Quest for Personal Identity in Toni Morrisons The Essays

Quest for Personal Identity in Toni Morrison's The Essays Quest for Personal Identity in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye English Quest for Personal Identity in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye Post World War I, many new opportunities were given to the growing and expanding group of African Americans living in the North. Almost 500,00 African Americans moved to the northern states between 1910 and 1920. This was the beginning of a continuing migration northward. More than 1,500,000 blacks went north in the 1930's and 2,500,00 in the 1940's. Life in the North was very hard for African Americans. Race riots, limited housing resulting in slum housing, and restricted job opportunities were only a few of the many hardships that the African American people had to face at this time. Families often had to separate, social agencies were overcrowded with people that all needed help, crime rates increased and many other resulting problems ensued. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison takes place during this time period. A main theme in this novel is the "quest for individual identity and the influences of the family and community in that quest" (Trescott). This theme is present throughout the novel and evident in many of the characters. Pecola Breedlove, Cholly Breedlove, and Pauline Breedlove and are all embodiments of this quest for identity, as well as symbols of the quest of many of the Black northern newcomers of that time. The Breedlove family is a group of people under the same roof, a family by name only. Cholly (the father) is a constantly drunk and abusive man. His abusive manner is apparent towards his wife Pauline physically and towards his daughter Pecola sexually. Pauline is a "mammy" to a white family and continues to favor them over her biological family. Pecola is a little black girl with low self esteem. The world has led her to believe that she is ugly and that the epitome of "beautiful" requires blue eyes. Therefore every night she prays that she will wake up with blue eyes. Brought up as a poor unwanted girl, Pecola Breedlove desires the acceptance and love of society. The image of "Shirley Temple beauty" surrounds her. In her mind, if she was to be beautiful, people would finally love and accept her. The idea that blue eyes are a necessity for beauty has been imprinted on Pecola her whole life. "If [I] looked different, beautiful, maybe Cholly would be different, and Mrs. Breedlove too. Maybe they would say, 'Why look at pretty eyed Pecola. We mustn't do bad things in front of those pretty [blue] eyes'" (Morrison 46). Many people have helped imprint this ideal of beauty on her. Mr. Yacowbski as a symbol for the rest of society's norm, treats her as if she were invisible. "He does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see. How can a fifty-two-year-old white immigrant storekeeper... see a little black girl?" (Morrison 48). Her classmates also have an effect on her. They seem to think that because she is not beautiful, she is not worth anything except as the focal point of their mockery. "Black e mo. Black e mo. Yadaddsleepsnekked. Black e mo black e mo ya dadd sleeps nekked. Black e mo..." (Morrison 65). Shouted by her classmates on such a regular basis, this scorn seemed not to penetrate anymore. As if it were not bad enough being ridiculed by children her own age, adults also had to mock her. Geraldine, a colored woman, who refused to tolerate "niggers", happened to walk in while Pecola was in her house. "'Get out,' she said her voice quiet. 'You nasty little black bitch. Get out of my house'" (Morrison 92). By having an adult point out to her that she really was a "nasty" little girl, it seems all the more true. Pecola was never able to get away from this kind of ridicule. At home she was put through the same thing, if not worse because her family members were the ones who were supposed to love her. Her mother was not able conceal her obvious affection towards a white girl over her. One day as Pecola was visiting her mother at the home where she is working, Pecola accidentally knocked over a blueberry pie. Obviously burned by the hot pastry, her mother completely ignored Pecola's feelings of pain and instead tended to the comforting of her white "daughter". "'Crazy foo...my floor, mess ...look what you...get on out...crazy...crazy...my floor , my floor....' Her words were hotter and darker than the smoking berries. The little [white] girl in pink started to

