Building and Presenting Power Relations in Roots

Building and Presenting Power Relations in Roots Alex Haleys 1976 novel, Roots, portrayed the history of a Kunta Kintes family as an epic story of survival. Haley presented the history of a man and his family torn apart, but not broken, under enslavement in America. The experiences that ravaged Kunta Kintes family life display the lack of institutional power of those enslaved. Although Kunta and Bell do not have institutional power, they do possess a limited amount of power within their nuclear family unit. Haleys depiction of an enslaved family contradicts reports on the black family by sociologists such as E. Franklin Frazier and the Moynihan Report, which supported a matriarchal family structure. Roots depicts Kunta and Bell as equals, with regards to the amount of power vested in each individual. Neither the female nor the male, has a greater amount of power. Both are virtually powerless. Haleys novel, Roots, portrays the conflict between the lack of institutionalized power and the limited amount of familial power. Roots was published at a time where the structure and history of the American black family was a very contentious issue. In 1965, approximately ten years before the novels publication, the U.S. government published the Moynihan Report. The report placed the blame for continuing black inequality, upon the very structure of the black family.1 Moynihans central thesis was that the black family was crumbling and that a major part of the blame lay with the black matriarchy extant in the black community.2 Much of the information in the infamous Moynihan Report was first publicized by the prominent black sociologist Franklin Frazier, who published one of his studies on black culture in 1939. Frazier wrote that, the Negro woman as wife or mother was the mistress of her cabinand her wishes in regard to mating and family matter were paramount.3 In a sense, the Moynihan Report updated the early findings and observations of Frazier. Scholars such as Robert Staples and Angela Davis rose to challenge the assertions made by Frazier and Moynihan. Staples stated that a matriarchy is a society in which some, if not all, of the legal powers relating to the ordering and governing of the family-power over property, over inheritance, over marriage, over-the-houseare lodged in women rather than men.4 He argued that a matriarchal family structure was not plausible because the black woman was exploited because of both her gender and race.5 Davis was another sociologist who refuted the matriarchy thesis. She stated that the matriarchal structure presented by some ignored the profound traumas the black woman must have experienced when she had to surrender her child-bearing to alien and predatory economic instincts.6 In the novel Roots, Alex Haley depicts the struggles of an enslaved family. Under enslavement, Kunta Kinte and Bells lives are dictated by their status of being owned by Master Waller. Bell has a limited amount of power when it comes to trivial matter such as the appearance of her cabin, but when it comes to important matters such as keeping the family together, Bell (and Kunta) possessed no institutional power. Evidence which refutes Fraziers thought that the mother had control over her cabin and family life, is displayed when Kunta and Bells child, Kizzy, is sold. Neither of her parents can change the horrible fate of their only child. Bell pleads with Master Waller, Don split us up!,7 but to no avail. Kunta tries to physically save his daughter but he crumpled to his knees8 after he is hit by the butt of the sheriffs pistol as it crashed above his ear.9 Both the mother and the father, female and male are rendered powerless in the situation. This example exemplifies Davis thoughts on the lack of institutional power held by enslaved women, in the face of the whims of their masters. The cultural stereotype of the domineering black woman belies the existence of the masses of black women who constituted a defenseless group against the onslaught of white racism in its most virulent sexual and economic manifestations.10 The lives of enslaved women could be destroyed at any moment. After Kizzy was taken away, she was sold to a man of the name, Tom Lea2E The first night Kizzy is under Leas ownership, he rapes her. Then came the searing pain as he forced his way into her, and Kizzys senses seemed to explode.11 After Kunta and the other Africans get off the big canoe and wait for the slave auction to commence, he and his mates had had to sit there, burning with humiliation at being helpless to defend their women, let alone themselves.12 The women were powerless, as they could not stop the continual rape at the hands of the toubob and the men were powerless because they could not aid the women. Another instance where Kunta feels hopeless because he cannot aid a woman in need, occurs while at