Victorian Writing :: essays research papers

How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! -- Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. As my eyes fixated on my creation, lightning flashed among the clouds and was followed by drumming thunder. Rain started to pound down on the roof above me, like stones falling from the sky, the sound becoming progressively deafening by the minute. The surrounding trees howled terrifyingly, swaying from side to side, with the immense winds almost uprooting them. Debris, pushed up by the winds, crashed through the house’s windows. Glass flew apart with piercing sounds, flying towards me, and with swift strokes, they sliced the flesh on my face. Blood oozed out of the cuts profusely and my face became gory with red. The weather became more ferocious and the chilly winds blew through the wrecked windows, down my spine. The teeth in my mouth started chattering from the chills and fear. The going-on outside the house was overwhelming, numbing my senses and movement. â€Å"Oh Lord!† I said. â€Å"What have I done wrong?† Lightning unrelentingly flashed and thunder still roared after. This time, it was even more earsplitting. I have incurred God’s wrath, our environment and surroundings are his domain, expressing his fury. I continued to look up at the sky above, questioning God. Every remark thrown at him caused the storm to intensify. Nevertheless, I did not hold back as the potent emotions within me spurred me let it all out. Suddenly, there was a strident crash behind me, which could be heard among all the noises outside the house. I turned my head and the floor was covered in broken porcelain chips. My ancestral urn had fallen onto the floor. The floral velvet carpet that once lay colourful and vibrate, was now stained with fine gray ash and the blood dripping off my scared face. Persistent chilling winds blew through the window, and the ash flew with the gust and the room immediately became hazy.

