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Exploitation Theory of Prejudice
Exploitation Theory of Prejudice
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Introduction
The history of the United States is carved on prejudice and racial discrimination. This is especially considering that a considerable number of blacks or African Americans went to the United States as slaves and never enjoyed some of the rights until they were freed from slavery. In fact, they have had to fight for some rights, decades after being freed from slavery. Studies show that racial discrimination and prejudice is still rampant in the United States despite its stature as a melting pot. It is, therefore, not surprising that varied theories have been coined to explain the occurrence of prejudice.
Prejudice is defined as an individual’s tendency to think negatively about other groups, attach negative emotions to them, as well as prejudge people based on their group memberships (Alibeli & Yaghi, 2012). It is worth noting that prejudice incorporates the affective or emotional aspect, and the cognitive or thinking aspect. While prejudice may be explained through varied theories, exploitation theory comes as the most fitting for the United States.
The exploitation theory explains that prejudice is economically and rationally motivated based on self interests. It underlines the fact that the dominant group is the beneficiary of the prejudice as the vice has its roots on the exploitation of the minority group. In line with this theory, prejudice results from the competition over resources. Scholars have used this theory to explain the United States’ case where they state that, slave-trade was merely another technique for recruiting labor for exploitation of natural resources (Alibeli & Yaghi, 2012). They note that the search for cheap labor resulted in a system of racial insubordination in which the whites were the masters while black Africans became the slaves. This racial prejudice was established as an ideology that would rationalize the subordination of African Americans (Alibeli & Yaghi, 2012). Every time the elites’ high status needs the exploitation and subordination of minority groups, it comes up with ideologies that would explain, rationalize and justify the relevant arrangements. As an example, the South based slave owners would spread and employ anti-Black prejudice so as to justify their exploitation as slaves (Alibeli & Yaghi, 2012).
References
Alibeli, M.A &. Yaghi, A (2012). Theories of Prejudice and Attitudes toward Muslims in the United States. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 1; January 2012
FALLING IN LOVE
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Falling In Love
Love has many definitions. The names given to love depend on the social level in which the parties are. However, love is termed as having a strong affection for a person or a material item. The level of attachment is mostly high on the opposite sex, where people grow interest in each other gradually. This paper is going to explain at one of the experience I passed through during my time in a relationship.
There is a woman I have been dating for the last four years. I met her at first when we were in college, as I was applying for advancing my education. I admit that I liked her, and I started developing feeling towards her as time went. I kept dreaming on how I would win her and build a very high relationship. The fact that I saw her does not mean that I was in a position to love, but all was out of outside pressures. The fact that i was in a higher institution of learning, and other students were in relationships, I wanted to follow the suite too.
There came one day as I was walking down to my lecture hall, and I saw a woman. I tried to describe her, but beauty is the best term that I would use for her. I approached her, and all I had in me was a little clew that she looked familiar. I was shocked on realizing she was the woman that I met during the admission day. I was so glad since I saw that luck had come my way. As a man, I approached her, and we became very close friends, which later resulted in falling in a relationship. Life became very comfortable with her since we decided as one and acted as one family.
Time went, and our relationship started developing difficulties. At times, we solved but others we decided to let things go by them where we found ourselves back again in real terms. However, of late life seems to be complicated. The level of chaos has moved to a higher level, and we have finally decided to do away with the relationship. I tried to imagine the kind of life I am leading, in the name of relationship, and I did not even wish to have another one.
The most difficult time came when the woman left me, for my best friend in the campus. I felt that I was betrayed to the highest degree. I got deep into stress and depression for the first time, and I found that all that would help me was accepting the situation, and accepting.
I later decided to calm down and try to solve the case. For this time, it was impossible since we were deep apart. Due to the situation that had got me, I decided to carry out research on the effects of relationships. It was quite hard at first to get genuine answers, but I later learned much that helped me in realizing myself, and what made me unable to handle the relationship in a healthy manner. Women are supposed to be treated in a manner that shows respect, and through this, love and respect are harvested back to the man. Relationships are also hard to put up with, but the fact remains that a person will grow to the manner in which the kind of person he meets has become.
