A Child Called It, The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave Essay -- Dave Pel

For this report, I have read all three of Dave Pelzer's books about his life: A Child Called â€Å"It†, The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave. A Child Called â€Å"It† chronicles Dave's life as a child, and is told from that viewpoint. From his earliest recollections of a relatively happy life with "the Mommy" to his life and death struggle with "The Mother", this book details the horror of Dave’s dehumanizing existence. Going far beyond â€Å"typical† physical, emotional and psychological abuses, Dave’s story tells of intentional starvation, forced coprophagia, poisoning and much more. This volume covers his life from his earliest memories at age 4 until his rescue at age 12. The Lost Boy picks up the story where the first book leaves off, following Dave through the foster care system until the age of 18. Dave’s navigation through the foster care system is an arduous journey. His sense of survival is strong, but being a foster child is not easy. A Man Named Dave is the final book in the trilogy, covering Dave's life from his enlistment in the Air Force through the present day. From his resolve to be accepted by the Air Force to his almost desperate determination to be a good father to his son, Dave shares with the reader his difficulty adjusting to a â€Å"normal† life. Diversity The Pelzer family was white and middle class. Dave’s father, Stephen, was a firefighter, and his mother, Catherine, was a homemaker. Both parents were alcoholics. They lived in a â€Å"good† neighborhood in a modest home. Until the abuse began, Dave’s life with his parents and brothers was good. In his words, â€Å"Our every whim was fulfilled with love and care† (Pelzer, 1995). The two areas of diversity I recognized in these books are economic status and disability. Because... ...tainable: his mother’s love. Bibliography: Erikson, E. H., (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: Norton. Erikson, E. H., (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton. Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper & Row. Pelzer, D. (1995). A Child Called â€Å"It†. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc. Pelzer, D. (1997). The Lost Boy. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc. Pelzer, D. (1999) A Man Named Dave. NY: Penguin Putnam, Inc. Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (1987). A History of Modern Psychology. Orlando, FL: Harcourt-Brace. U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. (1979). [Brochure]. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing office. Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (1997). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment. (4th ed.) Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, Inc.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 33

Elena was waiting for the fog to disperse. It had come in as always, bit by bit, and now she was wondering if it would ever leave, or if it were actual y another trial itself. Therefore, when she suddenly realized she could see Stefan's shirt in front of her, she felt her heart bound for joy. She hadn't messed anything up lately. â€Å"I can see it!†Stefan said, pul ing her up beside him. And then, â€Å"Voil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – but in a whisper. â€Å"What, what?†cried Bonnie, bounding forward. And then she stopped too. Damon didn't bound. He strol ed. But Elena was turning toward Bonnie at the time, and she saw his face as he saw it. In front of them was a sort of smal castle, or large gateway with spires that pierced the low clouds that hung above it. There was some kind of writing over the huge cathedral-like black doors in front, but Elena had never seen anything like the squiggles of whatever foreign language it was. On either side of the building, there were black wal s that were nearly as tal as the spires. Elena looked left and right and realized that they disappeared only off at the vanishing point. And without magic, it would be impossible to fly over them. What the boy and girl in the story had discovered only by fol owing the wal s for days, they had simply walked straight into. â€Å"It's the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures, isn't it, Bonnie? Isn't it? Look!†Elena shouted. Bonnie was already looking, both hands pressed against her heart, and for once without a word to say. As Elena watched, the diminutive girl fel to her knees in the light, powdery snow. But Stefan answered. He picked up Bonnie and Elena at the same time and whirled them both. â€Å"It is!†he said, just as Elena was saying â€Å"It is!† and Bonnie, the expert, gasping, â€Å"Oh, it real y, really is!†with tears freezing on her cheeks. Stefan put his lips to Elena's ear. â€Å"And you know what that means, don't you? If that is the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures, you know where we are standing now?† Elena tried to ignore the warm, tingling sensation that shot up from the soles of her feet at the feeling of Stefan's breath on her ear. She tried to focus on his question. â€Å"Look up,†Stefan suggested. Elena did – and gasped. Above them, instead of a fog bank or incessant crimson light from a sun that never stopped setting, were three moons. One was enormous, covering perhaps a sixth of the sky, shining in swirls of white and blue, hazy at the edges. Just in front of it was a beautiful silvery moon at least three quarters as big as it was. Last, there was a tiny moon in high orbit, white as a diamond, that seemed to be deliberately keeping its distance from the other two. Al of them were half ful and shone down with gentle, soothing light on the unbroken snow around Elena. â€Å"We're in the Nether World,†Elena said, shaken. â€Å"Oh†¦it's just like in the story,†Bonnie gasped. â€Å"Exactly like. Even the writing! Even the amount of snow!