Category: Uncategorized

Crystal Mathison

Professor Harris

Written Communication

15 October 2018

A Solution to Food Deserts: Micro Farms

In the United States, about 23.5 million people live in food deserts, low-income areas with limited access to affordable, healthy food such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Residents of food deserts often have poor diets and related health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. Most food deserts are in cities such as Detroit, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City. However, living in a rural area does not assure an abundance of fresh food options. In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that around 2.3 million people, or 2.2 percent of all U.S. households, live in low-income rural areas that are more than 10 miles from a grocery store.

A recent trend in agriculture called micro farming presents a possible solution to food deserts. A micro farm is a small-scale farm that uses less than five acres of land to raise vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs, mushrooms, and even small livestock CITATION Mov15 l 1033 (Movahed). Because micro farms are compact, farmers do not need to invest in expensive equipment such as tractors and harvesters, but can use hand tools to manage their plots. Rather than relying on harmful herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, micro farmers use organic methods such as composting that biuld the soil and encourage plentiful harvests. The aim is to build a sustainable ecosystem that promotes growth. For example, composted soil uses worms to process waste, add fertilizer, and serve as a food source for small livestock. Beds of straw discourage weeds and support mushrooms. Flowering plants attract bees, which pollinate fruit trees and bushes.

In cities, micro farms do more than provide food for their owners and others. They also improve the quality of life for residents by reducing heat islands, clusters of structures that are warmer than surrounding locationsCITATION Har l 1033 (Harris). Planting crops and fruit or nut trees in abandoned lots freshens the immediate and nearby areas. Instead of using heat-absorbing tar or asphalt to cover roofs, rooftop gardens keep buildings cool, absorb rainwater, and dillute pollutants in the water and air.

In rural locations, micro farms can sustain families and provide local employment. For example, Jean-Martin and Maude-Helene Fortier use low-technology, organic practices in Quebec to manage a micro farm that realizes about 45 percent profit and produces an income for the couple and two employeesCITATION For15 l 1033 (Fortier).

Micro farms include private gardens in yards and on rooftops, community gardens in abandoned or underused lots, hydroponic growing operations in underused buildings, and sustainable farms that produce cheese, honey, herbs, and other goods for sale and profit.

In short, for communities in food deserts, micro farms provide affordable sources of nutritious food and possible avenues for profitable enterprises.

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Fortier, Jean-Martin. The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2015. Print.

Harris, Lionel. Heat Islands. n.d. Electronic. 12 October 2018. <http://www.urban.cengage.com>.

Johnson, Nathanael. America’s worst food deserts. 28 March 2014. <http://grist.org/food/americas-worst-food-deserts-map-lovers-edition/>.

Movahed, Neva. Micro Farming Overview. 22 July 2015. <www.lexiconoffood.com>.

Works Cited

Main Causes Of Poverty And Hunger In The World

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc377307145” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc377307145 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377307146” Causes of poverty and hunger PAGEREF _Toc377307146 h 2

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377307147” Solutions to poverty and hunger in the world PAGEREF _Toc377307147 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377307148” Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc377307148 h 8

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377307149” References PAGEREF _Toc377307149 h 9

IntroductionDespite considerable efforts to reduce poverty in the world in the past few decades, millions of people around the world are still pre-occupied with survival and hunger is realty in their everyday lives. According to Shah (2011), the number of people suffering from poverty globally has almost doubled since 1820. Today, according to recent statistics released by World Hunger Education Service (2011), approximately 40% of the world’s population is living on less than $2 per day and about 14 % live on less than one dollar in a day. The most unfortunate consequence of the widespread poverty is that more than 900 million people in the world cannot afford adequate food. In Albania, for example, more than a third of children under the age of 14 years do work. They clean cloths, engage in running of drugs, picking of crops and in begging (Shah, 2011). In Pakistan, labourers sell their kidneys to transplant clinics in order to pay debts. In Niger, one of the countries worst hit by poverty, aid workers reported that families were feeding their starving children with leaves and grass in 2005 after food had been destroyed by droughts and locusts. These are just a few examples to provide a hint of human anguish as a result of poverty and hunger.

According Das (2006) presence of hunger does not simply depend on non-availability of food. Rather, it generally depends on faulty economic, social and political systems which lead to or fail to eradicate poverty within nations. Das further explains that, poverty and hunger are both sides of the same coin and thus, they are synonymous. It is difficult enumerate which of the two stands first. Thus, eradication of hunger goes hand in hand with eradication of poverty. In view of this, this paper seeks to examine the main causes of poverty and hunger in the world. Further, it looks at some of the possible solutions that would result in eradication of poverty and hunger in the affected areas in the world.

