The Meanings Of A Racist Word English Language Essay

The Meanings Of A Racist Word English Language Essay In the essay The Meanings of the Word, Gloria Naylor discusses the essence of the word nigger and how it can mean many different things to different people in an endless list of situations. Depending on the individuals race, social status, gender, and age Naylor outlines how a word such as nigger can have different meanings within ones own environment. Naylor discusses how one word can go from having a positive to a negative effect merely due to how it is spoken and by whom. Naylor shares a personal experience with her readers as she describes the very first time she really heard the word nigger. A young white boy in her third grade class spit in her face. Naylor states, I didnt know what a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldnt have called me. (Naylor 109) Naylor writes about her own personal experiences clearly showing she is prejudice about how and when the word is acceptable. Even though her experiences are powerful, they can also be seen as a limited view of the subject. Her readers can only understand the situation through her eyes and her experiences. Naylor is trying to educate her readers by sharing her personal experiences. I think she wants her readers to sit and think about the words they use, how others may use them, and how those words affect others around them. Naylor wants her readers to understand how deeply she was affected by a young boy but also by how she didnt really think about the word nigger until the moment is was used in a hurtful manner towards her. Her main objective is to make her readers think about the words they choose to use and hear and how the context of these words is embedded in can change the meaning of them. To be a part of Naylors target audience one must have had experience with language and how people use it. She is targeting those who have heard or used the word nigger before. Naylor wants her readers to take on her experience and be empathetic towards her feelings. She does not do this in a pathetic way, as Naylor seeks no pity from anyone. She outlines in detail her experience and wants her readers to understand her views and how they came to be. Naylor assumes the role of a teacher in her writing. She assumes a person of a young girl experiencing a new way of understanding a word. Naylor wants her readers to understand how important the context in which one word is used, so she writes about her own personal experience, of which she is the sole authority. Naylor assumes a straight forward tone in her writing. She does not demand or point her fingers at any one group of people. She simply relays her experience in such a way that you cant help but to think about what it must have bee n like for her as a young girl experiencing a new meaning of a word in such a racial way. She does not take on a superior or subordinate tone; rather it is like she is having a conversation with her readers as her peers. I find this very powerful because she achieves what she wants is a very subtle manner. Naylor does not lecture or blame anyone; she is simply sharing her experiences. The introduction of The Meanings of a Word, is a frame for the rest of the writing to fill. Naylor discusses how language is the subject of her writing, and although the written word is what has kept her going throughout her life she still feels that the written word is inferior to the spoken word. Her arguments in the introduction of her writing are clear and easily understood. She is portraying just how powerful she feels the spoken word can be. Naylor states, Dialogue achieves its power in the dynamics of a fleeting moment of sight, sound, smell and touch. (Naylor 108) This helps the readers understand the power of a spoken word such as nigger. Naylors position is that words either written or spoken do not take on meaning until a consensus assigns one. Naylor states, Words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power. (Naylor 109) As a writer Naylor feels that the spoken word has a greater impact than the written word by stating, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦much of the frustration experienced by novelists in the awareness that whatever we manage to capture in even the most transcendent passages falls far short of the richness of life. (Naylor 108) She introduces her readers to just how powerful the spoken word can be which is what the rest of the piece emphasizes. Naylor uses chronological organization in writing The Meanings of a Word. She starts with a childhood experience and then transitions into how her thoughts on the word nigger evolved into what they are today. In her conclusion Naylor sums her point of view up nicely. She wants to bring awareness to how words can take on different meanings depending on how, when and by whom they are used. She gives an example of how one word can take on an entirely new meaning and the fact that one may not really hear a word or take notice of it until it takes on that new meaning by stating, There must have been dozens of times that the word nigger was spoken in front of me before I reached third grade. But I didnt hear it until it was said by a small pair of lips that had already learned it could be a way to humiliate me. (Naylor 111) Naylor creates a conversational atmosphere where she puts her ideas together nicely in chronological order. She seems to develop a smooth relationship between her ideas in this way. Naylor uses personal experiences as her evidence. She uses conversational a tone that goes together nicely with the readers. My reason for saying this is because Naylor draws her readers in and t hey can easily understand and accept her experiences. Naylor uses her experiences to serve as an example and to offer credibility. The readers are drawn in by her experiences as a young girl, and her evolution of understanding. Naylor makes her readers think about what it would be like to really hear a word for the very first time, to look back and realize you had heard the word many times in a different context. The language used by Naylor is commonly used. She does not use big words that people do not understand or have to search for in the dictionary. She writes in a low style that is effective for her argument. This use of language brings to mind a seemingly friendly relationship with her readers, like she is sitting down with you sipping on a cup of tea discussing how context can change your understanding of a word. She is sharing a vital part of her life and experiences with the readers in order to make you aware and understand her argument.

