Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Essay

Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom Little, better known as Malcolm X were major figures in the civil rights movement in the United States. Despite fighting for the same cause, which is to see that all individuals in the United States are indeed equal regardless of race, both men take a different approach in furthering the cause. They both decried the injustice committed against the black people by the whites and wanted to see it come to an end. It was for this reason that the civil rights movement gained momentum in the 1960’s. The most obvious difference is the stance they took in pursuing their goal. Little, who became Malcolm X after converting to Islam, puts emphasis on self-empowerment among the black people, as well as other racial groups in the US for that matter; that they should use any means necessary to win their freedom and equality if society would continue to marginalize them. In trying to understand why Malcolm X was rather militant in his appraoch to the point of being â€Å"nationalistic,† one has to understand that he was born and raised in a ghetto where life was rough which resulted in the murder of his father and his mother committed to a mental institution. In as much as he deplored the racists, he also deplored whites who pretended to sympathize with them and pay lip service to their support of their cause. It is for this reason why he wanted thje blacks to empower themselves because he felt nobody will do it for them (Breitman, 1965, p. 26). King was brought up in a well-to-do family in spite of their race and he â€Å"borrowed† the approach taken by Mahatma Gandhi of nonviolent resistance as the means to accomplish their goal owing to his avocation as a minister who eschewed violence. King agreed with Gandhi’s principle that the oppressors need to see the evil they are committing to make them stop; for to fight back would make them further justify their actions. If Malcolm X were to have his way, he could have dragged America to another civil war, especially if he intended to use Islam as a vehicle to advance his cause, whereas King used a combination of Christian faith and Gandhi’s teachings which is compatible to the former (Vander Lei & Miller, 1999, pp. 84-85). Both men were assassinated for they were seen as a threat by their opponents. In the end, the civil rights movement was successful when the government passed a series of laws that once and for all ended segregation. The impact was not immediate and its effect was felt gradually through the passage of time and the proof that it was successful was evident with the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. And if one were to ask who would get the credit, the most likely answer would be Martin Luther King Jr. and his Gandhi-

Heart of darkness 6

Heart of darkness 6 Comparative Essay between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now The ties between Joseph Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness and Francis Coppola's movie, Apocalypse Now are unmistakable. Apocalypse Now's accuracy in following the story line of the Heart of Darkness is amazing although the settings of each story are from completely different location and time periods. From the jungle of the Congo in Africa to the Nung river in Vietnam, Joseph Conrad's ideals are not lost. In both the book and the movie, the ideas of good and evil, whiteness, darkness, and racism are apparent. Also, characterization in both the novel and the movie are very similar.Both The Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now examine the good and evil in humans. In The Heart of Darkness, Marlow speaks of Fresleven who was killed in a fight with some natives. The argument between Fresleven and the natives was over some chickens, and Fresleven felt he had been ripped off in the deal.James Hardie Jr. and wife, Rev. Willard (L OC)Marlow describes Fresleven as "the gentlest, quietest creature that ever walked on two legs."(p. 13 Conrad) However, later in the same paragraph Marlow says,"he probably felt the need at last of asserting his self-respect in some way. Therefore he whacked the old nigger mercilessly."(p. 13 Conrad) Soldiers in combat are forced to bring the evil within themselves out every time they go into battle. The scene in Apocalypse Now where Captain Willard first meets Lt. Colonel Kilgore exhibits the power combat has in bringing out the dark side in humans. The attitude the soldiers have towards their enemy in the scene shows how evil humans can be. Kilgore demonstrates his dark side when he tosses the "death cards" on to the bodies of the dead Vietcong without showing any remorse over the death of fellow humans. The Vietcong...

