Battle Royal. Ralph Ellison Essay Example for Free

Battle Royal. Ralph Ellison Essay I felt like he had never experienced racism to the extent that he did that day. I believe that he walked into the â€Å"smoker† believing the white people were actually interested in what he had to say. He was even prideful thinking that he was better than the other boys he was forced into the elevator with â€Å"I felt superior to them in my way, and I didn’t like the manner in which we were all crowded together into the servants’ elevator† (pg. 287). The author writes about them being packed into this elevator designated for â€Å"servants. I pictured animals set for slaughter, which was not far from what the battle was, packed into a cart terrified and bewildered. Perhaps the young man believed that times had changed from when his grandfather was alive. Like the average teenager he may have believed that no one can understand the culture and the time quite like they can. He may have thought that his grandfather’s perspective was that of a bitter old man and that white people really did care about him and the rest of his people. The grandfather’s deathbed words affect the protagonist character throughout the story like the haunting of a ghost. His words tell the young man to act how the white people would like and say what they would have him say. At first I thought he was telling his grandson to stay the same and accept oppression as a way of life. In actuality I think he was telling him that he would get further acting correctly then he would by lashing out or acting irrationally. I think the grandpa knew that in order to gain respect you must act like they expected instead of becoming a radical for change. I think that essentially he was trying to tell his family to â€Å"kill them with kindness. Many symbols were present in this story. The naked blonde woman who was forced to dance in front of the men is the first. I believe that, much like the men, the blonde was a victim. The author even says that when they picked her up and tossed her around she had â€Å"terror and disgust in her eyes. † (pg. 288) To the black men she symbolized something that they were not allowed to have. I thought that although she was w hite she was still a victim to the powerful men of the town. She was forced into the ring the same way that the black men were. It seemed as if the author wanted to illustrate the complete disregard these white â€Å"powerful† men had for any one else. The American flag tattoo on the woman’s belly was ironic. I think that the flag, to many people, symbolizes freedom and rights. People around the world associate the American flag with freedoms unlike those in any other country. I think that on the stomach of the blonde woman it was a slap in the face. The black men saw the flag on her body and knew that they could not have her, nor could they have the freedoms that they were entitled to as citizens of this country. The flag shook and waved with the movements of her body, taunting the men. Waving at them, as if beckoning them to come to her, yet they were unable to because of their skin color. Much like the liberties of the United States that waved themselves in the face of the black people but they could not have because of their skin color. The author mentioned red, white and blue multiple times in the story. I thought that the references to the colors symbolic to this country were interesting. I think he used them much the same as he used the flag on the woman’s stomach. They were symbols exclusive to the United States, which is supposed to be a place of freedom; however the black people were only allowed to take part half way. The author spoke of the men’s red faces from their drinking, and the lipstick of the young woman was also red. The men were white along with the dancers skin which was a stark contrast to the young men she was surrounded by. I think that it is ironic that white is often associated with good, or innocence while black is symbolic of darkness or wickedness. In this story the roles were reversed. The white people were wicked and the black people were victims. Smoke in large quantities creates a blue haze like what might have been present in the ballroom. I think that it is interesting the use of blue because it can be associated with suffocation. I think that is what the white men were doing to the black men. They were suffocating them with their presence and their oppression. The coins that they were forced to scramble for off of the electric mat were terribly sad. They were for cars, which surely none of the men could afford. I thought it was sad they were scrambling for little amounts of money or none at all. Finally the last thing I think that was symbolic was the scholarship. While it was a great gift from the community, I think that it was also another stab at black people and their place in society. By giving the young man a scholarship to the state’s leading black college the town was saying that he was allowed the opportunity to further his education but had to remain in his place amongst the other black people. I thought that the fight the men were fighting was not just against the white people. Sadly the white people turned the black people on one another. The white’s did everything they could to tear the black people down including letting them tear each other apart. I think that the older perspective allows for us to see how he had developed as a man. He has education and a broader perspective on the world. The 17 year olds perspective was very narrow because he had not yet seen the crimes white people were capable of. The older man was not surprised or phased by the way that white people behaved with regards to blacks. I also think that as he grew older he found a part of himself that lacked.

