Kingsolver s The Poisonwood Bible - 1161 Words

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, is about a missionary family, the Prices, who move from Bethlehem, Georgia to a small village in the Congo. They choose to move during a time when there is great upheaval about to happen in the region. The reader learns about their trials and tribulations of life in the Congo through the five Price females, who talk about the events from their own the points of view. In the beginning, I thought I would not like this book; however I found that I had a hard time putting it down and ended up finishing the book quickly. There were many things Kingsolver did to make this book so appealing. From her use of dialogue and imagery, with such different character personalities, set in a historical time which gave this piece of fiction a hint of authenticity, to her underlying theme of human nature, both good and bad. It is all of these things combined which make The Poisonwood Bible a highly recommended book to read. Kingsolver’s us e of the five Price females as narrators is a little difficult to follow at first. The reader bounces from the point of view of this character to the point of view of that character, sometimes with the events overlapping to other events happening years apart. It is also a little difficult to follow as the novel bounces from Orleanna Price, the mother, who is reflecting on her past life, to the girls, Rachel, Adah, Leah and Ruth May, who are telling their parts as if they are current. An example of thisShow MoreRelatedBarbara Kingsolver s The Poisonwood Bible Essay1697 Words   |  7 PagesBarbara Kingsolver’s ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ accentuates the relationship between those in power, the bourgeoisie (Westerners), and those subordinated to power, the proletariat (Congolese). Socio-economic forces including political and religious ideologies are used as a means to justify colonial control within the Congo. According to Marxist literary criticism, â€Å"these over arching ideologies make up the ‘superstructure’ which functions to legitimize the power of the ruling class in society.†- a conceptRead MoreCultural Morality: Comparative Analysis between a Fine Balance and the Poisionwood Bible1322 Words   |  6 PagesCultural Morality Comparative Analysis between A Fine Balance and the Poisionwood Bible Cultural relativism really emphasizes the concept that each individual cultural belief differs from one societal class to another; in consequence, moral and ethical principles are related to what a certain culture perceives to be considered acceptable or unacceptable, right or wrong. Jack Donnelly, a teacher at the University of Denver, he states, when internal and external judgments of a practice divergeRead MoreCompare And Contrast A Doll House And The Poisonwood Bible1604 Words   |  7 PagesTorvald’s true nature of selfishness is revealed. Nora leaves him, recognizing their marriage as unequal. Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible is set thousands of miles away in the Congo compared to the northern European setting of A Doll House, where the Price family newly settles in as Christian missionaries, headed by husband and father, Nathan Price. The Poisonwood Bible follows four main characters, the Price girls, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. The family is dri ven apart by inner familialRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1352 Words   |  6 Pagessuccessful. In the beginning of The Poisonwood Bible, Orleanna introduces to the readers in a third person’s point of view, â€Å"The daughters march behind her, each one tensed to fire off a woman’s heart on a different path to glory or damnation† (5). Orleanna, a mother who lives throughout the story of The Poisonwood Bible, acknowledges how women, in great numbers, are found walking down the path of trying to be successful. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, involves the Price family of 6, whichRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible, By Barbara Kingsolver, And Jane Eyre1320 Words   |  6 Pagesfuture. In the novels â€Å"The Poisonwood Bible,† by Barbara Kingsolver, and â€Å"Jane Eyre,† by Charlotte Bronte, the authors express that when children are brought up by a selfish guardian it will negatively affect them. â€Å"The Poisonwood Bib le† is about a christian family of six who go down to the Belgian Congo on a mission trip to â€Å"save† the Congolese. But instead of â€Å"saving† them,â€Å"[they] aimed for no more than to have dominion over every creature that moved upon the earth†(Kingsolver 10). On the other handRead MoreComparing Poisonwood Bible And Taming Of The Shrew1443 Words   |  6 PagesBourikas 1 Victoria Bourikas Mrs. Waldorf Women in Literature 16 January 2014 Male and Female Characters in Poisonwood Bible and Taming of the Shrew The Poisonwood Bible and Taming of the Shrew are two works of literature that . The Poisonwood Bible, written by Barbara Kingsolver, is a story about the Price family’s journey deep into the heart of the Congo on a mission to save the unenlightened souls of Africa. Nathan Price, the Baptist minister responsible for moving his family, lives solely byRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1732 Words   |  7 PagesThe Poisonwood Bible 1998 Historical Fiction Characteristics: Unique location, Primitivism, different ways of speaking and racial views Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver, born in 1955, grew up in Kentucky and lived in many different countries such as : England, France, and Canary Islands. She attended Debauw University and University of Arizona where she earned a biology degree. Kingsolver now is a beloved author of eleven books and has been named the most important author of the twentieth centuryRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible2189 Words   |  9 Pagesthe 1950’s European and American imperialism tore asunder what tranquility there was in the Congo. These countries may have not