Poetry Analysis of Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins Essays

Poetry Analysis of Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins Essays Poetry Analysis of Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins Paper Poetry Analysis of Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins Paper Essay Topic: The Poems Of Billy Collins The Poem â€Å"Introduction to Poetry† is by Billy Collins, an English poet, and it is about how teachers often force students to over-analyze poetry and to try decipher every possible meaning portrayed throughout the poem rather than allowing the students to form their own interpretation of the poem based on their own experiences. Throughout the poem, a number of literary devices are used. For example: â€Å"or press an ear against its hive†. Using this metaphor, Billy Collins is comparing the body of a poem to the hive of a bee. The hive of a bee appears to be something dangerous and unknown, just like a new poem, never before seen, with which one is unfamiliar. Using this metaphor, Billy Collins is suggesting that one should get an energy of the poem by reading it just as one would get a sense of energy by pressing one’s ear to a hive of a bee. The nature of a bee is particularly busy and bees are creatures that seem to be constantly on the go. In this way, Billy Collins is suggesting that whilst the reader is digesting the poem, he or she should constantly be ‘feeling’ the poem and be busily analyzing it. By comparing the poem to a hive, he is also saying that, like a hive, a poem is full of intense life. The characteristics shared by both the two metaphoric images are very similar, thus, it is an effective comparison. The poem is effectively personified once again through the lines: â€Å"or walk inside a poem’s room†. Here, Billy Collins suggests that the poem’s room, in other word, its body or what the poem contains, like a room of a person, defines the poem. One can learn a lot about another by viewing his or her room. Like a room too, which is private and should not be invaded, one should not invade a poem in the sense that one should not analyze it too heavily. Another effective metaphor, â€Å"I want them to water-ski across the surface of the poem† is used in this poem. Billy Collins is comparing water-skiing across the surface of the water to the way in which he believes poems should be read which is gently and merely on the surface. This is an effective metaphor as water-skiing brings about a great sense of joy and is fun, just as reading a poem – in Billy Collins’ opinion – should be. The use of onomatopoeic devices and onomatopoeic words are abundant in this poem. For instance, â€Å"I say drop a mouse into a poem† is a line whereby the word â€Å"drop†, a very onomatopoeic word, effectively suggests that the reader of a poem must gently analyze a poem. This is portrayed through the gentle ‘p’ sound of the word and this is therefore effective as the reader gets a sense of the gentleness Billy Collins wishes his readers had when it comes to analyzing poetry. The fact that enjambment is used throughout the poem such as in the lines, â€Å"like a colour slide or press an ear against its hive† portrays a lack of structure and therefore emphasizes the initial enjoyment one feels when reading a poem before the chore of analyzing it begins. This is also emphasized through the fact that the poem is a free verse poem. The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, â€Å"all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it†. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the reader feel somewhat guilty for over-analyzing a poem. This line is also a metaphor. The way in which one analyzes a poem is being compared to a victim being tied down to a chair and having a confession tortured out of them. This metaphor is effective as, like a rope pinning down a person would be very restrictive, over-analyzing a poem narrows the focus and constricts it from simply allowing it to be. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means†. This is a continuation of the metaphor and is highly effective as it strongly portrays a sense of inhumanity through the choice of ‘hose’ as an object with which to torture as opposed to a typical weapon. One can just imagine how painful this would be and again, forces the reader to almost empathize with the poem. The poem sends a powerful message to its readers and is significantly clear in its message to not delve too deep into the message o f a poem.

