Wounded Knee :: American America History

Wounded Knee Wounded Knee was a terrible event in US history. It showed how the US government didn't understand the Native Americans and treated them badly and unfairly. Big Foot was the chief of a subtribe of the Lakota called Miniconjou. He was very old and had pneumonia. He was taking his tribe to the Pine Ridge Reservation in south-western South Dakota. Most of the women and children in Big Foot's tribe were family members of the warriors who had died in the Plains wars. The Indians had agreed to live on small reservations after the US government took away their land. At the Wounded Knee camp, there were 120 men and 230 women and children. At the camp, they were guarded by the US Seventh Cavalry lead by Major Samuel Whitside. During the year 1890 a new dance called the Ghost Dance started among the Sioux and other tribes. The Sioux's Christ figure, Wovoka, was said to have flown over Sitting Bull and Short Bull and taught them the dance and the songs. The Ghost Dance legend was that the next spring, when the grass was high, the Earth would be covered with a new layer of soil, covering all white men. Wild buffalo and horses would return and there would be swift running water, sweet grass, and new trees. All Indians who danced the Ghost dance would be floating in the air when the new soil was being laid down and would be saved. The Gh ost Dance was made illegal after the Wounded Knee massacre though. On December 28, 1890 the Seventh Cavalry saw Big Foot moving his tribe and Big Foot immediately put up a white flag. Major Samuel Whitside captured the Indians and took them to an army camp near the Pine Ridge reservation at Wounded Knee. Whitside took Bigfoot on his wagon because it was more comfortable and warmer, and Big Foot was sick. Whitside had orders to take the Indians to a military prison in Omaha the next day, but it never happened. That night Colonel James W. Forsyth took over. The Cavalry provided the Indians with tents that night because it was cold and there was a blizzard coming. The next day, December 29, 1890, the Cavalry gave the Indians hardtack for breakfast. There was a seize of arms and the soldiers took all the Indian's guns away. A medicine man named Yellow Bird told the Indians to resist the soldiers and not give up the guns, he did a few steps of the Ghost Dance.

The Wife of Bath :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Sovereignty† or believing that a happy match is one in which the wife has control is the backbone to the story of the wife of bath. When the wife of bath finishes telling her story there are no comments from the other pilgrims. The thoughts of both the parson and the knight will be depicted as I imagine them to be in response to her tale. I can see the parson looking to his left, explaining his displeasures to the monk. They talk of her story with the parson sharing his ideals, and the monk just smiling back, looking him in the eye and chuckling. The parson who attempts to live his life as an ideal for others was appalled to learn of the wife of baths four husbands and as she told how she gained control over the fifth one by faking her death, the parson lost all religious respect for her. The parson hates to think, and totally disagrees with her theory that being over powered by a woman would make any marriage happy, personally he would be unhappy, and would never be with a woman who didn’t fallow the word of god.. The parson would have wanted the knight who raped the woman instead of becoming the hero of tale, to be punished in order to be fair to the others who have been punished before him. The knight whose very code of honor emphasizes chivalry, truth and honor would be totally disgusted to hear that in the tale by the wife of bath that a knight raped women. He would be angry at the wife for choosing a knight when any type of person could be chosen to represent the male in her tale. This talk of a woman dominated house hold would not be something that would be a ideal to the manly knight whose dignity and status allow him to stand apart from the rest. The wife of baths history as a person would make him think twice about anything she had to say, as she has little honor but what she lacks in honor she makes up with in pride. The tale ends with a knights ending they live happily ever after. The knight would have no problem with most of the story although be aggravated by pessimistic rhetoric of his fellow knights. Question 3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Love of money is the root of all evil† is a lesson that we could all learn in addition to the theme of the pardoner’s tale.

