Abstract This paper will discuss the book "The Dispossessed" by Ursula Le Guin and seek the principles that make the two planets in the tale represent dualistic natures along the symbolism of Chinese thought. The main objective will be how the planets evolve under these circumstances and the way that the author attempts this. Also, an anarchist point of view will be described about the story and its ramifications on the tale within the scope of the planetary evolutions of the planets involved. By an overall analysis of the good and bad points of both philosophies, a better understanding of the basis of dualistic thought can be brought to the forefront.
Abstract This paper examines how the history of the Native American is fraught with attempts to assimilate and with acts of dispossession and how the indigenous culture is multi-faceted. It looks at how Melissa Meyer, in her book, "The White Earth Tragedy", argues that Minnesota's White Earth Reservation of the Anishinaabe, or Chippewa, could have been an experimental showcase for assimilation, how the Dawes Act went awry, and how the Anishinaabe were dispossessed of their land and its resources.
From the Paper "The Anishinaabe people were originally composed of a number of bands whose migratory habits brought them into contact with one another only on occasion. The introduction of settlers or Euroamericans (mainly French) into the area brought yet another element into their society. By the end of the nineteenth century there existed two major factions among the Chippewa of Minnesota: those of mixed blood and full blood conservatives. The Metis or mixed blood members of the tribe were interested in following the course set down by the government. They advocated assimilation and the inclusion of Western marketing. The conservatives, on the other hand, thought to preserve the integrity of the "old ways" by following the cultural agenda of tradition."
Abstract This paper reviews five reasons why dispossessed and oppressed individuals should have a voice in society. Specifically, the paper looks at the social costs that attend failing to pay attention to the needs of these individuals and at the poor public policy that flows from ignoring the dispossessed. Finally, the paper explores the ethical and moral issues that come with overlooking the less-fortunate and considers the impact upon the reputation of a society if it fails to offer social justice in its own land while hectoring others abroad about their human rights record.
From the Paper "At the level of the individual, the costs associated with not heeding the voices of the down-trodden can be very grim, indeed. For one thing, people who struggle with their sense of self and who lack a strong sense of self-empowerment are people who are much more susceptible to thoughts of suicide (Martin, 2006). At the same time, people who feel as though they cannot change their lives for the better - in no small measure because no one seems to care what they think - are people who are very much likely to fall prey to mental illness - such as depression (Laitinen et al, 2006). Thus, there are compelling reasons why, at the level of the individual, people need to be given a sense that they are not viewed as ciphers by others and that their needs will be accepted as genuine."
Tags: community, dispossessed, maltreatment, support
Abstract This paper discusses how the non-authoritarian form of communism in Anarres in "The Dispossessed," by Ursula LeGuin, is shown to be a higher form of government than capitalism in A-Io. The writer explains that in A-Io LeGuin is attempting to expose the fragilities, weaknesses and problems associated with capitalism, while the political system in Anarres works on the principle of mutual help and community work. Anarres has its flaws too, including poor education, lack of freedom, inability to conduct research and lowering standards of human relationships, but is seen as a better world because profiteering is missing and people are working together to protect resources. The paper concludes that Anarres has thus a much better political system than A-Io on Urras.
From the Paper "By assigning this form of governance a non-authoritarian flavor, the author has widened the gap between real world socialist government and the brand of communism found on Anarres. Thus when we conclude that communism appeared to be a much better form of government than capitalism, it should not entail that we are supporting the type of communism found in countries like Russia. This is because the anarchist element on Anarres had eliminated the need for a regular governmental structure."
An analysis of Louise Erdrich's tale of characters linked in confusing extended family relationships who seek meaningful connection through tribal kinship.
Abstract Louise Erdrich uses her disjointed multiple narrative style to represent the similarly fragmented lives of her Native American characters whose home lives and family values cannot be expected to be what mainstream America would consider "normal" because their native traditions are no longer intact. Everything that their ancestors once stood for has been destroyed. The original natives of this continent, are now outsiders, alienated from the value systems established by the newcomers in their own homeland.
