Grandmothers Victory by Maya Angelou Essay -- Papers

Grandmother's Victory by Maya Angelou Grandmother's Victory was written by Maya Angelou. This story was about Maya Angelou as a young girl who lived in the state of Arkansas with her grandmother, whom she called "Mama", in the 1940's. Maya's grandmother was a very clean God fearing woman. She taught her grandchildren to be clean, religious, respectful, and God fearing also. In the 1940's there was segregation between blacks and whites. So therefore, there was a lot of racial tension. Whites didn't have to respect, or some didn't speak to blacks with any respect. Mama owned a grocery store (well known in both the black and white communities) on her own farmland. At the time it was really uncommon for blacks to own anything. Some whites, whom Maya and others referred to as "powhitetrash", lived on Mama's farmland behind the school. The white children frequently came to the store and were often disrespectful. But Mama and other blacks had to "becareful" of whites, and couldn't say much to them because of the times. Because of segregation blacks and whites couldn't share the same schools, banks, or any other facilities. And when they did, blacks had to sit in the back. For instance, blacks and whites could share a movie theatre, but blacks had to sit in the balcony. Whites treated blacks with no respect. Especially white children. They would tease and make fun of black elders. And would talk to them any kind of way. Whites did this because they felt could and because they felt blacks where beneath them. While black children had to treat ALL elders, both blacks and whites with respect. .. ... was that Mama was the better person. No matter what she had to put up with, she still stuck to her values and beliefs. I was taught at a young age to treat everyone equally. No matter their race, sex or religion. Everyone is equal. I was taught to respect everyone. Especially my elders. I am to address my elders as Mister, Miss, Missus, Aunt or Uncle. To use manners, such as please and thank you. And that cleanliness is next to godliness. And I still stand by this today. I liked this passage, Grandmother's Victory. I think the reason for Maya writing this is because she's telling her readers, no matter how much something makes you mad to be the bigger person. That you don't have to resort to violence because usually thats what they want. So just ignore it. And stick to your values and beliefs.

A Look at Musui’s Story

Ideals no matter whose ideals they are, serve as maps of reality. Reality is way bigger than the dreams and aspirations created by anyone. Like the map used for navigation, ideals are inevitable to succeed in life.   This is what a reader could find by reading Musui’s Story. Ideals of a certain culture serve as guidance for everyday life’s journey. As expected, the ideals of the samurai are supposed to guide every samurai to face reality and the world full of twists and turns. But there are many things in the world which people cannot control. As such, the life supposed to be guided by the samurai ideals could go into the wrong way and lead the people to a life that is totally disparate from what is supposed to be. is way too different from reading a critique, for to read the former is like living with the writer and witnessing the real story bit by bit in the eyes of the writer. In Musui’s Story, the readers are given the chance to encounter the real occurrences. The book contains events of the author’s life, which is open for criticism. It is the author’s eyewitness account and the readers are seated inside the court either as mere audiences or judges.   The big difference is that the spirit of the author of the book that could equate his past with words he had written as he comprehended and decipher the meaning of every detail or events in his life. His interpretation of his life is a pure view of his life here on earth.   On the contrary, secondary writers never encounter the life of the subject and they only base their text on the text they have gathered. They mostly create an interpretation of an account that is similar to the interpretation of the one who has first-hand experience. This book, the autobiography, is history in the simplest sense. It is set on the historical time of Tokugawa, during the time of the feudal system where the work of a samurai when being done in satisfaction were rewarded according to the bond being created between the samurai and the Lord. Feudalism is an agreement that is somehow still considerate of the laborer   (Lawson, 100). This is how the autobiography had shown the social history of Tokugawa period. As the protagonist, Musui, wrote the details of his life with enough honesty somehow, showing pride or something that was not right which shows inferiority of his character rather than the superiority of his intelligence. This autobiography which features many writings about the greatness of the unbeatable, undefeatable and the protagonist’s capacity as the author shares his ideals, dreams, beginnings, future, and follow his beliefs, riumphs and victories and even the flaws that he boldly tells. His story tells more than the facts that the real person carries with him. It is the experience, the unique human experience that he has which needs to be shared with other people   in order to other humans as way of communicating and reaching for other souls which likewise have unique stories in their hearts. In addition, this autobiography may have been written by a hopelessly flawed man, living in a hopelessly flawed world. However,   his story is told not to discourage his fellow flawed humans but to encourage them to move on and fight regardless of the imperfection of the world. By reading this book, the audience can take part in the sufferings of the author, and become his companion in every step of the way. Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier, the autobiography is still open for criticism and readers can either believe what they can perceive or ignore them, as if everything is just a product of imagination. Also, the reader can also choose to do soulful reading and come up with self-realizations based on the morals and beliefs presented in the story.                                                   

Essay about Orientalism - 2624 Words

The definition of orientalism takes up no more than two sentences in the dictionary. Coincidentally, Orientalism came to be such a complex and deep concept which Said devotes his entire book in discussing about it. His book – Orientalism unfolds the history of the Orientalism, reveals the â€Å"dark† side of an orientalist’s mind and describes the different dimensions of Orientalism. He also attempts to expose the truth of the Orient, which he warned that: â€Å"One ought never to assume that the structure of Orientalism is nothing more than a structures of lies or of myths, which were the truth about them to be told, would simply blow away† (Said). In order to understand the truth Said`s referring to, one ought to first understand the origin and†¦show more content†¦And authority here means for â€Å"us† to deny autonomy to â€Å"it† – the Oriental country – since we know it and it exists, in a sense, as we know itâ⠂¬  (Said, 32). [Because they have the knowledge about the Egyptians, they feel like they have the power and authority to take over the nation and colonializing it.] Surely, Balfour’s claim of the profound knowledge about Egypt is actively linked with political imperialism and colonization of Egypt. Said reinforces his argument about knowledge and power once again by referring to the quote by Cromer â€Å"knowledge gives power, more power requires more knowledge, and so on in an increasingly profitable dialectic of information and control (Said 36).Thus, Knowledge serves as a powerful tool to allow the West to explore, control and govern the â€Å"Other†. Consequently, knowledge about the Orient is the start and the result of European domination, possession, and rationalization of the Orient, as one shall see in the following paragraphs. Domination/Possession: Another key feature about Orientalism is that it puts Europe in the position of power and domination (Said, 40). Orientalism promotes the segregation of the EastShow MoreRelatedOrientalism in Pocahontas971 Words   |  4 PagesOrientalism in Disney’s Pocahontas While the name suggests an allusion to only Eastern Asia, or the Orient, Orientalism is a branch of Cultural Studies, an area of literary criticism that has applications in various mediums. The school of critical theory, created by Edward Said, is applicable to novels, essays, social situations, films, and epics alike. One film, to which Orientalism is applicable, is Disney’s Pocahontas. To understand how Orientalism is applicable to a film that takes placeRead MoreEssay Orientalism865 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Introduction† to Orientalism aids readers in understanding the basis for Rhonda Vander Sluis’s companions – prejudice and stereotype – in her search for identity in Turkey. 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