Mel Gibsons Braveheart Essay Example

Mel Gibsons Braveheart Paper Mel Gibsons Braveheart is an utterly passionate epic about Scottish hero William Wallace, a commander who, from 1927 to 1305 AD, led revolt against the ruling English that eventually led to the independence of Scotland. Until Braveheart came out, Wallace was not a particularly well known historical figure outside of Scotland. But, Mel Gibsons almost three hour tour de force of film making (of which he played the lead role and co-produced and directed the film) changed all of that. Very little is actually known about Wallace, and what is known about him is surrounded in legends that have only grown larger over the centuries. The screen writer is able to build William Wallace out of both myth and fact, and his script stresses, that even during his life Wallace was the stuff of legends, but despite his immense stature as a brutal soldier and a brilliant leader, braveheart also focuses on the more human side of Wallace. In fact, the catalyst for him getting involved with the struggle against England is the murder of his wife, Murron, who is cast as Wallaces one true love. Of course braveheart is probably best known for its extensive battle sequences. The plot synopsis is based to an unknown degree upon the novel of the same name by Randall Wallace, Braveheart epic of historical fiction about one of Scotlands national idols, William Wallace. One thing to understand about this film is that it is not an accurate reflection of the thirteenth century war of independence by the people of Scotland. The film makes this abundantly clear from the beginning by describing King Edward the first as a cruel pagan, when it is well known that meeting this description posed a great threat to ones political career, and even to ones life, in those days. We will write a custom essay sample on Mel Gibsons Braveheart specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Mel Gibsons Braveheart specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Mel Gibsons Braveheart specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer As a matter of fact, it is a widely held belief among more reliable sources that the British occupied Scotland in a similar genocidal manner to how they occupied Tasmania because the Scottish have always been known as a wild, proudly heathen race, that combined with a plethora of princess Isabelle, the whole film comes off more as an action film than as any serious historical drama. The real William Wallace was executed in 1305, but King Edward the first lived until 1307, with prince Edward and princess Isabelle being married in 1309. However, when we suppress the historical misgivings of the film in spite of the fact that they are sometimes quite grave, what we have left is a stunning epic that offers a flawed alternate perspective on Scotlands war for independence. The film begins with young William Wallace bidding his father and brother farewell as they go to fight a battle against the British occupying army. Both the father and brother are killed in battle, leaving young William in the care of his uncle, Argyle, who teaches young William to use his mind. From there we fast forward a period of time and see William as an adult, now played by Mel Gibson, returning to his village he lived in as a child. We are soon reintroduced to his childhood friends Hamish and Murron. As the film has it William and Murron marry in secret, with Murron being killed by the village English noble for breaking the rules. In reality, Williamss wife who was actually called Marian (the name change was effected to avoid confusion with the Robin hood heroin of the same name. was killed when English soldiers changed Williams home. William comes back to town and proceeds to kill all of the English soldiers in the village, which in turn ignites a rebellion. As the film progresses we are shown several battles that are depicted inaccurately, and the growing division between the clans of Scotland. What makes this film special is some stunning cinematography by John Toll and some of the best battle scenes in the history of sword swing epics. Indeed what separates this film from most others that try and depict the England of the middle ages is the fact that there are no fancy men reciting patently bad Shakespeare dialogue while waving fencing foils around. The Scottish claymore was specifically designed to cut through things, leaving a wrecked bloody mess behind, as opposed to being used to stab ones opponents. Braveheart manages to reflect such facts in its battles accurately enough to have earned a place on the Internet movie databases top 250 films, sitting comfortably at number 65 at the time of writing this essay. I like this film because once in a life time a filmmaker creates a scenario for the audience so deeply powerful that it literally tugs at ones soul, and does,t let go. Mel Gibson accomplished this with the movie Braveheart. Mels directorial prowess shines through. The most compelling aspect of the film is its portrayal of how one man galvanized a small nation against brutal tyranny. The romance and violence, the scenery and politics, and the history and passion make Braveheart my favourite film. The passion Mel Gibson through out this film is just one of the reasons not to miss Braveheart. So rarely does a film of this calibre come along . From beginning to end Mel gave his audience a vast range of emotions to deal with. Braveheart to me is one of the most moving and inspirational motion pictures ever made. Mel Gibson knows how to capture an audience even when many of his audience know that the films outcome is wrenching. Braveheart draws you in, every loss for these characters become your own, every victory a personal one. The film is unquestionably violent, but you never see as much violence as you think you do. The supporting cast simply shines including Patrick McGoohan as the evil Longshanks, Brendan Gleesen as Wallaces childhood friend Hamish and Sophie Marceau as the princess of Wales. Tie it all together with stirring music by composer James Horner, and youve got a great film experience. What the audience are going to remember from the film are the battle scenes, which are frequent, bloody and violent. Just from a technical point of view, Braveheart does a wonderful of massing men and horses for large scale war fare on film. Gibson gathers what look like thousands of men and horses, as well as foot soldiers, and archers, yet his fight scenes do not turn into confusing crowd scenes. Gibson marshals his armies of extras, his stunt men and his special affects create a fictional world that is entertaining and thrilling. Braveheart is an epic film done on the large scale, involving massive set pieces, big budget production values and a cast of thousands. The emphasis tends to be on large events of historical importance, myth or heroic figures, and the setting is usually ancient times. According to an old epic poem written by blind Henry William, Wallace unified the clans of Scotland and won famous battles against the English before being captured, tortured and executed. Apparently James McKays book is one of the most thorough books on William Wallace on the market. His research centres around the epic poem. William Wallace was a giant of a man, literally in a time when the average height stood barely at 5 foot, Wallace stood at a towering 6 foot 7, tall even by todays standards. His father did not die hanging in a barn, but bravely, fighting off English soldiers on his knees after being hamstrung by an English sword. Wallace did marry, and his wife was murdered , but theres a chance they had an illegitimate daughter before her death. Wallace in fact may have had several illegitimate children as he was seen as a ladies man. He fought his enemy bravely and savagely. Some of his deeds are startling in their cruelty by todays standards, but were the norm for this time. He was a honourable man, as well, who refused to kill women and children, when to do so was acceptable war practice. The sets costumes and special effects and grimy make up all carry the veneer of realism, putting the viewer knee-deep in the mud and blood. The battle scenes rank upon the roughest ever committed to film, and earn the film and R rating. In the 13th century, the forces fought with swords, maces, chains and anything large enough to swing. The film was shot mostly in earthly tones, and the transfer maintains the films dark, wet look very well. When there is an important piece in the film when hid wife murren is killed, it darkens then sky and becomes misty in order to let the audience know something is about to happen and as Wallace returns to the village we see the fire, which symbolises his anger and rage. The battle scenes are especially vivid, and despite all the action on-screen there was no actual digital artifacting. The lighting in this film is daylight, there is only two occasions were it is dark and that is when he is marrying murren and their love scene and of course when he meets the princess and their love scene. Mel Gibson happens to be an Oscar winning director, wildly successful producer and one of the most durable of this era. He claims to be anti-intellectual, but is, in fact a well read man with a sharp mind in the 80s he delivered the double whammy Mad Max and Lethal Weapon. His directing debut Man Without A Face 1993 Braveheart has been the proud owner of ten Oscars, best picture, best director, best cinematography, best sound effects, editing and best make up. Also nominated for best screen play, written directly for the screen, best original dramatic musical score and so on. This truly shows the great effect and memory Braveheart has left on people, and gave Mel Gibson his reward. Braveheart is a great film, it would have been better had more facts been left in and the fiction left out. I still loved the film, because I liked the story it was telling. Braveheart is a rare film with entertainment, history and passion. Its fair to say its not just a movie but also a state of mind. It allows the viewer to enter the mystical and magical world of Scotland and become a rebel fighting beside the mighty Wallace. You fall in love as he does and a part of you dies when he does.