Cyberporn and Pornography - Sex Should Not be a Spectator Sport :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Pornography - Sex Should Not be a Spectator Sport    Some adults recall the days in the early Sixties with a certain nostalgia, as a time when people were still aware of the distinction between pornography and erotic art, and when erotic books and films could pass the censor only if a case could be made for their artistic value. Everything changed very suddenly, according to the poet Philip Larkin:    Sexual intercourse began In nineteen sixty-three. Between the end of the Chatterley ban And the Beatles' first LP.    But still, even though the permissive habits spread rapidly through society, breaking down taboos and breaking up marriages, people remained sensitive to the distinction between art and pornography, and had no objections to a law which forbade explicit sexual imagery. The recent judgment of the High Court, upholding the decision of the Video Appeals Committee (another collection of the Great and the Good) to allow the sale of videos showing explicit scenes of sexual intercourse, suggests that the last vestiges of decency are being finally chased from the law.    Like many distinctions which are intuitively obvious, that between the erotic and the pornographic is not easy to explain. It has been said that pornography is obscene, whereas erotic art is merely suggestive. But what is obscenity? The old test laid down in the Obscene Publications Acts of 1959 and 1964 holds that matter is obscene if it tends to deprave and corrupt those who are likely to come across it. But that test is flawed, since it looks for obscenity only in the effects of a thing, and not in the thing itself. Moreover juries are by no means competent to predict the effects of watching any particular film or reading any particular novel, and are easily swayed by smooth-tongued barristers who represent pornography as a healthy "safety valve" for feelings which could erupt in far more dangerous ways.    The fact is that the desire to watch explicit scenes of carnal lust is in itself depraved. It is not that explicit videos have a tendency to corrupt: they are corrupt. In the sexual sphere this is what corruption consists in - namely the display of sexual appetite divorced from the personal relations that redeem it. To justify pornographic videos on the grounds that they don't make people worse than they are is like justifying gladiatorial combat because it doesn't make people into

Athens V Sparta

The Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta were similar in that they both denied women basic rights, but they are more different because of their culture and political structures. In both city-states, their social structures featured women as minorities. However, their customs and concepts differ tremendously. Generally, Sparta had a very strict military-based state, while Athens focused on the fine arts. Politically, the two city states differed in that Athens had a democracy and Sparta had an oligarchy. Although the city-states had some similarities, they had vast differences.Athens and Sparta were similar when it came to their social structures. Women’s rights and responsibilities were one of the few areas in which they were alike. In Athens, women had many responsibilities at home. It was their job to care for kids and the house. Women also were in charge of taking care of the slaves if they happened to get sick or hurt. Although they couldn’t vote in Athens’ democracy, women could participate in religious festivals. In the city-state of Sparta, women also raised their children and took care of the house.Here, women were allowed to own their own property. All women had the responsibility of managing the estate, supervising the slaves and doing the finances. In Sparta, women had a duty to keep healthy so that they could bear a child that could eventually join the military. Since the women of Athens and Sparta were required to stay at home, the men were able to pursue cultural and military activities. This is extremely important to the cultures of both city-states because it influences how they developed and thrived.As you can see, the city states were very similar when it came to the responsibilities of women and their social structures. Athens and Sparta differed greatly in the way that their governments were set up. Sparta followed an oligarchy. An oligarchy is when the government is ruled by a small group of very powerful people. In S parta, older and more experienced men were chosen to be the leaders. The Council of Elders consisted of thirty men. All of the men in the council were at least sixty years of age or older. Sparta also had an assembly.It consisted of men that were thirty and older. There were five chief officials in Sparta that determined the final decisions made for the city-state. However, the government of Athens was very different. Athens had a democracy. This meant that the government was ruled by the people. They also had an assembly, but theirs consisted of free men that were eighteen years or older. In the democracy, all citizens could vote. Women were not included in the voting process. Athens had a council of five hundred men. These men proposed all of the laws.The democratic government in Athens provided more freedom for its citizens but did not provide the safety that the Spartan government had. It is important to understand that Sparta had an oligarchy because they valued experience over everyone ruling. This is important to understand because Sparta would eventually conquer Athens. Although Athens and Sparta were similar in their social customs, they were very different in the ways that their governments were set up. Athens and Sparta also differed when it came to their cultures.Generally, Sparta was a very strict city-state that focused almost all of its energy on building a strong military. Sparta rejected all outward displays of money and wealth. Spartans also did not spend any money on decorating their city. All boys, at the age of seven, were recruited and sent to a military school. There they learned to read, write, and use weapons. Many wives were required to go long times without seeing their husband and children. Although Athens had a stronger navy, the Athenians spent more time making their city beautiful.In Athens, they used League money to rebuild their city. They spent a lot of time and money to ensure that they pleased the gods by creating statues, b uildings and art. Athens focused on making music and poetry while Sparta did not. This is important because both city-states influenced other states in Greece by providing examples of art and military techniques. Overall, Spartans focused in maintaining a powerful military force while Athenians focused on more artistic causes. The two Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta were similar in that they both had social societies that favored men.Both civilizations didn’t believe women were equal to men as well. On the other hand, their cultures were very different. Sparta had a main goal of a strong military while Athens focused on art and music. Politically, Athens had a democracy and Sparta had an oligarchy. It is important for us to study the similarities and differences between the two city-states because it will enhance our understanding of how Athens was eventually defeated by Sparta. Clearly, Sparta and Athens had more differences than they did attributes in common. Bibliog raphy: Stearns book was used to gather information

