East of Eden Essay Example for Free

East of Eden Essay In John Steinbeck’s novel, East of Eden, the deprivation of a sound conscience is a theme that is associated with Cathy Ames, and afflicts the people around her. The author uses foreshadowing to portray the future of Cathy and her multiple victims. By doing so, the author builds onto the characterization of Cathy, revealing how truly malevolent she is. From birth, Cathy is foreshadowed to develop into something monstrous. The author claims that he â€Å"believe(s) there are monsters born in the world to human parents† (72). Even though she has not been physically presented to the reader yet, Cathy is about to be portrayed as the main evil in this novel. This prelude to Cathy’s characterization foreshadows the evil that will come with her presence. Cathy’s reign of terror begins when she burns her own house down, and â€Å"the frightened talk ran through the town that the whole Ames family had burned† (87). This action corresponds to the foreshadowing presented by the author’s description of monsters being born to human parents. By committing such an inhumane act, the reader gains the knowledge that Cathy has no conscience. Cathy’s tirade did not end there, and after giving birth to Adam, and possibly Charles’, babies and trying to leave him, â€Å"she shot at him. The heavy slug struck him in the shoulder and flattened and tore out a piece of his shoulder blade† (202). Cathy’s ability to kill the father of her children without even considering the severity of her actions shows how much of a monster Cathy truly is. The actions performed by Cathy at such an early stage in the story only foreshadows to the reader that she has not yet ended her path of destruction. Cathy’s inner evil is revealed at birth, and, at a young age, she discovers that she holds powers that can be used to manipulate others. From birth Cathy is foreshadowed to be pure evil, and she â€Å"learned when she was very young that sexuality with all its attendant yearnings and pains, jealousies and taboos, is the most disturbing impulse humans have† (75). It is disturbing that Cathy realizes her sexual capabilities at such a young age. The way Cathy’s thought process is presented, it can be seen that Cathy plans to abuse her powers, foreshadowing conflicts to arise in the future. It did not take long for Cathy to utilize her powers, and â€Å"at ten Cathy knew something of the power of the sex impulse and began coldly to experiment with it† (75). Cathy’s ‘experimentation’ with sexual power at such a young age helps further depict her as a malevolent being with no conscience. The fact that she begins abbling in sexual activities, at an age where most don’t even know what sex is, foreshadows that there can only be trouble to come from involvement with Cathy. Years pass and, as foreshadowed, Cathy becomes a major contributor to her local brothel. When speaking of her regular customers with the brothel’s owner, Faye, Cathy tells her to â€Å"look at the heel marks on their groins†¦ I’ve got the sweetest set of razors all in a case† (236). Cathy has been secretly sodomizing and extorting extra money from her regulars, showing she is not content with the amount of control she already possesses. Her actions foreshadow that Cathy’s search for power is never ending, foreshadowing she will continue her malicious acts until someone is capable of stopping her. At birth Cathy is depicted to be monstrous, which is proven true by the actions she displays while growing as a child. The realization of the many powers she possesses are developed and abused by Cathy, showing she disregards all others well being in her search for total control. Such actions can only be performed by those who have no sound conscience, and have no fear of the consequences posed by society.