been aware of their influence at the time, but the outcome nonetheless was drastic. Cultural misunderstandings were the ultimate catalyst for the Congo’s destruction. In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Poisonwood Bible published in 1998 she exposes how cultural ignorance creates problems. With her chosen syntax, point of view, and time gap of each narrator Kingsolver exposesRead MoreThe Poison Wood Bible1048 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Po isonwood Bible (1998), author Barbara Kingsolver uses an array of stylistic features to influence the meanings that the readers make of the text. Perhaps the most prominent aspects of style employed are the manipulations in narrative voice. The novel has five narrators, the mother and four daughters of the Price family. Kingsolver has created a unique voice and personality for each of the Price girls by using specific diction, syntax, and sentence structure depending on which narrative voiceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1998 Words   |  8 PagesBiographical Connection: Barbara Kingsolver was born on April 8, 1955 in Annapolis, Maryland and during her seventh and eight years of life she spent in the Republic of Congo where her parents worked there as healthcare officials. During her time there, she kept a diary documenting how different and curious everything was compared to Maryland. She was mostly fascinated how these people could live so peaceful ly and happily without certain necessities that she considered necessary, such as running

The foundation Texts of Islam

Question: Select three of the assigned weekly readings and for each reading write a 500 word reflective response. Mere summary of the reading will not receive a good mark. You are expected to discuss issues raised in the reading . If you feel it is appropriate you may also decide to critique(appraise) the reading. if you do so, please stick to the quality of the arguments and evidence offered by the author rather than addressing the writing style. your focus must be on the reading you have chosen to respond to, but in order to deliver a high quality response you are advised to read around the subject dealt with, starting with the other readings linked to the week, both assigned and additional. Answer: The author in his book The Basic Beliefs and Worship Practices of Islam has introduced the Islamic religious civilization and tradition as emerged in the Arabian Peninsula and the surrounding region (Denny 2015). According to him, Allah is the same as Lord Jesus whom the Christians worship. He also illustrated that the word Islam in Arabic means to surrender to the teachings and practices being preached by God. According to the author, the Muslims believe the Quran to be the Recitation which should be recited during the prayers as an act of worship. The Quran is considered to be superior. The author, in his book, has also illustrated about the Five Pillars of Islam viz., (i) the Shahada, (ii) the Salat, (iii) Zakat, (iv) Sawm and (v) the Hajj (Denny 2015). The Shahada is the bearing witness that depicts that Muhammad is the messenger of God. The Salat is the worshipping service which involves five times daily in there morning, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. The Zakat is the leg al almsgiving annually from the certain portions of wealth of an individual for the sake of the benefits and welfare of the needy. The Sawm is the fasting during the pious month of Ramadan and the Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca. The author thus, has illustrated on the faith that the Islam follows and has been followed by the people since the rise of the civilizations. The author has been able to illustrate on the faith and beliefs of the different religions on the God especially the Muslims, Jews and Christians who follow the sayings of their respective Messengers of God. All the three religions recognize themselves to be a part of the shared heritage being dated back to the rise of the civilizations. The author has been also able to illustrate on the basic teachings of the Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The author has also lustrated about the prophets and the sacred texts of the different civilizations including the Christians, Jewish, and Egyptians (Denny 2015). The sacred book of Islam is the Quran. Muslims consider prayers to be the act of worship. According to the author, the recitation refers to the fact that Muslims procure verses of the Quran during the prayers as an act of worship (Denny 2015).. Though, the origin of the Quran is the Word of God, the Quran reflects on the Word of God, I personally believe that the sacred texts of Islam viz., the Quran illustrate the values, beliefs and practices. The Quran, as revealed by Muhammad, is believed to be the literal word of God himself (Abdul-Raof 2013). It is the tradition of a specific faith including the Islam which helps in defining the traditions and the role of their members as well. The legal professional helps in constituting the institutions. Now, if the members of these institutions are taking advantage of the role of the institutions for their personal utilization, the corruption is known as institutional corruption and should be prohibited by the law. The foundation texts of Islam- Quran and hadith The author in his book The Qur'an: the primary foundation text", "The Sunna of the Prophet has opined the Quran to be the foundation text for the Muslims (Saeed 2006). The author in his book has tried to differentiate between the Quran and the hadith. The author cited the Quran to be the speech of God and hadith to be the deeds and sayings of the Prophet. The author is of the belief that the Quran helps in the spread of literacy and providing an equal opportunity for all the Muslims to aim at understanding the worker of the God even if they are not familiar with Arabic (Saeed 2006). I believe that the Quran incorporates the rules and values in the light of the social and historical