Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers

Of mice and men is a novel about two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who go to work on a ranch in California together. Lennie is a massive man with incredible strength but has a child's mind. George is a fairly sized man who is not incredibly brilliant but has good common sense. The two men travel from town to town and job to job to just get by and survive. But they dream of saving up enough money to someday get a place of their own where they "won't have to answer to no one" and "live off the fatta the land" Lennie dreams of having rabbits of his own that he can take care of all by himself. The ranch they go to work at is in Soledad, California. When they arrive, they go to their bunk house, where they meet Candy. Candy is an old, weathered man who has been working on the ranch for years. He befriends George and Lennie and they confide to him their dreams of having their own place. Candy tells them that he has saved up a descent sum of money and asks if he can tag along in the adventure if he pays his share. Another man on the ranch, Slim, gives Lennie a puppy to play with but Lennie, feebleminded and sweet attempts to love even the gentlest of creatures, but, as he only has a childlike understanding of his enormous strength, the results are often tragic. Curly is the boss's son, and sensing Lennie's simple mind, he attempts to intimidate and antagonize him not anticipating his strength. He hits Lennie because he thinks Lennie is teasing him. Lennie tries to resist fighting as long as he can but after suffering many blows to the face from Curly, he grabs Curly's hand and squeezes it so hard it breaks every bone in it. Curly's wife is a beautiful woman who is always lonely and attempts to receive "love" through the attention of other men. In Curly's seductive wife, Lennie sees a beautiful and innocent creature, like the small animals he attempts to love. Though she seeks to take advantage of his innocence, she cannot know that his strength coupled with his naivete is, for her, a dangerous combination. She comes into the barn one day when Lennie has just killed the puppy given to him by Slim because he played too hard with it.

Acid Rain :: essays research papers fc

Acid Rain INTRODUCTION: Acid rain is a great problem in our world. It causes fish and plants to die in our waters. As well it causes harm to our own race as well, because we eat these fish, drink this water and eat these plants. It is a problem that we must all face together and try to get rid of. However acid rain on it's own is not the biggest problem. It cause many other problems such as aluminum poisoning. Acid Rain is deadly. WHAT IS ACID RAIN? Acid rain is all the rain, snow, mist etc that falls from the sky onto our planet that contains an unnatural acidic. It is not to be confused with uncontaminated rain that falls, for that rain is naturally slightly acidic. It is caused by today's industry. When products are manufactured many chemicals are used to create it. However because of the difficulty and cost of properly disposing of these products they are often emitted into the atmosphere with little or no treatment. The term was first considered to be important about 20 years ago when scientists in Sweden and Norway first believed that acidic rain may be causing great ecological damage to the planet. The problem was that by the time that the scientist found the problem it was already very large. Detecting an acid lake is often quite difficult. A lake does not become acid over night. It happens over a period of many years, some times decades. The changes are usually to gradual for them to be noticed early. At the beginning of the 20th century most rivers/lakes like the river Tovdal in Norway had not yet begun to die. However by 1926 local inspectors were noticing that many of the lakes were beginning to show signs of death. Fish were found dead along the banks of many rivers. As the winters ice began to melt off more and more hundreds upon hundreds more dead fish (trout in particular) were being found. It was at this time that scientist began to search for the reason. As the scientists continued to work they found many piles of dead fish, up to 5000 in one pile, further up the river. Divers were sent in to examine the bottom of the rivers. What they found were many more dead fish. Many live and dead specimens were taken back to labs across Norway. When the live specimens were examined they were found to have very little sodium in their blood. This is typical a typical symptom of acid poisoning. The acid had entered the gills of

Divorce in the United States Essay -- Divorce Marriage Relationships E