a slave auction, he hears a chained Jola woman shrieking piteouslybeseeching him to help her13 he feels a rush of bitter, flooding shame14 at the prospect that he could not or did not do anything to help the woman. After an argument concerning a visit Kizzy was to have with Missy Anne, Bell lay sleepless in their bed that night, he sat sleepless in the stable beneath the harnesses. Both were weeping.15 Neither of them, as parents could control whether or not their child went. Master Waller said he promise Missy Anne to drop Kizzy off at Massa Johns.16 Even though Kunta objected to this strongly, he could not do anything about it. It was not within his power it was outrageous enough to have to sit by and watch while Kizzy was turned slowly into a lap dog, but now they wanted him to deliver the animal to its new keeper.17 Under slavery, the family structure of the enslaved was neither matriarchal or patriarchal. How could it be? The lives of those bound under slavery were fully controlled by their master. Even the basic rights naming was controlled. When Kunta arrived at his first plantation home he was given a new name, Massa say your name Toby!.18 Kunta was flooding with rageand he wanted to shout I am Kunta Kinte, first son of Omoro, who is the son of the holy man Kairaba Kunta Kinte,19 but he could not utter a word. Kunta had no power. There were instances within Roots, where both Kunta and Bell exercised power to control aspects of their lives, albeit a limited amount of power. Bell had been on the Waller plantation for many years and as the cook for the main house, she had access to information and the master that many field slaves did not, Bell had more influence on the massa than anyone else on the plantation, or probably all of them put together.20 Bell, along with her daughter Kizzy, had another form of power, they were partially literate. Ultimately though, these powers hurt the interests of Bell and Kizzy. Even though Bell had such high standing with Master Waller, she still had no say in the sale of her daughter. Part of the reason Kizzy was sold, was because of her ability to read and write. Kizzys intellectual powers ultimately rendered her powerless. Kunta also struggled to retain power within his life and relationship with Bell. The naming of their daughter was one instance where he asserted power. Kunta wished to keep the traditions of his homeland alive. One way was by naming Kizzy by the same ritual as he was named in Juffure. Bell was reluctant to allow this but as deeply as Bell disapproved, she was even more apprehensive of what Kunta would do if she refused.21 Kunta named their daughter Kizzy, which as he explained to Bell, meant you sit down or you stay put which, in turn meant that unlike Bells previous two babies, this child would never get sold away.22 Unfortunately Kuntas wish for his child, as it was represented by the name he gave her, did not come true. Kizzy was sold and even though Kunta had some power within his own family, he did not have the institutional power necessary for stopping his (and Bells) greatest fear from happening. Alex Haleys poignant novel, Roots, depicts the fight for survival as it was experienced by the family of Kunta Kinte. The novel brutally portrays the conflict between the slaves lack of institutionalized power versus the power they retained within their family unit. Through many harrowing experiences, Haley presents Kunta and Bell as ultimately powerless in the face of their oppressors. Although the novel displays the precarious and vulnerable living conditions of Kunta and Bell, it also celebrates the resiliency of this family. Contrary to the beliefs presented by Frazier and Moynihan, the slave system did not and could not engender and recognize a matriarchal family structure. Inherent in the very concept of the matriarchy is power'.23 The portrayal of the enslaved family in Roots refutes the myth of black matriarchy. The novel does not try to prove a patriarchal family structure, it simply presents the lack of power of those enslaved. Notes 1. U.S. Dept. of Labor, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action (Washington, D.C. : GPO, 1965). 2. Robert Staples, The Myth of Black Matriarchy, Black Scholar, 2 Jan.-Feb. 1970, 341. 3. Deborah White, Female Slaves: Sex Roles and Status in the Antebellum Plantation South, Journal of Family History, 8 Fall 1983, 248 4. Staples, 336. 5. Staples, 335. 6. Angela Davis, Reflections on the Black Womans Role in the Community of Slaves, Massachusetts Review, 13 Winter/Spring 1972, 84. 7. Alex Haley, Roots (New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1976), 452. 8. Haley, 452. 9. Haley, 452. 10. Staples, 334. 11. Haley, 455. 12. Haley, 214. 13. Haley, 322. 14. Haley, 322. 15. Haley, 385. 16. Haley, 385. 17. Haley, 385. 18. Haley, 232. 19. Haley, 232. 20. Haley, 336. 21. Haley, 367. 22. Haley, 368. 23. Davis, 82.