Is there such a thing as “Evidence-Based Management” ? Essay -- Manage

There are plenty of ways and practices available to managers, practitioners and educators to carry out their businesses for the persuasion of required goals, this vast array of choice and awareness make them ambitious to decide which one is workable and which one is not and this make them always keep on trying one and other technique, method or/and process and at this point according to Pfeffer and Sutton(2006) evidence rescue them to decide which one is the right one. This essay, focusing on this respect, will be a critical reading and analysis of strengths and weaknesses to Rousseau’s (2006) article on ‘Is there such a thing as â€Å"Evidence –Based Management†. This essay will first introduce how if evidence based management helps managers. Secondly, it will analyze Rousseau’s repeatedly references to the development in clinical and evidence based medicines and links it with evidence based management and what is the status of evidence based manage ment practices. Thirdly, it will critically analyze the Rousseau’s use of story â€Å"Making feedback people friendly†. Followed by how there is variation between theory and practice. Fourthly, This essay will critically analyze Organizational Legitimacy, implementation of knowledge as an outcome of evidence based management and roles of schools, teachers, students in creating the environment for evidence based management. Rousseau says by citing Barlow(2004) ,DeAngelis(2005),Lemieux Charles & Champ agu (2004), Walshe & Rundall(2001) that Evidence based management helps managers to gain expertise and making effective decision which otherwise they cannot arise at by using solely their own intuition. These evidences are specific to not only problems faced but also to culture and other organizat... ...mpagne,f.2004,Using knowledge and evidence in healthcare:Multidisciplinary perspective, University of Toronto Press, Toronto. Pffer,J. 2006,Management half-truth and nonsense : How to practice evidence-based management, California Management Review, vol.48,No.3 Pffer,J. & Sutton,R. 2006,Evidence-based management, Harvard business Review ,januray 2006 Rousseau, D. 2006, Is there such a thing as evidence based management? , Academy of Management Review, vol.31, 2, pp.256-269 Raine , R . 1998 . ‘ Evidence-based Policy: Rhetoric and Reality ’ , Journal of Health Service Research Policy , 3 , 4 , 251 – 3 . Sackett,et al. 2000,Evidence-based medicines:How to practice and teach EBM, Newyork : Church Living Stone. Walshe,K. & Rundall,T. 2001, Evidence based management:From theory to practice in health care ,Milbank Quarterly, Vol.79, PP.429-457

Define the rule of the employers during the Industrial revolution

At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, employers were in virtually complete control of their employees and employees lives’. Government intervention to make the work place safe would not occur for several decades and factories were little more than slave shops under a different term. Typically, employees would have no rights at all regarding their employment and were forced to work in deplorable conditions: factories with insufficient light and unsafe work conditions. Many had no ventilation and were fire hazards because of the combustible materials that were used. Employees were forced to work long hours based on production needs and no thought was given to employee health or well-being. In many instances, the employer would create company towns in the region near their factories. The company would own all houses, markets and goods in the community. The company would then charge exorbitant rates for rent, food and goods making it virtually impossible for employees to get ahead. In many cases, the employee would work for a year only to owe the company money at the end of the year. This was done as a means to keep people from moving to other factories or other communities.   In addition, the law allowed people to be sent to prison for their debts and the debts of the parents to be passed on to the children, so often several generations of a family would be virtually enslaved by their employer. Wages that were paid were insufficient for a family to be fed and often parents and children worked in these sweatshops as a method of maintaining the family life. Children did not attend school or have any hope of a better life as they were sent in to the factories at very young ages. Women were often forced to leave children at home with an older sibling while they worked or were unable to work at all because of an infant or toddler in the home. Very young children placed a severe burden on the family because of the loss of wages and many children were abandoned to state-run orphanages in hopes that they would end up in a better life or to simply prevent a drag on the family’s income. This was not a benevolent dictatorship. The employer often ruled with an iron-fist and lived in the lap of luxury while his employees died of disease and malnutrition brought on by his greed. Employers were also allowed without repercussion to discipline employees as they saw fit and often took great liberties with female employees who were afraid of losing their jobs if they did not comply. Employers profited greatly during this time because labor was plentiful and they could make it cheap. Employers did not provide health care or disability for employees hurt or killed on the job.   