Causes of poverty and hunger

The major causes of poverty and hunger in the world are varied. One of these as Ayco, (2008) notes is lack of access to land by some sections of the world population. Ayco explains that, agricultural producers are the real food producers in the world. But they are the real victims of poverty since they have limited access to land and food. Most of the land in many affluent nations is owned by landlords who are not the real producers. The real producers are poor people who are paid wages by the land, who the take away the lion share of the produce. This is so even in the most democratic countries and land tiller norms are not yet to be accepted and practiced. Tillers are yet to attain their right to land and to produce. According to Ayco, numerous studies have demonstrated that producers all over the world live in poverty mainly due to lack of commitment by governments to provide land to the landless poor. In India for example, land reforms have been superfluously carried out, which has not benefited the landless at all. The faulty laws of this nation protect the rights of non-producers and ‘parasites’ in retaining their rights on land and according to Ayco, this situation is the same in almost all Asian and African countries. This problem has been worsened by lack of political will by national governments to implement pro-poor land reforms measures, thus creating a continuous cycle of hunger and poverty for marginal groups of the society. Apart from lack of access to land, they are denied access to essential production resources such as seeds, water and other inputs which are crucial factors for food sovereignty.

Illiteracy is also a major cause of poverty and hunger in the world. Many studies have shown that poverty is both cause and effect of illiteracy in masses. As Das, 2006)points out, the largest section of people living in remote areas in less developed countries either are unable or despise taking their children in schools, lest they are unfit to earn their livelihood by their own labour. The system of education supported by the majority of least developed countries does not support the poor to earn their livelihoods. According to Das, 2006), “these countries adopt totally an inapplicable culture that teaches how to become a ‘parasite’ and how to extract more from the society by depriving others.” Most remarkable, the systems of education in most developing countries give minimal attention skills related to physical labour. Further, among other limitations, the expenses to higher educations in these nations are often too high for the poor to afford. In addition, the environment at home for a poor family is not conducive for a child to learn. In short, the present education system in most developing countries is helping the privileged class and neglecting the underprivileged and the poor. This enhances poverty instead of eradicating it.

Another cause of poverty is presence of backward production systems in some countries, where production of food is carried out for the sake of profit and not consumption. Consequently, consumer protection is not safeguarded in such systems (Mooney et al, 2006). Food stuffs are exported to other countries to secure more profits, ignoring the interests of distressed local consumers who even in extreme cases do not find food in spite of having power to purchase.

Another cause of poverty is insufficient earnings in various sectors of an economy (Das, 2006). This takes place where there is lack of scope for massive employment of people. The profit oriented economic sector ignores the basic aspect of employment of the people. It does not allow them to earn sufficiently to be able to meet their basic needs, including the need for food. As such, unemployment can be termed as a major cause of poverty and hunger. Ecological devastation and lack of access to valuable natural resources are also major causes of poverty and hunger. Some nations benefit from vast forests and fertile soils owing to their geographical locations while others lack such natural bounty. As Ahmed, et al, (2007) points out, climate affects agriculture and rate of diseases infection and thus, ‘it can give or take away’. Abrupt changes in weather upend farmers all over the world but in some nations, one bad harvest spells a disaster to millions of families. In Ethiopia for example, farmers depend on two rainy seasons, a short one on February and a longer one in summer. When ocean temperatures across horn of Africa become cooler than usual, livestock collapses, crops shrivel and people die of hunger. Such a situation led to death of approximately 1 million people between 1984 and 1985 in Ethiopia and in the neighbouring countries. Several years of later poor rains plunged Ethiopia leading to crisis in 2002, which also left a lot of people died, (Ahmed, et al, (2007).

Whitman (2008) proposes that overpopulation is also a major cause poverty and hunger in the world. Whitman notes that, though fertility rates have been constantly dropping worldwide, they remain high in the poorest countries, especially in the rural areas. World bank statistics projects that human population in low- and middle income countries will more than double between 1930 and 2030 and will be about seven times more than that of high income countries. Since developing countries have a high population of young people (a third under the age of 15), they experience momentum as large number of them reach child bearing age. The key point is, more people usually means smaller slices of pie; the higher the population, the greater the divisor in per capita income. As well, rapid growth of population may also stretch local resources beyond their ‘human carrying capacity.’ Eventually, overpopulation leads to increased poverty and more people suffer from hunger (Whitman, 2008).

Bad governance is also a major cause of poverty and hunger. A Chinese philosopher, Confucius (as cited in Whitman, 2008)) once said that, “in a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of and in a country bad governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” Thus as Confucius argued, political leadership affects the distribution of wealth. In order for a country to prosper, it must protect the powerful from bullying the less powerful, protect property rights and create an equal opportunity for all of its citizens. In most poor countries, leaders fail their constituents by mismanaging economic resources and putting personal gain before public gain. The situation worsens when governments tolerate or incite civil or international conflict.