Current Defense Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current Defense Policies - Essay Example financial and diplomatic aid in Pakistan asserting that most of the Pakistani leaders were unaware that the terrorist was taking refuge in their country (Forest 2011). In addition, he also alleged that the end of Al-Qaeda’s reign of terror is inevitable since majority of the Muslim world has forsaken them, as well as their cause, and with Bin Laden gone, finances might die down to nothing (Forest 2011). Analysis Forest (2011) asserted that the withdrawal of U.S troops, and funding in Pakistan was uncalled for since they were ignorant of Bin Laden’s occupation in their country. The alliance between the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban is no secret. According to Omar bin Laden (Maclean 2010); the success of Al-Qaeda lies in their alliance with the Taliban. Although there is no concrete proof to establish the ties between the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) and the two Islamic militia, ISIs history of working with drug dealers and Islamic extremist, their involvement in delivering Taliban to power in Afghanistan in the 1990s, as well as their association with the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, cannot be put to rest (Inter-services Intelligence, 2011). The Central Intelligence Agency and the ISI has successfully worked together to seize many Al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan.

Everything that Rises Must Converge, Good Country People, and The Essay

Everything that Rises Must Converge, Good Country People, and The Boarding House - Essay Example Most of Connor’s characters are physically or mentally deformed, and they seek redemption at the end. With some sort of epiphany the characters of Joyce emerge from the dark world in which they were doomed to live. The short stories under scrutiny in this paper are Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Everything that Rises Must Converge† and â€Å"Good Country People† and Joyce’s â€Å"The Boarding House†. The focus of this paper is on examining how these writers have used symbolism and irony in their writing and how with these the development of relationships among the characters help the authors to convey their messages. Each following paragraph takes up one story for this analysis. In â€Å"Everything that Rises Must Converge† O’Connor introduces a mother who is incapable of realizing the new reality of desegregation. Still living in her romantic fantasy of her past aristocratic mansion, she refuses to see the convergence of a ne w society in which all are equal. In order to highlight this weakness in her character, the author contrasts her with her own son who has accepted civil rights movement and tolerance. This conflict is reflected through a simple event, a bus journey. Right from the beginning of the story the narrator gives close attention to the cap she mother wears: â€Å"She was holding herself very erect under the preposterous hat wearing it like a banner of her imaginary dignity† (Convergence). ... t her habit of sticking to her stubborn past multiplies the inherent weakness in her character: â€Å"â€Å"If you'll never learn where you are,† he said, â€Å"you can at least learn where I am† â€Å"(Convergence). There is no possibility of any form of convergence between the mother and the son. As the story comes to the end, the transforming cultural landscape and the mindscape of the characters come into light clearly focused. The mother â€Å"lived according to the laws of her own fantasy world outside of which he had never seen her set foot† realizes her son (Convergence). The transport, the bus, which carries the whites and the blacks without any discrimination becomes the stage on which the convergence is enacted, finally leading to the tragic death of the mother. The sight of the cap and the dress of the black woman irritate the white mother because they do not reflect the segregation, and her sense of patronizing the blacks in the form of offering mo ney also boomerangs. â€Å"â€Å"Don’t think that was just an uppity Negro woman,† he said. â€Å"That was the whole colored race which will no longer take your condescending pennies†Ã¢â‚¬ , reminds her son (Convergence). The son, though he has accepted desegregation, is also not able to strip his modern views and converge to preserve the mother-son relationship. In â€Å"Good Country People† Connor makes her theme more complex, though here again the story is about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. It is complex because a daughter with an artificial leg, but possessing a philosophical mind, struggles to experience joy, though her name is ironically Joy. With Nitcshe deep in her blood, and with her PhD in philosophy, everything is nothing in her life. The artificial leg is highly symbolic in the story as it

Significance Of Teamwork In Organizational Competitiveness Case Study - 1

Significance Of Teamwork In Organizational Competitiveness - Case Study Example Members of the teams benefit from knowledge sharing, which is important in career development and workplace learning. Teams may or may not be effective depending on their formation and leadership. Successful teamwork is characterized by a high team spirit in which every member is contented and willing to take part in accomplishing the tasks. Moreover, the employees working in a successful team tend to be enthusiastic about identifying with it. They also demonstrate loyalty to its leadership as well as among each other, as well as a willingness to work together. Everyone is usually focused on the accomplishment of a shared vision and owns the goals of the team. For this reason, organizations that promote strong teamwork are able to maintain competitiveness by offering effective services to the customers. Beardwell & Holden (2001) observe that customers are attracted to an organization in which they are served in a similar manner regardless of the staff member that deals with them. This paper presents a critique of the view that teamwork is always positive. It highlights U.S and UK organizations that exhibit teamwork in the workforce. It also compares these organizations with others that operate in the international markets Many organizations engage in projects targeted at particular target segments in the market and hence the strategies for the accomplishment of particular organizational goals need to be understood by all the people involved among the workforce. For example, if an organization has engaged 12 people as marketing representatives, it is important for them to work as a marketing team that is composed of employees with similar objectives.

