Censorship and Classics - Literature Essay Samples

Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Maya Angelou. What do these writers have in common? Sure, they are all great American authors, but there is something else. They are all banned. Censored. Forbidden. Who has not read a book by at least one of these authors? All are great pieces of literature and should be crucial parts of the high school curriculum. School censorship of books is detrimental to the educational development of high school students.In order to understand the problems with school censorship, one must know why it is done. One reason is bad language. A prime example of this type of censorship occurred in a California school when words like damn and hell were blacked out of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451. Students were stunned by the irony of the situation. A book about censorship was being censored (Wright). Sexual activity is another common reason for censorship, along with assaults on family values and violence. Why is this happening when 90% of students surve yed do not believe that books should be censored because they contain offensive language or sexual situations (Survey)? Negative racial treatment of characters, setting, or theme also fuels censorship (Simmons). Something else that must be mentioned in order to understand the evils of school censorship are facts censors ignore; the first being literary quality. When they chose to censor a book they do not take into account the educational value of the book. How can one say a book does not belong in schools if they do not know what lessons it teaches? The second key element ignored is the manner in which teachers lead students to interact with texts. They give no credit to the teachers that they could address an offensive issue, such as slavery, as purely objective. When a teacher teaches controversial issues they usually try to stick to the facts or in a subject like slavery show the evils of it. Teachers are not in schools to fill the minds of children with their own opinion s or those of authors. They are there to teach students facts, and the books are instruments in which they do so. The final element ignored by censors is the context of the offensive elements. An example of this is foul language. When a censor looks at a book and sees foul language, they shy away. They do not even consider that this language was the norm during the period in which the story takes place and is thus essential (Simmons). In todays society the most popular reasons for censorship are racial ones, even though 100% of students surveyed do not believe books should be censored because they contain racial situations (Survey). The prime argument against books containing racially tense situations is that racial slurs are detrimental to the self esteem of students in minority groups (Wright). This argument is ridiculous for two reasons. The first is that the slurs add to the realism of the book. If a book was set in a period of time when racism against blacks was common, th en slurs are used by the author to make the reader feel like he/she is actually experiencing the book, rather than reading it (Wright). The Adventurers of Huckleberry Finn is an example of this. Doan les talk about it, Huck. Po niggers cant have no luck. I alwuz spected dat rattlesnake skin warnt done wit its work (Twain 97). The derogatory terms in the book are not used to put down African Americans, but to provide valuable insight to the lives and opinions of the people of the pre- emancipated south. The second reason why this argument is ridiculous is because authors sometimes use these slurs to poke fun at the context in which they were used. Thus, at times the slurs are actually used because the author feels racism is bad and is trying to show why. There are three main reasons that schools should not censor. The first is that a significant benefit of literature is that it provides insights into human experience. The best way to learn about an experience, next to living it, is by reading about it. By censoring books we rob our students of this wellspring of knowledge. The next reason is that as students mature, they benefit by thinking critically about texts. Again, removing these texts is robbing our students. How will students learn about racism without reading Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird? How will they learn the evils of slavery without The Adventurers of Huckleberry Finn? Without these texts, how will they develop their critical thinking skills? We will produce a generation who does not know how to think. The final reason is that censors have no faith in the ability of teachers and students to work through a text critically. Rather, they see nonconforming ideas as dangerous to young and impressionable minds (Simmons). What will we do? If our high school sophomores read Ayn Rands Anthem they will all denounce democracy, slaughter the American dream, and form a brain dead socialistic society full of cattle with numbers for names and lacking any sort of individuality. For years teachers have used texts with nonconformist themes without creating a generation of foulmouthed communists. Why would they start now? Teachers and students alike know how to take a book, read it, analyze it, and then defend or refute the ideas it contains. When questioned, 100% of students said that when reading a novel containing offensive language, racism, sexual situations etc. that they do not necessarily adopt the words or opinions as their own. 100% also said that students have the ability to read a text, analyze it, and then make an informed decision on whether to agree or disagree with it (Survey). If our students know they can do this, then why do censors not think so? The main argument of proponents of the censorship of books is ludicrous. They say letting high schoolers read the material in question will dirty their minds at a time when they are trying to develop their own morals (Wright). However, the action of not letting high schoolers read such material is itself detrimental to their moral development. To be against something it is first necessary to have a knowledge of it. Censoring and banning books like The Adventurers of Huckleberry Finn denies students this knowledge and this stands against this necessary development. If censorship is not the answer, than what is? An example would be when the stage adaption of Harper Lees novel To Kill a Mockingbird was banned at Owings Mills High School (The Sun). It was banned for two reasons. First like many works of literature To Kill a Mockingbird makes a moral point by depicting a moral vacuum, the topics it addresses- including rape and racism-create discomfort (Wright). The other reason is the offensive language used. Simply censoring the book would not work because isolating these words demeans its intent to condemn racism by illustrating its worst qualities. Instead, it could have been used as a catalyst for learning, rather than an excuse for con tinual ignorance. A school wide discussion on race could have taken place after viewing the play and reading the novel. There are alternatives to censorship that have better educational value. Thus, school censorship of books is detrimental to the educational development of high school students. Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Maya Angelou have been teaching our children about controversial issues for generations and look at the effects. We have won two World Wars, squashed communism, pushed through the equal rights movement, ended the Cold War, destroyed the Berlin wall, and stopped Saddam Hussain in his tracks. All done by men and women who read the same books that censors claim promote racism and communism. Even the library says we support the American Library Association on freedom to read(Interview). They also say If parents want materials censored it is up to them, not the government, to do it (Interview). Students are able to form their own opinion on books and, w ith the help of teachers, are not going to simply adopt the ideas and vocabulary as their own. A student has to be taught the various ways of looking at an issue before he or she can decide what side to take (Wright). That is what novels do. It is the most controversial ones that causes students to think the most. In theory censorship thus prevents students from thinking. There are ways of teaching our children morals, but censorship is not one of them. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Every burned book enlightens the world. Works Cited Killing a Classic; Censorship: Offensive language can be instructional in a play about racism and segregation. The Sun; Baltimore, Md.; Nov.6, 1999. Simmons, John S. School Censorship: No Respite in Sight. Forum. Winter 1996/1997, pp. 12-16Survey. Survey on Censorship of Books in School November 18,1999. Twain, Mark. The Adventurers of Huckleberry Finn. Penguin Books. New York, New York, 1959.Virginia Beach Public Library Librarian. Interview. November 19, 1999 Wright, Jake. Literary Censorship in Americas Schools. On-line. Available: http://members.xoom.com/jakewright/censorship/

