Abstract This paper discusses McLaurin's book, which is a story of violence and retribution in a slaveholding society in antebellum Missouri. It is a story of a young slave who was sexually exploited by her master and ultimately executed for his murder. The social meaning behind the story is analyzed.
From the Paper "McLaurin demonstrates the degree to which females where sexually exploited in the first days of Celia's story. Celia was only fourteen years old when she was acquired by Newsom, an aging widower and a prosperous and respected citizen of Callaway County, Missouri. After purchasing Celia in a neighboring county, Newsom raped her on the journey back to his farm. He then established her in a small cabin near his house and visited her regularly, repeatedly raping her. Over the next five years, Celia bore Newsom two children, both becoming Newsom's property. By 1855, she became involved with a slave named George and resolved (at his insistence) to end the relationship with her master. She did that on June 23, 1855 (McLaurin 33). But Newsom was the master. A slave didn't tell the master what to do. Newsom came back to Celia's cabin that night. Ready for Newsom this time, Celia struck him with a heavy stick when he refused to leave her alone. She hit him again when Newsom came back at her. She had tried to hurt him, to keep him away. She ended with a result she had not intended. Newsom was dead."
Abstract This paper addresses the problem of illegal immigration in the United States. Specifically, it discusses the reasons illegal immigrants come to America and the political debate that surrounds these immigrants.
From the Paper "Some immigrants are fleeing financial hardships in their home countries, and they hope to make a better life for themselves in the United States. They are fleeing poverty in their own countries, but often, they find it again here in the United States. One report notes, "In 1999, more than one-third (36.3 percent) of foreign-born full-time, year-round workers earned less than $20,000 compared to one fifth (21.3 percent) of their native counterparts" ("The Cost"). Thus, many of these immigrants are fleeing poverty, but, because of higher living expenses in the United States, they still cannot make ends meet, even with better paying jobs than they could find in their own country."
Abstract This paper discusses how great of a poet Robert Frost really was. This paper goes on to discuss several of his most famous poems. The poems analyzed are "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and ?Fire and Ice.?
From the Paper "Robert Frost can be referred to as one of the greatest American writers of all time. His poems separated him from other writers, which made him truly unique. Frost has written incredible poems such as "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and ?Fire and Ice.? Critics found his work could be quite controversial. Some critics felt strongly that the message in his poems was supposed to mean one thing. Mean while the reactions of his poetry can be completely different. His poems that are viewed as successful are usually short in length, and most of his long-winded poems are referred to as failures. Robert Frost's work is that of a wide variety. For the most part he writes poems about realization, imagination, and death. Frost has published many collections of poems most to satisfactory reviews and some to a poorer analysis."
Abstract This paper examines Joyce Carol Oates's short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"?, which was written in 1966, and how, twenty years later, it was made into a movie entitled "Smooth Talk", the winner of the 1985 U.S. Film Festival for best dramatic picture. It looks at how Oates extends reality with her character, Arnold Friend, based on the real life of Charles Schmid, who cruised teenage hangouts, picking up girls. It also shows how the producer of "Smooth Talk" also takes detours from the road of reality by further developing the characters of Connie's mother, father, and older sister, June. In particular, it examines how the two endings differ greatly.
From the Paper "While the physical characteristics seem similar, however, the description of Connie's sexual nature differs, playing an important part in the development of the final scenes of both the story and the movie. While the writer of Smooth Talk portrays Connie as a flirt and a tease, she, nevertheless, resists going "all the way" with the boys she cruises with on summer nights. This makes the compelling seduction by Arnold Friend at the screen door that much more chilling as she faces rape and the loss of innocence to someone she hardly knows. In contrast, by implying in her short story that Connie is already sexually active, author Joyce Oates deepens the terror of the screen-door meeting by focusing not on just the sexually persuasive nature of Arnold Friend but also on the demonic trance-like state he uses in order to control his victims."
Abstract This paper examines how HLA Hart, a legal positivist, developed his theory on the notion that for a legal system to exist it should comprise entirely of rules and how within this legal system, Hart states that rules are divided into either primary or secondary rules. It looks at how Ronald Dworkin's theory, on the other hand, is founded on criticisms of Hart's theory. It seeks to analyse Hart's Postscript to "The Concept of Law" and determine to what extent has Hart successfully defended his theory against his critics.
From the Paper "The basis of Dworkin's theory is founded on criticisms of Hart's theory. Dworkin pictures law as a "gapless" legal universe in which there is always a right answer. He suggests that there is much more to the law than just rules, contending that the Positivist view of a system of rules ignores the important roles of other standards which are not identified as ?rules.? Dworkin maintains that principles and policies play a crucial role in judicial reasoning, particularly when the existing rules of law prove controversial in a case, as evidence in Riggs v Palmer (1889). This case example provides an intuitive sense of Dworkin's idea of principles."
Abstract This paper discusses the main theme of Carlo Ginzburg's "The Cheese and the Worms". It explains that the book sets forth the story of a 16th century miller who has come to the realization of the existence of other cultures. It explores the existence and result of culture shock in the sixteenth century.
From the Paper ""In The Cheese and the Worms," Ginzburg sets forth the story of a miller who has come into the realization of the existence of other cultures. The micro history attempts to understand how a sixteenth century miller acquired ideas about the cosmos which the Catholic Church found heretical. In the process of coming to this understanding, Ginzburg seems to find that the exposure to new cultures produced a sort of culture shock as the miller was not accustomed to ..."
Tags: carlo ginzburg, culture, relativistic, shock, the cheese and the worms.