Divorce in the United States Divorce involves the recognition that a marriage has hopelessly failed and that at least one of the partners has no desire to continue the marital relationship. Divorce legally dissolves a marriage, and permits the partners to remarry if they choose. Divorce differs from an annulment, which declares a marriage invalid because of some flaw in the contract. The early American settlers brought with them three different views on divorce: 1) the Roman Catholic view that marriage was a sacrament and that there could be no divorce; 2) the English view that divorce was a legislative matter; and 3) the Protestant view that marriage and divorce were secular matters to be handled by the civil authorities. The Constitution of the United States did nothing to limit the rights of the states to enact their own laws governing marriage and divorce. Despite several efforts to amend the Constitution, to allow Congress to pass federal legislation on divorce, to this day the states retain separate laws. Because divorce laws vary from state to state, the "migratory divorce" developed: couples would move temporarily to a state where divorce was easier to obtain than at home. For example, a couple living in New York State, where until 1967 the only grounds for divorce was adultery, would establish residence in Nevada - - a procedure that took only 6 weeks -- and file for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty. Popular attitudes toward divorce changed as the United States became more urbanized and less religious. The increasing acceptance of divorce was reflected in court interpretations of existing laws and in new legislation enacted by the states. Two tendencies merged, making possible the establishment of new and easier grounds for divorce. The focus of state divorce, which previously concerned itself with specifying legal grounds for divorce, shifted to criteria concerning the breakdown of the marital relationship. This could be seen in conditions that allowed divorce for alcoholism, drug addiction, or nonsupport. Another tendency permitted divorce if both parties gave of voluntarily separating and living apart for a specified period of time. For example, in 1967, New York allowed divorce for couples who had been legally separated for 2 years, eliminating the search for a guilty party. In 19... ...lo parenting, and stepfamilies / Genevieve Clapp. PUBL.: New York : Wiley, FORMAT: xv, 377 p. ; 23 cm. DATE: 1992 Myers, M. F., Men and Divorce (1989); AUTHOR: Myers, Michael F. TITLE: Men and divorce / Michael F. Myers. PUBL.: New York : Guilford Press, FORMAT: xv, 286 p. ; 24 cm. DATE: 1989 Splinter, John P., The Complete Divorce Recovery Handbook (1992); AUTHOR: Splinter, John P. TITLE: The complete divorce recovery handbook : grief, stress, guilt, children, co-dependence, self-esteem, dating, remarriage/ John P. Splinter. PUBL.: Grand Rapids, Mich. : Zondervan, FORMAT: p. cm. DATE: 1992 Walzac, Yvette, and Burns, Sheila, Children and Divorce (1984). AUTHOR: Teyber, Edward. TITLE: Helping children cope with divorce / Edward Teyber. EDITION: 1st pbk. ed. PUBL.: New York : Lexington Books ; Toronto : Maxwell Macmillan Canada; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International, FORMAT: ix, 221 p. ; 24 cm. DATE: 1994

Kinds of research data Essay

The basic classification of research data is in terms of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative research entails examination of numerical data by using mathematical models and statistical procedures. (Morgan, 2000). Qualitative research involves use of analysis and opinions to explain interviews and documents and understanding the phenomenon. The study requires a qualitative and some quantitative approach rather than a purely numerical one. Data Collection Approaches Data collection approaches can be primary and secondary. Both primary and secondary approaches will be utilized Extensive research will be carried out in the Library as well as on the World Wide Web. Qualitative Research Methodologies Qualitative methodology focuses on â€Å"quality† a term referring to the essence or ambience of something. Qualitative methods are used to understand complex social phenomena. In the present situation, literature survey along with interviews and questionnaires will be the key techniques used for data collection, collation and analysis. Case-Study Research Methodology. Case study in the primary research methodology employed in this study. A case study is an enquiry which uses multiple sources of evidence. It evaluates a contemporary phenomenon in real life context within the boundaries of the phenomenon and when the context is not clearly evident. Potter, (1996) has defined case study as a â€Å"realistic† methodology, which deals with solid and specific questions. Case study translates research objectives into more researchable problems, and provides rich examples, which are easy to comprehend. The significance of case studies is its revealing the meaning of a phenomenon. A peer group case study approach is considered best suited than other techniques to implement this research, as it will concentrate on an empirical, contemporary problem. It will also enable answering the questions as, â€Å"why† and, â€Å"how† to understand the underlying motivations. It will generate empirical data and interesting information specific to the phenomenon under study. Research cases offer a unique tool to testing theory by examining phenomena which are beyond the traditional statistical approaches. (Potter, 1996). Case study research is useful to the aims because the degree to which a case study produces valid and credible information is generally higher than qualitative research in a more general survey. An analysis of the Chinese and UK banking systems is proposed to be carried out with reference to the case study of Bank of China and HSBC, London. Limitations of Case Study One of the limits of case studies is the difficulty of generalizing their findings. If the case design is sound and if the researcher is careful to be explicit about the phenomenon and the context of the study, then results can be generalized.