Racism and Prejudice free essay sample

Racism is an ongoing force that negatively impacts the lives of Americans every day. The racist mindset in America stems from the times of slavery, where blacks were thought to be inferior to whites. Throughout history, the ideas of race and racism has evolved and developed several different meanings. Today, we can still see the devastating effects of racism on people of color, as well as whites. â€Å"Racism, like other forms of oppression, is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as beliefs and actions of individual† (Tatum, pg.9). As a result of this system, it leaves the oppressed at a great disadvantage in society. This includes access to social, cultural, and economic resources and decision-making. In order for change to come about and for the American society to reach racial inequality, we first have to acknowledge the problem openly, which our society has yet to do. We will write a custom essay sample on Racism and Prejudice or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Su (2006) mentions that it is unethical to practice without the knowledge, expertise, and skills needed to provide culturally relevant services to an increasingly diverse population. This semester has given me some time to think about the different concerns that are impacting our community, placements, and the community of our clients. I work at a homeless shelter in an urban community in Boston. More than half of this shelter’s population is made up of women of color. These women deal with so many different systems, such as; The Department of Transitional Assistance, The Judicial System, Welfare System, Education System, Department of Children and Family, and so many more. More than half of these women do not understand these systems and the effects they have in there everyday life. As a case manager at the homeless shelter for women and children, I would like to implement a group that can educate the women in the shelter on some of the issues that come up for women of color especially issues of race and oppression that are seen in some of the systems that they deal with on a daily level. The group will teach the women why these system are around, how they effect people of color, how to navigate these systems on there own, and how to get the best result from these systems. This group will also analyze the meaning of racism and how it affects both people of color and whites. In doing so, the team facilitating the group will explore how racism impacts one’s racial identity, using life experiences as examples. They will also demonstrate how racism leads to prejudice and discrimination and provide examples of these. The plan is to end with some form of solutions and ideas to improve our communities and this agency as a whole. We want to start of by defining racism as a system of advantage based on race (Su 2006). In America whites have control over resources such as jobs and education. This gives them the power to be racists toward others. Because people of color do not have this power, they are not able to be racist towards whites. Many whites would not consider themselves as racist, but there are different forms of racism. Active racism is what most would consider racist behavior. Active racism is blatant, intentional acts of racial bigotry and discrimination. Today, a more common form of racial unfair hiring practices to go unchallenged, and avoiding difficult race-related issues. Another form of racism is called cultural racism. This is when the cultural images and messages that verify the superiority of whites and the assumed inferiority disadvantage people of color. Because racism is so ingrained in the structure of American institutions. Racism exists because of prejudice. Prejudice is defined as a â€Å"preconceived opinion or judgment, usually based on limited information,† (Tatum, p. 5). If a person’s has prejudice attitudes and opinions, they allow it to effect their decisions and actions, creating the racism. Stereotypes, omissions, and distortions all contribute to the development of prejudice, and most of these are found in the media. Prejudice is one of the inescapable consequences of living in a racist society. It is like smog in the air. Sometimes it is so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent, but always, day in and day out, we are breathing the air in. None of us would introduce ourselves as â€Å"smog-breathers† (and most of us don’t want to be described as prejudice), but if we live in a smoggy place, how can we avoid the air? (Tatum 1997) It is the responsibility of all those who are aware of the pollution to clean it up, even if we weren’t the ones who polluted the air. It is important that we do not pass prejudice views to our family, friends, or anyone else around us. When you combine â€Å"prejudice plus power†, you form a strong e system of oppression. Su (2006) explains this: â€Å"Racial prejudice when combined with social power, (access to social, cultural, economic resources and decision-making), it leads to the institutionalization of racist policies and practices,† (Tatum p. 6). As a result this cycle of prejudice and racism continues. In the past 3 months of working at this agency I’ve notice the residents carry negative thoughts about themselves because of their upbringing and lack of education. This cycle of oppression has negative effects, especially on people of color. If a person continuously hears negative messages about his or her racial group, over time they actually start to believe these stereotypes. When people start to internalize these messages, it turns into internalized racism. Bivens (2002) shared that Internalized racism may have people of color feeling inferior or different because they have come to believe, have internalized, the dominant society’s message that they are different and do not belong. The way that this type of group would be most affective would be to have a mandatory training for the staff as well as a group for the residents at the program. The staff’s upper management is mostly white women although the program is very diverse. It would be beneficial to both employees and resident to understand what internalized racism means and how it affects people of color. Bivens (2002) discusses the main effects of internalized racism. Internalized racism can generate questions and doubts in the minds of people of color placed in a predominately white setting. It can also lead people of color to question their own thinking and judgment about racism. Internalized racism can be a divisive force, creating a desire in people of color to be white. Imagine being a person of color who is living and depending on an agency of mostly white staff. This type of information would improve they quality of work in the agency if there were a mandatory training that involved all staff. After speaking to a few of the women at the agency about some of there stories about race and racism they shared details that stayed with them until now. It is clear that most Americans claims to be colorblind, where people do not see skin color, but they just see people as human beings. Some of my clients shared things that people would say to them that I know now are racist. â€Å"One of my best friends is black,† or â€Å"it’s not race, it depends on a person’s background †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and they have also said things like, â€Å"Blacks hold themselves back, not racism† and â€Å"Blacks live in the past. They need to get over it and move on,†. This colorblind thought makes it seem like discrimination has disappeared, but it actually has just become institutionalized and harder to identify (Su,2006). After my experiences in the social work field, I do think that the most program is positive in some ways, but the programs doesn’t really solve the root of the problem. The fact that our clients don’t receive a quality education in urban public schools, aren’t able to get employmen t due to lack of education, and have so many different systemic barriers keeping them from succeeding is terrible and we need to start by educating ourselves and informing them of what racism really is. The best solution would be to fix the urban schools so that all students can receive an equal education, rather then only a limited number of motivated students being forced to travel to predominately white suburban areas just to receive a good education. From the time of slavery, to the present, racism has had many destructive and negative effects on the people in our society. Prejudice leads to racism and then when you combine prejudice with power, it leads to systemic discrimination. All of these systems of oppression are keeping us from moving forward and progressing as a whole. In order to break this cycle, we need to educate ourselves and others, and discuss these difficult race-related issues that have been avoided for so long. Education is the key. The more we educate ourselves and the people in our communities, the more we will see a change. When a person is educated, they are able to recognize cultural and institutional racism and other forms inequality and how to address these issues. We have the responsibility, and the resources available to educate ourselves so that we will not repeat this cycle of oppression with our children. (Tatum, p. 51)