Federalizing Aiports Essay -- Airport Security Government control Essa

Federalizing Aiports On September 11th, 2001, the United States was dealt a devastating blow when our own airplanes were used as weapons of a terrorist attack. Within just days of the attack our nations leaders began debating over how we could solve our airport security problems. As citizens of the United States were avoiding airports, because they did not seem safe, the House and the Senate of the United States Congress argued whether or not airport security staff should become federal employees. The United States House representatives, and President George W. Bush, disagree with the fact that airport security should be federalized. After evaluating the Senates proposal the House found many reasons as to why federalizing airport security is not logical. The proposal to federalize appeared to present many flaws. The fact that the proposition "concentrates on passengers and ignores the thousands of caterers, cleaners, refuelers and others with access to airports and jets who lack mandatory background checks or ID cards" (Why Federalizing Airport Security is a Bad Thing). With insufficient knowledge of the employees background or identification, another travesty, much like September 11th could occur whether security is federalized or not. The Senates solution to make one set of standards for the employees concerns the House. With the so-called "one size fits all" plan, there would be deficient security at many airports, because the sizes of our airports greatly vary. If standard s were set to secure all major airports, such as Chicago OHare and John F. Kennedy airport in New York, then many small airports would be overwhelmed by the amount of security they are required to have. As the House stated "a one size fits all soluti... ...h government intervention, the interests of the House will also be met by not forcing all airports to federalize their employees. Works Cited Book sources Hahn, Robert. Risks, costs, and lives saved: getting better results from regulation. New York: Oxford University Press; Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 1996. Internet sources The Case Against Federalizing Airport Security. 20 October 2001. Richard W. Rahn. 13 November 2002. <http://www.cat.org/cgi-bin/scripts/printtech.cgi/dailys/10-20-01.html>. Senator Clinton Calls on Congress To Adopt Senate Bill Federalizing Airport Security. 6 November 2001. Last viewed: 13 November 2002. <http://clinton.senate.gov/news/2001/11/2001B07603.html>. Why Federalizing Airport Security Is A Bad Idea. 24 October 2001. Daily Policy Digest. 13 November 2002. <http://www.ncpa.org/iss/ter/2001/pd102401a.html>.

Slavery in Renaissance

Europe in the 14th to 16th century was marked by Renaissance. Renaissance which means â€Å"rebirth† began in Italy and later on expanded into different countries like Engalnd, France, including Germany. Within those three centuries, Renaissance reached other parts of Europe. In these years, the focus of study turned into morality of human actions rather than the usual religious issues(Encarta, 2007). It was in this era when Humanism was introduced which is based on the Philiosophy that all people are rational beings thus, everyone possesss the capacity of goodness and the truth. Furthermore, Humanism gives emphsais to the worth of an individual. While the Italian Renaissance represents the best of Europe, there are different practices that were made that conflicts Humanism. Renaissance was the same period wherein rediscovery of slavery happened (Hooker, 1996). Slavery dates back to the pre-historic times but it was in the 12th century when Human Slave Labor was rediscovered in Europe. On 1444, Portugal started to import slaves due to lack of agricultural workers while Spain followed in the 16th century and England joined the trade in the latter part of the 16th century. Hooker, 1996) Slavery was defined as an involuntary or forced form of human servitude wherein most services are obtained through force and slaves were considered as property of owner. These slaves are considered as things and they were being traded, bought, sold or payment fo0r a debt and also serve as a gift. Slaves during these times were obtained either by raid of conquest of other people wihin or from other society. During Renaissance, the fast growing Italian City-Estates demand for more slaves and was later on considered as the largest consumer of human slave. Slaves in Italy are mostly domestic servants and every wealthy family in the city have atleast one slave for household. (Hooker, 1996) While Humanists were proposing to educate the whole person of an individual, including the physical and moral development aside from intellectual achievement, a new type of slave was introduced in the purpose of economical reasons. Plantation slaves were the cheapest labor that is possible during that time. (Encarta, 2007) The existence of slavery during the Renaissance wherein the emphasis on the worth of people was highly regarded, was quite conflicting to each other but, it is evident in the accounts of Renaissance that slavery is really visible and there is a very large amount of victims of slavery. This Human Slave Trade and the presence of the â€Å"Plantation S;aves† was due to the growing needs of the plantations especially the sugar plantations for workers that will be paid in a small amount. Plantation Slave was caused by the economic stability of Italy and the growing plantations. Hence, the conflict on slavery and humanism started. (Hooker, 1996)