† â€Å"Exactly like the story?†Stefan asked. â€Å"Even to the phase of the moons? How ful they are?† â€Å"Just exactly the same.† Stefan nodded. â€Å"I thought they would be. That story was a precognition, given to you with the purpose of helping us find the largest star bal ever made.† â€Å"Well, let's go inside!†cried Bonnie. â€Å"We're wasting time!† â€Å"Okay – but everyone on your guard. We don't want anything to go wrong now,†Stefan said. They went into the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures in this order: Bonnie, who found that the great black doors swung open at a touch, but that she could see nothing, coming in from bright sunlight; Stefan and Elena, hand in hand; and Damon, who waited outside for a long time in the hopes, Elena thought, of being deemed â€Å"a different party.† Meanwhile the others were having the most pleasant shock since they'd taken the Master Keys from the kitsune. â€Å"Sage – Sage!†Bonnie shril ed as soon as her eyes adjusted. â€Å"Oh, look, Elena, it's Sage! Sage, how are you? What're you doing here? Oh, it's just so good to see you!† Elena blinked twice, and the dim interior of the octagonal room came into focus. She went around the only piece of furniture in the room, the large desk in the middle. â€Å"Sage, do you know how long it seems? Did you know that Bonnie almost got sold for a slave at a public auction? Did you know about her dream?† Sage looked as he always had to Elena's eyes. The bronzed, terminal y fit body, like a model of a Titan, the bare chest and bare feet, the black Levi's, the long spiraling tangles of bronze hair, and the strange bronze eyes that could cut steel, or be as gentle as a pet lamb. â€Å"Mes deux petits chatons,† Sage was saying. â€Å"My two little kittens, you have astounded me. I have been fol owing your adventures. The Gatekeeper is not provided with much entertainment and is not al owed to leave this fortress, but you were most brave and amusing. Je vous felicite.†He kissed first Elena's hand and then Bonnie's, then embraced Stefan with the Latin two-cheeked kiss. Then he resumed his seat. Bonnie was climbing Sage as if she were a real kitten. â€Å"Did you take Misao's star bal ful of Power?†she demanded, kneeling on his thigh. â€Å"Did you take half of it, I mean? To get back here?† â€Å"Mais oui, I did. But I also left Madame Flowers a little – â€Å" â€Å"Do you know that Damon used the other half to open the Gate again? And that I fel in too, even though he didn't want me? And that because of that I almost got sold as a slave? And that Stefan and Elena had to come after me, to make sure I was okay? And that on the way here Elena almost fel off the bridge, and we're not sure if the thurgs are going to make it? And do you know that in Fel ‘s Church the Last Midnight is coming, and we don't know – â€Å" Stefan and Elena exchanged a long, meaningful glance and then Stefan said, â€Å"Bonnie, we have to ask Sage the most important question.†He looked at Sage. â€Å"Is it possible for us to save Fel ‘s Church? Do we have enough time?† â€Å"Eh bien. As far as I can tel from the chronological vortex, you have enough time and a little to spare. Enough for a glass of Black Magic to see you off. But after that, no dawdling!† Elena felt like a crumpled piece of paper that had been straightened and smoothed. She took a long breath. They could do it. That allowed her to remember civilized behavior. â€Å"Sage, how did you get stuck way out here? Or were you waiting for us?† â€Å"Helas, no – I am assigned here as punishment. I got an Imperial Summons that I could not ignore, mes amis.†He sighed and added, â€Å"I am just Out of Favor again. So now I am the ambassador to the Nether World, as you see.†He waved a languid hand around the room. â€Å"Bienvenue.† Elena had a sense of time ticking away, of precious minutes being lost. But maybe Sage himself would do something for Fel ‘s Church. â€Å"You real y have to stay in here?† â€Å"But assuredly, until mon pre – my father† – Sage said the word savagely and resentful y – â€Å"relents and I am al owed to return to the Infernal Court, or, much better, to go my ways without ever returning. At least until someone takes the pity on me and kil s me.†He looked inquiringly around the group, then sighed, and said, â€Å"Saber and Talon, they are well?† â€Å"They were when we left,†Elena said, itching to get on with their real business here. â€Å"Bien,† Sage said, looking at her kindly, â€Å"but we should have your entire group in here for the viewing, no?† Elena glanced at the doors and then again at Stefan, but Sage was already cal ing – both with voice and telepathy – â€Å"Damon, mon poussinet, do you not want to come in with your comrades?† There was a long pause, and then the doors opened and a very sul en Damon stepped in. He wouldn't reply to Sage's friendly, â€Å"Bienvenue,† instead saying, â€Å"I didn't come here to socialize. I want to see the treasures in time to save Fel ‘s Church. I haven't forgotten about the damned hick town, even if everyone else has.† â€Å"Alors maintenant,† Sage said, looking wounded. â€Å"You have al passed the tests in your way and may look upon the treasures. You may even use magic again, although I am not sure that it wil help you. It al depends upon which treasure you seek. Felicitations! â€Å" Everyone but Damon made some gesture of embarrassment. â€Å"Now,†Sage continued, â€Å"I must show each gate to you before you can pick. I wil try to be quick, but be cautious, s'il vous pla?t. Once you choose a treasure, that is the only door that wil open again for any of you.