justice essays

justice essays What is justice? How does a person know, or think they know, right from wrong in any given situation? The American Heritage Dictionary has two different meanings that define justice and truth. Justice is defined as the upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance to honor, standards, or law. Truth is defined as conformity to knowledge, fact, actuality, or logic. A person could certainly argue that justice and truth have their similarities. Every action or decision we make is either justifiable or unjustifiable. However, there are always laws that can be broken, consequences that may follow, or punishment and retribution handed out to them for demonstrating against segregation. Justice can be seen in two different ways, social and criminal. Justice is reflected in the laws under which we live. Justice has always been a concern in American society, and writers such as Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King have reflected this concern in their writing. The Thoreau was very influential early American writer. He was about the reflections of the time he lived in, and the spirit of the country. Thoreau wrote his essay on "Civil Disobedience" in hopes others would accept his beliefs and follow his ideas and sentiments regarding Slavery and the United States making war against Mexico. Thoreau's argument was sending a clear message to the people that would deny an unjust government any authority. The poll tax was posed on the people to support the war against Mexico. Was this tax a just law imposed on the people? This tax was unnecessary, and the only purpose was to go to war with Mexico. Did the United States really need this war, or just a few men that wanted more land and money to increase their personal wealth? I do not believe I would have paid the tax myself, and do not think we needed to start another war against Mexico. In review of history during the Mexican War, our country d...

The Impact of Multinationals on Economic Growth and Prosperity in Essay

The Impact of Multinationals on Economic Growth and Prosperity in Developing Countries - Essay Example This essay offers a comprehensive review of the influence, exerted by multinational companies, on the growth of developing economies. In the paper, four examples of successful beneficial co-operation between Indian government and multinational companies are provided. Globalisation leads to liberalisation. In economic terminology, governments use the term liberalisation to indicate an open economy system. Governments attract FDI through attractive incentives and subsidies. Multinationals are encouraged to invest and produce goods and services for local and external consumption. There is an unimpeded flow of goods and services between economic jurisdictions. Multinational companies in their activities look for political stability, a strong skilled workforce, and profits, as prerogatives for investment. Countries that attract such investors look at capital investment flow, equity participation, and employment benefits for its workforce. Consumers also benefit from quality international products at low costs. The topic of globalisation became intense in 1990s, when major players began to debate on the benefits developing countries could have from it. Most third world countries were under pressure to clear debts, intense illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and infrastructural development. Most experts were unanimous that most developing countries required foreign direct investment to bail them out of their debts. This could be done only if the countries were willing to share the fruits of investment and provide equal leverage.

