Good Country People Stereotypes And Narcissism English Literature Essay

Good Country People Stereotypes And Narcissism English Literature Essay People must be comfortable with every aspect of themselves, because certain people, who in this story are represented by Manley Pointers character, can easily exploit their weaknesses. Hes good country people and the salt of the earth as Mrs. Hopewell refers to Manley Pointer who really is a demon that they must face. A demon to remind them of their weaknesses. Beginning with Mrs. Hopewell, the title of the story comes from what she likes to call the poorer and less fortunate people that live off the land and work their whole lives just to hang on to some scrap of a life. This is how she views these people. She believes that they are good country people not a bad seed among them, that they are all eager to help out and bow in humility to the upper class. The gullible nature of Mrs. Hopewell betrays her true vision of a situation. She is one of those people who are all goody-goody to people who they view as less fortunate. Shes a person that commends or speaks for the people she knows nothing about. Altogether this is her true weakness that is taken advantage of by Manley Pointer. One of Mrs. Hopewells favorite sayings, Nothing is perfect, is seen in the very beginning of the story. Her saying was just that; a saying. The quote acts as foreshadowing for what her attitude towards life will be. We later find out that she is right, but that she does not live by her credo. Manley Pointer exploits this weakness as soon as she opened her door. Showing up as a pathetic bible salesman with an ailing heart (which is coincidentally exactly what Joy-Hulga had) laying the old guilt trip on Mrs. Hopewell on how no one wants to deal with a simple country boy like himself, he attacks her weakness right at the heart of it. Not more than two minutes after he knocked on the door, he ends up eating dinner with them and at the conclusion is even invited to return any time hed like. His persona blinds Mrs. Hopewell and prevents her from being somewhat suspicious of Manley. At the en d of the story, we see that Mrs. Hopewell is still clouded by her weakness and refers to Manly as simple as he passes through a field by Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman. Unlike Mrs. Hopewell, Joy-Hulga faces and comes to a realization of her weakness. Joy-Hulga, who had grown cynical and cold as she grew up with only one leg and heart ailment, creates an image that she is smarter and better than the rest of the characters in the story. Her education and self-absorption seemed to instill this attitude in her to greater extent than if she hadnt studied and read so much. Her weakness is the feeling of power she believed she gained from her studies. She refers to herself as a person who sees through nothing. Little does she know that she is stating her greatest weakness by saying this. Her hidden desires cause her several problems later on. After years of education and self-absorption, Joy-Hulga felt that she had no weaknesses. Science wishes to know nothing of nothing and this is the cr edo followed by Joy-Hulga. Her line of thinking turned out to be a weakness in itself. Her weaknesses are so prominent and hurtful from her childhood that she doesnt want to be reminded of them. Manley Pointer puts Joy-Hulga into a position where she feels in control. She took all his shame away and turned it into something useful. She believes that she is manipulating Manley, but it is he who is doing the manipulating. She lets her guard down because she feels in such great control and becomes comfortable with Manley. She is being manipulated from the start, and no amount of education can stop the fact that she doesnt see it coming. As soon as she admits to loving Manley Pointer, he sees the opening to completely destroy the facade she worked so hard to create her whole life. Before Joy-Hulga even knows it, her glasses are off and Manley has removed her leg. Physically she is broken down, but the real damage is done mentally. She knows that all control of the situation is out of he r hands, and she once again feels the discomfort felt during her childhood days. Manley Pointer exploits joy-Hulgas weakness to the fullest extent, because she never sees it coming. Joy-Hulga believed she was superior because she learned to see through nothing, but she doesnt realize that Manley has known this much longer than she which is even more prominent coupled with his seemingly lack of conscience. Manley is the only character in the story that has no apparent weakness. Taking into consideration the religious theme within the story, he takes on a persona of a devil-like character. He seems to be an almost omniscient character, which would fall in line with a powerful type of being. Being the protagonist in the story he acts not on an individual level, but more of a level revolving around mankind. His use of religion as a tool to carry out his acts of degradation and deception support this persona. He even says to Joy-Hulga, I hope you dont think I believe in that crap. Other things that represent this devil-like character is the hollow bible in which he kept instruments of a sort of sin. A definite clue to this is also when he also states to Joy-Hulga that He uses a different name every place he goes. The fact that the devil is referred to by many different names in all different regions of the world and different time throughout history shows another similarity between Manley Pointer and the devil. Manipulation and degradation seem to be his only objectives in life. At the conclusion of the story when Manley is passing by Mrs. Freemen and Mrs. Hopewell, the onion shoots that they are picking are even referred to as evil smelling the moment he passes. Mrs. Freemen is more of a minor character in the story but she is referred to as having two emotions, forward and reverse. This is important because then a person is forced to go in reverse they must face something or learn something they dont want to know about themselves. This seems to be what happens during the course of the story for Joy-Hulga. Although all the characters in the story are stuck in reverse, the only character that is forced to realize her weakness, which destroys the facade that she created is Joy-Hulga. It seems that in this story as in life the most high and mighty suffers the greatest fall. Joy-Hulga was the one who perceived herself to be the high and mighty of the characters. This attitude is displayed with many of her comment to Mrs. Hopewell. Perhaps when Joy-Hulga remarks to Mrs. Hopewell, Woman, do you ever look inside? she shouldve taken her own advice.

