Totalitarianism, Violence, and the Color Red in the...

Totalitarianism, Violence, and the Color Red in The Handmaid’s Tale In literature, the color red symbolizes many things, each with its own emotional impact. Red can be associated with violence and bloodshed, or it can be associated with love and intense emotions. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred, chosen to be a â€Å"baby-maker† for a couple she was assigned to, desires to escape the dystopian society that she lives in. Thus, Margaret creates a fictional government that uses totalitarianism, violence, and the reoccurring pattern of the color red to illustrate the negative impact it has on women, especially the Handmaids. Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred recalls her past life before and during the creation of the Republic of†¦show more content†¦They also wear a white habit, which blocks their peripheral vision when walking to the market. â€Å"Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood† (8). The color r ed that the Handmaids are dressed in represents fertility, their main purpose. The desire to conceive a child is what all Handmaids strive to achieve. When a Handmaid has her menstrual cycle each month, the blood serves as a reminder and reinforces what they desire so much. â€Å"Likewise, the blood-red gowns of the Handmaids conjure positive associations with birth and life as well as pejorative links with suffering, shame, and female bondage to reproductive cycles† (enotes). The government stresses the importance of conceiving a child so much, that the Handmaids have become fearful if they do not become pregnant. The Handmaids that are unable to are sent to the colonies to perform hard manual labor and are called â€Å"Unwomen†. This ideology has a negative psychological impact on how the Handmaids view life; it is mostly based on survival. Throughout the novel, Offred’s and the Handmaids’ lives are dominated by the color red. Their garments are red , the doctors who examine them each month wear red armbands, the sidewalks they walk on are red, and the vehicles that transport them to view each birth (the birthmobiles) are red. Red also serves s a symbol of danger and violence to enhance the nature of the government. For

Sexual identity and gender stereotyping Free Essays

Culture is a body of common beliefs, traditions, values and principles which are shared by members of a particular group. A culture helps to determine the behaviors, attitudes and expectations of its people. Every society or community has some traditions, beliefs and customs regarding either gender. We will write a custom essay sample on Sexual identity and gender stereotyping or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most of this expectations are based on the sexual identity of one being either male or female which emanate from their different roles in human reproduction and variations in their physical characteristics. Cultural views on sexual identity comprises of beliefs, expectations and constraints of what men or women are supposed to do or not to do. Sexual identity refers to the level or degree to which we identify ourselves as male or female depending on various social, cultural and biological aspects . Our culture has various ways of distinguishing between the two major sexual identities. As a result, the expectations and constraints imposed on a woman are different from those imposed on the males. The fact that women give birth and lactate exposes them to certain constraints in their motherly roles in the society. For instance, our culture tends to view females as receptive and the males as intrusive in their respective sexual behaviors. Though such constraints are presumed to be less pervasive in the society today due to the fact that our culture is evolving into a modern social structure away from the hunter-gatherer kind of socio-economic life it used to be, the distinction between the two sexes still remains quite pervasive in terms of behavior, roles and interests . Many sociologists have traced the origin of such differences to the different cultural norms put forward by our culture to the society. Since birth, boys and girls become accustomed to different cultural standards either consciously or unconsciously which reflect their respective roles later in life. For instance, girls tend to take up the role of mothers and caretakers in the family while boys are taught to be the heads of the family as the bread-winners and protectors. The differentiation between male and female behaviors is a matter which is deeper than the concept of contextual relativism in the culture. Apart from behaviors, roles and expectations based on sexual identity, our culture has led to the evolution of some gender stereotypes which are associated with a particular sex whether male or female . The spread of such classical stereotypes in the media particularly dominates the society today. Both print and electronic media clearly indicate the different cultural standards of men and women in the society together with their varying capabilities based on their sexual identities. Until recently, the media has depicted the female gender as a weaker sex in terms of the roles, professions and the society expectations as compared to the male gender. However, the continued calls for gender equality has led to certain media portraits which show that women are as capable as their male counterparts thus removing the long held constraints and stereotypes imposed by our culture on women which tend to undermine their professional capabilities. Houston stresses on four major gender stereotypes. She puts them across as; men are afraid of commitments, men are bound to say or do anything in order to prevent their partners from discovering that they are cheating on them, women concentrate too much on what men say or do and finally, a woman can use any available strategy to keep a man. Such gender stereotypes she adds, are the source of certain phrases like ‘just like women’, ‘men are dogs’ and so forth which tend to associate men and women with certain behaviors and not others. As a young woman, all these cultural views have shaped my behavior and my self-understanding as such in various ways. For a young person to understand his or her sexual identity, it is vital to solve the tension caused by numerous cultural values between ‘who i am’ and ‘what how the society views or expects of me’. As a woman, the culture expects me to be submissive and to behave as so especially when dealing with the male gender. Moreover, our culture expects women not to show their interest towards men as they are said to be the ‘hunters’ and women the ‘hunted ‘. Such cultural values expect women to suppress their feelings and behave in a particular manner in matters concerning their sexual orientation and identity in the society. All these cultural views have shaped my personal behavior as a woman and my view on the whole concept of sexual identity. Due to the numerous gender stereotypes, behaviors, expectations and constraints imposed on the different sexes, there arises some tension between religious and societal values. Our culture which views women as second to men has consequently put some cultural restrictions which burr women from top positions in the religious matters and other societal issues. However, some cultural values tend to be in consistency with religious value in that in both cases, women especially those who are married are expected to act in a submissive way when dealing with their husbands. It can thus be said that, the environment and the cultural background in which one is brought up largely influences his or her future relationships with the opposite sex and other people in the society. Many gender stereotypes have adverse effects on future relationships especially for the young people who wish to establish stable and strong foundations for their future family lives. For instance, the stereotype that all men promoted by our culture are polygamous or unfaithful can have detrimental the women’s ability to trust men hence the increased number of divorces in the modern society . From a theological point of view, marriage is seen as a vocation, covenant, sacrament, communion and a lasting partnership . However, this views are exposed to various interpretations especially in the cultural context of the modern society. How to cite Sexual identity and gender stereotyping, Papers