Why do people do what they love doing for their profession

Why do people do what they love doing for their profession, rather than working at a job that will get them more money? Or why did people who get a lot of money from their job not follow their dream careers? Everyday men and women of all ages and aspirations start their paths on their future goals, life careers, and who they plan to be. But at what cost? Every day I see men and women choosing their careers. Careers that pay well.And careers that re the most enjoyable and fulfilling but doses t pay the best. I don't go a day without thinking about my future and what it will have in Store for me. It always seems so easy at first. Just choose a career and off I go. But there remains the temptations, the regrets, that hole in your heart. That last missing puzzle piece that you don't know what it is or where to find it. The opinions and oppressions of others put me down and turn me away from my dream.Then the friends and idols I have met or seen have raised me up in such a way like no oth ers alike them could make me think as positive about my life as I think now. Since the age of 8 I've yearned to be an actor. On stage, in movies, in TV shows, in musicals, you name it. I've always wanted to express my god given emotions and share my talent with the world for all to see. When I was 8, I went with my school on a field trip to see a play. The production was Aladdin. The second saw the sets, the costumes and everything put together, I instantly dreamed to do that for the future.At this same time I had played baseball. I decided to do both musicals and baseball. Then that's when the regrets came. Everyone would tell me, â€Å"Why do musicals? Athletes get paid millions to play baseball, you're not making that much in musicals. Instantly right when had just decided on my career in life, I was already getting told that shouldn't do something that doesn't pay well. I was only 8. Had no real idea of the value of a dollar and still, what they said affected me.

Elderly Homelessness Essay

Although the elderly are homeless for all sorts of reasons, there are some common causes of homelessness for everyone. The causes of elderly homelessness are mostly financial. The most common cause of homelessness is income. The elderly retire and do not make the same income as they did while working. Because their income is low, they receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to live off of. However, SSI is usually very low and not even above the poverty line. The maximum SSI monthly benefit in Washington D. C. s $850 for an individual, which is well below the poverty line (NLIHC, 2007). These monthly benefits have to be used to pay bills, buy food, and pay for housing. SSI benefits do not last very long because they are so small and the cost of housing usually diminishes the benefit before it can go any further. The cost of housing is the second most common cause of homelessness among the elderly. It is hard to find affordable housing in many areas, especially in busy cities. The cost of a one bedroom apartment in Washington D. C. was $1,134 (NLIHC, 2007). Many of the elderly have a hard time paying for housing because SSI will only pay housing if the cost is thirty percent of their SSI benefit. Many of the elderly who are having issues paying for the cost of housing can apply for section 8 vouchers, but there is an ironic twist to this option. In order to receive section 8 vouchers to avoid homelessness, the person applying has to already be homeless. Once the person is homeless, it will be very difficult to apply for section 8 because they don’t have a permanent address or a way to keep in contact with any agencies. Some of the other causes of elderly homelessness include physical and mental health. The problem with the health of the elderly is that most of them have some sort of illness that prevents them from being able to take care of themselves and their home. The elderly are more likely to experience a disruption in their ability to care or provide for themselves and their homes because they are not physically or mentally able to. Their health causes them to stop working and ultimately leads to receiving the low SSI benefits, like a vicious circle. One of the causes of homelessness is the lack of social support from family and friends. Many elderly people become homes because they do not have anyone to help them, whether financially or emotionally. They do not ask for help because their family and friends may also be having financial issues and do not have space in their home for the elderly person to live with them. Because of this many elderly people feel like a burden and are too ashamed to ask their friends and family for help and they are left to fend for themselves, which leads to homelessness. The last common cause of elderly homelessness is the â€Å"knowledge deficit† that exists about available services. Many elderly people admit that they do not know which programs and services are available to them and which they are eligible for. Sometimes there are services and support that they are eligible for that they are unaware of and they feel like there is nothing they can do. This usually leads to becoming homeless because they ran out of time to apply for services and get help to prevent homelessness. Many of the elderly people who are homeless did not think they were eligible for services and many other elderly people were unaware of services that might be available to them. This is a huge problem because the elderly do not have the information they need to prevent being homeless and they are not receiving the support and services that they are eligible for. These elderly people are falling into situations that they don’t know how to get out of.