The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule Essay -- Politics Po

The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly accelerated its ruin, there existed fundamental flaws within the Soviet system that would be had been proven ultimately fatal. The USSR became a past chapter of history because it was impossible to significantly reform the administrative command system without destroying its very core, and because Gorbachev's "democratic socialism" was unattainable without abandoning the very notion of Soviet socialism itself. As R. Strayer had pointed out in Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?, the USSR was held together under Communist rule with "a m ixture of ideological illusion and raw coercion" (Strayer, 36). The Gorbachev era saw both of these two bases of the party-state's power falling apart. By the mid-1980s, urbanization and higher education had transformed the Soviet society from a relatively homogenous one into one that was considerably diverse with a sizable middle-class. Educated and exposed to Western culture, the professionals and the white collars were far more likely to understand the Soviet Union's weaknesses and the system's fallacies than their counterparts decades ago. Coupled with the intelligentsia's anti-establishment tradition (as embodied by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakhorav), this new class of economic elite had ... ... an enormous void in Russian society. The old party-state machine was demolished, yet no new concrete political system had risen in its place. The old ideology was discredited, yet no newfound conviction could unite the country. After the 1991 coup, even Gorbachev was powerless to steer his Mother Russia. To this day, the old legacy of Communist rule haunts the nation still. Works Cited Aslund, Anders. How Russia Became a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. 1995 Brown, Archie. The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. John L. H. Keep. Last of the Empires. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995. Strayer, Robert. Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? New York: M.E. Sharpe. 1998. Tucker, Robert C. "Lenin and Revolution". The Lenin Anthology. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1994. The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule Essay -- Politics Po The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly accelerated its ruin, there existed fundamental flaws within the Soviet system that would be had been proven ultimately fatal. The USSR became a past chapter of history because it was impossible to significantly reform the administrative command system without destroying its very core, and because Gorbachev's "democratic socialism" was unattainable without abandoning the very notion of Soviet socialism itself. As R. Strayer had pointed out in Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?, the USSR was held together under Communist rule with "a m ixture of ideological illusion and raw coercion" (Strayer, 36). The Gorbachev era saw both of these two bases of the party-state's power falling apart. By the mid-1980s, urbanization and higher education had transformed the Soviet society from a relatively homogenous one into one that was considerably diverse with a sizable middle-class. Educated and exposed to Western culture, the professionals and the white collars were far more likely to understand the Soviet Union's weaknesses and the system's fallacies than their counterparts decades ago. Coupled with the intelligentsia's anti-establishment tradition (as embodied by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakhorav), this new class of economic elite had ... ... an enormous void in Russian society. The old party-state machine was demolished, yet no new concrete political system had risen in its place. The old ideology was discredited, yet no newfound conviction could unite the country. After the 1991 coup, even Gorbachev was powerless to steer his Mother Russia. To this day, the old legacy of Communist rule haunts the nation still. Works Cited Aslund, Anders. How Russia Became a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. 1995 Brown, Archie. The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. John L. H. Keep. Last of the Empires. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995. Strayer, Robert. Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? New York: M.E. Sharpe. 1998. Tucker, Robert C. "Lenin and Revolution". The Lenin Anthology. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1994.