Racism Against Native Americans

In the article â€Å"Let’s Spread the ‘Fun’ Around† Ward Churchill tries to explain why it is derogatory to name sports teams after American Indian names. He uses a number of racial and cultural abuses that are used in a derogatory way to refer to people of other cultures, races, sexual orientation and religious affiliations to make the point that the use of Indian words to name sports teams is derogatory to the Indians.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Racism Against Native Americans specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the point that Churchill is trying to make does not come across well because while the racial epithets that he compares the Indian words with are used in a derogatory sense in common use but when sports team use these words as their nicknames, their intention is to bestow honor upon the Native Americans. Churchill’s claim that the use of Indian words to name sports teams is racist does not make sense because no word in itself is racist but the meaning and sense of discrimination attached to the word makes it racist. Words like â€Å"Indians† and â€Å"Chiefs† do not hold the same connotation in popular culture as words like â€Å"niggers† and â€Å"slants† and so a comparison between these words does not explain why native Americans should feel bad at the use of these words. Words like â€Å"niggers† and â€Å"slants† are used in a derogatory way to refer to African Americans and Asians and suggest that these people may not be equal to the Caucasians. But use of the word â€Å"Indian† to refer to American Indians is widely accepted and so far it has not be associated with anything derogatory. While it can be argued that the word â€Å"Indian† does not accurately identify the Native Americans, it is still a widely accepted and a politically correct terminology. In fact Native Americ ans themselves and even Churchill himself refers to Native Americans as Indians. Since the word in itself does not have any negative meaning attached to it, the use of the word cannot be put in the same bracket as â€Å"nigger† which is widely accepted to be racist. But most Americans do not use or think of the word â€Å"Indian† in any derogatory sense. After giving a list of well known derogatory words used to refer to racial minorities, homosexuals, and physically and mentally challenged, Churchill points out that â€Å"not a single non-Indian example†¦ can be considered socially acceptable in even the most marginal sense† (442).Advertising Looking for essay on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therein lies the most important argument in favor of the use of Indian words. No sports team, or for that matter any individual person, should ever use any word that is not socially acceptab le in anyway. But as long as it is socially acceptable to use words like â€Å"Indians† and â€Å"Chiefs†, there is nothing wrong with using these words to name sports franchises. If the Indian words had a derogatory connotation attached to them, no team would have used them as their nicknames because the use of a â€Å"bad† word would reflect negatively on the team. When trying to find an apt name for themselves, any team would look for words that convey power, victory and strength. No team would ever want to use a word that stands for defeat, oppression or lack of ability. So Churchill’s argument that it would be same as â€Å"Germans naming their soccer teams â€Å"Jews†, â€Å"Hebrews† and â€Å"Yids†Ã¢â‚¬  does not make any sense. To Germans, the Jews were the defeated enemies who were so undesirable that they needed to be exterminated. While it is true that during the western expansion of the US, the American soldiers fought a nd defeated the Native Americans, the American armies also respected Indian courage and were impressed by the fight they put up. The battles between the Americans and the Indians were legitimate battles in which the stronger army were victorious. But the Germans did not fight the Jews in a battle and did not respect them for their intelligence or bravery and in general hated them. The status of Jews in Nazi Germany cannot be compared to the status of Indians during the westward expansion. Hence, Churchill’s comparison does not make sense. The managers were influenced by the stories they had heard about the Native Americans bravery to protect the right over their land by fighting a war which they were bound to lose and were impressed by these stories. So by naming their sports team after Indian words, they are expressing their awe of such brave people and not demeaning them. When judging the sports teams for using American Indian words as their nicknames, it is important to lo ok at the intention and there can be absolutely no two opinions about the fact the teams had very good and positive intentions. As mentioned above, words like â€Å"nigger† and â€Å"slants† have negative connotation in American culture.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Racism Against Native Americans specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, while it is absolutely unacceptable for a white man to refer to an African American as a â€Å"nigger†, African Americans refer to each other by the word all the time and it is considered acceptable. Without going into an in-depth analysis of the use of the use of the word â€Å"nigger† among African Americans, the fact is that the acceptability of a word is directly related to the intention with which it is spoken. So when a white person uses the racial epithet, the intention is to insult the African Americans but when a black person uses the sam e word it becomes an expression of brotherhood. When we look at the intention of the sports team managers, it is clear that their intention is to praise and honor the native Americans and not insult them and so it should be perfectly acceptable for them to call themselves by Indian names. In the end, what really matters is the respect that we carry for each other in our hearts. Words and epithets just express our feelings and the words themselves can have a variety of meaning depending on the context and the emotions of the person using them. If the sports teams have a positive intention and clean hearts and in fact, use the words to show their admiration for the Native Americans bravery then the Native Americans should not have any problems with the use of the Indian words and should actually welcome it and even feel proud of the honor. Works Cited Churchill, Ward. â€Å"Let’s Spread the ‘Fun’ Around†. In From a native Son. Cambridge MA: South End Press. 1996. Print. Grade I Deserve During the course of this class, I put in a lot of hard work, followed all the guidelines and was very prompt with my drafts and final essays. I always carefully listened to the professor’s criticism and continuously tried to improve myself. Under the circumstance, I rightfully believe that I deserve an A grade in this class. This is especially even more important since English is not my first language and I have worked hard over the years to perfect both the vocabulary and the grammar so that I may be able to write English almost as a native speaker.Advertising Looking for essay on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While researching the various essays for this course, I went out of my way to check not only the college library but even local public libraries so that I could get good source material to support my essays. For the main essay, I could have easily used the internet for all my sources and only looked at two print and two academic sources to complete the paper. However, I felt that the essay required a thorough research and so read over half a dozen books related to my subject so that I could do justice to the essay. Finally, my work speaks for itself and I am sure you will agree with me that I have written good essays, in good English and used an extensive vocabulary. Under the circumstance, I believe, I rightfully deserve an A grade in this course. This essay on Racism Against Native Americans was written and submitted by user Tianna Lopez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Dramatic Irony