Life Story, which is an essay about the race to find the structure and function of the DNA macromolecule.

Life Story, which is an essay about the race to find the structure and function of the DNA macromolecule. The hunt for where life comes from and what life consists of involved many different personalities, places, and events that came together to reveal an answer that had particularly become of interest in the years preceding the discovery, as much of the world tried to move away from death and closer to life. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick presented the structure and function of the nucleic acid DNA, the macromolecule found in living organisms. The final conclusion was not reached without effort, however. It took two years of experiments, questions, and errors before the scientists were certain that DNA was the "secret of life". Research experiments, scientific collaboration and collegiality, ethical and unethical behavior, the economic factors, the social values of the time, and the political climate in Europe and the USA all influenced the individuals involved in unlocking the secret of life and the process of searching for the answer.Francis Crick in his office. Behind him i s a model...In 1951, in a conference in Naples, Watson grew increasingly interested in working to find this answer, which led to him London, where Wilkins, another scientist, was working on x-ray crystallography. It was in this city that the story of life began, with many scientists conducting research and sometimes cooperating and sometimes not. Despite the final outcome, not everything was positive in the process of reaching it. Actions were not always ethical. And the economic, social, and political situation at the time was not necessarily beneficial in all aspects. Indeed, the search for life was not an easy one but it made an impacting contribution to science that influences everyone to this day.Although James Watson and Francis Crick are credited with discovering the structure and function of DNA, there were many different personalities that contributed to their discovery, including Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin, Raymond Gosling, Lawrence...

The Rise of American Industry- American Economic History Research Proposal

The Rise of American Industry- American Economic History - Research Proposal Example Although America has been blessed with abundant geological resources, the intensity of conversion of natural resources into manufactured commodities, which grew the most during 1880 to 1920, was the major reason that American industry could grow to this predominance. Economies of scale and capital intensive production was possible because of the access to new materials like aluminum and copper as well as larger markets through the transportation network (Chandler, 1992). This enabled the American industry to get a competitive advantage in the period prior to the First World War. During the inter-war years, 1929-41, the American economy witnessed the worst recession and unemployment situation as a result of demand crash, hence the period popularly known as the Great Depression. The economy recovered after the Second World War and the period between 1948 and 1973 was a boom time, with private non-farm enterprises growing fast. Interestingly, even during the depression years, growth in real output was higher than the growth in real wages and real capital, that is total factor productivity (TFP) grew faster than in the post-war boom years. Some economists have argued that this simultaneous existence of high labor productivity and unemployment stems from the fact that with decline in demand, private enterprises tended to lay off the unproductive labor. Hence, selective labor retention and improved management practices enabled higher labor productivity. However, other economists have found that factors other than selective retention of labor resulted in the high inter-war productivity growth, which was the base on which post-war economic revival happened in America. For example, quality of labor improved as Americans received better educational qualifications during the inter-war years, a level that was not achieved again since the 1960s (Goldin, cited in Field, 2006). On

Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Finance - Assignment Example To create a child day care center the YMCA must identify the space for the project. Then it must invest in infrastructure improvements as well as equipment and accessories for the day care center. The required human resource and its monthly cost must be determined. The second cash flow aspect of the project would be once the center is built. The YMCA must pay for maintenance expenses, payroll, utilities, and other expenses associated with the day care center. The demand for the services might exceed the supply capacity of the center. The company should establish a fee to the mothers or fathers of children that are attended in the day care center in order to cover operating expenses. The weekly fee for services in the child day care of the YMCA should be below market value for similar services in the community. Despite the YMCA’s best intentions there is no way that the YMCA can offer the child day care services for free. If it was free the center would receive an incredible amount of applications since everyone desires free child day care

