The Comparison of Poll Tax Country” to Black Like Me

â€Å"The Comparison of Poll Tax Country† to Black like Me John Griffin was a normal white man living an average life. He like many other whites knew that people of color were discriminated against, but he never really knew how much the color of one’s skin made a difference in the way people act. If Griffin had seen â€Å"poll tax country† he would have seen racism in a new light. Griffin’s experiment was to go down south as a colored man to learn the truth of how life was a black man. By look at the painting â€Å"Poll Tax Country,† one can see who had the power in early-1900s Southern society.After slavery blacks were still discriminated against and had to travel miles just to find a bathroom for blacks. â€Å"Poll Tax Country† shows a new perspective on how blacks were treated as people and how was each others back was the only thing that kept them going. In â€Å"Poll Tax Country,† a detail that stood out was the columns that held up the roof of the platform. One of the columns matches those of the Supreme Court and the White House. The different columns symbolize different branches and groups of people that came together to makes laws to keep blacks in debt in certain areas.The column have historical significance: columns have been used since the times of the ancient Egyptians and Romans. Both civilizations had slaves to build monuments that would withstand the test of time. Similarly, the people who built the New World were indentured servants who came to the New World with the hope of starting a new life. Slaves have played a big role in society as far back as the ancient Egyptians, building towns and monuments that still stand today. The columns connect to slavery – without slaves, many of today’s wonders might not exist.Slavery is a dark time in every society’s history. However, slaves had a major contribution to the forming of nations. The first slaves of this nation came with the s ettlers that came from England. As time when on, Africans were packed on ships and brought here to be sold into slavery. Many whites like John Griffin, knew about slavery and heard many stories about it. However, in the 1940’s they never understood the extent of racism down south. When John Griffin went down south as a black man the way he was treated was very different from how he was treated as a white man.As a white man masked in black he was able to see how black people really interacted with each other. Also, he was able to see how whites really saw blacks and how they interacted with them. As one white hunter who gave Griffin a ride in Alabama said, â€Å"I’ll tell you how it is here. We’ll do business with you people. We’ll sure as hell screw your women. Other than that, you’re just completely off the record as far as we’re concerned. †(Griffin111). Griffin described this man as an ordinary, respectable family man. It is only t o black people that he revealed his ugly, racist sickness.Sadly, his words reflect the attitude of many white racists in the South. What John Griffin learned that day was very important because although slaves did the work, they are not glorified in textbooks and were mostly forgotten. John Griffin talked about how an educated black that could afford to vote, answered many questions that many people would not know how to answer; he did not get to vote because the government work would give him a poll test he could not pass. The court system was not always fair and laws were made to keep African Americans from voting so whites could keep control.In â€Å"poll tax country,† in the middle of the gazebo among all the different people is a priest. A man of god that should fair to all people is on the side of the men trying to keep you down. They had no god or person to turn to in their darkest hour African American were being squeezing down on to feel pressured. As slaves, they ca nnot not trust outsiders; they had to live in packs and work back to back. In the picture the works were almost on top of each working an area that could be manned by two to three people at the max. doesn’t make sense. This was a gang – they worked together and protected each other to survive.John Griffin saw many things in his experiment that put things into perspective. As a black man he was degraded by whites who felt that they were superior to him. Society strived to keep African Americans controlled so whites would remain dominant. Down south that made it hard for blacks to vote, get good jobs, or even use public bathroom. The whites that cashed their cash always seemed to need more that what was on the check. Doesn’t make sense the poor working black was always in debt. Griffin brought