Individual Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Individual Project - Essay Example The primary factor of the stability of this system is the international relations of dealers. The women are threatened not only by their punishment, but also by their relatives. Corruption also serves as one of the factors for stability of a human trafficking phenomenon, because it â€Å"protects criminals and their political helpers and refuses to citizens in usual justice†. Such situation explains why many countries do so a little for struggle against the networks of human trafficking. The ranges the organizations, engaged in human trafficking, vary from the small groups, annually forwarding abroad some women, up to large criminal structures for which human trafficking is the main source of their income. Some dealers operate through the tourist agencies which form groups and receive visas for such women, as for usual tourists. Such method, in particular, has been revealed while studying the visas received in embassy of Germany in Moscow in the end of 1990th years. For some groups - for example, operating in Israel - human trafficking is a way of money-laundering because the incomes of criminal activity pass through bars and other institutions where women work. Quite often women are sold on account of debts payment of the dealer. The prices differ depending on the region; in Holland, for example, the woman can be sold to the brothel owner for 15 thousand dollars. In Turkey the prices are not so high, but nevertheless the Slavonic women are appreciated more, than th e women from Caucasus. The cruel treatment with the sold women in Belgium and the Netherlands became so obvious problem, that in the middle of 1990th years under the initiative of the Dutch and Belgian women parliamentary trial on this question have been held(Janice, 2001). The human trafficking represents the "multivariate" threat: it deprives with people of their human rights and freedom, it is a global risk for health, and this phenomenon supports the growth of

Online Shopping Acceptance Model OSAM Assignment

Online Shopping Acceptance Model OSAM - Assignment Example The components of OSAM are generated from OSA components. The OSAM module is described as an entity offering a group of services that can be achieved from the background of service growth and service provision (Dede et al., 1997). This model presents an easy method of obtaining comprehensive information about the constituents managed automatically at the beginning of the structure and can hypothetically affect its function. Zhou et al. (2007) state in their study that the knowledge-orientated view of the customer approval of electronic shopping is currently predicted and clarified by observing technical descriptions such as content and design on the website, user boundary features, and structure usability of an available store. Without the approval of the technology, e-commerce would be limited. The customers’ willingness to acknowledge the technology guides the achievement of electronic promotion (Zhou et al., 2007). Several factors influence the consumer acceptance of online purchase like consumer attitude, environmental factors, and availability of resources. The main aim of the OSAM model is to enable traders market their products using different modes like mobile phones and social media channels. Advertisement can be made through mobile phones and social media networks. References Carlota, L., Efthymios, C., and Maria-del-Carmen, A. (2013). Social Media as Marketing Strategy: An Explorative Study on Adoption and Use by Retailers, in Miguel R. Olivas-Lujan, Tanya Bondarouk (ed.) Social Media in Strategic Management (Advanced Series in Management, Volume 11). New York: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Chen, S. J., & Chang, T. Z. (2003). A descriptive model of online shopping process: some empirical results. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 58(6): 556-569. Close, A. (2012). Online Consumer Behavior: Theory and Research in Social Media, Advertising and E-tail. London: Routledge. Dede, A., Arsenis, S., Tosti, A., Lucidi, F., Westerg a, R. (1997). OSAM Component Model - A Key Concept for the Efficient Design of Future Telecommunication Systems. In IS&N, (67):127-136. Doherty, N., and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2010). ‘Internet retailing: the past, the present and the future.’ International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 38(11/12): 943–965. Flick, K. (2009). Assessing Consumer Acceptance of Online Shopping: Examining Factors Affecting Purchase Intentions. London: ProQuest. Howladar, M., H., H., and Mohiuddin, G. (2012) Developing Online Shopping Intention among People Bangladesh Perspective, Developing Country Studies, 2(9): 2225-0565. Lina, Z., Liwei, D., and Dongsong, Z. (2001). ‘Online shopping acceptance model – a critical survey of consumer factors in online shopping.’ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research. 8: 41—61. Mikalef, P. Giannakos, M., Michail, G., and Pateli , A. (2013). ‘Shopping and Word-of-Mouth Intentions on Social Media.’ Jour nal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 8(1):17-34. Monsuwe, T.P.Y., Dellaert, B.G.C. and Ruyter, K.D. (2004). What drives consumers to shop online? A literature review. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15 (1): 102-121. Olumayowa, S. M. (2012). Acceptance and Impact of Social Networks Marketing Using Extended Technology Acceptance Model unpublished