context of the time of relegation which helps in bringing each and every Islamic follower to gain respectable level of equality. God has been able to indicate his Words by the Quran and publicly recited in another style called hadith. According to the principles of jurisprudence, the relegations can be com prised if the recited and unrequited revelation (Brown 2013). Muslims consider prayers to be the act of worship. According to the author, the recitation refers to the fact that Muslims procure verses of the Quran during the prayers as an act of worship. On the other hand, hadith arte not considered to be the Word of God (Brown 2013). It is however, considered as the saying and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad. Both the Quran and hadith are in theory where the Quran is considered to be superior. In Islamic law, both the Quran and hadith enjoy equal; authority in the ethic-legal matters. Though, the origin of the both hadith and Quran is the Word of God, the Quran reflects on the Word of God while the hadith reflects on His deeds. I personally believe that the sacred texts of Islam, Quran and hadith, however both illustrate the values, beliefs and practices. Quran is regarded as the most sacred text while the hadith is the secondary text. The Quran, as revealed by Muhammad, is believed to be the literal word of God himself (Brown 2013). I believe Qu ran to be the Bible of Islam as it is the most sacred and primary book of Islam. The Quran can be comprised of the Surahs or chapters which consist of the various verses and translations of God himself (Saeed 2006). Hadith, on the other hand, is the textual records of the sayings of Muhammad and his followers. Most of the crucial records of the various Islamic traditions are being incorporated in the hadith. In addition, much of the Islamic belief and practices comes from the literature form hadith. Each hadith can be comprised of two parts including the matn and the isnad (Hmeidi et al 2014). The isnad is present at the beginning of any hadith which is the chain of transmission. The other part of the hadith is the text records that are the actual text called the man which depicts the deeds of Muhammad. Islamic Law The author in his book, An Islamic Legal Tradition: The Law of Later Revelation has illustrated on the legal traditions that have been one of the main functions of identifying and eliminating the crime and criminal traditions (Vikr 2005). The author is of the belief that it is not simple to identify a program and it is difficult owing to the indifference between the larger traditions of right or good and the criminal traditions. The larger traditions are generally destroyed by the crime or corruption. The author has also classified the other forms of corruption including the intellectual or institutional corruption which he regards not to be criminal offense but may be considered to be destructive of tradition especially in Islamic law (Vikr 2005). I believe corruption to be the most pecuniary of the various factors responsible for destroying the traditions. Most of the countries are dealing with the corruption issues which have becoming widespread such that it becomes impossible to control the institutions which are themselves affected by the crime. In some of the countries, the law enforcement agencies and their positions are being sold where the purchasers are getting profitable reasons for the purchase and they usually pay higher prices for the same (Vikr 2005). Thus, it can be evident that the complex formats of the social; organizations may incorporate the greater opportunities for the pecuniary corruption. I personally believe the pecuniary corruption to be there form of an unjustified redistribution of the materials resources of the society which represents the secretive form of the inequality in Islamic. This corruption is responsible for the damages to the effectiveness and credibility of the traditions. Thus, it becomes very important to identify the traditions which are more vulnerable to the corruptions. I feel that most of the forms of the unjustified and illegal materials do not contribute to any crime. In this case, the institutions play a significant role between the accumulated tradition and the individuals. It is the tradition of a specific faith including the Islam which helps in defining the traditions and the role of their members as well (Glenn 2014). The legal professional helps in constituting the institutions. Now, if the members of these institutions are taking advantage of the role of the institutions for their personal utilization, the corruption is known as insti tutional corruption and should be prohibited by the law. To me, tradition helps in teaching the love and devotion towards God. It also helps in rejecting the institutions by declaring it incompatible with the institutional corruptions. The tradition also helps in encouraging the construction of the elites and institutions that could help in developing a second order means of control. It also helps in developing the ethics of the elite and institutional life by supervising the primary institutions (Glenn 2014). Thus, the tradition is a fragile thing which is in the form of received information which bears the seeds of change and diversity to eradicate the corruptions. References Abdul-Raof, H., 2013. Qur'an translation: Discourse, texture and exegesis. Routledge. Brown, J., 2013. Scripture in the modern Muslim world: the Quran and Hadith. Islam in the Modern World. Denny, F., 2015. Introduction to Islam. Routledge. Glenn, H.P., 2014. Legal traditions of the world: Sustainable diversity in law. Oxford University Press (UK). Hmeidi, I., Shehadeh, H.A., Almodawar, A.A. and Daraghmeh, M.M., 2014. Comprehensive Study on Information Retrieval: Arabic Document Indexing. Research Journal of Science and Technology, 6(2), p.79. Saeed, A., 2006. Islamic thought: An introduction. Routledge. Vikr, K.S., 2005. Between God and the Sultan: a history of Islamic law. Oxford University Press, USA.

