Vocabulary Strategies with ELL Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Vocabulary Strategies with ELL Students - Essay Example Students’ usage of first language for learning second language is the best practice for vocabulary learning as students can relate the words with one another. Students should be well equipped with knowledge of basic words as it is essential to excel with prior basic knowledge and for that purpose, transfer of cognate knowledge is required. It can be best implemented by allowing the students of ELL to find similarities and contrasts between their vocabulary of the words of their language and vocabulary of the second language. August, et al. (2005) informs that less efforts are done towards researching the best strategies for ELL students. However, transference of cognate knowledge is effective strategy for learning vocabulary. The second article that is taken for study is â€Å"Effective Instructional Strategies for English Language Learners in Mainstream Classrooms† by Susan (2004). According to Susan (2004), SIOP that can be abbreviated as Sheltered Instruction Observa tion Protocol is the best model that can be used for teaching students about English vocabulary. Susan (2004) explains that vocabulary plays an important role in language acquisition but lack of vocabulary appears as an obstruction for students of ELL in reading. There should be a vocabulary program setup for the vocabulary improvement of the English language learners. There are various stages that are described by Susan (2004) in the lieu of SIOP model. The whole exercise of planning and developing a program comes under the category of SIOP model. Word choice, allowance to students to use new words and new combinations and asking students to describe and explain words according to their own understanding, all are employed to teach the students of ELL to learn vocabulary. While using the approach of SIOP, the teachers should not use jargons or difficult words to teach students in order to facilitate them to learn in a comprehensible and easy manner.

Plato's advise to President-Elect Obama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plato's advise to President-Elect Obama - Essay Example A difficult, if not impossible, task awaits you to start clean when you take office. So much has gone wrong, and the consequences of previous rulers’ actions will follow you throughout your time in office. But take my advice, the genuine ruler â€Å"will take society and human character as his canvas, and begin by scraping it clean. . . . [H]e will not consent to take in hand either an individual or a state or to draft laws, until he is given a clean surface to work on or has cleansed it himself† (p. 209). You can’t hope to fix anything if failed policies and actions can’t be scraped away to make room for better governing. Weigh carefully in your mind, when you’re asked to make decisions, the worth of a specific action, over and above what it means to those who petition you. Don’t be afraid to end policies that weren’t set up with the people’s best interest in mind in the first place. Keep the greater good of the whole populatio n in mind, rather than the complaining voices of lobbyists and congressmen. Philosophically weigh the consequences of the war and the nation’s economic policies, and make decisions from a clean slate if those previous policies aren’t working. The man who held office before you seemed to me drunk with power. I believe â€Å"access to power must be confined to men who are not in love with it† (p. 235). If you fall in love with being leader of what’s been called the greatest nation on earth, you’ll forget why you were elected to this office in the first place: to serve the people. Make your life good and wise first, and then you’ll be happy and be able to rule the nation philosophically and not through power. â€Å"All goes wrong when, starved for lack of anything good in their own lives, men turn to public affairs hoping to snatch from thence the happiness they hunger for† (p. 235). Men and women who rule the nation must be philosophers

Cardiology Studies: Conditions Involved and Services Offered

Cardiology Studies: Conditions Involved and Services Offered 1. The area of medicine it studies  [i] Cardiology derived from Greek and Latin. Kardia in Greek means the heart and logia also from Greek stands for logy or study. Branch of medicine dealing with diseases of the cardiovascular system (heart, aorta and smaller blood vessels), their diagnosis and treatment. 2. Title of consultants in this field Cardiology department is run by Cardiologists which is divided into cardiac sections and various cardiac consultants including Heart surgeons, Cardiologist Electrophysiologist, Cardiothoracic [surgical treatment of thorax (the chest) of the heart (heart disease) and lungs (lung disease)]. surgeons and Cardiovascular (diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels) Imaging Consultants.   Ã‚   3. Services offered in the Cardiology department. Cardiology department is divided into various other sub departments which fall under Cardiology category: Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory  [ii] (Cath Lab): there are many procedures carried out in the Cath Lab some of which may be; Coronary Catheterization, Coronary (relating to arteries surrounding and supplying the heart) Angioplasty (opens blocked arteries and restores normal blood flow to heart muscle), Permanent and Temporary Pacemaker Implantations and many more. Coronary Care Unit  [iii] (CCU) care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina, cardiac dysrhythmia (abnormality in heart rhythm) etc. Chest Pain Assessment Unit  [iv] is to assess and treat patients with life-threatening heart conditions, chest pain, heart attacks, shortness of breath, palpitations etc. Cardiac Rehabilitation  [v] is a program for people who are on their way of recovery from a heart attack, heart failure, heart valve surgery, etc. the program involves adopting heart-healthy lifestyle changes, exercise training, and help you return to an active life. Cardiology Outpatients examines and treats patients without keeping overnight. 4. Surgical procedures and diagnostic tests used in the Cardiology department.  [vi] Coronary Angiogram (x-ray photo of blood and lymph vessels) is carried out in the Cath Lab it is an invasive imaging procedure, used to; evaluate the presence of disease in the coronary arteries, valves or aorta and heart muscle function. Also to determine the need for further treatment. Permanent Pacemaker (PPM) Insertion is an invasive procedure used to stabilise the heart rhythm. An incision is made on the left side of the chest under the clavicle, following local anaesthetic, the leads and pacemaker are inserted. Catheter Ablation invasive procedure used to treat an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia). Several catheters are inserted into the patients groin, neck or arm and guided with the aid of x-ray equipment to the heart. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (high energy shock to bring back heart action) (ICD) it is an invasive procedure used to stabilise the heart rhythm. An incision is made on the left side of the chest after local anaesthetic and the ICD leads and device box are inserted. Using x-ray guidance, the leads are fixed into position. Coronary Angioplasty used to widen narrowed coronary arteries. Opening up the arteries improves blood flow to the heart and may improve symptoms. A catheter with a small balloon at the tip is guided through a blood vessel into the heart artery. The balloon is inflated at the site of the narrowed artery, widening its diameter (balloon angioplasty). 5. Medical conditions encountered in the Cardiology department.  [vii] Most common heart conditions are: Coronary thrombosis: a blood clot in the coronary artery. Cardiac arrhythmia: Abnormal electrical activity in the heart, the heart beat may be too fast or too slow, it can be regular or irregular. Cardiac failure: the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the bodys needs. Palpitations: abnormal awareness of the beating of the heart; whether it is too slow, too fast, irregular or at its normal frequency. 6. Common abbreviations relating to Cardiology MRI Magnetic resonance imaging CT Computed tomography (X-Ray) ECG Electrocardiogram (or EKG) VF Ventricle failure CHD Coronary heart disease 7. Common blood tests used in diagnosing heart disease. Cardiac biomarkers: these tests are used to diagnose a heart attack by determining if heart cells have been damaged.  [viii] Lipid blood tests: checks levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which are associated with the risk of heart disease.  [ix] Question 1 Endo Endoscopy used to examine a persons digestive tract Question 2 Norovirus winter vomiting bug side effects; nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain Question 3-5 Term Explanation Gingivitis Inflammation of gums Gingiv= gums Itis= inflammation Endocarditis Infection of the inner lining of the heart Endo= inner lining of Card= the heart It is= inflammation Atherosclerosis Narrowing and hardening of arteries Athero= artery Scler=hardening Osis= condition of the Question 6-8 Term Explanation Relates to Cystitis Inflammation of bladder Urinary system Uraemia Blood in the urine Urinary system Enteritis Inflammation of gastrointestinal tract Digestive system Question 9-11 Term Department Consultant Disorder of hormones Endocrinology Endocrinologist Disorders of the digestive system Gastroenterology Gastroenterologist Disorders of the skin Dermatology Dermatologist Question 12-17 HCV Hepatitis C virus HIV Human immunodeficiency virus PUD Peptic ulcer disease IVF In-vitro fertilisation MRSA Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus C. Diff Clostridium Difficile Question 18-20 Term Suffixes Examples Inflammation Itis Conjunctivitis Cystitis Bone Osteo/Ortho Osteoporosis Rheumatoid Arthritis Tumour Oma Malignant melanoma Squamous cell carcinoma References [i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiology [ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath_lab [iii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_care_unit [iv] http://www.westerntrust.hscni.net/services/2577.htm [v] https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/rehab [vi] http://www.blackrock-clinic.ie/services-procedures/cardiology/procedures/ [vii] An introductory to Anatomy Physiology, 4th Edition, reprinted in November 2012, written by Louise Tucker. Chapter 5 The Cardiovascular System page. 85 [viii] http://www.leehealth.org/cardiaccare/tests/blood.asp [ix] http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/cholesterol-and-triglycerides-tests#1 Good Will Hunting: Sean Maguire Good Will Hunting: Sean Maguire Melissa Hernandez This case is about, Sean Maguire, a character in Good Will Hunting. Mr. Maguire is a 56-year-old Caucasian psychologist and therapist male. He teaches different types of psychology classes at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. He was married to, Nancy Maguire for eighteen years before he lost her to cancer. They have never had any children. After his wife passed away, Mr. Maguire withdrew himself from friends and family. He is also a Vietnam Veteran. He continues to teach at the college because he wants to be surrounded by the people he is familiar with, people he grew up with. This case study will cover Mr. Maguires transition being secluded from friends into his turning point when he starts to make amends with his friends. Life Course Perspective The life course perspective (LCP) looks at how biological, psychological, and social factors act independently, cumulatively, and interactively to shape peoples lives from conception to death, and across generations. Of course, time is only one dimension of human behavior . . . (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 7). The LCP has five basic concepts; cohorts, transitions, trajectories, life events, and turning points (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 11). Cohort A cohort is a group of persons who were born during the same time and who experience social changes within a given culture in the same sequence and at the same age (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 11).   Sean Maguire belongs to the Caucasian, team of professors cohort. All of Mr. Maguires friends are professors who have gone on to do more with their lives. During the period Mr. Maguires wife was sick he quit counseling and he regretted it. After her death, he secluded himself from his friends. Mr. Maguires cohort were his friends from college, his colleagues, and his wife. Life Events A life event is a significant occurrence involving a relatively abrupt change that may produce serious and long lasting effects (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 15).   Mr. Maguires life events evolve around his wife from the moment he meets her until she passes. He passes up the Boston Red Sox playoff games, probably one of the most crucial playoff games during the history of baseball, to spend time with Nancy who he had just met. It was a risk worth taking because later he marries her and he states, I dont regret the 18 years I was married to Nancy. I dont regret the six years that she was sick and I gave up counseling. I dont regret later when she got really sick.   I sure as hell dont regret missing that damn game. After his wifes death, he lives an independent life. The pain he is left with after her passing became difficult to deal with. He doesnt know how to move on until he meets a young man, Will Hunting, he starts to counsel who helps change his life. Also as a child, Mr. Maguire experiences abuse from his alcoholic father who he tries protecting his mother from. He can relate to his patient Mr. Hunting. Transition A transition is a process of gradual change that usually involves acquiring or relinquishing roles, but it can be any change in status, such as change in health status (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 13).   Sean Maguire transitions into life without his wife after she dies. This life event changed Mr. Maguires environment as well as his self-concept and expectations. He is not able to move past losing his wife and watching her grow more and more ill. It hurts him knowing there was nothing he could have done for her but he is grateful he was able to spend her last months with her. This transition required Sean Maguire to make social adjustments. He stopped counseling for the duration Mrs. Maguire was sick, which he previously stated he regretted. Transitioning to life without his wife has been a challenge for Maguire. Life Course Perspective Themes There are six themes that pertain to the life course perspective; interplay of human lives and historical time, timing of lives, linked or interdependent lives, human agency in making choices, diversity in life course trajectories, and developmental risk and protection (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 20). This case study will cover linked or interdependent lives, human agency in making choices, and developmental risk and protection. Linked or Interdependent Lives The life course perspective emphasizes the interdependence of human lives and the ways in which people are reciprocally connected on several levels. (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 24). Mr. Maguire shut off communication with his college friends which left him with no social support, which is defined as help rendered by others that benefits an individual or collectively, is an obvious element of interdependent lives (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 24). The one person who was Sean Maguires family who always stood by his side through everything passed away, thus causing him to push away friends who could have supported him. Human Agency in Making Choices Constructing a life course through the exercise of human agency, or the use of personal power to achieve ones goals. (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 28).   Sean Maguire grew up with an abusive alcoholic father who would beat on him, his mother, and younger brother. He would protect his mother and sibling by taking the beatings for them. He confesses this to his client, Mr. Hunting. Growing up with an abusive father and in a low-income community, led Mr. Maguire to make goals to get out of that environment. He enlisted in the military and fought in the Vietnam war, returned home and made another goal to achieve his Doctorate degree in Psychology. Then he fell in love with, Nancy who he soon married. According to Albert Bandura, Mr. Maguire uses all three modes of efficacy; self-efficacy, efficacy expectation, and collective agency to set these goals and accomplish them. Developmental Risk and Protection As the life course perspective has continued to evolve, it has more clearly emphasize the links between the life events and transitions of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 31).   As a child Mr. Maguire experiences abuse at the hands of his father. As a young adult, he experiences difficult situations during his time served in the Vietnam war. An example of him protecting himself is when his client, Mr. Hunting criticizes his painting which is a painting done by Mr. Maguires late wife. He pushes Mr. Hunting up against the wall and proceeds to walk out of the room to gain his power back. He protects himself by pushing people away, he doesnt want to get close to anyone for fear of losing them or getting hurt. Banduras Social Learning Theory AlbertBandura proposes that humans are agentic, meaning they are capable of intentionally influencing their own functioning and life circumstances (Hucthinson, 2015, p. 28). Bandura argues that everyday life requires use of all three modes of agency. The three agencies will explain how Sean Maguire used them through his life course perspective. Personal agency Personal agency is exercised individually, using personal influence to shape environmental events or ones own behavior (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 28). Sean Maguire grew up in a low-income neighborhood with an alcoholic father who abused his mother and him. He used personal agency to get out of the neighborhood and rise up from the physical and mental abuse. He set goals to get out of his neighborhood, enlist in the U. S. Army and attend college. He did well because he earned a Ph. D. Proxy agency Proxy agency is exercised to influence others who have greater resources to act on ones behalf to meet needs and accomplish goals (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 28). Sean Maguire is a professor and psychologist who helps people resolve any conflicts they might have. In this case Mr. Maguire helps Will Hunting resolve his issues he has been dealing with since his childhood and young adult life. Mr. Hunting believes the abuse he endured as a child was his fault and was stuck in his childhood. Collective agency Collective agency is exercised on the group level when people act together to meet needs and accomplish goals (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 28). Sean Maguire and Will Hunting help each other accomplish life perspective goals together, which benefits both men. The time Mr. Maguire spent with Mr. Hunting was beneficial for both men because they opened up to each other and helped one another deal with conflicts they probably would not have otherwise dealt with. Mr. Maguire was able to reconnect with old friends and enjoy life even though his best friend is no longer alive. Mr. Hunting was able to accomplish his goal of falling in love and trusting someone, specifically a woman who he was afraid to get close to. Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development Eriksons theory explains socioemotional development in terms of age defined stages such as basic trust and mistrust which ranges from birth to one year old; autonomy versus shame and doubt which falls into one to three year olds; initiative versus guilt which is from three to five year olds; industry versus inferiority which has an age range of six to 11 years old; identity versus role diffusion from ages 11 to 20 years old; intimacy versus isolation which includes 21 to 40 year old adults; generativity versus stagnation which 40 to 65 year olds fall; and ego integrity versus despair which is 65 and older (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 112). Intimacy versus guilt Sean Maguire is 56 years old and finds himself dealing with intimacy and isolation. During the time his wife was sick he momentarily ceased his practice and regrets not helping clients. It was during that time that he also isolated himself from his friends and colleagues. After he became a widower Mr. Maguire further confined himself as he tried to deal with the death of his wife. He became distant from his students, who lost respect for him and he stopped communicating with his friends. He does not believe he will ever find a love like the love he experienced with his wife. Levinsons Theories of Finding Balance Daniel Levinson suggest that middle adulthood is a time when individuals attempt to find balance in their lives in several ways (Hutchinson, 2015, p. 321). Levinson sees the transition to middle adulthood attachment versus separation. Mr. Maguire deals with being attached to his wife and then losing her to cancer. He does not know how to deal with this in a positive manner. He has a huge tab at a local bar that has not been paid in months. Ethical Issues Ethical issues a social worker could possibly face could be, Sean Maguire is a psychologist who may not want to speak about his issues because he doesnt realize he has any issues to resolve. It would probably be an issue trying to convince Mr. Maguire what him and the social worker speak about is strictly between them and will be kept confidential. The social worker will not speak to her colleagues about what is discussed nor will the sessions interfere with Mr. Maguires careers. Ethical Principles The social worker may face dignity and worth of a person ethical principle when working with Mr. Maguire. Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients socially responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Social workers are cognizant of their dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They seek to resolve conflicts between clients interests and the broader societys interests in a socially responsible manner consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of the profession (NASW, 2008) The social workers client, Mr. Maguire may not feel worthy and may feel his dignity is lost if he needs to speak about some issues that are interfering with his life. Ethical Values Dignity and worth of the person is an ethical value a social worker may deal with when working with Mr. Maguire. As stated previously, Mr. Maguire could possibly feel like his dignity is lost and his self-worth is diminished. The social worker must not allow the client to feel they have lost their dignity and make them feel they are worthy, because it is not easy to for Mr. Maguire to admit he needs help and seek it to become a healthier individual. Discrimination Sean Maguire received discrimination as a child growing up in an impoverished neighborhood. As an adult he was discriminated against because his friends think he did not anything further with his life after he earned his college degree. Oppression Sean Maguire experienced oppression at the hands of his father while growing up as a child. His father had abused him and his mother physically and psychologically. The oppression he experienced made him stronger and more willing to accomplish goals. Conclusion Sean Maguire has accomplished many goals while counseling his client, Will Hunting. He has learned how to deal with the passing of his wife in a positive way and he has reconnected with old friends who can bring him joy during this time in his life. Mr. Maguire needed someone who he could relate to and connect with who would help him come out of seclusion and experience the fulfillment of life. He is able as well to understand the abuse he endured as a child was not his to blame and he is able to nurture and love another person despite his life experiences. References Affleck, B., Damon, M., Driver, M., Elfman, D., Escoffier, J., Sant, G. V., Williams, R. (Writers). (1997). Good Will Hunting [Video file]. Hutchison, E. (2015). Life Course Perspective. In Dimensions of Human Behavior: The Changing Life Course (Fifth ed., p. 7, 11, 13, 20). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing. Code of Ethics (English and Spanish) National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2016, from https://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp Sun, X., Kim, D. O. (1999). Adaptation of 2f1-2f2 distortion product otoacoustic emission in young-adult and old CBA and C57 mice. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 105(6), 3399-3409. doi:10.1121/1.424668 Wood, R., Bandura, A. (1989). Social Cognitive Theory of Organizational Management. Academy of Management Review, 14(3), 361-384. doi:10.5465/AMR.1989.4279067 What was the Reasoning behind Medicare and Medicaid? What was the Reasoning behind Medicare and Medicaid? Early in the twentieth century, those concerned in the human condition, mostly reformers and progressives, reasoned that the American family needed protection from the debilitating effects of lost wages subsequent to the family provider becoming unable to work due to an illness or injury. Many of the social service benefits we enjoy today were rooted in what was referred to at that time as Sickness Insurance. Sickness insurance included the seeds of future programs like Social Security Retirement, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI), Unemployment Insurance, Workmans Compensation and yes Medicare and Medicaid. Although advocates for sickness insurance included plans to cover medical expenses. They were far more concerned with families recouping losses due to lost wages than they were with recovering medical expenses. This was because medical expenses during that time period were significantly less expensive and burdensome than they are today. During the first part of the twentieth century the average person spent roughly $30.00/year and that amount included burial expenses should they be needed. As a result, the political climate in the first half of the twentieth century, accompanying opposition from the medical profession and other interest groups, defeated any successful attempt towards establishing health insurance in any form or, for that matter, developing any type of comprehensive health care strategy until the mid to late 1930s. Although the Social Security Act was passed by Congress in 1935 and physicians began organizing the first private healthcare plans like Blue Shield to cover costs of physicians care in 1939, it wasnt until the late 1950s and early 1960s before the groundwork began which eventually produced Medicare and Medicaid. The stimulus for this development was directly attributable to private insurance companies adjusting their premiums on growing employer-based health coverage on ever increasing medical costs. As a result, the retired and disabled found it progressively more difficult to find affordable coverage as costs for same quickly exceeded their means. Because of this, health reformers focused their efforts on the elderly a battle more easily won. In 1960, Federal Employees acquired a health benefit plan (FEHBP), providing health insurance coverage to federal workers. The Kerr-Mills Act was also passed that year which provided federal monetary support to state programs providing medical care to the poor and elderly. The Kerr-Mills Act was the precursor to the Medicaid program. Shortly after the Civil Rights Act passes in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid programs into law (1965). This legislation created Medicare Part A (covering hospital and limited skilled nursing and home health care), as well as Medicare Part B (a plan to help cover the costs of physicians services). The Medicare and Medicaid programs were incorporated into the Social Security Act as a result of support from the hospital and health insurance industries mainly because this legislation contained