† Elena found herself clutching at Stefan's hand – which was already reaching for hers – as one by one the doors shone with a faint, silvery light. â€Å"Behind you,†said Sage, â€Å"is the very gate you entered to get into this room, yes? But next to it, ah†¦Ã¢â‚¬ A door brightened to show an impossible cavern. Impossible because of the gems lying on the ground or sticking out of the cave wal s. Rubies, diamonds, emeralds, amethysts†¦each one as big as Elena's fist, lying thick in great piles for the taking. â€Å"It's beautiful, but†¦no, of course!†she said firmly, and reached out to put a hand on Bonnie's shoulder. The next door lit up, brightened, then brightened more so that it seemed to disappear. â€Å"And here,†Sage sighed, â€Å"is the famous kitsune paradise.† Elena could feel her eyes widen. It was a sunny day in the most beautiful park she had ever seen. In the background a little waterfal spil ed into a creek, which ran down a green hil , while directly in front of her was a stone bench, just the size for two, underneath a tree that looked like a cherry in ful bloom. Blossoms were flying in a breeze that rustled other cherry and peach trees nearby – causing a rain of dawn-colored petals. Although Elena had only seen the place for a moment, it already seemed familiar to her. She could just walk into it†¦ â€Å"No, Stefan!†She had to touch his arm. He had been walking right into the garden. â€Å"What?†he said, shaking his head like someone in a dream. â€Å"I don't know what happened. It just seemed as if I were going to an old, old home†¦Ã¢â‚¬ His voice broke off. â€Å"Sage, go on, please!† The next door was already lighting, showing a scene with rack after rack of Clarion Loess Black Magic wine. In the distance, Elena could make out a vineyard with lush grapes hanging heavily, fruit that would never see the light of the sun until it was made into a famous liquid. Everyone was already sipping at their glasses of Black Magic, so it was easy to say â€Å"no†even to the luscious grapes. As the next door brightened Elena heard herself gasp. It was bril iant midday. Growing in a field as far as she could see were tal bushes thick with long-stemmed roses – the blossoms of which were a velvety-looking black. Startled, she saw that everyone was looking at Damon, who had taken a step toward the roses as if involuntarily. Stefan put an arm out, barring his way. â€Å"I didn't look very closely,†Damon said, â€Å"but I think these are the same as the one I†¦destroyed.† Elena turned to Sage. â€Å"They're the same, aren't they?† â€Å"But yes,†Sage said, looking unhappy. â€Å"These are al Midnight roses, noir pur – the sort in the white kitsune's bouquet. But these are al blanks. The kitsune are the only ones who can put spel s on them – like the removal of the curse of a vampire.† There was a general sigh of disappointment among his listeners, but Damon just looked more sul en. Elena was about to speak up, to say that Stefan shouldn't be put through this, when she tuned in to Sage's words and the next gate, and felt a surge of simple, selfish longing herself. â€Å"I suppose you would cal it ‘ La Fontaine of Eternal Youth and Life,'†Sage said. Elena could see an ornate fountain playing, the effervescent spray at the top making a rainbow. Smal butterflies of al colors flew around it, alighting on the leaves of the bower that cradled it in greenery. Meredith, with her cool head and straightforward logic wasn't there, so Elena dug her nails into her palms and cried â€Å"No! Next one!†as quickly and forceful y as she could. Sage was speaking again. She made herself listen. â€Å"The Royal Radhika Flower, which legends say was stolen from the Celestial Court many mil ennia ago. It changes shape.† A simple enough thing to say†¦but actual y to see it†¦ Elena watched in astonishment as a dozen or so thick, twining stems, topped by gorgeous white cal a lily blossoms, trembled slightly. The next instant she was looking at a cluster of violets with velvet leaves and a drop of dew shining on a petal. A moment later, the stems were topped with radiant mauve snapdragons – with the dewdrop Stillin place. Before she could remember not to reach out and touch them, the snapdragons had become deep, ful y open red roses. When the roses became some exotic golden flower that Elena had never seen, she had to turn her back. She found herself bumping into a hard, masculine, bare chest while forcing herself to think realistical y. Midnight was coming – and not in the form of a rose. Fel ‘s Church needed al the help it could get and here she was staring at flowers. Abruptly, Sage swung her off her feet and said, â€Å"What a temptation, especial y for a lover of la beaute like you, belle madame. What a foolish rule to keep you from taking just a bud! But there is something even higher and more pure than beauty, Elena. You, you are named for it. In old Greek, Elena means ‘light'! The darkness is coming fast – the Last, Everlasting Midnight! Beauty wil not hold it back; it is a bagatel e, a trinket, useless in times of disaster. But light, Elena, light wil conquer the darkness! I believe this as I believe in your courage, your honesty, and your gentle, loving heart.† With that, he kissed her on the forehead and set her down. Elena was dazed. Of al the things she knew, she knew best that she could not defeat the darkness that was coming – not alone. â€Å"But you're not alone,†Stefan whispered, and she realized that he was right beside her, and that she must be wide open, projecting her thoughts as clearly as if she were speaking. â€Å"We're al here with you,†Bonnie said in a voice twice her size. â€Å"We're not afraid of the dark.