...Born on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio, Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize- and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, editor and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved. Morrison has won nearly every book prize possible. She has also been awarded honorary degrees. Early Career Born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio, Toni Morrison was the second oldest of four children. Her father, George Wofford, worked primarily as a welder, but held several jobs at once to support the family. Her mother, Ramah, was a domestic worker. Morrison later credited her parents with instilling in her a love of reading, music, and folklore. Living in an integrated neighborhood, Morrison did not become fully aware of racial divisions until she was in her teens. "When I was in first grade, nobody thought I was inferior. I was the only black in the class and the only child who could read," she later told a reporter from The New York Times. Dedicated to her studies, Morrison took Latin in school, and read many great works of European literature. She graduated from Lorain High School with honors in 1949. At Howard University, Morrison continued to pursue her interest in literature. She majored in English, and chose the classics for her minor. After graduating from Howard in 1953, Morrison continued her education at Cornell University...
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...rather, they have relied on the more traditional measures in examining society. Nevertheless, many people would agree that literature has had considerable influence on society and vice versa. In academia, there are three widespread theories regarding the relationship of literature and society: the "reflection," "shaping," and "social control" theories. The reflection theory suggests literature provides a fair representation of society. The shaping theory, which essentially complements the reflection theory, suggests ideas present in literature shape the behaviors of individuals. And finally, the social control theory suggests literature is used to maintain and stabilize society. Though all base their arguments on different evidence, Baldwin, Morrison, and West share the premise that literature provides an accurate reflection of society. Many experts studying the relationship have suggested that the reflection theory is the most plausible theory present. Estorick, a prominent scholar in this discipline, contends that the type of literature present in a society is ultimately reflects the type of ideology that society embraces in Literature and Democracy. Estorick discusses the evolution of muckraking literature into reform literature. Upon analyzing the social conditions of the day, Estorick draws a connection between reform literature, through which we expose problems in society, and democracy. He contends that such literature is "impossible to conceive" except in a democracy;...
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...culture that the practice of having sex with someone other than one’s significant other is a commonality. I personally feel that many men and women, when young, are more willing to explore their sexuality. Young adults often don’t want to settle down as soon as possible; they may like to enjoy the pleasures out of life. There are many factors, such as feelings of love and the prospect of marriage, which can change the relationship between friends with benefits. The outcome of the relationship will depend on the individuals involved. There are multiple readings that discuss or portray the outcomes of friends in sexual relationships. For instance in Sula, a reading that involves different relationships between friends, the author used literary analysis to portray the effect of a sexual friendship between a man and a woman. Sula is a Native American woman who is sexually promiscuous. Even though she has slept with many men, she has never created any type of relationship with them. One day Ajax, a Native American man who lives in the same town as Sula, showed up at Sula’s door because he was curious about her from all the stories he had heard about her life. Sula’s behavior reminded Ajax of his mother because he felt that she was the only other woman whose “life was her own, who could...
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...entire book. Huck faces many challenges throughout, from his faked death to get away from a lonely life and abusive father, to his internal struggle of turning Jim in. And because of its historical accuracy and moral actuality, it should be a continued required reading in high school curriculums. The setting of Huck Finn is before the Civil war, roughly 1835-1845, when slavery was still legal in the recently independent United States. Any slave not freed by his owner was hunted down and white domination was frequently practiced and seen. When Huck faked his death towards the beginning, was also when Jim, the Widow’s slave, fled. Whites and...
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...As an English major I have learned to appreciate the peaceful, yet exhilarating moment when my mind engages with an author's thoughts on a page. As Toni Morrison says in The Dancing Mind , "[reading is] to experience one's own mind dancing with another's." In my early days as a college student, I wanted to know the "true" meaning of a work or what the author intended, however, I have now realized this would void literature of its most noteworthy complexities. Individual interpretations bring varied insights to a work and it is also interesting to point out messages the author may not have realized s/he included in the piece. I have always been a thinker, but throughout my coursework, I have greatly sharpened my critical analysis skills. Instead of focusing on proposed meanings or biographical background, I have learned to continuously ask "why" on many different levels. I challenge myself to dig into a text as deeply as possible and unpack every detail to develop a satisfying close read. Also, by reading multiple novels by the same author I have learned to identify different writing styles and make connections that weave texts together; this helped me develop a deeper understanding of the novels. When I look at one of my freshman level novels and see clean pages, I realize that I did not actively read the book. I guess you could say that I have learned to read with a pen, which has drastically taken my writing to a new level because I am able to connect back with my initial...
