Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Identity - Essay Example In this variegated world the human beings simply could not avoid the unavoidable and intimate process of socialization that gives way to what is called the individual and collective identity. Thereby, the individual identity is not merely the product of one’s specific self concept, but is rather a concept that is shaped and formed by an array of forces that tend to be economic, legal, social and many a times historical in their ramifications, which scratch and etch the human consciousness and continue to shape, control and define the entity that is called identity. Identity is a notion that happens to be multi-faceted, open and perpetually evolving in its content and scope. As far as I could peek into my childhood days, I could distinctly notice the fact that during the nascent stages of the human life, the development of the individual identity is governed a lot by what an individual thinks about oneself. When I was an infant, my parents where the only outside force that to a large extent shaped my identity (Gielen & Roopnarine 213). The very helplessness and dependence of my child hood state saved me from an early exposure to the multifarious social forces that I had to deal with at a more mature stage. My home and family was the cocoon that not only allowed me to shape my identity in a relatively benign and loving environment, but also protected me from more potent and political outside influences. I was totally oblivious of the fact that in the times to come, forces like ethnicity and color will pervade my inner world and shape my identity in varied ways and forms. Hence, the only god that governed the shaping of my identity was I and my parents. Thereby, I am happy to say that I had quite a happy childhood and this allowed me to develop a positive self concept of myself that shaped an identity that was open, gregarious, happy and confident. The positive reinforcements from my family further ossified this sense of invulnerability and mirth. However, this identity related complacence was not to last forever. As I grew up and my sense of self evolved, I realized that my parents and my family were not only a source love and affection, but also happened to be social individuals who belonged to a specific class, race, ethnicity and culture. It is not that my parents predominantly tried to introduce me to these sometimes hard to acknowledge, but valid facts, but I gradually picked up these facts about my family and hence about myself through eavesdropping into their unsuspecting daily interactions. These socio-economic attributes assigned to my family gradually began to become a part of my identity. Hence, I got a very basic idea of the society and my place in it through this primary socialization with my family (Gielen & Roopnarine 63). Thereby, I could certainly say that my family circumstances largely selected my mother tongue, religion, social class and nationality. It will be true to say that I had a very basic idea about my ide ntity as I entered the mature world. Yet, I was curious to not only test the validity of these identity attributes I inherited, but to practically see as to where I stood in the outside world. In that context I could distinctly identify my young adulthood period

Minimum wage essay Essay Example for Free

Minimum wage essay Essay Some people may support minimum wage legislation because they believe it will help struggling workers to make ends meet. What do you think about that? Minimum wage, as a kind of price floor, refers to the least amount of money that employers can legally pay labors for per hour of work. Therefore, government sets a price that is under the market equilibrium price in order to reduce the poverty and ensure that young employees and minority will not be treated unequally. However, those aimed goals are not accomplished as expected and minimum wage only makes economy inefficient and worsens some people’s lives. After the minimum wage is imposed above the equilibrium wage rate, this results in the supply of labour being greater than the demand for labour. Therefore, while only E2 amount of labour is demanded in the market, E3 amount of labour is provided and causes excess labour. In theory, the minimum wage results in excess supply of labour because the higher costs of labour motivate companies to cutoff employees and then cause unemployment, ceteris paribus. Meanwhile, the minimum wage reduces the demand from E1 to E2 so this reduces both consumer and producer surplus, and creates a deadweight loss to the society. Furthermore, it is highly possible that because of the increased production costs, the quantity of supply is increased and the average price level is increased overall, so consumers tend to pay higher prices. Therefore, when price floor is imposed, deadweight loss and excess supply of labour are created, and unemployment rates and overall price level will be increased. Subsequently, although there are considerable large amounts of people are benefited from the minimum wage, those poor people without enough professional skills or in the state of unemployment are likely to suffer worser living conditions. While those people in employment are benefited from the minimum wage, they are also affected by minimum wage negatively, like less opportunities to increase income. Since the minimum wage increases production costs of company, except cutting off labour, companies would also decide to reduce times to promote employees. Therefore, in the long run, those employees will be demotivated and then decrease their passion and working efficiency. Besides, even if those employees still get lots of opportunities, their  living standards will not be enhanced so much because the overall price is also increasing. Therefore, although people enjoying minimum wage have higher wages, they need to pay more when consuming goods in daily life. In conclusion, although minimum wage ensures the salary of some people in the short run, minimum wage creates welfare loss and excess labour in the market, so in the relatively long run, unemployment rate and overall price level will be increased due to increased production costs (which are consist of labour, land, technology and capital). Therefore, for people in the state of unemployment, they will suffer by the higher price and they will be poorer. While for those people benefited by the minimum wage, they tend to obtain less promotion chances, receive higher average prices in the market and in the long run even may lose enthusiasm for working hard.

