Joy Luck Club :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club brings forth many characteristics of new world and old world traditions into the reader’s sight. Old world traditions are the customs and beliefs practiced in one’s native country. The novel introduces the reader to the hardships that one encounters when the environment and the neighbors change. The American customs, or new world traditions, seem to prevail in the thoughts of the Chinese-American daughters; thus, encouraging the mothers to stress the old world traditions onto their children. The mothers also try to bring the best of both worlds to their children to make their children’s lives better. As the children mature, they realize the true worth of their Chinese heritage and try to retain to the Chinese characteristics that they have. In The Joy Luck Club, old world and new world traits are gained and lost by the characters in the novel to benefit themselves and make their strength of mind stronger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The children in The Joy Luck Club gain many characteristics of the old world and the new world that compose new people. The novel introduces us to characters that have lost their inner soul spirits that contain their Chinese heritage. The mothers know that their Chinese traditions and language are a necessary factor in dealing with their everyday life. The mothers also know that the new American traditions are needed to succeed in their new home. The mothers encourage English speaking, but also want to preserve their Chinese language. The major new thought that is gained by the children, and the mothers is the â€Å"American Dream.† They believe that anything is possible in America, and their dreams can be fulfilled trough their children. â€Å"My mother believed you could be anything you wanted in America†¦You could be instantly famous.†(Tan 141). The children gain pride for their native country also; raising their self-esteem and bringing abou t new strength in them. People cannot be accepted in society without accepting themselves. One has to accept their heritage and have pride for their heritage for other people to respect them. The mothers in the novel try to teach this lesson to their children. The minute our train leaves the Hong Kong border and enters Shenzhen, China, I feel different. I can feel the skin on my forehead tingling, my blood rushing through a new course, my bones aching with familiar old pain. And I think, My mother was right.

Mine Boy by Peter Abrhams

Mine Boy by Peter Abrhams certainly demonstrates the effects of imposing imperialism, and capitalism on a particular society. In this novel Xuma the protagonists has somewhat of an awakening. He goes from being an ignorant and innocent boy to a radical and brave man, once he realizes the impact of the foreign influence on his fellow citizens. South Africans were being oppressed and forced to live a life in which there were little to no choices. Many of them accommodated this influence by integrating themselves with their oppressors to be accepted. Some led a life of self destruction by becoming alcoholics or even engaging in illicit activity. Some like Xuma became angry radicals. Abraham shows the characters frustrations with the capitalist system that was enforced on them. There were few job opportunities, therefore leaving them with almost no options. Working in the mine was not a desired job and neither were most of the other occupations available, which led them to pursue alternative paths for income. The paths many characters took were paths that led to ultimate destruction and chaos, however these were the unfortunate consequences of imperialism and imposed systems. There is also significant mental destruction on the characters that is a direct result of the apartheid and imperialism which takes place. For example Eliza, she struggles with a sense of identity. This is a typical result of being oppressed. The oppressed begin to believe what their oppressors claim they are and proclaim about them. The oppressed in this case Eliza, begin to identify both with their oppressors as well as the others in her own group. This causes a great deal of conflict and confusion within the individual and socially as well.

The Sister Brothers

Peter DeWitt novel â€Å"The Sister Brothers† is set in western frontiers of America in 1850’s. Eli and Charlie Sisters are notorious professional killers, are on their way to California to kill a man named Hermann Kermit Warm. Charlie makes money and kills anyone who stands in his way. While Eli on the other hand has doubts about what they do for a living and falls in love easily. In â€Å"The Prince† by Niccolo Machiavelli he says the best way to manipulate people and gain power is through Intelligence, fear and emotion.In the novel â€Å"The Sister Brothers† Charlie the eldest brother employs all of these tactics to control his brother and those around him. â€Å"The wise man does at once what the fool does finally†- Niccolo Machiavelli Charlie uses his intelligence to trick others into thinking that he is a gunslinger that plays by the rules. In one instance, Charlie and Eli are cornered by a group of trappers. The trappers plan to kill the brot hers to gain fame and fortune. So Charlie proposes the idea of a fair duel between him and the leader.As Eli counts to three Charlie turns around and shoots all the trappers in the head killing all of them. Charlie was able to dominate the situation and live by using intellect. â€Å"It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both†- Niccolo Machiavell Charlie though has the best of both worlds. His brother loves him devotedly while others around him fear him. Charlie has killed so many men that he has become infamous and when people hear his name they tremble with fear. For example when Charlie and Eli trap Hermann he lays his gun down and gives up without a second thought.He knows that they could kill him before he even moved to pull the trigger. â€Å"A wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control and not in that of others† â€Å"I was not an efficient killer. I was not and had never been and would never be. Charlie had been a ble to make use of my temper was all; he had manipulated me, exploited my personality†-Eli Sister. During their days as assassin Charlie had tempered Eli into a killer through his personality. All Eli wanted to do was protect his brother from those who wished to hurt him.Charlie understood this and used his brothers protective emotions to advance himself in criminal underworld. In all of the violent situations that occur in the novel Charlie and Eli always come out on top through intelligence, fear and emotion. Niccolo Machiavelli would call Charlie â€Å"The Perfect Prince†. Charlie has used all of the techniques that Niccolo would advise someone to gain and maintain power in their lives. So by using the techniques the Machiavelli suggest isn't it possible for anyone to gain and maintain power?