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...As an English major I have learned to appreciate the peaceful, yet exhilarating moment when my mind engages with an author's thoughts on a page. As Toni Morrison says in The Dancing Mind , "[reading is] to experience one's own mind dancing with another's." In my early days as a college student, I wanted to know the "true" meaning of a work or what the author intended, however, I have now realized this would void literature of its most noteworthy complexities. Individual interpretations bring varied insights to a work and it is also interesting to point out messages the author may not have realized s/he included in the piece. I have always been a thinker, but throughout my coursework, I have greatly sharpened my critical analysis skills. Instead of focusing on proposed meanings or biographical background, I have learned to continuously ask "why" on many different levels. I challenge myself to dig into a text as deeply as possible and unpack every detail to develop a satisfying close read. Also, by reading multiple novels by the same author I have learned to identify different writing styles and make connections that weave texts together; this helped me develop a deeper understanding of the novels. When I look at one of my freshman level novels and see clean pages, I realize that I did not actively read the book. I guess you could say that I have learned to read with a pen, which has drastically taken my writing to a new level because I am able to connect back with my initial...
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...Josh Kloosterman 8:30am The Bluest Eye literary analysis Beauty is a perceptual scope that the reader looks through while reading the bluest eye in its entirety. It is the focus of ideals and issues within the book the Bluest eye. Beauty or lack of is the major motivator for decisions and/or consequences throughout the story. It can define who you are in terms of society and where you fit in, but does it have to? Supposedly, in this country we call home, if you work hard enough you can have whatever your heart desires. In the Bluest eye All Pecola Breedlove wanted was to have blue eyes or in her mind, be beautiful. She believed because of what society had taught her that those whom are beautiful have blue eyes and blonde hair. This is a social institution which has been part of America’s culture since the beginning of the U.S. We must look a certain way, have a specific occupation, or live in a particular neighborhood if we are to fit into society. In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison has captured these and other stigma's we place on ourselves and raise the question of, is these things the only way to be accepted and have some level of beauty in societies eyes? We are raised in a society that tells us we are all equal, however that ideal is rarely practiced throughout our history. We only have to turn on the television or open a magazine to see who the adored people in our country are. Pecola believes that if she could have blue eyes then she would be accepted. "If she looked...
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...Since the evolution of mankind, the battle for the control of resources, fame and power has always been at the center of every society. Globalization and the discovery of new race and culture, the notion of fear and ignorance about other people has been the most predominant issue of the modern society. In my opinion the combination of these two issues (fear and ignorance) has created what is a scourge called racism. James Baldwin was a wise and prominent writer who fought against these issues through communication by either writing books or speaking at memorable events. Born in 1924 in New York and died in France in 1987, James Baldwin occupies a unique place in American letters. He is the epitome of the writer that links art to commitment, and can be found alongside Martin Luther King, Marlon Brando, Harry Belafonte and Charlton Heston at the civil rights march in 1963 at Washington. The analysis of James Baldwin was somewhat aporetic, because on one hand we could quote him saying “Every white person in this country-and I do not care what he or she says-knows one thing. They may not know, as they put, "what I want”, but they know they would not like to be black here. If they know that, then they know everything they need to know, and whatever else they say is a lie.” , which is categorical and brutal in tone. Yet on the other hand, Baldwin always tried to put himself in the place of others by attempting to understand their behavior and their motivation. In the end, we...
