Hate groups in US; does this surprise you? The links did not work for me but it does not surprise me that there are hate groups in the United States. There are people that feel they are completely right not matter what you think and will make other believe what they believe. It is very sad that we do have hate groups and we need to learn that we all don’t have to agree but we must get along with each other. Part 3: White and black twins Study; What are your thoughts? I think...
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...baptism is done for Christians. (Watch Scene 28.) Derek does realise in prison that essentially the ideology is flawed and that others simply use it and him for their own means. He must now battle to destroy the mythology that has been set up around him and so prevent his brother from heading down the same path. (Watch Scene 16 as Cameron is confronted and belittled by logic but finally force.) Prejudice and the manipulation of others. Essentially the film bases itself around the idea of hatred and prejudice of races against each other. Derek primarily, and to a lesser extent Danny, are manipulated in their innocence, firstly unconsciously by their father (watch Scene 27) and then Cameron (watch Scene 15). This is echoed by the minor black character who eventually takes Danny’s life in a ‘photo negative’ action that parallels Derek’s. The problem is that the manipulation and persuasion exists in the form of logical arguments, twisted as they might be. It is easy to see how people in...
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