Culture and Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Culture and Organisation - Essay Example At the time, the company was generating revenue that amount to over 21.5 billion euros per year during which time it had the biggest market share in the UK (Wei & Zhou, 2007). Currently, IKEA operates around 301 stores in over 35 countries. Most of the stores are in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia. This billion dollar company was founded in 1943 by Mr. Ingvar Kamprad (Edvardsson & Enquist, 2008). It is owned by Stichging INKGA group although the company is partly controlled by the founder’s family. INKGA group is a charitable foundation registered in the Netherlands. The company’s main competitors include Argos, Asda, Next, Debenhams, Tesco, and John Lewis (Moon, 2004). There exist many ways through which companies can gain a competitive advantage over other companies. With the current economic uncertainties in the market, it is critical that companies get to engage in activities that will ensure their continued success in the market. Since economies from different part of the world are failing, one thing to do to ensure that a business is not affected and can stand the test of turmoil is to spread risks. In other words, most companies are not putting their eggs in the same basket. This means they are promoting their brand through establishing stores in as many countries as possible. One of these companies, and one that this paper will be discussing in detail is IKEA. As put by Porter, sustainable competitive advantage is one of the most sought after things by companies today (Porter, 2008). It requires that a company ensures that its level of profits are maintained if at all the company aims to be sustainable. As stated by Christopher (2012), â€Å"the most profitable competitor in any industry sector tends to be the lowest-cost producer or the supplier providing a product with the greatest perceived differentiated values.† This is, however, affected by important factors such as culture as will be discussed below. The issue of communication is