The History of the Ashikaga Shogunate

The History of the Ashikaga Shogunate Between 1336 and 1573, the Ashikaga Shogunate ruled Japan. However, it was not a strong central governing force, and in fact, the Ashikaga Bakufu witnessed the rise of powerful daimyo all around the country. These regional lords reigned over their domains with very little interference or influence from the shogun in Kyoto.   The Beginning of Ashikaga Rule The first century of Ashikaga rule is distinguished by a flowering of culture and the arts, including Noh drama, as well as the popularization of Zen Buddhism. By the later Ashikaga period, Japan had descended into the chaos of the Sengoku period, with different daimyo battling one another for territory and power in a century-long civil war. The roots of Ashikaga power go back even before the Kamakura period (1185 - 1334), which preceded the Ashikaga shogunate. During the Kamakura era, Japan was ruled by a branch of the ancient Taira clan, which lost the Genpei War (1180 - 1185) to the Minamoto clan, but managed to seize power anyway. The Ashikaga, in turn, was a branch of the Minamoto clan. In 1336, Ashikaga Takauji overthrew the Kamakura shogunate, in effect defeating the Taira once more and returning the Minamoto to power. Ashikaga got his chance in large part thanks to Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor who founded the Yuan Dynasty in China. Kublai Khans two invasions of Japan, in 1274 and 1281, did not succeed thanks to the miracle of the kamikaze, but they did significantly weaken the Kamakura shogunate. Public dissatisfaction with Kamakura rule gave the Ashikaga clan its chance to overthrow the shogun  and seize power.   In 1336, Ashikaga Takauji established his own shogunate in Kyoto. The Ashikaga Shogunate is also sometimes known as the Muromachi shogunate  because the shoguns palace was in the Muromachi district of Kyoto. From the start, Ashikaga rule was bedeviled by controversy. A disagreement with the Emperor, Go-Daigo, about who would actually have power, led to the emperor being deposed in favor of the Emperor Komyo. Go-Daigo fled south and set up his own rival imperial court. The period between 1336 and 1392 is known as the Northern and Southern Courts era  because Japan had two emperors at the same time. In terms of international relations, the Ashikaga shoguns sent frequent diplomatic and trade missions to Joseon Korea, and also used the daimyo of Tsushima Island as an intermediary. Ashikaga letters were addressed to the king of Korea from the king of Japan, indicating an equal relationship. Japan also carried on an active trade relationship with Ming China, once the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was overthrown in 1368. Chinas Confucian distaste for trade dictated that they disguise the trade as tribute coming from Japan, in exchange for gifts from the Chinese emperor. Both Ashikaga Japan and Joseon Korea established this tributary relationship with Ming China. Japan also traded with Southeast Asia, sending copper, swords, and furs in exchange for exotic woods and spices. The Ashikaga Dynasty Overthrown At home, however, the Ashikaga shoguns were weak.  The clan did not have a large home domain of its own, so it lacked the wealth and power of the Kamakura or the later Tokugawa shoguns. The lasting influence of the Ashikaga era is in the arts and culture of Japan.   During this period, the samurai class enthusiastically embraced Zen Buddhism, which had been imported from China as early as the seventh century. The military elites developed an entire aesthetic based on Zen ideas about beauty, nature, simplicity, and utility. Arts including the tea ceremony, painting, garden design, architecture and interior design, floral arranging, poetry, and Noh theater all developed along Zen lines.   In 1467, the decade-long Onin War broke out. It soon escalated into a nation-wide civil war, with various daimyo fighting for the privilege of naming the next heir to the Ashikaga shogunal throne. Japan erupted into factional fighting; the imperial and shogunal capital of Kyoto burned. The Onin War marked the beginning of the Sengoku, a 100-year period of continual civil war and turmoil. The Ashikaga nominally held onto power until 1573, when warlord Oda Nobunaga overthrew the last shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki.  However, Ashikaga power really ended with the start of the Onin War.

Culture, orruption and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture, orruption and Development - Essay Example Culture can be judged by means of religion, lifestyle, literature, music, foods, arts, and architecture, language, fashions, behaviors, rituals, and symbols employed by individuals of a society (Tyler 1974). The culture is shifted from generation to the other generation and keeps on changing (Kroeber and Kluckhohn 1952). The topic, which interests me the most, is the association of culture to the development of society and individuals of a society. Culture is an important part of our lives, which is responsible for shaping our personalities (Dabaghian 1970). It enables us to develop into the individuals as we are. People from different cultures are different because of the different social values that are there because of culture (Tyler 1974). With the help of culture, the development in a society can be judged. With the passage of time, the culture of a society goes through various transactions that are the outcome of change in cultural values because of many reasons (Dabaghian 1970). The reasons that can bring in a change in a culture are an invasion of a country, the impact of global linkage, colonialism and many others (Dabaghian 1970). The change is not necessarily good. The change brought by the intrusion of another culture keeps the ability to annihilate the cultural values of a particular culture or one culture can be amalgamated in another culture and can come out in form of a new culture (Agbaje 1996). While helping a nation in order to develop in terms of technology and advancement, it must be assured that the cultural values of a society are not corrupted because of the technologies (Agbaje 1996). The culture should be retained as such in order to be different or unique.  