From the Paper "Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine is "a collection of interrelated short stories" ("Voices from the Gaps") with different narrators, about a group of Native Americans who are connected in confusing extended family relationships. As critics point out, telling stories in this disjointed way is part of the Anishinabe oral tradition in which characters evolve in stories told episodically over time (Stokes). Love Medicine centers around four Anishinabe* families, and although the Morrissey"s, Lamartines, Kashpaws and Pillagers don"t always get along, the underlying connectedness of the separate individuals is vital to these stories. In Louise Erdrich's world of dispossessed, alienated Native Americans, boundaries between families and kinship ties are often obscured and connections need to be discovered. For Erdrich's characters, biological ties and nuclear families are less important than tribal kinship."
From the Paper "Works of utopian fiction have generally either failed as literature, or have succeeded only at the price of partially subverting the author's intent. The reason may be found in what the proverb that happy is the country that has no history, and its counterpart, reputed to be an old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." Good fiction is founded upon conflict, and conflict is precisely what is generally banished from conceptions of an ideal society. Just as one cannot write a very gripping domestic drama about a happy, placid society, so one cannot write a gripping social drama about a happy, placid society.
The temptation of the skilled utopian writer, then, is to create a counterpoint society to the ideal one, a corrupted society, and to place the two in conflict. The danger in this..."
From the Paper "THE DISPOSSESSED by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)
The story is told in alternating time periods: present, past, present, then mostly past leading to the present.
In a section of the Milky Way Galaxy several light years from Earth, a genius 38-year-old physicist named Shevek is transported from his native home, the anarchist society moon of Anarres, to the mother capitalist and sexist planet of Urras. (Women must shave their heads and are forbidden male jobs.) There he will be awarded the Seo Oen prize in physics nine years late for his book "Principles of Simultaneity". He will also live among other scientists at Ieu Eun University while polishing his theory, the idea of which has two basic applications: instantaneous communication through light years ..."
Abstract This paper examines the novel "The Ravishing of Lol Stein" by Marguerite Duras and attempts to determine the turning points in the life of the protagonist, Lol Stein. It discusses how Lol is a character dispossessed of herself when she sees how the person she loves is falling in love with another woman which means that she, the main character, is suddenly is pushed into the background. It shows how the rest of her life is spent seeking the rush of achieving the status she lost and how her personality does not allow anyone beyond her zone of comfort. It discusses how the narrative is unique because of Lol's life, which is really a struggle against herself is told by Jacques one of her acquaintances and it can be construed as his story and not Lol's.
From the Paper "From the time of the ball to her marriage of Bedford and ten years in Uxbridge during which she had three children, an outsider looking in would see the neat and orderly home, the well-cared for husband and children would ascertain that everything was alright with Lol?in essence, the perfect housewife and mother who is happy in this role. The story, however, obviously embellished by Jacques, indicates that Lol's psychological profile is that of a loner who is deeply disturbed. She has always very effectively shut off everybody from her life. There is no emotional relationship with John (who married her under selfish circumstances) or the children."
Abstract Presents biographical data on the Nobel Prize winning American novelist's life and career. Centers on the structure of the 1939 book, THE GRAPES OF WRATH as Steinbeck's greatest novel. Contends the unusual structure of the novel helped portray the book's social themes. The plight of the Joads family as reflecting the problems of average citizens during the economic depression of the 1930s. Dispossession of migrants.
From the Paper "American author John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902 and died on December 20, 1968. He was "known especially for realistic, compassionate novels of lowly people" (Bridgwater 1282). He was married three time and had two sons. In 1962, he was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.
Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919, intermittently attended Stanford as an English major and left before achieving a degree. As a young man, he worked as a fruit picker and a ranch hand. Pursuing a writing career, he moved to New York City, and worked for the American newspaper. He was unable, however, to get his creative writing published, and returned to California. In 1929 his first work, Cup of Gold, was published but poorly received, as were his next two novels..."