Various researches have found a strong relationship between armed conflict and poverty. Chronic conflict in poorest countries contributes to chronic instability and in turn, causes poverty. Investing on weaponry hijacks funds at both individual and national levels that could be used in improving quality of life of citizens. For example, Eritrea (which ranks 157 out of 177 on the UN HDI) spends more than 19% of its gross domestic products on military while on the other hand, it spends, 3.1% on health and 4.1% on education, (Perusek, 2006). Once conflict breaks in such a country, it robs families of bread winners, leaves orphans, destroys infrastructures such as roads and bridges and may uproot a significant section of a population. As well conflicts compel people to move to escape the insecure situation to other places, where they become refugees or IDPs, (Perusek, 2006). Such people forsake the support of networks of their homes and thus, they are rendered poor and usually suffer from poverty and hunger.

In some poor nations, hunger is not caused by lack of food, but lack of access to it. This condition is generated by some complex of factors. Whitman (2008) points out that apart from the poor being unable to purchase food, many agricultural food products cannot flow well within and between countries due to high tariffs or poor infrastructure and transport systems. “Farmers barely eking out a living out a living cannot move beyond subsistent farming because poorly defined property rights preclude their use of the land as collateral for credit-a critical need for small scale farmers everywhere, especially women farmers,” (Whitman, 2008) Many nations are not able to sell their surplus food since their systems for ensuring food safety are poor.

Solutions to poverty and hunger in the worldThere are numerous different approaches to alleviation of poverty and hunger in the world, depending on the causes. To start with, in order to ensure food sovereignty, the producers of land must become the owners of instruments of food production, (Smith, 2003). To achieve this, the poor, the poor landless have to be rehabilitated with land, with convectional apparatuses for production. They should be assisted to own land on which to produce and laws should be formed to protect their ownership rights. In less developed countries, food production is largely labour oriented and therefore, the labourers must be inspired in order to produce to enhance increment in food production. Further, national governments have a duty to guarantee every individual nutritious, healthy and safe food, which they will get in abundance and at reasonable price that they can afford, (Whitman 2008). As well, governments must ensure that they get the food to the nearest place convenient to all people. They have a duty to enhance purchasing power for the poor families by ensuring sufficient earning for each of them. They should ensure that the prices of basic foods such as corns, wheat, rice, fish, egg, milk and vegetables are not raised beyond control price.

Third, education system in all countries should be structured in a way that it is not “class-based” but profession based. It should give up priorities of class benefits and status domination and should enhance equality of status at all standards of education. This will require the privileged class children who are imparted with preferential education to be brought at par with the children from poor families at all levels of education. The education system should be instrumental in minimizing social distance between the rich and the poor and should not widen the gap between the educated and uneducated. According to Das (2006), schools from the poor provide education of very law standard than it is imparted to the children of high class. More resources should be made available for the schools of the poor.

According to Zhuang (2010), a more productive agriculture is necessary in order to fuel economic growth which is required to alleviate poverty, which should target in food insecure sections of populations, especially those living in rural areas. According to Zhuang, agricultural research is the key to adopting and developing crop varieties that can be produced efficiently in areas with low rainfall. Also, agricultural research helps to increase crop and livestock yields, which is essential in the process of alleviation of hunger and poverty. The US government has taken necessary steps through giving additional steps to international agricultural research. As World Bank (2003), explains, food security cannot be attained by just producing more food. There is need to complement investments in agriculture with social safety nets and programs which address poverty and hunger among the most vulnerable sections of the society. For example, in many developing countries, women play the central role in food production and household nutrition and thus, necessary gender aspects should be incorporated in food security program planning and implementation.

The poor countries need to open markets in which to sell their products. Enhancement of trade can highly boost living standards and create new opportunities among the least developed nations, (Whitman, 2008). Increased market access for agricultural products, elimination of export restrictions and science based trade rules among nations will help to raise food security for the whole world population. On top of all that, there is widespread need for development of legal and regulatory systems, along with greater investments in infrastructure. Finally, provision of Food aid remains an important remedy to poverty and hunger especially when addressed to meet specific food shortages in lowest income countries that experience natural or conflict related disruptions of food supplies or who simply cannot afford commercial food imports, (Whitman, 2008). Food aid is a unique resource for addressing emergency food needs, addressing hunger and nutrition problems, supporting development programs and directly feeding vulnerable groups in the society. Developed nations and NGOs add more efforts and increase their effectiveness in food aid and food programs especially targeting the least developed countries whose citizens are starving.

Conclusion

In conclusion, poverty remains prevalent in the world, despite vast efforts to eradicate. The number of people in the world languishing in poverty and dying of from hunger every year is increasing, instead of reducing. As demonstrated in this discussion, the causes of poverty and hunger in the world are varied. They include lack of commitment by governments to provide land to the landless poor; Illiteracy among the poor; presence of backward production systems, insufficient earnings in various sectors of an economy; Ecological devastation and lack of access to valuable natural resources; overpopulation; poor governance and but lack of access to food. As well, there are a variety of choices of possible solutions to poverty and hunger, depending on the causes. Some of the possible solutions are; strategies to enable the producers of land to become the owners of instruments of food production; material support by national governments by ensuring that all citizens have to access nutritious, healthy and safe food; enhancement of equality in education systems; enhancing more productive agricultural practices; provision of social safety nets and programs which address poverty and hunger among the most vulnerable sections of the society; enhancement of domestic and international trade and provision of food aid by NGOs and developed nations to least developed countries.

