Meridian By Alice Walker Essays - Meridian, Literature, Alice Walker

Meridian By Alice Walker In this compelling novel by Alice Walker, Meridian, the main character, grows up through the eyes of the reader. The author shows us the emotional, physical, and psychological stages of resistance that Meridian goes through during the height of the civil rights movement. In fact, if one looks at the life of Alice Walker, the author of the novel, similarities undeniably exist between the two women. First let us examine the early signs of resistance in Meridian. One of the first obvious examples of Meridian's individuality is when she rejects religion at a very young age despite her mother's devout Christian beliefs. In school, she is unable to finish a speech because she knows that there is no truth in the words she speaks. "Meridian was trying to explain to her mother that for the first time she really listened to what she was saying, knew she didn't believe it, and was so distracted by this revelation that she could not make the rest of her speech." (Walker, 121) This passage reveals the intellect that overpowers her emotion developing in Meridian. Yet another example is how Meridian is able to be a nonconformist when she gives up family life and motherhood when she has the opportunity to attend college. Her feelings are well explained in this passage. "When she gave him away she did so with a light heart. She did not look back, believing she had saved a small person's life." (Walker, 90-91) Although Meridian feels it will be best for the child as well as for herself, this decision causes great disturbance within her because of her mother's disapproval. The reader sees Meridian enter college after she has made all of these decisions, and she has also volunteered to work for voter registration, a decision that foreshadows further resistance throughout the novel. When Meridian enters college, she does so knowing that she will better herself. One of the first things the reader notes is her determinism to give the wild child a chance in society, and then, after the wild child's tragic and sudden death, give her a proper funeral. After being denied the opportunity by the authorities, the reaction from Meridian and other students was devastating. "The students sang through tears that slipped like melting pellets of sleet down their grieved and angered cheeks: ?We shall overcome...'" (Walker, 48) Meridian becomes actively involved in the civil rights movement, although she must conceal this from the university. She successfully encourages others to join the movement, and they go from door to door trying to convince others to have the courage to vote. After becoming aquainted with Truman Held, Meridian soon falls in love with him. This relationship ends disappointingly for Meridian, but it provides another excellent example of her prowess. She is able to go on despite the loss of her child, her lover, and her friend Anne-Marion, who was intent on convincing Meridian to be willing to "kill for the revolution" (Walker, 27). This is when the reader sees Meridian move into her next stage of life after overcoming severe illness at college. Meridian is alone. Truman has married Lynne, a white woman, Anne-Marion has forsaken her, and Meridian is just beginning to think about her views and beliefs from her perspective. She lives and works in the South, but she is frail and often suffers from paralysis. Although struggling with her own identity, she still acts as a servant and a saint among her people. For example, when black people were not allowed to swim in the public swimming pool, the mayor refused to build them one of their own. After several children drowned in floods while swimming in ditches that served as makeshift pools, the city officials were taught a lesson by Meridian. "It was Meridian who had led them to the mayor's office, bearing in her arms the bloated figure of a five-year-old boy who had been stuck in the sewer for two days before he was raked out with a grappling hook." (Walker, 191) Meridian also acts as a mediator, ironically, between Truman and his wife Lynne. She remains friends with both of them despite the pain that they once caused her. Throughout the novel, Meridian provides the reader with examples of her resistance to racial suppression and segregation and prejudice. Alice Walker, like her character Meridian, suffered many hardships in her life. One can see the similarities in the real person and the fictional character. Her mother suffered from numerous strokes, her partner cheated on her and