Hurlyburly Play Character Analysis

Hurlyburly Play Character Analysis If Hollywood were a large stone in the middle of a swamp, then David Rabe’s Hurlyburly represents all of the creepy crawlers and slimy disgusting gunk you find underneath the rock. This darkly comic drama is set in the Hollywood Hills. It tells the story of four miserable, self-destructive bachelors, each of whom is pursuing careers in the film industry. They don’t seem the ambitious types, however. The bachelors (Eddie, Phil, Mickey, and Artie) spend their time drinking, womanizing, and ingesting a shocking amount of cocaine. All the while, Eddie - the central character - wonders why his life is slowly rotting away to nothing. The Male Characters Eddie:It is debatable whether or not Eddie and his cohorts learn anything by the conclusion. But the audience gets the picture: Don’t be like Eddie. During the play’s beginning Eddies spends his morning snorting cocaine and eating slightly molded Hostess Snowballs. Eddie desires a steady romance with Darlene (who sometimes dates his roommate). However, once he establishes a committed relationship, he subconsciously dismantles it with his paranoia. Eddie’s life is a ping-pong match, going from meaningless one-night-stand and drug binges to a â€Å"grown-up† life as an up-and-coming casting director. Ultimately, he is unhappy with both sides and takes solace in the belief that his friends are more pathetic than he is. But as he loses his friends, he begins losing the desire to live. Phil:Eddie’s best friend Phil is a fledgling actor and complete loser. During Act One, Phil can’t understand his own aggressive behavior. He verbally and physically abuses women, including the woman he marries and has a child with. As the play continues, Phil’s violence escalates. He picks fights with strangers, bullies his friends, and shoves a blind date out of a moving car! There are few redeeming qualities about Phil, yet he does achieve one sympathetic moment. In Act Two, he holds his baby daughter. As he shows her to his friends he wonders dreamily about her gaze and her smile. He says of children, â€Å"Yes. They are very honest.† It’s a touching moment - one that seems to hint that perhaps Phil will not continue down his dangerous path. Sadly, the hint deceives the audience. In Act Three, Phil’s character embraces oblivion, driving his car off Mulholland Drive. Artie:Artie feels slighted that he isn’t very close to Eddie. Every time he tells Eddie about his latest Hollywood pitch, Eddie is openly pessimistic about Artie’s chances. Yet Artie proves him wrong by finally getting a production deal. Artie’s personality also develops for the better. During Act One, he is as chauvinistic as Eddie and Phil. He finds a homeless teenager living in a hotel elevator. He takes her in, uses her for about a week, and then leaves her at Eddie’s house as a â€Å"present.† despite this disgusting behavior, Artie changes during Act Two after Phil treats his blind date, Bonnie, with such cruelty. Artie gains respect for Bonnie and, instead of using her as an object, he wants to spend time with Bonnie and her child at Disneyland. Mickey:Mickey is the most cold-hearted of the four men. He is also the most level-headed. He doesn’t share Eddie’s addictive behavior, nor does he rampage like the testosterone-driven Phil. Rather, he steals girlfriends from his so-called buddies only to break-up with the women days later. Nothing is terribly important to Mickey. When Eddie is desperately grief-stricken, Mickey tells him to simply get over it. When Eddie is faced with the death of a loved one, Mickey tries to convince him that it wasn’t such a loss. And when Eddie asks, â€Å"What kind of friendship is this?† Mickey replies, â€Å"An adequate one.† The Female Characters All the men treat the women characters so harshly it might be easy to mistake Hurlyburly as misogynistic. After all, the females are portrayed as drug addicts and willing objects of easily-won sexuality. (Which is a fancy way of saying they sleep with a guy five minutes after meeting him). However, despite their obvious flaws, the females in Hurlyburly are the savior characters. Bonnie offers insight and advice to the degenerative Eddie. She also gives Artie a glimpse of a â€Å"normal† sort of relationship, inspiring hope for a more balanced life. Darlene, Eddie’s somewhat serious girlfriend, is the least interesting character, but perhaps that’s simply because she has the most self-respect. All of the other characters are so demented, It’s easy not to notice the quirk-less Darlene, but she plays an important role as Eddie’s prime motive for a less destructive lifestyle. Ultimately, however, she has enough self-esteem to walk away from Eddie, thereby evaporating his motivation. Donna, the homeless teenager, accidentally makes the biggest positive impact. After wandering across California for a year, she returns to Eddie’s house. She arrives on the night Eddie is incredibly high and contemplating suicide. The girl has no idea that Eddie is experiencing these dark thoughts. Nonetheless, thanks to Donna’s philosophical speech about how she thinks the universe works, Eddie realizes that everything in the cosmos pertains to him, that he connected to all things, but it is up to him to decide what those things represent. Donna’s words calm him down, and the drug-crazed, less-than-zero Eddie can finally get some sleep. The question is: What kind of life will he wake up to in the morning? Note to Drama Departments As the character descriptions indicate, Hurlyburly is an intense drama featuring several challenging characters. Although high-school drama departments and family-oriented theaters should stay away from David Rabe’s play due to its language and subject matter, college departments and daring regional theaters should certainly check out this edgy play.