Fast Food Advertising And Childhood Obesity Essay

A rise in obesity has been observed in the United States in the last two decades. Obesity is one problem that gives birth to numerous fatal diseases, including but not limited to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a survey and found that, â€Å"More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese† (Ogden, Carroll). One of the main reasons behind obesity is the American’s love for fast food. Fast food contains only a small proportion of essential nutrients, and is loaded with unhealthy and non-essential nutrients which do nothing but contribute to obesity and resulting diseases. An equally increasing trend has been observed in the openings of new fast food locations. The fact sheet issued by National Restaurant Association shows that â€Å"970,000 new fast food locations were opened in year 2012 and the restaur ant-industry share of each food dollar spent stands at 48%† (2012 forecast). Those parents who know about the adverse effects of fast food consumption try their best to keep their children away from it. But no matter how hard they try to shield their children, some negative forces like advertising provides them a complete exposure to such unhealthy food. A kid may never have eaten a McDonald’s hamburger, but he/she definitely knows what it looks like, thanks to the power of commercials. â€Å"A study of almost 100,000 food ads on TV showed that 89% of ads that teenagers see are promoting products high in fat, sugar, and/or sodium† (Taylor, Daniel). The advertisers are very smart and they never tell the complete story of products they advertise. They make the food look so tempting that it becomes irresistible for everyone especially kids. They best know the techniques to reach out the targeted consumers. Most of the TV advertisements show super-sized meals at cheaper prices but they never show that the excess consumption results in excess calories input. â€Å"A study by Tirtha Dhar and Kathy Baylis indicates that the parents whose children are constantly begging for fast food, after being exposed to TV ads end up purchasing fast food more frequently than parents whose children are not exposed to advertising† (Dhar, Baylis 3). In order to build a prosperous  and healthy nation, Government should take action to ban fast food advertising completely to the children. Achievement of this goal requires unity and mutual efforts by whole nation. The issue of fast food advertising to children is not new and an initiative was taken by the Federal Trade Commission after the joint workshop of FTC and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Marketing, Self-Regulation and Childhood Obesity held in 2005. FTC was the first ever organization in the US which recommended that the Cong ress ban fast food advertising to children under age of 12. According to a report issued by them to Congress, â€Å"44 reporting companies spent approximately $1,618,600,000 to promote food and beverages to children and adolescents in the U.S. in 2006. Approximately $870 million was spent on food marketing directed to children under 12 and a little more than $1 billion on marketing to adolescents† (Kovacic, Harbour, Leibowitz and Rosch). Congress has not worked on any of the recommendations presented in the report yet. It seems like they care more about the profits earned by the giant fast food industry than the health and wellness of general public. Banning fast food advertisements won’t solve the obesity problem at once but it is surely one of the best steps in the right direction – a step that more law makers should not be afraid to take. â€Å"The similar advertising bans already exist in some jurisdictions such as in Quebec (Canada) and few Scandinavian countries† (Dhar, Baylis 7). â€Å"Sweden, Norway, and Finland have banned commercial sponsorship of children’s programs. Sweden also does not permit any television advertising targeting children under the age of twelve† (Role of Media). â€Å"Quebec’s 32 years ban on advertising to children had led to $88 million annual reduction in expenditures on fast food and 13.4 billion to 18.4 billion fewer fast food calories being consumed per year† (Dhar, Baylis 2-10). Residents of Quebec have a very sedentary life, yet their obesity rate is comparatively lesser than the US. These figures indicate that the sanction on fast food adverti sement can prove effective in lowering or curbing fast food consumption in the United States as well. A larger proportion of the US population leads a very active life. An active life combined with the proper and healthy diet may lead to significant reduction in the obesity rates. â€Å"Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co’s has already banned junk food advertisements during its TV, radio and other online programs intended for children under the age of 12† (Heavey). Lawmakers and other opponents of this campaign may not agree to the effects of advertising on children and may further argue that this ban will never be successful in achieving the desired results. A research paper commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that, â€Å"A survey conducted in the United States showed that 86 percent of children who smoked prefer Marlboro, Camel and Newport which are the three most heavily advertised brands† (Hammond). â€Å"A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 91 percent of six year old children surveyed identified the Joe Camel cartoon character as being associated with cigarettes, about the same percentage as recognized Mickey Mouse† (Fischer, Schwartz and Richards 3145-8). Lawmakers should not forget how the ban on Joe Camel proved to be successful in cutting smoking rates in the United States. â€Å"High school smoking rates dipped significantly from 34.8 percent in 1995 to 21.9 percen t in 2003† (Wilson). Now the webpage of Camel cigarettes cannot be even accessed by kids, as it requires input of some verifiable information. The ban should be placed on the TV channels which children watch the most. A similar ban should be placed on the free video streaming websites which display ads more than the desired videos. Alternatively, a specific time can be defined by the legislators during which no advertising related to fast food shall be displayed on TV. The report issued by FTC includes a variety of recommendations for media and entertainment companies. The best recommendation among them is that, â€Å"More media and entertainment companies should limit the licensing of their characters to healthier foods and beverages that are marketed to children, so that cross-promotions with popular children’s movies and television characters will favor the more, rather than the less, nutritious foods and drinks† (Kovacic, Harbour, Leibowitz and Rosch 11). FTC further recommended media and entertainment companies to use their powers positively. Their report states that â€Å"Media and entertainment companies should test the effectiveness of any health and nutrition messages and public education campaigns aimed at the problem of childhood obesity† (Kovacic, Harbour, Leibowitz and Rosch 11 ). Parents will have to play an active part in this regard. They need to be more watchful about their kid’s media consumption. They should keep an eye on the channels their children watch or the books and magazines they read to see what types of commercials are displayed. By doing this, they can filter out any media  source they don’t want their children to use. A child spends a considerable amount of time in a day in school. Schools can play an important role in making the children aware of adverse effects which fast food consumption can have on their health. They should make the fresh fruits and vegetables available to the children. Fast food companies spend a substantial amount on renting out the spaces used for billboards advertisements. City Government should take some action against these companies and restrict renting out such spaces to them. In order to make sure that these restrictions don’t affect the advertisement of healthy food, the government should set nutrition-based standards which will define what type of products can be advertised. Any product-line that doesn’t meet that standard will never be allowed to be advertised The opponents of this ban may argue that it completely depends on parents whether they let their children buy fast food or not; advertising doesn’t compel them. They ignore the fact that if a parent always says no to his or her children whenever he or she demands for fast food, it would affect them adversely. The kids will compare their position to other kids in the neighborhood or school, and will feel depressed by knowing the fact that they are the only ones who are not allowed to eat fast food. These psychological factors in turn will affect their education and career. â€Å"A mother of two children from California named Parham launched a class-action law suit against McDonald’s appealing that the toys given out with the Happy Meals unfairly trap kids into eating unhealthy foods† (Jodi, Sara). She further speaks about the success of advertising in this regard, â€Å"Other busy, working moms and dads know, we have to say ‘no’ to our young children so many times, and McDonald’s makes that so much harder to do† (Jodi, Sara). Advertising of junk food is the root cause of these problems, which if banned to children, will let the parents achieve the goal of keeping their children healthy and successful. Works Cited Ogden, Cynthia., and Carroll, Margaret. â€Å"Prevalence of Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, Trends 1963-1965 Through 2007-2008.† Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC 24/7, June 2010. Web. 31 October, 2012. â€Å"2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast.† National Restaurant Association. National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, nd. Web. 02 November, 2012. Taylor, Julie., Daniel, S. Kirschenbaum. â€Å"Are Fast-Food Advertisers Playing You?† Fit WebMD, Sanford, nd. Web. 02 November, 2012. Dhar, Tritha., Baylis, Kathy. †Fast Food Consumption and the Ban on Advertising Targeting Children: The QuÈbec Experience.† Journal of Marketing Research 48.5 (2011). American Marketing Association. Pg 2-10. Web. 03 November, 2012. Kovacic, William., Harbour, Pamela., Leibowitz, Jon., Rosch, Thomas. â€Å"Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents.† Federal Trade Commission. FTC, July 2008. Web. 03 November, 2012. â€Å"The Role of Media In Childhood Obesity.† Kaiser Family Foundation. 2004. Web. 17 November, 2012. Heavey, Susan. â€Å"Disney Junk-Food Ad Ban Latest Move To Slim U.S. Kids.† Reuters, June 5, 2012. Web. 03 November, 2012. Hammond, Ross. â€Å"Tobacco Advertising & Promotion: The Need for a Coordinated Global Response.† World Health Organization, Geneva. WHO, January 7 to 9 2000. Web. 17 November, 2012 P.M. Fischer, M.P. Schwartz, J.W. Richards et al., â€Å"Brand Logo Recognition by Children Aged 3 to 6 Tears: Mickey Mouse an d Old Joe the Camel,† Journal of the American Medical Association 266 (1991). Pg. 3145-8. Web. 17 November, 2012. Wilson, Duff. â€Å"Teenage Smoking Rates Spur Calls to Renew Anti-Tobacco Campaigns.† The New York Times. NY Times, July 8, 2010. Web. 17 November, 2012 Jodi. Sara. â€Å"California Mom Sues McDonald’s Over Happy Meals.† Circle of Moms. December 15, 2010. Web. 04 November, 2012.

