Virgils Aeneid - Is Aeneas Really a Hero? :: Aeneid Essays

Virgil's Aeneid - Is Aeneas Really a Hero?    Thesis: Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor. What is a hero?   We would like to think that a hero is someone who has achieved some fantastic goal or status, or maybe someone who has accomplished a great task.   Heroes find themselves in situations of great pressure and act with nobility and grace. Though the main character of Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas, is such a person, it is not by his own doing.   He encounters situations in which death is near, in which love, hate, peace, and war come together to cause both good and evil.   In these positions he conducts himself with honor, by going along with what the gods want.   Only then goes on to pave the way for the Roman Empire.   His deeds, actions, and leadership would never have come to be if it were not for the gods.   The gods took special interest in Aeneas, causing him misfortune in some cases, giving him assistance in others.   On the whole, the gods constantly provide perfect opportunities for Aeneas to display his heroism. Without them, Aeneas woul d not be the hero he is.   This gift does not come without a price, though; he must endure the things heroes endure to become what they are.   Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor. Aeneas is the son of Venus.   This fact alone brings about much of the hero in him.   Venus, a concerned mother, always looks out for her son.   She does everything she thinks will help to ensure his safety and success.   At the beginning of his journey from Troy, she prevents his death at sea.   Juno has persuaded King Aeolus to cause vicious storms, rocking Aeneas' fleet and nearly killing all of   them.   Venus then goes to Jupiter and begs him to help Aeneas: Venus appealed to him, all pale and wan, With tears in her shining eyes: "My lord who rule The lives of men and gods now and forever, And bring them all to heel with your bright bolt, What in the world could my Aeneas do, What could the Trojans do, to so offend you?

African American and American Society Essay

Is Racism a Permanent feature of American Society? Derrick Bell argues in this issue that the prospects for achieving racial equality in the United States are â€Å"illusory for Blacks. Bell reminds us despite the fact of the progress of blacks in United States; the legacy of slavery has left a portion of the race â€Å"with life-long poverty and soul devastating despair†. Bell believes that race consciousness is so imbedded in whites that it is virtually impossible to rise above it. He also argues that â€Å"few whites are able to identify with blacks as a group† and tend to view blacks through â€Å"comforting racial stereotypes†. Bell feels strongly that critical and proper examination of the history of black-white relations supports his conclusion that racism is a permanent feature of American Society. Bell makes some good point about racism in the American society today. The fact that the psychical part of racism is gone does not mean that racism as permanently left American Society. The fact that racism still â€Å"exist† is does not reflect on blacks’ success any longer. Majority of whites had a head start because their generation of success goes so many years back, were as for blacks success was not allowed at a point in time. Blacks have come a long ways over the years but there is still racial discrimination that â€Å"affects† the black population. Dinesh D’Souza does not agree with Bell, he believes that racism is not a permanent Strain of fabric in the American Society. D’Souza distinguishes between racial discrimination that is â€Å"irrational, motivated by bigotry† and which is â€Å"rational from the point of view of the discriminator. † D’Souza admits that such discrimination may be harmful to individual blacks but he rejects any casual linkage between the lagging indicators of blacks’ overall progress with racial discrimination. He believes race is a diminishing force within American society, D’Souza argues that factors other than racial discrimination are the sources of lagging process toward the American Dream. D’Souza reasoning for blacks not achieving more in America is because blacks fail to observe and embrace certain cultural norms of the dominant American Society. He implies that those who are successful exhibit cultural values that promote success. He states blacks need to place a much greater emphasis on overcoming cultural barriers rather than continuing to assert that race is being held by a persistent racism that afflicts America. Black’s generation has come a long way in American Society. Racism shouldn’t be the excuse for the failure in African American success when in 1919- current we have African American first. Slavery started around 1808 and ended in 1865 due to Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation. Racism was still in effect because the fact that blacks had rights was new. Still in all there were blacks who succeed shortly after that time. Madame C. J. Walker was the first African American female who was a self-made millionaire. In 1893 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was the first black to perform open heart surgery. In 1908 Jack Johnson was the First African-American world heavyweight Champion. In 1993 Toni Morrison was the first African-American to win the Nobel Prize for literature. In 2009 Barack Obama was the first black president of the United States, with the support of some whites. Racism still is â€Å"permanent† due to history but it is not an excuse for Blacks not becoming successful. Derrick bell major argument is that blacks are faced at the bottom of the well. Bell exclaims despite undeniable progress for many, no African American is insulated from incidents of racial discrimination. He states because of our color we are threaten through our lives, careers. Dinesh D’Souza states racism undoubtedly exists, but it no longer has the power to thwart blacks or any other group in achieving their economic, political, and social aspirations. The arguments relates to the overall theme because yes, racism still occurs but it should not pun Blacks from achieving their aspiration. Bell major point is as a Black he experiences the racism. Blacks can work in a white community and experience racism because whites fear the superiority of blacks. D’Souza points out in his argument that racism is the least bit worries blacks should have, when there are black on black crime occurring. Racism should not be such an excuse for â€Å"underclass† blacks not achieving their goals. D’Souza points out the facts where African Americans now live in a country where black man, Colin Powell, who three decades ago could not be served in restaurants, is now a Joint chief staff. Also a white man who supported the nomination of Clarence Thomas, a black man married to a white, for the Supreme Court. D’Souza question is if white racism controls the density of blacks today, how one segment of black community has prospered so much over the past generation. Some unsupported claims in bells argument was he says, â€Å"Modern discrimination is, moreover, not practiced indiscriminately. † Bell implies whites idolize black athletes and entertainers but refuse to hire and work with blacks. Bell also states whites who number individuals blacks among their closest friends approve, or do not oppose, practices that bar selling or renting homes or apartments in their neighborhood to blacks they do not know. Then in his argument he also states that most hotels and restaurants, who offer black patrons courteous treatment, uniformly reject black job applicants. Bell defense for this was â€Å"When did you last see black waiter in a really good restaurant†. These are unsupported claims because this may be true but there are no proven facts that racist is the cause of these arguments. In D’Souza arguments there were not any unsupported claims really found. D’Souza stated his arguments and had accurate information to support his defense. D’Souza makes great points and has a lot of validity in his arguments. He states if blacks are going to reform their community, they have a right to expect that they will be treated equally under law. Hypothetically speaking D’Souza implies if blacks were refused hire on every baseball team in America, blacks would suffer most because they would be denied the chance to play professional baseball. Fans would also suffer because the quality of games would diminish. He says â€Å"But what if a few team-say the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers- refused to hire blacks? † African Americans has a group would hardly suffer at all, because they would offer there service to other teams. D’Souza saying the Yankees and the Dodgers would suffer a great deal, because they would be deprived of the chance to hire talented blacks’ players. Eventually the competitive pressure would force those teams to either hire blacks or suffer losses in games and revue. Then he makes another valid point he referenced from Gary Becker pointed out, in free market, selective discrimination imposes the heaviest cost on the discriminator where it should be. Some whites will undoubtedly discriminate against blacks but with deal with them because of the law and taste for profit. *Dinesh D’Souza is an Indian American conservative political commentator, public intellectual and current president of the King’s College in New York City. He graduated from Dartmouth College, where he graduated with a B. A. in English. D’Souza also published a book in 2007 called The Enemy at home: the cultural left and its responsibility for 9/11. In his argument D’Souza used government documents, books, articles and oral very frequently. D’Souza would state his opinion and have facts and documents to support his defense. No, the reading did not significantly add to my knowledge because these are issues that has been discussed for many years. In the article I did learn some new ways of thinking of Racism. This article did broaden my thoughts with the factual evidence the authors used to support their defense. I would recommend this article to be read to those who do not have a clear understanding of the term racism. The subject that was focus on in this case study is racism a permanent feature of American Society? The case study focused on political, social and economic issues. Bell argued blacks will never gain full equality in American and D’Souza argued that blacks have equality and racism is not important issue blacks should be worried about in today society.