The Government’s Transition an Example of the Topic Government and Law Essays by

The Government’s Transition The government we have today has come a long way since its creation by the Founding Fathers. With the new disappointments arising towards the current administration, many have begun to question and asses the purpose of the constitution structured by the Founding Fathers and how it still applies to us today. Some go so far as to suggest that the federalists who framed the constitution insisted on limited federal involvement, but the history of America shows this is not the case. The Federalists protested limited government, while secretly creating a constitution that might one day form into an all powerful force. Need essay sample on "The Governments Transition" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed In fact, history shows that every official in any given office usually tends to take actions to increase the power of the government, whether state or federal, regardless of party classification. This is a formula specifically structured to maintain a minority class of wealthy elite to rule over the majority. The only difference between then and now is technological advancement and experience in the elitist control of the masses. If it were not for the presence of these traits in American society, there would be no real physical change to analyze. In a sense, nothing has really changed; money is still as much the emperor of our nation now, as it was then. People Often Tell Us: I'm not in the mood to write my essay. Because I don't have the time Essay writers suggest: If You Think About Someone To Write Your Paper - Essaylab The Right Place! Buy Essays Cheap Get Paid To Write Essays For Students Buy Essay Online Writing Service Top Essay Writing Until the twentieth century both scholars and the public revered the Framers as demigods and canonized the Constitution as the crowning symbol of a democratic revolution against tyranny. However, the many publicized political and corporate scandals of the Progressive Era in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries influenced historians to begin viewing the Constitutional Convention with a more jaundiced eye. (Krawczynksi, 2003) In his essay, The U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, Keith Krawczynksi, convinced that men were motivated primarily by economic self-interest and that class conflict pervaded human events, argues that the Founding Fathers carried out a counterrevolution by creating a reactionary document to protect their interests against popularly controlled state governments that passed cheap paper money legislation, debtor laws, and other measures that favored small farmers and artisans at the expense of wealthy creditors (2003). To prove their case they pointed to the many provisions in the Constitution that checked popular sovereignty: the difficult procedure for adopting amendments, the judicial veto, the election of senators by state legislators, the election of the president by an electoral college, the appointment of Supreme Court justices by the president, and the awesome power conferred to the central government to suppress popular dissent. Thus, the Constitution was equipped with a system of minority checks and vetoes designed to prevent majority rule (Krawczynksi, 2003). There are many myths applied to American history. One of these myths in particular is that the founding fathers were all selfless and priceless politicians who were able to rise above the tyranny of their day to advance the workings of Democratic government. American reverence for the framers and the undisputed worship of the constitution are virtues instilled in all citizens born within this society. The majority of the Founding Fathers were wealthy conservatives who were actually opposed to democracy. Krawczynksi notes that they often referred to it as a mobocracy. This perception resulted in this elitist class constructing laws that would better maintain the control of government in the hands of the wealthy, and prevent the majority from realizing their strength. Krawczynksi further points this out in his essay when he says, the Founding Fathers deliberately designed the new American government to make it difficult for any mass political movement to challenge the political dominance by the traditional ruling elite (2003). He points out that their behavior is justifiable by the fact that these framers were also the main men who risked hide and limb to protect their political standings from the British, and they werent about to just turn around and hand it over to the public after winning the war. It is Krawczynksis view that these patriots did not intend to revolutionize democracy and turn an elitist system, based on upper-class leadership, on its heals; their sole intention was to gain independence from Britain in order to get the country out of their pocket. The Patriot elite did not for-see the way the American commoners would view independence from Britain as the time to adopt egalitarianism. Aware that this Constitution would be aggressively opposed by the majority working class, the signing and construction of the deceleration was held in private. The media was used conceal the constitutions true purpose as well as to sway people in its favor. We see this control of the media used daily in news papers, on television and the web, an example of this is the Republican Partys financial hold over Fox News. The constitution adheres to freedom of the press, but the press doesnt represent the freedom of the people. Sociological genius Pierre Bourdieu asserts that public opinion does not truly exist. This poses the question, how should we conceive public opinion? If it is true that the public does not exist, than the real question is, whose opinion is public opinion? Rational Choice Theory poses the idea that human beings form their opinions and decisions based on collective observations and calculations. It also assumes all inpiduals are well informed of all of their options and that it is an inherent human tendency to think everyone makes decisions this way. If this is true, it would explain the blind faith people have in public opinion. It is a faith so devout; it often sways and molds popular culture ideals. Pierre Bourdieu strongly negates this view. In all of Bourdieus beliefs, his most popular is his assertion that the public does not exist (1984). This concept is addressed in his book, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, in that he feels there is a different of class taste between the ruling class and popular culture. But, within this conflict, there is no