(Potter, 1996). Another limit of case studies is that they generate a lot of information that needs to be logically handled to strengthen the argument presented in order to develop credible conclusion. Research Instruments Primary data is collected for the research study to answer a specific question. Ways of collecting this kind of information includes surveys, observation or controlled experiments. Surveys are one of the most common ways to collect data, where the subject can be contacted through mail, telephone or directly in personal interviews. (Veal, 2000). It entails sending questionnaires, interviews and non-formal enquiries made to people. By carrying out interviews of a significant number of individuals a broad perspective can be provided. This research will collect data by essentially the method of interviews and questionnaires. Data Collection Method Questionnaire Survey Surveys are frequently used to obtain information about social issues. Jones (1997) has described that survey needs planned strategy to gather data. Surveys can be conducted in many ways, over the telephone, by mail or in person. Questionnaire surveys are ideal for providing complex information. Questionnaire involves a sample of the population which can range from few hundreds to few thousands depending on the research study (Veal, 2000). Questionnaire technique has been used in the study. Limitation of the questionnaires On an average the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but a key drawback is low response rate. This will result in low level of confidence and distort the analogy of statistical information. Another weakness of questionnaire is the fact that it is a structured format and allows little room for flexibility with respect to reply by the respondents. Interview Interviews will form an interactive part of this study and will be carried out after the secondary research is done in combination with the questionnaire. When doing these interviews it will be important to keep a neutral view of the research topic, where the actual behavior instead of an intended behavior needs to be identified. Veal (2000) has described interview as a strategy to find out from people about the things, which cannot be observed directly.

A Piece of Peace Essay

The terrorist attacks on September 11th affected more than just the lives of those in people who were the direct victims of the attacks. An entire nation was victimized and the whole nation grieved for those who suffered in New York City. As the attacks occurred I sat in my high school English class and while the teacher taught I day dreamed. It was a typical Tuesday morning and to be truthful I did not ever hear her the first time she explained the tragic events that had taken place just moments ago. I heard the word â€Å"terrorists† and the fragments of statements like â€Å"hundreds died this morning when†. Then, I could only hear my heart beat in my ears. I watched my teacher turn on the TV. She flipped through several stations. I don’t remember what I saw but I can remember what I heard. It was the sound of people crying. Over the next few months, as a nation, we followed the story as did the world. I can remember President Bush attempting to comfort the United States and telling us America would be going to war for reasons that weren’t clear to me then and certainly aren’t clear to me now. Somewhere between the night of September 10th, when I was plotting how I was going to avoid school the next morning and the night of September 11th, I grew up. When I look back on that time in my life I am left with a single haunting thought – It is the pursuit of peace which leads to destruction. Even today, years after the terrorist attacks, people still talk about how that day changed everything. I agree, in some ways. It changed me and I became something new. It changed my family. It changed how American view other Americans and how we view the rest of the world. Americans have since the birth of the nation believed that their way was the best way. Americans were shocked to find out that people hated them enough to want to kill them. September 11th forced America’s to reflect on the military, social, and political actions of America and how they effected people of other countries. Perhaps American’s are not always in the right. For example, President Bush I gave weapons to the Afghan people to win a war against Russia. When the Afghan people defeated the Russian, Afghanistan was completely destroy. American promised them they will help rebuild but they did not. That is why the terrorist were able to come into the country