Cultural Determinants of Terrorism Essay

Orchestrated objectives within well-organized terrorist groups suggest that principles of organizational psychology apply to terrorist organizations, under the cultural influence of each one (Borum, 2004). There is much cause for optimism in understanding terrorist organizations, for as Alder and Gunderson (2008) write, â€Å"Luckily, we have learned that global complexity is neither unpredictable nor random† (p. v). The call for research has never been more pressing. Introduction â€Å"Terrorism is an elusive subject, evading precise political, jurisprudential, and cultural definition† (Oliveri, 2008, p. 49). It depends upon the definition of ‘terrorism’. â€Å"With over 100 definitions, this is not an easy task; there is no common understanding of what constitutes ‘terrorism’; no clear and universally acknowledged definition actually exists† (Franks, 2007, p. 2). The definition Munger (2006) proposes that is used for this paper is, â⠂¬Å"Culture is defined as the set of ‘inherited’ beliefs, attitudes, and moral strictures that a people use to distinguish outsiders, to understand themselves and to communicate with each other† (p. 131). The distinguishing characteristic of ‘them’ and ‘us’ is perhaps the fundamental belief generated within cultures that makes terrorism towards others possible. Whether viewed in terms of extremist Muslim culture or right-wing American culture, cultural identity supports the conflict of ideologies. Ward (2008) says, â€Å"Terrorism has taken the academic world by storm† (p. 248). The Psychology of Terrorism only became a legitimate academic study in 1982; â€Å"terrorism is far from a new phenomenon, traceable to the French Revolution and the Nihilists of 19th Century Russia† (Franks, 2007, p. ). Undoubtedly, it goes much further into the annals of history than the 19th Century, â€Å"the concept of terrorism had no meaning in history until the modern era† (Bratkowski, 2005, p. 764). Prior to modernity, terrorism was so much a part of daily culture it was normal behavior, without a specific word for it. In fact, for most of Christendom, â €Å"humankind has always provided a justification for killing and instilling terror in fellow humans† (p. 764). It is only recently that most cultures have placed a label of immorality on selective murder to achieve political or cultural ends. Our species has a protracted history and prehistory of terrorism. One might wonder why terrorism has â€Å"taken the academic world by storm†. Insights from Psychology â€Å"Terrorist violence most often is deliberate (not impulsive), strategic, and instrumental; it is linked to and justified by ideological (e. g. , political, religious) objectives and usually involves a group or multiple actors/supporters (Borum, 2004, p. 17). Since terrorist objectives originate within multinational organizations, principles of organizational psychology apply to all terrorist organizations, under the cultural milieu of the organization in question. What is now certain is that terrorism is not a psychopathological aberration, as was originally thought in psychoanalytical circles (Crenshaw, 1992). Terrorist organizations are composed of clear-headed individuals, often with advanced university degrees. Merari (1991) collected empirical data on suicide bombers, and found that psychopathology is almost never a factor in a terrorist’s profile. In fact, â€Å"prevalence of mental illness among samples of incarcerated terrorists is as low as or lower than in the general population† (Borum, 2004, p. 34). This is a clear indicator that we are dealing with psychologies of organization, and not groups of crazed sociopaths. Survival of the organization, a tenet of organizational psychology, has clear implications for the terrorist mindset (Post, 1989), even though â€Å"research on the psychology of terrorism largely lacks substance and rigor. While cultural factors are important, much study remains. â€Å"Future research should be operationally-informed; maintain a behavior based focus; and derive interpretations from analyses of incident-related behaviors† (Borum, 2004, p. 3). The main problem with such a venture might be that terrorists are not giving interviews or taking surveys. Borum points out that â€Å"there is a broad spectrum of terrorist groups and organizations, each of which has a different psychology, motivation and decision making structure† (p. 5). This further underscores the need to be on guard against the ‘stereotypical terrorist organization’: there is none. In a terrorist organization, â€Å"two key narcissistic dynamics are a grandiose sense of self and ‘idealized parental imago’. If one can’t be perfect, at least one can be in a relationship with something perfect† (Borum, 2004, p. 9). Association with a world figure such as Bin Laden satisfies this need; this can lead us back to US culture: promulgation and amplifying worldwide terrorism, via the news media. Bin Laden often makes the evening news, and every time he does, his ‘world stature’ is elevated, especially in the min ds of his followers. It the name Bin Laden was unknown, how much less effective would al-Qaeda become? Media has some degree of culpability, if not complicity in promulgating terrorism worldwide by providing free publicity to organizations and their cause. According to Paul Marsden (CPM, 2001, p. 1), â€Å"the amount of media coverage devoted to these events, by television networks and newspapers, correlates positively with the rise in subsequent `copycat’ events. This is darkly consistent with the substantial body of evidence for suicide contagion – the idea that suicides beget suicide. † If distraught teenagers copy Columbine style shootings, how much more are suicide attacks from terrorist cells encouraged by watching the evening news? Unintentionally but effectively eulogizing angry teens and terrorists alike hold moral implications for the major news media, which need addressing by society. Organizational Psychology provides some insight: if a culture perceives it is losing its ability to contribute its share to the world stage, conflict will result (Rahim, 1986; Katz ; Kahn, 1978). Considering that entire cultures may feel they are losing their ability to contribute because of intervention of external cultures upon their own culture is likely one requisite to the creation of worldwide terror organization formation. Cultural factors of extremist Muslim society While many in the West view extremist