What Makes a Serial Killer Do What They Do - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 753 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/06/26 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Serial Killer Essay Did you like this example? What pushes a serial killer to do what they do? In order to answer this question, I looked at two sources. The first article I looked into was written by scholar, Dr. J.S. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What Makes a Serial Killer Do What They Do?" essay for you Create order Dalal, Professor and Head, Department of Forensic Medicine Toxicology, Government Medical College Patiala, et al. The second source I found was written by Nicola Malizia, University of Enna, Enna, Italy. The first source is telling the reader about the different types of serial killers, and the second source is going to help the reader get into the mind of the criminal to help us figure out what goes on in a serial killers mind to make them want to take ones life. The first source, written by Dr. J.S. Dalal, et al., explains the different types of serial killers that are out there and what makes them want to take the lives of others. The four basic types of serial killers is, visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic, and control-oriented. A visionary serial killer sees visions in their minds or voices in their heads telling them to kill. Mission-oriented is where the killer sees it to be their mission to get rid of all the sinners or people with wrong morals to make the world a better place to live in. A hedonistic killer find pleasure in torturing and killing their victims, and lastly a control-oriented serial killer is one who likes to have power over the victim and enjoys that theyre the one in control. Several methods that determine whether one is a serial killer or not. One being a lie detector and this measures changes to ones answers when being interrogated due to sympathy. Another way to tell a serial killer is the narco test which is where the one being interrogated is given thiopental sodium, and theyre quizzed with the dose in them. The final method used is brain mapping where they scan the brain. So, what exactly makes a serial killer just that? As Dalal, et al. explains, they all have goals to achieve in this heinous act. They could have a goal to rid this world of sinners. A goal to do what the voices in their heads are telling them to do. Maybe a goal to see multiple people suffer. Or possibly a goal to even have total control over their victim. By informing me of the four types of serial killers I was able to answer the research question of What makes them do what they do?, because it told me of their motives behind the killing and what theyre trying to accomplish. Overall, what I have learned from this source is that not everybody is in it for the same reasons. My second source was one written by Nicola Malizia and it explains the serial killers fantasy and what they want to see when theyre in the process of killing. Malizia stated The more time spent fantasizing, the faster he will become dependent on the fantasies that feed the sense of self. Malizia also talked a bit about the killers thought patterns and what was going through their brain to think what they were doing was okay. So when you ask, What makes a serial killer do what they do?, you have to remind yourself of the fantasy that they have and the thought patterns and actions. As Malizia states, The serial killers imagination plays a major role as he begins to fantasize about acts to be performed in order to express dominance over another human being. In conclusion, Fantasy plays an important role in a serial killers actions because, it puts them into an imaginary world. One that theyre more attracted to than in the real world. This source was able to help me answer my question of why do they do what they do?, by telling me about the many fantasies that they may desire to see carried out, which then makes them kill. Both sources help me greatly to answer the one question I have which is why? Why do serial killers do what they do? Why do they do it to innocent people, and why do they think theyll get away with it? Most are full of pride and dont think they will be caught. Some confess because theyre proud of what they did. Regardless, I want to find out whether its the nature of a serial killer or the nurture. Whether they have something actually mentally wrong, or if they were just raised in a bad living situation.