and making a terrorist breeding ground. I don’t think that September 11th effects the way Americans conduct their lives daily. People who say it does are feeling the pressure of guilt. Society says we must not forget, and as Americans say we won’t. As a nation the citizens learned that there is a fine line between terrorist and freedom fighter- we are just afraid to admit it and seem unamerican. Those men who ran planes into building, killed Americans and killed themselves wanted only one thing – peace. They wanted freedom from the western world and choose to die. Just as we wanted independence from England centuries ago. In looking for peace they destroyed lives, families, and shook the protected ground the United States sat on. It made the country stronger but not smarter. I am anxious over the global discord and the cultural ignorance that seems to grow between the United States and the rest of the world. The problems in Iraq foretell and may spark future clashes with a number of civilizations in the future. Just recently I drove home from work and I flipped through different radio stations. I caught the end of Bob Dylan’s â€Å"The Times They Are A-Changing†. It’s funny because that is my mom’s favorite song and I had forgotten it existed. I still can hear her sing, â€Å"Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam / And admit that the waters Around you have grown /For the times they are a-changin’†, while she tinkered around in the kitchen way before anyone else got up. I don’t know that I ever really listened to the words before. Dylan knew and my mom knew things I was just beginning to. Dylan and my mom knew â€Å"there’s a battle outside And it is ragin’† and September 11th did shake our â€Å"windows† and rattled our â€Å"walls†. As a nation it’s citizens have no right to â€Å"criticize What we [you] can’t understand† and our â€Å" sons and [y]our daughters Are beyond our [your] command† (Dylan). Our soldiers fight a war for reasons no one really knows for America that would rather criticize them then help in country that does not seem to want peace. Dylan sings about the injustice in war and that we should not be afraid to speak our minds: Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who That it’s namin’. For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’. (Dylan) Bush wants peace but for his own reasons and through those reasons American soldiers are dying, and so are the Iraqi people. It is ironic that while those terrorists die nobly but ur soldiers die in such a cruel way. McKay writes in his poem, â€Å"If We Must Die,† that people should not die for nothing or by doing nothing. That death is inevitable, especially in war, but all people must fight for the things we want in this world and hold on to life and liberty as long as we can: O kinsmen we must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! (Claude McKay) In the summer of 2001 I was lying in my hammock and I could see a butterfly in my backyard. I remember as a child learning that caterpillars itch and go into cocoons to find peace from that. Change in a way is a form of destruction. To be able to be someone new people have to give up their old selves and move past who they used to bee. When a child develops into an adult, he must give up his toys, his childhood beliefs like believing in Santa Claus. His childhood fantasies must be destroyed if he is to move on. In the years that followed September 11th I could feel myself â€Å"adapt to my new surroundings† (White Line 2). White, through the use of nature explores the scary nature of change: I have to shed my skin again Adapt to my new surroundings become another version of myself. The change within me does not happen overnight but through the evolution of my life (White) I was filled with American’s sense of patriotism and unity. The new American was like â€Å"the first fish that grew tiny legs† (White Line 8). Christine White’s poem, â€Å"Molting† reminded me that it was not just me that grew up, the United States did too. White’s point of view is that change is not a bad thing and is inevitable. Nearly every person around the country joined together as one united entity to pay tribute and homage to all the fallen heroes. There was a sense of harmony and peace. In way I think America, even those the terrorist attacks were tragic, knew that such an event was needed if we were going to â€Å"shed our [my] skin† (White Line 1) and become a stronger nation. As time goes by and my bad memories fade I remember America in it’s full glory. Watching the cumulative effect of humanity shining through the fire and smoke. I remember how many people spoke about the importance of peace and understanding. I wonder if there can be peace if Americans are divide both support and protest our soldiers in Iraq. The war over there caused a war here between Americans. It is the protesters protest protesters on both sides of the issues – each wanting peace in their own way. People who do not want our soldiers fighting in Iraq believe that they would be peace if America stopped butting into everyone’s business. People who are for the war in Iraq believe peace will only