Business Intelligence Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Intelligence Analysis - Assignment Example WEKA is the preferred software tool for the classification. This is because the software can mine useful information from the data by providing an algorithm for coming up with accurate prediction models. The objective of the business intelligence analysis is to equip learners with business skills that will help them in relating services, applications, and the technologies so that they can manage and analyse data so that the data is transformed into useful information that is critical to sound decision making. The Business intelligence processes are used to evaluate business processes and to optimise them so that they are in line with the objectives of the business. The objectives can be operational that impact the business on daily basis, or even tactical that will have impacts on short term basis like marketing or even strategic goals that will have long term effect like improving the revenues. Business intelligence is therefore a critical element in the decision making process. This is because the process analyses data that is, orders, inventory and points of sales. From these data the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are calculated that is, the measure of the strategic performanc e of the business. KPI is important in the monitoring of the organisation’s performance and for decision making. The main objective is to extract business intelligence that is crucial in shaping the organisation’s operations to the strategic and tactical objectives of the business. This is only possible when the transactional data is integrated in the data warehouse to be analysed by the BI performance managers. The course seeks to equip learners with the ability to convert the integrated, but raw warehouse data into useful information that can be used to determine accurately how the business performed in contrast to its objectives and predictions. This application generates business knowledge that is very important for

Financial Analysis of Coca-Cola Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Analysis of Coca-Cola - Research Paper Example The four financial statements of a company are included in its annual report. The four financial statements are the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and the statement of cash flow. This paper will analyze the financial performance of Coca-Cola to determine if the company is a good investment option. Two financial tools that are going to be used to analyze the financial performance of Coca-Cola are horizontal analysis and ratio analysis. The Coca Cola Company is the largest soft drink company in the world. The company has a long history of success in the market since it was founded 127 years ago. The flagship product of the firm is the Coca Cola drink. Other brands that the company owns include Sprite, Fanta, Diet Coke, Coca Cola Zero, and Danasi. The company has a product portfolio of 3,500 products. The organization is a global company that operates in 200 countries worldwide. The mission of the company is to refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, and to create value and make a difference (Coca-colacompany). The values of the company include leadership, collaboration, integrity, diversity, and quality. The company is a publicly traded firm whose stocks are sold in the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KO. The price of Coca Cola common stocks as of April 19, 2014 was $40.72 (Yahoo). The market capitalization of the firm is $178.84 billion. Horizontal analysis measures the year to year difference in all the accounts of the income statement and balance sheet. The revenues of Coca Cola decrease by 2.42% in 2013, while its net income went down by 4.82%. The cash of the firm went up by 23.36% in 2013. Coca Cola’s total assets increase by 4.5%. In 2013 the enterprise had a 0.82% increased in total equity. The total liabilities of the firm increase by 6.81%. The gross margin is a measure of the broad profitability of a company. Coca Cola Company had a gross margin in

Hindu worship or wedding ceremony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hindu worship or wedding ceremony - Essay Example The purpose of worship in Hinduism is to truly to embrace the idea of deity and eternity that centers around the ever-lasting circle of life. Since Hinduism is more focused on sacrifice, the focus of sacrificing animals is prevalent in Hinduism. The name of the God here is Karma. In Hinduism, Karma has become the true essence of the Hindu creed itself. Karma is another focal point that differentiates the two religions. Hindus believe that Gods can only achieve salvation which is clearly depicted in the video. For Hindus, one must undergo a series of events in order to purify himself to achieve salvation. For instance, Hindus worship bhakti-marg, which is the path of surrender and peace. One cannot achieve karma without being in peace with oneself and devoting one’s spirit towards worship. Karma is an eternal aura of enlightenment that is presented in all aspects of life and is a crucial aspect that dictates the lives of all individuals. Another regular yet a powerful ritual th at Hindus practice is the Namaste. The namaste embodies a form of greeting in which modesty and humbleness is portrayed by bringing together the palms. This greeting is very emotional because it is a sign of submission and humility which is what Hindus strive to achieve. These are ritual correlate to the beliefs of the Hinduism religion and are prevalent practiced in India and other