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

The short story â€Å"Girl† by Jamaica Kincaid is a story of the belief that happiness steams from a life of domesticity. The central topics of gender roles in a family structure, and the expression of female sexuality and will be examined. A look into the mother’s beliefs on the necessity of serving your husband and remaining sexually conservative will be the focus. Secondly, the importance of food and clothes in the story will be looked at, providing evidence to the central claim of being content with this lifestyle. Lastly, the relationship between the mother and daughter will be discussed, reflecting on if the views of the mother will ultimately make the decisions for the daughter, as to the path she will follow in her own life. The portrayal of gender roles in this story shows the husband as the breadwinner and the wife staying home to tend to the house and children. This could be considered traditional, however we would consider it outdated in western society today. This story has the mother, teaching her daughter her place in Antiguan society, most likely in the fifties, and in a marriage. This is demonstrated though the teaching of everyday tasks she will need to know to run a household smoothly. It is also clear that the mother’s life reflects these ideals that a husband should be the one working and the wife is to be happy and content by taking pride in her home. The mother also has very strong views on behavior and throughout the story gives many warnings on this such as â€Å"on Sundays try and walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming†. This is a very clear statement giving us an idea of the mother’s values with female sexuality as well as a reflection on the values at that time. She wants her daughter to find a husband and she believes kept pure, and with the knowledge of how to run a successful household, she will be a prize for any man. Abstinence sounds great in theory, but this is not always the case for young women. In this time, expectations are to be wed and then have sex. As much as the mother would like to keep her daughter from having sex, from warning her, and teaching her things like letting then hem of her dress down to be longer, she does realize this may not happen. It is interesting how she feels it necessary to teach her how to get rid of a baby. This reference to abortion at this time shows how crucial the need to keep up appearances at any cost can be, even if it is illegal or against moral and religious beliefs. Food and clothes play an important role in many of the mother’s teachings. The mother shows the daughter how to cook pumpkin fritters, bread pudding, pepper pot and doukona. Some of these dishes are traditional Antiguan which shows the importance of tradition and doing things the way they always have been done. The mother also teachers her how to set tables specifically for different meals. This shows how in the household, eating together is an important part of her ideal home and family. The role of bread in this story is crucial. At the end, he mother teaches her how to squeeze the bread to tell if it is fresh. The daughter, replies â€Å"but what if the baker wont let me feel the bread? † The mother frustrated after all of her lessons is upset that her daughter has not gotten the point that if you do all of these things, you will not have to worry about it because the baker will respect you. The role of the clothes is quite similar to that of food. She teaches her daughter to keep things clean, how to separate the colors from the darks and lights, as well as when to wash each. This particular example shows how much importance the mother places on routine. She also mentions the pressing of her husband’s khaki pants, showing that the way he presents himself can be a reflection of her. Hemming dresses and skirts was looked at with relation to female sexuality earlier, but it also is an example of how much importance is placed on appearances. The relationship between the mother and daughter in this story is important to recognize because the mother seems to hold preconceived notions about what daughter will or will not become. Following most instructions her mother provides, the mother concludes the set with some mention of her daughter being bent on becoming a slut. It seems like she uses this word to encompass any from of deviance from the social norm. It’s questionable as to why her mother has such a strong fear that her daughter will become his—we do not have any specific examples identifying any reason for her to think such things of her own child. Therefore, we lack the ability to argue for or against such a point. However, this might be a difference in generation, perhaps the girl’s mother is stuck in the ways to which she was taught by women in her family before hand. Perhaps her mother has a fear that her daughter is going astray from her values or living a modernized life that she is so unfa miliar with. We tend to fear what is unfamiliar, especially when it happens so close to home. Parents always want to teach their children what they know, however, children don’t always choose to follow. Whether the daughter chooses to listen and follow, or listen and lead her own life, it is clear that her mother has had a significant impact on the daughters life. The importance of domesticity to the mother, and having her daughter display a conservative sexuality ties back to the behaviours related to food and cloth in this story. The mother places this vital importance on household knowledge and respectable appearances, believing they are the key to overall happiness. This is clearly not the case. For some people this type of life could bring them a sense of fulfillment or accomplishment. However, for others, this may not feel like a life of their own and could live always feeling empty or wanting something more. People should be given the choice to do what they want. Unfortunately in this time, women did not get that luxury.