Historical Development The American Dream History Essay

Historical Development The American Dream History Essay The idea of the American dream was evident long before its coinage. However, the idea of the American dream could be traced chronologically, from the discovery of America, especially the Northern part or the Promised Land4 to the modern age. According to Robert E. Spiller, in Literary History of the United States, the idea of the American dream was associated with America. As a state of mind, America has existed long before its discovery.5 Europeans began to come up with all sorts of hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the new and largely unexplored continent. Many of these dreams focused on owing lands and establishing prosperous business and religious freedom. For them, the American dream was the dream of an Earthly Paradise. The Earthly Paradise was strongly believed to be the land of great opportunities. It was a great dream that dominated Europeans imaginations: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦from the time of the first settlement, America was seen from European eyes as a land of boundless opportunities, a place where man, after centuries of poverty, misery, and corruption could have a second chance to fulfill, in reality, his mythic yearnings for a return to paradise.6 The idea of the American dream was as old as the American continent. Europeans were influenced by the Greeks and Classics writings. During the sixteenth century, an English saint and humanist, Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) identified America with Platos Utopia. In his book Utopia (1516), More represented the idea of the heavenly paradise to an attainable paradise. In the nineteenth century, the idea of Utopia changed into an actual paradise. Because of the influence of the French and Industrial Revolutions, the earthly paradise was attainable.7 With the possibility of such a land, the American dream was an attitude of hope and spiritual faith erected to fulfill human wishes, desires, and dreams in the New World. Thousands of European immigrants had moved to the New World to fulfill the versions of the American dream. The New World was a hope of a new life away from frustration and the sense of inferiority. 8 The American dream dealt with the idea of bettering one selfs economy by which one hoped the New World would provide abundant opportunities for ones prosperity and success. The dream was of rising from poverty to fame and fortune i.e. from rags-to-riches.9 Furthermore, it was the dream of a perfect government that would provide immigrants full and equal opportunities. They would go to the New World to set up new religious and political communities, hopefully, based on their ideas.10 The idea of the American dream had developed. It represented the dream of individual success of that of the American Adam whose labors and posterity that one day would cause great change in the New World.11 According to R. W. B. Lewis, the American Adam was: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a radically new personality, the hero of the new adventure: an individual emancipated from history, happily bereft of ancestry, untouched and undefiled by the usual inheritance of family and race, an individual standing alone, self-reliant and self-propelling, ready to confront whatever awaited him with the aid of his own unique and inherent resource.12 This signified the secular dimension of the American dream, which was associated with social success. With the rise of industrialism and the growth of the economic environment and the rapid advance of science and technology in the nineteenth century, America changed from an agricultural into an industrial and a capitalistic country. The idea of the American dream was to achieve economic independence, especially to have a vocation and own a home in order to be happy. This economic development led to class distinctions and created special privileges for certain classes. It was the pursuit of money rather than of happiness. With the development of new knowledge of Darwinian Theory, American people believed in the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest. To become wealthy, one needed to fulfill his or her dreams by all means, even if the fulfillment was by illegal ways. This dilemma corrupted the principles of freedom and equality of opportunity, and caused great doubt tow ard the American dream as a whole, and engaged more severely against other human beings. 13 A concept often brought into connection with the American dream was the symbol of Melting Pot. The idea of Melting Pot was used in the eighteenth and ninetieth centuries, the metaphor of a Crucible was used to describe the fusion of different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures.14 It was used together with the concepts of the United States as an ideal republic and a city upon a Hill. It was a metaphor for the idealized process of immigration and colonization by which different nationalities and races were to blend into a new, virtuous community, and it was connected to Utopian vision of the emergence of an American new man.15 It was first used in American Literature, as a concept of immigrants melting into the receiving culture, was found in the writings of J. Hector John de Crevecoeur. In his Letters from an American Farmer (1782), Crevecoeur referred to the problem of the American Nationality that appeared after the Revolutionary Era and the Declaration of Independence. He wrote: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a man whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, [new in part, because of that] strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. He is an American who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudice and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holdsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The Americans were once scattered all over Europe; here they are incorporated into one of the finest systems of population which has ever appeared.16 In 1908, a play by Israel Zangwill named Melting Pot, was first performed in Washington, D. C., where the immigrant protagonist declared: Understanding that America is Gods Crucible, the great Melting-Pot, where all the races of Europe are melting and re-forming! [into a new identity] Here you stand, good folk, think I, when I see them at Ellis Island, here you stand in your fifty grounds, your fifty languages, and histories, and your fifties blood hatred and rivalries. But you wont be long like that, brothers, for these are the fires of God youve come to-these are fires of God. A fig for your feuds, and Vendettas! German and French manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ into the crucible with you all! God is making the American.17 However, the play was soon criticized as unrealistic; because melting and reforming into new American Adam appeared to be heresy that implied that all sides had to give up their culture completely to create a new one. The conflict was that many social classes and groups were excluded from the participation in the earthly life.18 Nevertheless, since the whites (Anglo-Saxon Protestants) were the predominant group in the British Colonies, other cultures and identities were perceived as inferior or even unwanted. African-Americans and Native American Indians were enslaved; Catholic Irish and Southern European immigrants were discriminated against for centureies.19 People from different cultural backgrounds often wrongly interpreted the concept of melting pot as the peaceful living together with people from other ethnic groups. But in reality, ethnic groups or minorities in America were not equal to the white people. African- Americans and Native American Indians were denied civil rights.20 Gradually, the meaning of the melting pot had changed. In response to the criticism of the concept of melting pot, Horace Kallen developed the concept of cultural pluralism in 1915. This concept incorporated that different ethnic groups could keep their cultures and that people would mutually enrich their culture. 21 Multiculturalists asserted that cultural differences within society were valuable, and should be preserved. They proposed the alternative metaphor of the mosaic or salad bowl-different cultures mixed, but remained distinct.22 The question was what, then, is the American, this new man? He is neither European nor the descendant of a European.23 The conflict was between the dreams of the white European Americans, who came to the New World to fulfill their dreams as new men, and the dreams of the other minorities, especially, the black African, who came by force. Like many other minorities, Africans were obliged to abandon their rights of sharing or participating in the American life. According to the assumption that Man was part of the universe, man had the power to improve his own nature by improving his environment through science and education.24 Merle Curti in his The Growth of American Thought affirmed mans natural rights of life, liberty, and prosperity, which were accessible to everyone without discrimination. In order to be a normal American citizen, one should naturally practice these rights. These natural rights could not be alienated from the state, and if the state did violate the natural law of the universe by alienating these rights, then man could and should resort to revolution.25 This basic fact encouraged many people in the United States of America, especially African-Americans to take action and revolt against the injustice. By the turn of the twentieth century, the American dream was described as a nightmare. In the Two World Wars, the dream had begun to lose its glitter. Americans, whites and blacks became disillusioned by the idea of making the world safe for democracy [which] had proved to be blasphemy.26 They believed that they were fighting for a better world, for a world of peace and corporation, for a real and immediate Utopia. Americans had suffered psychological and mental pressures, and the image of death made men lose stability and lose faith in the American dream of establishing a perfect world. Instead, they became neurotic, frustrated, and disappointed; Gertrude Stein described the new youth as a lost generation, because their lives became meaningless, pointless, and agonizing ones. 27 The reason behind the confrontation of dreams, was the misery and