Pathological Explanations of Poverty

Pathological Explanations of Poverty Discuss the pathological and structural explanations of poverty. Poverty was first identified by Sir William Beveridge in 1942, as a major social evil in society. It is a highly contested and multi-dimensional social problem that has no single agreed definition. Kilty et al defines poverty as ‘an overall condition of inadequacy, lacking and scarcity’. She further claims, ‘it is destitution and deficiency of economic, political and social resources’ (Kilty et al, 1997: 30 cited in Kane Kirby, 2003: 52). Social scientists have established two main representations of poverty. These are absolute and relative poverty. Absolute poverty denotes a lack of access to a minimum level of subsistence that is required to live a healthy lifestyle. This includes basic life necessities such as food, water, clothing and shelter. In contrast, sociologist Peter Townsend defines relative poverty in terms of relative deprivation which means that the living standards of the poor are considered far too removed from the rest of society (Holman, 1978; Pantazis et al, 2006). Sociologists have identified numerous explanations for the existence and persistence of poverty. These include unemployment, homelessness, ill health, old age, lack of access to education and an underprivileged socio-economic position in society. In this essay, I will discuss two major sociological/political theories of poverty, one known as the pathological explanation and the other as the structural explanation. As part of the pathological perspective I will explore individualistic, familial and subcultural understandings of poverty. In contrast within structural accounts, I will examine class, agency and inequality approaches to poverty. In doing so, I will discover their solutions to help tackle poverty and will also evaluate the relevance of both pathological and structural explanations in the contemporary world (ibid). Pathological explanations of poverty are favoured by those on the right of the political spectrum. Firstly, according to the individualistic viewpoint social problems like poverty, unemployment and crime stem from individual deficiencies and limitations. For instance, it is argued that the poor have a character defect. They are deliberately indolent individuals who have made bad choices in life. Therefore, they are held responsible for their own plight. Individualistic explanations also attribute poverty to the biology of the poor. In support of this, Charles Murray (2000) claims that ‘by choosing to be poor people pass on inferior genes to their offspring’ and ‘over time, there is a deterioration in the genome of the poor’ (Fitzpatrick, 2011: 101). Nevertheless, it must be noted that there is no scientific evidence to prove that poverty is an innate problem (Fitzpatrick, 2011; Holman, 1978). Successive governments have adopted different policy approaches to tackle poverty. A historic example is of the 19th century Poor Law Amendment Act which was introduced in 1834. The act took into consideration the widely accepted individualistic ideology of its time, which believed poverty to be a moral failure of the individual. As a result, workhouses were introduced to instil discipline in poor citizens. The conditions of a workhouse were deliberately terrible in order to discourage people from applying for state assistance and instead, provide them with the incentive to find work. Later, the act was heavily criticised for purely treating the symptoms of poverty rather than the actual disease itself. Alternatively, familial explanations of poverty blame the individual’s family circumstances for shaping their disadvantaged lifestyle. For example, if a child lives in a family environment that is characterised by laziness, poor educational attainment, unemployment, delinquency and dependence on the welfare state, then the child is more likely to grow up dysfunctional (Fitzpatrick, 2011; Kane Kirby, 2003; Townsend, 1979). Familial explanations also attribute poverty to the child rearing practices of lower class families. It is argued that these families encounter multiple deprivations in life and are thus, unable to provide their children with a decent upbringing. This has a negative impact on the child’s life opportunities. According to the cycle of deprivation theory, family pathology is responsible for transmitting social deprivation intergenerationally. This is due to the belief that poverty runs in families. Furthermore, in an attempt to end the generational cycle of poverty, in 1998 the New Labour government introduced Sure Start programmes which are a form of educational intervention in the lives of children. They were set up with the aim of improving deprived children’s life chances, so that they do not face disadvantage in the school life (Kane Kirby, 2003; Shuffelton, 2013). The third well-known pathological explanation is the subculture of poverty theory which was coined by the American anthropologist Oscar Lewis. Lewis claimed that poor families exist within a subculture which is made up of unique behaviour patterns and characteristics. These are distinct from mainstream society and include: long-term unemployment, substance abuse and welfare dependency. Subcultural explanations claim that groups who share these negative characteristics are destined to remain within a self-perpetuating cycle of poverty. They begin viewing poverty as an accepted lifestyle and make little effort to improve their circumstances. However, this is not necessarily true as an individual’s changing economic circumstances can lift them out of poverty. Additionally, many people do make an effort to improve their situation through work and the education system. Overall, subcultural explanations have proven beneficial in explaining the persistence of poverty in the contempor ary world (Holman, 1978; Kane Kirby, 2003; Waxman, 1977). Pathological explanations of poverty have received considerable support from New Right theorists, the Conservative Party and other Right Wing academics like Charles Murray (1984), who is highly critical of the welfare state. Murray asserts that welfare benefits have gave birth to an underclass in society and a generation of the unemployed. He argues the welfare system is a poverty-perpetuating system, as over-generous welfare benefits have encouraged recipients’ to become dependent upon them throughout their entire lives. Nevertheless, Murray has been criticised for underestimating the desire of the underclass to be free from state assistance. Likewise, his ideological position has meant that he has also lacked focus in explaining how wider structural factors may also cause poverty (Fitzpatrick, 2011; Holman, 1978; Niskanen, 1996). Murray’s underclass theory has influenced contemporary government approaches to tackle welfare dependency. For instance, the current UK coalition government has adopted radical policies that involve cutbacks in benefits and the introduction of disciplinary workfare programmes, where welfare claimants are obliged to undertake voluntary work or training in return for their benefits. The coalition government has also expanded apprenticeships. The aim of such policies is to help welfare dependents regain the incentive to work. This is by teaching them the skills needed for a decent paid job. Overall, pathological explanations of poverty have numerous