Feminism and Constructivism A Comparison - 2645 Words

The discipline of international relations (IR) is one that has witnessed a multitude of variations and shifts. It has produced a fair amount of debate between academics within the international relations scholarship. Due to a plethora of circumstances scholars have subjected the traditional rationalist theories of neorealism and neoliberalism to critical re-evaluations. As a result, constructivism is a concept that has emerged as an alternative approach to dominant IR theories. It focuses on the importance of state identities in defining and gaining knowledge of state interests, actions and goals. There are theorists who purport that the rise of constructivism allows for a further understanding of another international theory, feminism.†¦show more content†¦An individuals social location - meaning their ascribed identities, roles and relationships - are of central significance to feminists as it influences the power one possesses, which in traditional IR theory is gendered a nd patriarchical. According to Christine Sylvester, these scholars suggest that conventional IR has avoided thinking of men and women in the capacity of embodied and socially constituted subject categories by classifying them into neutral categories . Most theorists too readily accept that women are located inside the typically separate sphere of domestic life and ...retreating to abstractions, i.e. the state, that mask a masculine identity. Feminist analysts are suspicious of ungendered IR texts and champion for their subversion while many seek to implement replacement theories. These theorists contend that identity, gender, and indeed women, are social constructs. Key feminist conceptions include liberal ideas of womens equality, socialist conceptions of a sexual division of labour and the Freudian suggestion that identities are produced, often within the evolution of patriarchy . Many academics share the assumption that the world would be less competitive and less violent if wome n gained dominance in positions of power . The focus of this discussion is based on the premise that there are overlapping terrains in feminism and constructivism. They share ontological commitments leading to a commonShow MoreRelatedInternational Organizations And The Humanitarian Efforts Of The United Nations2063 Words   |  9 Pagesover three billion people struggle to survive on less than two dollars a day. And, almost one billion struggle to survive on less than one dollar a day (Weiss, et al 257). 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