Effects of Slavery Essay Example for Free

Effects of Slavery Essay Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobson both write their compelling stories on what life was like as slaves during 19th century America. Both narratives define the harsh life of slavery and the unforgiving effects that occurred during their time as slaves. In the same way, both stories reveal the theme of the evils of slavery but also given their different gender roles, their experiences are completely different from one another. While both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobson’s Narratives undergo the corrupt power of slavery in 19th century America and were able to escape, the role of gender in society largely acts as a variance within these two stories. Both Frederick and Jacobs were born into slavery; Frederick’s father most likely being his master, and Jacobs being lucky enough to have both of her parents. Though Jacobs had a safe and guarded childhood, after her parents died she began to see the cruelness of slavery. Frederick learns the evils of slavery earlier on in his life when he witnesses his aunt being horribly beaten by his slave owner. (Notes, 2013) Both characters express their deep hatred for slavery through their narrative themes. In Jacob’s narrative she argues that slavery destroys the standards of slave holders, practically without exception. Jacob describes her feeling when she realizes Dr. Flint has total control over her, â€Å"When he told me that I was made for his use, made to obey his command in everything; that I was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should surrender to his, never before had my puny arm felt half so strong.† (Jacobs, Life as a Slave Girl, IV) Through this, she f eels empowered to rebel against him in acts that later shape her life. Jacobs has a strong hatred to slavery that she shows through her rebelliousness and the chances she takes. Douglass shows his hatred for slavery through his descriptive writing. For instance, he shows his intelligence by simply writing the narrative showing people that he is no animal but an accomplished human being. The fact that he used his real name in his narrative shows his strength against slavery. Douglass believed he was entitled to be treated like a human being and was enraged that he wasn’t treated as such. The physiological abuse slaves went through was unimaginable. When Douglass was given to Edward Covey he was to be â€Å"broken.† Covey took joy in breaking down his slaves until they weren’t â€Å"human† anymore. His job was to take all of the â€Å"life† and joy out of a slave’s life so all they know is work. Douglass states that his, â€Å" natural elasticity was crushed, [his] intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about [his] eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon [him]; and behold a man transformed into a brute!† (Douglass, X) Through this quote, one is able to see that he was broken by slavery, and turned into an animal. Jacobs abuse is similar to Douglass’s ex perience with physiological when she realizes that Dr. Flint owns her body. She is tormented by him at any time, as he frequently gets her alone. She is stuck in her situation because she can’t tell anyone to make Dr. Flint stop. She points out that slaves are given no reason to develop a strong moral sense, as they are given no ownership of their own body or final control over any of their actions. Both characters go through a time in their life when a master has â€Å"broken† them physiologically, makes them believe they are less than human. Both characters describe their childhood in completely different ways. Douglass explains the system that slave owners used to â€Å"make a slave.† By cutting off ties with ones parents, especially maternal caring, they are unable to grasp the concept of love and kinship, thus making them more as animals then people. Douglass explains that he never, â€Å"enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tend er and watchful care, I received the tidings of [my mother’s] death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.† (Douglass, I) Douglass’s used adjectives like â€Å"soothing† to reinvent the childhood he could have had if he would’ve had his mother in his life. Douglass was robbed of his childhood by the wickedness of slavery and his attitude towards that is shown through his descriptive writing. Jacobs had a very different childhood then Douglass. Jacob’s had a somewhat normal childhood for a slave. Jacob’s was fortunate enough to have both of her parents in her life as well as a brother for amount of time. She was not a victim of being separated from her parents like Douglass. She was also privileged enough to be ignorant of what she had been born into. After her mother’s death, she is taken to her mother’s mistress who teaches her sew, read and write. Though both characters are b orn into slavery, they lead completely different childhoods. Gender dictates the working rolls Douglass and Jacobs were assigned in their time as slaves. Jacob’s was again fortunate to be doing house work as a young girl, most of her time as a slave she acted as a house maid. By being a women Jacob’s wasn’t easily subjected to working a hard day in the field, though field work was in her future when Mr. Flint vengefully sends Jacobs to his plantation. Though she was to work in the fields, such work was only assigned by Mr. Flints feeling towards her having an affair with Mr. Sands. Douglass being a man was subject to much harsher work than Jacobs. Douglass was exposed to hardened slave masters who were cruel to him, and was given harsh beatings. Douglass is deeply emasculated by the hours of work he spends out in the fields, as well as the harsh beatings given by Covey. Douglass becomes capable of only resting as a result of his beatings and extensive hours of work. Douglass describes one of his many beatings in great deta il, â€Å"he lashed me till he had worn out hisswitches, cutting me so savagely as to leave the marks visible for a long time after. This whipping was the first of a number just like it, and for similar offences.† (Douglass, X) Slave men were subject to much harsher work than the women, and these two characters are primary examples of such. Douglass and Jacobs were physically abused, but the context of their abuse was completely different based on their gender. Jacob was subject to Dr. Flint’s frequent sexual harassment. Jacobs was continually taken advantage of sexually during her time under his grasp. Jacob’s narrative is quite focused on the fact that she is a woman when writing about her struggles, â€Å"Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women. Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, and sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own.† (Jacobs, XVI) Her abuse physiologically damaged her, and eventually caused her to have an affair with another man just to escape another’s harassment. Jacobs was never able to truly be a woman of her own, she was constantly pressed by the fact that she was a slave and had no right over her own body. She states in her narrative that her body belonged to Dr. Flint, which was harmful to her. The fact Dr. Flint’s harassment led Jacobs to having an affair with another white man who she was not in love with, and eventually led into her hiding delaying her from mothering her children obstructed her chance for her to be a real woman. Douglass’s abuse was completely different but had the same effect on him; he wasn’t able to be a true man. Throughout Douglass’s narrative and mostly in his time under the control of Covey, he describes how his endurance to become a real man faded. Covey truly broke Douglass and continually states that he was everywhere, â€Å"under every tree, behind every stump, in every bush, and at every window, on the plantation.â₠¬  (Douglass, X) Slavery took every ounce of his will to live; he had no interest in reading, writing, or even escaping to become a free man. The effect slavery left on him shows that as a slave, Douglass was not able to be a real man. While both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobson’s Narratives undergo the corrupt power of slavery in 19th century America and were able to escape, the role of gender in society largely acts as a variance within these two stories. Both characters show that as a slave, they weren’t able to act as a real man or woman. The physical and mental abuse, their childhoods and every aspect of their lives as slaves, hindered them from having a real life for themselves. Though there were similarities in their narratives, their gender truly controlled the course of their lives. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. I,X, XVI,. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. New York: New American Library, 1968. N. pag. Print. Jacobs, Harriet A. XVI, IV. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. New York: Oxford UP, 1988. N. pag. Print. Notes, C. (2013, April 10th). Class Notes. Print.

