Greed of Capitalists Essay Example for Free

Greed of Capitalists Essay In The Grapes of Wrath, the author, John Steinbeck utilizes intercalary chapters to portray the calamity and desolation that wandering farmers faced in Oklahoma during the Great Depression. Steinbeck employs chronic symbols, motifs, and specific narrative intervals to connect each intercalary chapter with its neighboring narrative counterparts in order to unify and strengthen the dominant themes of the novel. The intercalary episodes highlight perseverance of the Okies, the greed of capitalists, and the inhumanity of many who belittle the displaced families from Oklahoma. Despite the predicament of the meager farmers, Steinbeck provides his readers with a sense of hope through the respect for survivors and the tough pioneer spirit. Steinbeck highlights the perseverance of the Okies, in Chapters One and Three, through the turtle’s continuous struggle across the highway and the men’s resilient attitudes following tragedy. The turtle represents all the migrant workers that are evicted from their homes and fall victim to the hostile environment yet continue to persist through their journey, especially the Joads. The turtle in its attempt to make it through life â€Å"[boosts] and [drags] his shell along† representing the slow but determined traveling of the workers. In the same way that life becomes more difficult for the Okies, the hills get steeper for the turtle and â€Å"more frantic† grow its efforts (15). The Joads’ strong willed determination to make it to California provides a sense of hope that although it will be difficult and some person seeking the enjoyment of mocking one who is worse off than he is, may â€Å"[swerve] to hit [them]† their fortitude will result in triumph. In Chapter One the winds come and dust covers the lands demolishing all the crops. The women and children looked to see if the men would â€Å"break† knowing that as long as he stood firm â€Å"no misfortune was too great to bear.† The men remained relentless revealing the persistent nature of the Okies. Steinbeck demonstrates the injustice done unto the Okies, in Chapters Five and Seven, through the property owners and used car salesmen. In Chapter Five the owner men came to the Okies land to tell them they had to leave, the land was getting to be poor and they were unable to pay their taxes. The farmers protest, claiming that they have been on this land for generations and that they will have nowhere to go; they are told to go to California where there are many opportunities to make money. These families represent the Joads being kicked off their land by â€Å"the bank—the monster [who] has to have profits all the time†¦ When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can’t stay one size† (92). Steinbeck describes the greed and injustice of the â€Å"monster† with a tone of complete and utter antipathy revealing the lack of feelings and desensitization towards the suffering the farmers were being subject to. Later when the farmers choose to stay, the bank sends a man with a tractor to force the Okies off their land. The heartless man controlling the tractor seems to become a part of the machine, destroying any human sensitivity becoming incapable of intercession he does not even â€Å"look like a man† but rather he looks like â€Å"a robot in the seat† (94). The man blinded by greed chooses to forget his friends and convince himself that there is â€Å"no call to worry about anybody’s kids but [one’s] own.† The young man is willing to betray his community for a comfortable life, explaining to the tenant that he must knock down the tenant’s house, â€Å"got to keep the lines straight.† Tommy discovers, upon arriving home, that the same thing has happened to his old house. The connection between the two stories transfers a sense of sympathy towards the tenant farmers, and anger towards the inhumanity of the driver, to the story of the Joads. In chapter seven Steinbeck highlights the injustice done to the Okies by describing the used car salesman and the way he tricked tenant farmers out of excessive amounts of money. The tenant farmers, new to the world of salesmen, don’t have a choice to be without a car and are forced to ignore the fact that they are being sold a run down car for a price that far exceeds the amount it is worth. The chapter is written in a singsong melodic format in order to symbolize the bounce of a car rolling down the road, quick-paced and crude. Throughout the chapter a car salesman and his assistant utilize the lack of knowledge and desperation of the evacuees to force them into deals by complaining that they’re â€Å"taking up [their] time then walking out† on the deal. The disrespect and blasphemy of the salesmen creates more sympathy for the Okies and anger towards those who choose to exploit them. When the Joads go to sell they’re whole lives they are only give eighteen dollars, a very low price compared to what they deserved. The appalling situations that the Okies are found in combined with the malicious manner with which those who are better off treat them causes the readers to feel compassion for the ex-tenants. The ninth chapter of the book describes a family being forced to leave, and take with them only that which they can carry. Another family comes to buy the house and begins to pick through the once precious belongings of the owners. They sell what they can of the tenant’s past and burn the rest. All the while the tenant’s are crying out â€Å"How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.† After watching their belongings go up in flames the Okies no longer have a desire to stay and choose to leave their old life behind and drive on. Being forced to watch their personal belongings burn without a morsel of understanding from the buyers causes the readers to feel sorrow for the Okies. The Okies encounter many people on their journey to California, some who work to improve life for everyone. The Joads however tend to come across people who are greedy and only seek to better themselves, not caring who they hurt in the process. Steinbeck writes his novel in this way to develop his main point that greed and capitalism is causing the dehumanization in America. He is creating a passion in his readers to stand up against the longing for wealth and ease and start helping others even when it may not be best for you. Steinbeck hopes to awaken humanity in America and fight against the black whole of greed. Americans must heed to his novel and apply it to today’s society as much as they would have in Steinbeck’s period.

The Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers

When you first think of the words ’death penalty’, you can’t help but associate that with the words ’capitol punishment’. However, is the death penalty really the ultimate, and therefore capital punishment. I believe that capitol punishment is the right punishment for those who commit heinous crimes like pre-meditated murder or rape. However, the death penalty would not satisfy me as a family member of the victim. What would satisfy me is to know that the murderer or rapist is suffering in prison until he dies and receives their true punishment in eternal life. I believe that life in prison, in solitary confinement, and without the possibility of parole, is the most fit punishment and the punishment that will put the person in the most pain and suffering until they die. But how did I come up with this belief and argument against the death penalty as a capital punishment? How and based on what did I come up with these beliefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, I am a very religious person who follows the church in just about everything it does. If you are a religious person as well, you would know that on the subject of the death penalty for crimes, the bible seems to have a clear points of view about it in the old testament. In one part, the bible asks for â€Å"an eye for an eye†¦and a life for a life†. This is clearly stated in the old testament in exodus 21:22-25. However, if you look closely, the bible asks for the death penalty for several different crimes that by today’s standards would not even be crimes at all. In the article â€Å"Executions Are Too Costly---Morally† by Helen Prejean, published in the book â€Å"Contemporary and Classic Arguments: A portable Anthology†, the areas where the bible asks for the death penalty are clearly outlined. Prejean outlines theses areas in a list like this â€Å"Contempt of parents (Exodus 21:15, 17; Leviticus 24:17); Trespass upon sacred ground (Exodus 19:12-13; Numbers 1:51; 18:7); Sorcery (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 20:207); Bestiality (Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 20:15-16); Sacrifice to foreign gods (Exodus 22:20; Deuteronomy 13:1-9); Profaning the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14) Adultery (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22-24); Incest (Leviticus 20:11-13); Homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13); And prostitution (Leviticus 21:19; Deuteronomy 22:13-21).† I believe in the bible whole heartedly. However, when it comes to the death penalty yo... ...e he was hit by a giant stone and was absolutely floored. Later, because of the surviving brother who knew the people who killed his brothers, the murderers were caught and sentenced to death. Till this day, I don’t know if they have been put to death or not, but what I do know is that’s not what their brother or my father wanted. What they wanted was to have them suffer in prison for the rest of their lives as they are now still suffering from the loss of their brothers. My father and their brother believed that it was the only fit punishment, because they believed in what Gandhi said which is â€Å"if we lived eye for an eye the whole world would be blind.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the end it must be understood that killing someone who has killed is not going to solve our problems. Making those who end the lives of others suffer until their own death is the my personal answer to the problem. I know and understand fully that I may be alone in my beliefs, but I still stand by them strongly. Killing in the name of punishment is a shame, especially today when we should all understand that our worst punishment, as humans, is to live our lives thinking and regretting our mistakes.

A Borderless World Does Not Preclude the Idea of a Home

A Borderless World Does Not Preclude the Idea of a Home The speech given by Patricia Evangelista was mainly about nationalism. According to her, a borderless world does not preclude or rule out one’s idea of a home. It is about being proud and appreciating our own country and appreciating even ourselves. A â€Å"borderless world† refers to an open world which can bring influences upon people. It may bring about changes in their culture, beliefs, traditions and others. There are many reasons why people, especially Filipinos, migrate to other countries. One of them is poverty. Most Filipinos think that if they go to other countries, they will have a happy and comfortable life. Many Filipinos are working abroad instead of working in the Philippines, their own country. There are a lot of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) especially in the Middle East. There are also others serving as domestic helpers, care givers, nurses, etc. The main cause for this is probably because the salary offered in other countries is higher compared to that in the Philippines. In spite of these, there are also Filipinos who became successful in other countries that are still here in the Philippines. Some may have been famous in the field of science and sports. Others may have been popular singers and actors or actresses. I was just like the speaker when I was little. I usually imagine myself being white and blonde; similar to what I see when I watch the television. While I grow older, I slowly learned to appreciate and be contented of myself. I also learned to love and be used of the country’s traditions and beliefs. I am proud to be a Filipino, and I am a true Filipino at heart.

Kincheloe on Critical Pedagogy - 1283 Words

Kincheloe states that. â€Å"The analysis of teacher thinking is the study of cultural context, of power relations- in other words politics† (1). Kincheloe’s goal in this reading is to characterize teacher thinking by examining social and historical forces that have shaped teaching, and to understand who benefits and who is punished when it is defined in specific ways. Kincheloe also discussed in the reading that the separation of mind and matter has profound and unfortunate consequences. This view led to a conception of the world as a divided system into two distinct realms: an internal world of sensation and an objective world composed of natural phenomena. The internal world of mind and the physical world were separate and could never be shown to be a form of the other. This kind of thinking is absurd to me because we all abide in this world and because we do, we have a connection to this world. Our inner self and the things around us connect, which impacts how we th ink. A modern view of knowledge arose and affected Western life and education was not an exception. School of the post-Enlightment era emphasized the learning of that which had already been defined as knowledge, but did not emphasize the production of knowledge (Kincheloe, 3). This is dangerous because students are only rewarded for short-term retention and knowledge is acquired in a linear skill. The linear practice of teaching gears the away from the child’s point of view and his or her constructionShow MoreRelatedCritical Pedagogy And How It Benefit The Educational System819 Words   |  4 PagesCritical Pedagogy Primer by Joe Kincheloe presents interesting insight on critical pedagogy as he explained how this is relevant within our educational system. Reading this article helped me gain more of an understanding of critical pedagogy and how it benefits the educational system. Kincheloe (2004) said, â€Å"proponents of critical pedagogy understand that every dimension of schooling and every form of educational practice is a politically contested space. Shaped by history and challenged by a wide