up a story about a well educated black man who wanted to vote but was never able o because the official gave him a test that was unfair and they both knew that he would not pass it. â€Å"I can read the headline†¦ It says this one negro in Mississippi who’s not going to get to vote this year. † (Griffin, 81). In this joke by P. D. East about the voting rights for blacks in the South, a black man who wants to vote is given a newspaper in Chinese in order to test his literacy. East tells the joke to shine a light on the problem facing blacks being prohibited from voting in the South. By preventing blacks from voting, whites removed their voice in matters.This way the law stayed on the side of the whites, and blacks never had a chance to make changes. In the painting, a congressman stands in front preaching to the people and filling their heads with empty words. However, shadowing the congress man is a KKK member that looks as if he is in control of what the congressman says. The audience has stopped listening to the words they have heard many times before. They have lost hope in their government that represents only the white people, k nowing that the people who lynch them are the same ones who hold public offices.Many have lost hope in seeing the change that they were promised, still working like slaves 90 years after the Civil War. John Griffin had never known how blacks felt about politicians because he had never faced laws that made it harder to get by everyday as a white man. To him the government was a government by the people for the people, but in fact government was mostly run by white, racists and even members of the KKK. Being black showed Griffin the double standards of this government of, for, and by the people.As a white man he could go to white facilities or black facilities if he chose, and he could enter, do, and say as he pleases. However, as a black man he could only go to black facilities and he had to respect whites. A white man when into a black facility on day and put up a file stating that any black man willing to bring young black female to them will get paid. The fact that white men had t he power to do such things is degrading both to a man as well as to the entire African- race. While whites were promoting pimping and prostitution, the government was simply looking the other way.However, the government imposed a steep fine on hunting alligators. The fact that a poor sawmill worker who lived on the swamp with his wife and six children could not hunt the alligators endangered his family every day: â€Å"I’ll tell you—if we don’t have meat to cook with the beans, why she just goes ahead and cooks the beans anyhow. † (Griffin111). When Griffin traveled through the rural swamp country in Alabama, he met a poor black sawmill worker who offered him a place to stay on the floor of his shack. Griffin is touched by the man’s generosity.The man and his wife are thankful for what they have. If there is no meat to cook, the man notes, his wife doesn’t complain; she just serves beans. Realistically, the man has enough meat around his hom e to feed his family for many years to come. However, because governments know that most blacks would benefit from alligator meat, they impose fines that whites could afford to pay off but not blacks. That night John Griffin thought of his kids and how they were living right now, and how if he and his family were not white they too might be reduced to this squalid standard of living.Griffin had been black for a couple of weeks and was sick to his stomach from his experience he couldn’t handle it anymore. Blacks had to handle much abuse from whites that want to keep controlling them on a daily basis but yet they stood strong to the end. â€Å"Black like me† and â€Å"Poll Tax Country† share many ideas of what racism was really like down south. John Griffins experiment showed how a normal, kind-looking family man could become so cruel to another human due to the color of the skin. He showed how the government squeezed down on anyone that was not white by any means available.Blacks could not turn for help from the government, or the even the men of god. They were made into second class citizens that had little to no rights and every apportioned was give to white society. Courts were run by whites who were prejudice, the government was filled with racists and the rest was manipulated by the very men that felt they were the only one’s fit to roam the lands. Blacks were being degraded to keep their hopes down and to control them. Keeping control by making them second class citizens and in debt there whole life makes them less likely to rebel because they would feel less likely to win.