Muslim terrorism as irrational behavior by deranged individuals, â€Å"it is perfectly possible to understand terrorism as a rational decision problem, if we accept the premise that culture matters† (Munger, 2006, p. 132). â€Å"Islamic societies, not exclusively, but perhaps to a greater extent than most other nations, are committed to an idea of the perfectibility of humans in societies, through moral education and imposition and enforcement of moral law (Sharia) based on the Quran† (p. 142). This religious adherence adds a great deal of resistance to compromise from outside cultures, and bolsters the extremist elements within Islamic society. Much of the cultural foundation of extremist Muslim culture is their unique interpretation of the Quran: â€Å"The contemporary terrorist mentality and culture, which are rooted in absolutist, either-or, good-and-evil world views, resist efforts to negotiate. Accommodation, bargaining, and mutually acceptable compromise are not envisioned as possibilities within many terrorists’ mental framework† (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002, p. 1). It appears that once a terrorist organization is established, the only ways to eliminate it is either when they accomplish their objectives, to destroy them, or to take away their reason to exist, which will allow Skinnerian extinction to follow over time. The ‘destroy’ method is problematic and costly: how does one destroy an ideology? Islamic terrorists are well-connected using technology; their geographic locality is literally everywhere and nowhere. Culturally-attuned uses of information technology† are a major source of cross-cultural influences in the creation and sustaining of terrorist organizations (Bailey ; Grimaila, 2006, p. 534). Terrorist organizations are expert in spreading and sustaining their ideology around the world. Once indoctrinated into a group, people will generally follow orders, no matter how extreme or violent, as long as the individual perceives that the order was issued from the appropriate authority (Milgram, 1965). Cultural influences caused normal students at Stanford to transform into ‘merciless prison guards’; once given the role and the authority, al-Qaeda recruits mold easily to orders from Bin Laden. Not only do they have a physical authority, which relieves their individual conscience from objecting, but also they further believe that Allah Himself sanctions Bin Laden and themselves in their efforts to establish Sharia law throughout the world (Bailey ; Grimaila, 2006). There is substantial agreement that the psychology of terrorism cannot be considered apart from political, historical, familial, group dynamic, organic, and even purely accidental, coincidental factors† (Borum, 2004, p. 22). Borum also states, â€Å"Significant differences [exist] both in, 1) the nature and level of aggression in different cultures, and 2) aggression can be environmentally manipulated; both findings that argue against a universal human instinct [of violence]† (p. 12). Diamond (20 04) argues that environmental influences are paramount in understanding why cultures are the way they are. The Fertile Crescent, once the cornerstone of agriculture, became radically altered once all the forests were clear-cut, leaving mostly a barren desert environment. It is interesting to note that the foundation cultures which harbored the seeds of al-Qaeda all come from this former environmental paradise. Therefore, while culture probably has the most influence on the creation of terrorist organizations in the short term today, environment certainly has a large degree of impact over the long term, and might have a large impact in the short term via militaristic or political manipulation. For many critics, global or ‘hyper’ terrorism has become an ultimate expression of acutely depressed geopolitical chaos† (Ward, 2008, p. 252). Geopolitical chaos produces environments ripe with opportunity for recruiters toward the cause of terrorism. Without addressing and rectifying the chaotic areas of the world, it is highly doubtful, that global terrorism will end. Cultures th at feel oppressed or depraved on the world stage may rise in rebellion against the oppressing culture(s), with or without religious dictate. Muslim culture is producing the lion’s share of high-visibility terrorists in the world today (Borum, 2004). One way to understand Muslim culture as it relates to the creation of terrorism is to look at Hofstede’s dimensions. Generally, Islamic countries have large inequalities of status, forming a small ruling group, and a large ruled group with limited power. Hofstede (2001) shows, those Arab cultures have large Power Distance (PDI) (80) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) (68). When these two Dimensions are combined, it creates a situation where leaders have virtually ultimate power and authority. It is not unusual for new leadership to arise from armed insurrection – the ultimate power, rather than from diplomatic or democratic change† (Borum, 2004, p. 44). Virtually the only method available for the downtrodden in Arab society to express their need for change is by armed insurrection. This is a valuable insight into the cultural creation of Arab-based terr orism, possibly the most important one. Naturally, from the ‘terrorists’ point of view they are not terrorists at all but â€Å"freedom fighters†, fighting with their only available means to enact positive change. Does this mean efforts at establishing democracy in Muslim states are likely to fail? Cultural roots run deep, and are resistant to change by outside cultures (Weiten, 2004), so the question of democracy introduced and established by Westerners is a highly speculative venture. Finally, take the case of a female suicide bomber. It was originally assumed that the young woman who committed this act was â€Å"innocent, ignorant, and of questionable morality† (Brunner, 2007, p. 961). It is difficult for Westerners to imagine otherwise. Subsequent interviews revealed that she was educated, showed no signs of emotional disturbance, and was â€Å"as highly intelligent and more independent than other girls in her society, but still fully within the range of normal† (p. 961). The key point is that she was â€Å"fully within the range of normal†, according to the culture that she grew up within. By not understanding her culture, Western culture had labeled her â€Å"innocent, ignorant, and immoral†, overlooking key factors