† There was a pause while everyone tried not to look at Damon. At last he said, â€Å"Somehow I got talked into this insanity – I'm Stillwondering how it happened. But I've come this far and I'm not going to turn around now.† Sage turned toward the final door and it brightened. Not by much, however. It looked like the shady underside of a very large tree. What was odd, though, was that there was nothing at allgrowing under it. No ferns or bushes or seedlings, not even the normal y ever-present creepers and weeds. There were a few dead leaves on the ground, but otherwise it was just dirt. Sage said, â€Å"A planet with only one corporeal form of life upon it. The Great Tree that covers an entire world. The crown covers al but the natural freshwater lakes it needs to survive.† Elena looked into the heart of the twilit world. â€Å"We've come so far, and maybe together – maybe we can find the star bal that wil save our town.† â€Å"This is the door you pick?†asked Sage. Elena looked at the rest of the group. They al seemed to be waiting for her confirmation. â€Å"Yes – and right now. We have to hurry.†She made a motion as if to put her cup down and it disappeared. She smiled thanks at Sage. â€Å"Strictly speaking, I shouldn't give you any help,†he said. â€Å"But if you have a compass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena had one. It was always dangling from her backpack because she was always trying to read it. Sage took the compass in his hand and lightly traced a line on it. He gave the compass back to Elena and she found that the needle no longer pointed to the north, but at an angle northeast. â€Å"Fol ow the arrow,†he said. â€Å"It wil take you to the trunk of the Great Tree. If I had to guess at where to find the largest star bal , I would go this way. But be wary! Others have tried this path. Their bodies have nourished the Great Tree – as fertilizer.† Elena scarcely heard the words. She had been terrified at the thought of searching an entire planet for a star bal . Of course, it might be a very smal world, like†¦like†¦ Like the little diamond moon you saw over the Nether World? The voice in Elena's mind was both familiar and not. She glanced at Sage, who smiled. Then she looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to take the first step. She took it.

Gandhi Concept of Development

GANDHI’S WAY Decentralization According to Gandhi, modern civilization was responsible for impoverishing the Indian villages, which occupied a pivotal position in the Indian situation. Gandhi has always been a critic of the centralization of economic and political power. Large scale production inevitably led to concentration of economic and political power. Labor and material, production and distribution became the monopoly of the few rich. Such a concentration of economic power resulted in corresponding centralization of political power.Aldous Huxley, in his  Science,  Liberty  and  Peace, drew attention to this universal tendency of modern technology: â€Å"The centralizing of industrial capacity in big, mass-producing factories has resulted in the centralization of a large part of the population in cities and the reduction of ever-increasing numbers of individuals to complete dependence upon a few private capitalists and their managers, or upon the public capitalis t, the state, represented by politicians and working through civil servants.So far as liberty is concerned, there is little to choose between the two types of bosses. â€Å"14   One of the recurring themes in the writings and pronouncements of Gandhi is this centralizing tendency of technology: â€Å"I want the concentration of wealth, not in the hands of few but in the hands of all. Today machinery merely helps a few to ride on the backs of millions. â€Å"15  Again he said, â€Å"What is industrialism but a control of the majority by the small minority? â€Å"16   The solution to the problem of centralization consists in decentralization of political and economic power.Small-scale, manageable techniques, capable of being handled by individual producers, the co-operatives in the villages or the region should be given priority and promoted on a mass scale for the benefit of the masses. Gandhi, though judged wrongly by many, was not advocating a return to medieval techniqu es. He vehemently opposed the indiscriminate multiplication of large-scale industries which obstructed village development. He wanted technological research to be village-oriented, perfecting the cottage and village industries. When every village should be able to own its own technology, economic power will be diffused and the illage will emerge in the Gandhian scheme as the nucleus of social life. Decentralization of economic power will result in the decentralization of political power. Modern technology will no more be in a position to exploit the village. A proper balance between agriculture and industry will be established and, in due course, the village will exert a transformative influence. Production will be regulated by the needs of the village. Pyarelal has very lucidly described this relationship: Agriculture in this set-up will go hand in hand with industry.Such products of the village, as they enter into the daily consumption of the villagers or as they are needed for th eir cottage crafts, will be processed in the village itself; the surplus alone being sent out to the cities in exchange for services and goods on a fair and equitable basis. Cities will serve as emporia for village products instead of the villages being used as a dumping ground for the manufactured goods of the cities. Machines will not be abolished. On the contrary, the people will have many more of them. But these machines will be simple machines which the people can themselves operate and own individually or collectively. 