and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. This is the result of the reader’s having a greater knowledge than the characters themselves. Flannery O’Connor presents the characters in her story by allowing the reader to know more about the characters than they do about each other in order to have a deeper understanding of what her short story is really about. In O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People,† the reader is aware of the dramatic irony occurring throughout the short story. Mrs. Hopewell, one of the four main characters in â€Å"Good Country People,† believes herself to be superior to everyone around her; In reality she is the same as everyone else around her. â€Å"Her silver gleamed on the two sideboards; she decided he had never been in a room as elegant as this† (421). When Manly Pointer is invited into the living room to try to sell Bibles to Mrs. Hopewell she automatically assumes that her living room is the nicest one he has ever set foot in. Mrs. Hopewell’s haughty outlook towards Manly Pointer allows the reader to acknowledge her thinking of superiority towards others. After reading only the first few paragraphs, the reader already realizes how naà ¯ve Mrs. Hopewell comes across, and they are able to look past future judgments she bestows upon herself. Along with Mrs. Hopewell’s superiority, she also believes that she is in charge of everything. When Mrs. Hopewell hires the Freemans to help her with her home and farm she finds out Mrs. Freeman is the nosiest woman after she consults a reference the Freeman’s provided. â€Å"Since she was the type who had to be into everything, then, Mrs. Hopewell had decided, she would not only let her be into everything, she would see to it that she was into everything – she would give her the responsibility of... Free Essays on Dramatic Irony Free Essays on Dramatic Irony Dramatic Irony At Its Best By definition, dramatic irony is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. This is the result of the reader’s having a greater knowledge than the characters themselves. Flannery O’Connor presents the characters in her story by allowing the reader to know more about the characters than they do about each other in order to have a deeper understanding of what her short story is really about. In O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People,† the reader is aware of the dramatic irony occurring throughout the short story. Mrs. Hopewell, one of the four main characters in â€Å"Good Country People,† believes herself to be superior to everyone around her; In reality she is the same as everyone else around her. â€Å"Her silver gleamed on the two sideboards; she decided he had never been in a room as elegant as this† (421). When Manly Pointer is invited into the living room to try to sell Bibles to Mrs. Hopewell she automatically assumes that her living room is the nicest one he has ever set foot in. Mrs. Hopewell’s haughty outlook towards Manly Pointer allows the reader to acknowledge her thinking of superiority towards others. After reading only the first few paragraphs, the reader already realizes how naà ¯ve Mrs. Hopewell comes across, and they are able to look past future judgments she bestows upon herself. Along with Mrs. Hopewell’s superiority, she also believes that she is in charge of everything. When Mrs. Hopewell hires the Freemans to help her with her home and farm she finds out Mrs. Freeman is the nosiest woman after she consults a reference the Freeman’s provided. â€Å"Since she was the type who had to be into everything, then, Mrs. Hopewell had decided, she would not only let her be into everything, she would see to it that she was into everything – she would give her the responsibility of...

How to End a Story 3 Tips and Tricks From Professional Editors