Challenges For The Accultured Students - 1563 Words

Challenges for the Accultured Students Education is a universal principle, no matter an individuals lifestyle they have had a fair amount of learning in their time. Education is also a cultural process in that it reflects the culture of the area and imitates society. Therefore educators are in charge of enculturation (spreading culture) and the public school system in America is inherently biased towards the majority white middle class, just as society is. That could explain why the middle and upper class white students (encultured) outperform, and have lower dropout rates than lower class or minority students (accultured). It is an alarming trend within the American Education system because the rich are staying rich and the poor are staying poor. The accultured students are not striving for success in schools and in turn they have fewer opportunities in life. At times home life is to blame for underachieving students. In the case of the accultured, there may be a negative view towar d schooling, and work that makes money may be favored. If an individual’s parents were not educated they could feel that education is less important. Yet some would argue that the school systems are not doing enough to show the importance of the curriculum and motivate these students. There is an enormous amount of misunderstanding between teachers and the accultured students. Teachers may see them as delinquents who do not live up to their potential or repeatedly slack off, but without

Group Work free essay sample

Group work is something that has been hit or miss in the work or school world for a very long time. There is a very negative attitude about group work the second it is assigned. The truth is that group work can actually make the performance of the individuals go down but, there are also very positive aspects to group work that many people don’t usually think of. In this paper, I will explore some of the pros and cons to group work, look at some possible solutions to the problems, and I will reflect on some of the past experiences I have had in group work. Let’s first start off with the positive things that group work can bring to table. From a young age, children are put into group situations to learn how to socialize and work with other people. These groups help them develop and learn how to appropriately interact in the world when they have grown and matured. Later in life, group is still assigned in many areas of a person’s life; at home, at school, and at work. Some of the positive aspects of group work is that is teaches teamwork and communication. People must be verbal and opinionated to get work done properly and on time. Almost always, a leader will emerge. This person tends to be someone who has an authoritative personality. It can teach someone leadership ship skills and organization. Many times, opinions will differ and debates will arise. In this sense, it can teach people good negotiating skills and how to defend a position. The most important pro to group work is that it teach critical thinking and problem solving. There will never be a time when everyone agrees. Many times, people must compromise to get a good and productive outcome. So, there are a lot of reasons why group work is good. That is probably why it is still widely used today. Let’s face it, sometimes projects are just too big to be tackled by one person. Can you imagine if one person built the Eifel Tower all by themselves? It’s impossible. People had to come together and work soundly together to maintain the progress and ultimately finish the massive project. But not all group projects are finished as well as the Eifel Tower. Some â€Å"crash and burn† This is where the cons of group work comes in, and trust me there are a lot of them. One of the biggest problem is unequal contributions. So many times you hear a group mate say â€Å"I always end up doing all the work! † It is very easy for people to slack off and let more of the work fall on the other people who care to much to let the project go downhill. According to ehowmom. com,† In many cases, one or two members will take on more work to ensure the entire group gets a good grade, or one member wont complete his responsibilities at all. Additionally, it can be difficult for a teacher to know which members pulled their weight and which did not. Therefore, the grades assigned to group projects or the individuals involved may be unfair to one or several members of the group. † This is a very big reason why students end up having a bitter feeling about the group object. They feel as though other students got a grade that they did not deserve. Another problem with group work is that everyone has different learning styles. Some people are audible learners, some are visual learners, some are hands on leaners, and some people simply just work better on their own rather than in