7 This relationship between agriculture and industry, village and city, will stop exploitation and bring self-sufficiency. For him it was imperative that sufficiency should start from below, i. e. , from the village and then upward to the regional level. In Gandhi’s own words: My idea of village  Swaraj  is that it is a complete republic, independent of its neighbors for its own vital wants, and yet interdependent for many others which dependence is a necessity. Thus, every village’s first concern will be to grow its own food and cotton for its cloth. It should have a reserve for its cattle.Then, if there is more land available, it will grow useful money crops, thus excluding ganja, tobacco, opium and the like. 18 His village is self-sufficient in vital wants, but interdependent in many other spheres. Interdependence, while maintaining the independence of the village, is the keynote of Gandhi’s approach to village life. Society: Not a Pyramid, but an Oceanic Circle Gandhi described the organization of the society in the form of an ‘oceanic circle’. In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever-widening but never-ascending circles.Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose center will be the individual always ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the circle of villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral units. Therefore, the outmost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle, but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it. 19He believed that all power resided in the people and that it should also originate from the people. The dynamo of power in a country like India should be the village. The village was to be a knot in a system of oceanic circles in which the remotest circle derived its strength from the center, i. e. , the individual. This would mean that sovereignty was not to remain concentrated at any one level. It was to be diffused among units rising horizontally till they reached the national level. In terms of political science, the residuary power remained with the village and the center was there to co-ordinate the work.Gandhi believed in Thoreau’s saying, â€Å"that governmen t is the best which governs the least. â€Å"20 Charkha (Spinning-Wheel): Hope of Rural Masses The message of the spinning-wheel is to â€Å"replace the spirit of exploitation by the spirit of service. The dominant note in the West is the note of exploitation. I have no desire that our country should copy that spirit or that note. â€Å"21   Gandhi again maintains: â€Å"I do feel that it [Charkha] has a message for the U. S. A. and the whole world. But it cannot be until India has demonstrated to the world that it has made the spinning-wheel its own, which it has not done today.The fault is not of the wheel. I have not the slightest doubt that the saving of India and of the world lies in the wheel. If India becomes the slave of the machine, then, I say, heaven save the world. â€Å"22   Hence, the message of the spinning-wheel is â€Å"much wider than its circumference. Its message is one of simplicity, service of mankind, living so as not to hurt others, creating an indi ssoluble bond between the rich and the poor, capital and labor, the prince and the peasant. That larger message is naturally for all. 23   Gandhi felt convinced that â€Å"the revival of hand-spinning and hand-weaving would make the largest contribution to the economic and the moral regeneration of India. The millions must have a simple industry to supplement agriculture. Spinning was the cottage industry years ago, and if the millions are to be saved from starvation, they must be enabled to introduce spinning in their homes, and every village must repossess its own weaver. â€Å"24  He wanted to make the spinning-wheel the center of all handicrafts. The spinning-wheel was a symbol of hope to the masses.The masses lost their freedom, such as it was, with the loss of the  charkha. The  charkhasupplemented the agriculture of the villagers and gave it dignity. It was the friend and solace of the widow. It kept the villagers from idleness. For the  charkhaincluded all the an terior and posterior industries B ginning, carding, wrapping, sizing, dyeing and weaving. These in their turn kept the village carpenter and blacksmith busy. The  charkha  enabled the seven hundred thousand villages to become self-contained. With the exit of the  charkha  went the other village industries, such as the oil press.Nothing took the place of these industries. Therefore, the villages were drained of their varied occupations and their creative talent which brought them meager income to supplement their limited source of income. Hence, it was suggested that the revival of  charkha  would result in making the villages economically self-sufficient. Gandhi had no doubt in his mind that the wheel could serve as the instrument of earning one’s livelihood and, at the same time, enable the worker to render useful service to his neighbors. In order to ply the wheel intelligently, he should know all the processes that precede and succeed spinning.This conviction d awned upon Gandhi even before he came to India, that the revival of hand-spinning alone could restore India to its pristine glory. He compared the spinning-wheel to the sun around which the solar system of the village economy revolved. It provided the golden bridge between the rich and the poor. Swadeshi: Antidote to Modernization Gandhi said that  Swadeshi  would mean that one should not serve one’s distant neighbor at the expense