The Message of the Black Ball free essay sample

The theme of the story would have to do with Persistence and doing hard work through the tough times. In the story, in the beginning it starts of with john doing custodian work â€Å"mopping the lobby†¦. Sweeping and dusting the halls, and emptying the trash. †(343) And it shows that he is doing low class work even though he has a good education. He is a single parent having to take care of his son â€Å"I gave him his food and settled into a chair to study†¦ (348) and while at that, instead of watching TV or doing any other activity, he would rather further his education Also, he has a white boss that does not see him as a human being and all that he is interested in are materialistic things in life like his money for the nicely polished brass that john polishes as part of his job. If you see it all at once, you see that john is a low class worker that has to raise a child on his own and his boss just sees him as a way to make his own income, those are part and most of the difficulties john has to endure and not just John but his son as well. We will write a custom essay sample on The Message of the Black Ball or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the story, the way john acts and the way he speaks shows a lot about his personality and how educated he is. In the south, most people talk with a southern accent using the word howdy but john says good morning in a educated and well mannered way compared to the others including white union workers. John shows a lot of love and care for his son showing that he has nothing against being a single parent loving his son no matter what. Some of the hardships he had to face is when his son would ask him â€Å"Am I Black†? And John would just tell him â€Å"of course not, you’re brown. You know you’re not black† (344). What john is trying to teach his son here is that there is no point in saying there’s black and then there’s white, his trying to teach him that no matter what race you are they are all individuals. What Ellison was trying to do with him metaphors and symbols was to try and explain the theme. A symbol for example was the word black because it was a negative label according to the whites in the white world. White supposedly means pure and innocent and at the same time johns son is playing with a white ball and that’s symbolism for the experiences he will have. Also, the term â€Å"Behind the black ball† means that you are in a losing position and its reference comes from a game of pool. The Black Ball in the story is used as a symbolic way of racism and the way people discriminate. In the story, you can see that john is passive men that try’s to avoid conflicts in any way possible. There was when john lied to the stranger and also his boss about what the stranger wanted so that it wouldn’t make Mr. Berry upset. Also, when John agrees with Mr. Barry about his son broke his plants knowing that it wasn’t actually his son and that some white bully threw it up there, but instead went along with it to avoid conflict. John is trying to protect his love one and those around him which makes him passive. The way Ellison used metaphors, symbols, and characterization shows how the author felt with his own experiences with racism and discrimination also affected what he thought himself of himself. In the story, Johns son says that he wants to be a truck driver because he saw another African American driving and working with one and that showed john that his sons expectations of a better future were really low and he wasn’t thinking of reaching beyond the stars and do some professional work. In the end, John sees that he has to see beyond some ones skin color and you find out the true person that person really is like the union worker that was a white but had a good heart and his boss that was quite the opposite but there are both just people.

Proud and intensely individual, I really want to s Essays

Proud and intensely individual, I really want to s Essays Leo Proud and intensely individual, I really want to stand out, to be the very best I can be, and to be recognized and appreciated for my unique contributions. Doing something well and being respected for it is extremeluy important to me and I cannot tolerate being in the background, taking orders from otheres, or being jsut one of the team. I must put my personal stamp on whatever I do, and direct my own course in life. I need to have a place where I can shine, express myself creativelym, and be the one in charge. I have big drezms and determination, spirit, vitality, and enthusiam to bring them into being. I also have a noble romantic heart, and a love of the dramatic, colorful, and wxtravagant. For me it is true that all the world's a stage and I secretely ( or perhaps not so secretely) desire to be the Star or Hero in the play. I want to be great and to receive the lkove and applause of an adoring audience evein if the audience is just one other special person. I need someone to believe in me and my dreams. Though I appear radiantly self-confident and independent, I am actually very much depenbdent on the affirmation, love. and recognition of others. I cannot bear the thought of being unnoticed or unappreciated. I also love wholeheartedly and genrerously and really know how to make the person I love feel special. I love the magin of being in love and know how to keep the romance alive in the relationship. I am also immensely loyal and will defend my loved ones and stand by them to the end-as kibg as they never offent my pride or betray my trust. HowevermI like to be the strong one in a relationship and I really do not share the leading role very easily. Ideally, I need to find a person who is as strong-willed as myself, but who will not tryt to dominate or compete with me. My strengths are my zest and love for life, my creative power, and my warm and generous heart. My primary fault is my tendency to be very egocentric, so concerned with the impression I am making and with my own creative self-expression that I forget there is another, larger world that down not revolve around me. Bibliography Fox, Kellie.