A Complete Analysis Becoming Abigail English Literature Essay

A Complete Analysis Becoming Abigail English Literature Essay Young Abigail is a Nigerian girl alternating short sections focusing on her past as well as her present life. She is Abigail the daughter but there is the dominant Abigail, the mother who died giving birth to her. The death of Abigail’s mother plays a huge role in the entire novel. Abigail is portrayed as an affliction child, without a mother, striving to discover her future. She is an African girl, symbolizing the corrosion of national and confined cultural distinctiveness into the end monumental continental identity of Africa. Abigail tries to personify and preserve herself in her mother’s figure and bequest. The father is chronic drunkard who foregoes his paternal obligations and responsibility. He has his daughter who constantly reminds him of his late wife. Abigail’s is characterized by misery and tragedies. Her childhood is pathetic and she spends most of it mourning her late mother in commemorative self-induced rituals. She mutters incarnations, cuts hers elf, tears and burns her mother’s photos, burns herself (Abani, p.10). â€Å"And this. Even this,† (p.18). The novella starts. In less significant hands, this may not be a hopeful starter, but Abani steers us out of the fog swiftly. â€Å"This memory like all the others was a lie.† (p.18). Abigail, a youthful girl in Nigeria, is nostalgically recalling her mother’s memorial service. Abigail act of mourning is to some extent troubling. It is symbolised by among other acts, the killing of birds and later dressing them in lace from her mother’s bridal dress. But, as written by Abani, explaining the symbol from an authorial distance, we realize that not much is substantiated in the rest of the book, â€Å"this tradition recognized complex ways to be human, and she was allowed to mourn.† (p.18). In addition, another frequently evident symbolic device is the use of two alternating strands, â€Å"Now† and â€Å"Then,† throughout the n arrative. The latter is associated with Abigail’s reminiscence of life in Nigeria with her depressed father and his choice to send her to London with a strange family member named Peter. Nearing to their departure, Abigail’s father performs suicide, despite the fact that he had intuited the agonies in anticipation of his daughter. The end of the first chapter leaves us with the impression that Abigail takes after her mother. Their extreme resemblance makes the author propel us through the mind of her father as he watched her mourn her mother’s death similar to watching his dead wife grieve. She is likened to a younger version of her mother grieving her death in advance. Her father â€Å"turned and looked at her and she saw the photo and recognized it. She resembled her mother that when he saw her suddenly, she knew he wanted her to be Abigail.† (Abani, p.20) Although Abigail is now a grown-up, she misses her childhood, one that she never got to enjoy. The author takes us through her mind which juggles us from the present to her past and childhood. That’s when the author alternates the two titles, Now and Then. Abigail has had an experience with men that she remembers with so much regret. All the in her life had never been interested in knowing her true personality neither appreciate her beauty, not to mention how she was careful with her hair to make sure that she looked presentable. She was light-skinned – An inherent feature from her great-grandmother. The author likens her to a foreign country, especially when it comes to the men in her life as they never stayed.

Management accounting and the challenge of strategic focus Essay

Management accounting and the challenge of strategic focus - Essay Example The study made use of qualitative analysis of secondary narrative data on the company subject of the case study. Through qualitative data analysis, the study employed the self-referential, â€Å"autopoietic† theory to explain the role of the firm’s management accounting system in providing control and guidance in relation to the firm’s â€Å"self-production.† The title is short and categorical, sufficient to capture the interest of a student who would be interested in an article on the general topics of either management accounting or strategic management, or the link between them. However, for one who is looking for a particular topic within the scope of either field, the title does not sufficiently convey the specific gist of what the paper is about. Either field is very broad, and the title should properly encapsulate what aspect of the link between the two subjects is discussed. Since the focus of the discussion is on autopoiesis, this single word, coupled with management accounting and strategic management, would have provided the a sufficiently concise yet informative title. The title we would suggest would be: â€Å"Application of Autopoiesis Theory in Organization Strategy† The abstract gives a concise yet informative summary of the study, identifying it immediately as a case study and therefore preparing the reader to address it as such. It also provides the reader with the theoretical underpinning of the work (autopoietic theory) as well as the eventual conclusion, which is beneficial to the reader who wants to know if the further perusal of the study would serve his purposes. Some of its vocabulary appears to be specialized and operational to the study (e.g. â€Å"self-production†), but these need not be explained in the abstract. Actually, the use of such words makes the abstract more effective in capturing the interest of the reader. Upon reading the introduction, one is immediately