with which to fully understand why a mentally stable young woman would commit such an act, and more importantly, to be able to deal realistically with the rise of extremist terrorism through a lack of cultural understanding. Cultural factors of the United States There is a cultural precedence of powerful nations to label other nations as ‘evil’: a threat to ‘civilization’ (Ivie, 2005). In the U. S. , â€Å"this is a very old cultural theme, deeply ingrained into the political psyche† (p. 56). This cross-cultural mindset of powerful nations is one part in the creation of terrorists in weaker cultures, a type of self-fulfilling prophecy: the call to destroy the ‘barbarians that threaten democracy’ is an ancient one; Greece and Rome had similar ongoing open-ended campaigns against terrorists, as does the U. S. today (p. 55). The main trouble with an open-ended campaign is that it never ends†¦ another cultural perception that needs adjustment on the world stage in order to arrive at peace in the world. Looking at the cultural history of the US, the ‘savage’ has always been the object of distain and genocide, in order to ‘make way for civilization’ (Ivie, 2005). The genocide of indigenous peoples of the North American continent is well documented, even using biological terrorist tactics of germ warfare; giving ‘gifts’ of small-pox laden blankets to Indians without acquired immunity against devastating disease (Diamond, 1997). Oliverio (2008) writes, â€Å"It was also a matter of common sense that the Aryan race was superior. This taken-for-granted reality of Aryan superiority led to the extermination of millions of American Indians, millions of African slaves bound for America, and countless indigenous cultures throughout the world† (p. 21). Powerful cultures that label weaker cultures as savages are a powerful impetus to the creation of terrorism. It is a recent habit of the American Right to wage war against abstractions (Comaroff, 2007, p. 381). The line between metaphorical and real war, blurred beyond recognition, gives rise to such cultural terms as ‘the war against drugs’, ‘the war against poverty’, ‘the war against illegal immigration’ (Sherry, 1995), and has become the standard of cultural mind-set in America today. Again, the US has a â€Å"militarized world-view extended to declaring metaphorical wars on disease, crime, engaging in ‘trade wars’ with foreign competitors, and fighting ‘culture wars’ with one another† (p. 58). â€Å"Culture wars† is the main point in question: how can peace ever prevail if acts of war against culture prevail? Even the Olympic Games that followed 9/11 became a forum for the core Bush Doctrine (Falcous ; Silk, 2005). How does the reduction of civil liberties fare with the response to terrorism? â€Å"Not allowing college professors to speak out against governmental policies associated with the war on terror† (Crowson ; DeBacker, 2008, p. 296) is one form of right-wing authoritarianism that many Americans think needs implementation. A disturbing trend of loss of personal freedoms that some associate with fascism. Taken as a whole, US domestic and foreign policy regarding oil consumption, and support for oppressive regimes, is set aside in deference to critical scrutiny of individual behavior and the forms of ‘moral lassitude’ associated with a culture of dependency† (Hay ; Andrejevic, 2006, p. 344). So at least part of the U. S. cultural mindset is about securing its own economic interests at the expense of decency and fairness on the world stage. Many people think that the U. S. would never have bothered with Iraq if they had no strategic oil supplies, especially in the Middle East and Europe. This belief can only inflame world tensions further. Understanding cross-cultural inter-dependencies A surprising interdependency, regards the Bush Administration itself. According to Kellner (2004), not only Jihadists are responsible for ‘spectacular acts of terror’, but also both Bush administrations. They deployed â€Å"Manichean discourses of good and evil which themselves fit into dominant media codes of popular culture; that both deploy fundamentalist and absolutist discourses† (p. 41). This is extremely similar to the â€Å"contemporary terrorist mentality and culture, which are rooted in absolutist, either-or, good-and-evil world views, resist efforts to negotiate† (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002, p. 1). The Bush administration openly declares its refusal to communicate with terrorist organizations or states, which is absolutist. We know that incentives flourish within such organizations (Munger, 2006). Incentives usually take two forms: 1) recruit members that are prone to obey and please within a cultural setting (e. g. collectivist rather than individualist cultures), and 2) â€Å"Create a set of incentives that reward loyalty, by giving access to excludable near-public (â€Å"club†) goods† (p. 131). Mohammed Atta reportedly was â€Å"at a strip club spending a lot of money, shouting anti-American slogans, and left a copy of the Quran before he left† (USA TODAY, 2001, p. 1). This incident seems to have fallen under ‘club goods’ instead of operational funds, because it was the night before the hijackings, and such excessive cash was no longer needed. This says nothing of the influence U. S. culture had on Atta, a devout Muslim going to a strip club, one day before he â€Å"meets Allah†. There is no such thing as a ‘terrorist state’, in the absolute sense. Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Asai, and Lucca (1988) have shown that national cultures never equate to individual or subgroup cultures, so while a totalitarian governing body may indeed be a terrorist organization, the general populace can in no way be held accountable for the actions of a few. It is a stereotypical mistake to label an entire country as terrorist. It is important to realize that â€Å"both differences and similarities in behavior occur across and within cultures; psychological processes are characterized by both cultural variance and invariance† (Weiten, 2006, p24). Regrettably, â€Å"quite a few nations are culturally reasonably homogeneous† (Hofstede, 1998, p180), and this may mean that a few nations may be mostly extremist in their outlook. Discourses from the Bush administrations paralleled closely to speeches given by Hitler, Pope Urban II, and others: â€Å"an appeal to a legitimate power source external to the speaker; an appeal to the importance of the