come after the destruction of all terrorists. In the end these protesters (on both sides) are destroying the morale and lives of people fighting in the Iraq war and are disgracing the memories of those that died. The price of peace is extremely high especially because Americans do not know if we can ever have it. I do know that â€Å"The line it is drawn The curse it is cast / The slow one now Will later be fast / As the present now Will later be past† (Dylan). I do know that America must hold her ground against the terrorists. Americans will not be tyrannized and forced to live like cowards. Even when we face â€Å"the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! † (McKay Line 14). The American fight for freedom and peace has also managed to destroy our economy. Oil prices increased, the value of the American dollar decreased, and the stock market bottomed out. When Clinton was President the stock market was well over 10,000 after 9/11 it drop well under 8000. President Bush spent the Clinton Surplus on military, and it is just now in 2006 that the stock has become stabilized. I think that our economy will emerge from this disaster and become strong once again like it was before the attacks. In the pursuit of peace and destruction, people in Americans have finally understood their place in society and were back â€Å"in the sun† (White Line 10). Not as a not as a bystanders but an active and willing participants. Americans realize that there needs to be a great deal of change and those changes have started. American citizens encourage our â€Å"senators, congressmen Please heed the call / Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall† (Dylan). And governmental officials are making changes. I think our nation needs to help a new generation of people realize that aftermath of that day when humans lives were lost and America’s unique humanity and independence was demonstrated. This generation’s hearts were opened and turned around in the wake of airplane crashes. On September 11, 2001 many people lost their lives because men were seeking their own personal peace. Daily our soldiers are destroyed one by one for the goal of peace. The American economy struggles because of the war for peace against terrorism. Americans fight Americans over whether we should be in Iraq or not which tears apart soldiers’ pride. Before that Tuesday in September, I never thought about life and death. I never considered the consequences of war and the denial of freedoms. Now that I am older, I realize that September 11, 2001 was not just pivotal point for me but America itself. Not since Pearl Harbor had the United States been unexpectedly attacked on it’s own land. Just as families pulled together so did the United States as a whole. As a nation we cried together and we healed together. To actually witness the attacks was life changing but to be part of the healing process was life affirming.

Black People Essay

Tar Baby Toni Morrison’s novel might for some be a novel of cultural awakening. One also might at their first reading and perhaps also by reading the different studies made on Tar Baby, restricted to an interpretation that sees Jadine, Morrison’s protagonist, as woman who has, consciously or unconsciously, lost her â€Å"ancient properties† (305) and internalized the values of a white culture. Jadine has totally disconnected herself from her racial identity and cultural heritage. This reading is supported by the fact that Jadine has got her education in Europe with the financial assistance of Valerian Street (her aunt’s and uncle’s employer). Paraphrasing Marylyn sanders Mobley – the characterization of the protagonist, Jadine, draws attention to a fundamental problem as one that Morrison wants to affirm the self-reliance and freedom of a black woman who makes choices for her own life on her own terms. She also seeks to point out the dangers that can happen to the totally self-reliant if there is no historical connection. While the conflict in Tar Baby is undoubtedly â€Å"between assimilation and cultural nationalism represented by the sealskin coat Ryk has given her and the pie table† (Rayson, 94), the limiting categories which Jadine is continually forced into do not come from the white characters but primarily from the black community in which she finds herself because she (Jadine) has embraced white stereotypes along with white culture. While Valerian is portrayed as the traditional master-figure in the novel, it is actually Son, Sydney and Ondine, and the folk past represented by the different women in different places that try to conquer and dominate Jadine, who retain and represent their culture in the very colour of their skin. On the other hand, one could argue that it is as a result of Jadine’s university education in Europe and her career that further draws her away from her culture and identity and therefore (paraphrasing Mobley in Toni Morrison critical perspectives past and present) contributes significantly to the emotional and spiritual uncertainty that plague her as well as the many different roles that are imposed upon her by her aunt and uncle as well as the ‘society’ that caused