Reflecting on critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflecting on critique - Essay Example It has been argued that it is characterized by the possibilities of machines. Eiffel tower design is very interesting because â€Å"many modernist movements were interested in producing art and architecture that draws attention to the process of construction involved in making the objects and arts." 1 This can be seen clearly from the Eiffel tower, even though it is an old building the architects behind the design of the building wanted to appeal people by having a unique design that captures the human attention. Lyotard’s argues that there is a conflation of art and philosophy. This is because before designing an object an architect must first of all visualize what he or she wants to design. Post modernism brings about the effects that come about because of having a central focus being attraction rather than building a strong building that can withstand the test of time.2 Although there has been allegation that postmodernism is not well understood today because it there has been conflicting reports on which areas it covers, which can be found in â€Å"all the arts, poetry of John Ashberry for instance as all the arts† 3 One of the most important features of postmodernism is pastiche. Pastiche involves imitation of other forms of art. How ve, imitation of other forms of art is wrong because we will continue producing the same styles each year. In addition, it also limits creativity. Therefore, most architects have been discouraged from copying other people’s work. However, the relationship between design and philosophy comes out clearly in Eiffel towers. The architects who designed Eiffel towers tried to incorporate philosophy in designing a building. This is evident from the number of tourists who visit France in order to see Eiffel

Gun Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Gun Control - Essay Example The gun control law will be brought to action after the Governor Dannel Molly signs it and this legislation would make Connecticut third state that has brought into action such toughest Gun Control Laws. 100 different types of guns are banned with a strict background on past sold weapons. Furthermore the newspaper posted Connecticut shot dead incident at elementary school Newtown that took place on 14th of December. According to this incident Adam Lanza - a twenty years old man shot 20 children with 6 adults and soon after killing them, he killed himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School. President of Iran Ahmadinejad sent condolences to the U.S President over the shooting incidence in Connecticut’s elementary school. He strongly condemned the violence attacks and hit hard the U.S policies and laws on gun control. In addition to accusing the shooting at elementary school incident he also high lightened the recent killing incidents of Colorado cinema creating hassle and harassmen t across American public. The president of Iran spoke about the inappropriate and loosely bound laws of gun control that had been provoking killing attacks back in 2007 in Virginia Tech that shot down 32 people (English.farsnews.com, 2013, April 21).   The Australian newspaper reporting the voice of Australia and the media also reported and published gun control laws, their appropriateness and in suitability. The Australian Newspaper published this very auspicious news when there was massacre and bloodshed reported in the major states of U.S and invoked the attention to the strong, strict and controlled gun control laws of Australia in comparison to the U.S. the media took the... Gun Control Responsible citizens are considered to contribute to society benefits by using firearms in a correct way. For ensuring gun control U.S government and defense department has chalked out some rules for the possession of firearms. Some of the points included for registered are extracted from the Federal Gun Control Act developed in 1968 in the U.S for possession of fire arms are responsible citizens abiding law, not addicted to drugs and alcohol, possessing U.S citizenship and must not be dropped out from military services (Moore & Reed, 1995). Not only crime issues but other issues such as hunting whether as a sport or for food purposes, has also reflected the serious issues of gun control legally and politically. Hunting is dangerous for wildlife and the natural environment as well. Even shooting has been a part of Olympic games and the use of pistols, guns, rifles etc had been a normal activity during sports in Olympic since 1912 (Moore & Reed, 1995). This paper has extracted content from various papers and stories from different countries such as Australia and its newspaper The Australian, Iran and its newspaper Fars News Agency and U.S and its newspapers Los Angeles Times. Severe punishment enforced by gun control laws and reforms and imprisonment laws must be enforced to avoid the misuse and unauthorized possession of guns and ammunitions. On the other hand gun control laws must not be enforced with such tightly bonded realm where law abiding and responsible citizens are also punished by restricting them to the use of firearms.