suffering caused by the crisis that happened in the first half of the twentieth century. One of the most eventual and memorable decades in American history was, the Great Depression of the 1930s that changed American life, and prepared the country for a post-war era, characterized by pessimism and despair.28 Thus, the American dream of the modern age had been shrouded by doubt and pessimism, as economics faltered and opportunities diminished. The dream became a record of unfulfilled promises and dashed hopes.29 Yet, Americans had consistently, flavored their dreams with dashed skepticism. From the very beginning, this was true, Sir Thomas More was as skeptical as any other man about the promises he entitled in Utopia. When he wrote it, he was playing with an idea.30 This showed that the American dream was first an idea. Then, it was said that the American dream had served as a justification for those who had exploited a virgin country, and it had been the chief argument of those who had tried to equalize all men before the law.31 Consequently, people came to anticipate a generous and friendly New World rather than a lavish heaven.32 The American dream was not the product of a solitary thinker, but evolved from the hearts and burdened souls of millions who came to this nation. To make their dreams come true, James Truslow Adams insisted on the principle of working together, no longer merely to build bigger, but to build better. And that referred to all citizens of the United States whether they were black or white.33 After World War II, the American dream was portrayed as a military power.34 The United States of America became the most powerful nation. The 1950s was the period of American preeminence as a military and economic power that revived the dream after the Great Depression of the 1930s. America was marked by a self-conscious sense of its place in the world. The twentieth century was the American Century, the post-war era was certainly the time when citizens of the United States began to believe that it was, in fact, their century, and that theirs was the greatest country in the world. With the Americans belief of their responsibility for winning World War II, it provided them with self-confidence about the world. 35 Frederick R. Karl characterized the period: as a time of growth, development, progress, enlightenment, and achievement of goals; as a renaissance of sort and essential to what helped turn the country into a superpower under a benign, grinning, ex-hero of a persistence. The general argument is that man and woman who experienced the depression returned from World War II to rebuild the country. This generation accordingly, is a treasure, for not only did it , revitalize the country domestically, it helped make the United States the beacon of the World, offering financial aid, food, and military muscle wherever required.36 Americans had always had a faith in the new. Critics saw the American dream as a clever political and economic marketing strategy. They wanted people to get away from selfishness, individualism, and materialism, and to return to community spirit and social responsibility.37 The meaning of the American dream had changed over the course of history. The American dream simply indicated the ability, the practice, and the participation in the society and economy, for everyone to achieve prosperity. According to the American dream, this included the opportunity for ones children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. It was the opportunity to make individual choice without the prior restrictions that limited people, according to their class, caste, religion, race, or ethnicity.38 1:2The African-American Experience In the United States of America, the African-Americans experience was unique. It was marked by slavery, segregation, and injustice. It made the quest for the American dream; that was of freedom, equality, and happiness, an essential pursuit.39 It is important to shed light on the African-American struggle in the United States of America. Unlike most of other minorities, the African- Americans were captured in Africa, taken from their homes and lands by force and sent to a strange new land. They were brought chained and enslaved as a result of colonialism.40 In the early colonial days, Black Africans had many opportunities to secure their freedom by escaping or buying themselves out of slavery, and once free, they had a good chance to make their success in the New World. The life of Anthony Johnson41 illustrated the possibility of the blacks early dreams, in the early period of European colonization in American North. He was known as Antonio, a Negro. Johnson was enslaved in 1621, when he was sold to the English Jamestown; he worked with Bennett family (a white family) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ who commended him for his hard labor and known servicesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He secured his freedom, got married to a freed-slave named Mary and baptized his children. As a freeman, Johnson dreamed of establishing his own farm in Virginia, of 250 acres raising tobacco and cornà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Eventually, his farm was burned, and he was killed, because the colonial legal system had begun to preserve the rights of the whites and deprive blacks of theirs. This period illustrated the fact the era of chattel Slavery had begun. Many Black Africans came to this land having dreams to fulfill. But, many forces spoiled these dreams. The dream of owning a land and successful business for the blacks was limited or weakened by the time and by the force of the law of the Black Codes 42 that was enacted by Virginia, in 1667. Black people had been enslaved with the change of economic conditions. The blacks were denied the opportunity to own land, because they were Negroes and by consequences aliens.43 These Codes made slavery a permanent condition inherited through the mother and defined slaves as property. Such slave Codes robbed the African-American slaves of their freedom and the power of their will. Nevertheless, freedom was always in the mind of the enslaved and how to gain that freedom was the essential question.44 In the New World; African-American slaves were forced to give up their African past and cultivated themselves to being slaves under the white master domination. They were prevented from bringing over their social relations and institutions. These slaves ate what was given to them, not what they wanted, and dressed the clothes that were given to them. In addition, these slaves were treated without any regard or consideration to physical welfare and human dignity.45 In the American South, African-American slaves were described as property. Masters learned to treat their slaves as property. Frederick Douglass, one of the most eloquent speakers against slavery in America, captured the essence of slavery in 1846: Slavery in the United States is the granting of the power by which one man exercises and enforces a right of property in the body and soul of another. The condition of slave is simply that of a brute beast. He is a piece of the master; who claims him[her] to be his property. He is spoken of, thought of, and threaten as property. His own good, his conscience, his intellect, his affection, are all set aside by the master. The will and the wishes of the master are the law of the slave. He is as much a piece of property as a horse. If he is fed, he is fed, because he is property. If he is clothed, it is with a view to the increase of his values as property.46 According to this definition of slavery, an African-American slave was the individual whose movement and activities were under the control of the Whites. Thus, he/she could not leave the controller or the employer without an explicit permission; otherwise, he/she could be punished.47 During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the use of slave labor was cheaper than indentured labor. Slavery was different from one colony to another. On the Eastern Coast and American North, the climate was not supporting extensive farming, slavery, there, tended to be farming slavery, with a few slaves living and working side by side with small farmers or craftsmen. Whereas in the South, the fertile land and warm climates made large-scale cultivation possible, plantation slavery developed. Large numbers of slaves lived and worked on far distances from their owners.48 Another reason for slavery spread was the shortage of indentured servants, which led to resort and to enslave African Americans.49 This meant slavery was essentially an economic institution from which the American nation benefited. More slave labor meant a large measure of prosperity. Many American historians believed that the growth of American economy was not because of slavery. But, Eric Williams, a Caribbean Scholar, charged that black slavery was the engine of that propelled American rise to global economic dominance. In his Capitalism and Slavery, Eric Williams maintained that early Europeans conquest and settlement of the New World depended upon the enslavement of millions of black slaves, who helped amass the capital that financed the industrial revolution. Americas economic progress, he insisted, came at the expense of the black slave, whose labor built the foundation of capitalism.50 In spite of the African-Americans participation in constructing the foundation of this nation, slavery was identified with dark skin.51 By late seventeenth century; slavery and servitude were closely identified with race. White indentured services were limited, voluntary, and had no racial components, whereas, slavery was involuntary, perpetual, and racially defined.52 Hence, indentured servants could be free and had the right to purchase their own freedom or buy completing their period of indenture. At the time of obtaining their freedom, they would pursuit their dreams of property and prosperity. While the African-American slaves did not enjoy these rights and protections.53 Instead, African-American slaves were controlled by the laws of Black Codes. On one hand, race was one of the obstacles that prevented African-Americans from achieving their dreams. On the other hand, the worst condition that African-American slaves had to live under, was the constant threat of sale.54 The African- American slaves family stability and security faced severe challenges. Masters, rather