strengths and weaknesses. For instance, the political scientist Michael Harrington asserts that, ‘the real explanation of why the poor are where they are is that they made the mistake of being born to the wrong parents in the wrong section of the country in the wrong industry or in the wrong racial or ethnic group. There are two important ways of saying this: the poor are caught up in a vicious circle; or the poor live in a culture of poverty’ (Harrington, 1962: 12 cited in Kane Kirby, 2003: 98). Here, Harrington illustrates his support for the pathological explanation by highlighting the importance of familial and subcultural explanations in understanding poverty (Fitzpatrick, 2011; Holman, 1978; Niskanen, 1996). Pathological explanations have also been criticised for ignoring how wider societal and situational factors cause poverty. For example, circumstances where an individual loses their job, partner or experiences ill health may push an individual into a poverty lifestyle. In addition, the theory does not explain why particular groups like ethnic minorities are more vulnerable to poverty. For example, the structural perspective of poverty would argue that ethnic minorities experience discrimination and social exclusion in all areas of life. This is often attributed to their race, religion or culture. Within the workplace, they are treated as a source of cheap expendable labour, are provided with menial tasks and are paid well below the minimum wage. This example illustrates how social injustices can create poverty in society (ibid). In opposition to the pathological perspective, structural accounts of poverty are favoured by those on the left of the political spectrum. Firstly, according to the Marxist explanation by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), poverty is a key ingredient of capitalist societies. All capitalist societies are characterised by class conflict between the bourgeoisies, who are the owners of the means of production and the proletariat or working class who sell their labour power in return for wages. Marxists argue that the proletariat experience marginalisation, exploitation and alienation at the hands of the bourgeoisie. This is clearly evident in the labour market where they are treated as a reserve army of labour, are made to work for long hours and are paid low wages in return. Although this enables the capitalist system to thrive, it creates inequalities in wealth and income and keeps the proletariat located at the very bottom of the social hierarchy (Fitzpatrick, 201 1; Kane Kirby, 2003) Karl Marx anticipated a revolution to occur where the proletariat collectively unite for radical social change. He argued that this revolution will give rise to a communist society which is based on equal distribution of wealth and thereby, will ensure the entire elimination of social problems. Nevertheless, Marx has been criticised for overestimating a revolution which has failed to occur. Therefore, the Marxist theory failed to come up with an adequate solution to the problem of poverty and instead, it continues to blames poverty on the evils of capitalism. Overall, Marxists argue that class conflict is an inevitable feature of every capitalist society and therefore, social class is the main socio-economic determinant of whether people experience poverty in the contemporary world (ibid). Secondly according to the agency perspective, poverty is caused by the failure of public services and inadequate welfare benefits. Although, social services play a vital role in alleviating social and material deprivation, this theory argues that they have proven inefficient in tackling poverty. Also, government policies and institutions that have been set up to eradicate poverty have not performed their duties and have failed to serve the needs of the poor. Consequently, it is argued that there is a need to improve both the access and administration of welfare services. Alternatively, advocates of the pathological explanation criticise structural explanations for advocating a hand-out approach to welfare, which they believe fosters a dependency culture and serves to perpetuate poverty in society. They argue that policy solutions should focus on making individuals self-reliant and not providing them with a cradle to grave welfare state (Holman, 1978; Pantazis et al, 2006). In response, advocates of the structural interpretation criticise pathological accounts for ignoring the rise in the number of the working poor who are also reliant on state assistance. This rise in the number of the working poor provides evidence against the pathological view that work is the best route out of poverty. Structural accounts of poverty have blamed the rise of the working poor on the retrenchment of welfare provisions by the New Right, which they argue provided people with an additional support mechanism. On the other hand, the third well-known structural perspective is based on an inequality approach and argues that poverty is attributed to inequalities in society in terms of race, gender, age, ethnicity and social class. Generally, it is argued that there is more poverty where there is economic inequality. For instance, Britain is an unequal society in terms of wealth and income. There is a huge gap between the rich and poor which demonstrated by the clear north/south divide in the country (Fitzpatrick, 2011; Holman, 1978) In order to tackle income inequality, structural viewpoints argue for a redistribution of wealth in society and the need for governments to implement inclusive policies that help integrate the poor back into society. This includes people with disabilities who face social exclusion in the labour market. Structural explanations also advocate for a change to the structure of society, and a redistributive taxation system and also greater economic growth which will create more jobs and help alleviate economic inequality. On the other hand, Unwin 2007 argues that because ‘people are both: individuals and social creatures. it is impossible to tackle poverty from just one or the other perspective’ (cited in Bourassa, 2009: online edition). Unwin argues a more effective solution would involve a combination of both structural and pathological understanding of poverty in explaining poverty in the contemporary world (Harrop, 2015: Online; Gooby, 2015: Online; Luebker, 2014). In conclusion, poverty has proven to be a highly complex and difficult challenge for all contemporary governments. Social scientists have established two compelling accounts of poverty. These are pathological and structural explanations of poverty. Pathological explanations of poverty are favoured by those on the right of the political perspective. According to the political right, poverty is blamed on individual, familial and subcultural factors. In contrast, structural explanations are favoured by those on the left wing of the political spectrum. According to the political left, poverty is a consequence of structural and societal factors. These include an individual’s social class, an inadequate agency and societal inequality which all help explain the cause of poverty in society. Research has shown that both perspectives have numerous strengths and weaknesses. One solution would involve a combination of the two perspectives, as it will offer a more holistic approach in unde rstanding and tackling poverty in the contemporary world.

