The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara Essay Example for Free

The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara Essay Toni Cade Bambara’s The Lesson revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody (Bambara 604)—offers an indication as to why she is so hard-pressed to concede her substandard socioeconomic standing in the larger scheme of things. Sylvia is forced to finally address the true state of her place in society, however, when she observes firsthand the stark contrast between the rich and the poor at a fancy toy store in Manhattan. Initially furious about the blinding disparity, her emotionally charged reaction ultimately culminates in her acceptance of the real state of things, and this acceptance in turn cultivates her resolve to take action against the socioeconomic inequality that verily afflicts her, ensuring that ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin (606). The Lesson posits that far from being insurmountable, economic and social injustice can be risen above, but it is necessary that we first acknowledge the role that it plays in our lives, and then determine to take action against it; indifference, and the inaction that it breeds, can only serve to perpetuate such injustices. Sylvia’s languid regard for Miss Moore, whom she refers to as this nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree (601), is a reflection of her initial disregard for the role that social injustice plays in her life. Miss Moore, with her proper speech (601) and desire to take responsibility for the young ones’ education (601), is a foil to Sylvia: educated, discerning, analytical. Her informed and realistic perception of the society in which they live qualifies her as an embodiment of truth within the story, and Sylvia’s rejection of her is thus symbolic of her overarching rejection of the truth. More than just refusing to acknowledge the verity of her poverty—And then she gets to the part about we all poor and live in the slums, which I don’t feature (601)—Syvlia even subconsciously runs away from it. Don’t nobody want to go for my plan, Sylvia says, which is to jump out at the next light and run off to the first bar-b-que we can find (601). Her compulsion to stray from Miss Moore suggests that on some subliminal level, she seeks to avoid confronting the truth that the lesson conveys about her indigent state. Upon arriving at the toy store, Sylvia notes: ‘This is the place,’ Miss Moore say, presenting it to us in the voice she uses at the museum. ‘Let’s look in the windows before we go in’ (602). That Miss Moore introduces the children to the store in her museum voice is indicative of her desire for the children to thoroughly analyze their new environment and synthesize what it might suggest about social stratification; Miss Moore means to show them that, like a historically significant painting in a museum, the society in which they live is worth studying intently. Although the explicit differences between the ghetto and Manhattan are immediately apparent, Sylvia initially fails to make the implicit connections between these external differences and larger social inequity. She boggles at the concept of a woman in a fur coat—Then we check out that we on Fifth Avenue and everybody dressed up in stockings. One lady in a fur coat, hot as it is. White folks crazy (602)—but fails to interpret what she sees in relation to the disparity between the rich and the poor. Instead, all she can do is point fingers and criticize. The children’s discovery of the fiberglass sailboat marks the story’s climax and signals the transition from rising to falling action. The cost of the sailboat provokes an as yet unseen emotionally charged, one might say true reaction from Sylvia: ‘Unbelievable,’ I hear myself say and am really stunned (603). More than just being stunned at the price of the sailboat, however, Sylvia is perhaps on some deeper level stunned at the emotions that have been roused within her. It is at this point in the story that her overriding indifference towards the roles that economic and social injustice play in her life begins to yield to a real emotional response to them. Although Sylvia has begun to respond to the disparity between the rich and the poor, she is still eluctant to fully accept it: So me and Sugar turn the corner to where the entrance [to the toy store] is, but when we get there I kinda hang back. Not that I’m scared, what’s there to be afraid of, just a toy store (604). The hesitation Sylvia encounters upon entering the store is a reflection of her desire to insulate herself from the feel ings of inadequacy she is beginning to experience: she understands that if she enters the store, she will be forced to finally confront the actuality of the socioeconomic gap that separates her from the people that the store caters to. The door to the toy store symbolically manifests this divide, as the toy store itself, with is exorbitantly priced items, is symbolic of the world of the wealthy. Sylvia’s struggle to get a hold of the door is indicative of her continuing struggle to accept absolutely her disadvantaged economic situation. Once inside the store, Sylvia can no longer ignore the blinding imparity between the rich and the poor. Her discovery of an overly priced toy clown prompts her to consider what could be bought for its price: Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen’s boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit Granddaddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too (605). Sylvia is forced to finally address the socioeconomic inequality that works against her while simultaneously conferring certain luxuries on the rich: Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it? (605). In stark contrast with her earlier disregard for economic and social injustice, Sylvia is now incensed by it. Her anger is further incited when Sugar speaks on the implications of these newly perceived inequalities: ‘I think,’ say Sugar pushing me off her feet like she never done before, cause I whip her ass in a minute, ‘that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it? [†¦] I am disgusted with Sugar’s treachery (605). In concretely addressing the existence of socioeconomic inequality and its effects on their own lives, Sugar cements its realness in Sylvia’s mind—she can no longer run from it. It is thus the truth in Sugar’s words that she is disgusted with, not Sugar herself. Sylvia’s powerful emotions ultimately culminate in her resolve to not just acknowledge the roles that economic and social injustice play in her life, but to understand these njustices and eventually rise above them: We start down the block and she gets ahead with is O. K. by me cause I’m going to the West End and then over to the Drive to think this day through. She can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin (606). That Sylvia does not run with Sugar is symbolic of her refusal to run from the truth any longer; she now understands that it is her responsibility to face her situation head-on so that she might one day overcome it. Ironically enough, in the end it is the most cynical of the pack—the one whose idea it was to ditch Miss Moore—who extracts the most meaning from the day’s activities. In his analysis of The Lesson, Jerome Cartwright addresses the significance of Sylvia’s realization in relation to how it moves her to take action: [Sylvia] is changed in a way that promises hope for her ability to respond effectively to the newly discovered reality she faces (Cartwright 61). However, he suggests that although Sylvia’s realization regarding the unfairness of life and, as a black girl, her often low position in the scheme of things (61) is central to the story, the conflict between rich and poor and the economic injustice it reveals (61) is not what drives it forward. For Cartwright, the story is essentially about the value of lessons themselves, the value of learning and thinking. [†¦] The children do not simply need to learn one lesson: they need an education (61). While the importance of the children’s education should not be underestimated, Cartwright compromises the story’s primary importance by generalizing each of Miss Moore’s lessons into a collective importance. To conflate the importance of Sylvia’s realization about her socioeconomic status with the importance of the less critical lessons Miss Moore offers throughout the day—from the uses of the microscope to the components of the paperweight—is to downplay the story’s value as a commentary on economic and social injustice. Cartwright’s generalization in this way belies the story’s true meaning. Although historical surveys of the collective economic status of African Americans point to a long-standing relegation of blacks to lower income levels, current information points to a continuation of a long-term trend toward parity with national levels and absolutely higher levels of affluence than those experienced by most populations outside the United States (Wikipedia 10). Moreover, since the mid to late 1990s, [†¦] over 1. 7 million African Americans have gone off the poverty rolls, earnings by African American women have moved to within a few percentage points of white women’s, and unemployment among blacks in recent years has dropped below the 10 percent mark (10). While these numbers are not enough to invalidate the existence of socioeconomic inequality, they affirm that in this country, social and economic injustice can be mitigated. The unprecedented access to higher education and employment (11) that African Americans have been party to since the Civil Rights Movement speaks strongly to the opportunities for change that this country affords its citizens. However, the value of the struggle cannot be lost on us. We must recognize that such fundamental change does not manifest itself overnight: it is achievable only where a lasting commitment to it is available. Change is not beyond us. Action, however, is its necessary predecessor.