The History of Women And Computing :: Computer Science Technology Essays

The History of Women And Computing Think for a moment, if you will, about your personal computer and the tasks you request that it perform each day. More likely than not your answers include computation, word processing, communication, and research. Did it make sense for John A.N. Lee to label women "lady computers" (14)? The point that Lee makes in his editorial is that women since the late 1800's have performed computation and secretarial duties for their male superiors and therefore they can be equated with computers (15). In actuality, many sources concur on that fact that women played a much larger role in the development of computing then they have been given credit for in the history books. There have been many female contributors to the expansion of computing machines and computer science and several of the pioneers of computing technology were female. Ada Byron Lovelace is one of the few women who get credit for her early work in computing. She lived during the 1800s working closely with Babbage on his Analytic Engine. When translating Babbage's lectures, Lovelace added her own extensive notes to the material (Gurer, "Pioneering Women" 175). She was able to visualize how the Engine could be programmed to complete other tasks, such as playing music, and was the "first to envision and understand the potential for a computing machine." Lovelace developed concepts in computing that are still used today, such as a method of storing sequences (subroutines) of operations or instructions and the Department of Defense has named their high-level programming language "in honor of her contributions and pioneering spirit" (Gurer, "Women" 116- 117; Gurer, "Pioneering Women" 175). The conclusion of the Second World War and the commencement of the "Commercial Computing" age seem to go hand in hand (Ceruzzi 13). During this era, a number of American women fell in line with the "Rosie the Riveter" stereotype and entered the work force to take the place of the men who were sent overseas to fight in the war. Meanwhile, the University of Pennsylvania was beginning the ENIAC project, working to build a computer that would run ballistic calculations for the army.