Comparing the Hydrogen Bomb and the Atomic Bomb

Comparing the Hydrogen Bomb and the Atomic Bomb A hydrogen bomb and an atomic bomb are both types of nuclear weapons, but the two devices are very different from each other. In a nutshell, an atomic bomb is a fission device, while a hydrogen bomb uses fission to power a fusion reaction. In other words, an atomic bomb can be used as a trigger for a hydrogen bomb. Take a look at the definition of each type of bomb and understand the distinction between them. Atomic Bomb An atomic bomb or A-bomb is a nuclear weapon that explodes due to the extreme energy released by nuclear fission. For this reason, this type of bomb is also known as a fission bomb. The word atomic isnt strictly accurate since its just the nucleus of the atom that is involved in fission (its protons and neutrons), rather than the entire atom or its electrons. A material capable of fission (fissile material) is given supercritical mass, while is the point at which fission occurs. This can be achieved by either compressing sub-critical material using explosives or by shooting one part of a sub-critical mass into another one. The fissile material is enriched uranium or plutonium. The energy output of the reaction can range to the equivalent of about a ton of the explosive TNT up to 500 kilotons of TNT. The bomb also releases radioactive fission fragments, which result from the heavy nuclei breaking into smaller ones. Nuclear fallout mainly consists of fission fragments. Hydrogen Bomb A hydrogen bomb or H-bomb is a type of nuclear weapon that explodes from the intense energy released by nuclear fusion. Hydrogen bombs may also be called thermonuclear weapons. The energy results from the fusion of isotopes of hydrogen- deuterium and tritium. A hydrogen bomb relies on the energy released from a fission reaction to  heat and compress the hydrogen to trigger fusion, which can also generate additional fission reactions. In a large thermonuclear device, about half of the yield of the device comes from fission of depleted uranium. The fusion reaction doesnt really contribute to fallout, but because the reaction is triggered by fission and causes further fission, H-bombs generate at least as much fallout as atomic bombs. Hydrogen bombs can have much higher yields than atomic bombs, equivalent to megatons of TNT. The Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated, was a hydrogen bomb with a 50 megaton yield. Comparisons Both types of nuclear weapons release vast quantities of energy from a small amount of matter and release most of their energy from fission, and produce radioactive fallout. The hydrogen bomb has a potentially higher yield and is a more complicated device to construct. Other Nuclear Devices In addition to atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs, there are other types of nuclear weapons: neutron bomb: A neutron bomb, like a hydrogen bomb, is a thermonuclear weapon. The explosion from a neutron bomb is relatively small, but a large number of neutrons are released. While living organisms are killed by this type of device, less fallout is produced and physical structures are more likely to remain intact. salted bomb: A salted bomb is a nuclear bomb surrounded by cobalt, gold, other other material such that detonation produces a large amount of long-lived radioactive fallout. This type of weapon could potentially serve as a doomsday weapon, since the fall-out could eventually gain global distribution. pure fusion bomb: Pure fusion bombs are nuclear weapons that produce a fusion reaction without the aid of a fission bomb trigger. This type of bomb would not release significant radioactive fallout. electromagnetic pulse weapon (EMP): This is a bomb intended to produce a nuclear electromagnetic pulse, which can disrupt electronic equipment. A nuclear device detonated in the atmosphere emits an electromagnetic pulse spherically. The goal of such a weapon is to damage electronics over a wide area. antimatter bomb: An antimatter bomb would release energy from the annihilation reaction that results when matter and antimatter interact. Such a device has not been produced because of the difficulty synthesizing significant quantities of antimatter.