public, only a media mediating between the two and a culture to which they often cater to do so. Jon Simons addresses this concept in his essay, Governing the Public: Technologies of Mediation and Popular Culture, when he says, technologies constitute the people as a mediated public. The public is only amenable to representation in the form of an electorate which is an effect of technical organization that can mediate between people at a distance from each other. The key point of this analysis is that the public does not exist prior to or outside of its constitution. (Simons, 2002) His essay evaluates the importance of media technologies within a democracy. Bourdieu feels that in this field of power struggle, the ruling class uses their cultural capital to assert their distinction (1984). This is seen in the way politicians might only use terms or syntax understandable to the elite of society. This separation between popular culture and the elite culture of a society makes it virtually impossible for government officials to ever get the unanimous appeal for which they often aspire. Most political elites view popular cultures apathy towards politics with great disdain. Even still, they relentlessly attempt to relate to popular culture voters, whom they know will support them. In John Fiskes critique on television, Television Culture he analyzes the nature of what makes popular television. He concludes that the shows that succeed in gaining popularity tend to have many symbols and plot lines containing multiple meanings. He also states that remain within a duality of containment and resistance (1987). This idea basically revolves around the fact that television producers, who are viewed as the upper class and political elite, are expected to produce material that correspond with popular culture. This material that the elite minority culture produces for the popular culture contradicts elitist ideals but allows the status quo to remain intact. This means the political elite can only remain the elite so long as they humor the beliefs and ideals of their less powerful but more dominant counterparts. The rules Fiske establishes for television shows can very easily be applied to the media. They present the media as a tool being used to prey on the wants and needs of different cultures. The idea that there is no such thing as public perception in America, and that what we deem to be public perception is just a popular culture molded and created by the media to entertain the American majority, while still maintaining the ideals and power of their elite class financiers, is a common conspiracy theory. It is also true. The Federal government appears to have their hands in everything because they do. This is the result of technological advancement enforcing a constitution designed for a central government to grow in power over time. The biggest myth held about the Federalists is that they were opposed to giving the Federal government too much power. This myth is negated by the actions of the Framers who attained office, as well as the presidents who came behind them. It must never be forgot, that all of these men were of the Financial elite of America. So, those Federalists who claimed to be liberalists in favor of Democracy, were only so in favor as would maintain their wealth. The appearance of caring for the will of the people, to maintain ones own wealth, as demonstrated by Friske, obviously started in America with the Founding Fathers. And, when these men got in office they did everything in their power to increase their power as well as financial stature. A classic example of this is the life and Presidency of James K. Polk. The eleventh President of the United States, Polk was a Jeffersonian Democrat, which meant he was a strong believer of the freedom of speech and that the press was the best defense against a tyrannical government. He also believed in small business and small government, just like Thomas Jefferson. The irony of this is that both men, Jefferson and Polk, played historically the largest part in increasing the size and power of our nations government. His strong belief in expansionism later became referred to as Manifest Destiny. On this stance, Polk won the Presidential election and became the first and only member of the House of Representatives ever to become the President of the United States. Polk was such a proponent of expansionism that he attempted to buy Cuba while in office. In 1848, he and the ambassador to Spain, Romulus Mitchell Sanders made plans to negotiate with Spain. They offered the Spanish government 100 million dollars. Spain rejected this offer. Many countries were undoubtedly aware of Polks ambitions. Polk established a large majority of Oregon as part of the United States. At one point after Jackson had resigned, the Whigs had completely taken over congress and the White house. It was very similar to the way the Republicans controlled the Capital, the White House, and the Supreme Court. They were a new wave radical political party, but they faltered in their true lack of support for expanding the nation. It was through the ideals of Manifest Destiny (Expansionism), that Polk was able to claim is place as the Democratic candidate and eventually claim the Presidency. It should be noted that Polk was a long shot. It is not very clear why the majority of his opposition at the time didnt support expansionism, but their opposition to that simple stance catapulted Polk into office. Many say if it was not for his devout expansionist ideals, he may never have won the election. The Democratic Party was not widely known for fallowing expansionism. In truth it is a more republican ideal. Or at least what we would consider to be Republican today. Polks presidency has been categorized as the most successful, because of all of the power and land he accumulated for his country. Polk is the prime example of a presidential tradition to increase the power of Federal government while appearing to weaken the ramifications of its hold on the people. This is a tradition that has survived, beyond the public eye, in America to this day. So what are the differences between our government now and the one the Framers modeled? Despite the fact that the Federalist constructed a governmental system that is virtually impossible to change, or even use for tyrannical purposes, their still have been a few changes to the original constitution since its construction. Since the original Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, their have been 17 amendments to the constitution. This is an average of about 1 amendment every 13 years. Since its creation, the