New Classics of the Horror Film Genre Essay -- Pleasures of Horror Fil

Dracula. Frankenstein. Godzilla. These monsters no longer strike fear into the hearts of viewers as they once did. Formerly the villains of the classic "monster movie," these relics, who now represent all that is archaic in horror film history. The monster movie of the past makes way for the thriller or slasher movie of the present, while the monster villain gives its role to the deranged, psychotic serial killer. Friday the 13th series, Nightmare on Elm Street, Copycat and Seven have become the new classics in the genre of the horror film. With films like The People Under the Stairs, Nightmare on Elm Street, and New Nightmare, Wes Craven has proven himself to be a master of the creation of modern horror films. With recent masterpiece Scream, Craven shows his audience that he is not restricted by the typical conventions of the horror film. In most of these films, the background is set up before the killer does any actual slashing. However in Scream, Drew Barrymore's character is tormented by the killer from the film's very beginning and both she and her boyfriend are dead less than ten minutes after the opening credits. Craven manages to make Scream a film of less "fluff" and more substance than most thrillers. Recurring themes in the film, such as the lack of teens' seriousness, the callous nature of today's younger generation, the crossover and confusion between reality and movies, and the negative representation of television media not only add to the film's entertainment value, but also often portray a fairly accurate picture of twentieth century America. Despite all the film's blood and gore, Craven creates a comedic tone so successfully that at times the audience wonders whether Scream might be a comedy after all. Even though the safety of their small town has been shattered by a deranged serial killer, the characters do not seem to take the situation very seriously. The main characters are eating lunch at school the day after the first murders and, as might be expected, the killings make up the topic of their conversation. At one point, the character Randy turns to Tatem, and in a convincing imitation of Billy Crystal, he asks her, "Did they really find her liver in the mailbox? Because I heard they found her liver in the mailbox." Tatem and Sidney, the other female present and the movie's main character, cringe at this tasteless remark. Tatem'... ...ssuring that we remain productive m mbers of society (King 500). So, perhaps if you are in need of this type of therapy, or in search of an offbeat study in American popular culture, all that you need is a good horror film. Rent Scream or go to a movie theater to see the sequel. You will probably be surprised by what you see, and you might even be impressed. Works Cited Craven, Wes. Interview. Fresh Air. National Public Radio. KQED, San Francisco. 16 February 1998. King, Stephen. Ã £Why We Crave Horror Movies.? Common Culture. Petracca, Michael and Madeleine Sorapure, eds. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1995. Pinedo, Isabel Cristina. Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997. Works Consulted Grant, Barry Keith, editor. Planks of Reason: Essays on the Horror Film. London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1984. Newman, Kim. Nightmare Movies. New York: Harmony Books, 1988. Riptov, S.A. Kidnapped Corpus Whasamat Univ. Press, 1984 Scream. Dir. Wes Craven. With David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore. Dimension Films, 1997.

Charm bracelet Essay

My charm bracelet is a symbol of me and everything I stand for. It is a chain bracelet with many different charms. Each charm symbolizes an event or an item that makes me who I am. My turtle charm represents my speed. My life has always been at a slow pace, never have I been quick with anything I do. I feel that people don’t slow down to just enjoy life’s every beauty. I take time to slow down and walk this earth with thankfulness, like a turtle. My cowgirl boots charm represents my pride. I gather the cows, put out hay, and mend to what is needed. After the work is done I put on my dress put those same boots on that I installed great amount of work and dance. I take pride in being a beautiful women and doing a job only for men. My boots have stunning lacing work, but still gets the job done, like me. My two hearted charm represents my compassion. My attitude towards others is nothing shy from compassionate. This world has many harsh dealings; I try to understand people and their pain. Compassion is all it takes to change a person’s life. Like my heart, is full of compassion. My angel charm represents my faith. I am a child of God; I try to do my best to follow his teachings. I go to church every Sunday. I’m very active in my youth group, and was asked to teach weekday school next year. My father always told me angels watch over us and guides us; I will someday be one of those angels. My charm bracelet carries many symbols of me and my life. It shows my faith, my compassion, my speed, and my beauty as a hard working woman. This is me and what I stand for, don’t ask of anything else you will be left disappointed.