How to End a Story 3 Tips and Tricks From Professional Editors How to End a Story: Tips from Top Editors Whether you have the final scenes of your book worked out from the moment you put pen to paper or it comes to you somewhere along the way, there’s one thing every author needs to master to leave a lasting impression on readers: how to end a story.Writing the ending can be a source of anxiety for a lot of authors. After all, you don’t want to finish a great story with a weak ending and disappoint your readers. To help you determine how to effectively bring your novel to a close, this post will cover six popular types of story endings in literature, and provide tips from top professional editors on how to get yours just right. Six Ways to End a StoryThe ending of a story has the biggest impact on how readers will remember your book in years to come. If they are dissatisfied at the closing of the final chapter, they won’t be likely to read it again or recommend it to others. While the start of your story might convince people to read your book in the first place, how you end your story is what will determine whether or not they turn from a reader into a fan.The most effective type of ending for your book will depend on a few things, such as:genre,story structure,target audience, andwhat you want readers to take from your book.With that in mind, let’s look at a few different ways to end a story. Six different ways to end a story. What are they? 1. Resolved Ending I am hunted by humans.Instead of going into great detail, Zusak uses short chapters that feel more like sneak peeks into her life. Additionally, it serves the purpose of joining Liesel, the main character, with the narrator, Death, and allowing them to have a conversation on more equal terms.When might you use an expanded ending? If you need to tie up loose ends but were not able to do it within the actual story, then this is the ending for you. However, it should not take the place of a traditional ending or be used to compensate for a weak ending. Instead, it should give further insight into the characters and give resolution to the readers.Now that we’ve covered six popular methods for writing your story’s denouement, let’s cover a few tips to ensure that it leaves a lasting impression.3 tips on how to end a storyWriting the end of a story is a tricky but essential part of your writing process. We turned to our top professional editors for tips to help you wri te yours. We asked our editors: "how do you end a story?" Here is what they said 1. Completion goes hand-in-hand with hopeLiterary agent Estelle Laure explains that a great ending is one that gives the reader both a feeling of completion and hope: â€Å"You have to assume the character has gone through hell, so let them see something beautiful about the world that allows them to take a breath and step into the next adventure. Even your ending should leave your reader dying for more. They should close the book with a sigh, and that’s the best way I know how to get there. This is, after all, a cruel but wondrous life.†2. Make sure it’s really finishedTo create a satisfying ending, end your book with purpose.As Publishing Director of Endeavor Media, Jasmin Kirkbride’s biggest tip is to make sure you follow the rule of Chekhov’s Gun: â€Å"Every subplot and all the different strands of your main plot should reach satisfying, clear conclusions. If they are meant to be left ambiguously, ensure your reader knows this, and create somet hing out of that uncertainty.†3. Come full circleEditor Jenn Bailey says that a good ending brings the book’s internal and external story arcs to a rational conclusion: â€Å"You need to come full circle. You need to end where you began. You need to take the truth your main character believed in the beginning of the story and expose it as the lie that it is by the end. In your ending, the main character doesn’t have to get what they want, but they do have to get what they need.†As we have seen, there are many methods for how to end a story! However you decide to finish your novel, there is one thing that you should always keep in mind: take account of the story that came before and give it the ending that it needs, not the one you think readers want, and it will be satisfactory for all.What is your favorite way to end a story? Or do you have a favorite closing passage? Tell us in the comments below!