than parents, had legal authority over African-American slaves children and the possibility of forcible separation through sale hung over every family. The Southern plantation owners did not care, whether a slave to be sold off had family members, he/she had to leave behind or not. All mattered was that masters encouraged slavery. As masters questioned the humanity of such slaves, they argued that African- American slaves did not mind being sold since they lacked the ability to form stable family life.55 As for African-American women, they were included in the horrible system of slavery. They were persecuted, subjected to the worse kinds of oppression and exploitation. Not only, because being black women had to endure the horror of slavery and living in a racial and sick society. But as women, they witnessed their physical image being defamed and became the object of the white masters lust. As Black African-American, women had to endure the threat and practice of sexual exploitation, and as mothers, they witnessed their children torn from their breasts and sold into slavery.56 One of the ex-slaves, Jennie Hill explained the outlook of the Black African-Americans humanity according to the whites view point: [White] people think that slaves had no feelings, that they bore their children as animals, bear their young and that there were no heart-breaks when the children were torn from their parents or the mother taken from her brood to toil for a master in another state. But, that isnt so.57 For a white woman, providing home was an essential thing to possess. But, for an African-American woman, it was a dream. Black African-American woman had scantly the opportunity to regain her freedom and her own children.58 During slavery, Black African-American women were exploited in two main sectors of economy: in the fields (with full employment), and in the household. Black African-American women were stretched physically, emotionally, and spiritually to the utmost in the slave plantation, as they were forced to labor like men in the fields. Also they had substantial domestic roles. They raised whites children and created a decent and warm home environment for the white American family, while their dream of family unit was uncertain. 59 The Black African-American slaves had no right to live proper family unit. They had no rights which the master was obliged to respect. The master found it cheaper to overwork a slave and to replace him [or her] when died, rather take care of him [or her] when lived.60 The Black African-American slaves were deprived of living their own lives, denied the right of literacy, education, and could not retract, in inevitably distorted ways, the values, morals, and attitudes of the new civilization of which they gradually became a part.61 White Americans believed that the Black African-American slaves were brutal, barbaric, savage, who would present a real danger to the safety, prosperity, and security of the United States.62 Thus, it was in the system of slavery that the genesis of racism was to be found. According to Eric Williams, slavery was not born of racism, rather, racism was the consequence of slavery.63 White Americans fastened onto differences in physical appearance to develop the myth, that African-American slaves were subhuman and deserved to be enslaved. To enhance the Black African-America slaves inferiority, white Americans deliberately used religion to reinforce slavery as well. To support their institutions, the whites relied heavily on the Biblical story, in which Noahs curse of his son Ham (especially, the fourth son, Canaan), who said in the ninth chapter of Genesis: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.64 This story justified the color of the Black African-American slaves. By the Nineteenth century, many historians agreed to the belief that the Black African-American slaves were the descendants of Ham was a primary justification for slavery among Southern Christians. In other words, the Bible was used to teach the Black African-American slaves a divine, God-given justification for their condition as slaves.65 Hence, white Americans became convinced of white superiority and black inferiority. It was the beginning of hatred and racial discrimination.66 White Americans taught the Black African-American slaves how to despise their African heritage, identity, and culture. They strove to include their own value system into the African-Americans outlook. They believed in Africans inferiority that paralleled self-hatred.67 In general, there were five steps in molding the character of strict discipline, a sense of his [her] inferiority, belief in the whites superiority power, acceptance of the whites standers, and finally, a deep sense of his [her] own helplessness and dependence.68 These facts emphasized the flourishing of the white American culture and completely ignoring of the Black African-American slaves culture. The Euro-Americans were the first who immigrated to the New World by their own free will in search of individual opportunity; their European culture was superior. However, the ignorance diminished the real fact of the importance of the African heritage, not only for the Black African-American slaves, but to mankind.69 For centuries, the Black African-American slaves were ignorant about their own culture and identity. They lacked knowledge, they were illiterates. They were described as people [, who] were no more capable of learning than were animals.70 This indicated that Black African-American slaves were victims and white Americans were victimizers. They were oppressed by the power of the whites. So, they were unable to find a hope to transform their life from slavery into freedom.71 1:3The Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evidence, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.72 With the setting of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, the most important document in the American history and self-perception, slavery as a moral, human, and economic system challenged the basic principles of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, and proved to be the first great institution that tested the equality doctrine.73 The Declaration of Independence marked not only the independence of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain, it also laid the foundation of womens rights and of struggles for ending slavery: After the American colonies secured their independence from Great Britain, [the] black[s] hoped that the same leaders who had yearned for their own freedom would end slavery.74 The Declaration of Independence rested not upon particular grievances, but upon a broad base of individual liberty that could command general support throughout America.75 It served a purpose far beyond that of a public notice of separation. Its ideas inspired mass fervor for the American cause, for it instilled among ordinary folk a sense of their importance, inspiring them to struggle for personal freedom, self-government, and a dignified place in society.76 The United States of America started to shape itself as the Empire of Liberty and Prosperity, as a new entity, Black African-American slaves continued to play a significant role. Despite the continuation of violence against Black African-American slaves, who challenged the long standing tradition of racial discrimination and oppression in the South, the ex-slave and free-black people stepped forward into a new identity, a new reality, and a new sense of agency in public life. Many Black African-American slaves fought in the war of Independence, and they took to the heart assertion of the right of individual freedom that was so a part of the American Colonial and Revolutionary eras.77 Hence, the Declaration of Independence, as Jim Cullen, a historical critic thought it was not only an important document that shaped the way of Americans lives, but it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was born and lived the character of the American dream.78 This dream was profound, eloquent, and unequivocal expression of the dignity and worth of all human personality. In his A Struggle for Power, Theodore Draper, a historian summarized the revolutionary era as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a struggle for power -between the power the British wanted to exercise over the Americans and the power the American wished to exercise over themselves.79 This fact suggested the most important question of Slavery. The Declaration of Independence made Americans want nothing more than freedom and to assume a separate and equal station among the power of the earth, Great Britin.80 The problem was, however, that the founding fathers (Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Washington, etc.,) of the nation defined freedom in terms of its opposite: Slavery. When they used the term Slavery, however, they were not referring to a peculiar institution, whereby many of the founding fathers themselves brought and sold Black African-American slaves as property. They referred to what they felt Great Britain was doing to their lives and livelihood.81 The unself-conscious comparison between freedom and slavery made other people in the United States call for their freedom as well. A British essayist, Samuel Jonson in 1775, asked, but How we [white people] hear the loudest yelp for liberty among drivers of Negroes?82 This paradoxical state made the founding fathers fear that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the attainment of their dream could encourage others to pursuit theirs.83 And this was true, because the success of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, gave Americans the opportunity to give legal form to their political ideals as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and to remedy some of their grievance through state constitution. Americans were accustomed to live under written constitutions that they took them for granted.84 Therefore, the Black African-Americans experience with the American dream in the United States started with the announcement of the Declaration of Independence. Yet, the founding fathers never thought about women, slaves, and Natives as having equal rights like white Americans (Anglo-Saxon American descents), or did not even recognize them as human beings. Thus, the Declaration of Independence was not the subject to change disagreement, because its content never changed.85