References

Ayco R., (2008), The root causes of hunger and poverty, retrieved from,

http://knol.google.com/k/the-root-cause-of-hunger-and-poverty

Ahmed, A. U., Hill R. V., Smith L. C., Frankenberger , T., Gulati K., Wiesmann, D. M., Quabili,

W. & Yohannes Y., (2007), global poverty and hunger, The world’s most deprived: characteristics and causes of extreme poverty and hunger, Washington DC: Intl Food Policy Res Inst Print

Das, R., (2006), the global dimension of hunger, Poverty and hunger: causes and consequences,

New Delhi: Sarup & Sons Print

Mooney, L. A., Knox,D. & Schacht, C., (2006), strategies for action: Antipoverty programs,

policies and proposals, Understanding social problems, CA: Cengage Learning,

Perusek, G., W., (2006), Most dispossessed: hunger and poverty on a world scale, Shifting

terrain: essays on politics, history and society, New York: Peter Lang

Shah, A, (2010), World hunger and poverty, retrieved from,

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/6/world-hunger-and-poverty

Smith, L. B, (2003), section II support organizations involved in the world wide economic boost

trapping101 Ways to Participate in Having a World That Works for Everyone: So, What Are You Going to Do about It?, NE: iUniverse

Whitman, S., (2008), Focus on United States, World poverty, New York: InfoBase Publishing

World Bank, (2003), millennium development goals: poverty eradication and improving lives,

World development indicators 2003, World Bank Publications

Zhuang, J, (2010), inclusiveness through food security, Poverty, Inequality, and Inclusive

Growth in Asia: Measurement, Policy Issues, and Country Studies, London: Anthem Press

Message from “Hidden Figures” and why it Matters

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5/2/2019, Viewed From https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/hidden-figuresDate:

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(1) what is the message of the film as a historic presentation of this group of women, and why does it matter?

Films have the capacity of giving an image of what happened in the past. A good refection of science in the past is the reality and documentary film “Hidden Figures”. The historical drama released in December 2016 features women who played a great role in NASA in helping the USA to fly the first and corresponding spaceflights. The space race among nations was getting intense and at the period of 1961 and 1962 America was trying hard to have a successful spaceflight. The period was characterised by racial segregation which was taken to the work place. The three women who pioneered and gave the most significant efforts in having the first successful spaceship to fly and return were all African Americans.

The film gives a message that intelligence is not determined by race or gender. The people of color were discriminated by the laws that were in place during the time. At the NASA station based in Virginia, there were a lot of things that separated the blacks and the whites. They could not take food from the same cafeteria, stay in the same neighborhood, drink from the same water fountain, use the same restrooms, attend the same school, visit the same beaches, and receive care in the same hospital (Shetterly, M. L., Conkling, W., Freeman, L., & Shetterly, M. L. 2018). We see Katherine struggling even after being accepted to work with the other whites she could not use the same restrooms and had to move a very long distance to relive herself. Also, she was forced to drink from a coffee pot written colored yet she was the only black and the only woman among the workers except for the secretary who was a white woman.

It was racism all over, Mary who as good engineering skills, after being summoned by a team of engineers led by Zielinski she is asked to get certification. Everyone knew that this was next to impossible since a college that offered the certificate was purely segregated and only whites were allowed. Dorothy on the other hand is waiting for a promotion to be the supervisor, which she genuinely deserves and the senior administrator rubs it on her face that it will not happen which the main reason behind this was because she was black.

The film matters because black women paint the picture of failed early achievements which were due to racial segregation where no one thought black people would come out as intelligent apart from the domestic jobs and manual jobs which they performed best. The women who were able to go to college would assume teaching as the best profession. In “Hidden Figures”, the women who managed to do well in mathematics were given a lot of work and worked as “computers” for the mathematicians at Langley.

Leave alone the three elites being black at least if they were male then they could have a say in the society but now these were females who tried to work with men from the white community. The untold story of women who pioneered rocket science is very important to the kids of the hood. Many children from the colored community will grow up knowing that such careers are not linked to them but rather they can do acting, rapping and sports which is not true (Shetterly, M. L., Conkling, W., Freeman, L., & Shetterly, M. L. 2018). Despite the three women being discriminated and underpaid, their hard work at NASA station bore fruits since it is their calculations that managed to help land the first astronaut to move round the earth safely.

Conclusively, the film gives a good reflection n of the past and the position of women in the society. From “Hidden Figures,” we get to understand that one being a genius is not linked to ethnicity, race or gender. It makes women feel proud to have participated in significant change making events in the field of science.

Reference

https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/hidden-figuresShetterly, M. L., Conkling, W., Freeman, L., & Shetterly, M. L. (2018). Hidden figures: The true story of four Black women and the space race.