constitution has been used to abolish slavery, give blacks and women the right to vote, and even prohibit the right to drink alcohol. Today some of the freedoms the constitution allows citizens are unfathomable to imagine doing without. This is a prime example of the dramatic effect this doctrine has on all our lives. One subtle act in the constitution can lead to the entire sociological, or ideological shift of our entire country. So in response to the question, how has our government changed since its original framing? The truth is, not much on paper, but time has extended it as far as it may go, and Im sure we will continue to do so. Work Cited Bourdieu, Pierre. (1984) Distinction, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Fiske, John (1992) Popularity and the Politics of Information in P. Dahlgren and C. Sparkes (eds) Journalism and Popular Culture, London: Sage. Hirsh, John C., and John L. Motley. "John Lothrop Motley on the American Republic, 1846: a Document." Journal of the Early Republic os 6.1 (1986): 59-65. Jstor. Strozier Library, Tallahassee. 30 Nov. 2006. Keyword: James K. Polk. Krawczynksi, Keith "The U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."History in Dispute, Vol. 12: The American Revolution, 1763-1789., ed. St. James Press, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale

Environmental Effect from the Gold Rush Essays

Environmental Effect from the Gold Rush Essays Environmental Effect from the Gold Rush Paper Environmental Effect from the Gold Rush Paper This essay aims to identify the origin of the Gold Rush and identify the techniques used while also noting the ha armful effects caused by each one. The Start Of the Gold Rush all began on January 24, 1848, when a carpenter named James Wilson Marshall picked up a nugget of gold from the river at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Cola, California. Although Marshall and the man he was working for, John Stutter, tried to keep the news of this big discovery from the public, word got out anyway and soon people were swarming toward the western frontier. This was when one of the largest human migration in history began (The California Gold Rush). At first people were not buying the story, but as news spread of the fortunes being made in Californians Gold Rush, the first migrants started showing up. It was not long before the population of the California exploded, from just only 14,000 at the start of year 1 849, to more than 100,000 people by the end of that year. By the year 1852, the population crowded to 220,000 (Cornell 342). This underground well of fortune (which amounted to over $2,000,000,000,000 worth of gold) was so vast, it emended significant amounts of people to harvest it all. Smart individuals looking to make a profit convinced others to dig gold for them and used that money to start business such as hotels, restaurants, banks, saloons, and all kinds of mining industries. Naturally, this brings up the economy of the state even more but it also brought more people to California. At first, people used basic, almost primitive methods of gold mining which did little harm to nature such as the ever popular gold panning technique. In the early days of gold mining, people used gold pans to find gold in the river, although it was actually the most ineffective of all. As time went on, less and less people used gold pan and created more effective ways to extract gold. Another popular tool was the rocker; it had a handle on top to push it back and forth. When the miner put the gravels into the top layer, the thinner and heavier partials would be screened to be separated from the rest. Repeating this a couple of times, and with some luck, miners can find some gold hidden within the heavy minerals. These techniques to find gold usually required the help Of water and gravity, but since not all the gold is in the river, the miner has to get he water to where the gold is to be found, hence some of the mining ditches can still be found even today (Early Gold Mining Methods) . Eventually there would be too many people joining in on the Gold Rush, which in turn made finding gold increasingly more difficult with the current methods of gold mining. Had everyone stuck to these methods, the lands would not have been destroyed, but alas greed triumphs over natural preservation. Soon enough, the gold diggers begin to turn to more powerful ways to obtain the gold such as machines and explosives. These new methods of getting gold ay have helped satisfy the diggers greed, but it also caused irreversible damages to the lands of California. As time went by, the technology of gold mining became more and more sophisticated; this was when the gold fever started to become very harmful to nature. The first way want to get into is the placer mining, which is a way of mining that yielded most gold in the early years. Although panning was one of the ways of placer mining, this method was expanded upon when new techniques were added to it. For example, people started adding large amounts of mercury to their pans to operate the gold from other materials. Mercury has the ability to separate the gold from the extraction of secondary gold after the gravity method. Thanks to its intrinsic properties mercury allow to easily separate gold from other materials. After the separation from the rest of unwanted particles, they simply evaporate the mercury to obtain the gold the want. It is well known that mercury is highly toxic. It can cause damages to the nervous system at even relatively low levels of exposure. Due to the evaporation of the mercury, we subsequently caused the release of mercury into the atmosphere. The water circulation in the atmosphere would bring the mercury back into the ocean and poison animals in the ocean, which in turn would indirectly poison human beings. Perhaps one of the most destructive methods of advanced mining that existed was hydraulic mining. Though this method was extremely effective in extracting gold, it caused so much damage to the lands that Hydraulic mining was prohibited in 1884 when it was discovered that the mining resulted in worsened flood conditions and also destroyed farmland. It wasnt known until much later that Hydraulic mining also left behind a huge amount of arsenic, mercury, cyanide and acid which contaminated the ground-waters, soil, rivers and lakes. (Rare Coins) Hydraulic mining, also called hydraulically is a technique originating from the Roman era involving high pressure jets of water to erode and scrape away dirt and gravel, which is then funneled into a filter that leaves only the rich minerals behind. Hydraulic mining was first