Racism: African American Races Essay

A social problem is a condition that at least some people in a community view as being undesirable. A big social problem in the world told would have to be racism. Some say that racism doesn’t exist but it does. Racism is a very strong word to use I have to say, but there have been a lot of unfairness and discriminations throughout the years in America. Which is what makes me interested in this topic the unfairness people receive from other people because the color of their skin. Some people I know have experienced unfair acts because of the content of their skin. Many people know that racism has occurred in the past when African Americans were treated unfairly being segregated from the opposite race. But most of that changed when people began to fight for equal rights having boycotts, protests, and consistently having those individuals who were racist know that they deserved equal rights as well as they did. And until they receive justice they were going to have their voices heard to receive justice. Racism is just with black people it’s with everybody. Any race can try anything, but there are still going to be those people who just converse with each other about other races. It’s definitely not only the Caucasian race it’s basically every race. The African-American race makes fun of the Caucasian and Latino races. The Latino race makes fun of the Caucasian and African American races. Everybody talks about everybody although it is not right I don’t believe that it will ever stop. I feel there should be a end to it simply because everybody is equal whether we want to believe it or not. So a stop to racism is a must it needs to happen now.

Factors Influencing Leadership Styles Essay

Personality Traits A leadership style may become an extension of a leader’s personality. If an individual is outgoing and assertive, he may prefer to communicate directly with subordinates through face-to-face interaction or confrontation, either on a group or individual basis. If he is more reserved, he might choose to lead by example or rely on written communication. Rather than addressing a group as a whole, the reserved leader is probably more comfortable meeting with subordinates on a one-on-one basis to provide individual direction. Level of Control The level to which a leader wishes to maintain control also influences leadership style. Some leaders want to be involved in all aspects of day-to-day operations and decision-making processes, which requires the need for micromanaging. Others may be more trusting of their subordinates or may not want the heavy burden of making all decisions, so they tend to take a more hands-off approach by delegating responsibility. Leaders who choose to delegate may need to create an additional layer of management. Organizational Structure An organisation’s structure and operating methods may dictate the type of leadership style that managers must adopt. Some organisations place heavy emphasis on encouraging contributions or ideas from their members, requiring an open style of leadership where members have a large say in determining their own roles and functions. Other organisations operate with more of a â€Å"my way or the highway† mentality, where leaders dictate direction and deviation or innovation is frowned upon. Experience A leader’s level of experience, both as a leader and with a particular organisation can have an impact on his style. Someone who is new to a leadership role may be more inclined to lead â€Å"by the book† to avoid potential mistakes, while a more experienced leader will often feel more confident in following his own interpretation of rules and regulations. A leader who has been part of an organisation for many years will likely have a better understanding of the organisation’s nuances than a new member, so she may be more comfortable when making decisions.

Essay on Thoreaus Civil Disobedience and Walden - 1529 Words

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American philosopher, author, poet, abolitionist, and naturalist. He was famous for his essay, â€Å"Civil Disobedience†, and his book, Walden. He believed in individual conscience and nonviolent acts of political resistance to protest unfair laws. Moreover, he valued the importance of observing nature, being individual, and living in a simple life by his own values. His writings later influenced the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In â€Å"Civil Disobedience† and Walden, he advocated individual nonviolent resistance to the unjust state and reflected his simple living in the nature. In â€Å"Civil Disobedience,† Thoreau stated that government should be expedient and conscientious. He started†¦show more content†¦Thoreau believed that the government should not be ruled by the minority just because â€Å"they are physically the strongest,† instead, we should be ruled by conscience. Furthermore, Thoreau stated that â€Å"†¦a corporation has no conscience,† because the corporation only cared about money, without caring about the multitude. This is still happening even nowadays. For instance, the cigarette companies are still selling cigarettes to the multitude even though they know that there are some carcinogenic materials in cigarettes that smoking cigarettes can cause cancers. They only care about money, without caring about the people who buy their products. As a result, most of the corporations had no conscience. Besides, people should also be conscientious. We should use our brains to think before we act. For example, the sol diers of the army had no conscience because they act like machines without thinking what they were doing. â€Å"The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines.† In brief, Thoreau believed that we should be ruled by conscience instead of the inexpedient government which had no conscience. 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