no cost controls or physician fee schedules along with public approval and a congress containing a progressive, democratic majority. The next ten years, 1971 1981 saw an expansion of services under the Social Security Income (SSI) program such as a cash assistance program to elderly and disabled persons along with amendments that allow those with long-term disabilities to qualify for Medicare while healthcare costs continued to skyrocket and politicians squabb led with special interest groups over proposals and reforms. The next 30 years, 1981 to 2009, was composed of a flurry of disjointed legislative attempts to both expand healthcare coverage for specific target groups while attempting to reign in the constant upward spiral of health care costs. For example: in 1986 the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active labor Act (EMTALA) required all hospital facilities that received Medicare imbursements to screen and stabilize all persons who used their emergency room facilities regardless as to the ability to pay. Then, just a few short years later in the face of the Clinton administrations proposed Health Security Act (which, in 1993, proposed access to healthcare for every American), the Health Insurance Association of America fought back with television ads depicting middle-class American families worried about access to health care under the Clinton sponsored plan. They had cause to worry. In the 10 years between 1987 and 1997 the number of uninsured grew from 31 million to over 42.4 million as ever increasing healthcare insurance costs, responding to exploding medical care costs, forced individuals and whole families out of the ranks of the insured. In 2009, the White House held its first Health Reform Summit with key stakeholders. Shortly thereafter, President Obama releases his 2010 fiscal budget which includes 8 principles of health reform (electronic record-keeping, preventing expensive conditions, reducing obesity, refocusing doctor incentives from quantity of care to quality, bundling payments for treatment of conditions rather than specific services, better identifying and communicating the most cost-effective treatments, and reducing defensive medicine), and sets aside 634 million dollars in a health reform reserve fund while Congress continues to debate national healthcare reform options (Obama, 2009). Late in 2009 both the House and the Senate pass health reform legislation. Even so, neither the Houses healthcare reform version nor the Senates are ratified by both political bodies. Then, on February 22, 2010 the White House releases President Obamas proposal for health care reform and hosts a second Healthcare summit just 3 days later.   One week later, President Obama lays out his proposal and threatens the Senate that if need be a reconciliation process that required only a majority vote rather than the normal 60 votes to pass would be used to insure passage of the bill. Less than three weeks later, on March 21, 2010 the House of Representatives passes the Senates sponsored version of the bill the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), along with the Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 that amends the original Senate version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reflecting negotiations between the House and Senate, and sends it to the President for signature. Two days later, President Obama signs the bill and P.L. 11-148 (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ACA), becomes law and Obamacare is born. Does the Affordable Care Act of 2010 adequately fix the majority of the healthcare problems we face as a nation today? Or should the responsibility of individual health be on the individual? In the words of Phil Schiliro, former Director of White House Legislative Affairs The right measure of the ACA isnt whether it avoids political controversy; its whether it makes America better by achieving its five most fundamental goals: expanding health-insurance coverage, lowering costs and promoting fiscal responsibility, increasing quality through innovation, protecting seniors and delivering peace of mind to American families by guaranteeing essential rightsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. With these goals in place, individuals can concentrate on lifestyles that promote health rather than worrying about getting help when efforts in this regard fail expectations. References Timeline: History of Health Reform in the U.S. https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/5-02-13-history-of-health-reform.pdf A Brief History of Workers Compensation, Gregory P Guyton, Department of Orthopedics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Copyright  © 1999, The Iowa Orthopedic Journal https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1888620/ Medicare and Medicaid: The Past as Prologue, Edward Berkowitz, Health Care Financing Review/Spring 2008/Volume 29, Number 3 https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and- https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-Systems/Research/HealthCareFinancingReview/downloads/08Springpg81.pdf Health is ultimately the responsibility of the individual: to what extent is this viewpoint correct? rodrigo | November 13, 2012 The WritePass Journal https://writepass.com/journal/2012/11/health-is-ultimately-the-responsibility-of-the-individual-to-what-extent-is-this-viewpoint-correct/ Who is Responsible for Your Health? Sarah Lifsey, May 14, 2015, Altarum Institute altarum.org/health-policy-blog/who-is-responsible-for-your-health ProCon.org. (2015, May 8). Is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Good for America? Retrieved from http://healthcarereform.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001526 Remarks by the President to the AMA (June 15, 2009). Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved January 12, 2012. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-annual-conference-american-medical-association

Apartheid In South Africa Essay -- South African Apartheid 2014

Segregation is a concept as old as time, and it is not unique to the United States. South Africa still suffers from the effects of an organized and government mandated system of segregation called apartheid that lasted for over a quarter of a century. Apartheid, literally translated from Afrikaans, means apartness (Mandela 40). It is defined as a policy of racial segregation and â€Å"political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of South Africa† (â€Å"Apartheid†). According to Robin Cohen, South African apartheid was based on four basic premises: â€Å"white monopoly of political power, the manipulation of space to achieve racial segregation, the control of black labor, and urban social control† (qtd. in Massie 385). Apartheid was widely supported by powerful nations, including the United States. However, the validity of the arguments and actions that those supporters used was questionable and not based in fact. History The brief history on South African apartheid that follows is essential to understanding the whole picture. The 1940s Apartheid began as an implied law in the seventh century with the start of the slave trade where an estimated 25 million blacks were sold into slavery over a period of 12 centuries (Stock 65). However, it was not until 1948 that the South African government actually passed apartheid laws (â€Å"Timeline†). The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 strictly prohibited people of different races marrying and having offspring (Stock 21). The 1950s The 1950s were the era of Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, the Minister of Native Affairs, and later, Prime Minister of South Africa. The Population Registration Act of 1950 required all people to be designated and registered by a specific race: white, black, or of mixed decent, considered colored (â€Å"History†). This designation was primarily based on appearance, often by means of the â€Å"pencil in the hair† test. Officials would begin by placing a pencil in a person’s hair. If the hair was curly enough to hold the pencil while bending over, the person was black, and if the pencil fell out, the person was colored (Massie 21). In 1951 homelands, or bantustans, were established (â€Å"Timeline†). The homelands were South Africa’s equivalent to America’s reservations. Blacks, who had no rights outside their h... ...brary, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . â€Å"Allied with Apartheid: Reagan Supported Racist South African Gvt.† Democracy Now. 11 June 2004. Lexis Nexis. NWC Library, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . â€Å"Apartheid.† Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 1994. Geyer, A.L. â€Å"The Case for Apartheid, 1953.† Modern History Sourcebook. 19 Aug. 1953. EBSCOhost. NWC Library, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . â€Å"The History of Apartheid in South Africa.† Stanford Students. 7 Nov. 2004 . â€Å"Justice for South Africa: Pay the Debt.† TransAfrica Forum. 2004. Lexis-Nexis. NWC Library, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . Mandela, Nelson. Mandela: An Illustrated Autobiography. Boston: Little, Brown Company. 1994. Massie, Robert K. Loosing the Bonds: The United States and South Africa in the Apartheid Years. New York: Bantam. 1997. Stock, Robert. Africa South of the Sahara. New York: The Guliford Press. 1995. â€Å"Timeline of South African Apartheid.† Northstar K-12. 7 Nov. 2004 .