used by Edward Matheson near Nevada CCNY, California, in 1853, Xv fashioned a three-foot tapered metal funnel to which they clamped a canvas hose. They pumped water through the hose and pointed it at the hillside from which they were trying to extract gold. The water shot through with surprising force, quickly rendering the hillside into a pile of gravel and providing plenty of pay dirt from which to separate gold. (PBS Gold Rush) The technique caught on fast and soon enough, people were utilizing dams to stock up on enough water to optimize their hydraulic mining operations. As mentioned earlier, hydraulic mining was also the most destructive method, eventually getting banned because of the destruction it caused. One reason for this is because of the unnatural erosion caused by the high pressure jet streams, which led to unexpected floods. An example of this is mentioned in the PBS Gold Rush website, which mentions heavy rain during January 1861 which loosened deep snowdrifts in the Sierras. The result was inundated countryside, thousands of heads of drowned cattle and millions of cubic yards of dirt, mud and silt all residue from upstream hillsides that had been pulverize by hydraulic mining. When the water receded, it left behind eight- foot drifts of silt in Sacramento. Needless to say, Nature inflicted its wrath upon the greedy miners by destroying the farms and lands in the surrounding areas. Countless fields in the Sacramento Valley areas were deeply buried in mining sediment, riverbeds were raised rendering river crossing in certain areas more difficult, and farmers rose up in anger toward the destruction gold mining has caused. These factors were some Of many that eventually led to the banning of hydraulic mining, which passed when farmers sued hydraulic mining operations in the famous Edwards Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company case. Following the case, hydraulic mining was temporarily banned, resurfacing later in 1 893, albeit with much trice regulations in an effort to avoid damage to both farmlands and nature. Gold mining can cause all air, soil, and water pollution. When the mining process works close to the ground surface, the mining sites will generate a large amount of dust which pollutes the air, also the process of refining the ore also pollutes the air. When heating the ore to melt the metal and release it from its surrounding material, the smelter releases large amount of lead, nitrogen, and sulfur, which comes back to earth in the form of acid rain. Extracting a small piece of gold, a large amount of toxic wastes ill be produced and left in the soil. The toxic heavy metal can go into the deeper soil and further pollutes the plants or prevent it from growing. The heavy metal and toxic waste can stay in the soil for years, that makes the area unsuitable for animals and human to live. Lastly, water pollution is through a highly toxic chemical called cyanide. The miners uses the solution of cyanide to dissolves the gold and collect them, but with little protection, the cyanide can easily leak into the soil and goes into local water supplies, lakes, river, and the ocean. The Gold Rush was definitely an era of prosperity, but was all that gold Roth releasing mercury into the atmosphere, flooding and destroying millions of farmland, and leaking dangerous chemicals such as cyanide into our soil and water?

Emerald Forest Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Emerald Forest - Movie Review Example What is so fascinating about this movie is the way Tommie comfortably adapts to the life of these hunters who had abducted him. In spite of his origin, he learns hunting skills and becomes part of the family of this Indian family. The father’s reunion with the son brings readers to a captivating mood where the person who is least expected to salvage resurfaces at desperate time. However, when the father asks the chief of the Invisible people to release his son so that they can embark on a journey home (to return to civilization), the chief has this to say, â€Å"If I told a man to do what he does not want to do, I would no longer be chief.† This means that the chief held the decisions of the people in high esteem to an extent that he would take no action whatsoever, if it was not in line with the wishes of the subjects. Comparatively, this is different from what would be expected in the American society where leaders tend to hold onto the belief that they are more super ior to their subjects and that the final decisions lie with them. This is why the question of primitivism or civilization, if it were to be critically analyzed, would remain relative (37). Effects of technology with respect to this film are also evident. Whereas technology has made life easy from time immemorial, its negative impact has also been experienced from time to time. Taking a look at the whole episodes in the film, technology is a breakthrough considering the period of Stone Age when man, for instance, solely relied on rubbing of materials together in order to generate heat. This was cumbersome and time consuming. With the discovery of electricity, man was not only able to enhance... The term ‘Termite people’ has been used by the native Indians in the forests to show the effects and influence of this ‘civilized’ community in environmental degradation. Locusts are insects that destroy the soil, vegetations, and anything that they come into contact with. This is similar to effects of the spread of colonists and early explorers. Their spread resulted into the cutting of trees for settlement.The way in which the king reveres the decisions and demands of the people is a replica of how they hold their spiritual lives in high esteem. The movie depicts an indigenous community and their spiritual relationship to the environment. They do everything possible to sustain their evergreen vegetation, a sign of their spiritual connection with their environment. It is can, therefore, be said that there is something in the human genome that draws him into recognition of a healthy ecosystem even without being exposed to outside world. This, however, has ch anged and is contrary to my ‘civilized’ society where people do not uphold respect to the environment. A good example is the constant clearing of land to pave way for construction.The happiness of man is garnered out of respecting oneself and others and showing total concern to the environment. It would be wise to deduce that ultimately I would rather belong to the ‘primitive’ culture where environmental sustainability is prioritized than stick to a ‘civilized’ culture where a man keeps on terrorizing the ecosystem.