Why videos go viral Essays - Viral Videos, YouTube Videos

Why videos go viral Essays - Viral Videos, YouTube Videos Why videos go viral Kevin Allocca Social media This TED Talk explains how videos go viral, and why it matters. First of all Kevin Allocca started saying that when he was young, being popular was a hard thing to accomplish, but now you can get it easily, by 3 different factors: tastemakers, communities in participation and unexpectedness; he presented some data showed that every minute in YouTube, 48 hours of video are uploaded, and just a tiny percent of it get millions of views. After this he showed a video of filmed by a man that showed a double rainbow in the camp, became very popular, since it got 23 million views, after that he showed a graph about the views that the video had and was perceptible that the video got viral months after being published. It happened because Jimmy Kimmel tweeted this video. This was the first factor, the Tastemaker, the ones who introduce new and interesting things to a larger audience. Then he played another video called Friday, sang by Rebecca Black, this video was played two hundred million ti mes; again showed more data but now about this video, this time some tastemakers posted the video accelerating the process, making it very popular, that it had its own parodies, he showed that every day of the week had its own song. This was the second factor, community participation, which means spreading it and doing something new with it. Then he played a video called the Nyan Cat, which was just an animated cat with a pink cookie and a rainbow with a funny song. It was viewed nearly five hundred million times, then he told the crowd that if they thought that was weird, there was a three hour version of the video and was viewed 4 million times. Then showed a video of a cat watching this video, and another video of a cat watching the Nyan Cat video, and emphasized that the important there, was the creativity, the showed some versions of the Nyan Cat such as the old version, then showed the international ones representing Japan, such as the Japanese, French, Mexican Russian and the American version. He pointed also that now we dont just enjoy but participate, and again showed a video but now of a girl playing the Nyan Cat in violin. And this was the last factor, unexpectedness, those vids that are truly unique, and unexpected. He shared that one of his friends told him to watch a video about a guy protesting bicycles finds in New York City, in his videos he accidentally fell, and then started to fall on his other videos to make them viral. Getting 5 million views. To conclude he said that this approach held for anything new that we do creatively and so it brings us to a big question, What does it mean?. To conclude he said that tastemakers create participating communities complete unexpectedness are characteristics in a new kind of media and culture where anyone has access and the audience defines the popularity and used as example to Justin Bieber, because he got famous starting on youtube, and said that this are not old media and it will define the entertai nment of the future. I chose this Ted Talk because is very interesting for me, and now in the technology era, I think is important to know more about media. This talk gave more understanding of how we interact with technology, because showing graphs and personal experiences made it easy and fun to get it. Also this ted talk showed that today besides all bad things happening there are people in the world that one to share their happiness. This video affected the way I watched simple viral videos and understand how it got viral and how I cooperated to make it happen. Even this talk was about three years ago these three factor are true.

Eating Disorders in today's society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eating Disorders in today's society - Essay Example It is because of this one standard that eating disorders have become almost fashion statements themselves, as girls result to them to maintain a thin physique. The biggest focus for both men and women when it comes to being attractive is their weight, though this is quickly followed by the physical, flawless appearance of the face. When it comes to females, a thin, slightly toned body is considered attractive and beautiful. In regard to men, they can either be thin, well-built, or athletic in appearance. Despite how pretty a person may be when it comes to their face, overweight and heavyset people are seldom considered attractive in accordance to society’s standards of today. Standards of attractiveness do not vary so much by gender or age. Men expect women to be thin and busty, while women expect men to either be thin or athletic. Each gender expects the other to at least be able to maintain a decent weight; again, the standard of thin being beautiful is still in play regardless of gender or age. Sexual orientation, however, is slightly different. The majority of homosexual individuals do not put as much stock in beauty or attractiveness as heterosexual people do. Indeed, many homosexual females who look butch or manly are considered to be attractive, while homosexual males who look dainty and delicate are regarded as being attractive. Even when, in homosexual relationships, a female looks like the typical idea of a female, or a male looks like a typical male, they are still seen as attractive by their fellows. What our culture tells men about how to attract women is they need to appear as men, regardless of what their real age is. They need to be thin or muscular; many of them tend to look like a cliched Californian surfer. However, men also need to have an appealing and independent personality, which goes to show that not all beauty is physical. On the other end of the spectrum, however, are the women who believe that they need to attract men by