How should one live Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

How should one live - Coursework Example However, we should not forget that all people are linked to the earth. In this regard, we are all connected, and this connectedness requires us to live in harmony and ecologically conscious. The question on how an individual should live is significant to human existence. Aristotle provided an explanation on how one should live through the concept of eudaimonia (Pojman, 2005). This concept was translated to imply happiness, fulfillment and human flourishing. Aristotle gave this answer because he established that eudaimonia was the only goal of life that could be taken into account as "an end in itself, and not a means to another end" (Pojman, 2005). Aristotle can be viewed to have offered an appropriate manner to live, if such a thing subsists. He came up with eudaimonia through observing the virtues that were portrayed by people who seemed happy and flourish (Pojman, 2005). As it was, such people conducted themselves with some degree of courage, honesty, integrity, honor, fairness and rationality. Therefore, how one ought to live is concerned with ethics, which develops an individual’s virtuous character (Pojman, 2005). Notably, if an individual develops such a p ersonality, he or she understands the right thing to do and do

Charity Giving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Charity Giving - Essay Example Any person with high values and cultural values will provide high donation as per his or her financial status. Some may do charity for the help of the society by giving blood and donating the body organs in order to help others. This is done by the people due to their own moral values. The regularity of charity whether financial or in other forms depends largely on the person and his or her values in life. None of the charitable organisations can influence them as they are guided by their own ideas and views. A few people refer charitable giving as a personal value which is incorporated in the individual from the beginning of his/her life by the parents. The importance of finance and the gesture to help others in need are the values, which influence the charitable actions of the people. These values are incorporated among the people from the childhood (Duncan, 1999). No charitable institutions, advertisements and marketing strategies can influence the people. Charity depends on the p eople and it depends on the personal freedom and rights of the people to whether they want to do charity or not. Charity can be in money and also in kind. Personal values influence to a considerable extent the charitable action of the people. However, not only the values but also the demographic factors, such as the age of the person, wealth, gender and education contribute towards charitable behaviour. Strong personal values along with moral values have a high degree of influence charitable giving.

Developing Critical Thinking Essay -- Critical Thinking Reflection

A person is not born as a good critical thinker. The first thing that is needed is a level of maturity having the ability to conceptualize and understand the world (Boss, 2010). The skills that are associated with a person that has good critical thinking are: Analytical Skills: recognize and evaluate arguments to filter through to the truth. Effective Communication: ability to listen, speak, and write effectively. Research Skills: ability to gather, evaluate, and create supporting evidence. (Boss, 2010) In teaching critical thinking, Dr. Chan and Dr. Lau (n.d.) explain good critical thinking, â€Å"as the foundation of science and a liberal democratic society. Science requires the critical use of reason in experimentation and theory confirmation. The proper functioning of a liberal democracy requires citizens who can think critically about social issues to inform their judgments about proper governance and to overcome biases and prejudice.† A person with a level of maturity that is able to be research issues, through being analytical, and done by using good communication skills can be considered a good critical thinker. In my life, I have gone from not being a good critical thinker to getting much better as I have matured. In my younger years I used many of the resistances to critical thinking. The one that I used most often was distraction. This was especially true when I was in college for the first time. Many things were able to distract me from focusing on the tasks at hand. Now in my forties returning to school I have more clarity around the goals and this lets me accomplish the tasks more easily. I can listen, analyze, and research the issues more quickly and with more focus to accomplish the mission then in ... ...t created the universe before the big bang? God might not be just a figment created by religion but could be the ultimate creator of all that we see. Works Cited Boss, J. (2010), Think: Critical thinking and logic skills for everyday life (1st ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chan, J. & Lau, J. (n.d.). Module: about critical thinking. Retrieved from http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/critical/ct.php Goleman, D. (2001). Daniel Golemen: emotional intelligence. Thinkers. Charter Management Institute. Retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://go.galegroup.com.ezp-02.lirn.net/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA85608627&v=2.1&u=lirn_crevc&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w Hasan, M. (2012, January 9). God need not be the enemy of science. New Statesman [1996], 141(5087), 19. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezp-02.lirn.net/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA279138538&v=2.1&u=lirn_crevc&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w Developing Critical Thinking Essay -- Critical Thinking Reflection A person is not born as a good critical thinker. The first thing that is needed is a level of maturity having the ability to conceptualize and understand the world (Boss, 2010). The skills that are associated with a person that has good critical thinking are: Analytical Skills: recognize and evaluate arguments to filter through to the truth. Effective Communication: ability to listen, speak, and write effectively. Research Skills: ability to gather, evaluate, and create supporting evidence. (Boss, 2010) In teaching critical thinking, Dr. Chan and Dr. Lau (n.d.) explain good critical thinking, â€Å"as the foundation of science and a liberal democratic society. Science requires the critical use of reason in experimentation and theory confirmation. The proper functioning of a liberal democracy requires citizens who can think critically about social issues to inform their judgments about proper governance and to overcome biases and prejudice.† A person with a level of maturity that is able to be research issues, through being analytical, and done by using good communication skills can be considered a good critical thinker. In my life, I have gone from not being a good critical thinker to getting much better as I have matured. In my younger years I used many of the resistances to critical thinking. The one that I used most often was distraction. This was especially true when I was in college for the first time. Many things were able to distract me from focusing on the tasks at hand. Now in my forties returning to school I have more clarity around the goals and this lets me accomplish the tasks more easily. I can listen, analyze, and research the issues more quickly and with more focus to accomplish the mission then in ... ...t created the universe before the big bang? God might not be just a figment created by religion but could be the ultimate creator of all that we see. Works Cited Boss, J. (2010), Think: Critical thinking and logic skills for everyday life (1st ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chan, J. & Lau, J. (n.d.). Module: about critical thinking. Retrieved from http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/critical/ct.php Goleman, D. (2001). Daniel Golemen: emotional intelligence. Thinkers. Charter Management Institute. Retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://go.galegroup.com.ezp-02.lirn.net/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA85608627&v=2.1&u=lirn_crevc&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w Hasan, M. (2012, January 9). God need not be the enemy of science. New Statesman [1996], 141(5087), 19. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezp-02.lirn.net/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA279138538&v=2.1&u=lirn_crevc&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