HW4 MGM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HW4 MGM - Assignment Example For example, Coca-Cola FEMSA works in conjunction with communities and non-governmental organization, SOS Mata Atlà ¢ntica in Brazil in a bid to conserve forest water through Brazilian Forest Water Program. In Mexico, the company is involved in a major reforestation program, where the company plans to plant millions of trees. Through its active engagement in tree planting initiatives, Coca-Cola not only ensures forest conservation, but also reduces greenhouse gases emission into the atmosphere because forests are good absorbers of carbon, which is a major component of greenhouse gases. Coca-Cola also engages in recycling initiatives and water management programs as well as energy conservation, which remains crucial to its surrounding and business environment. The company ensures high and acceptable standard for sustainable packaging aimed at achieving zero waste and maximum package recycling. Coca-Cola has strong relationship with communities in which it operates. The company strive s to create a positive difference in the communities by working with local associates and actively supporting local employee engagement. Water is a vital element of life and by conserving it; Coca-Cola Company demonstrates its commitment to advance the welfare of the

Harriet Jacob’s “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” Essay Example for Free

Harriet Jacob’s â€Å"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl† Essay In this paper I argue that slavery is an essential part of life and, as such, should be cared for to ensure the continuation of the lives of the slaves so that they serve their purpose. Slavery is referred to as an â€Å"unhappy condition†, one that should be relieved and which can only be relieved by the enslaved. Harriet Jacob’s â€Å"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl† reveals the story of a slave girl and her misfortunes through out her life. The writing is among the feminist literature narrating the humiliations and sufferings of black slave females. Slave Black women didn’t have any such protection to voice their rights against their white masters. They were considered as â€Å"property† of their masters. And those masters have full authority over their female slaves to rape them at any time for the gain of sexual desire, for having stock of more slave children and for keeping such slaves below standards and disdain them. Therefore, there wasn’t any law that would apply to Linda’s case. In that era, woman, in general, were subject to man’s superiority and specifically slave woman were the victim of their masters, even in the enactment of law she had no right to voice her opinions, likes, dislikes or to live her life according to her own wishes. She was subject to any type of violent and abusive behavior by her masters. Lack of protection to their rights by law enforcement gave much bravery and authority to white males over their female slaves. Such deficiencies in law at that time surrounded the female slaves with fetters and disabilities, her very basic and natural rights were unguarded, and her liberty was unacknowledged. She was not allowed to process her separate interest. Not realizing the existence of these slave women as an individual or their own, the law gave her no independent possession. Law being supportive for the supremacy of white masters, and black female slaves were the victim of sexual assault, abusive, violent and unjust attitude. It was the law of the strongest. Though, abusing slaves were not considered as good and there was a universal disdain regarding this issue, no one was willing to help those helpless females against their sexual assault. There was wide spread use of female slaves as sex without any prohibition. Everyone was afraid of helping such women because no one wanted to go against slaveholders who were very rich and held much authority at that time. Most of the blacks were dependent on these slaveholders, and majority of them were proprietors and nurturing most of the Black slaves’ family for labor. Other poor whites were dependent on agriculture and feared to loose their property if they would be of any help to Black female slaves. Therefore, no one dared to voice against such slave owners, even including the family members of the female slave would remain quiet. However, there was general opinion among white females that the abuse of Black slaves was acceptable and that males and white masters are the dominant gender. Most white women were also quiet because not only that they thought slavery was an acceptable thing but they were receiving a lot benefits like money, food and free labor. Daughters or wives were solely dependent on their fathers and husbands. To voice against them meant to deprive themselves of all those benefits they were receiving. To help slave women for their sexual and autonomic identity was to worsen the situation prevailing at that time. The story is essentially a moral code for the slave owners as to how to properly care for the slaves and their overseers. Initially the slaves are spoken of as though they are children who need to be watched over for their own safety and discipline. Slave’s behavior is seen as something unchangeably infantile, no amount of education on morals will change their behavior and they will always succumb to the temptations of thievery and malice toward their masters. It is not a function of the desire to be free, rather it is a function of their immature nature in the eyes of the masters and something to be controlled. These masters viewed themselves as benevolent, as though they were doing a service to the slaves in their charge by taking charge of their lives and keeping their souls out of the trouble to which they would be tempted. The care taken of the slaves is only so that they will be comfortable enough to continue to work and reproduce, not out of care for them as humans. To care for them as humans would require thinking of them as such, doing so would bring up the idea that as humans they deserve the freedom that the masters enjoyed. Masters of the slaves expect obedience and respect from their slaves. However, in return masters must also show their good attitude towards their slaves. They must be honest and truthful with their slaves. Slaves are after all humans who need to be cared off. The way masters will treat their slaves, the same they will get in return. Masters should show firmness and kindness towards their slaves to get their trust. And they must control their temper when dealing with them. In addition, slaves should be given their complete food and diet to keep them healthy and fulfill their needs of the daily work. It is clear, however, that the masters view their slaves as nothing higher than any farm animal. Something to be taken care of for its usefulness, to be cared for so that it will serve its purpose without trouble in the same category as a horse or a cow. Slavery is understood by the slaves to be an oppressive system inflicted by one group of humans upon another, and oppression of any type should not be tolerated. Freedom is a God-given right to all humans and to voluntarily submit to having that freedom taken away is an abomination against God, an enormous sin. Garnet, freed men and slaves believed that slavery set all the laws given by God aside and caused the slaves to make reverence to their masters before God and to submit themselves other than to Him, which is against the first commandment of their Christian belief. This made it necessary to revolt against slavery and endeavor for freedom in any way, even if it meant death because death itself was preferable to oppression. They were willing to sacrifice their lives rather than live as slaves, treated no better than animals rather than with the respect of men. What is most interesting about the story is that it is not an incitement to violence, rather it is an order for those enslaved to demand their freedom. If they were to recognize that their numbers made such a demand possible without violence there could be some resolution to slavery without bloodshed. There is clearly the awareness that a peaceful end to slavery would not be possible, but at least the idea was put forth that it should be considered first. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the life of a slave girl.