Equal employment opportunity laws affecting Essay

Equal employment opportunity laws affecting - Essay Example ights of the workers in any firm in order to ensure that there is a conducive working environment and for that, every person is entitled to equal employment (Lorna, 1968). Many people are denied the chance of getting a job due to various issues like race, gender, religion, age difference, women pregnancies, and also the national origin. As a result, the civil rights acts comes in to help workers from being discriminated. So the employers in this case are supposed to treat all the job applicants and also the working employees the same and not discriminate them with regard to their differences like, race, religion e.t.c. (Kateri, 2007). All employees are entitled to their right pay. For example in US, the fair labor standards act established a minimum wage for the worker. For instance, in July 2010, the minimum wage for all the employees as well as the job seekers was $6.55. All the employers in this case abided to this new law hence you find that all male and female employees are given the right pay due for their input. (Kateri, 2007). This is another law which applies to all people with disabilities in America. You find that many people are discriminated due to their disabilities irrespective of their many credentials in many fields. ADA ensures that any employer or any potential employer cannot discriminate any citizen from getting a job, promotion any good pay on the basis of their disabilities. So, this ensures that all job seekers and the employees have equal employment opportunities. (Kateri, 2007). This law Act ensures that in any employment opportunity, a job seeker cannot be denied a chance due to age differences. This Act tries to prohibit the potential employers from discriminating the job applicants on the basis of their age differences. Pregnancy discrimination Act also prohibits any potential employer from discriminating pregnant women from getting jobs. It ensures that everybody has the right to any job (Lorna, 1968). Equal employment opportunity

Delta air lines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Delta air lines - Case Study Example Three of the most important factors are innovation, quality and inventory reduction. Core values include: safety, high service quality and customer wants and needs. In order to improve logistics, the company is aimed to concentrate on doing business with other carriers which allow it to involve larger orders. Goals and objectives are aimed to improve its current position on the market and increase profitability. A continuum of resource sustainability is to compose resources and capabilities characterized by their durability and imitability. Financial goal is to increase sales and liquidity of business. The policy of safety adopted by airlines will be the main strategic criteria over the next years (Delta Airline News, 2006; Dove-Morse, 2004). Control of interest rates influences the extent of consumer credit and hence the size of an individual's budget, as will levels of taxation. During periods of high inflation the government should well introduce measures to control prices on flights. The main factor is that airline industry operates on the international arena and a major influence on price is the currency exchange rate which fluctuates according to the state of the economy. Increasing tariffs and quotas force carriers to find new ways to reduce transportation costs which lowing quality of their service. With profit margins collapsing, competitors are struggling to adjust. Unemployment rate is high in airline industry: approximately 7,4%. During the period of recession unemployment rate was doubled reducing buying capacity of potential market (Delta Air Lines.2006). Technological forces generate problem-solving inventions. Airline target is on average as dependent on reliable information technology as any other businesses. Improvements in cargo ships and handling equipment, increasing containerization, applications of IT to scheduling and controlling shipments and to customs procedures, new plains, and a host of other technological advances and innovations have reduced the costs of services and information. On the other hand, airline technology cost is one of the highest among other industries. The culture and structure of Apple develop over time and in response to a complex set of factors. Today, customer service in airlines relies on reputation and trustworthiness and this no less true in the new forms of system-service. In fields such as package delivery and money management, consumers are seeking indications that their risks will be minimised or eliminated. For these kinds of consumer acts, customer service plays an essential role in assuaging the fears of consumers by projecting an image of trustworthiness and expertise. Delta Airlines has competitors, but they do not have a great influence on the company's revenue. The presence of substitute services like trains, ships or automobiles transportation can lower service attractiveness and profitability as well as the price levels. The events of 11/09 and recent crashes of Boeing planes occurred these years reduce the attractiveness of airline industry. "The company has lost some $6.1 billion since the start of 2001 from its airline operations, according to First Call, which tracks corporate earnings"(Isidore, 2005). Many potential passengers prefer to use alternative transport even if it takes more time to get to the place of destination. In this case, the bargaining power of customers is crucial. In spite of the fact that