Edgar Allan Poe :: essays research papers fc

â€Å"Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.† Excerpt from â€Å"The Raven† Grief, revenge, and unsurpassed sorrow. Few authors can replicate these feelings as well as Edgar Allan Poe. â€Å"The Raven†, â€Å"Lenore†, and â€Å"Annabel Lee† all refer to an instance where the narrator is grieving over a lost loved one. See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore! Come! let the burial rite be read- the funeral song be sung!- An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young- A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young. (â€Å"Lenore†) Poe spent most of his life grieving for lost loved ones. His first wife Virginia Clemm died five years into their marriage of tuberculosis. Poe endured many tragedies and his poetry reflects his agony and torture. â€Å"Prophet!† said I, â€Å"thing of evil- prophet still, if bird or devil By that Heaven bends above us- by that God we both adore Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore Quoth the Raven, â€Å"Nevermore.†(â€Å"The Raven†) As the reading above indicates, Poe grieved continuously throughout his life for his sainted â€Å"Lenore†. He wrote numerous poems before and after the death of Virginia Clemm to her. â€Å"Annabel Lee† was actually written before the death of Virginia as a token of his undying love for her. Poe wrote over 120 poems and is known very well for his morbid and grievous writings. "Poe was born a poet, his mind is stamped with the impress of genius. He is, perhaps, the most original writer that ever existed in America. Delighting in the wild and visionary, his mind penetrates the inmost recesses of the human soul, creating vast and magnificent dreams, eloquent fancies and terrible mysteries. Again, he indulges in a felicitous vein of humor, that copies no writer in the language, and yet strikes the reader with the genuine impression of refined wit; and yet again, he constructs such works as 'Arthur Gordon Pym,' which disclose perceptive powers that rival De Foe, combined with an analytical depth of reasoning in no manner inferior to Godwin or Brockden Brown."(George Lippard, Citizen Soldier) Poe has mastered the element of manipulation. His poems and other works have manipulated the minds of his readers.