Is Violence in the Media Controversial? Essay

Do you have a particular song or movie that you just really love. If you do, have you ever considered the kind of music you listen to or the movies you watch influence the decisions you make about almost everything. This may be really obvious, but a lot of people underestimate it: It’s the power of the media. Media is very powerful and extremely influential. And as teenagers, our minds are a lot more absorbent to the things we see and hear around us. That’s why I think media should be censored. Probably the most common example of the influence of media on teenagers is the Columbine shooting. Public controversy about violent content in the media has a long history that extends as far back as the first decade of the twentieth century in the United States. The earliest controversies revolved around depictions of criminality in the movies, and the very first case of movie censorship occurred in 1908, when the police in Chicago refused to provide a permit for the public display of the movie The James Boys in Missouri. Authorities objected to the content of the film because it focused on violent law-breaking (Hoberman, 1998). The scientific study of the effects of media violence may not extend as far back as 1908, but it was only a few years later that media violence became a focus of the first major investigation of the content and effects of movies. Violence in the media has become a contradictory topic. While some individuals believe that media violence places society in danger of chaos, others find that violence in the movies and on television has no negative effect on societal communities. Research has shown that there are pros and cons to having violence displayed in the Violence in the Media 3 media. The study of media sources (particularly violence in video games, television, and movies) with real-world aggression and violence over time. There doesn’t seem to be many positive aspects to violent television shows or movies, but there’s at least one advantage to watching violence, such as catharsis. There will always be the debate over why some people react with violence after watching violent media and some do not, but the fact remains that there are few good reasons to see so much violence in such explicit detail. Many social scientists support the correlation however; some scholars argue that media research has methodological problems and that findings are exaggerated (Ferguson & Kilburn, 2009; Freedman, 2002; Pinker 2002; Savage, 2004). Measuring aggression and its causes has always been an important focus for social psychologists, partly because excessive aggression isn’t tolerated in our society, and overly aggressive individuals often find themselves in jail because of their behavior. The first experiments on the impact of media violence on human behavior were conducted by psychologists and sociologists who applied theories of social learning and modelling behavior i.e. they thought that people saw violent behavior on TV and copied it. The more violent behavior they saw, especially violence that went unpunished, the more likely they were to behave in a violent manner themselves. Since the 1960s and Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiments, there have been many studies by social psychologists attempting to establish a causal relationship between media violence and aggressive behavior. Violence in the Media 4 Complaints about the possible harmful effects of mass media appear throughout history; even Plato was concerned about the effects of plays on youth. Various media/genres, including dime novels, comic books,jazz,rock and roll, role playing/computer games,television,movies,internet (by computer or cell phone) and many others have attracted speculation that consumers of such media may become more aggressive, rebellious or immoral. This has led some scholars to conclude statements made by some researchers merely fit into a cycle of media-based moral panics. Several scholars (e.g. Freedman, 2002; Olson, 2004; Savage, 2004) have  pointed out that as media content has increased in violence in the past few decades, violent crimes among youth have declined rapidly. Although most scholars caution that this decline cannot be attributed to a causal effect, they conclude that this observation argues against causal harmful effects for media violence. A recent long-term outcome study of youth found no long-term relationship between playing violent video games or watching violent television and youth violence or bullying. Violence in the Media 5 Pro: Catharsis Theory The catharsis theory implies that daily interactions cause individuals to accumulate frustrations. These frustrations could lead to the individual committing violent acts if not released by other means. According to this theory, watching others engage in violent acts on television or in the movies relieves the individual of daily frustrations, and creates a society filled with less violence. In essence, the catharsis theory deems media violence as a positive attribute because an individual can release tension without physically harming another individual. Con: Violent Thoughts Researchers have undertaken studies that support the idea of media violence initiating violent thoughts in children and adults. According to the theory of observational learning, children learn through example. As such, kids who unable to decipher the difference between reality and fantasy will imitate behavior viewed on television. If not corrected, these children have the potential to exhibit violent as children and throughout their adult lives. From the perspective, violence in the media initiates violent thoughts that individuals eventually carry out. Violence in the Media 6 Pro: Reinforcement Theory The reinforcement theory holds that media violence reinforces prior beliefs about violence in society. When speaking of media portrayals, the reinforcement theory indicates that violent acts seen in the media occur in society when aggressive behavior already surrounds the viewer. Individuals  who learned that violence is wrong will not be influenced by the media to commit such acts. In fact, people whose believe violence to be bad will use such behavior in the media to strengthen their opposition. Con: Justifiable Violence Regardless of an individual’s beliefs about violence, The Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) holds that aggressive behavior in the media presents the idea of violence being a justifiable solution to societal problems. According to CMPA, many television shows with a protagonist through violent acts. While good ruling over evil is a positive concept, some television shows and cinemas do not demonstrate the human consequences of violent acts. Failure to exhibit such consequences informs the viewing audience that violence is the only justifiable means of solving a problem and aggressive behavior has no consequences associated with it—a concept that is certainly untrue in society. On top of all that, seeing these themes at such a young age helps desensitize him to it when it occurs in reality. In an ideal world, all there would be more child appropriate television, and parents may do more to shield their kids from the guns and explosions that is today’s media. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, so I think the media should set their violent content to â€Å"low†, not â€Å"overkill†. Also, not only is their proof that the lack of non-violent television is getting to our kids, but the media has, (whether intentionally or not), shown in a sense, what the violence on television has done to children. The Effect of Violence in the Media on Children Television, movies, and video games are a big part of children’s lives in today’s technologically advanced society. However, there is a big controversy questioning the effects of these media outlets on children. Much of society claims to have proof for the belief that media violence affects children negatively. However, I am skeptical of the evidence that is stated to prove that claim. I feel that society has placed the blame on these mediums for the violent acts, however serious or trivial, that children commit way too easily, before they even begin to examine the parenting of today’s society. National Association for the Education of Young Children supports the reinstitution of FCC standards  establishing limits on violent depictions during hours children are likely to watch television. Standards would also control the degree to which violence is depicted so as to be perceived by children as a normal and acceptable response to problems, as equated with power, as leading to reward or glorification of the perpetrator. An additional strategy would be to develop a parental guidance rating system for network. Violence in the Media 8 Conclusion There are many issues surrounding this age-old debate and the perceived effects of violence in the media. Over the past fifty years various studies have both proved and disproved the links between violence in the media and aggression in real life. But somehow the same questions keep coming up: Who is responsible for the violent content in the media? The arguments on each side of the debate are very powerful, and draw on years of discussion, and anxiety about the effects media violence might be having on our society as a whole. Parents need to be aware that much of what children watch on television is not specifically intended for children. It has been estimated that only 10% of children’s viewing time is spent watching children’s television; the other 90% is spent watching programs designed for adults. Parents can assist children in finding alternatives to viewing adult television. You need to sift through the research material and have a look at the different views of parents, psychologists, academics, audiences and media producers. Check who has authored any given report, and how that might affect their conclusions e.g. are they affiliated to a religious group, or an industry association? The irony at the heart of the Violence in The Media debate is that a lot of the media coverage of this topic which condemns violence, actually incorporates violence and is designed to stimulate violent reactions. REFERENCES 1. Savage, J., & Yancey, C. (2008). The Effects of Media Violence on Criminal Aggression; A Meta-Analysis,† Criminal Justice and Behavior. : Sage. 2. Berkowitz, L. (1965). â€Å"Some Aspects of Observed Aggression†. Journal of personality and social psychology 12 (3): 359–369 3. Bender, H.E., and Kambam P., Pozios V. (2013). Does Media Violence Lead to the Real Thing. 4. Brown, Governor of California Supreme Court of the United States (personal communication, June 27, 2011) Entertainment Merchants Association. 5. Freedman, Jonathan L. (2002). Media violence and its effect on aggression: Assessing the scientific evidence. Toronto 6. Ferguson, C. J.; Kilburn, J. (2009). â€Å"The Public Health Risks of Media Violence: A Meta-Analytic Review†. The Journal of Pediatrics 154 (5): 759–763 7. Singer, D., & Singer, J. (1984). TV violence: What’s all the fuss about? Television & Children, 7(2), 30-41.