American Women suffrage movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American Women suffrage movement - Essay Example But this paper is not about the British suffrage action, that was merely meant as a reference point. This paper will instead concentrate on the trials and tribulations that the pioneering feminist movement women of the United States of America had to endure in order to allow the average 21st century woman the power of equality of the sexes and the right to vote. Both are achievements that the modern day woman tend to take for granted and as such, deserve revisiting in order to remind the women of where these freedoms came from and at what cost to the early 20th century woman. The early to middle 20th century saw an era of rapid industrialization in the United States which resulted in more women joining the workforce. Originally, women were not give the right to representation in their place of work and during voting procedures because there was a belief that these women, most of whom were married, would be represented in the vote by their husbands. However, the continuous changes tha t were occurring in the factories, including the abuse of women in terms of labor practice, proved that the male vote could not protect the rights of women (Liazos, 128). This was the original cause that started the Women's Suffragette movement. It is important to note however that there was at the time, a sector of women that did not totally believe in the female cause of the era. It was the belief of the non suffragettes that; ... only one class of women wanted the vote and that the vast majority of women were content as they were. in fact, many immigrant women working for reform in labor did indeed â€Å"[view] women's suffrage irrelevant to basic political change , a mere plaything for the middle-classed, privileged woman. â€Å" They felt that it was not as important as other social, industrial, educational, and moral progress (Liazos 126-127). One of the most notable names in the movement is that of Alice Paul who, raised in the Hicktite beliefs, always thought that equality of the sexes was something that was natural as their religious beliefs advocated that belief. Ms. Paul was born January 11, 1885 in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey to Quaker parents William and Tacie Paul. They were the first people who influenced the young Alice's belief in gender equality and the need to work for the betterment of society. The eldest of 4 siblings, Alice was the one who was most influenced by her mother's early association with the suffragette movement since the meetings for the cause were often held on Paulsdale, the family farm. Paul herself admitted to being exposed to the movement while in attendance at the family farm meetings with her mother. In fact, Alice often refers to her mother's advocacy and role in the movement when asked about why she had such a keen interest in seeing the desires of the movement become a reality, In a Time magazine article she was quoted as having credited â€Å"...her farm upbringing by quoting an adage she learned from her mother, "When you put your hand to the plow, you can't put it down until you get to the end of the row" (Carol, Myers, et. al. 1). Ms. Paul, having been raised within Quaker traditions explained that she had always been raised with a belief in equality of the sexes. It was, in her point of view, simply a normal part of Quaker life. In her best effort to explain the relation of her Quaker upbringing with her belief in the equality of the s

Brazil Will Eventually Become Economic Powerhouse Essay Example for Free

Brazil Will Eventually Become Economic Powerhouse Essay Currently, Brazil with its population hitting 186. 6 million has the ninth largest economy in the world (Jaeger, p. 2). Since the beginning of the 21st century the country has been enjoying a well-established economic stability, low inflation, high productivity rates and developing macro-economic infrastructure. Currently, Brazilian economic indexes are gradually improving in their dynamics, though some of them still remain on the average level for Latin American region. In particular, GDP growth in 2006 was hardly over 3% (Estevao). Since the middle of the last century Brazil was expected to develop shortly into â€Å"the world’s next economic power. † However due to two-decade long economic stagnation and financial crises in the mid-1980s Brazil has lost its positions and fell short of expectations regarding its economic development, especially in comparison with rapidly progressing economies of the countries in Asian region, such as China, Taiwan or South Korea, etc. (Adrogue, Cerisola Gelos, p. 3). Nevertheless, in the 1990s a series of well-planned governmental policies were implemented and Brazilian economy went through a number of structural economic changes, which allowed achieving certain stability, especially on macro-economic level. Therefore, country’s inflation was taken under control, external debt was considerably decreased, and numerous measures directed on reformation of financial infrastructure, liberalization of trade, achieving price stability and stimulating general economic growth were undertaken (Jaeger, p. 5-6). This way the country managed to improve its international image and gain a reputation of â€Å"trustworthy† nation again. As a result, since recent times Brazil has been receiving a lot of private investments. Foreign investors are attracted by high return of their funds and relatively low risks. Such significant factors, as good demographic situation in the country, high interest rates, stable political situation and prudent governmental policies regarding overseas trade, created absolutely favorable environment for foreign businessmen, who intend to invest their funds and start their businesses in Brazil. Good investment climate and economic stability are not the only factors determining future rise of Brazilian economy. In addition to that, Brazil is very rich with various natural resources. Those are, first of all, huge territories of arable lands available for cultivation of a great variety of crops. Moreover, there are large mineral and plant resources including iron, copper and even gold, which have not been even properly explored yet. That is why there are great opportunities for different industrial and agricultural companies in Brazil. Undoubtedly, there are some problems which require immediate attention and solution in order to fasten economic development and achieve high levels of social wellbeing. Those include corrupted educational system and problems with human capital, insufficient financial and fiscal systems, poverty and income disparities, etc. Certainly, such reforms are hard to implement within some short period of time, therefore, positive transformations are expected to become effective gradually. Nevertheless, modern Brazil can be called the â€Å"country of the future† with its huge national market, cheap working power, abundance of natural resources, and many other factors determining a large long-term economic potential of the country (Jaeger, p. 2). Great economic stability and openness, steady increase in manufacturing and consumption, establishment of new international trade connections and other fundamentals will definitely contribute greatly to future prosperity and economic power of the country. Works Cited: Estevao, Marcello. Brazil Seeks to Unlock Economic Potential. International Monetary Fund. 26 Feb. 2007. 25 Nov. 2007 http://www. imf. org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2007/CAR083A. htm. Jaeger, Marcus. Brazil: Economic scenarios for the next 15 years. Ed. Maria L. Lanzeni. Deutsche Bank Research. Frankfurt Am Main: Deutsche Bank AG, 2006 Adrogue, Richardo, Martin Cerisola and Gaston Gelos. Brazil’s Long-Term Growth Performance -Trying to Explain the Puzzle. International Monetary Fund, unpublished manuscript, December 2006.