of the nearest. It is never vindictive or punitive. It is in no sense narrow, because it buys from every part of the world what is needed for our growth.We must refuse to buy from anyone anything, however nice or beautiful, if it interferes with our growth. Gandhi bought useful and thought provoking literature from every part of the world. One could buy surgical instruments from England, pins and pencils from Austria and watches from Switzerland. But one should not buy an inch of the finest cotton fabric from England or Japan or any other part of the world, because it could be easily made in India and to buy it from elsewhere would hurt the sentiments of those who work for their livelihood.Hence, Gandhi held it to be sinful for anyone to refuse to buy the cloth spun and woven by the needy millions of India’s paupers and to buy foreign cloth, although it may be superior in quality to the Indian hand-spun. â€Å"My  Swadeshi, therefore, chiefly centers round the hand  Khaddar  and extends to everything that can be and is produced in India. â€Å"25 Soul-Force: The Secret of Success Gandhi wanted to popularize the use of soul-force, which is but another name for the force of love, in place of brute-force. â€Å"Having flung aside the sword, there is nothing except the cup of love which I can offer to those who oppose me.It is by offering that cup that I expect to draw them close to me. I cannot think of permanent enmity between man and man, and believing as I do in the theory of rebirth, I live in the hope th at, if not in this birth, in some other birth, I shall be able to hug all humanity in friendly embrace. â€Å"26   Chapter 17, the most important chapter in the whole book of  Hind Swaraj  starts with the question whether there is any historical evidence of â€Å"any nation having risen through soul-force. â€Å"27  According to Gandhi, Tulsidas is a better guide here than are the Indian princes.Tulsidas and such other Acharyas taught that  daya(compassion) is the true ultimate basis of  Dharma  (duty) and, therefore, also of the  Dharma  that should govern the  Praja  (the ordinary people). However widespread the use of brute-force may have been in history, it is no reason to doubt the validity of the counter thesis. If the story of the universe had commenced with wars, not a man would have been found alive today. . . . Therefore, the greatest and the most unimpeachable evidence of the success of this force is to be found in the fact that, in spite of the w ars of the world, it still lives on. . . Hundreds of nations live in peace. . . . History is really a record of every interruption of the even working of the force of love or the soul. 28 Gandhi believed that Indian civilization had the potential to give to the world a way to achieve freedom without bloodshed and violence. To achieve this we have to develop the right relationship between  daya  (compassion) and national interest. The error of modern nationalism had been to take for granted that national interest divorced from  daya  is the ultimate principle of national conduct.He sees the distinct possibility of the national elite B the doctors, the lawyers, and the modern professional class taken as a whole B acting in their own interest, and exploiting, deceiving and oppressing the people at large in the name of the nation. They would be able to act in the interest of the  Praja  only if their nationalism is founded on the principle of  daya. For this one has to und ergo a process of inner liberation  (chhutkara). Gandhi shows how one can achieve this inner liberation. He now identifies the nation with the elite who are eager to have Home Rule.He insists that the elite have to undergo genuine moral transformation. For this they have to be imbued with a deep sense of real nationalism which is different from what the modern nationalism depicts. He wants them to be imbued with real love and to experience the soul-force within themselves. Only those who have undergone such interior transformation can speak to the English without fear or hatred. Only such transformed Indian nationals can really understand the threat posed by modern civilization and the promise held by Indian civilization. Swaraj: An Eternal Quest and Perennial ChallengeOne has to understand the true meaning of  Swaraj. In the first place,  Swaraj  is a mental condition of: (i) inner liberation from the temptations of greed and power offered by modern civilization, (ii) freed om from hatred towards the national ‘enemy,’ the British, and (iii) active love for the Indian  Praja, a love that can conquer the temptations of greed and power. Secondly,  Swaraj  is an external condition of: (i) political independence from alien domination, and (ii) life-long dedication to the task of improving the material conditions of poverty and caste oppression of the Indian  Praja.In concrete terms,  Swaraj  requires one to take a stand on brute-force and soul-force. â€Å"If there be only one such Indian,† Gandhi affirms, â€Å"the English will have to listen to him. â€Å"29   Attaining national liberation is not so much a matter of getting rid of the British as getting rid of the fascination for modern civilization which teaches the Indian elite to exploit and oppress the Indian  Praja  and establish their superiority.We have to liberate ourselves from the evils of modern civilization and fill our hearts with  daya,satya  (trut h) and  ahimsa  (non-violence). Only then would we become morally fit to deal both with the British and with the Indian people. Unless and until we are healed of the chronic sickness of imitating the West, ignoring our own age old tradition and cultural heritage, we will not be able to face any one else.