Robbie the Reindeer – Evaluation of the scene in the woods

We have been looking at the animation ‘Robbie the Reindeer'. This is an evaluation of the scene when Robbie and Blitzern are fighting in the hover car in the woods. The scene starts off with Robbie on a rocket chasing after the evil Blitzern who is getting away on a hover car. The animators show movement with the trees rushing by. The camera angle change from low shots of Robbie on the rocket to fast panning shots of Robbie flying past on the rocket. There are SFX of the wind rushing by and the rocket and the cars engines. The music is getting louder and louder to build tension. The music is quite fast and has a definite beat so that we can feel the tension. The strong beat could represent the tension before an army goes into battle or even the racing heartbeat of Robbie and Blitzern. Another good thing that I noticed was that the Reindeers ears even flapped in the wind. The fight starts and there is a struggle. Blitzern has Robbie down and says, ‘ Now is when you die'. Just as he says this we see Donner, Robbie's girlfriend' in the background. She has been shot out of a cannon and is fast approaching. It is a low shot and Donner looks like she is about to come and crash into the camera. Just as she is about to hit the camera the angle changes to a side view and we see her crash into the Car. She then pulls herself up and stands tall. She starts having a go at Robbie for not being a good boyfriend and all the usual things. While she is saying this Robbie is trying to explain whilst being strangled by Blitzern. Blitzern finally stops fighting Robbie and Says to Donner, ‘How do you expect us to have a fight with you going on like that!?' He then tries to sort out Donner and Robbie's problems. The music has stopped by this time and all we can hear it the engine on the car and the wind rushing by. Robbie and Donner sort out their differences and Robbie asks Donner to marry him. As this is happening the music fades back in but in a more romantic mood. Just as Donner is about to accept Blitzern cuts in and says ‘ Oh, how sweet, But Now is when I KILL YOU!' as he says this, the music gets louder and more dramatic. It is ironic that he says this as he has just helped them get engaged! It is a low camera angle looking up on Blitzern to make him look big and powerful. Then the camera changes to look on Donner. She is standing up with her hands on her hips in an intimidating fashion. The angle is again low looking up to her. She says ‘No one, but No one hurts my Fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½!' The camera zooms into her face and we can see that she is very angry. The music has changed again and is still dramatic and tension building but not as loud because it is more feminine. She punches Blitzern and he is wrapped around a tree branch and shoots off up into the sky. The music is now in a triumphant style because Robbie and Donner have won. Blitzern then falls to the ground and bounces in to the jail, which is already, crammed full of his rabbit helpers. Then we see that the Park has been turned into a Viking Disco Park. We see a DJ on the decks playing Robbie Williams' Rock DJ tune. This is linked to Robbie the reindeer's name and also the music is very contemporary and happy.

drawing essays

drawing essays Most people believe that all that is needed to produce a great drawing is a pencil and a piece of paper, which is true, but to produce a great drawing you need to use a combination of different pencils, blenders, erasers, papers, and other miscellaneous materials to increase the realism of a drawing. There are many types of materials used for a drawing, as stated above,which brings out the effect that the object is really real. A pencil is the most important material used for a drawing besides paper,which I will talk about later. Pencils come in more than just an everyday number two, pencils come in multiple types from the hardness of the lead to what chemical the lead is made of. Pencils are lettered and numbered to let you know what kind of pencil it is. The pencil with the letter B has the softest leads,and the pencil labled 9B is the softest pencil which has been invented. Erasers are known by everyone to get rid of unwanted or un-needed marks, but they are also used to bring out textures and special effects of a drawing. Blenders are used to create shadows and show where a dark color fades into a lighter color, and vice versa by balancing colors and keep proportion. Blenders come in many shapes, sizes, and purposes. The paper, of coarse, is what the drawing is drawn on. Paper, like the pencils and blenders,are created in different sizes, shapes, kinds and purposes ( J.D. Hillberry 10-15). The following materials are divided into different types for a specific reasons and uses in creating a drawing. Pencils are used to place a picture on a piece of paper or medium, but different types of pencils bring out how the picture will look when it is completed. Different types of pencils, as stated earlier, are created with different types of leads or chemicals ( J.D. Hillberry 10 ). Leads vary from 4H, which is the hardest lead and produces the lightest color, to 9B, which is the softest lead and produces the darkest col...