Instead, the financial burden on their families was increased by the lack of income. And, people were hurt or maimed regularly by substandard equipment and poor conditions. Another favorite tactic on employers early in the Industrial Revolution was to pay people according to the number of pieces that they could produce.   This was yet another manner of ruling with an iron fist. Employers could assign employees to good machines, which produced fast and accurate pieces, or old and worn out machines at their discretion. Young people had an advantage of being able to work faster and often would have made better wages, except that employers seized on the idea that children had fewer responsibilities and used this as an excuse to pay children less even though they were expected to carry the workload of an adult. Children who failed were often beaten. During the American Civil War, proponents of slavery pointed out the inequities in the system and argued that Southern landowners often treated their slaves better than many employers treated their employees. They argued that a slave owner saw his slave as an investment and valued its contribution to his success and a business owner viewed his employees as an endless, replaceable commodity and took no personal responsibility for their safety, health or well-being. What is and was the right of existence for the unions? The UK was not initially a good place for unions to be. In 1799 and 1800, British Prime Minister William Pitt had a pair of acts passed called the combination acts which made it illegal for people to band together to try to get shorter working hours or more pay. Then, in 1817 Parliament against acted, this time making it illegal for a group of more than 50 people to meet together and order the arrest of anyone accused of spreading seditious libel, any untoward remarks regarding the Parliament or the Crown.   This severely hampered efforts for parliamentary reform as people were afraid to speak out. Two years later, nearly 50,000 people gathered at St. Peter’s Field to hear subversive, pro-union newspaper editors and other union leaders talk about the need for reform and the local magistrate, backed by the British Army, attacked, purportedly in an effort to arrest one of the speaks. Several accounts say many of the soldiers were drunk when they attacked the crowd with their sabres. As a result, Parliament instituted the Six Acts, which expanded the definitions of seditious libel and allowed permanent ceasing of a publication as means of punishment. It also changed the newspaper and stamp act so that even publications of purely opinion were subjected to the tax and provided local authorities with the right to seize people and arms accused of participating in a union gathering. In 1824, the combination acts were repealed and met with a national outbreak of strikes, resulting in Parliment's decision to pass a new combination act in 1835. This was the first significant legislation o legalize trade unions, though it made their scope very narrow. Trade unions could meet and discuss working conditions and pay only. Any other activities were considered a criminal conspiracy to restrict trade. The law also forbade unions from doing anything to obstruct or intimidate others. This was viewed as problematic as it gave the judiciary an unprecedented leeway in determining what activities violated the law. The act remained the law of the land until 1867 when Benjamin Disraeli and others banded together to have the law changed so that a striking union could be charged only with breach of contract and the government in power created the Trade Union Congress. Though calls to allow a union member into the Congress were rejected, the move proved to be an advancement in the cause of unionism. Four years later, the government finally made trade unions legal. In 1875 when Disraeli was named Prime Minister, as promised, he passed legislation making it legal for a union to do anything that an individual could do. This began the age of unionism and in 1880, Parliament passed legislation making management and employers responsible for the safety and well-being of the employees as long as their injury was not the result of actions by fellow workers. In 1906, legislation as passed to prevent employers from suing unions when they had a loss of income as a result of a strike and in 1913 legislation made it clearly legal for the labor unions to contribute to the political party of their choice as determined by union leadership. In 1927, legislation was passed to prevent civil servants from joining unions affiliated with the Trade Union Congress and outlawed the use of sympathetic strikes and general strikes. That is, with minor revision, the state of the trade labor union