Abstract This research explores the hip hop culture and its identity. An overview of the current literature is given that reflects the theoretical position of Black culture in the United States. In addition a definition of hip hop and rap is provided, including a discussion of its origins and the current state this art form is in. The influence of the ghetto and hip hop culture is explored at length, as well as the lyrical content of the music. Commercialization of this unique music form is discussed, in addition to hip hop culture's tendency toward visualization as opposed to aural. Finally, hip hop as a global force is reviewed. In the end, it becomes clear that hip hop music is a significant influence on global culture, for Black and non-Black community members and this influence has been facilitated by technology and the drive of capitalism.
Introduction
The History of Hip Hop
Overview of Current Literature Regarding Hip Hop
Defining Hip Hop Culture
The Four Pillars of Hip Hop and Others
The Ghetto, Hip Hop Culture and the Divergent Styles of West Coast and East Coast
East Coast versus West Coast Conflict
Geographical Diversity of Hip Hop Today
Hip Hop and the Jail Culture
Graffiti as a Subversive and Sublime Cultural Arm of Hip Hop
African Americans and Spatial Mobility
The Ghetto Environment and its Effects on the Lyrical Content of Hip Hop
Examination of Lyrical Content in Gangsta Rap Songs
Discussion of Virulent and Caustic Language Within the Sub-Genre of Gangsta Rap
The Double Standard in the World of Gangsters as Demonstrated by Hip Hop
Hip Hop Culture and Misogyny
Hip Hop Culture and the Poetry of the Dispossessed The Controversy About Selling Out and Hip Hop Culture
Representing the Ghetto
Hip Hop Culture and Sports Marketing
Hip Hop Sales Statistics and the Thug Image for Sales Controversy
Hip Hop as a Force in American Pop Culture and the Displacement of Other Genres of Music
Tastes and Decadence in Hip Hop Culture
The Hip Hop Culture and Political Influence
Hip Hop as a Global Force
References
From the Paper "Although one may be led to believe that hip hop music is a recent evolution, it relates back to the griots of West Africa, from more than two hundred years ago. The griots were, and in some rural areas still are, storytellers, poets and traveling singers who played an important role in ancient African societies. They used poetry and rhythm to teach the people about their history, as written language was rarely used ("Griot").
One could even argue that hip hop music began even earlier than griots, stemming from the ancient societies of Egypt, as a rich, Black tradition of admiration for rhetoric in both written and spoken form. It is part of the Black rhetorical continuum, as it borrows from and expands a tradition of creative use of language styles and strategies. It was created as rhetoric of resistance primarily to racial discrimination and oppression (Kopano). "
Abstract The paper discusses how imperialism is a dirty word these days long after the death of the great empires, yet it still resonates as the universal bane of the poor and those dispossessed of the earth. The paper explains how many, if not most, developing former colonies find themselves dealing with many negative cultural and economic consequences of colonial rule and the imperial reach of Western corporate power is very much with us, everywhere.
From the Paper "Imperialism is a dirty word these days, long after the death of the great empires; yet it still resonates as the universal bane of the poor and those dispossessed of the earth. Many, if not most, developing former colonies find themselves dealing with many negative cultural and economic consequences of colonial rule and the imperial reach of Western corporate power is very much with us, everywhere. From Coca Cola and McDonald's junk food, to MTV junk culture, with its thug idols and preoccupation with and glorification of greed, violence and lust, most of the world has been inundated by the icons of cultural imperialism."
Abstract This paper discusses how oppression of all forms, whether based on race, sex, or another arbitrary characteristic, by the Humean conception is always morally wrong. It looks at how Hume identifies justice as an artificial virtue that has the sole purpose of restraining individuals' base impulses for the communal benefit. It also argues that discriminatory oppression is unjust because it does not have the import of natural morality, nor is it in the service of the communal interest.