Pandukabhaya (437 Bc †367 Bc)

Pandukabhaya (437 BC – 367 BC) was King of Upatissa Nuwara and the first monarch of the Anuradhapura Kingdom and 6th over all of the island of Sri Lanka since the arrival of the Vijaya, he reigned from 437 BC to 367 BC. According to many historians and philosophers, he is the first truly Sri Lankan king since the Vijayan invasion, and also the king who ended the conflict between the Sinha clan and local community, reorganizing the populace. His story is one wrapped in myth and legend. There are three prevailing opinions on his origin.In the Mahavansa, his mother is Umaddha Citta and father is Digha Gamini, both of Aryan origin Kumarathunga Munidasa's opinion is that his father is Chittharaja. He has no affiliation to the Aryan dynasty. He is a local hero. [edit]The second ruler The second ruler of Sri Lanka was King Panduvasudeva, the nephew of Vijaya. Panduvasudeva married Baddha-Kacchayana, an extremely beautiful princess from India. The couple had ten sons, the eldest of wh om was named Abhaya, and one daughter named Chitra.When a sage prophesied that Chitra would bear a son who would kill nine of his uncles and claim the throne, nine of Chitra’s brothers told King Panduvasudeva to have her killed. However, Abhaya would not allow it and Chitra was spared. She married a prince named Digha-Gamini (who, incidentally, was her cousin) and had a son, who was named Pandukabhaya. [edit]The exchange of babies Chitra and Digha-Gamini had been made aware of the prophesy at the time of their marriage and had promised to put to death any son that Chitra gave birth to.However, once Pandukabhaya was born, Chitra was unwilling to kill the infant, and so she decided to exchange babies with another woman who had given birth to a baby girl that same day. Chitra announced to her father and husband that she had given birth to a girl. Only her mother, Baddha-Kacchayana, knew of the secret exchange. The woman who gave up her daughter took Prince Pandukabhaya to a near by village called Dvaramandalaka where he would be brought up as a herdsman’s son. [edit]The attempts on Pandukabhaya’s lifeThe first threat to Pandukabhaya’s life came while he was being transported to Dvaramandalaka. The woman who had exchanged infants with Chitra carried Prince Pandukabhaya to the village in a covered basket. Unfortunately, she ran into nine of Chitra’s brothers (the ones who had wanted their sister to be murdered for fear that her child would kill them). They asked her what she had in the basket and she replied that it contained food. Not satisfied with the answer, they asked her to open up the basket and show them its contents.Luckily, two wild boars happened to run past them, and they forgot about the basket in their eagerness to hunt the animals down. The baby was delivered to the herdsman safely. That same year, King Panduvasudeva died and Abhaya became his successor. He was not a great king, but he was certainly a kind one and he was well-loved, especially by the poor. Several years went by and when Pandukabhaya was about seven years old, rumours reached his nine uncles about a boy in Dvaramandalaka who supposedly was a herdsman’s son, but who showed all signs of being of royal background.They suspected that this child may be their sister’s son, because they had reason to believe that the little girl who was being brought up as a princess in the palace was not Chitra’s daughter. They sent out people to kill all boys in the village who were around the same age as their nephew. It was known that all the boys of Dvaramandalaka bathed at a certain pond, and it was planned that they should be killed while they were bathing. The plan was executed and several young children were murdered.Pandukabhaya, however, had been hiding at the time, and so he escaped death. While Pandukabhaya’s uncles were satisfied at the time that they had eliminated their nephew, some years later they became su spicious again when they heard stories of a village boy who looked more like a prince than a herdsman’s son. They attempted to have him killed again, and the attempt failed once more. When Pandukabhaya was about sixteen years old, Princess Chitra, fearing for her son’s safety, arranged to have him live with a Brahman named Pandula.Once he was old enough to become king, Pandukabhaya left Pandula, married his cousin Pali and fought his uncles to claim his right to the throne. Eight of his ten uncles perished in the war, which lasted for seventeen years. Abhaya, who had never fought against Pandukabhaya, and Girikandasiva, who was Pali’s father, were not killed. Pandukabhaya was a good king and reigned over Sri Lanka for seventy years, leaving the country in a prosperous state when he die