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Meta as a Social Media Platform

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is one of the most common social media platforms of the current age. Nearly everybody uses Meta to connect with friends and communicate. It is a networking site which makes it easy for people to connect and share with family and friends without necessarily seeing each other. Meta was originally developed for college students. It was developed by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 while enrolled as a student at Harvard University. By 2006, anyone with a valid email address could join Meta as long as they were above 13 years. Meta remains the world’s biggest social networking site, with over 1 billion users globally.

Over the years, Meta Company has acquired other platforms, including Instagram, Whatsapp, Oculus VR, Onavo and Beluga. In 2022, Meta has almost 2.9 billion monthly users, a number that does not include its other acquisitions. Instagram is a video and photo-sharing application that Meta acquired on April 9, 2012, at the cost of $1 billion. Whatsapp is a Mobile messenger service that Meta acquired in February 2014 at the cost of $19 billion. Meta acquired Oculus VR, a virtual reality technology company, in March 2014 at $2 billion. It made the move just weeks after acquiring WhatsApp. The company was best known for its virtual reality video gaming headset, known as the Oculus Rift product. Meta acquired Onavo, a mobile web analytics business, in October 2019 at $100-200 million and Beluga, a messaging service, in March 2011 at an undisclosed cost (Kumar, 323). Meta is undertaking horizontal integration by purchasing other related businesses that are competitors. By purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta is controlling competition and growing as a business. This is a genius move for Meta as the company is expanding, and its revenues are increasing by extension.

References

Kumar, B. Rajesh. “Major Acquisitions by Facebook.” Wealth Creation in the World’s Largest Mergers and Acquisitions. Springer, Cham, 2019. 321-327.

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Main Character in the Hunger Games is Katniss Everdeen who volunteers in place of her younger sister, prim Everdeen to participate in the hunger games. Katniss shows courage as she takes care of her family after the death of their father and takes up the role of the breadwinner. After volunteering to take place in the hunger games, she gives her mother an ultimatum, “Well, you have to help it this time. You can’t clock and leave Prim on her own” because she wanted her mother to take charge of the family now that she was gone (Collins 43).

Minor character is Prim Everdeen the sister of Katniss who is young and innocent. Katniss says, “My Little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother’s body, their cheeks pressed together.” Katniss inspiration was to better the lives of Prim and her mother, which motivation her to secure a win. Flat character include Rue a girl who came from District 11 and became Katniss’ ally. Rue dies in the end as they were carrying out a plan with Katniss to destroy the supplies of the other tributes in the game. Katniss describes, “Rue has rolled to her side, her body curved in and around the spear.” Foxface includes the dynamic character because she suffered severe trauma early in the story, but remained courageous and intelligence. The author claims, “Foxface! Leave it to her to come up with such a cleaver and risky idea!” Foxface does not hold a grudge against Katniss even though she did not help her when she was captured, and instead understands Katniss had no choice (Collins 143).

Round character represents Haymitch Abernathy who was the only of two people to secure a win from District 12. Haymitch begins as a drunkard, but later uses his intelligence and skills to coach Katniss and Peeta into a win. Katniss asserts, “I can feel Haymitch nudging me to keep up the act.” Static character is Gale who was Katniss’ confidant and friend. Gale does not change from being Katniss’ friend and Katniss wonders if he had any romantic feelings towards her. The author claims, “And Gale. I know him. He won’t be shouting and cheering” (Collins 280).

Antagonist of the story becomes Cato, a career tribute who received training from an early age to succeed in the Hunger games. Cato becomes the antagonist as he turns outs to be one of those who wish to destroy Katniss and Peete. Katniss declares, “Cato isn’t one to wait for his prey to wander by.” He is violent, fierce fighter, and also short-tempered as he seems merciless in his tactics to win the game (Collins 313).

Gregor Samsa from Metamorphosis by Kafka falls into denial when he wakes up one morning and finds out his entire body has turned into a giant bug. Gregor tries to roll and sleep silently in bed hoping that his body would change back and he can forget the whole ordeal. He seems to be in denial further as he informs the office manager that he just suffering some dizziness, but he would soon get back to work. Gregor felt anger towards himself for having become a burden to his family. He realized that no one understood his transformation and he could not do anything to assist them in dealing with daily chores. He also felt outrage that even though he could not help his family, they had also abandoned him and treated him differently. Gergor began bargaining with himself that he could possibly go back to work and assist his family financial situation (Kubler-Ross). He spends hours in his room listening to the family members and decides to remain hidden so that he does not become a bother to them. He resolves to remain hidden when anyone enters the room so that they do not have to bear his monstrous appearance (Kubler-Ross). Gregor suffers depression because of the guilt and remorse he feels for his inability to assist his family. He feels guilty for being a burden to his family and this causes depression and anxiety all the time. Gregor suffers in silent doing all that he can to ensure that he does not become a bother to the family. Gregor finally accepts his condition and resolves to die so that his family can be relieved. When he overhears his sister Greter and his father wishing he was gone, he accepts his situation and makes a decision to surrender to death (Kubler-Ross).

