Days of Destruction Days of Revolt Essay Example for Free

Days of Destruction Days of Revolt Essay They offer very detailed and disturbing descriptions of life on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the slums of Camden, New Jersey, and the â€Å"surface mining† zones surrounding Welch, West Virginia, as well as some places in Immokalee, Florida, that are literally like slave camps. One chapter of the book caught my eye, â€Å"Days of Slavery. † It mainly takes place in Immokalee Florida, a center of immigrant agricultural laborers, mostly Latino. The immigrants are housed in terrible conditions, which makes it very hard for them to work. Additionally to the terrible conditions that they are forced to work in, they are also paid unreasonably low wages for the amount of time they are working. Another thing that is affecting the people who work in the factories are serious problems with breathing. They have this problem because of pesticide poisoning and other chemicals that they are being exposed to while working. One chemical that is mentioned is Methyl Bromide. It is also not uncommon for these workers to be held in literal slavery, have their paychecks stolen, and be subjected to physical abuse if they get out of line. The legal system in Florida appears willing to prosecute cases of slavery, but the immigrants are very afraid to come forward for obvious reasons. They are afraid they will be fired and more than likely the cases will not be judged in their favor. This is because these companies are huge, and are able to pay people off to continue making the workers work under unreasonable conditions. ONeill 2 Hedges interviews activists from the Coalition of Imoakalee Workers, a very strong and militant organization. He describes their struggle to secure a minimum level of decent conditions for the workers. The chapter includes the case of Miguel Flores and Sebastian Gomez, who where sentenced in 1997 to fifteen years in prison on charges of slavery, extortion, and firearm possession. The duo oversaw a modern slavery operation of four hundred men and women who harvested fields in Florida and South Carolina. The book highlights the harsh conditions for the laborers in this operation. The author wrote: The workers, mostly indigenous Mexicans and Guatemalans, were forced to work ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week, for as little as $20 dollars a week, all under the supervision of armed guards. Those who attempted to escape were beaten, pistol-whipped, and at times shot. The crew leaders charged the workers exorbitant prices for food. Female workers, according to one victim, were routinely raped. The coalition workers were told by Flores that if their experiences of working in the factory were talked about, he would cut their tongues out. (Hedges 158) The main questions of the people in the community of Immokalee were probably, â€Å"Who is going to take a stand for us immigrants? Who is going to be our leader that we will follow so we can be treated like normal human-beings? Their questions were not being answered until a man by the name of Lucas Benitez came along. Benitez was thirty-six and had two children . A group was started by Bentiez as well as people who â€Å"found the courage to stand up to abuse, breaking the cycle of fear that keeps the system in place. † Benitez started by becoming an organizer. He and his group would meet at the local Catholic church at night to help those who were being treated unfairly. Things were turning around for the immigrants. They were protesting and trying to do whatever they could to defeat the huge companies who were making them work many hours for such little pay. As they began to protest and strike, the employers gave them what they wanted. The workers of Imoakalee, Florida, got ONeill 3 a pay raise, and were no longer held in literal slavery. Other then the few changes that were mentioned above, Imoakalee Florida, has not significantly changed since the mid 1950s. Today, Imoakalee, Florida, is still an area where a majority of Americas crops and produce are grown. Many immigrants still live in Imoakalee, Florida. To this day, unfortunately corruption is still going on in Imoakalee. Huge factories and companies are forcing workers to work very hard, and they are also causing damage to the environment. They are causing damage to the environment because of the smoke stacks that are required by the different factories. (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) ONeill 4 Works Cited Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Feb. 2013. . Hedges, Chris, and Joe Sacco. Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. New York: Nation Books, 2012. Print.

William Shakespeares Othello as a Victim Essay -- Papers William Shak

William Shakespeare's Othello as a Victim Not All Works Cited Included In "Othello" Shakespeare shows that Othello is victimised in many ways, for instance; his race, his culture, his social position and naÃÆ'Â ¯ve. Othello's victimisation could also show Shakespeare's meaning of the term "tragedy". In other Shakespearean tragedies the lead character is shown as cunning, ruthless and manipulative, more similar to Iago than Othello. This could represent a change in Shakespeare's opinion of a true Shakespearean tragedy. The main cause of Othello's victimisation is his race. Unlike the other characters in "Othello" he is a Moor, a natural figure of hatred and disgust. In the play he is very rarely referred to as "Othello", but more often as; "moor" or "negro", Desdemona even refers to Othello as "my noble moor" not Othello. The event where Othello is victimised due to his race are vast, for example at the start of the play when Iago is talking to Roderigo, Othello's race is a major issue, "To the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor-". Here evidence of racism is shown. There is also a case that this shows the imperial and colonial nature of Venice in the Sixteenth century. "Othello" can be seen to show the stereotypical contemporary Elizabethan belief of blackness and the barbarous nature of the "black" man as evil and devilish. Othello's race also helps to highlight his jealousy and gullibility, due to his race Othello is always subconscious of his weaknesses, his "tragic flaw". This may be a reason for why he befriends Iago, who would act as his link to the "white" world, informing Othello of the opinions white society. Othello... ...d social figures. In conclusion I feel that Othello is more "sinned against than sinning". This is not to say that he is a innocent, it most be remembered that he killed Desdemona, not Iago and that no matter how big a part Iago has it is still Othello's fault. But, Othello is victimised, he is portrayed as an "other", "if this be known to you, and your allowance". He is also presented as a savage, barbarian and a inferior, a parasite, living of the healthy Venetian state. But, this is all due to the fact that he is different, it has been noted that if you are different you will never be equal, "if you are different you will always be different" (Marx - CM 1848) and Othello's difference is no fault of his own. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Alfred Harbab. Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1970.