bio :: essays research papers

Bio-molecules are built by assembling atoms, by virtue of covalent bonds. The most collective elements that can be discovered in biomolecules are the CHNOPS element, which stands for the basic abbreviation of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Each one of these elements has a specific valence. A valence resolves the number from the covalent bonds it can be able to form. Presuming on the total of electrons in the exterior shell that decides the ability of an atom to connect with other atoms. Every atom may have one or more protons, which carry a positive electric charge. Protons and neutrons form the atoms in atomic nucleus. Electrons transfer a negative charge and fill most of the atoms volume. Every atom has the equivalent number of electrons as protons. By no means we know that an atom carries no charge making it neutral. In the event that atoms share an electron pair this is called a covalent bond. Every atom grows more solid by sharing its uneven electron with t he other. We shall discuss the polar and non-polar covalent bonds. Within a polar covalent bond, atoms of different elements do not install the same pull on shared electrons. The atom that receives the electron ends up with a slender negative charge making it electronegative. While non-polar method states that there is no difference in charge between to ends of the bond, atoms share the electrons evenly . A worthy explanation is to say that molecular hydrogen is non-polar. The types of electrons sharing in covalent bonds contain atoms together in positive arrangements in molecules. Hydrogen bond are weak bonds that can draw water molecules to each other, but results from electrostatic temptation between electronegative atoms together with a hydrogen atom that is bonded covalently up to a second electronegative atom. In water molecule it has no net charge, however it does carry unevenly distribution. So we know that Hydrogen bonds may be able to form between two or more molecules. In form of unlike biological molecules, they rely on sure characteristic gatherings of atoms called functional groups. The six majority functional groups are as follows: amino, carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl, sulfhydryl, and phosphate. bio :: essays research papers Bio-molecules are built by assembling atoms, by virtue of covalent bonds. The most collective elements that can be discovered in biomolecules are the CHNOPS element, which stands for the basic abbreviation of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Each one of these elements has a specific valence. A valence resolves the number from the covalent bonds it can be able to form. Presuming on the total of electrons in the exterior shell that decides the ability of an atom to connect with other atoms. Every atom may have one or more protons, which carry a positive electric charge. Protons and neutrons form the atoms in atomic nucleus. Electrons transfer a negative charge and fill most of the atoms volume. Every atom has the equivalent number of electrons as protons. By no means we know that an atom carries no charge making it neutral. In the event that atoms share an electron pair this is called a covalent bond. Every atom grows more solid by sharing its uneven electron with t he other. We shall discuss the polar and non-polar covalent bonds. Within a polar covalent bond, atoms of different elements do not install the same pull on shared electrons. The atom that receives the electron ends up with a slender negative charge making it electronegative. While non-polar method states that there is no difference in charge between to ends of the bond, atoms share the electrons evenly . A worthy explanation is to say that molecular hydrogen is non-polar. The types of electrons sharing in covalent bonds contain atoms together in positive arrangements in molecules. Hydrogen bond are weak bonds that can draw water molecules to each other, but results from electrostatic temptation between electronegative atoms together with a hydrogen atom that is bonded covalently up to a second electronegative atom. In water molecule it has no net charge, however it does carry unevenly distribution. So we know that Hydrogen bonds may be able to form between two or more molecules. In form of unlike biological molecules, they rely on sure characteristic gatherings of atoms called functional groups. The six majority functional groups are as follows: amino, carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl, sulfhydryl, and phosphate.