Gregor’s family suffers denial as they refuse to deal with their son as a bug and abandon him in his room. They family feels anger because Gregor’s condition leaves them with a financial crisis. They bargain that about Gregor’s condition, and feel that he may be a burden that needs to be removed. The family suffers depression and anxiety because their social status and family life is destroyed for having to live with a bug. Finally, they accept Gregor’s condition is useless and resolve that he needs to leave the family (Kubler-Ross).

Kafka chooses to use a bug as the main character to show how strange and extraordinary conditions can change a family environment. By changing Gregor into a bug, Kafka discloses that people dealing with dire situations may feel frustrated by those around them because they do not understand the situation. The bug impacts the life of each family member, and they deal with the situation differently (Kubler-Ross).

A perfect man would be tall, physically built in a way that appears he is strong and also have blue eyes. The man does not have to be highly muscular, but should not have a skinny physique. He needs to have strong hands and having a sweet body smell like olive or lavender scent. The ideal man would, therefore, have to maintain a clean look and smart dressing in order to have a fresh scent from his body always. In terms of values, such a man needs to be honest and straightforward in his dealing at all times. A man who finds pleasure in lying about things he does or his lifestyle cannot make for an ideal individual. A man who is honest also becomes dependable because such an individual would be reliable, kind-hearted, humble, and even caring (Honacker).

A perfect man would be a person with a sense of humor to make life enjoyable and adventurous. Such an individual would ensure that even in harsh times, he makes the other person feel that they can tackle any situation. A sense of humor ensures that a person can have a strong relationship, and deal with stressful situations amicably. An ideal man would also be self-aware, and this ensures that such an individual knows how to interact with others. Self-awareness ensures that an ideal man can be able to recognize his strengths and weaknesses and still live life without self-loathing or low self-esteem. A perfect man is someone who can recognize mistakes and learn from them in order to better the future. The perfect man would, therefore, be all-rounded in terms of integrity, intelligence, emotional stability, self-confidence, discipline and also generosity (Honacker).

Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games, Volume 1. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2009. Print.

Honacker, Carmen. “The 10 Most Desirable Traits in Human Beings.” California Psychics. 23 January 2011. Web. 27 June 2014. < HYPERLINK “http://blog.californiapsychics.com/blog/2011/01/10-most-desirable-traits-in-human-beings.html” http://blog.californiapsychics.com/blog/2011/01/10-most-desirable-traits-in-human-beings.html>

Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth. “Elisabeth Kübler-Ross – Five Stages of Grief.” n.d. PDF file.

Book Review: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

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Slavery was a monstrous institution that brought so much pain and suffering to slaves and their families. Several slaves wrote about the horrific experiences in the hands of their masters, and the extremes they went to as they tried to save themselves from pain. Harriet A. Jacobs’ book, ‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,’ talks about her experiences with different kinds of abuse as a slave, how she tried to fight against the institution, and how she eventually broke free.

The main argument in the book is the evil of the institution of slavery. The book is set in the early 1800s when slavery was a normal part of life, especially in the South. Slaves were put to work in plantations, industries, as well as in their master’s homes. In these places, they endured different kinds of abuse, such as verbal, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Children of slaves were not spared either as they were subjected to physical labor, which is a form of child abuse. In the introduction of the book, Jacobs explains that writing her story brought her much pain, and she would have kept it private, but she knew it would help the antislavery movement. Jacobs wrote under the pseudonym of Linda Brent. The main point of her book is, therefore, to shed light on the many evils of slavery towards the argument that it should be abolished. Sexual abuse of slaves was a common issue as slaves were seen to belong to their masters entirely. Another issue in slavery was the separation of families as they were sold off to different masters. Slave-owners did not recognize marriages among slaves. Slaves were also physically abused through hard labor in the plantations and severe beatings when their masters chose.

The book ‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl’ gives many examples that illustrate the suffering of the slaves. One of these is sexual abuse that Linda tried to evade for a long time. Other slaves were not as lucky as she was to have a choice. When her mistress died, Linda went to live with a new mistress whose father made sexual advances towards her. Linda tried many tactics to evade him but realized she could not escape him forever. She chose a lesser evil, an affair with a white neighbor named Mr. Sands. Linda also speaks of the physical abuse slaves were subjected to. When Mr. Flint found out about her affair with Mr. Sands, he sent her to become a farmhand. Mr. Flint planned to do the same to Linda’s children as punishment to her NOTEREF _Ref37922876 f h 1. She chose to hide out in her grandmother’s attic for years with the hope that Mr. Flint would sell her children. Given the tiny room she was confined to, she progressively lost the use of her limbs and eventually became permanently disabled.