national culture under attack; the construction of an evil enemy; and an appeal for unification† (Graham, Keenan, ; Dowd, 2004, p. 213). Kellner (2004) feels that â€Å"the disparity between the vast amount of information freely available to all through multimedia sources, and the narrow vision presented on the major news media via television is a travesty†, and a major cultural factor responsible for the deployments of the Bush administrations’ controlled mass media (p. 61). While arguments that ‘freely available news sources from uncontrolled sources’ might suggest this no longer to be a cultural factor, culture by nature takes time to change, and most Americans probably place more credence in the evening news than the newer Internet sources (Kellner, 2003). Another example of how cross-cultural misunderstandings regularly occur between nations: â€Å"when one cultural message sender transmits information to another culture, chances of accurate transmission are reduced† (Alder ; Gunderson, 2008, p. 72), and when nations or organizations refuse to send information between cultures as both the Bush administration and the al-Qaeda organization currently do, virtually no chance of accurate transmission occurs. Stalemate results and wars go on, indefinitely; clear contributors to terrorism. Perhaps nowhere is the question of terrorism more complex than in the European Union: â€Å"European counterterrorism culture is a difficult concept due to the fact that the regional level of analysis encapsulates a range of different national cultures. Europe has always been a rich mixture of various cultures, and ‘terrorism’ is a culturally charged term† (Rees, 2007, p. 220), hence the difficulty in consensus. Conversely, in China, we could expect to find a unified definition of terrorism under the centralized government (Diamond, 1997). While China is suspect of â€Å"using the post-9/11 discourse of counterterrorism to cloak their own domestic priorities† (Rees, 2007, p. 224), most of their counterterrorism efforts are likely to gain support with the Chinese public as being in the accord of the countries best interest: China being a collectivistic nation. â€Å"Terrorists focus their recruitment where sentiments about perceived deprivation are deepest and most pervasive† (Borum, 2004). This helps us to understand why American involvement in Iraq actually helps create recruitment opportunities for al-Qaeda. Destroyed economies, infrastructure, and family support (via killed family members), create extreme deprivation, desperation to right cultural wrongs, and enrage cultural dictates for retribution (Borum, 2004). It even gives insight into where al-Qaeda might be concentrating recruitment efforts in America. For youth torn between two cultures in a foreign land, identity crisis may result from exposure to the foreign culture, and the chiasm between their parent’s cultures: â€Å"radicalism offers simple answers to the big questions they are grappling with† (Ongering, 2007, p. ). The human tendency to stereotype will easily adapt to simple answers rather than grapple with difficult questions (Weiten, 2004). Extrapolated, it may be easier to recruit a terrorist, than to prevent a person from taking up the cause in the first place. Does cultural pressure on a subgroup help to create violent extremists? Muslim communities in America, â€Å"Not only had their religion being p resented incorrectly, but its adherents were being equated with terrorists† (Baker, 2006, p. 302). Considering the degree that Muslim communities in the Western world are subject to intensified scrutiny, and even unwarranted acts of violence against them by US citizenry (Ward, 2008), a good assumption is that many young Muslims will adapt an extremist ideology in response to cultural threat (Sirin ; Fine, 2007), and some of those extremists will turn terrorist. It seems to be a never-ending spiral escalation of one cultural assault upon the other: the ‘Crusades’ continue†¦ It is a real ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg? ’ question. Which side began this milieu of cultural attack and counterattack? Perceptions run the gamut: â€Å"The terrorist presents a story of heroism and necessary sacrifice. The counter-terrorist presents a counter-narrative of defiance and vengeance, replacing the image of the martyr with that of inhumanity, even bestiality† (Ward, 2008, p. 254). We reminded again of weaker cultures as ‘savage’, and as we have come to see, cross-culturally, nothing could be further from the truth from both extreme perspectives. Another cultural misunderstanding that may have helped to escalate tensions is the perception that the Muslim community in America did not stand up in unison and denounce the acts of 9/11 as atrocious. This initial silent response interpreted by many Americans as tantamount to condoning such acts of terrorism (Munro, 2006). Paradoxically, this lack of public outcry may have been the result of Muslim culture itself, with the majority of Muslims feeling that it was obvious that they had nothing to do with the attacks, and therefore no reason to take a public stand (Munro, 2006). A form of ‘vigilante counter-terrorism’ develops in American culture, which gives rise to anti-Muslim sentiment and acts of violence (Johnson, 2003). One probable contributing factor is termed: â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome† (Pipes, 2006). The perpetrator, â€Å"for all outward appearances, a young Muslim man, well adjusted to Western society, considered friendly; one day, without warning, he acted out an independent Jihad, which injured nine students† (Pipes, 2006). Such unforeseeable and unpredictable behavior influences non-Muslims to stereotype many Muslims as having the same potential toward â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome†. This of course creates an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust between cultures: how can you tell who the enemy is just by looking at them? Discussion There is no cultural ‘quick fix’ to this pervasive problem confronting the modern world. â€Å"The general policy approach has to be adaptive, opportunistic, and multisided. The conventional problem-solving logic so attractive in American culture—find a problem and then fix it—is of limited utility, and a longer term, more contextualized approach is necessary† (Smelser et al. , 2002, p. 4). For instance, the Global War on Terror (GWOT) as espoused by the Bush Doctrine includes toppling ‘rogue nations’ as part of the effort to thwart terrorism (Borum, 2004). Focusing on ‘nation rebuilding’ of states, that are otherwise subject to deterrent, rather than on organizations that transcend geographic localities and are not subject to deterrent, is a lack of proper cultural understanding of the issues, and will lead to further cultural misunderstandings. It makes sense that if powerful cultures do not make accusations against weaker cultures not understood, or interfere in the sovereign rights of weaker nations, that a large amount of terrorism will fail to manifest by lack of unwanted cultural impetus from foreign powers. One of the biggest troubles seems to be, that powerful countries can arouse their masses which are â€Å"easily pressed into service to rally the nation, quell dissent and effectively inoculate the public against any alternative perspective† (Ivie, 2005, p. 56), the main point being to limit any alternative cultural perspectives as being legitimate relative to one’s own ‘superior’ cultural perspective. This is error. â€Å"An increasingly militarized culture of fear† (p. 9), such as is dominant in the US today, and which has been developing over many decades, cannot reduce the threat of terrorism in the world. Indeed, Muslim culture dictates that retribution be demanded when a family member is taken. Each errant US bomb inevitably creates more ‘terrorists’ (Borum, 2004), cultural ‘deviants’ are created that never would have existed otherwise. Rumors and hundreds of websites have sprung up claiming that FEMA has erected hundr eds of internment camps on American soil is a disturbing part of the changing culture in America today. A Google search of ‘American internment camps’ will pull up hundreds of unsubstantiated claims of such camps, including specific locations; further highlighting the cultural atmosphere of increasing paranoia. Finally, what can help prevent Muslim youth in the U. S. from taking a violent path? According to Sirin and Fine (2007)â€Å"Research that the successful integration of both one’s own culture and the dominant culture, leads to more positive developmental outcomes†¦whereas marginalization, that is disengagement from both cultures, is associated with mental health problems for immigrant youth† (p. 52). Society certainly would do well to address issues of marginalization, in order to help prevent future â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome† (Pipes, 2006). Conclusion While this paper has focused mainly on US and Muslim extremist involvement, state and non-state respectively, it is important to remember that many other states and organizations exist whic h perpetrate terror. Terror is a two way street, with few exceptions. Perhaps the ultimate defense against terrorism is to understand the cultural and cross-cultural causes of it, and with proper knowledge, address the issues at hand. We must avoid stereotypes at all costs, because â€Å"Nearly all terrorists are extremists, but most extremists are not terrorists† (Borum, 2004). â€Å"Long-term orientation versus short-term orientation† (Franke, Hofstede, ; Bond, 1991) may provide insights into which culture holds greater strength in the GWOT. U. S. culture demands immediate results, and has little tolerance for long term strategies, while extremist Islamic culture is bond by the vision of Mohammed, and is prepared to sacrifice for centuries if need be (Borum, 2004). Fortunately, unnecessary warring between cultures may diminish substantially as one of the biggest single benefits of cross-cultural understanding and application of organizational psychological research (Brislan, 1983). â€Å"It is argued that we now live in an age of ‘hyperterrorism,’ where the nature and scale of terrorism has reached a new level, and that the question of ‘How to deal with international terrorism is quickly becoming the defining issue of our age’† (Ward, 2008, p. 248). It is imperative that we make every effort to understand the cross-cultural determinants of terrorism, regardless of cost. Additionally, â€Å"terrorism is a discourse that affects all our lives, and the collateral argument that terrorism somehow validates the occasional abrogation of so many of our most cherished legal principles, is something that should concern all of us† (p. 249). Hogan (2006) offers: â€Å"Due to the logistical and analytical challenges of cross-national comparisons, studies to date have concentrated largely on single nations† (p. 64). While much work remains, understanding the vast scope of cultural interdependencies that help create terrorism is an extremely complex task yet must be undertaken if we are to come to terms with global terrorism. As Hostede (1998) states, â€Å"constructs are products of the mind with which we attempt to understand and predict human behavior in an infinitely complex world†, and all constructs are flawed to some degree. In an infinitely complex world, we will never entirely eradicate terrorism in its many manifestations. Our best hope to eradicate the bulk of organized terrorism is through scientific understanding and conscientious application of rational solutions, freed from cultural bias. â€Å"Culture lies entirely on the â€Å"nurture† side of the ledger, as against â€Å"nature†, or truly nherited traits† (Munger, 2006, p. 134). Solutions to the specter of terrorism will manifest through understanding and responding to such cultural nurture. This paper has posited that understanding other cultures can help to reduce tensions between cultures, which give rise to terrorism and counterterrorism conflicts. As Munger (2006) points out, â€Å"a shared understanding of something that identifies insiders, and excludes outsiders because they do not share this understanding† (p. 133), is perhaps the fundamental commonality between conflicting sides. If we can short-circuit this exclusionary identity concept, by education and promulgate understanding by either, or both sides, and act upon it with responsible communication between parties, then perhaps modern terrorism as we know it will eventually end. It may take many years, because established terrorist organizations are not open to compromise (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002), but such efforts may play a large part in helping to prevent future recruitment, and help eliminate the need for terrorist organizations within the cultures that originally spawned them; losing their luster they slowly fade from existence.