The Re-inscription of Identity: Black Affirmation

Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, was set at a time when slavery was still an accepted practice. One of the effects of slavery on the slaves was the stripping off of their identities. This was the case because they were not perceived as humans with the privilege of having their own identity. They were dehumanized and objectified as a mere species of animals – one that is treated as property. African-Americans, for instance, were not given individual identities or names. This was portrayed when Paul D mentioned his brothers Paul A and Paul F.It emphasized how they were treated as interchangeable pieces that can only be differentiated by letters such as exhibits in a courtroom or identical items on a list. This was also portrayed in the scene where the schoolteacher came to claim Sethe back after she escaped. It was shown through his perspective how he sees all the black people in the community as nameless â€Å"niggers† only to be differentiated by what they wear. O nly when the perspective was shifted to the African-Americans will the readers realize that the girl referred to by the schoolteacher as the â€Å"nigger with the flower hat† was Baby Suggs.The absence of a name signifies a denial of her humanity; the slave masters never call their slaves by names. They were treated as objects that are defined. Everything must be given or bestowed upon them. Morrison points to the fact that the jungle was actually created by the white people, who annihilated the sense of selfhood and humanity in the slaves: â€Å"White people believed that whatever the manners, under every dark skin was a jungle. Swift unnavigable waters, swinging screaming baboons, sleeping snakes, red gums ready for their sweet white blood.. . . But it wasn't the jungle blacks brought with them to this place from the other place. It was the jungle white folks planted in them. And it grew. It spread†¦. The screaming baboon lived under their own white skin; the red gums were their own. (Morrison, 198-199) The novel shows two main forms of resistance to slavery. These are escape and murder. Escape was shown as the primary form of resistance. Most of the slaves in the novel resorted to escape or at least attempted to escape when things started to become unbearable for them.Escape was resorted to when life has become increasingly difficult for them. This however was not easy to do. For instance, Paul D attempted numerous times to escape, but failed almost every time. The only time he succeeded to escape was when he was in prison. In prison, he was kept in a small box on the ground at night only to be let out during the day where he was suffered to work while chained to other prisoners. One night, a powerful rainstorm came lashing down. This was the chance that they needed. The storm facilitated their escape.â€Å"To escape† means â€Å"to slip or get away as from confinement or restraint; to succeed in avoiding or to elude one’s memory , notice, search, etc. † (Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, 1992, p. 455). â€Å"Escaping† has also been defined as â€Å"to get free from flight, from prison or other confinement or restraint; to regain one’s liberty, to find release from worries, troubles, or responsibilities; it is the act of getting free from prison or other confinement, from pursuit from a pursuer, etc. † (Longman’s Modern English Dictionary, 1968, p.354). Not only Paul D, but Sethe as well, both escaped from the confinements of slavery. In psychology, escape has been often resorted to as a means to avoid aversive stimulus or conditions, commonly referred to as escape conditioning. In psychoanalysis, escape conditioning is a form of aversive conditioning where unpleasant or painful stimuli are avoided (Bateman and Holmes, 1995; Marthe, 1968). It occurs when an aversive stimulus is presented and the subject responds by leaving the stimulus situation.In laboratory experiments, escape conditioning is most typically tested with animals such as rats which are placed in a box wherein they receive a jolt or a shock when they come into contact with one of the box’s walls. In a sense, the experience of the African-Americans under slavery is similar to the compulsive need of a laboratory specimen seeking to avoid further painful or aversive stimuli (Bateman and Holmes, 1995). In the novel, Sethe displays elements of escape conditioning when she feels a horrifying shock when she becomes aware that the Schoolteacher and his nephews have come after her and her sons.The other form of resistance to slavery shown in the book is murder. When Paul D was sold to a new master, he attempted to kill the latter because of the abuses done to him. In fact, that was the reason why he was sent to prison in the first place. Another instance of this as shown in the book was when Sethe killed her own child. When Sethe's master came after Sethe and her children, Sethe ran into the shed where she and her children were hiding. When she got there, Sethe killed her own baby girl Beloved and tried to kill her other children – Howard, Buglar, and Denver – as well.Even though this sounds horrific, Sethe's motive was that she would much rather kill her children rather than have them go back to being slaves. She only managed to wound Buglar and Howard. Sethe tried to throw Denver against a wall, but Stamp Paid stepped in and managed to save Denver's life. Schoolteacher's behavior indicates one of the ways the black were dehumanized by the whites. They were treated like dispensable objects, and even worse than animals.For instance, Sixo was beaten up not simply because he stole something, but also because he tried to edge into the position of the Definer. Since Sixo was smart, and had such a good command of language and logic, the Schoolteacher felt it was necessary to beat him up since his intelligence posed as a threat to the white ma n's control of speech. Sethe and her children lead a difficult life under Schoolteacher and decided to escape on the Underground Railroad. Sethe sent three of her children ahead on the Railroad, and stayed behind to wait for Halle.She eventually joined her children. Her tedious journey included walking pass a row of young black boys, who were hung by their necks in a row. One of those black boys was most likely Paul A. Sethe continues to address her dead baby child Beloved in her mind. She keeps rationalizing and repeating to herself everything she had to go through and suffer through to get to her children. More important than losing her milk, or the beatings that she got from the Schoolteacher's nephew, was the painful instance when Sethe overheard the Schoolteacher talking about her.He made a distinction between Sethe's human and non-human characteristics. If anything, in the past Sethe may have felt they were being objectified, but to actually hear Schoolteacher speak of them as human and at the same time not human, shook her to the very core. It jarred her into realizing that these whites will never see them as equals, that they will always be objects to use and manipulate. This experience triggered the growing unease and conflict within Sethe, and signifies what she must have felt right before she murdered her baby.After hearing the Schoolteacher speak of her that, she was overcome with terror at the thought of allowing her children to lead a lifetime of dehumanizing treatment. How Sethe affirms herself in the murderous act Despite the fact that she killed beloved and attempted to kill her other 3 children, Sethe still firmly believes that she did the right thing. In her mind, her children were better off dead rather than have them go back to a life of slavery under Schoolteacher. In an oddly twisted way, Sethe's love for her children was so much that she could no longer distinguish where the world ended and where she began.She felt that as their mother, she had should have complete control over their fate, and in fact, she felt that as their mother, she had to step in so that she may control their fate – even if it meant killing them. Quite obviously, the fate she wanted for her children was one that did not involve slavery. She wanted to guarantee her children's safety – even if it meant killing them. Thus, for her, she was protecting her children, protecting the only thing she has that is pure and worth saving as mentioned in the book: â€Å"Anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind.Not just work, kill, or maim you, but dirty you. Dirty you so bad you couldn't like yourself anymore. And though she and others lived through and got over it, she could never let it happen to her own. The best things she was, was her children. Whites might dirty her all right, but not her best thing, her beautiful, magical best thing — the part of her that was clean. â€Å"(Morrison, 251) Unfortuna tely, despite this protective motivation, Sethe's act effectively denies her daughter the chance to live. In effect, she appropriates on her own her daughter's yet unrealized subjectivity.Sethe's act has been defined as limited by its reaction to a commodifying ideology: â€Å"It is always in relation to the place of the Other that colonial desire is articulated: the phantasmic space of possession that no one subject can singly or fixedly occupy, and therefore permits the dream of the inversion of roles† (Bhabha, 44). It is difficult for the reader to assume a moral high ground in