Separation of families was one of the most inhumane acts of slavery. Children would be separated from their parents with no consideration, stemming from the idea that slaves did not feel the same emotions as their masters. The whole premise of slavery was that slaves were less than human; they were mere objects to be used for the benefit of their masters. Jacobs tells of her experiences and those of her fellow slaves as they tried to fight against the unfair and inhuman treatment. A perfect example of this is Linda’s sacrifice to live in a tiny attic for seven years, which eventually destroyed her body. As a mother, she would do anything for her own children. Some of the slave-owners, such as Mrs. Bruce and Emily Flint’s aunt, showed kindness to their slaves, but this was not enough. At the end of the day, a slave remained a slave no matter how well they were treated.

In writing her book, Harriet Jacobs uses primary sources. She relies on her own first-hand account and also incorporates testimonies from three individuals to confirm the accuracy of the information. Amy Post, was a white abolitionist who confirmed Jacobs’ story in addition to a black antislavery writer named George W. Lowther. At the beginning of the book, an abolitionist named Lydia Maria Child confirms the accuracy of the events in the book and explains that the story would be useful for antislavery movements NOTEREF _Ref37922876 f h 1. Jacobs’ first-hand narration of the horrors she endured makes the story more believable to readers as she explains events as they happen and her reaction to them. The abolitionists who contributed to her book also lend credence to the story as people might have dismissed her work as mere tales from a slave.

‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl’ fits perfectly into the literature of the Pre-Civil War era. Writings about slavery mainly by slaves were becoming more common at the time as the antislavery movement gained momentum. These kinds of literature shed light on the horrors of slavery and promoted the argument that the whole institution of slavery was wrong, a violation of human rights and dignity of slaves. The book is quite similar to other books of the time as it gives the first-hand experience of slaves. Many slave authors at the time had similar themes in their book, such as sexual, physical, and other kinds of abuse meted out upon the slaves. These accounts helped readers at the time and in later years understand the appalling treatment of slaves, and the desperate measures they took to save themselves and their families.

HYPERLINK “javascript:HighlightAll(‘form1.report’)” A Space Odyssey – Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite – set

The film segment chosen was the final scene from Stanley Kubrik’s 2001 – A Space Odyssey made in 1968. As the name would suggest, the film is set almost entirely in the future. Already having projected itself over 30 years into the future, it would be safe to assume that this motion picture offers a wealth of imagery and futuristic vision. It does. It is towards the end of the film, however, that Kubrik offers this to us on a much greater scale. In these few minutes, we are presented with the dawn of a new era: a near incomprehensible evolution of humanity. Through many complex design devices, the set design successfully achieves a vision for the future that is neither dystopian, nor entirely utopian, yet extraordinarily positive on a revolutionary scale.

Kubrik himself has never publicly discussed the ending to 2001 and admits that this was a very subjective film, while many people claim not to have understood it at all. Many interpretations have been made as to the real meaning of this scene, many incredibly different and most equally plausible. Despite their differences, however, all have one thing in common: an overwhelmingly optimistic vision for the future.

A few example interpretations include alien intervention: an idea that alien technology has helped man progress to the ‘next level’ of consciousness; to an understanding beyond the physical realm. Others adopt the idea of the emergence of man as pure thought completely of his own accord.

It is for this reason that the futuristic vision expressed in this scene cannot be labeled simply utopian. What viewers are offered during this scene spans far beyond an idealistic version of the world we live in today: various connotations found in the scene stretch the bounds and horizons of humanity itself.

The problem faced by Kubrik, and indeed the set designer was how to portray a near incomprehensible, purely conceptual journey on film. One theory sits with the idea of a metaphorical shift of entities: the room we see is a metaphor for the human body and respectively, Dave Bowman, the main character, becomes a metaphor for the human mind.

One of the elements that makes this scene appear to be ambiguous is the absence of dialogue and meaningful audio accompaniment. This absence draws additional attention to the visual elements of the scene. Furthermore, very little screen movement encourages us to study Dave’s surroundings, in this case an elaborately decorated room.

Though the set is not intended to be a physical rendition of the future itself, it does play a large role in channeling our thoughts and emotions while we are offered these fantastic, conceptual, futuristic ideas.

The set quickly becomes an overwhelming feature of the scene for one main reason: the uncomfortable feeling of incomprehension encourages us to look to physical features for familiarity; something solid to grasp onto. Kubrik does not offer us this. Instead, we are greeted with what appears to be an elaborately decorated hotel room void of doors and windows, complete with renaissance-like artwork and glowing floor tiles. This ambiguity heightens our sense of curiosity.

What we are first presented with is a somewhat illogical mix of objects: a space pod sitting in the middle of a bright white room with geometric space-aged glowing floor tiling and furniture, artwork and wall decorations that appear to be centuries old. This immediately communicates a mix of ideas including artistic creativity, high technology, cleanliness and calculated precision spanning centuries and continents. In all, these are elements which can be attributed to major triumphs and accomplishments of mankind over the physical domain; factors which distinguish the human race from the rest of the animal kingdom. Already the viewer has received a universally positive statement, whether or not they are aware of it on a conscious level.