The Biblical Interpretation Of Exodus And Song Of...

After Reformation period, the allegorical biblical interpretation was criticized and rejected by contemporary biblical interpretation theory, and a lot of Christian evangelical churches. However, as a long tradition stems from the early church, allegorical interpretation has never been disappeared; on the contrary, it was one the most important exegesis tradition in the history of Chinese Protestant Church. Many fundamentalist theologians and church leaders were influenced by it, while Jia Yuming is one of the representative figures. This paper attempts to explain the characteristic of Jia Yuming` s allegorical biblical interpretation, and to explore the contribution of his exegesis in Chinese Christian theology. Jia Yuming`s allegorical interpretation was influenced by several theological schools. He graduated from Presbyterian seminary, and had reformed theology background, then he influenced by pietistic theology and Charismatic movement, and then turned to allegorical exegesis. In this paper, we will use Jia Yuming` s interpretation of Exodus and Song of Solomon as an example to analyze its characteristics. Exodus had a lot of narrative and laws, and was allegorical explained by Jia Yuming. Song of Solomon is the most difficult book to interpret and often be interpreted as an allegory. 1. Spirit, soul, body trichotomy allegorical interpretation Spirit, soul, and body trichotomy had a great impact on the Chinese Christian theology. Human nature was composedShow MoreRelatedThe Biblical Interpretation Of Exodus Andsong Of Solomon 1336 Words   |  6 PagesAfter Reformation period, the allegorical biblical interpretation was criticized and rejected by contemporary biblical interpretation theory, and a lot of Christian evangelical churches. However, as a long tradition stems from the early church, allegorical interpretation has never been disappeared; on the contrary, it was one the most important exegesis tradition in the history of Chinese Protestant Church. 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