Moral Relativism and Plato’s Euthyphro Essay

Moral Relativism and Plato’s Euthyphro - Essay Example The area of application for the relative truth is completely a matter of individual belief and may not apply to anything else further. It can be one’s perception or a view of a general significance to a general situation. The idea of relative truth is also subjected to a myriad criticism. The first great critic of relativism was Plato himself. He criticized the views of â€Å"Sophist Protagoras† in his book ‘Thaetetus’. Relativism largely destroys distinction between the truth and the belief. With relative truth, the problem of negation also arises; if everyone differs with their respective belief then no one comes to any common solution or agreement. Under these circumstances, learning becomes vague and one moves away from truth. According to Hilary Putnam, relativism makes it almost impossible to accept that one is wrong or one can commit an error. If there is an absence of complete truth beyond the belief of an individual, then an individual would not be able to able to uphold their own beliefs into an error, false or mistake. Perceptional difference is essential but in some places acceptance of negation is equally demanding. This is the area which is completely nullified when it comes to relative truth and there lies the greatest limitation of the theory. Moral relativism is an umbrella term that encompasses various views and arguments possessed by people from different cultures. Moral relativism is again of several kinds namely: Descriptive Relativism, Meta-ethical Relativism and Normative Relativism. Moral relativism sometimes describes the positive or descriptive positioning of the existence of right course of deed under the circumstance when the fact gathered, and the similar consequence probably seems to arise. This concept of Moral Relativism falls under the category of Descriptive Relativism. The next contention about the idea is the ‘semantic’ and the ‘epistemic’, positioning that all moral

Tony Kushner's Angels in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tony Kushner's Angels in America - Essay Example play who has been infected by AIDS and this thinking is reflected when he "feels dirty" as if his heart is "pumping polluted blood." as he is seen to be hallucinating in his struggle with the "angels" as to the reason Earth has been cursed by Aids.(Kushner,P.34) and his deteriorating condition finds him being drawn to "cosmologieswith no judgment, no guilt, or responsibility" (p,42).The play has heavy undertones of Angelic symbolism originating from the traditional religious systems which is so characteristic of the sociological magnum opuses of the likes of Emile Durkheim and Peter Berger. The play demonstrates the rise and re-rise of Angel Imagery in the America of the nineties. In "Angels in America, Roy Cohn ,another character of the play who says the classic dialogue just after being told by his doctor that he too has AIDS (Cadden, 1995). when he states ,'Homosexuals are not men who sleep with other men,' Cohn says. 'Homosexuals are men who in fifteen years of trying cannot get a pissant antidiscrimination bill through City Council. Homosexuals are men who know nobody and who nobody knows. Who have zero clout. Does this sound like me'" (Kushner: 2003:45). This dialogue shows the how the irrational hatred, disapproval, or fear of homosexuality, gay and lesbian people, or their culture manifests itself in an internalized way especially with in the ideals of people like Cohn as he blasts the minority for their lack of power and marginalization in the society and ends of hating them as a whole. Yet another of Kushner' endlessly provocative and rich thematic concerns manifest themselves in one of the main relationships in the play between Joe Pitt and his wife, Harper. As a young Republican Mormon he is a close friend of Roy Cohn, who is also Joe's surrogate father. And their conversations about the changing American culture reflect the events post 9/11 showing the heaving political over tones of this drama. All in all Kushner's highest achievement in this play is his success in dramatizing the difference of opinion within America's so called "melting pot culture" and ability to juggle comedy and tragedy up till the point when Cohn dies in agony; and Joe and Harper are left alone showing some home for their future. The Play has not however always received a positive response, and had to go through varying amounts of political and literary attack and people has objected the play's portrayal of Gay people as "martyrs" and largely condemned as an attack on American Value's particularly by the religious community. Although the supporters of the play were not just amongst the gay community but the admirers came from all sections of the community based upon its moving depiction of the pain suffered by AIDS victims. The last scene of the play (Part 1-Millenium Approaches) shows an Angel which breaks through the ceiling of Prior Walter's room in the hospital and there is a message which says