The Devil’s Snare

The Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 By Mary Beth Norton In the Devil’s Snare is a book about the Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 in which the towns people accused women and men of using witchcraft to cause unexplained happenings throughout the town. The men and women appeared to be possessed by the devil, nothing else could explain it. In early times people didn’t understand reason. Especially the Puritans who only saw God’s will and the evilness of the devil.During the Salem witchcraft crisis, Puritans struggled to decipher communal security and find the truth around them. They believed that Satan recruited humans to do his evil and be servants to him, i. e. witches. The witches had a magical power that allowed them to harm others. To protect the community the judges of the town took it upon themselves to hold jury trials and hang the witches as punishment. Many believed the witches were burned at the stake, however that is untrue. The idea of witchcraft seemed to be the only logical answer to the community.Nothing else could possible explain the fires, flood, windstorms, droughts, livestock disease, and epidemics raging through the town. These issues needed an explanation. Puritans could not conceive the notion that this could simply be misfortune, due to their belief in Gods will. Witchcraft was the only explanation because many members of the community dabble in it here and there to spell curses or fortune tell. Although the belief in witchcraft was widespread the prosecution of the witches was sporadic and only a few towns executed the witches.Many towns held trials, because they didn’t want to rush to judgment. However it was not easy to prove witchcraft, until 1692 when things turned for the worse and problems increased dramatically. Desparate for an answer the towns people finally started to believe this was the only explanation. The town of Salem was an already troubled when the happenings began. Me mbers of the town often fought over pretty much anything. The first witches were teenager girls who saw hallucinations; the town took this very seriously.The accusations led to formal charges filed against thirty-eight men and one hundred six women. Prosecutors were able to obtain fifty-four confessions, which was used at evidence to execute twenty people (fourteen women and six men). Mary Beth Norton wrote this book as if she was on a witch hunt herself. She had a one way direction of writing and was not objective to both sides. If she were on the jury of the Salem Witches she would have convicted them herself. I did not like the book because I felt it left me hanging, longing to know the other side of the story.

Diego Valesquez followed Columbus in the Spanish Conquest

After Columbus arrived, Spanish conquest followed under the guise of Diego Valesquez, a move that brought on the eradication of the native Cuban population as a result of European diseases. The 1800’s brought on a large sugarcane industry in Cuba, which fueled the African slave trade in the country. After Columbus discovered the New World, Spain immediately sent Diego Velazquez de Cuellar (not to be confused with Diego Velazquez the painter) to establish a Colony on Cuba, Baracoa(1511). A rapid succession of other Colonies came-Santiago de Cuba (1514) and Havana (1515). This was a move that resulted in the eradication of Cuba’s natives, as they fell victim to various European diseases, most notably smallpox. Because the Island’s main export was kurtrice and tobacco, Cuba soon flourished. Soon, it became evident that more labour was required. Africans slaves were imported to Cuba. Despite this, Cuba failed to prosper prior to the 1760s. Spain possessed a trade monopoly in the Caribbean (which they intended to keep). They did this by preventing the Island’s in the Caribbean from trading with foreign ships. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Cuba was a perfect target for pirates. As a response to these attacks, defences were bolstered and the Morro Castle was built. Nevertheless, Britain was able to annex Cuba. However, the annexation of Cuba was short lived. British sugar merchants, fearing a decline in sales, forced the government to sign a treaty with Spain, which gave Britain