Strategic Human Resource Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Human Resource Evaluation - Essay Example The abilities of people to cope with such environment define the success of any organization. Because of this, human resource function has become the integral part of the corporate strategic planning. Top executives are increasingly looking to HR to improve the bottom-line. In addition to staffing, recruiting and compensation, new value-added HR functions have evolved including career planning, training, organizational development and succession planning. Strategic Human Resource Management contributes not only to achievement of the motivated workforce, but also to the accomplishment of the company's long-term strategy and to competitive advantage. The traditional roles of the Human Resource managers has changed from planning and recruiting, and today HR policies and practices influence the organizational performance. This new proactive approach to HRM is the shift from traditional view of personnel that focused on micro issues such as individual performance and satisfaction to the helping managers in maximizing the contribution of employees in achieving competitive advantage (Luthans 1998). Multinational organizations no longer rely on the technology or patents, but they utilize their people to create the competitive advantage. ... Human Resource Management can build the organizational capacity and sustained competitive advantage. Organizations must be able to adapt to the changing environments and be ready to react to risks. "Any organization that wants to remain successful must continually assess and formulate new strategies to meet the needs of its customers (both internal and external) in more effective ways" (Luthans 1998). For example, if the organization is emphasizing the cost strategy, the changes in HRM activities will enable those strategies to become the major focus of organization. If particular, the multi-skilled employees and less expensive staff will help to meet the cost objectives. Without proper changes in HRM functions, organizational strategy might fail. In addition to personnel administration, HR is supporting the company's competitive advantage by providing the talented employees AND helping the managers to strategically plan the functions of these employees within the company (Rowden 1999). Transformation of HR function into the strategic business partner positively affects the company's income. To ensure successful transformation, the overall company's business strategy should be clear. Human Resource Managers help to create customized strategic plans which do influence the effectives of the company's performance. In particular, the strategic HR manager ensures that employees understand their roles in mission accomplishment. This can be difficult to achieve in changing organization because of lack of stability and people leaving organization. The top managers usually know very little about the human resource management and their knowledge is limited to maintaining employee records and avoiding staff

An Account of the Retail Manager's Duties Essay

An Account of the Retail Manager's Duties - Essay Example Some businesses find it very hard to register high number of sales. This usually results in losses to the business or profits that are not exactly up to the levels that had been set previously. Such sales are recorded as very low returns by the businesses and thus this may result in the business closing down. When a business is recording such low returns in the sales that it is making, it is said to be under-achieving (Cox & Britain, 2004). The Retail Manager’s Account in Context Under-achieving businesses are usually in a gradual process towards witnessing a major downfall. It something is not done about these businesses, the levels of the losses that are incurred are set to continue affecting the running of the business. For a small chain store such the one I am managing, the under-achieving sales are very dangerous. This might actually result in the eventual closure of the business as a result of poor sales (Taleo.net, 2012). These poor sales are usually witnessed because o f the poor marketing that is being done by the store. In order to increase the sales of a business, it is important that the consumers are made aware of the products that the business is selling or the services that it is offering. This way, the consumers will be more knowledgeable about these products and thus their purchases will increase the sales of the business. For my store, there are a number of factors that have played a role in causing it to become an underachieving store. This position of the store is not just as a result of a single factor. The store has got a number of issues that it is facing. These issues are very crucial and affect the sales recorded at the store. One of the major factors affecting the store is the number of staff and their payroll costs. Much as the store is a small chain, the number of employees at this store is not up to the required figures. It is important that these members of staff be in the required number in order for them to work efficiently (Cox & Britain, 2004). The current number of members if staff in the stories less than the required number. Thus, the business activities in the store have been slowed down. Clients and customers are not getting the necessary services on time and this puts most of them off. Another issue that needs to be dealt with in my store is the sales plan. Looking at the reports indicating the achieved sales, it is clear that the store needs to improve on the sales plan. The strategies put in place are not giving the required feedback to the store. The sales plan is a very important and key factor in improving the sales witnessed by a business. It is this strategies that lay down the ways through which businesses can actually attract new clients and also be able to retain the previous ones. The sales plan also gives the management of the business an idea of how it should control its marketing and the areas where it needs to pay a lot of attention in. this is important for any business in orde r to give it a sense of direction. For the store under my management, the sales plan needs to be improvised if at all an increase in profits is going to be witnessed. This is one area that I have to put a lot of concentration in (Stanley, 1999). Key Performance Indicators for Improving the Business In order to improve the sales of an underachieving business, it is very important to