The Old Man And The Sea :: essays research papers

This book takes place in the past and is about an old man that loves fishing in the Gulf Stream. The old man was a thin with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck and had scars on his hands from handling the fishing rope. He taught this young boy how to fish and the boy loved him. He even brought him fishing many times. But the past 84 days the old man had not caught one fish. After 40 days of not catching anything the boy left and fished on another boat. The boy still loved him and brought him food and fresh bait to fish. The old man and the boy always talked about baseball because they both enjoyed it. One day, the old man was out on the water fishing. The weather was beautiful, the currents were perfect, and he saw all birds flying over the water. He knew he had to catch a nice fish today. He saw one of his poles have a jerk so he pulled it in and it was a bonita fish, which he was goin to use for a nice piece of bait later in the day. The day progressed and he saw a real big jerk on the pole. He jumped up and held it, but the fish was not hooked yet. A couple more jerks he felt, but the fish was not taking it. Finally the fish did and he could feel that it had to be a fish of enormous size. He could not pull it up because it was so strong. He had to hold onto it until the fish was tired and decided to come up. Then when it would come up, he would take his harpoon and stab it in the heart so it would die. This fish was taking all the strength out of him and it was pulling his skiff farther and farther out. Now he wished that the boy was here with him to help him pull it up. It was 3 days later until he finally got the fish to jump out of the water. When it did he saw that it was the biggest marlin he ever saw. To regain strength and pull the fish in, he had to eat the bonita that he caught. He ate all of it and it helped his hand that was cut from the