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...SETHE BACK NEXT Character Analysis Sure, the whole book is named after Beloved. But hey, just because you have something named after you doesn't mean you're the (only) star. Is Grey's Anatomy only about Meredith Grey? Our point exactly. And after all, Sethe's the one who birthed, named, and killed Beloved. In other words, she lives by the time-honored parental credo: "I brought you into this world and I can take you out." Plus, the book does begin with her perspective. So what's Sethe's story, besides the whole baby-killer shtick? Seriously: How Could She Kill Her Baby? Okay, fine. We can't avoid the question. But let us rephrase: how could she not kill her baby? Don't get us wrong—we don't condone baby killing (duh). It's not even something we can joke about. It's just that if you were to rethink things from Sethe's perspective and what her situation was like (a fugitive slave running from abusive white people), you might change your tune. You might just get to the point where you seriously reevaluate what maternal love means and who gets to define the limits of maternal love. Is there a fate worse than death? To Sethe, that's not even the question to ask. The question to ask is what immediate danger is there? And, on that day in the shed, there was no way that she was going to subject her children to what she had gone through at Sweet Home. But don't just take it from us. Here's how she explains herself to Paul D: "It ain't my job to know what's worse...
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...Chapter1 Introduction Feminism is not one unitary concept; it is instead diverse and multifaceted grouping of ideas and indeed, action. The basis of all strands of the concept may be stated as that it concerns itself with women’s inferior position in society sand with the discrimination encountered by women because of their sex. “Feminism is a doctrine suggesting that women are systematically disadvantaged in the modern society and advocating equal opportunities for men and women.”(The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, second Ed). The term includes many loose like liberal feminism, Marxist and socialist feminism, radical feminism. Liberal feminists work for equal rights for women within the framework of the liberal state; they did not question the structure –economic or political-of the state but they demand the rights and privileges given by the state should be equally shared by man and women. Marxist and socialist feminists’ link gender inequality and women’s oppression to the capitalist system. Women suffer a double exploitation as women and as members of the working class. Radical feminists disregard all questions of political and economic dispensation to concentrate on the roots of the problem. The central root of the problem is the system of patriarchy which leads to all kinds of discrimination against and devaluation of women. Politico-economic questions are not the roots but only auxiliaries. The concept of gender is the real villain and has to be demolished. Lately...
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...Anna Munoz Dr. Jones DISC 1313 December 4, 2015 Music and The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s All forms of Black music, from jazz to rock and roll, played an important part in the Civil Rights Movement. The songs were sung for multiple purposes and played a critical role in inspiring, activating, and giving voice to the people involved. The evolution of music during the early 1950’s and 1960’s in the Black freedom struggle reflects the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement itself. The progressive thought of the 1950s nurtured new ideas and cultures including the Civil Rights Movement and the fast spread of rock and roll. One such cultural revival occurred after the end of World War II during a time of change, prosperity and restoration. The “Puritan dicta” outlined by Baldwin represents the American ideology before the Second World War. As the first settlers of this nation, the Puritans set the mold for many common American ideologies. In the Puritan view white represented good and black represented evil, including Africans and their culture. After the war, Baldwin states that the former puritanical views of whites will be challenged. Musicians such as Elvis Presley were the first to issue this challenge to white society. Early rockers like Elvis would pave the way for social commentary in music that would add much fire to the Civil Rights Movement. To fully understand the explosion of popularity of Black music in the years following World War II, one must understand...
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...Biography of Dr. Na’im Akbar Dr. Na’im Akbar Born Luther Benjamin Weems, Jr. on April 26, 1944, Dr. Na’im Akbar was raised in Tallahassee, Florida. There, he lived in a complete Black American social environment. It was not until his freshman year of college that he first had contact with the White American race. In 1971, he changed his name after joining the nation of Islam. He attended the University of Michigan to receive his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Master of Arts (M.A.), and Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD.) in Psychology. Careers Upon receiving his terminal degree, Akbar accepted the opportunity to work in the Psychology Department of Morehouse College of Atlanta, where he remained for five years. There, he instituted the college’s first Black Psychology course which eventually led to the development of the first Black Psychology program at any historically black college or university. After two years, he became chair of the psychology department. After, he relocated to Chicago, IL where he helped start the Office of Human Development at the Nation of Islam Headquarters. Later, he joined the faculty of Norfolk State University where he also instituted courses in Black Psychology. In 1979, he began teaching at Florida State University, where he still remains, teaching a specialized course on the psychology of the African American. In the 1980s, he independently started his own publishing company, Mind Productions...