Nineteenth Century Jerusalem Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nineteenth Century Jerusalem - Research Paper Example This report stresses that the Crimean War of 1853–1856 portended a significant influence on the development of Jerusalem in the 19th centuryAs a result of foreign help for the Ottomans against the Russians during the time of the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire incurred heavy debts to these foreign powers. In Jerusalem, this enabled consular representatives to exert political pressure for their nationals to be offered special protection. Jews found more ways to purchase land and build shops, streets, synagogues, and houses as the Western powers gained increasing power and influence in Jerusalem, which, in turn, flourished with growth and activity. An outbreak of dysentery further pushed more Jews outside the confines of the old city into areas with less congestion and better sanitation. Because of this expansion outside Jerusalem, Zionism arose in the late 19th century as a term, which was portrayed in direct reference to Jerusalem. This paper makes a conclusion that Nathan Birnbaum first used the term Zionism as a reference to the need for Jews to immigrate to Jerusalem and Palestine as a result of fascist ideologies. Zionism became the Jewish national movement in support of creation of a Jewish homeland in Jerusalem and Palestine. The earliest version of Zionism in the late 19th century aimed at opposing the assimilation of Jews in Palestine, instead pushing for a Jewish homeland and nation that would liberate them from future discrimination.

Theories and theorists with the causes and responses to problematic Literature review

Theories and theorists with the causes and responses to problematic behaviour in children - Literature review Example One of the most basic debates revolves around the respective importance of the features and qualities that a child is born with, and those that are acquired from the environment as a child matures in the company of other people. This is known as the nature/nurture debate (Eysenk, 1997, 305-309) and a number of psychologists have devised experiments to try and work this out, so that more can be understood about how a child learns to interact with others, absorbing the rules of society and finding ways to adapt to the demands of school. Clearly if scholars can understand how behaviour is acquired, then they have more chance of finding ways to intervene if problems arise in this process. Behaviourism is one of the most well-known theories of child development. The Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) conducted some very famous experiments on animals to research the way that learning takes place. He was primarily interested in physiology and his experiment with dogs showed that a random connection between a certain sound, and a reward of food, meant nothing to a dog at first, but with repeated association of the two, the dog could be trained to respond to the tone, in anticipation of the food, so that when the tone sounded, for the dog would salivate, even though there was no food in the room. Pavlov noted that this reflex action occurred spontaneously in the dog, whenever the stimulus was given, and this was called conditioning and it provided the basis for the theory of behaviourism. An example of the enduring truth of these theories can be observed in some typical behaviours in the context of education: â€Å"†¦ our actions may condition inappropriate a s well as appropriate behaviours, such as the automatic lack of attention to the lesson the moment the bell rings.† (Woollard, 2010, p. 12) Further work on this line of thinking was done by American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949), based on the way that cats learn to solve puzzles. Thorndike focussed on repetition of tasks, showing that the more frequently an action is required, and the more often a reward is offered for completion of this action, the more likely it is that the animal will learn the action. The implications for child behaviour are that learning should be provided in well structured, rather repetitive ways, with consistency in the reward system so that the child over time learns to fit in with what is expected of him. The psychologist John Watson (1878-1958) used the tools of scientific experimentation to demonstrate the validity of behaviourism: â€Å"Based on his research on higher order animals, Watson strove to bring to psychology the same me asure of objectivity that marked some of the other traditional sciences such as physics and chemistry.† (Hart and Kritsonis, 2006, pp. 2-3) The empirical method, based on experiments and data analysis were a major part of Watson’s behaviourism and he is credited with establishing the credibility of Psychology as a discipline. Continuing in this same vein, B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) developed these ideas using rats initially, and then drawing parallels with child development. He devised experiments in which rats were required to push levers to obtain food, and this was called operant conditioning, because the rats had to actively operate the equipment to achieve the desired result. The important factor which he applied to child behaviour, was that rewards and punishments could be used to condition children to behave in certain ways. Skinner’s behaviour modification theories hold that positive reinforcements, such as praise and encouragement will work more effectivel y than negative reinforcements, such as punishment, because the associations of past experiences will gradually persuade the child