From the Paper "In the short novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Santiago Nasar is brutally murdered by the Vicario twins as an act of revenge for their sister's loss of virginity, before her marriage to Bayardo San Rom?n. The entire story consists of recollections and evidence given by witnesses to the crime, people who knew Nasar, and those directly involved in his murder. The story is inconclusive, and the events that are described are so ambiguous that they indicate neither guilt nor innocence. Certain characters seem to be convinced of his guilt, while others are certain that he is the innocent victim of someone's search for a scapegoat. "
An analysis of James Baldwin's short story, "Sonny's Blues", as a study in the relationship between two brothers and how they come to terms with their radically different philosophies of life.
2,546 words (approx. 10.2 pages), 5 sources, 1999, $ 77.95
From the Paper "James Baldwin's short story, ?Sonny's Blues,? (1957) is a study in the relationship between two brothers and how they come to terms with their radically different philosophiesof life and the different "lifestyle"choices they have made. Both Sonny, the younger brother and the unnamed narrator of the story, the older brother, have markedly different ideas on what constitutes vocation, on the dangers of drugs, on the life of the African American in a predominantly white society, and on music and its meaning in life."
From the Paper "Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, written in 1879 and set in that year examines the eternal problem of the fragility of family relationships. A Doll's House has the brilliant capacity to transcend history and while small details are dated, the main points ? the strengths and weaknesses of the human character are timeless. In A Doll's House the main female character, Nora, leaves her husband and her children because she needs to forge her own self-identity and she can no longer participate in a traditional Victorian marriage. She is courageous to do so because she is turning her back on financial security and the domestic life that she has primarily enjoyed. She is not a coward running away from a situation-- she is a heroine running in the direction of finding herself so that she can be a good model for her children."
From the Paper "The short story "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson, takes a deeper look at human nature by displaying at least three typical attitudes of man while living and interacting in a society. These attitudes include man's unwillingness to accept the consequences of societal actions, man's tendency to turn against his neighbor if he or she is dubbed an outcast, and man's acceptance of a tradition that may be immoral simply because he has always done so. "
Abstract This essay explores the existentialist theme in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" and how it is used in the play.
From the Paper "In Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot, Existentialism is the prevailing source of inspiration.
Beckett uses his characters to show that waiting is truly anguish and one must actively pursue the
meaning in their life. This essay explores both existentialism as well as its use in this play."
How the struggle between good vs. evil is carried on throughout the poem with the interaction of Satan and his fallen angels with God and his son in Heaven.
2,085 words (approx. 8.3 pages), 3 sources, 1999, $ 65.95
From the Paper "John Milton divided the characters in his epic poem "Paradise Lost" into two sides one side under God representing good, and the other side under Satan representing evil and sin. Milton first introduced the reader to the character Satan, the representative of all evil, and his allegiance of fallen angels that aided in his revolt against God (Milton 35). Only later did Milton introduce the reader to all powerful God, leader and creator of all mankind (John). This introduction of Satan first led the reader to believe acts of sin were good, just like Eve felt in the Garden of Eden when she was enticed by Satan to eat the fruit off of the Tree of Knowledge (Milton 255). The later introduction of The Almighty had the readers change their feelings towards sin, as the ways of God were introduced to them and these ways were shown to be the way to feel and believe. This levy of good vs. evil carried on throughout the poem with the interaction of Satan and his fallen angels with God and his son in Heaven."
Abstract This paper proves that God exists using the arguments of known philosophers, such as Thomas Aquinas and William Paley. It supports the topic using the cosmological or the first cause argument. It proves its point by challenging and defending the various objections that apply to it.
A discussion of the feeling of many members of the public that the huge sums of stock options and cash payments that many of the CEOs of the top U.S. companies currently receive are largely unjustified.
1,061 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 5 sources, 2000, $ 37.95
From the Paper "Criticism of executive compensation packages has increased rapidly over the past few years. They are many people in the general public who feel that the huge sums of stock options and cash payments that many of the CEO's of the top U.S. companies currently receive are largely unjustified. About 20 years ago, the main component of executive compensation was cash, in the form of bonuses and salaries. The problem with cash payments is that they alone do not guarantee that a CEO will make decisions that will be in the best interests of the shareholders. In an effort to better tie a company's performance to the CEO's compensation, many top executives began receiving large stock option grants in exchange for large cash payments. This meant that executives now had to make a concentrated effort to raise their firm's stock price if they wanted to profit from their compensation plans. Unfortunately, by using a fixed price, conventional stock options have pitfalls that allow executives to profit at the expense of the shareholders. The exercise price is established at the market price the day the options are granted, and the option holder can then cash in on the options if the stock price rises above the exercise price. One of two problems with this method is that it encourages CEOs to make decisions that will raise the stock price in the short term but ignore the stock's performance in the long term. This allows the executive to make a quick profit by cashing in his or her options as soon as the stock price rises and then jumping ship as soon as the stock begins to falter. ?The other problem with this option plan is that it rewards a mediocre CEO if the value of the company increases due to a bull market even if the company's gain is well below that of its competitors,? (Hall 2000). These reasons are why the traditional method of granting stock options must be altered somewhat to better tie the executive's compensation to the performance of the company. "
From the Paper "'Harrison Bergeron' by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a story literally exaggerated to its limit by showing, in the near future, what it means to be equal in every way by having people not being able to show any form of intelligence or creativity whatsoever. When Harrison Bergeron breaks the chains of government oppression, he dies for his failed cause. He dies because he chooses not to conform to the rest of his oppressive society. His parents, George and Hazel, who are nothing more than two bodies under the government's mind control, can do nothing to save their son or seek justice for his death. The story is not only a reflection of the author's concern with controlling the masses through television, but is also an attack on the idea of enforced equality."