New Issues during the Civil Rights Movements Essay Example for Free

New Issues during the Civil Rights Movements Essay â€Å"What new issues emerged for the civil rights movement in the period 1965-1970? How did black leaders respond to those issues in different ways? † During the period 1965-1970, new issues had emerged for the civil rights movement, such as the question of whether Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violent tactics were too moderate and limited, poverty and voting rights. During 1965 to 1970, black leaders responded to these issues in a number of ways. Responses to these issues included the forming of Black Nationalist groups, voter registration campaigns and campaigns to get rid of poverty. An issue that emerged during 1965-1970 for the black civil rights movement was voting rights. Even though blacks had been given the right to vote since 1964, they often were frightened and intimidated by the whites if they went and voted. An example of this is with Fannie Ion Hamer. When Hamer came back from registering to vote, she was met by the owner of the plantation where she and her husband had worked for 17 years and was told that she would either leave or withdraw her name from the voters roll. She left and that night 16 shots were fired at the house she and her husband were staying in. Blacks were forced to do literacy tests, which most failed, before they could become registered voters; this was done to prevent the blacks from voting as they didn’t have very good literacy skills. By 1965 very few blacks were still not enrolled for example in Selma and Alabama, where only 350 blacks were registered to vote. The voting had become a new issue because many black civil rights leaders realized the significance of blacks voting to get their own people into positions of authority and create more progress for blacks in America. Another issue that emerged in the 1965-1970 for the black civil rights movement was the question whether Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violence stance was too moderate and limited. Martin Luther King’s tactics for making America desegregated was all non-violence, for example sit-ins, marches, signs or protests, boycotts, freedom rides and wait-ins. At first these tactics worked. The freedom rides achieved to desegregate bus terminals, issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The sit-ins worked because the protesters annoyed the whites, but not enough for them to take violent action from the police. Bills and laws were being passed. In the 1963 Birmingham campaign led by Martin Luther King the sit-ins, boycotts and mass marches managed to desegregate Birmingham. But by 1966 Black Power emerged and was an alternative philosophy to non-violent protest that civil rights’ activists could use. To some black leaders the methods Martin Luther King had always seemed too fair and his aim of winning concessions from the white majority appeared too inadequate. This was an issue to many blacks, because even though the non-violent methods worked most of the time, blacks were still getting beaten for it and or even killed. The Black Power became a very good alternative because it united black people to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It was a call for black people to define their own goals, doing whatever is necessary to get what they need. The Black Power proved its point in the riots that emerged in Watts, Selma and Chicago, where blacks got what they wanted using means of violence. The riots showed that violence can be the answer too, the total opposite of Martin Luther King’s beliefs. Poverty was another issue the civil rights movement had to face in the period 1965-1970. Poverty of blacks occurred because of blacks being denied skilled jobs that paid well, this led the blacks to not having enough money for education, housing and food supplies, which led to theft among their own people. Blacks in ghettos believed there was no point in going to school if in the end they weren’t to get any good, well paid jobs. Blacks found that there was no use in working if their jobs paid a little more than the Social Security payments for the unemployed. These beliefs created a cycle of poverty and that in order to change and progress further than they already are they needed to break that poverty cycle. This proved to be a great challenge for conservative black groups and leaders but was one of the significant factors for the rise of nationalists groups. In response to the issue of voting rights, black leaders held many voter registration campaigns and demonstrations. An example was the Selma Campaign in 1965, which became a significant campaign. Marches from Selma to Montgomery, which had been banned by the Federal Court, was led by Martin Luther King. On one march the marchers were met by State Troops and so King led them in prayer and marched them back to Selma. This cost the support of many King’s younger supporters, but the Selma Campaign was still a success. This led to the introduction of the Voters’ Rights Bill, which ensured that obstruction to voting would be prevented and many more blacks were now enrolling. In response to the questioning of Martin Luther Kings non-violent methods, black leaders started to form nationalists groups which had more violent policies. For example, in 1966 the Black Panthers were formed. They called for the arming of blacks, to have all blacks released from prison and for blacks to receive compensation for centuries of exploitation by whites. This group also used a lot of violence, but younger blacks found this more appealing than Martin Luther King’s tactics, as they had more aggressive approaches and could relate to blacks who had grown up in the ghettos. Finally, in response to the issue of poverty, black leaders held campaigns for this problem too. During 1968, King organised the ‘Poor Peoples Campaign’. This was an attempt to bring together all of America’s poor – not just blacks – and was obviously not fought along racial lines. This would have been a great way to deal with the poverty of America because it would have brought together many different groups of people in order to achieve common goals. In conclusion during the civil rights movement in years 1965-1970, the new issues that emerged were voting rights, the question whether Martin Luther King’s tactics were too fair and limited and poverty. These issues were responded by the black leaders in different ways such as the forming of Black Nationalists groups, for example the Black Panthers, voter registration campaigns and campaigns to get rid of poverty.