Response to the Critical Thinking Exercise Research Paper

Response to the Critical Thinking Exercise - Research Paper Example Though no previous research on these specific methods is available, wound management theories are diverse and available to nurses through Google search, and databases such as PubMed, in deciding which method to use (McManus, 2007, p.9). For example, in chronic wounds some types of methods such as moist wound healing might not work due to the recurrence of necrotic tissues (McManus, 2007, p.10). Thus, literature review on known methods can serve to design the methodology for testing the research question whether some new methods are more efficient than other methods. Moreover, quantifiable study design, samples and data collection techniques can be borrowed from the already existent body of knowledge. Though a nurse might be faced with absence of previous research on a method that arose from nurse’s experience and observations, previous theories can be used to design one’s own experiment and thus scientifically evaluate the efficiency of these

Mummification Essay -- Ancient Egypt

It started thousands of years ago when the first Egyptian was mummified by the natural sand found in the Sahara desert. Mummification is a method of preservation of a dead body. By performing this procedure, it assists the deceased to reach the Afterworld. There are three main methods of mummification, each depending of the wealth of the deceased. In this essay you will discover how pharaohs and high officials were mummified. Once the person has died, he or she is taken to the ibu, also known as the tent of purification. Usually, mummification is performed during nighttime due to the odoured caused by the dead body. When the embalmer is ready to begin the procedure, he first washes the body with water from the Nile. After, he uses an iron hook like device to remove the brain. The embalmer does this by inserting it to the nostril breaking up the cartilage until the hook can reach the brain. Once this procedure is achieved, he removes the brain by crushing it until it becomes watery enough to be drained by laying the person flat on its stomach. The remains of the brain are than ke...

What Are the Different Forms of Literature?

Literature is a form of expression. It is an expression of one's feeling, ideas, emotions, personal experience and imagination. It conveys through a piece of writing that can be valued in the works of art, especially, novels, plays and poems. It is divided into two fictional and non-fictional literatures. Fictional literature is based on imagery writing than reality. It provides information, education and entertainment to the readers. Non-fictional literature is based on reality. It denotes about the facts, real places, real events and character. The world of literature suggests an art form. Works of literature particularly represent a genre. Literature can be varied from one generation to another generation. Great literatures transform the man who reads it towards the man who wrote it. The life of human and nature is explored in the way of literature. The good literature has emotional element, the element of imagination and fancy, the element of composition and style. Literature is an expression of life. It is the man's script of thoughts and emotion. It is characterized by permanent qualities. Every great work comes from an ideal person, to know his ideal record we should read his literature. Literature talks about the ideals of people, love, faith, duty and friendship. Literature can be classified into novel, short story and dramas. The concept of literature varied over time. British literature was considered one of the most widespread literatures in the world. This was the period, which faced lots of inventions and developments in the England. All the developments were influenced by the authors and imitated in their own works. There was also a great development in British literature. England flourished from the year 800 BC. British literature includes the works of old English, middle English and modern English each denoted different periods. The most important events in England were the Germanic invasions. Germanic was followed by Angles and Saxons. Angles and Saxons were established in various parts of the Britain. British literature states about the human and of its experience. It describes about the difficulty of achieving the community. Common people's problems were reflected in the periodicals and newspapers. Humanism became the most important in the life of intellectuals and in the English literature. It was the fundamental quality found in the people of the renaissance period. British literature was bound up with historical shifts of British identity. The most important historical event was the Hundred Year's war, the Black Death this made many writers to write about it. Many people were encouraged to translate Latin works into English. English were recorded in chronicles this was the first historical record. English was wide spread all over the country of England. By the year 1300 English was used by all classes of people. The most common goal of the poet was to make English more flexible. During the fifteenth century English language attained the modern form. Poetry was more essential in the seventh and eighth century of England. Poetic talents were highly valued in the English literature. Heroic couplet, ballad and sonnets were some of the important thing introduced in the English literature. This made the poetry writing even more effectiveness in the literature. The prose of old English has only the English soil and not the Germanic origins. There was a rise in morality play in the fourteenth century. It teaches people about morals and values of human lives. The Canterbury Tales was one of the famous works of Chaucer which reflects the society of England and the real characters who lived in the society. The most remarkable thing in England was the invention of printing press by Caxton in 1476. The invention made a huge development that all the books in the manuscript were changed into printed books. It encouraged writings of all kinds of works and also improved the standardization of English language. The age reason can be divided into three The Restoration Age, The Augustan Age and The Age of Johnson. There was a great development in scientific inventions like navigation, shipbuilding and discoveries of sea route. Queen Elizabeth Age was considered one of the fruitful periods of English history. She made a lot of developments in English history. The Elizabethan literature reflects the new nationalism. Many new genres, themes, ideas were introduced in English literature. Elizabethan literature commonly influenced self-confident and about the expanding of nation powers and increasing the wealth. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century drama was flourished in England in the works of university wits. Jacobean drama started with the drama including the Shakespeare's plays. Drama continued to expand until the theaters were closed. Novels were popular in the Britain. The novels were considered not only the form of entertainment but also means of analyzing and offering solutions social and political problems. The century was ended with gothic novels. The development of poetry, novels and drama attained a great height. It was influenced by the pupil because of the humanism, morality and the historical truth which arouses interest towards the people.