today. On which roles does the Globalization of the economy depend? Globalization of the economy is a tricky business and highly dependent on the ability of workers and employers to adapt to the changing international labor market and the changing role of the industrialized world in the age of technology. There has been some effort made within the last two years to update the trade union system and encourage union modernization so that the workers can quickly be retrained with skills more appropriate to the emerging labor market. As with other parts of the world, the concern among trade unions is that jobs traditionally left to them are now being outsourced to cheaper labor environments worldwide. If we are to adjust to this availability of cheap labor elsewhere, we must do so by changing the way we look at labor unions and evaluating the new markets that could be the modern labor frontiers. One example of this might be to examine computer workers and administrative positions traditionally viewed as white collar work. These areas are the new growth industries and in recent years, the site of the most abuse of employees. In addition, these more advanced positions have traditionally had to negotiate salaries for themselves resulting in huge disparities person to person and based on gender, age, and other discriminatory factors. For globalization to work the economy must be revitalizes and the United Kingdom must adjust its perceptions at home and abroad about the things that it will produce. No longer will mining and textiles be a major portion of the economy. Instead, if we are to accept our part in a global economy, we must identify new areas in which we can develop an unrivaled expertise and global reliance. In a 2005 report, HM Treasury argued that the UK is in an unrivaled position worldwide to make the most of globalization in that we have the economic and trading ties to the entire world. In addition, we have a strong business, technology and macroeconomic base from which to begin our quest. Not only must we train employees in the fast-growing areas of technology which will present the best opportunity for our people, but we must also reward innovation and creativity. The report calls for the support of workers who need to be retrained to join the global economy and the wise and efficient use of energy and resources as a means to prevent reliance on other countries for our energy needs. Most importantly, we must rely on the well-established international trade that helped build and strengthen the economy in the first place. It is vitally important that the country not turn to isolationism as a manner of dealing with the threat of international competition. The problem is that many people promote the idea of protectionism as a way to avoid the international competition, but we know that this approach will only lead to a need to rejoin the world economy at a later date when we are less strong and able to do so. We must move forward now and implement change instead of hiding from it. What is mundialism or anti globalization? Mundialism is the process of building interconnected word governing bodies rather than integrating the existing nation-states into an interdependent global world. Proponents of mundialism argue that entities such as the International Court and a one-world government should be created rather than relying on the concept of nation-states. Mundalism promoted the concept that what is right for the world as a whole is right for the individual citizens and the individual nations of the world. It argues that by working together for the common good, we can overcome economic, social and ideological differences for the betterment of all humankinds. Anti-globalization can encompass a number of different policies, but largely it is the idea that the governments, economies and societies of the world should not be interdependent and that they should remain separate by distinct barriers including borders and cultural boundaries. Anti-globalization proponents are perhaps the most extreme opponents of mundialism. They believe that the world is already too interconnected and that it would be better if we could simply draw the curtains up around our countries and keep the rest of the world argue. Many argue that the world can never be as interdependent as promoted by mundialism and that it will always be divided by was and ideology. The idea, they say, is that human nature is competitive and that we cannot make all faiths and all political viewpoints get along. Some would even argue that the only way that mundialism could work would be with a strong world ruler, that someone would have to get the final deciding vote on right and wrong. Mundialism supporters argue that if the nation’s of the world all expressed a true desire to work together in harmony the major strife points of the world could be eliminated and wars and border disputes could end. Anti-globalization proponents call that pie in the sky nonsense. There will always be a competition for resources and for power. Those without it will strive for it via any means necessary and