a group. When it comes to having to achieve a goal while working with others, they would do a much better job if they were able to complete it on their own. This makes the quality of the work not as good as what they could be doing. Ultimately making the outcome of the project suffer. A third problem that comes up often in group work is personality clashes and problems with control. As I said that there are many people who choose to slack off and not do any work, there are also the people that want to take complete control over a group project. These people often makes the process very not fun at all. These â€Å"dictators† want to control every aspect of the project. Abbie Goldschmid wrote in â€Å"Confessions of a Control Freak†; â€Å"Control often changes my motives. Instead of genuinely trying to help people, I’m just looking out for myself. My grades, my academic appearance, my project, my control. It feeds my ego, makes me feel important. That’s sad — that I require control to feel worth something. How little I must think of myself if taking value away from others, in this case my classmates, is the only way I can value myself. Why do I doubt my classmates’ competence? Because if I think they can’t get me an A and I can, then somehow I’m more valuable than they are. I like to think that I’m not trying to do that, but if we’re being honest here, that does make a lot of sense. † She brings a very good point to the table: the people in groups that are the controlling people are simply very selfish. They don’t trust the rest of the group to put in enough effort to make a good project and ultimately get a good grade. They think that by taking control they will be able to determine the grade they get. That is not true though. Most times when there is a â€Å"dictator-like† person in the group, it just cause conflict and cause the group to fall apart. It is always good to have leader in a group but these people take it to the next extreme. They may put other down and not let anyone in the group speak up and give their ideas and opinions. This causes another problem; the people who don’t speak up enough in groups. So many times, people may have a very good idea to add to the group but are too intimidated by the others to come forward with it. They may even have an idea to completely transform the project into something that it never could have been without this idea. Many projects fall shy of their biggest potential because of this issue. So what can we do about it? There are a lot of techniques to apply to group work to help eliminate the cons and bring out the pros. The first starts with the person assigning the project. They need to provide clear instructions. If the group doesn’t have a clear idea of what is expected of them, it just leaves a very big margin for conflict early in the project. The next things can help groups work fluently together is to allow time for groups to gel. According to The Desrie2Learn Newsletter; â€Å"A common mistake is to expect groups to produce their collective work in too tight a time frame. Remember, groups need time to coalesce and work through their processes (i. e. , forming, storming, norming, performing, and all that). † Groups need to be able to get to k now each other before diving into a big project. They need to learn each other strengths and weakness to get the most out of each individual person. Lastly, people must take responsibility for their share of the project. Holding everyone accountable for their specific part is a good way to make sure that everyone contributes and everyone is involved in what is going on. Make sure there is a leader to keep in contact with everyone and keep everyone updated as things progress and new things need to be completed. My experience in group projects have, for the most part, been very positive. I feel as though I try to incorporate the above suggestions to make a project go more smoothly. One things that I have found is that I usually come out being the leader of the group. I am very good at taking charge and delegating task in a very nonthreatening way. Whenever I start a project with a group, I always try to take time to get to know everyone and brainstorm some idea. This give everyone in my group a chance to get their initial ideas out on the table. From there, we make a plan and get to work. I try to check in with people consistently to make sure that they are keeping up on their part. I usually do pretty well in group projects and am very happy with the outcome. Although, I can definitely see where people can get negative outlooks on group work from. So group work, while a somewhat scary task, is not a dead end. You need to make sure that you use the skills listed above to help make it go as smoothly as possible. Try not to let it get to you too much if everything doesn’t go your way. If everyone communicates and works well together, a great end result will occur.