The fact that this room is void of doors and windows reinforces the idea that it could exist merely as a container, as we have no idea what exists beyond it; where or when this object exists in time. The room appears to exist independent of these factors: it transcends time and space, and for this reason, one can begin to question its authenticity. Could this be a metaphor for the container of the human mind? Is this a tangible representation of our ability, as a human race, to manipulate the world around us? Once again, this is an personally subjective issue which was intended to be dealt with on an individual scale. In this way, the set design encourages the viewer to open their minds, to consider abstract concepts and relative impossibilities.

The glowing tiles which line the floor of the room are symbolic of technology, the future and humanity’s yearn for innovation. The combination of geometric lines, the definition of the x, y and z planes and bright white light give an impression of calculation, purity and precision: elements that are synonymous with high technology. It is known that bright cross lighting, used throughout this scene, can be incredibly revealing and in most cases can expose blemishes and imperfections in the set. In combination with the white walls, ceiling and floor, it can be seen that this set achieves nothing short of perfection, another reason to suspect a shift of reality.

The glowing tiles also serve as a source of high contrast to the artworks and old furniture situated throughout the room. Here the viewer is introduced to the featured colour: green. Green universally represents harmony with nature and the environment. The choice of green as a featured colour softens the intensity of the geometry of the floor tiles. If, for example, were blue used as a substitute, the room could risk appearing overly clinical, perhaps too futuristic, which would emphasize a reliance on technology. The furniture itself appears to be sophisticated and stylised, as though it came direct from an upper class nineteenth century western European home. This furniture implicitly suggests the idea of human sentimentality and an appreciation for the old and the aesthetic. The artworks which appear to be in the renaissance style put forth this idea also.

Countless explanations have been offered as to the reason for Dave’s rapid aging, the meaning of the monolith and the star child. Despite their differences, all share the idea of eternal optimism and divinity. This can be attributed largely to the set design and its role in channeling our thoughts and emotions during these bizarre encounters. This scene was a successful rendition of an intangible journey on a tangible, viewable scale.

Kubrik has been renowned for producing controversial films, 2001 being no exception. Unlike his other films, however, 2001 offers us an optimistic twist – a euphoric, revolutionary concept: that mankind will eventually rise above the physical realm to a level of existence incomprehensible to us at the present point in time.

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Appendix I

Brief outline of Entity Shift Interpretation (base for semiotic analysis)

In an effort to portray a spiritual evolution on a tangible scale, we witness a shift in entities. Dave’s environment, the decorated white room, becomes a metaphor for the human body. The body, Dave Bowman, becomes a metaphor for the human mind.

At the beginning of the scene, as Dave taps into a new level of consciousness, he is initially shocked. This can be seen by the alarming contrast between the red space suit Dave initially wears and the near pure white background. As Dave begins to accept his surroundings, we can see his body ‘age’ rapidly: the mind is maturing. On a different level, this also offers to us the idea that the mind is the only constant throughout life: while the tangible body ages and decays, the spirit remains the common denominator that makes each and every one of us an individual. It has been suggested that this is the essence of humanity.

The room, which remains completely static and has no windows or doors can be seen as a container, and in this way likens itself to the human body, the container of the human mind throughout life. The room itself appears highly constructed and artificial, an indicator of physicality. In some cases this can be seen to represent pretentiousness and vanity. On the other hand, the elements, namely the artwork, tiles and furniture, that make up the contents of the room appear to indicate a myriad of human achievements spanning centuries. Technology, a yearn for innovation, human creativity, classical architecture and high art are just a few elements that spring to mind.

Once Bowman accepts the mental transition, he begins to indulge himself. On one level we can see Dave begin to eat, on another he begins to consider his place in evolution, thinking, examining, progressing, evolving, and spiritually maturing.

When Dave’s wine glass smashes we see that it is time to move on. This action has been likened to the Jewish tradition of breaking glass at a wedding ceremony: a symbol of great change occurring. Stanley Kubrik himself is Jewish, which makes this parallel plausible. Aware of the Jewish tradition or not, the sight and sound of broken glass alone in the controlled environment holds enough contrast to shock us into thinking that change is about to occur. Dave is thereby about to enter the new level of conscious existence.

As we see Dave age once more, he appears to be near the end of his ‘life’. We see mankind reach out to the monolith for the final time in the film (the first time being when apes learned to use tools, the second time to make mankind aware of the happenings at Jupiter, some believe this was a call to announce Earth’s human race to the rest of the universe).

With a new camera shot, we are introduced to the star child: Dave has reached complete divinity, the sublime. Far more significant than visually aging, Dave has been reborn. He has outlived his physical body and has evolved to the beginning new level, hence we see the fetus-like object. This, followed by the realignment of the Earth, moon and sun; the discipline of space; a mystical frontier, represents a cosmic acceptance, a coming together of entities.

This was Kubrik’s vision for the future – a euphoric, revolutionary concept: that mankind would eventually rise above the physical realm to a level of existence incomprehensible to us at the present point in time.

the New York Times is known for it’s liberal bias

gender and even ethnic affiliation (Lemay