Explication of “a Birthday Present” by Sylvia Plath

George B 11/18/11 Explication of â€Å"A Birthday Present† by Sylvia Plath For many readers, the draw of Sylvia Plath’s poetry is distinctly linked to her life as well as the desire to end her life. As Robert Lowell states in the forward of Ariel, â€Å"This poetry and life are not a career; they tell that a life, even when disciplined, is simply not worth it† (xv). â€Å"A Birthday Present†`, written by Plath in September of 1962 and hauntingly recorded in her own voice on audio in October of that same year, is just one of the many poems that comprise the collection titled Ariel.Its allusion to suicide is unmistakable. Its main theme is the escape from life that death provides. Plath’s life as well as her desire to end it is well documented, primarily because she has chosen to record her tormented existence in her prose and poetry. M. D. Uroff states, â€Å". . . she put the speaker herself at the center of her poems in such a way as to make her p sychological vulnerability and shame an embodiment of her civilization . . . we should reconsider the nature of the speaker in Plath’s poems, her relationship to the poet, and the extent to which the poems are confessional† (104).The novel, The Bell Jar, chronicles her college years and first attempt at suicide, and her poetry, primarily in the collection in Ariel, provides glimpses into her state of mind. She interjects herself into her work so deeply that it is unmistakable that the speaker in the poetry is Plath herself. With that firmly in mind, explicating this poem becomes a quest into the months that preceded her taking her own life on February 11th 1963. A symbol used in the poem â€Å"A Birthday Present† is the veil: The veil and what it may conceal is a theme that permeates the poem in multiple forms.In line 1 when the speaker says, â€Å"What is this, behind this veil, is it ugly, is it beautiful? † The speaker continues in the successive lines to question not only what it is but for whom it is for. In line 16, â€Å"Now there are veils, shimmering like curtains† and in lines 17 and 18 veils are compared to the light translucent material that covered the kitchen window as well as the misty air in January one would imagine she saw from her flat in England. And once again in lines 55-57 when she says â€Å"Only let down the veil, the veil, the veil.If it were death I would admire the deep gravity of it, its timeless eyes. † Here she wants to let down the veil and face it head on, and in the case of death, embrace it. This is certainly not the first time that the speaker has entertained the notion of ending her life. The speaker mentions in line 13 and 14 that she does not want a present as she is only alive by accident and in line 15, â€Å"I would have killed myself gladly that time any possible way. † Plath herself had a botched suicide attempt in her past that she used as a plot point in her novel, Th e Bell Jar.Biographer Caitriona O ‘Reilly chronicles the incident in 1953 after Plath finished a guest editorship at Mademoiselle in New York City. After prescription sleeping pills and Electroconvulsive therapy to combat depression, Plath attempted suicide through an overdose of sleeping pills (356). The accident, as the speaker refers to it, directly relates to the fact that she was found alive and nursed back to health: at least physically. There is also an aspect of what is expected from society of the speaker of the poem.Women in the 1950’s were expected to get married and procreate, not getting seriously interested in education and careers. These things would prevent a woman from leading a happy and normal feminine life (Bennett 103). Bennett also speaks of this, â€Å"Like most women in the 1950s†¦ Sylvia Plath appears to have accepted the basic assumptions of this doctrine or ideology even though she knew that in many respects they ran counter to the sprin gs of her