Quinn’s Character in Paul Auster’s City of Glass

English 1 Simon Drury Group P 9/27/2012 Tuesday 3:10 Kathleen Samson Paul Auster has said that The New York Trilogy is centrally concerned with â€Å"the question of who is who and whether or not we are who we think we are. † Use this remark as a point of departure for a discussion of the character Quinn –his presentation in the novel and his experience – in City of Glass.In the City of Glass, Auster creates a sense of uncertainty around the identities of the different characters in the book. One does not really grasp who is who in the novel because of the complex and multiple layers of the story Austen creates. The City of Glass asks questions about identity and in this essay I will look at the protagonist (Quinn) and his search to understand himself and to discover his true identity which ultimately leads to his identity being changed with each new character role he takes on to forget his past self.Daniel Quinn is a complicated character and our knowledge of h im is limited because the narrator does not reveal much about him. Where he came from and who he was seem of little importance in the novel we are only told his age, that he was once married but his son and daughter are dead (a past which he seems to be running away from). He is writer of detective stories under the pseudonym of William Wilson (a name Quinn takes on to forget his past). William Wilson’s character mirrors Auster ‘s , the author, own life. Quinn creates his own character Max Work, a private eye narrator.In his stories the protagonist Max becomes very real and moves away from merely being a fictitious character, subsequently causing Quinn himself to take on some of the characteristics of Max, thinking and behaving in a similar manner to him. Eventually Quinn â€Å"stopped thinking on himself as real. †(Auster 10) So already Auster creates this sense of doubt about Quinn and his true identity and eventually Quinn is consumed by the persona of Max Wor k and â€Å"the more Quinn seemed to vanish, the more persistent works presence in that world became. (Auster 10). Quinn runs away from his ‘real’ life because he finds some form of attraction in the world of being a fictitious detective. Quinn finds the role of a detective appealing because it puts him in the role of an observer, analyzing the world much like a reader of a novel, and in essence he forgets himself and his reality by doing so. Max work is essentially an escape from Quinn’s life as a writer (William Wilson) and from his past life as the ‘real Quinn’.By becoming the character he created (Max work) Quinn embarks upon seeking the truth and reality, which in a way is what Quinn is trying to do in terms of discovering an identity. Quinn becomes so consumed in the life of Max Work and the idea of being a detective that when he receives a phone call intended for the private detective Paul Auster, he impersonates him and begins to focus on Pe ter Stillman. Peter is a young man who feels threatened by his father who had been let out of prison.So now Quinn, under the name of Paul Auster, places himself onto another story, another reality through which of he can further delve into the life a ‘real’ detective. Quinn at this point has already taken upon three identities, each of which has served its purpose and been forgotten. The question of who is who now begins to become raveled in layers and doubles so the reader and the character himself is unsure of whom the real protagonist of the story is. Quinn becomes obsessed with Stillman senior and his interest in the man deepens as every day passes, â€Å"he had lived Stillman’s life, walked at his place, seen what he had seen. Quinn becomes Stillman during the case in a way and so another character shift seems to be inevitable. Peter Stillman junior resembles Quinn’s deceased son (whose name was also Peter), Stillman junior had been locked up by his father for nine years in order to test whether ‘God’s language’ would resurface (that is the language uncorrupted by the world, it’s origin during the time of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. ) Roberta Rubenstein argues that Stillman junior is a representation of Quinn’s childhood, isolated from the world with a sense of loneliness.When the two men disappear I creates a sense of anxiety for Quinn, he longs to be ‘non-existent’ as well and eventually he morphs into a mad street walker, homeless and in the end crazy. Auster uses this dilapidation of Quinn to emphasis the conflict within the character and how his ‘self forgetfulness’ leads to his eventual downfall and leaves the question of who he is and who he is meant to be unanswered. Peter Stillman is a character used by Auster the author as a way to further explore the different identities in the book.Stillman junior, after having being isolated from the world has no c lear grasp on his own identity, much like Quinn. In a conversation with Quinn he says, â€Å"I am Peter Stillman. That is not my real name. My real name is Peter Rabbit. † Stillman junior is able to change his name to suit him much like Quinn has done throughout the book, and as seen in the quote Stillman loses the meaning of his name and loses his sense of identity. This quote shows how Auster is very obviously asking the question, who is who and are we who we think we are.Stillman sums it up by saying, â€Å"I cannot say who I will be tomorrow. Each day is new, and each day I can be born again. † The red notebook is the only thing in the book that keeps Quinn’s real name. He writes it in the book during the Stillman case for the first time in over five years and it is the only record or conception of himself that does not change. Quinn recognizes the importance of knowing who he is when he says, â€Å"most important of all: remember who I am supposed to be. à ¢â‚¬  And he later echoes the words of Peter Stillman Junior when he says, â€Å"all I can say is this: my name is Paul Auster.That is not my real name. † This shows that Quinn, like Stillman, is confused about his own identity. Because he is trying to be four people at once he loses the origin of his name and character, his true self. Therefore the question of who is who and whether or not we are who we think we are is not really answered in this book. Auster provides a multi layered and complex understanding of what identity is and how it is used. For Quinn, identity is used as a way of escape, perhaps from the past or from himself (the person he was and whom he grew tired of).Although Quinn is the same person but under different names or aliases, he takes on different identities and makes them a part of his life which eventually leaves no definite answer to who the ‘real’ Quinn is. Works cited Auster, Paul. City of Glass. London: Penguin, 1990 Rubenstein, Rob erta. Doubling, Intertextuality and the Postmodern Uncanny: Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy. LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory, 9 (1998): 245. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. 08. 04. 2006.