All About the United States Space of the 1960s

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed to a Joint Session of Congress that â€Å"this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.† Thus began the Space Race that would lead us to achieve his goal and be the first to have a person walk on the moon. Historical Background At the conclusion World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were decidedly the world’s major superpowers.  In addition to being engaged in a Cold War, they competed against each other in other ways.  The Space Race was a competition between the U.S. and the Soviets for the exploration of space using satellites and manned spacecraft.  It was also a race to see which superpower could reach the moon first. On May 25, 1961, in requesting between $7 billion and $9 billion for the space program, President Kennedy told Congress that he felt a national goal should be that of sending someone to the moon and getting him back home safely. When President Kennedy requested this additional funding for the space program, the Soviet Union was well ahead of the United States. Many viewed their achievements as a coup not only for the USSR but also for communism. Kennedy knew that he had to restore confidence in the American public and stated that Everything we do and ought to do should be tied in to getting on to the Moon ahead of the Russians... we hope to beat the USSR to demonstrate that instead of being behind by a couple of years, by God, we passed them.† NASA and Project Mercury The United States space program began on October 7, 1958, just six days after the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), when its administrator, T. Keith Glennan, announced that they were starting a manned spacecraft program. Its first stepping stone to manned flight, Project Mercury, began that same year and was completed in 1963.  It was the United States first program designed to put men in space and made six manned flights between 1961 and 1963.  The main objectives of Project Mercury were to have an individual orbit around the Earth in a spacecraft, explore a person’s function ability in space, and determine safe recovery techniques of both an astronaut and a spacecraft. On February 28, 1959, NASA launched the United States’ first spy satellite, the Discover 1; and then on August 7, 1959, the Explorer 6 was launched and provided the very first photographs of the Earth from space.  On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Freedom 7. On February 20, 1962, John Glenn made the first U.S. orbital flight aboard the Mercury 6. Program Gemini The major objective of Program Gemini was to develop some very specific spacecraft and in-flight capabilities in support of the upcoming Apollo Program.  The Gemini program consisted of 12 two-man spacecraft that were designed to orbit the Earth. They were launched between 1964 and 1966, with 10 of the flights being manned.  Gemini was designed to experiment with and test the astronaut’s ability to manually maneuver the spacecraft.  Gemini proved very useful by developing the techniques for orbital docking that would later be crucial for the Apollo series and their lunar landing. In an unmanned flight, NASA launched its first two-seat spacecraft, the Gemini 1, on April 8, 1964. On March 23, 1965, the first two-person crew launched in the Gemini 3 with astronaut Gus Grissom becoming the first man to make two flights in space.  Ed White became the first American astronaut to walk in space on June 3, 1965, aboard the Gemini 4. White maneuvered outside his spacecraft for approximately 20 minutes, which demonstrated an astronaut’s ability to perform necessary tasks while in space. On August 21, 1965, the Gemini 5 launched on an eight-day mission, the longest lasting at the time.  This mission was vital because it proved that both humans and spacecraft were able to endure spaceflight for the amount of time required for a Moon landing and up to a maximum of two weeks in space. Then, on December 15, 1965, the Gemini 6 performed a rendezvous with the Gemini 7.  