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...of Culture, by Homi K. Bhabha; 285 pp. New York: Routledge, 1994, $49.95. This book assembles several of Homi Bhabha's most significant essays, allowing for an examination of his contribution to contemporary literary theory. As a self-described postcolonial critic, often compared with Edward Said or Gayatri Spivak, Bhabha is perhaps most well-known for his theory of cultural hybridity, which he develops in "Signs Taken For Wonders" and several other essays included in this collection. Bhabha argues that hybridity results from various forms of colonization, which lead to cultural collisions and interchanges. In the attempt to assert colonial power in order to create anglicized subjects, "[t]he trace of what is disavowed is not repressed but repeated as something different--a mutation, a hybrid" (p. 111). This hybrid trace contradicts both the attempt to fix and control indigenous cultures and the illusion of cultural isolation or purity. His project thus adapts poststructuralist challenges to stable or fixed identities, attempting to "rename" postmodernism from a postcolonial perspective (p. 175), and allowing sustained attention to the ways in which race, gender, community, and nationality converge. One of his major contributions to theories of cultural production and identity is that he examines these various intersections closely, and avoids simply listing them or elevating one aspect of his analysis over others. Eight of the twelve chapters in this volume have been published...
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...English 311.01 (13471): The History of African-American Writing Fall 2015 Tuesday, Thursday 11:00-12:15 JR 244 Professor Nate Millsnathaniel.mills@csun.eduOffice hours: Tuesdays 1:00-3:30 and by appointmentSierra Tower 718 | Course Description / Objectives Through a historical survey of the work of major African-American writers from slavery to the present, this course will examine the defining features of African-American expression. The course is organized around a foundational question: what makes African-American literature African-American? Is it just a set of texts that happen to have been written by authors who identified as black in their respective historical moments? Are there distinct formal and thematic paradigms that unify these texts into a coherent literary tradition? What relation do black texts bear to other black texts, as well as to the Western canon? Are African-American texts necessarily “political,” by definition protesting the social and political marginalization of black people in America? Do African-American texts represent the particular experiences of African Americans, or do they (also?) address universal problems and experiences? The cultural, literary-formal, and political distinctiveness of African-American writing will thus be the guiding theme of this course’s rigorous, fast-moving survey. Additionally, students in 311 will acquire knowledge of the following: * The ways African-American...
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...in the strategic development and the strategic planning of Tesco. The report also analyse the different strategic tools and techniques used for the strategic decision making and which are also helping the organization in developing strategic plans of the organization. There are various issues which are described in this report like the ratio analysis, break even analysis, and the other appraising methods which are used in strategic decision making and planning of Tesco. The management of the tangible and intangible assets of Tesco are also analysed by the different analytical tools and the report reveal that the organization is taking effective steps and it is managing its resources effectively and efficiently. Contents TESCO PLC: 2 Task 1: 3 Resource Decisions and their Impact on Strategy of the Organization: 3 Task 2: 5 Role of financial Analysis and techniques in the strategic planning and strategic development: 5 Task 3: 8 International Financial perspectives of Tesco: 8 Risk Assessment and Management 9 Financial Performance 9 Task 4: 11 Task 5: 16 Contemporary management Accounting: 16 Task 6: 18 Analysis of environment of Tesco: 18 Political Factors 18 Economic Factors 18 Social/Cultural Factors 18 Technological Factors 18 Steps Taken By Tesco to respond these changes: 19 Task 7: 20 Importance of Communication: 20 References 22 TESCO PLC: Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Chesnutt...
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