Significance of Gender in Romeo and Juliet

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the Montagues and the Capulets have very different relationships with their children. A major reason for this, as well as much of the conflict in the tale, comes from the gender roles that Romeo and Juliet are expected to play into. Adding to that conflict is the fact that both Romeo and Juliet push the boundaries of these roles and struggle to fit into them. Romeo plays the over emotional lover, while Juliet is clever and dominant. Throughout the play we can see that both Romeo and Juliet have to struggle with the people around them because they are not acting within their respective gender roles. One of the first moments in the play where Romeo’s non-normative attitude towards love is addressed directly is when Mercutio, in Act 2 Scene 4, reflects on Romeo and Rosaline. â€Å"Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? / now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo; now art / thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature† (2. 4. 20). Mercutio is excited to have his friend ‘back’. In the the last two lines of this quote, Mercutio implies that not worrying over love is normal. That, in hanging with the boys and not following his wild emotions, Romeo is being what Romeo ought to be,â€Å"art as well as by nature†. The implication here is that the way he was reacting before to Rosaline is not natural. This lovelorn that overpowers all else Romeo feels comes back much harder with Juliet. Mercutio’s comment about Rosaline infers the abnormality of Romeo. This seed that is planted in the mind of the audience can then take root and be even more noticeable without Mercutio commenting on it directly with Juliet. In the first scene of Act 3, Romeo struggles with his masculinity versus his love. When he chooses not to fight Tybalt with Juliet in mind, Romeo open questions his own masculinity. He is after all, a part of this society and surely recognizes, to a certain extent, the unusualness of his feelings. â€Å"†¦O sweet Juliet, / Thy beauty hath made me effeminate / And in my temper soften'd valour's steel! † (3. 1. 7) To Romeo, it is as if Juliet’s beauty has him bewitched. He doesn’t put the blame on himself or even her, but her beauty. He is giving life to it, admitting that it subdues him. By attributing Juliet’s beauty with such a powerful presence, Romeo is only underlining his romantic nature. Several other characters make note of Romeo’s feminine/emotional nature. The Nurse and The Friar are two of the more observant characters in the play. In Act 3, Scene 3, when talking of Romeo, The Nurse says, â€Å"Stand up, stand up; stand, and you be a man: / For Juliet's sake, for her sake, rise and stand† (3. 3. 3). She is saying that Romeo needs to be less emotional, that it is taking away from his manhood. Later on in the same scene, the Friar tells Romeo to stop crying, that it makes him look like a girl. â€Å"Hold thy desperate hand: / Art thou a man? thy form cries out thou art: / Thy tears are womanish†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3. 3. 4). Throughout the whole play, Romeo is picked on for his emotional way of life. His unusually demeanor could also be his fatal flaw. Early on in the play, when Romeo and his friends sneak into the Capulet party, Capulet speaks highly of Romeo, and tells Tybalt not to cause trouble. There is a kindness in his tone that cannot help to make one think that perhaps if Romeo approached Capulet and asked to marry Juliet, th at Capulet might have said yes. But he doesn’t do this, and there is no way of really knowing what Capulet would have said. Romeo’s struggle with people not accepting how he doesn’t really fit the mold is not as definitively consequential as Juliet’s. No one is telling Romeo what to do, Lady Montague doesn’t want him to be involved in fighting, but no one is trying to determine the rest of his life for him. Juliet’s struggle isn’t a social conflict. She isn’t being made fun of by her friends, or criticized casually by the people around her. She is being controlled and pushed towards life commitments that she wants no part of. Romeo has a lot at stake, emotionally, but the rest of Juliet’s life is at stake. In one of her first moments with her mother, this conflict is explicitly shown, â€Å"LADY CAPULET: Marry, that ‘marry' is the very theme /I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, / How stands your disposition to be married? JULIET: It is an honour that I dream not of. † (1. 3. 4) Lady Capulet reflects the societal expectations. And although Juliet’s line has no huge impact on Lady Capulet, it does foreshadow her relationship with the world. And inevitably, one side will have to give in. There is a distinct change we see in how Juliet’s father treats her during the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, when Paris asks for Juliet’s hand in marriage, Capulet says that in the end the decision is hers to make, â€Å"â€Å"But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, / My will to her consent is but a part; / An she agree, within her scope of choice / Lies my consent and fair according voice. † (1. 2. 2) He is telling Paris that he has his blessing, but he must woo Juliet because her consent is important to him. This gives the impression that Capulet is a kind, non-restrictive, even liberal parent. But later on in the play, when Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Capulet really loses his temper at her, â€Å"How now, how now, chop-logic! What is this? / ‘Proud,' and ‘I thank you,' and ‘I thank you not;' / And yet ‘not proud,' mistress minion, you, / Thank me no thankings, nor, proud me no prouds, / But fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next, / To go with Paris to Saint Peter's Church, / Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. / Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage! / You tallow-face! † (3. 5. 3) What happened to his earlier attitude? One could argue that Capulet is, in fact, not a very thoughtful liberal father, but sees himself as one because his daughter, Juliet, is for the most part a good kid. And she has never really disobeyed him before. This sign of independence and disrespect is too much for him and his true controlling nature is revealed. The parts of Juliet’s home life that seem supportive and loving only remain as such while she is doing what others want her to do. As soon as she makes a decision for herself, all of that support is taken away. Capulet commands her to marry Paris or be kicked out of his house. If Juliet was a boy, or if she wasn’t pushed into the role of the girl than these problems would not come up. Romeo and Juliet defy their families. They put aside the quarrel that takes up so much energy and violence. Romeo ignores his friends in chasing after Juliet, and Juliet battles with her parents. Their marriage is a rebellion against both Houses. Both characters do not fit into the gender roles that other characters expect of them. It is this shared defiance that holds them together, but also that ruins them. If neither one had expectations put on them, then Juliet wouldn’t have had to marry Paris. But the shared deviance and secretive nature to their relationship is a large part of what gave them such passion. Shakespeare is examining the roles men and women are asked to play in society, asking us to think about the consequences.