Huckleberry Finn: Freedom Essay

Mark Twain discusses many controversial situations in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of them being freedom and how having it does not necessarily make you free. His representation of freedom is shown through the many diverse characters throughout the novel, like Huck and Jim. Twain shows that you are not free from society or man, no matter who you are. Society expects everyone to meet their standards. They want people to be their idea of â€Å"perfect† and if you don’t meet their standards, you are considered and outcast. Huckleberry Finn is Mark Twain’s best example when it comes to not being free from society. Throughout the entire novel, Huck was pressured to become civilized by almost everyone he encounters. For example, Miss Watson and Widow Douglas adopt Huck in hopes of being able to give him a real family. However, a â€Å"real† family is one that is civilized. The two women force Huck to dress in â€Å"regular† clothes, teach him prayers, and send him off to school. By doing all of this, the women are stripping away the boys’ freedom to be an individual. He hated this of course, saying â€Å"But it was rough living in a house all the time†¦and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out. I got into my old rags, and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied† (1). Huck cannot be who he truly wants to be, independent and living away from others, because he does not have the freedom to. Miss Watson and Widow Douglas are so worried about what society wants that they forget to worry about what Huck wants. Society almost creates a form of a utopia, and if you don’t fit in you’re an outcast. In a utopia, there is no such thing as an â€Å"outcast†; everyone must be the same. With that, Society is forcing everyone to get rid of his or her individuality, and become exactly like everyone else. Mark Twain uses Huckleberry to show this. He has Huck go through multiple situations where he is pressured to become civilized like everyone else, but has Huck overcome it by sticking with who he is. Twain believes that everyone is losing their freedom to each other and he hopes, like Huck does by the end of the book, that everyone figures out who they are before it is too late. As well as having no freedom because of society, Huckleberry Finn experiences his freedom being taken away by man. When his father, Pap, comes back to town, he wants to take Huck away. Although he thought it wouldn’t be allowed, a judge gives Huck away to Pap without his consent or opinion.

Vortigern - Early British Leader

This profile of Vortigern is part ofWhos Who in Medieval History   Vortigern was also known as: Guorthignirnus, Gurthrigern, Wyrtgeorn Vortigern was noted for: Inviting the Saxons to help him fight northern invaders, essentially opening the door to a significant Saxon presence in England. Occupations Roles in Society: KingMilitary Leader Places of Residence and Influence: England Important Dates: Declares himself High King of Britain: c. 425Dies: c. 450 About Vortigern: Although many legends have sprung up concerning Vortigern, he was probably an actual historical figure. He is mentioned in On The Ruin of Britain, History of the Britons and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. In the uncertain decades following the withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain, Vortigern emerged as a strong leader of the Britons, and dared to declare himself High King. When he faced attacks by Picts and Scots in the north, he followed a common Roman imperial practice: he invited Saxons to come to England to fight the northern invaders in return for a grant of land. This reportedly did not go over very well with most of the British, who disliked sharing their lands with Saxon interlopers, and things got worse when the Saxons rebelled and fought against Vortigern. According to the Historia Brittonum, the rebellion ended when the Saxons killed Vortigerns son Vortimer and massacred many British nobles. Vortigern subsequently granted the Saxons lands in Essex and Sussex, where they would build kingdoms in the coming decades. Vortigerns role in facilitating Saxon access to England was remembered with bitterness by British chroniclers. Scholars using British sources to understand Vortigern must take great care in evaluating them, especially when those sources were created several centuries after the events in question. More Vortigern Resources: Post-Roman Britain: An Introduction   Vortigern on the Web A Clerical Portrait of Vortigern?An examination of the recorded view of Vortigern by Michael Veprauskas at the Early British Kingdoms website.The Vortigern Studies HomepageAn initiative based in the Netherlands, dedicated to the study of the period between the Roman occupation of Britain and the Early Middle Ages Dark-Age Britain Whos Who Directories: Chronological Index Geographical Index Index by Profession, Achievement, or Role in Society The text of this document is copyright  ©2007-2016 Melissa Snell. You may download or print this document for personal or school use, as long as the URL below is included. Permission is  not  granted to reproduce this document on another website. For publication permission,  please  contact  Melissa Snell. The URL for this document is:http://historymedren.about.com/od/vwho/p/who_vortigern.htm