Notes

Arguments that center on cultural identity and power still retain their compelling nature even if they are placed in contexts that might be perceived as trivial. Discussions about cultural rights and identity are rooted in power.  These discussions focus on how culture is defined, where individual and social voice lies, and in how the homogenization of culture has been historically embedded. Such profound implications make these arguments quite compelling.   Some context is needed regarding the food examples. There has been a re-ignition of interest in "microaggressions."   According to Derald Wing Sue, PhD, microaggressions are "everyday insults, indignities and demeaning messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned white people who are unaware of the hidden messages being sent to them."  There has been renewed interest in discovering where these messages exist and their potential meaning.  Food-based cultural appropriation can be seen as an example of a mi...

For the most part, states in the South reacted with anger to Lincoln's victory in the election of 1860. The major issue of the 1860 presidential election was slavery.  For Southerners, expanding slavery was the critical issue.  Slavery was so pressing that the Democratic party put forth two candidates.  One of them represented the Northern Democrats and the other candidate was for the interests of the Southern Democrats.  Southerners knew that Lincoln and the newly formed Republican party were not going to be friendly to the expansion of slavery in the nation. The high voter turnout reflected the voting public's passionate intensity regarding slavery.  Lincoln did not win any electoral votes in the South, but carried the electoral votes in the Northern states.  This helped to enhance the sectionalist feel to the election. Sectionalist feelings became more pronounced with Lincoln's election. Southerners openly embraced secession, or separating from the nation.  South Carolin...

After Macbeth has performed the murder of Duncan, Shakespeare shows Lady Macbeth as the calmer, more rational of the two.  When Macbeth superstitiously panics because he could not utter the word Amen , she says, "These deeds must not be thought / After these ways. So, it will make us mad" (2.2.33-34).  In other words, she tells him not to dwell on what they have done or it will drive them insane.  Further, she realizes that Macbeth has brought the murder weapons out of the room with him, and she chastises him for being so thoughtless.  However, he is too emotional and refuses to return to the room with Duncan's body.  Disappointed in his cowardice, she says, "Infirm of purpose! / Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead / Are but as pictures" (2.2.52-54).  She returns the daggers to the room, smearing the chamberlains with blood, and when she returns, she calmly washes her hands, saying, "A little water clears us of this deed. / How easy is it, then!...

In Chapter 11, Phillip starts to wonder whether Timothy is perhaps going a bit crazy, out of his mind from the stress, when the old man suddenly claims that their pet and companion, Stew Cat, might be the cause of their bad luck . Timothy seems to sneak around with a knife, causing Phillip to be horribly worried. The boy tries to make sure Timothy doesn't harm Stew Cat, and it's a tense chapter as the animal remains missing. Finally, as the chapter comes to a close, Phillip realizes that Timothy has been carving an image of a cat out of wood and has placed nails in that image, trying to symbolically kill the bad luck that has plagued them. Even odder, Timothy has temporarily placed Stew Cat on their raft in the water while he did this task, so that the cat would be physically removed from the island while Timothy's work dispelled the "jumbi" (bad luck) caused by the feline. "Maybe all that had happened was beginning to work on the old man's mind. Maybe I...

The early Middle Ages in India (around the time of the fall of Rome in Europe) are sometimes known as the Gupta Age due to the fact that India was ruled at the time by the Gupta Empire. After the Gupta Empire collapsed, it was followed by the Pallava Dynasty which lasted well into the Middle Ages. During both the Gupta Age and the Pallava Dynasty, India colonized a large area in Southeast Asia, sometimes referred to as "Greater India" (though many scholars consider this term inaccurate). India was more technologically and economically advanced than most of its neighbors at the time, and as a result many local cultures were quick to adapt to India's customs in the hopes of sharing their prosperity. The spread of missionaries, scholars, and merchants to these colonies led to the spread of a number of aspects of Indian culture, including styles of food, styles of clothing, several Indian languages and writing systems (particularly Pallava Script), India's system of law a...

Cherry and Marcia are with Socs named Bob and Randy.  It is Cherry’s boyfriend, Bob, that Johnny kills.  Pony and Johnny meet two nice Soc girls at the movies.  At first they do not understand why the girls are being nice.  Socs never socialize with greasers.  Cherry is grateful to them for interfering when Dally was messing with them, and Marcia seems flattered by the attention.  Cherry doesn’t take the drink Dally offers, but Marcia does.  Oh, yeah, we found out why they were without a car. They'd come with their boyfriends, but walked out on them when they found out the boys had brought some booze along. The boys had gotten angry and left. (Ch. 2)  Cherry and Marcia left their boyfriends because they were drinking too much.  They decided to hang out with Johnny and Pony, but trouble ensued when they were leaving the theater and saw Bob’s car.  Bob and his friends would not be happy to see their girls with greasers.  Marcia was shifting nervously. "What are we going to do?...

If I was Juliet, I would have acted exactly as Juliet did act upon receiving the news that Capulet has schedule her wedding to Paris: with great grief and desperation. That being said, I probably wouldn't have been wise enough to escape the situation like she does. When Juliet learns from her mother that she is to marry Paris "early next Thursday morn," Juliet begs her to tell Lord Capulet that she will not marry him.  Lady Capulet tells Juliet to tell her father herself; Capulet enters and reacts with tremendous anger when he learns of his daughter's disobedience. He threatens Juliet and gives her an ultimatum: I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, Or never after look me in the face... ... I'll give you to my friend; And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, For, by my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee... Juliet, however, responds to these threats with a more level-headed approach than I could ever manage. She calmly asks her ...