this situation and to criticize Sethe's action as â€Å"playing god. † There was nothing god-like at all about Sethe and her conditions.Before she killed Beloved, the novel described in graphic detail the suffering that Sethe and her people went through. Beyond the physical suffering, what was truly deplorable was the mental and emotional suffering Sethe went through – of knowing and f eeling in every bone in their body that other human beings did not treat them as human beings simply because of the color of their skin. She mistakes her own identity with her motherhood, and thus, in a way, reenacts the violence of the white masters against her.Sethe feels she has no power over her own self because the white people had crossed all the boundaries and not only taken everything she possessed physically, but everything she had dreamed as well: ‘†Those white things have taken all I had or dreamed,' she said, ‘and broke my heartstrings too. There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks. ‘†(Morrison, 89) It is obvious that the â€Å"whitefolks† are â€Å"bad luck†, that is, for the black slaves they were the instruments of destiny itself, trough the power have over their lives.Thus, when Sethe kills her infant daughter, she obviously acts, although out of love, as a white master would. Bhabha's theory of the colonial subject represents both the colonized and the colonizer in defining that colonial subject position as shifting rather than fixed. In the creation of a colonial subjecthood, the positions of master and slave not only define each other, but can shift into an inversion of roles (Mohanty, 1995). Sethe does not hold much hope in the world changing, and abhors the thought of her children being treated as animals.She couldn't bear the thought of her children enduring the animal-like slavery that her people were reduced to, and felt thus that she was justified in wanting them dead. Slavery was all about the whites â€Å"laying claim† on the African-Americans, and this concept of ownership Sethe decided to take upon her own hands with regard to her children. Since the whites did not make any distinction among the African-Americans, with the latter being forced to ignore the distinction between one's self and others since they were all lumped together as objects, Sethe used this same mindset w hen she killed Beloved.In Sethe's mind, taking Beloved's life was as if she took her own. It is a possessive love that is, admittedly, dangerous, but it is not entirely evil. It is fuelled by desperation. An examination of Freud's Oedipus complex may help to understand Sethe's feelings towards her children, particularly Beloved. The intricate web of attachment between the mother and daughter often makes self-identification among both the mother and the daughter difficult to grasp (Bowlby, 1999). The mother's need for primal love causes her to become overly attached to her daughter, defining the daughter as an extension of herself, and not as a separate individual.As result, the mother projects her unfulfilled aspirations and expectations onto her daughter, which inhibits the daughter from forming her own unique identity (Bettelheim, 1983; Rieff, 1979). In Sethe's case, this inhibition is not merely an inhibition on Beloved from forming her own identity – she effectively preve nts Beloved from having her own identity to begin with by killing her. Clearly, Sethe's unfulfilled aspiration is a life free from slavery, and this aspiration she transfers upon her children.The motivation is certainly not evil, but in hoping for a better life for her daughter, Sethe deprives Beloved of the chance to live, of the form her own unique identity. The Oedipus complex as exemplified in Freud's teachings finds support in Bhabha's theory of the colonial subject wherein Sethe appropriates on her own her daughter's yet unrealized subjectivity (Mohanty, 1995). Sethe didn't want her daughter to be whipped, and to be worked to the ground. She especially did not want her daughter's characteristics to be listed and broken down into human and non-human traits.Sethe's love for her children makes it difficult for her to acknowledge or recognize her own self and her own self-worth outside of her relationship to others, and particularly outside her role as a mother. This is something that Sethe cannot be entirely blamed for. The culture of slavery she had been born into precisely refused to acknowledge an individual's own self and self respect. In treating the blacks as animals, the whites have effectively purged many of them of the ability to view themselves as individuals deserving of respect.How Denver discovers herself out of 124 when she leaves the house and becomes a part of the community Denver, Sethe's child, has clear memories about the time when she used to attend school. When Denver was only 7, she walked away from home and found herself in the home of Lady Jones, a mulatto woman who taught reading, writing, and math to black children. Denver's year of schooling ended when Nelson Lord asked her â€Å"the question† and right after, when Denver asked her mother Sethe â€Å"the question,† Denver became deaf.She failed to hear her mother's answer, or anything else for that matter, for two years. She only regained her hearing when she heard t he baby ghost crawling up the stairs. After this, Denver realized what her mother had done. This made her fear the possibility of the reoccurrence of what happened that tragic day. â€Å"All the time, I'm afraid the thing that happened that made it all right for my mother to kill my sister could happen again. I don't know what it is, I don't know who it is, but maybe there is something else terrible enough to make her do it again.I need to know what that thing might be, but I don't want to. Whatever it is, it comes from outside this house, outside the yard, and it can come right on in the yard if it wants to. So I never leave this house and I watch over the yard, so it can't happen again and my mother won't have to kill me too. † (Morrison, 205) One day, Denver finally decided that she had to go for help. Beloved is destroying her mother; they are all â€Å"locked in a love that wore everybody out,† and Denver is afraid for her mother's life.She finds the courage to le ave the yard of 124 for the first time since she was seven, and she makes her way to Lady Jones. Sethe was consumed by her attention for Beloved. â€Å"Beloved . . . never got enough of anything: lullabies, new stitches, the bottom of the cake bowl, the top of the milk. . . . When Sethe ran out of things to give her, Beloved invented desire† (Morrison, 240). The one time Denver had ventured away from 124 was that year when she was seven years old and had found Lady Jones. She ventures out of the 124 yard again after regaining her hearing and looks for Lady Jones again.The mulatto woman remembers Denver, and tries to help her in her own way. In the weeks that followed, Denver kept finding baskets with food in them, and little scraps of paper bearing the senders' names. She returns the baskets and gives her thanks to the senders. This allows Denver to get gradually get to know the black community in Cincinnati – a world outside the 124. As her world expands, Denver trans forms from being a shy, clumsy girl to flourish into a strong, independent young woman. She is driven by her resolve to save her mother Sethe and to take care of her.Denver's relationship with her mothers bares elements of Freud's Oedipal complex theory (Isbister, 1965). According to psychoanalytical theory, a female never completely relinquishes her pre-oedipal attachment to her mother, and these unresolved feelings surface not only in adolescence but also in adulthood. Through mothering, the adult female re-enters what is called the oedipal triangle, which is the attachment she experiences with her father and mother during childhood, but instead of being the child, she now becomes the mother (Lawler, 2000; Wyatt, 1993; Pigman, 1995).In Denver's case, the attachment she experiences with Sethe has resulted in an evolution of their relationship wherein Denver assumes the role of the mother, the protector, of Sethe. For the first time in her life, Denver also begins to understand her mother's actions and the impact of their past. The community who secures Sethe`s release from the past and exorcises Beloved In the novel, we see how Sethe takes her first shaky steps towards recognizing her own sense of self. â€Å"Bit by bit, at 124 and in the Clearing, along with others, she had claimed herself. Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.â€Å"(Morrison, 95) It starts to develop when she runs away from the Sweet Home plantation. During the 28 days of freedom she experienced after she fled, Sethe felt exhilarated. For the first time in her life, she was allowed to be selfish. For the first time, her life was her own to live. More than anything, she felt that her children were truly her own, because in the plantation they were all â€Å"owned† collectively. Sethe's community both perpetuates the legacy of slavery and plays an important role in the process of the development of her own sense of subjectivity.â€Å"Seth e had had twenty-eight days†¦ of unslaved life†¦ Days of healing, ease and real-talk. Days of company: knowing the names of forty, fifty other Negroes, their views, habits; where they had been and what they had done; of feeling their fun and sorrow along with her own, which made it better†¦ All taught her how it felt to wake up at dawn and decide what to do with the day†¦ Bit by bit†¦ along with the others, she had claimed herself. Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another' (Morrison, 95). Morrison's concept of an â€Å"unslaved life† means a life with the freedom to develop one's subjectivity.This process is closely connected to inclusion in and participation with one's community (Knapp, 1989). Even though Sethe freed herself, she cannot claim ownership of that freed self alone. The people around her in the community play an important role in teaching her how to be herself because prior to her freedom, Sethe ha d learned, through coercion, the lessons of invisibility, silence, and submission. Unfortunately, the community displays warped codes of morality, and eventually led to their collective desertion of Sethe at a time when she needs them the most.The feast at Baby Suggs' was taken as a sign of pride, and the day after the party, the community waits, and even hopes, for Sethe's downfall. â€Å"Somehow the members of the black community imagine that Baby Suggs has not suffered in slavery as they have suffered, and this ignorance of their mutual history makes mutual trust impossible† (Scruggs, 103). This attitude of the community displays their collective unconscious. Jung's theory of the collective unconscious represents what has been described as the â€Å"psychic inheritance† (Jung, 2006). It is the collection of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge we are born with.Since we can never be directly conscious of it, it influences all of our experiences and behav iors, particularly the emotional ones, but we only know about it indirectly, by looking at the influences (Jung, 2006; Knapp, 1989; Halbwachs, 1992). The African-American's colonial past of slavery is a collective experience with a deeply rooted impact that they may not all be directly conscious of in terms of how it affects how they view themselves and their own community. It becomes manifest in their behavior, and from their behavior can one only really trace the influences of their colonial past.The jealousy, or envy, of the community, lead to the withdrawal of the community's support from Sethe. Their silence during the appearance of the Schoolteacher at 124, which resulted in Sethe's murder of her daughter, and the way they ostracized Sethe afterwards, indicated the community's need to see a successful black family's downfall. Yet it is this jealousy which indirectly causes Sethe to perform the act for which they themselves, the community, could not allow itself to morally forg ive her for a long time. The community however eventually shows a sense of guilt with what happened to Sethe and her family.They participate in exorcising Beloved, indicating that the tragedy of Beloved's death was not just the responsibility of Sethe and the whites who came to get her, but of the entire black community. After all, the black community must have known that the Schoolteacher and his nephews were coming for Sethe and her children, but they took no steps to warn her. Four white people rode towards 124, with a certain â€Å"look† about them, and everyone who saw them knew what they meant and what they came for. Yet the community did not do anything, driven perhaps by what Stamp believed was jealousy of Baby Suggs and from the feast weeks before.The 28 days of freedom Sethe experienced were followed by 18 years of disapproval by the community, and she lived a static and â€Å"solitary life† (Morrison, 173). Sethe herself describes this lonely existence as â €Å"unlivable† (Morrison, 173). When she decided to kill her child and thus protect Beloved from the â€Å"unlivable† life of slavery, Sethe herself returns to a life in which she is unable to learn to claim her freed self. Beloved returned in the flesh, and it actually became therapeutic for Sethe who had been ostracized by the community for 18 long years for what she had done to her daughter.Sethe was struck with guilt for having killed Beloved, and looked for ways to make up for it by welcoming the â€Å"resurrection† of Beloved. In this way, Sethe chose to dwell in the past, and Beloved became the symbol that effectively removed Sethe’s link with the murder of her child. The decision to exorcist Beloved was something that the entire community practically participated in. Sethe’s reliance on Beloved has prevented her from moving on and leaving her past behind. An exorcism of Beloved meant an exorcism of the past – a much-needed step to ma ke room for Sethe’s own self-realization.Exorcism then was an especially communal act, and the exorcism of Beloved makes a strong statement. She represents the legacy of slavery that had marked the blacks' past, and it is something that the entire community must contend with (Scruggs, 1992). Sethe, long after Beloved's death, constantly relives and rehashes her life of slavery, perhaps to justify to herself again and again why she killed her own child. This self-inflicted torture of reliving her past causes Sethe to almost kill the oppressor – not the Schoolteacher, but Mr. Bodwin who merely happens to be white as well.Sethe needed to face her past and to step outside the confines of her terrible history. Beloved returns to 124 for the same reason she came to haunt Sethe – to force her mother to confront her past. Sethe cannot break through the confines of her past without finding some resolution in her relationship with her daughter. Sethe was incapable of pers onal growth for 18 long years because she refused to face her own commodification and its deep implications. Jung's theory of the personal unconscious includes anything which is not presently conscious, but can be (Jung, 2006).The personal unconscious is like most people's understanding of the unconscious in that it includes both memories that are easily brought to mind and those that have been suppressed for some reason (Hayman, 1999). In this case, Sethe's suppression of her colonial past was dominated by her own guilt in murdering her own daughter. Freud's concept of rationalization provides for the cognitive distortion of fact to make an event or an impulse less threatening. People do this often on a fairly conscious level when we provide ourselves with excuses.These defenses or justifications may be seen as a combination of denial or repression with various kinds of rationalizations. Defenses are lies which take us further and further away from the truth and ultimately, from re ality. At a certain point, Freud points out, the ego can no longer take care of the id's demands, or pay attention to the superego's (Freud, 1963). The anxieties come rushing back, and the person who harbors these defenses and justifications eventually break down or deteriorate (Gay, 1988; Jones, 1961).In Sethe's case, her rationalization of her daughter's murder and her denial of the colonial forces in her life continued to block the development of her own subjectivity. Beloved's physical presence and the ensuing relationship between her and Sethe eventually forces the latter to acknowledge the internalized colonization that she had for the longest time denied. To enjoy total freedom, Sethe needed to claim freedom within her own mind by dealing with the past not as a burden, which must be beaten back by all means, but as a factor which constitutes the present.). This was something Sethe had to conquer. She kept asking herself â€Å"Would it be all right? Would it be all right to g o ahead and feel? Go ahead and count on something? † (Morrison, 38) This shows that there is no sense of self as there is no sense of future, but only of past for the former slave who has learned only how to be dependant Accepting her past as playing a pivotal role in shaping who she has become at present is important for Sethe’s self-identity. This is something she purposely avoided. â€Å"To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay.The ‘better life' she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one† (Morrison, 42) Self-concept provides for the total of a being’s knowledge and understanding of her self (Freud, 1963; Rieff, 1979; Pigman, 1995). This makes it necessary for Sethe to stop resorting to denial, of fending off awareness of an unpleasant truth or of a reality that is a threat to her ego, as defined by Freud (1963; Rieff, 1979), but to take stock of the reality behind what she did and what prompted her to do it.Only then could she literally quite let go of the ghosts of her peace and enjoy total freedom. The gender conflict which comes to a resolution In an argument with Paul D, Sethe said that all man wrong women. In the colonial economy, the slavery of a black woman represented the connection between the economy of pleasure and desire, and the economy of domination and power (Wyatt, 1993). Sethe, as the black female slave, represented this difference as racial and sexual â€Å"other. † This is exemplified in Sethe's rape by the Schoolteacher's nephews.