The Colony of Saint Domingue :: History american Essays

The Colony of Saint Domingue In looking at the revolution of the slaves from the colony of Saint Domingue, we must consider several different aspects that helped to create the atmosphere that was suitable enough for this revolution to take hold. The "Eden of the Western World" (Beckles 402) that produced almost half of the sugar and coffee consumed in the Americas and Europe was soon to become the stage of intensely bloody, deadly battles. In order to better understand how and why this revolution, that has been called "one of the few revolutions in world history that have had such profound consequences" (Shepherd 402), could have happened we must look at who was living in the colony at this time period. In the late 1780’s the French colony of Saint Domingue consisted of what is primarily know as the "three-tier" structure, which was what generally existed in these sugar colonies. Race as well as economic standing and social position separated the three groups that made up this structure. The whites of the colony were surprisingly enough not a tight knit group even despite the fact that they were by far the minority, in terms of numbers on the island. The whites were split up into two distinct groups that drew their lines by wealth. The rich white planters was the group of whites that owned the plantations and the slaves and represented the unified support for slavery, because of the fact that they depended on it for their wealth. It should be duly noted that this group of whites was at this time extremely unhappy with their mother country of France, and were already disobeying her regularly in order to trade more cheaply with the United States. The second group of whites was obviously the poor whites who held simple everyday jobs, but despite the fact that they were not wealthy slave owners, they were certainly supporters of the anti-black feelings. The next group that we will look at is that of the black slaves. The black slaves, as was noted above, vastly outnumbered the free whites, and it can be seen here in this accompanying chart, that by the time of the French Revolution the black slaves outnumbered the free by almost 10: 1. This vast difference in numbers is not something without significance to the revolution, because it represented the apex of the discrepancy, and made the apparent balance of power seem less and less clear.

“Old Man and the Sea” book report Essay

I decided to read this book for two reasons. My friends have read this book in the past and said it wasn’t too bad. Second, it is one heck of a short book. I finished this book in 2 days. As the sample book report says, this book is only 27,000 words long. The book lived up to what my friends had said about it. The book was one of the best classic stories I have read, it had a good story and good description. Hemingway could paint the pictures in my mind. I have read other shot stories of his, back in eighth grade, but they pale in comparison to this masterpiece of writing. The story was about and old man (really? ) who is a fisherman. He goes out every day to go fishing, but he has no luck for about 80 days. But one day, he goes out alone and hooks a humongeous whale size marlin. He can’t bring it in because it is too big. He has to wait until it gets tired so he can harpoon it. He goes 2 days fighting the fish, without food or rest. until he finally gets his chance. But when he thinks it is all over, there is still more trouble ahead. The fish is too big to be placed in his small boat, so he has to strap it to the side. Meanwhile, the blood from the harpoon shot leaks out into the sea and attracts sharks. While the old man is returning home from his expedition, he has to fight off the sharks from eating his prize. But it doesn’t take to long for the sharks to take lots of big chunks out of the fish. He ends up killing all the sharks and he gets home safely, and exhausted. Ernest Hemingway is an author of the past. Compared to a more modern author, like say, John Grisham, he has different and unique qualities. Hemingway likes to use lots of descriptive phrases, while leaving little room for actual character discussion. Grisham, on the other hand, makes sure that there is a lot of character dialog throughout his stories. Hemingway doesn’t really have a set climax of his story, while Grisham has a definite peak to his books. This just goes to show you how book writing styles differ through the years. I didn’t find any flaws or things in the book that I had a problem believing or comprehending. You just have to read a book and take it how it is. I don’t really see a need to critique such a great book. In conclusion, this book is one of favorite classics, and I would recommend this to a friend because of it’s great story, descriptions, and length.

Leonardo Da Vinci one of the greatest artists pertold in history. He created several tremendous and infamous art pieces including The Mona Lisa. This was only one of his several extradinary works.

Leonardo Da Vinci one of the greatest artists pertold in history. He created several tremendous and infamous art pieces including The Mona Lisa. This was only one of his several extradinary works. Leonardo Da Vinci was born in 1452 on his father's estate in Vinci, Italy. He received his education on the estate until the age of fifteen. Which is when his father had noticed Leonardo's potential and had decided to send him to be an apprentice to the artist Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence. There he studied sculpture and the mechanical arts. This was also when he first developed an interest in anatomy. In 1472 Leonardo was accepted into the painters' guild at Florence, where he remained for the next ten years. In 1482, Leonardo was hired by the duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, to be artist and engineer in residence. During his stay in Milan, he started to compose a unified theory of the world and to illustrate it in a series of voluminous notebooks. Unfortunately due to his pursuit of scientific knowledge he had to leave many of his artistic creations unfinished.Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, Galleria dell'...He stayed in Milan for seventeen years. There he completed six pain tings: two portraits of the 'Last Supper', two versions of 'The Virgin of the Rocks', and a decorative ceiling painting in the Castello Sforzesco. Other paintings were either unfinished or have disappeared. In the early 1500's, Leonardo returned to his home city. In Florence, he was commissioned to do a number of paintings, but other interests and tasks kept him from finishing them. The most well known piece to survive from this time period was the famous "Mona Lisa", which is now in the Louvre in Paris. For ten months during 1502, Leonardo served as military adviser and engineer. During the years 1513 to 1516, Leonardo was in Rome at the invitation of Cardinal Giuliano de' Medici, brother of Pope Leo X. Some of the greatest artists of the time were at work in Rome for...