Solving Mathematical Problems Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Solving Mathematical Problems - Math Problem Example At the top of my diagram I had colored five colored dots represent each person in the room. The first person was the red dot. The first person can't shake hands with himself but can shake hands with everyone else. So under the red dot I put a blue dot, a green dot, a yellow dot, and a purple dot. The second person can't shake hands with themselves and already shook hands with the first person. Under the blue dot I put a green dot, a yellow dot, and a purple dot. The third person can't shake hands with themselves and they already shook hands with the first two people. I put a yellow dot and a purple dot under the green dot. The fourth person can't shake hands with themselves and they already shook hands with the first three people, so I only put a purple dot under the yellow dot. Now the fifth person shook hands with everyone, so I didn't put any dots under the purple dot. I counted the dots in each column under the 5 dots on top and added them together to get a total of 10 handshakes . This is what my diagram looked like. After I made this diagram I noticed a pattern. When there were five people in the room I added up all the numbers under 5, so it was 4+3+2+1. When there were six people in the room I added up all the numbers less than 6, so it was 5+4+3+2+1. ... I used this rule to see how many handshakes there would be with even more people. By looking at all these numbers I noticed a shortcut. Every time you go to find the number of handshakes for one more person in a room, you just add one less than the total number of people to the previous total number of handshakes. Using this rule to find the number of handshakes for 14 people you can add 13 to 78, which is 91. That's a lot easier than adding 13+12+11+10+9 and so on all over again. Another pattern I noticed is that the number of handshakes for 5 people was 5 times 2, the number of handshakes for 6 people was 6 times 2.5, the number of handshakes for 7 people was 7 times 3, and the number to be multiplied kept increasing by half. To find out how many handshakes would happen in a room with 100 people, maybe I could use this rule to see what number I should multiply 100 by, instead of adding 100+99+98+97 and so on all the way down to 1. I started another table to see what number I needed to multiply 100 by. Once I got to 21 I saw from the numbers in the table that you can get the number to multiply by subtracting one from the number of people then dividing by two. For 100 people in the room, then, you can subtract 1, which is 99, then divide by 2, which is 49.5. This means that to see how many handshakes would happen in a room of 100 people you just have to multiply 100 times 49.5. The total number of handshakes is 4950. Even though patterns make things a lot easier, they aren't good if they aren't accurate. To make sure my rule was right I used a calculator to add 99+98+97+96 and so on all the way down to 1. Sure enough, it added up to 4950.

In the play Death of a Salesmen What is Miller's definition of the Essay

In the play Death of a Salesmen What is Miller's definition of the American Dream What does Miller suggest that the Am - Essay Example Throughout the text Arthur Miller never openly states his concept of the American Dream, instead demonstrating fallacies surrounding this concept. Still, it’s clear that in considering the cynical elements in relation to their positive converse, one is able to articulate a concept of Miller’s American Dream. In one of the most crucial scenes in the play, Willy Loman asks his boss for a raise. In a desperate plea to convince Howard, Loman relays an anecdotal tale. He states, And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ’Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? (Miller Act II, scene ii). This is a complex statement. In some regards, one can argue that Miller is implementing a touch of comedic irony in Loman’s overly enthusiastic support for his t raveling salesman job. However, in another context the job represents for Loman a partial realization of the American Dream. In this profession he has found a meaningful means of procuring a living.

How the civil rights movement affected Greensboro NC Research Paper

How the civil rights movement affected Greensboro NC - Research Paper Example The extent of the segregation was very significant that it was even evidenced among the dead with the bodies of the whites and those of blacks required to be buried on different cemeteries (Greene 43). These laws humiliated the African Americans and they started the path to rejecting the laws in the 1930s although the impact was minimal until the nineteen 1960 when the protests and Civil Rights movements became a national issue. In 1960, a series of events were evidenced in North Carolina that played a significant role towards the beginning of Civil Rights Movement with the events gaining national recognition. These events include the Greensboro Sit-in as well as Ku Klux Klan Versus Communist Workers Party in 1979 among others. Other groups that played a significant role towards Civil Rights Movements in North Carolina include the HBCU evidenced in A&T and Bennet proving vital in the struggle of integration throughout the region. Before embarking on the one of the events that occurred in North Carolina to spark the Civil Rights Movement in the region, it is important to note that those events received sponsorships from various organizations. The sponsorships ensured the activities of the civil rights movements remained energize and effectively organized while also remaining focused (Greene 129). These groups includes The Congress Racial Equality that is associated with sponsoring Freedom Rides through 1961together with black as well as white bus riders in Greyhounds and Trailways buses who challenged segregation among others. Inspiration was also drawn from civil rights leaders among them Doctor Martin Luther King JR who advocated for non-violent as well as peaceful protests. The first major event during the year 1960 refers to the Greensboro Sit-ins that played a significant role in provoking all sorts of emotions across the nation as they received national wide focus and remain a significant part of the American civil