those who have it will seek to retain it. Somewhere in there middle is where we actually are. There are some world organizations, like the International Criminal Court and there are some opponents to those organizations, like the United States. There are growing disputes worldwide over everything from economic gain to religion to claiming the land that sits beneath the polar icecaps. And, neither theory adequately addresses what should be done about global problem areas like Rwanda and Darfur, places where the massacres keep happening, the land is destroyed and the people are unable to subsist, much less contribute to a world economy. Describe the Trade union s structure and state why the unions are losing members. Trade unions are designed to be very specific in their membership and then are loosely affiliated with the Trade union Congress. However, this specialization is contributing to the decline of the unions and the loss of members nationally. Unions are supposed to be local, with members choosing a regional representative to speak to the specific concerns of their company or community. Then, the locals are affiliated with a national organization which is in turn affiliated with the national congress. But in recent years, with declining employment in regions once covered by the trade unions, even the largest of the unions are beginning to shrink or disappear entirely.   This is a factor of the changing work environment within the UK, as more and more people are working in quasi-professional positions not covered by the trade unions. Furthermore, even locally, unions do not represent the universal political opinions that they once did. Neighbors now may agree on matters of union employment, but have vastly different opinions with regards to national politics and how the union should be influencing them. This diversity in the union has caused a loss of political power and a loss of interest within the membership. In addition, the major concern facing trades people in 2007 is not something the union can do much to change.   Unions have had little impact in corporate decisions to close factories or move operations to other nations where the labor costs are more favorable. The days of the union being able to protect its workers and provide for a safer work environment, better benefits and a happier way of life are gone, Instead, the unions continue to take dues from members, reducing their overall take home pay, but add no benefits. The days of the sweatshop are long gone and virtually every worked is provided the same protections under the law that a union worker can get in a union shop.   That is not to say that the union has outlived its usefulness, but rather that unions have accomplished their original goals of workplace safety and equal treatment for workers. If unions seriously want to reverse the trend of losing membership, they must realize that they play an important role in the globalization process and update themselves to meet that need. Unions must be actively involved in retraining workers and helping them to find new means of gainful employment.   Unions must work in conjunction with business to find better ways to improve global competitiveness and to make employers understand the value of well-educated, highly-trained workers over cheap labor in an unregulated state.

Christianity Through Harlem Renaissance Literature - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 996 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/05/23 Category Art Essay Level High school Tags: Renaissance Essay Did you like this example? The Harlem Renaissance, also called the New Negro Movement, was a period in which African American citizens contributed immensely to society through literature, music, art, and politics. From approximately 1918 to the mid-1930s, this movement encapsulated the African American desire to contribute their unique experiences and prove to white America that they were capable and intelligent members of society. However-contrary to the implications of the name-the movement was not limited to Harlem, although the city was a central figure. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Christianity Through Harlem Renaissance Literature" essay for you Create order The Harlem Renaissance touched the entire nation, inspiring both male and female African Americans in almost every avenue. One such avenue was literature. Poets and authors such as Nella Larson, Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay were extremely influential within African American society and popular within white society. These authors portrayed the everyday struggles, aspirations, and discrimination faced by the average African American in their work. Literary contemporaries indirectly addressed religion and African Americans cultural relationship with Christianity, a religion professing equality but used as a tool of oppression by white people. These authors also explore how the typical African American claimed Christianity as their religion, however unexpectedly. This essay argues that African American authors during the Harlem