In March 1966, the Gemini 8, commanded by Neil Armstrong, docked with an Agena rocket, making it the first docking of two spacecraft while on orbit. On November 11, 1966, Gemini 12, piloted by Edwin â€Å"Buzz† Aldrin, became the first manned spacecraft to make a re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere that was automatically controlled. The Gemini program was a success and moved the United States ahead of the Soviet Union in Space Race. Apollo Moon Landing Program The Apollo program resulted in 11 space flights and 12 astronauts walking on the moon.  The astronauts studied the lunar surface and collected moon rocks that could be scientifically studied on Earth.  The first four Apollo Program flights tested the equipment that would be used to successfully land on the moon. Surveyor 1 made the first U.S. soft landing on the Moon on June 2, 1966.  It was an unmanned lunar landing craft that took pictures and gathered data about the moon in order to help prepare NASA for the manned lunar landing. The Soviet Union had actually beat the Americans with this by landing their own unmanned craft on the moon, Luna 9, four months earlier. Tragedy struck on January 27, 1967, when the entire crew of three astronauts, Gus Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee, for the Apollo 1 mission suffocated to death from smoke inhalation during a cabin fire while in a launch pad test.  A review board report released on April 5, 1967, identified a number of problems with the Apollo spacecraft, including the use of flammable material and the need for the door latch to be easier to open from the inside. It took until October 9, 1968 to complete the necessary modifications. Two days later, Apollo 7 became the first manned Apollo mission as well as the first time that astronauts were telecast live from space during an 11-day orbit around the Earth.   In December 1968, the Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon.  Frank Borman and James Lovell (both veterans of the Gemini Project), along with rookie astronaut William Anders, made 10 lunar orbits in a 20-hour time period. On Christmas Eve, they transmitted televised images of the Moon’s lunar surface. In March 1969, the Apollo 9 tested the lunar module and rendezvous and docking while orbiting the Earth. In addition, they tested the full lunar spacewalk suit with its Portable Life Support System outside the Lunar Module. On May 22, 1969, Apollo 10’s Lunar Module, named Snoopy, flew within 8.6 miles of the surface of the Moon.   History was made on July 20, 1969, when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin landed at the â€Å"Sea of Tranquility†. As Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the Moon, he proclaimed Thats one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind. Apollo 11 spent a total of 21 hours, 36 minutes on the lunar surface, with 2 hours, 31 minutes spent outside the spacecraft. Astronauts walked on the lunar surface, took photographs, and collected samples from the surface.  The entire time Apollo 11 was on the Moon, there was a continuous feed of black-and-white television back to Earth. On July 24, 1969, President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon and a safe return to Earth before the end of the decade was realized, but unfortunately, Kennedy was unable to see his dream fulfilled, as he had been assassinated nearly six years earlier.   The crew of the Apollo 11 landed in the Central Pacific Ocean aboard command module Columbia, landing a mere 15 miles from the recovery ship. When the astronauts arrived on the USS Hornet, President Richard M. Nixon was waiting to greet them on their successful return. Manned space missions did not end once this mission was fulfilled. Memorably, the command module of Apollo 13 was ruptured by an explosion on April 13, 1970. The astronauts climbed into the lunar module and saved their lives by doing a slingshot around the Moon in order to speed up their return to Earth. Apollo 15 launched on July 26, 1971, carrying a Lunar Roving Vehicle and enhanced life support to enable the astronauts to better explore the Moon. On December 19, 1972, Apollo 17 returned to Earth after the United States last mission to the Moon. On January 5, 1972, President Richard Nixon announced the birth of the Space Shuttle program â€Å"designed to help transform the space frontier of the 1970s into familiar territory, easily accessible for human endeavor in the 1980s and 90s. This would lead to a new era that would include 135 Space Shuttle missions, ending with the last flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on July 21, 2011.