own nature†Ã‚  (103). This certainly flew in the face of what Sylvia Plath was about.The speaker in the poem seems to lament this in lines 7 and 8, â€Å"Measuring the flour, cutting off the surplus, / adhering to rules, to rules, to rules. † Likewise, â€Å"Is this one for the annunciation? / My God, what a laugh† (9-10). Certainly, the ideals of society put forth in these lines, a woman’s place is in the kitchen and the comparison to the virgin birth of Christ, are an impossibility for an educated and tormented Plath. The speaker seems to have no other choice than ending the suffering.In the poem, there is a conflict concerning the end of the speaker’s life. In lines 21-26 the speaker is in essence asking for the relief of death and references the religious theme of the last supper in line 26, â€Å"Let us eat our last supper at it, like a hospital plate. † Line 27-29 states the problem with the present that is wanted, â€Å"I kn ow why you will not give it to me, / You are terrified/ the world will go up in a shriek, and your head with it,†. The speaker continues to lobby for relief, â€Å"I will only take it and go quietly. You will not even hear me open it, no paper crackle, / No falling ribbons, no scream at the end. / I do not think you credit me with this discretion† (Lines 33-36). The shame attached to suicide is overwhelming, not necessarily for the victim but those left to deal with societal pressures associated with it. The speaker seems to take this into account as she contemplates the act; it is more important that those left behind are unscathed than the torture that the speaker is going through. Discretion is more important than directly confronting the underlying problems.Finally, the speaker appeals to the giver’s sense of duty when she describes how her death has been occurring incrementally but not nearly as quickly as she would like. The use of words like motes (small p articles, like the dust particles that can be seen floating in the sunlight) and carbon monoxide (deadly despite being undetectable by smell or sight) described as sweetly breathable in the lines 37-43 are used to show how the speaker has suffered for years from invisible or nearly invisible things for quite a long time: â€Å"To you they are only transparencies, clear air,† (Line 37). Let it not come by word of mouth, I should be sixty/ By the time the whole of it was delivered, and to numb to use it† (Lines 53-54). The speaker is frustrated by the gift bearer insistence that death come slowly; the speaker cannot wait that long. â€Å"A Birthday Present† essentially reads like a suicide note trying to reassure those left behind that death is really a grand relief. Lowell elegantly sums it up: Suicide, father-hatred, self-loathing—nothing is too much for the macabre gaiety of her control.Yet it is too much; her art’s immortality is life’s deg radation. The surprise, the shimmering, unwrapped birthday present, the transcendence â€Å"into the red eye, the cauldron of morning,† and the lover, who are always waiting for her, are death, her own abrupt and defiant death (Forward xiv). Defiant in death as she was in life, one can only hope that Plath has found what she was missing.Works Cited Bennett, Paula. My Life A Loaded Gun, Female Creativity and Feminist Poetics. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986. Lowell, Robert. â€Å"Foreword. †Ã‚  Ariel. New York: First Perennial Classics, 1999. xiii-xvi. Print. O ‘Reilly, Caitriona. â€Å"Sylvia Plath. † N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. ;lt;http://www. us. oup. com/us/pdf/americanlit/plath. pdf;gt;. Plath, Sylvia. â€Å"A Birthday Present. †Ã‚  Ariel. New York: First Perennial Classics, 1999. 48-51. Print. Uroff, M. D.. â€Å"Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry: a Reconsideration. †Ã‚  The Iowa Review  8. 1 (1977): 104-115. JStor. Web. 16 Nov. 201 1. ;lt;http://www. jstor. org/stable/20158710;gt;.