Renaissance referenced their culturers relationship and history with Christianity in a tenuous manner through their work. Nella Larsen, author of Quicksand and Passing, was a nurse and librarian during the Harlem Renaissance. She was born in 1891 to a Danish immigrant mother and Afro-Caribbean father. Her father, Peter Walker, left their family when she was a young child, and her mother remarried another white Danish immigrant and settled in a white Chicago neighborhood. Thus, since she was the only person of color in her family, Larsen was brought up with little connection to the black community, never truly identifying with them completely. She never attended a black church, and never shared history of slavery with her peers. She found herself living a unique experience, unable to stake valid claims to Denmark or the African-American community. This condition later manifested itself in her writing; her main female characters, Irene Redfield in Passing and Helga Crane in Quicksand, are both mixed and light-skinned and face obstacles regarding feeling a sense of belonging. Larsen adds yet another layer of complexity to their characters by introducing the element of religion. To each character, Christianity means and represents something different. To Irene Redfield, Christianity is a symbol of white oppression, a device that white people use to justify their inhumane actions. Clare asserts that though her Christian, white great-aunts made her work menial, unending hours of labor due to her race, they nevertheless provided her with compassion and safety. Irene hotly replies that unhappiness and downright cruelty are laid to the loving-kindness of the Lord (Passing 40). Throughout Quicksand, Helga Crane strives to discover fulfillment in her life. She eventually convinces herself that it lies within religion and marries a pastor. Larsen portrays Helga as disillusioned and depressed after a couple of years of marriage. According to Larsen, Christianity is not the answer to Helgars lifelong search. Influenced by her upbringing, Larsen portrays Christianity as a faulty religion in her literary works, implying that belief in God is ultimately foolhardy and il logical. Langston Hughes was a prolific poet and author of the Harlem Renaissance, penning countless poems and short stories. Born in 1901 in Joplin, Missouri, Hughes was brought up by his maternal grandmother, who taught him to be proud of his heritage. Hughes, unlike Larsen, felt extremely connected to the African-American community and empathized deeply with them. Because of his upbringing firmly rooted in culture, Hughes referenced Christianity as it related to the typical African-American in his works. In what is arguably his most controversial poem, Goodbye Christ, Hughes pens radical prose Goodbye, / Christ Jesus Lord God Jehovah, / Beat it on away from here now. Hughes is embittered with Christianity; in his eyes, the religion has failed to create an equal, nondiscriminatory society. Instead, it allows Americans oppress and stifle others while hiding behind the safety of a righteous veil. In fact, Hughes is so disillusioned by Christianity that in a later verse, he praises Communism for achieving what Christianity could not, equality and legal protection for all races. In his novel, Tambourines to Glory, Hughes tells the story of two poor women who decide to open a church to uplift their financial situation. Hughes portrays the rampant capitalism of Christianity within African-American society, as his protagonists establish a church not to lead people to Christ, but for personal monetary gain. Once again, Hughes turns a critical eye to the blind usage of Christianity by society, whether for personal justification or personal gain. Claude McKay was a poet and author born in Sunny Ville, Jamaica, in 1889. Sunny Ville was a predominantly black town, and McKay developed a firm sense of African pride which he carried strongly with him throughout his adult life. When he was a teenager, he left Sunny Ville to work in mostly white Kingston as a constable. While in Kingston he was exposed to severe racism, and unable to understand or cope with it, he soon returned to his hometown. His experiences in Kingston led him to write works which examined the hatred and condescension directed towards African and African-American people, and the religion that granted them the liberty and justification to do so. In his novel Banana Bottom, McKay writes of a female rape victim named Bita, who is adopted by white missionaries. The adoptive family attempt to convert Bita to Christianity, demonstrating their skewed intentions to aid her. They forcefully arrange her marriage to a minister. It is revealed that the minister is a sexual predator, and with this terrifying knowledge Bita escapes white society. Her happy ending entails marrying a fellow Jamaican peasant and living with her family in an African town, away from the racially oppressive hold of white Christianity. In this way, McKay portrays Christianity as a white institution-wholly removed from African identity-and thus a religion to be shunned.