Assess the Sociological Explanations of the Role of Culture

Assess the sociological explanations of the role of culture in contemporary society Culture is the behaviour, beliefs and characteristics of a particular group of people. Age groups, ethnic groups and social groups etc†¦ are all examples of groups of people that possess their own unique culture. The people within a culture are expected to follow the norms and values that are passed down through generation to generation. Over the past 30 years, different cultures have gradually intermingled due to an increasing number people immigrating to different countries, which each bring their own cultures, be it religious or pop culture etc†¦ This is particular visible in many western countries such as Britain, Canada and the United States, as there is a much higher level of ethnic diversity. The amalgamation of different cultures has also shaped people’s views on things like sexuality, gender roles and age roles etc†¦ Functionalists believe that culture benefits the whole of society. They believe that if everyone in society shares the same beliefs and ideas, i. e. a value consensus is reached, and then society as a whole can be kept in a civilised manner. They also believe that socialisation is a key factor, to shaping culture and society.Primary socialisation is taught by parents who teach children what they expect of them. It also develops their own personal characteristics, beliefs and values, which are largely influenced by their parents and family. Secondary socialisation is taught mainly by teachers in schools. Teenagers and young adults learn what is expected of them in larger society, outside of their home (e. g. what is acceptable and not acceptable based on age or gender etc†¦). Tertiary socialization occurs when individuals are integrated into the world and being to gain new ideas and values of socialization.Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist during the late 19th century and early 20th century, believed that culture is collectively formed and only exists collectively, meaning that culture can only be developed by a group of people and not by an individual. He believed that culture has many relationships with society, including a logical relationship (the idea that power over individuals belongs to certain cultural categories, and beliefs such as God), a functional relationship (the idea that culture creates common beliefs amongst individuals in society, strengthening social order). However, the unctionalist explanations are based on a more traditional society. They are outdated as some ideas do fit todays multi-cultural society. The classical Marxist theory culture as a way of expressing a ruling class ideology. This is where the bourgeoisie control the superstructure of society, the proletariats (working class) creating a false class consciousness, which further creates a false description of reality and the relationships between them and the proletariats. They also believe that culture reinforces the class structure. This means that culture is a way of maintaining the ideas of what each class can achieve.For example, the classical Marxist theory believes that in society, the rich population will always achieve higher than the poorer population, as they can afford to carry on their education to the highest level, whilst the poorer population are sifted out of the educational system at the earliest possible stage. The classical Marxist theory does not take into account the times when the working class rejects their control under the ruling class. This can be in the form of riots, strikes or even a group of people, who are in their own subculture who share the same beliefs about the relationship between the working class and the ruling class (e. . skin heads, punks). Neo-Marxist believes that the working class are being distracted from revolting against the ruling class. One of the most widely adopted forms of neo Marxism is the Frankfurt school. Two of its key members, Theodor Adorno an d Max Horkheimer, came up with the theory of â€Å"the culture industry†. This is the idea that popular culture is like a factory that produces standardized cultural goods (e. g. film, radio, magazines) that are used to manipulate mass society into being content, no matter how poor the quality of their lives are.They believe that mass culture encourages the working class to buy things that are false needs, which leads to a commodity fetishism. This is when capitalism affects the way people interact with each other based on the economic class the belong to. For example, under capitalism, everything that can be exchanged becomes a commodity. Things like labour can become a commodity, by selling your labour to an employer you are commoditizing yourself, and that defines the kind of relationship you and your employer will have.Overall, the neo Marxist theory sees that the population are passive victims of mass culture, who are distracted from the realisation of the quality of the ir lives. Neo-Marxists at the Birmingham University adopted Gramsci’s idea of cultural hegemony. This was an idea thought up by the Italian Marxist Antonia Gramsci, that capitalism would have to face and tolerate oppositional cultures. These are usually sub cultures, particularly within youth culture, that stand against capitalist values.Stuart hall gave the example of the skinhead as an oppositional culture, as he argued that they do not follow the norms and values set in place by capitalism, and resist capitalist views. This theory however is highly theoretical and lacks primary data. Feminists believe that culture is dominated by male ideas. They believe that men control women to serve their own interests, and that women are seen as â€Å"second class citizens†. The idea that females from an early age, are brought up being brainwashed by culture and society into thinking that women cannot strive to achieve high goals like men can.This is visible in the mass media. F or example, in many soap operas and sitcoms, women are portrayed as home makers, cleaners or secretaries, whilst men a portrayed as having high powered jobs. In the 1950’s, all advertisements for thing like kitchen appliances or cleaning products where women orientated, and many T. V commercials for these often saw the male as the breadwinner, returning home from work to his wife. However, this theory is becoming outdated as women in contemporary society are given the same opportunities as men.For example, women now have equal job opportunities as mean, as many of them are entering previously male dominated occupations. The interpretive, interactionist approach or the action theory as it’s more commonly known, is the idea that culture is made up of every bodies individual actions in society. It believes that people’s views and explanations of culture are moulded by the social groups in which they belong to. These interpretations of culture by individuals in soci ety come together to form what is known as the actionist theory. This theory however does not take into account shared beliefs or a value consensus.It also conflicts with the idea that culture cannot be formed by an individual, and can only be formed when there is a group of people. Semiotic culture attempts to define culture as types of symbolic human activity, creation of signs and a way of giving meaning to everything around. In this idea, culture is understood as a system of meaningful symbols, signs words and images. This approach can be adopted by any theorist (e. g. Marxist, feminist) no matter where they stand on the sociological spectrum. Post modernists theories of culture are based around the idea that society is adopting new cultures all the time.This is what is known as cultural diversity. Post-modernists believe that individuals are free to choose and design their own culture and identities. They also may pick up a hybrid culture, which is a mixture of different cultur es that is usually found in countries where there is a large culture diversity. Overall, I think that most of the theories have valid plausibility and evidence, especially Horkeimer’s and Adorno’s neo_marxist theory. However, Theory I find most plausible is the functionalist theory. I find that it has the most supportive evidence out of all the theories.