her to seek upward social mobility. Sydney and Ondine, Jadine’s uncle and aunt in the novel can be seen as representative of one of the tar pits for Jadine. They do not accept all black people equal in the community in which they live because they employ racial hierarchies. Ondine sees herself as the only woman in the house (209), while Sydney notes more than twice that he is a Philadelphia Negro, â€Å"the proudest people in the race† (61). They seem to have a clear vision of what they want for Jadine their niece. As the story progresses, though, it becomes clearer that it is not actually a question of what they want for Jadine but what they want of her or expect her to do. In addition to them wanting Jadine to provide them safety and credit for their race, Ondine admits by the end of the novel, â€Å"maybe I just wanted her to feel sorry for us [†¦ ] and that’s a lowdown wish if I ever had one† (282). Jadine understands that Sydney and Ondine â€Å"had gotten Valerian to pay her tuition while they sent her the rest† (49) and Ondine keeps reminding that she â€Å"would have stood on her feet all day all night to put Jadine through that school† (193). Ondine sees Jadine as her â€Å"crown† (282), and she and Sydney are continually â€Å"boasting† (49) about Jadine’s success to the point that Margaret calls Ondine â€Å"Mother Superior† (84). In return, they seem to want Jadine to offer them safety for the rest of their lives as Ondine claims that â€Å"Nothing can happen to us as long as she’s here† (102). They are not comfortable with the idea of Jadine marrying Ryk, who is â€Å"white but European which was not as bad as white and American† (48), but they are terrified of her running off with a â€Å"no-count Negro† (193) like Son. Although their views on racial hierarchies seem to alter from time to time, on the outside they seem to want what is best for Jadine. Jadine refute Ondine’s views of black womanhood when she tells her some of the things that are expected of her from society Jadine tells Ondine that: â€Å"I don’t want to learn how to be the kind of woman you’re talking about because I don’t want to be that kind of woman† (282). This, according to Rayson (1998), might be interpreted as Jadine’s â€Å"rejecting the roles of mother, daughter, and woman to stay the tar baby† (Rayson, 95), however it marks her becoming aware of what kind of woman she is by the end of the novel. Jadine‘s inclination toward upward social mobility leads to her separation from the Afro-American roots and the tar quality that Morrison advocates. This kind of flaw in Jadine effectively disqualifies her as a black woman capable of nurturing a family and by large the community. Jadine‘s perception of an ancestral relationship from which she is estranged occurs when she sees an African woman in a Parisian bakery. When she is celebrating her success as model evidenced in her appearance on the cover of Elle, Jadine becomes nervous or perhaps uncomfortable by the African woman in yellow attire. She triggers an identity crisis in Jadine at the moment when she should have felt more secure with her professional achievement assured by beauty and education. In his African woman, Jadine catches a glimpse of beauty, a womanliness, an innate elegance, a nurturer, an authenticity that she had never known before: ? That woman‘s woman – that mother/sister/she/; that unphotographable beauty? (p. 43). By calling the African woman ? that mother/sister/she,? J. Deswal (online source â€Å"Tar Baby- Shodhganga) claims that â€Å"Morrison presents a threefold definition of womanhood which can thrive within the confines of family and community only. The three eggs she balances effortlessly in her ? tar-black fingers? (p. 44) appear to Jadine as if the woman were boasting of her own easy acceptance of womanhood†. Wendy Harding and Jacky Martin in A World of Difference: An Inter-cultural Study of Toni Morrison explain the importance of the African woman‘s presence as such: â€Å"Whereas Jadine has just been rewarded for her conformity to Western ideals of feminity, the African woman suggests a more powerful version of black womanhood. Like some fertility goddess, she holds in her hand the secret of life. She is the mother of the world in whose black hands whiteness appears as something as easily crushed as cared for (71). When Jadine measures herself by the idea of black womanhood that she sees in the African woman the insecurities of her rootless condition surface in her mind. The women in yellow makes Jadine confront her female role and her sexuality†. Jadine sees ? something in her eyes so powerful? (p. 42) that she follows the woman out of the store. The writers also claim that â€Å"As a symbol of repudiation of Jadine‘s westernized lifestyle, the African woman ? looks right at Jadine? (p. 43) and spits on the pavement†. Jadine hates the woman for her spitting, but what she cannot do is escape feeling ? lonely in a way; lonely and inauthentic? as she tells the readers on page 45. When the sense of self is based on the denial of one‘s ethnic roots, one is certain to experience mental chaos and alienation. So, the woman‘s insult to Jadine had the powerful effect