The Themes of A Hero of Our Time Essays - Literature,

The Themes of A Hero of Our Time A Hero of Our Time offers its reader an interesting reading experience over the course of the book. Unlike most books, it does not lead the reader through its story (or in this case, stories) chronologically. One can see that Lermontov wrote it this way on purpose, for the reason of giving the reader a chance to better understand what he is trying to convey. Lermontov has placed three main themes in his book: the comprehensiveness of Russian literature, isolation, and appearance. The comprehensiveness of Russian literature is no doubt a deep subject to dive into. Russian literature contains some of the richest and most profound lyrics the world has seen. One reason for this is that such literature is connected to composition and prose from other nations. In order for readers to fully appreciate this novel, Lermontov made it so that his readers must be not only appreciative but more than aware of literature from various nations by enclosing occasional foreign innuendo . He includ es French quotes throughout the novel without translating them into Russian. Logic may have it that the constant references to other nations, cultures , and societies could be Lermontov's affirmation of the versatility of Russians. An example of this versatility put into action in the book is made manifest via Pechorin . Pechorin presents this concept by how h e refuses to allow himself to be tied down to any place or person throughout th e text. Isolation seems to often be portrayed as a sad characteristic in literature. Pechorin relates to isolation, for he views life not as a struggle for relation , but as a struggle for power over others. This aimlessly driven focus on power is what encourages Pechorin's isolation from society. His constant traveling physically isolates him from those around him, and his attitude on life gives the result of his emotional isolation as well. Pechorin's belief that relationships are based on power also creates an enduring tie with society, because it implies that in order for him to feel satisfied, he must manipulate influence over society. Without inferiors in his presence , Pechorin will never find satisfaction. His hatred of others, yet dependence upon them makes his life an ambiguity , and creates a miserable cycle. Appearance is simultaneously a "shallow" and deep subject. Lermontov makes appearance very relatable. Those in the novel who are physically attractive, such as the beautiful young girl in "Taman" who attempts to drown and kill Pechorin , seem to possess no human soul. This implies that a person's exterior is a false front that hides emptiness or ugly intentions. A person's true essence can be embraced from the observation of their true personable qualities because that is where the real meaning lies. A Hero of Our Time contains life lessons and principles to be aware of. Lermontov has written the novel not only to offer the reader an interesting, above-average reading experience over the course of the book, but also to express his feelings through the three main themes: the comprehensiveness of Russian literature, isolation, and appearance.

Eleanor of Aquitaine essays

Eleanor of Aquitaine essays Eleanor of Aquitaines life spans most of the 12th century, which was when the Middle Ages were at their pinnacle. During this time kings were too weak to defend their kingdoms and their people sought refuge and protection from a strong leader. This brought about the feudal system and affected Eleanor by the fact that her father was a duke of an extremely powerful and immense fiefdom that was called Aquitaine in France. After her fathers death, Eleanor inherited Aquitaine and became one of the most significant leaders that were involved in all the great events of her era. She was also a key figure in endless quarrels between the French and English kings and was arguably the most powerful women of High Medieval Europe. Although her outspoken nature made enemies among conservatives, her beliefs were far ahead of her time and won much respect for women. Eleanor of Aquitaine was an incredibly influential character in the Middle Ages by controlling much political power through her hu sbands, impacting and enlarging the menial roles of women in society, and introducing troubadour music to the whole of France. Eleanor of Aquitaine lived between 1122 and 1204, which was during the very peak of the Middle Ages. Her father William X, a duke, was also a patron of the troubadours and storytellers. Eleanor grew up with a lifelong love of music and literature, which was credited in whole to William, who not only introduced Eleanor to music and literature, but carefully educated and created an excellent student of her. Although most men in society thought education for women was not important or beneficial, William found education very significant to both sexes and was proud that Eleanor liked to learn and quickly picked up her studies. Williams travels through Aquitaine were always accompanied by Eleanor to prepare her for her future role as duchess. Eleanors mother was Aenor Aimery, whom Eleanor was name...

Media Bias Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Bias - Research Paper Example The first step in challenging biased news coverage is documenting bias. Here are some questions to ask yourself about newspaper, TV and radio news (Thiere 50). Political coverage often focuses on how issues affect politicians or corporate executives rather than those directly affected by the issue. For example, many stories on parental notification of abortion emphasized the "tough choice" confronting male politicians while quoting no women under 18--those with the most at stake in the debate. Economics coverage usually looks at how events impact stockholders rather than workers or consumers (Thiere 50). [The bias] is not the result of a vast left-wing conspiracy [there is] an unconscious â€Å"groupthink† mentality that taints news coverage and allows only one side of a debate to receive a fair hearing. When that happens, the truth suffers. A reporter’s job is to present a balanced story. As you read, listen to and watch news stories, you probably already notice stories that you think are biased. To see if they really are biased, you need to determine if the story falls into at least one of the several forms in which bias oc curs (Fahri). There are several types of bias. To start with is bias by omission: For every news story that is selected, there are many others that are left out. Do the news stories you see show a balanced view of real life? What are the characteristics they have in common? (e.g., are they mostly about violence, famous people, and wealth?) Do some news sources include items that are ignored by others? (Fahri) The other form of bias is bias by emphasis: What stories are on the front page or â€Å"at the top of the hour?† Which stories get the largest headlines or the first and longest coverage on TV or radio? Consider how this placement influences people’s sense of what is important. Bias by use of languages when the use of labels such as â€Å"terrorist,† â€Å"revolutionary,† or â€Å"freedom fighter†