United States Involvement with Vietnam Essay - 949 Words

United States Involvement with Vietnam Although there are no specific, reasons as to why the USA became increasingly involved in the war, I can name many different reasons and aspects as to why they did. These reasons all link together in some way. These reasons range from long term to short term, and from financial, to political, and finally to full scale war. The origins of involvement can be traced back to the 19th century when the French had added a huge part of South East Asia to their already growing empire, this area was known as Indo-China. During the Second World War Japanese troops occupied this area, and it was ruled by the Japanese. The population if Indo-China didnt like being†¦show more content†¦Also In 1949 China became Communist and Russia tested their first nuclear bomb. This was important because it meant that China could become another communist superpower and communism now had nuclear weapons. By continuing to aid France the USA started to become more and more involved with the issues in Vietnam. The French needed to end the war as quickly as they could but even with massive financial support from the USA, they were defeated at Diem Bien Phu when the Vietminh put up huge resistance. France then decided to pull out. This lead to the USAs increasing involvement as France were no longer fighting the Vietminh so the USA had to take over to defeat communism to stop it spreading. Peace talks were then held in Geneva and a peace agreement was set up, dividing Vietnam into two sections, the North and the South. North Vietnam was controlled by the Communist Vietminh and South Vietnam was declared independent and was backed by France and the USA. Vietnam was intended to be reunited after elections but the USA did not allow free elections throughout Vietnam in fear of it leading to a communist Victory. This links back to the cold war, and America fearing the spread of communism and by this point America had started to get increasingly involved. AmericasShow MoreRelatedUnited States Involvement in Vietnam Essay1302 Words   |  6 PagesUnited States Involvement in Vietnam The end of World War Two was the beginning of Americas worries about Communism. They feared that it would spread throughout the countries of the world. Because of this President Truman made the Truman Doctrine. This said that America would help any nation threatened by Communism. He said that he would lead containment in the spread of Communism and the Soviet Unions expansion. The doctrine came from the USA believing thatRead MoreThe Involvement of the United States in Vietnam Essays1217 Words   |  5 PagesThe Involvement of the United States in Vietnam The single most important factor in understanding the United States involvement in Vietnam is fear. In the years leading to the Vietnam Conflict the United States was immersed in paranoia toward Communist Russia and the communist movement as a whole. This paranoia has its roots in the depression of the nineteen thirties and was fueled by the exploits of men like MacCarthy and other politicians who saw this as an opportunity to further their careersRead MoreUnited States Involvement in Vietnam Essay948 Words   |  4 PagesUnited States Involvement in Vietnam Before 1939 Vietnam was a French colony but Vietnam was divided into three areas Tongking in the north, Annam and Cochin China in the south. During World War two the Japanese took control of Vietnam. But a very strong anti-Japanese movement called the Viet Minh emerged whose leader was called Ho Chi Mihn. The Viet Mihn took over the North of the country. But in 1945 the French arrived back in Vietnam wanting their Colony back. TheRead MoreUnited States Involvement in South Vietnam1676 Words   |  7 PagesUnited States Involvement in South Vietnam It is apparent from source A that America was involved in Vietnam to maintain capitalism and to suppress communism. The writer of the source, John F Kennedy, had a high position in the US government and he makes the point that the Americans did not like communism and wanted to stop it spreading. If the red tide of communism overflowed into Vietnam, then Burma, Thailandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and Cambodia would be threatened. This shows theRead MoreUnited States Involvement During Vietnam War990 Words   |  4 Pagesconsiderably they has been involvements. For example US involvement in Vietnam war through out the1950s till 1960s. In that incidence united states supported France which was more a democratic side and rejected vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi who was known as a communist supported by Russia, and aided with the cost of the war. In 1964 the congress authorised Johnson the president to take necessary actions to prevent aggression against united states in Vietnam and bombing of Vietnam took place in responseRead MoreThe United States Involvement During The Vietnam War1514 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States involvement in the Vietnam War developed into one of the most brutal, yet necessary wars of The Cold War. Although the war was viewed poorly by most, it helped a weak, crumbling South Vietnam stand up to a strong powerful North Vietnam that was forcing communism on them. President Johnson even stated that â€Å"Our objective is the independence of South Vietnam and its freedom from attack.† The United States wanted to stop an oppressive government and to make sure the world is a saferRead MoreThe United States Involvement During The Vietnam War947 Words   |  4 Pagescontroversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned. In only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happened, and better yet, should have it happened. This paper will discuss the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, by asking the simple question, Should have the Untied States’ gotten involvedRead MoreEssay on Reasons for United States Involvement in Vietnam1080 Words   |  5 PagesReasons for United States Involvement in Vietnam In this essay I will be writing about why America got involved in the Vietnam War, between the 1950s to the 1960s. This was a steady and slow process with many deaths all because of communism. It was very costly and bloody. This essay will focus on political reasons, military reasons and economy reasons. Firstly the political reasons. The involvement in Vietnam started off with the cold war, when Russia and AmericaRead MoreEssay on United States Involvement in the Vietnam War769 Words   |  4 PagesUnited States Involvement in the Vietnam War There are many reasons for American intervention in Vietnam whether it is political causes, economic causes or military causes. The Americans want to secure capitalism all over the world and get rid of communism. The French used to run Vietnam in a capitalist manner. After the Second World War France attempted to secure and control Vietnam once more. France refused to recognize the democratic republic of Vietnam that hadRead MoreThe United States Involvement During The Vietnam War1729 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States involvement in Vietnam was the longest war the U.S. has ever took part in and was considered an extended military engagement due to the fact congress never formally declared war with Vietnam (FCNL). The Vietnam War began on November 1, 1955 and lasted for 20 years until April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the communist Northern Vietnamese and the anti-communist Southern Vietnamese after the country was temporarily divided by the Geneva Accords. Americas entering of the Vietnam