of challenging Jadine‘s choices: her white boyfriend, her girlfriends in New York, her parties, her picture on the cover of Elle and the way she lived her life. One can say that it is as a result of the African woman that Jadine desided to visit her aunt and uncle on the island. Jadine is confused and even questions her plans to marry Ryk, her white boyfriend: I wonder if the person he wants to marry is me or a black girl? And if it isn‘t me he wants, but any black girl who looks like me, talks and acts like me, what will happen when he finds out that I hate ear hoops, that I don‘t have to straighten my hair, that Mingus puts me to sleep, that sometimes I want to get out of my skin and be only the person inside – not American – not black – just me? (p. 45) It is through Son, however, that Morrison offers Jadine the ultimate opportunity to ‘redeem’ herself to her heritage, adapt it and revive her womanhood. Son picks up from where the African woman left off in a sense by making Jadine confront her inauthenticity. Jadine and Son enjoys their stay in New York because it is the place where Jadine feels at ease. She feels loved and safe: ? He ‘unorphaned’ her completely and gave her a brand-new childhood? (p. 231). In turn, Son is encouraged by her need and by his apparent ability to redefine Jadine culturally and emotionally. Son insists that he and Jadine goes to Eloe his hometown where Jadine will see how Son is rooted in family and cultural heritage. He attempts to rescue Jadine from her ignorance and disdain for her cultural heritage, trying in a sense to mould Jadine into the image of his black female ancestors. Son assumes that a relationship with Jadine will mean that they will have children together. He presses claims for family and community: ? He smiled at the vigour of his own heartbeat at the thought of her having his baby? (p. 220). Thus, he wants Jadine to love the nurturing aspects of home and fraternity. He is fed on dreams of his community women. The dreams of ? yellow houses with white doors? and ? fat black ladies in white dresses minding the pie table? (p. 119) are nourishment to Son. Sandra Pouchet Paquet (The ancestors as foundation in their eyes were watching god and tar baby) observes: ? In Son‘s dreams of Eloe, the African-American male ego is restored in a community of black man at the center of a black community. But however appreciative Son is of the beauty, the strength, and the toughness of black women; his vision is of male dominance; of the black women as handmaiden? (511). The image feminity that Son cherishes – of the black woman taking passive role as a nurturer of the hearth – is flagrantly opposite to Jadine‘s perception of the modern black woman. This terrifies Jadine and narrows the possibility of their forming a family. The modern, educated black woman seems to snivel at the aspects of traditional female- specific role as the nurturer of hearth and home. Decadent white values and life style thwart the black woman’s vital roles of building families and raising children. The modern black woman cannot be a complete human being, for she allows her education to keep her career separate from her nurturing role. The black woman is increasingly becoming able to define her own status and to be economically independent. She tries to seek equality in her relationship with men. Robert Staples gives an insight into the faltering dynamics of modern couples: ? What was once a viable institution because women were a subservient group has lost its value for some people in these days of women‘s liberation. The stability of marriage was contingent on the woman accepting her place in the home and not creating dissension by challenging the male‘s prerogatives? (125). The black woman‘s intrinsic quality of ? accepting her place in the home? is Morrison‘s tar quality. However, in advocating the tar quality Morrison does not admonish the educational and professional accomplishments of the black woman. In fact, the black woman is expected to achieve a balance between her roles in the domestic and professional fields. â€Å"It is the historical ability of black women to keep their families and careers together. In an era where both the black male and female seek to fulfill individual desires, relationships falter and, consequently, the prospects of the propagation of a family are not too bright. Jadine‘s tar quality is submerged by the white-like urge for freedom and self-actualization. As a result, she finds the conventions of black womanhood antithetical to her own value system†. At Eloe, Jadine is determined to resist rigid male-female role categorization. Jadine cannot ? understand (or accept) her being shunted off with Ellen and the children while the men grouped on the porch and after a greeting, ignored her? (p. 248). While at Eloe, Jadine is provided with yet another chance to attain certain qualities that is for black women. She is accustomed to living an upper-class white lifestyle so she finds the people of Eloe limited and backward. Their stifling little shacks are more foreign to her than the hotel-like splendor of Valerian‘s mansion. She stays in Aunt Rosa‘s house