From the Paper "In the perpetration of psychological oppression, there exists a naturally vicious quality that Humaen principles identify as morally wrong. Psychological oppression, as conceptualized within a feminist framework by Sandra Bartky, is a cruel authority exerted by the force of one's own ideas. Bartky originated the concept to describe the process by which women internalize and perpetuate their subordinate status with a patriarchal society, though it is applicable to any arbitrarily subordinated population. Psychological oppression effectually facilitates the continued acquiescence to an unjust power that resided outside of the self, a power that is the original source and beneficiary of the self-oppressing ideas, such as stereotypes and essentialized inferiority. "
Abstract This paper examines how throughout her career, Ursula LeGuin was a participant in both the anarchist and feminist movements and represented the views of both in her writings. In particular, the paper looks at how Leguin's novels depict microcosms in which anarchy and feminism thrive and how her characters espouse views of the anarchists and feminists of today.
From the Paper "Anarchy, a movement LeGuin was strongly in favor of, was portrayed both directly and indirectly in a large part of her writing. In many cases, people describe anarchy as a complete lack of order or chaos but, in fact, this is not the way anarchy works at all. The definition of anarchy, which comes from the Greek word for "contrary to authority", is "the theory that formal government of any kind is unnecessary and wrong in principle." In this type of society, it is envisioned that agreements would be arrived at freely through the cooperation of all the individual groups involved, rather than by a forced submission to authoritarian laws as well as a fear of punishment for disobeying these laws. Those attempting to practice these beliefs feel that anarchy is more of a way of life than a political or social movement. "
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that the events of September 11, 2001 and the continuing media reports of tens of millions of illegal immigrants being in the United States has not helped the position of those who want to immigrate and it has added fuel to the war on terrorism fires at home. This paper provides a review of the relevant literature to demonstrate several timely reasons why illegal immigrants who are already in the United States should be allowed to remain. The writer notes that this includes the enormous positive economic contributions of illegal immigrants and the exorbitant costs associated with identifying and deporting them. The writer also points out that migration is a natural survival technique and looks at the adverse effect that deporting illegal immigrants to the US would have on the nation's consciousness in view of America's longstanding legacy of welcoming dispossessed people.
Outline:
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Positive Economic Contributions of Illegal Immigrants
Exorbitant Costs Associated with Identifying and Deporting Illegal Immigrants
Conclusion
From the Paper "Given its significance in national affairs, it is not surprising that there have been some conflicting reports concerning the economic impact of illegal immigrants on the country's economy. While the actual numbers are unknown, critics suggest that these illegal immigrants are stealing jobs away from American workers who would readily accept these jobs if they were available. For instance, Gresham reports that there are literally millions of illegal aliens in the United States today who are using false Social Security cards and numbers to secure legitimate and better-paying employment than many observers might believe. According to Gresham, the impact of these workers on the nation's middle class will be profound and will make the gap between the haves and have-nots even greater. In fact, this author maintains that left unresolved, this trend will ultimately result in an American middle class that will shrink from its present 65 percent to 70 percent of Americans and create a larger percentage of poor people than ever before in the country's history ..."
Abstract The paper refers specifically to the Petan region of Guatemala and generally to the necessity of instituting economic development programs world wide, due to the inter relationship and dependency of countries on each other. This applies amongst other programs particularly to social, economic and political reform.
Outline:
Introduction
Access and control
Accumulation
Marginalization and dispossession Conclusion
From the Paper "Historically sparsely populated and with industries limited to slash and burn agriculture, the current interest in the region is challenging how the area can be effectively and responsibly used to jumpstart economic development in the region. The development however has also created social, political and economic conflict. The issues have ranged from delegitimation of land tenure, economic exploitation and the increase in incidence of crime including delinquency and drug trafficking. More importantly, efforts to control deforestation and land use have been severely criticized; leading to concerns not only for the ecological health of the Peten region but also is social and cultural value to Guatemalans.
In an assessment by Bernal and associates, there is an impression that developing industries are exploiting natural resources by companies who have advantages in terms of technology and capital. Though the movement has made efforts equalize access to land and resources but the industrial and social capacity of local interest groups are often considered insufficient to effectively utilize property or resources (Smith 211-214). Consequently, there is limited confidence in programs and social support or participation which in turn has impaired the effectivity of efforts to create social concern and significance for ecological issues "