â€Å"‘I am full God damn it of two boys with mossy teeth, one sucking on my breast, the other holding me down, their book-reading teacher watching and writing it up. I don't want to know or have to remember that. I have other things to do: worry about tomorrow, about Denver, about Beloved, about age and sickness, not to speak of love. ‘ But her brain was not interested in the future† (Morrison, 70). The Sch oolteacher observes Sethe's rape and makes it a discursive act. He exploits Sethe as a racial and sexual other in order to rewrite her identity as something less than human – more of a beast rather than a human being.Sethe then experiences this dehumanization of herself and her body by the Schoolteacher and his nephews. Sethe's personhood, as it has been allowed to exist under slavery, is further reduced to animality. Among female African-American slaves, thus, there was not just the â€Å"fetish of colonial discourse† (Bhabha, 78) but sexual fetish to contend with as well. Pursuant to the object relations theory – an adaptation of psychoanalytic theory – the psychological life of the human being is created in and through relations with other human beings, through â€Å"good object relations.† Unlike Freudian and Lacanian theories, however, object relations theory, the â€Å"gendering† of the subject has little to do with one's awareness of sexuality and reproduction at early stages of development (in other words, when one is a child). It involves the internalization of any inequities in the value assigned to one's gender, as well as the associated imbalance of power (Wyatt, 1993; Chodorow, 1978). In Sethe's case, this imbalance of power was present in two levels – fetish of colonial discourse, and the sexual fetish displayed against female black slaves.This â€Å"gendering† is something that she carries with her even when she is freed and can be seen in her attitude towards her children. Ideally, Sethe's concern for her child's well being should not involve overinvestment in the child as a mere extension of her own self. She needs both material and emotional support from other adults who are able to both nurture her and reinforce her own sense of autonomy (Patterson and Watkins, 1996). Unfortunately, given the harsh realities of the life and conditions under slavery, Sethe hardly had the opportunity or t he good fortune of being exposed to such an environment or â€Å"good object relations.† The dehumanization of African-Americans, and the dehumanization of African-American women during that period made it difficult for even women themselves to break away from the roles that society had forced them into (Chodorow, 1978). Despite the gender conflict displayed in Morrison’s book however, the last chapter indicates the potential and possibility for harmonization, as Paul D returns to 124 after he hears that Beloved is finally gone. This is the first time he returned to the place where he escaped from, and this very act symbolizes that it is finally time for Paul D to stop running.When Paul D and Sethe are reunited, Paul D reassures Sethe that they will build a new future for themselves together, telling Sethe to take care of herself as she is her own best thing. Paul D tells Sethe he plans to move in and that he will take care of her at night, while Denver was away. As he shows Sethe, she herself and not her children is her best possession: â€Å"‘You your best thing'† â€Å"Me? Me? † (Morrison, 273) In this, we see how Paul D affirms not just Sethe as a woman, but as an individual, separate and distinct from her daughter, Beloved. WORKS CITED LISTBateman, Anthony and Holmes, Jeremy. Introduction to Psychoanalysis: Contemporary Theory & Practice. London: Routledge, 1995. Bettelheim, Bruno. Freud and Man’s Soul: An Important Re-Interpretation of Freudian Theory. New York: Random House Vintage, 1983. Bhabha, Homi K. Locations of Culture. New York: Routledge, 1994. Bowlby, John. Attachment and Loss: Vol I, 2nd Ed. New York: Basic Books, 1999 Chodorow, Nancy. The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978. Fitzgerald, Jennifer.â€Å"Selfhood and Community: Psychoanalysis and Discourse in Beloved. † Modern Fiction Studies 39 (1993): 669-87. Freud, Sigmund. â€Å"Obsessive Acts and Religious Practices† Freud: Character and Culture. Ed. , Philip Rieff. New York: Collier Books, 1963. 25. Gay, Peter. Freud: A Life for Our Time. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988. Halbwachs, Maurice. On Collective Memory. Ed. and trans. Lewis A. Coser. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. Hayman, Ronald. A Life of Jung. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. , 1999. Isbister, J. N. Freud, An Introduction to his Life and Work.Oxford: Polity Press, 1985. Jones, Ernest. The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud. Eds. , Lionell Trilling and Steven Marcus. New York: Basic Books, 1961. Jung, Carl. The Undiscovered Self. London: Signet Books, 2006. Knapp, Steven. â€Å"Collective Memory and the Actual Past. † Representations 26 (1989): 123-49. Lawler, Steph. Mothering the Self: Mothers, Daughters, Subjects. New York: Routledge, 2000. Longman’s Modern English Dictionary. London: Longman Harlow Ltd. , 1968. Marthe, Robert. The Psychoanalyti c Revolution. London: Avon Books, 1968.

In the Name of Identity Summary

In Amin Maalouf’s book â€Å"In the Name of Identity† Maalouf emphasizes that we should not judge people on one singular identity. He argues that, â€Å"Identity can’t be compartmentalized. You can’t divide it up into halves or thirds or any other separate segments. I haven’t got several identities: I’ve got just one, made up of many components in mixture that is unique to me, just as other people’s identity is unique to them as individuals. † The essence of Maalouf’s argument is that one should not define another based solely on a singular component of their identity but rather their identity as a whole.In chapter one, Maalouf suggest that, â€Å"†¦ People commit crime nowadays in the name of religious, ethnic, national, or some other kind of identity. † Massacres, racial discrimination, and holocausts have all been done in the name of defending a single component of ones identity. Maalouf makes a valid point when he writes, â€Å"What’s known as an identity card carries the holder’s family name, given name, date and place of birth, photograph, a list of certain physical features, the holder’s signature and sometimes also his fingerprints. Proving that society as a whole selects individual components of their identity to define themselves. According to Maalouf, identity is defined as,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦A number of elements, and these are clearly not restricted to the particulars set down in official records. Of course, for the great majority these factors include allegiance to a religious tradition; to a nationality – sometimes two; to a profession, an institution, or a particular social milieu. But the list is much longer than that; it is virtually unlimited. † Maalouf celebrates the fact that identity is extremely complex.Each person has a single identity, although each identity is made up of many components, causing not one to be the same. In chapter two Maalouf tries to examine his own identity. Maalouf claims he is not trying to find one singular part of his identity to define himself but rather find instances that define him. Maalouf admits, â€Å"As you may imagine, my object is not to discover within myself some essential allegiance in which I may recognize my self. Rather the opposite: I scour my memory to find as many ingredients of my identity as I can. Throughout chapter two Maalouf goes into great detail about what defines him. He clearly states that it is not one component, for instance coming from an Arab background and being a Christian. He does not deny himself of either identity, but instead embraces them both. Maalouf claims that the more allegiances one has the rarer one’s identity is. He clearly states, â€Å"Every one of my allegiance links me to a large number of people, But the more ties I have the rarer and more particular my own identity becomes. Towards the end of chapter two he claimes society gene ralizes and puts individual components of ones identity and judges them based solely on that single component. Maalouf complicates matters further when he writes, â€Å"We blithely express sweeping judgments on a whole peoples, calling them â€Å"hardworking† and â€Å"ingenious,† or â€Å"lazy,† â€Å"touchy,† â€Å"sly,† â€Å"proud,† or â€Å"obstinate. † He claims that these judgments often lead to bloodshed. In chapter three maalouf states, â€Å"Identity isn’t given once and for all: it is build up and changes throughout a person’s lifetime. The essence of Maalouf’s argument is our identity changes over time and different components are added everyday, changing our identity as a whole. He gives a great example of an African baby born in New York, compared to if it was born in Lagos, Pretoria, or Launda. The child would have completely different experiences by the age of 10, and each experience would drasti cally change its identity. Maalouf also argues that people view themselves by the allegiance that is most threatened. Thus, the reason Maalouf believes killers are made.He argues that, â€Å"We have only the events of the last few years to see what any human community that feels humiliated or fears for its existence will tend to produce killers. † It his human nature to defend one’s self when feeling threatened. Maalouf agrees when he says, â€Å"There is a Mr. Hyde inside each of us. What we have to do is prevent the conditions occurring that will bring the monster forth. † In conclusion Maalouf urges us to prevent our selves from generalizing each other based on a single component of one’s identity. He argues that this will prevent wars, murders, and holocausts.