Process Pl Multicultural Competence - 1689 Words

Process Plan Summary Paper Multicultural competence is the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. There are four major components present when discussing multicultural competence: (1) the individual (me) must be aware of one’s own cultural views, (2) know ones attitude towards cultural differences, (3) Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and (4) having cross-cultural skills (Adapted from class 2 and 3 definitions handout, as adapted from Pope, R.L. Reynolds, A. L. (1997)). How does one gain this competency though? Is it ever truly obtainable? I would argue that every person, no matter upbringing or background, has the ability to become more multicultural competent. This semester we were†¦show more content†¦When engaging in the dialogue with â€Å"Mrs. A†, I was constantly trying to remind myself that (1) it was not an interview, (2) I was trying to learn as much about myself as the other cultures, and (3) what I put into the project is what I would go out of it. Before beginning my initial conversations with Mrs. A I had to center myself and try to understand what truths and cultural views I has around racism, gender, and religion. While all lenses of multiculturalism are equally important, these were the three areas I focused on. I choose to focus on these three critical areas because they are the three that I have the most to learn about and make me feel discomfort when discussing. I struggle with race because of my white privilege and how I â€Å"feel† when discussing racial issues. I often feel that my voice falls on deaf ears because of my privilege and that I am often pushed aside because of what I bring to the table. As the Adam et. al (2010) book discusses, racism begins at early age and it would be naà ¯ve of myself to not say I have imbedded racist thoughts or ideas, even if I am unsure of them. I had to understand what negative thoughts I had when thinking and discussing topics around the Middle Eastern race and how this thoughts were enhanced by my privilege. I struggle with gender because of my male privilege and still not fully understanding the difference between gender, sexual orientation, sexual