Pip’s emotion Essay

Remembering this, the adult Pip says â€Å"I believe they were fat, though at the time I was undersized for my years and not string† This begins to give the reader an image of Pips physical appearance. The fact that he is undersized and weak could be because due to the lack of money in his family he is underfed. This creates sympathy for Pip because the reader can see this poor defenceless little child in this awful situation and as he seems so defenceless the readers are interested to know how or if he will get himself out of this situation. This also helps Dickens to project his reasons for writing great expectations to the reader as he is unhappy with the conditions that Pip and other children in this time period are living in. The fact that Pip is criticizing himself could reflect the way he is treated by other people and is unhappy with himself (which becomes clear later in the story with his longing to become a gentleman). This Quote also shows that this is the voice of the adult Pip as looking back on this scene he is very concerned about his appearance as a boy. This could make the reader wonder if Pop is not poor any longer because as a gentleman appearance would be very important. Yet again Pip’s tone is quite light which helps to give the impression that Pip does get out of this situation safely and that maybe the convict isn’t as bad as he seems. This gives makes it seem that Pip is keeping something from the reader which makes the reader interested and wanting to find out what they don’t know. Pip continues to say â€Å"I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn’t and held tighter to the tombstone on which he had put me partly to keep myself upon it and partly to keep myself from crying. † By the explanation it is clear to the reader that this is a past event because it sounds like the words of an adult who is now well educated not those of a young boy who is close to tears. This also shows that the convicts has no consideration for Pips feelings and no respect for him either as he places him on top of a gravestone which could be that of his parents. This lack of care and respect for children is what Dickens is trying to put across and wants changed. This also gives the impression that in contrast to his previous defencelessness appearance pip as a character is quite brave as he is trying to stay calm and not show that he is upset while most children would be in tears. This could be trying to show the audience that you should not judge people by class or appearance which is relevant later on in the story as the convict turns out to be a nice person of lower class while Estella is cruel and snobby because she thinks she is better than Pip because of the class she believes she belongs to. However although the adult Pip seems to be thinking he was brave the first phrase sounds quite light as if pip doesn’t want the reader to think he was weak and is making the tone less serious. This still creates sympathy for Pip because so many terrible things are happening to him. The convict wants to scare Pip into doing what he wants † A boy may lock his door may be warm in bed, may tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep and creep his way to him and tear him open. â€Å"At this point Magwitch is being very manipulative and is scaring Pip into thinking that someone he cant see or hear can see and hear him. His description is so vivid that it may also make the reader feel uneasy as if they too are being watched. Dickens creates tension with the steady build up of short actions that result in him suddenly being killed. He lists every possible thing that Pip may try to do to escape and explaining how they won’t work and that Pip is unable to escape which will leave Pip feeling completely helpless. The fact that he uses Pip’s home as the setting for this grim death which is the one place Pip should feel safe will make Pip feel trapped and that he is in danger wherever he goes. The convict is looking into the mind of a child and has picked the scenario most children fear. This is very cruel which shows how desperate he is but could also show that magwitch has had contact with children as he knows what they fear. This concept is very disturbing and as was evident from previous descriptions Pip’s imagination is already going wild. The length of the detail could be because magwitch has done what he is describing or has seen someone else do it whilst in prison. Pip’s imagination and descriptions create more images of the convict † he looked into my young eyes as if he were eluding the hands of the dead people, stretching up cautiously out of their graves to get a twist upon his ankle and pull him in. † This is pips imagination exaggerating what he sees but still makes the reader picture magwitch as something out of a horror style text. It could be that the look on his face is like he is attempting to escape from the dead and recreates Pips earlier ideas of him coming for the graves. His appearance gives a feel of how much he has been through in the fact that he is covered in mud and starving to death. However the fact that he is not being pulled into the graves proves that he is strong and either not ready or refusing to die making the reader wonder if he has an important part to play later in the story, which he does. Dickens uses sentence structures to show distance â€Å"ours was the marsh country, down by the river, with as the river wound twenty miles from the sea† This creates an instant impression that his home is very far away. The word â€Å"wound† creates the image of distance and the repetition of river creates the feeling of length. Each comma between the descriptions could resemble a new twist or turn to the river. The fact that he is so far away from his home (and society) and the sea, makes him seem very isolated and alone. Not only is he trapped in the graveyard but his home seems to be in the middle of nowhere with no place to escape to this adds to the overall feeling of helplessness that the chapter creates around Pip. The commas themselves make the sentence more difficult to understand which symbolises the feeling of Pip being lost and trapped in this place completely separate from the rest of the world. Dickens uses sentence structures to show Pip’s emotions. Pip tells the reader † at such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard, and that Philip pirrip late of this parish, and also georgianna wife of the above were dead and buried and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias and roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried, and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard intersected with dykes and mounds and gates with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea; and the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip. Here Dickens successfully; by use of sentence structure, captures the voice of the young Pip. † This sentence shows that Pip is getting increasingly upset with everything he is seeing. He is thinking about the deaths of his parents and brothers and beginning to realise how alone he is in the graveyard and in the world because almost his entire family is â€Å"dead and buried†. He seems to be looking around and taking in more and more at once which is shown by the fact that he keeps adding more and more descriptions to the sentence. He repeats the words â€Å"and that† after every semi-colon which effectively shows the voice of the young child as he is using limited vocabulary and making it sound like a list. This quote also how small and insignificant Pip is in his surroundings because it is such a long description until all that is left is pip. He is beginning to scare himself because he uses a metaphor describing the sea as a lair as the wind is rushing from it with such force like a wild animal waiting to attack him. This also shows a Childs imagination and fears and makes the reader want to protect Pip as he is a frightened innocent child. The sentence is extended with commas and semi-colons and everything is listed very quickly which makes Pip sound very panicky and this feeling is mirrored by the fact that the reader gets out of breath when reading it aloud. It shows a build up of all of his emotions and when the sentence ends the reader may get a sense of relief which is like the relief Pip feels when he begins to cry. Everything is described very negatively and Pip begins with the focus on the deaths of his family which shows what a depressing setting this is and makes the reader want to help Pip escape from it all. Dickens uses a long sentence to describe the convict. † A man who had been soaked in water and smothered in mud and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles and torn by briars, who limped and shivered and glared and growled; and who’s teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin. † Here Pip is getting panicked again which is shown by the fast pace of the list describing magwich’s appearance. This also captures the sense of a young boy through the adult pip because although this also sounds like the speech of a child with the repetition of the word â€Å"and† at the time pip was unlikely to have noticed everything about the convict. Therefore dickens writes as the adult Pip so as to give an effective description of the convict. It also emphasises how much the convict has been through and proves that he must be strong to have survived everything Pip describes and also that he must have a purpose in his life and in the story otherwise why put himself through so much. The alliteration focuses the reader’s attention on the words â€Å"glared and growled† giving an impression that the convict is some kind of wild animal which fits well with the metaphor â€Å"distant savage lair†.