where she feels claustrophobically enclosed in a dark, windowless room. She feels ? she might as well have been in a cave, a grave, the dark womb of the earth, suffocating with the sound of plant life moving, but deprived of its sight? (p. 254). It is in this very room where Jadine and Son were having sex that she had a second awakening vision, which is more frightening than the one she had in Paris about the African Woman. Here, Older, black, fruitful and nurturing women – her own dead mother, her Aunt Ondine, Son‘s dead wife, the African woman in yellow and other black women of her past – become a threatening part of Jadine‘s dreams: I have breasts too,‘ she said or thought or willed, I have breasts too. ‘ But they didn‘t believe her. They just held their own higher and pushed their own farther out and looked at her,? (p. 261) and ? the night women were not merely against her†¦ not merely looking superior over their sagging breasts and folded stomachs, they seemed somehow in agreement with each other about her, and were all determined to punish her for having neglected her cultural heritage. They wanted to bind the person she had become and choke it with their breasts. The night women? accuse Jadine for trading the ? ancient properties? (p. 308) of being a daughter, mother, and a woman for her upward mobility and self-enhancement. All these women are punishing Jadine for her refusal to define herself in relation to family, historical tradition and culture. As they ‘brandish’ their breasts before her eyes, they mock and insult her with their feminity. Jadine finds these women backward and sees no self-fulfilling value in the roles that they serve. However, she is constantly haunted by dreams of the black female image that she seems to have lost throughout life. Ondine express shame and disappointment over her lack of concern for her family, the African woman, at the Parisian bakery, spits at her in disgust and the night women, in the vision at Eloe taunt her with their nurturing breasts. Having refuted her own black culture and heritage, Jadine face the consequence of a divided consciousness and a mental death. Her decision to end the love affair with Son— ? I can‘t let you hurt me again? (p. 274) is an evidence of her shunning womanhood and losing her Afro- American roots as she chooses Ryk her white boyfriend over Son who refused to become the person or image that Jadine wants him to be . Jadine is compelled to make her choice and she decides that it is in Paris, away from Son, where there are prospects of financial success and personal independence. She doesn‘t want what Son and Eloe have to offer: To settle for wifely competence when she could be a beauty queen or to settle for fertility rather than originality and nurturing instead of building? (p. 271). Jadine makes it clear to the reader that she is self-sufficient and independent of men, family and community.

Sport Fans

Although many people like sports and watch them on television, few people actually have a strong pride in a team, or really care about how a team does on a competitive game to game basis. To me people can be categorized in three different fan groups. One type of fan is a fair weather fan. They jump from team to team, most likely to which one is winning. Another type of fan is a part-time fan. They really do not care much about any one team, and just watch whoever is on. Finally, there is what I like to call die-hard fans. These fans never miss a game, and route for their team in good and bad times.The first type of fan that I mentioned is a fair weather fan. These are the kinds of fans that never really jump on board with one specific team. They cheer for whichever team might be winning at the time. These fans will usually say that they are routing for whoever the sports critics say will win the championship in that specific season. The next type of fan is what I like to call a part- time fan. These fans really do not have a favorite team, or even like sports period. They will watch a game only if there is nothing else on that they would rather watch.They really do not care who wins or loses. Most of the time these fans do not really know much about the sport that they are watching, or know much about sports in general. The final type of fan that I mentioned is a die-hard fan. These are the fans that truly have a favorite team, and really care about how their team does throughout the season. You will never hear a die-hard fan cheer for any team other than his or her favorite. Die-hard fans are the ones who are tailgating at the games at eight o’clock in the morning, when the game does not start until five or six o’clock at night.They will be the ones that you will see on television with their chests painted in weather that you cannot even imagine being outside in, much less with your shirt off. They truly feed off how their team does throughout the season, if the team is having a good year then these people will rarely ever be unhappy, but if the team is having a bad year then you do not want to cross paths with them. In conclusion, there are many kind of supporter but the truly supporter is die-hard support fans.