marketing mix of amazon Essays

marketing mix of amazon Essays marketing mix of amazon Paper marketing mix of amazon Paper marketing mix of amazon BY JCEEI The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organisation engages in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market. Traditionally the marketing mix consisted of Just 4 Ps with 3 extras; an example of marketing mix is Amazon. The most difficult task for any organization is creating an all-around environment which allows a group of customers to feel comfortable purchasing their products or services. The strategy requires the organization to determine the ideal products or services at the right price, getting sold in the correct location, to the right ustomers, the type of incentives offered, payment and delivery of product, the edge of their product and within the proper time frame. My paper intends to describe how Amazon. com uses the marketing mix to ensure an ideal environment for consumers, and displays how the 7ps are implemented. Amazon was founded in 1994 and is considered the largest e-commerce retailer in America. In 20 years this organization has become a fortune with 500 companies that have dominated the e-commerce market which has displayed unique growth and understanding of their market and their client needs. Amazon is a very successful organization, they have experience many threats from other competitors, market fluctuations, and basic uncertainties within the market. However, the firm intends to handle these issues by looking toward their future and addressing the initiatives and long-term goals of the organization. nd Just do it caJsahJ s] uhdh ba The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organisation engages in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market. Traditionally the marketing mix consisted of Just 4 Ps with 3 extras; an example of marketing mix is Amazon. The most difficult task for any organization is creating an all-around environment which allows a group of customers to feel comfortable purchasing their products or services. The strategy requires the organization to determine the ideal products or services at the right price, getting sold in the correct location, to the right customers, the type of incentives offered, payment and delivery of product, the edge of their product and within the proper time frame. My paper intends to describe how Amazon. com uses the marketing mix to ensure an ideal environment for consumers, and displays how he 7ps are implemented. Amazon was founded in 1994 and is considered the largest e-commerce retailer in America. In 20 years this organization has become a fortune with 500 companies that have dominated the e-commerce market which has displayed unique growth and understanding of their market and their client needs. Amazon is a very successful organization, they have experience many threats from other competitors, market fluctuations, and basic uncertainties within the market. However, the firm intends to handle these issues by looking toward their future and ddressing the initiatives and long-term goals of the organization. The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organisation engages in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market. Traditionally the marketing mix consisted of Just 4 Ps with 3 extras; an example of marketing mix is Amazon. The most difficult task for any organization is creating an all-around environment which allows a group of customers to feel comfortable purchasing their products or services. The strategy addressing the initiatives and long-term goals of the organization.

Religious indoctrination is wrong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religious indoctrination is wrong - Essay Example Then, why is constructivism viewed in many schools as the lone method for instruction? Children answering question papers with a prejudice for another religious belief will be punished if they answer by their beliefs rather than in line with the indoctrination of their schools. Under constructivism, and as argued by Richard Dawkins, religious indoctrination of children is particularly repulsive since it conflicts with moral standards. A number of critics observe the presence of indoctrination in any effort to teach religious beliefs. There is a major debate about the description of indoctrination, but this debate is beyond the scope of this paper. However, this paper applies John Chambers’s definition of indoctrination: â€Å"intentional implantation of equivocal or debatable content in the hope that no matter what counter-evidence is produced the†¦ students will continue to hold the content as true and never see it as equivocal or false† (Purdy 1992, 158). A relev ant aspect of this description is that it helps to differentiate between education and indoctrination, which requires imparting information or knowledge with a truthful explanation of its merits. The present author thinks that in question are unspoken, and often unrecognized, arguments about the value of individual judgment and choice. It appears that what is assumed to be essential about these judgment and choice is that they are ‘ours’. The core of this argument is some idea of ‘unadulterated,’ ‘unbiased’ choice. Widespread opinion at times compares any influencing or manipulating of other people, particularly helpless, innocent, or trusting ones like children, with brainwashing or indoctrination. LaFollette, for instance, argues that if children are religiously indoctrinated by their parents then they are hampered from maturing as critical thinkers and independent adults (Langlaude 2007, 51). As stated by John White: â€Å"If the parent has an obligation to bring up his child as a morally autonomous person, he cannot at the same time have the right to indoctrinate him with any beliefs whatsoever, since some beliefs may contradict those on which his educational endeavors should be based† (Langlaude 2007, 51). Indoctrination of established religions in fact disregards human vulnerability, weaknesses, or immaturity in other ways. Established religions’ physical abuse of children can be traced back to prehistoric times and is still widespread. Cases of such thrive within the walls of Christian religions, especially in their historical account of detained native children, and in the maltreatment committed by ministers, nuns, and priests who on account of their authority and its predestined worth were bestowed with faith and have held influence over the indoctrinated. Therefore, rather than depending on ambiguous and uncertain values and beliefs, we need an open dialogue of what children should learn and how to better assist them in doing it. Hence we should tackle the issue whether they should be taught about vital topics or whether they become skilled at making good decisions if left wholly to their own means. If children are given the opportunity as much as possible to decide on their own, it is possible but unlikely that they will effectively pull themselves out of the chaos and come out the stronger. Gradually, and through practice, people are able to possess the abilities which liberate them of the

The Popularity of Social Networking and Social Media Sites Research Paper - 8

The Popularity of Social Networking and Social Media Sites - Research Paper Example The social networks and social media phenomenon has also led to the emergence of new careers in social media managers who are among the best-paid employees in the current times. Social media has basically overhauled the traditional ways of doing business. Besides business, social media and social networking have also profoundly affected how members of society communicate with each other. Calls that are usually carried over telephone networks and physical mails that are normally delivered through courier and postal services are almost becoming extinct as more and more humans choose to communicate via internet supported chat rooms, emails, status updates, microblogs and tweets. Through a simple status update, one can give an opinion on an issue and initiate a debate on the issue without necessarily convening a physical meeting where everyone has to be physically present. Socializing has also taken a new form as a result of the emerging Social Media and Social Networking sites. Humans a re often considered as social beings that have the need to socialize with each other. Social Networking sites like Facebook allow one to befriend people over the internet even without meeting them. Graduates.com is another site that allows for the socialization of former schoolmates. Perhaps the most profound effect of social media is in the way we receive news. In the past, breaking news was a reserve of the big cable television companies. However, in the social media and social networking era, anyone who can claim ownership of a smartphone can easily play the role of a journalist and deliver breaking news. Pictures can easily be uploaded on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.