Monopoly & monopolistic Essay

There are plenty of companies in America today that are controlled by a monopolistic market. Although there may be a few that are controlled as a monopoly market, while there are a few that are out there such as the Gas and Electric Company, SDG&E and the USPS. It can be difficult when you are going from a monopolistic firm to a monopoly only because the market is completely different from one another. When it comes to Wonks, there are plenty of beneficiaries when we analyze the differences of going from one to another. It is uncommon that a firm will go to a monopoly after being a monopolistic company. But as we dig deeper there can be some advantages as with anything there are disadvantages to the government, companies and society. As stated in our text the definition of the monopolistic is as follows, â€Å"A common form of industry (market) structure in the United States, characterized by a large number of firms, no barriers to entry, and product differentiation† (Case, pg. 304). When we look at a monopolistic company indicates that there are multiple types of the same type or similar companies that create the same product(s). This tends to be a common theme here in America. Wonks changed to a monopoly firm which resulted in â€Å"â€Å"An industry with a single firm that produces a product for which there are no close substitutes and in which significant barriers to entry prevent other firms from entering the industry to compete for profits† (Case, pg. 262). In a monopoly firm there is one main firm that manufactures the product and nobody else can replicate the product. Looking on the brighter side, there are plenty of advantages to having a monopoly company that could be beneficial for the government, other companies as well as customers. The government usually looks at a firm that is considered a monopoly and they are the ones who allow the sense of control over the company. They are able to come in the market as a monopoly with in fact this will allow for them to regulate the competition. For a company there are benefits as well to being a monopoly company. It requires for the company to have a huge amount of products on hand to make sure that they are meeting the customer’s needs. For a company to do that they would need to provide a bigger amount of capital in the production. This is because production cost takes a plunge simple fact that you are now producing in larger amounts. This may be a huge asset for a firm because it will now be lower in cost for the product to be produced. When we analyze price, the firm may have an option to increase or decrease the price depending on the situation. Since Wonk is the only company like itself, the customers have to pay the price that the company puts forth, or they have the choice of not purchasing their products. Lastly, for the customer’s standpoint, they have some advantages as well. A firm that tends to be as the monopoly firm can lower prices to get people in the door. Not always will the prices be low either. Now this is an advantage for one because now the consumer is getting the product at cheaper prices. When it comes to Wonks being a monopoly the government, companies as well as the customers can all benefit from it in one way or another. When looking at the two, a monopolistic and a monopoly firm the pricing and the producing for both are different. In this case the monopoly firms prices tend to be higher because they are the only company that manufactures the item or product. At any given time the company can increase and or decrease the prices when they want and the customers either can purchase the product or not at all. In a monopolistic company, their prices can differ from time to time given that there are many more companies with similar products. One thing to pay attention to is that not just one firm can change the prices because the customers can just simply go to another place to get a similar product at a cheaper price. For a monopoly company when it comes to producing product, it can be different to how prices are determined. For example, if the prices are lower, then more production is needed in order to keep up with consumer demands. We could also consider that the production may not change a whole lot in a monopoly because they are usually the only firm with that particular product. In this case if a customer wanted the item or product then they will pay whatever the manufacturer priced it out as. For a monopolistic company, production can change depending on the prices. If the companies prices happens to be high, consumers will not want to purchase items from this company. Customers do have a choice to shop around and go to another company. Some companies have particular market and target a certain group of individuals. This can be more beneficial to these types more than others. In my opinion, Wonks can benefit more from a monopoly. Considering my research, it appears that there are more opportunities for Wonks as a monopoly as oppose to a monopolistic firm. When a firm is part of a monopoly, they are able to control more of the sales to provide the necessary items for their consumers. A change with Wonks going from a monopolistic firm to a monopoly has many benefits. The government can benefit from Wonks by this firm being a monopoly simply because they are controlling the market. The company benefits and also they are able to reduce the amount of productivity cost because things are being produced in mass quantities. As for as the customers, they are able to get the product they need at a reasonably cheap price. A monopoly company can have some advantages when it comes to the economy if they have the put the consumers needs to make them happy customers. Reference: 1) Case, K. , Fair, R. , Oster, S. , (2009). Principles of Microeconomics, 9th Edition. Person Learning Solutions. Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Summary for the freedom writers movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary for the freedom writers movie - Essay Example There are students who are not of ethical or acceptable moral conduct and some even belong to gangs. Initially they are not willing to share information or personal things with her. However, with time Erin figures out ways in which she can engage them. She directs them to write regular journals and in this way they start sharing some information and personal experiences with her. â€Å"As Erin tries harder and harder to have resources provided to teach properly (which often results in her needing to pay for them herself through working second and third jobs), she seems to face greater resistance, especially from her colleagues, such as Margaret Campbell, her section head, who lives by regulations and sees such resources as a waste, and Brian Gelford, who will protect his "priviledged" position of teaching the senior honors classes at all cost. Erin also finds that her teaching job is placing a strain on her marriage to Scott Casey, a man who seems to have lost his own idealistic way in life.†