Explication to Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
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Explication to “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
Still I Rise is a poem that puts of people who never seem to be happy by the success of others. They spend their whole time peddling lies, being bitter and showing upset to someone’s success. The only time when they seem to be happy is when they see others bowed head with brokenness. From the poem, the speaker looks at such people and says that they cannot prevent her from rising. The speaker points at several scenarios in which these people are offended by the speaker. She uses words such as Sexiness, haughtiness, and sassiness. The mood of the poem is colored by the poetic elements that are used in it. They bring out a mood of hope and determination as the speaker narrates that she rises above all odds “just like the moon and the sun”. In this essay I intend to argue how the poetic elements have been used to bring out some of the main themes in the poem.
In the first line of the poem the speaker begins with using a rhetoric line where her enemies may seem to have succeeded in their plot to make her life miserable. She says that “you may write me down in history” (Angelou) which brings the idea of a temporary victory over her enemies. She uses consonance to create an image (Margaret, Mary and Jon) of the weapon upon which her enemies use to try and bring her down. She says in the second line that her enemies use lies coupled with bitter emotion to ensure that she is written down in history. In the third line the speaker uses a metaphor and rhymes with the first line. Both lines have similar meaning where they imply bad actions against the speaker. Symbolism is also used in the third line where dirt represents the idea of killing someone’s reputation by smearing dirt to his/her character. The speaker’s enemies use lies to ensure that her reputation is made unclean. The fourth line is ironical as the speaker uses the situation in which her enemies try to put her into to defeat them. Even though they try and use dirt to spoil her reputation, she uses the same dirt to rise out of the situation. This line also includes a couple of elements such as similes, where the idea of rising is likened to dust that has been disturbed from where it had settled. When dust is blown, it rises into the air. The line also rhymes with the second line but the implications of both are quite opposite.
In the second stanza the speaker starts with a rhetorical question (Gardner) asking her enemies whether her sassiness upsets them. She knows very well that these are her enemies and anything about her upsets them, especially when they see her in happy and mischievous moods. The second line similarly asks a related question to the first one. However in the second line she seems to be seeking for an answer because she fails to understand why all the fuss over her suddenly being in a sassy mood. The line also rhymes with the first one and seems to emphasize on the idea brought out with the first line of the stanza. In the third line, there is both the use of symbolism and simile to bring out the idea of sassiness of the speaker. The oil wells are used to symbolize her achievements and the reason why she is sassy being her achievements. The oil can also be used to symbolize her personal wealth and it could be said she seems to be sassy because she has plenty in her house.
There is a connection between the first and the third stanzas because the general idea of both is to put off the enemies who are standing in her way. The speaker uses several similes to relate her position to similar natural circumstances where the concept of rising above all odds is depicted. She relates to the bodies of the universe such as the moon and the sun since these two are known to be above everything and with their light, everyone can notice these two bodies. The sun and the moon are both a symbol hope because they give out light which enables people to see where they are going. Therefore the speaker likens herself to these bodies because she is the symbol of hope to many.
The fourth stanza begins like the second stanza where it uses a rhetorical question aimed at her enemies. The speaker knows that it is true her enemies want to see her broken, but she still goes ahead to ask them the question “Did you want to see me broken?” (Angelou) The second line has a direct relation to the first, in that it emphasizes on the negative feel that the poem brings out. It also uses alliteration to create this feel and mood. The phrase “Bowed head and lowered” (Angelou) has characteristics of alliteration by the use of the consonant ‘d’ at the end of every word. This poetic style is used to stress the idea of what makes her enemies happy. It has also been used to create a sense of sympathy as the reader goes through it. The reader realizes the extent of the advancements her enemies have made towards her and brings out a sympathetic mood. The third line also stresses on this idea even further because of the simile used to represent the manner in which the speaker’s enemies want to see her like. The last line of the stanza is equally sympathetic in nature because the speaker points out that whenever her enemies make advancement, they cause her to have painful emotional cries.
The mood suddenly changes in the fifth stanza where the speaker resumes to her rhetorical questions by asking an obvious question that she can easily figure out the answer to. She even tries to give a little advice to her enemies by telling them not to “take it awful hard”. The speaker seems to be proud of her achievements and wealth because in the third line of the stanza she categorically expresses this sense of pride when she says that she “laughs out like she has got gold mines” (Angelou). The simile used in the third line creates a mood of happiness and the reader is made to interpret that the speaker is excessively wealthy and that she has achieved a lot in her life such that she likens her achievements to gold mines that she digs everyday in hervx own backyard.
The sixth stanza asserts the feeling of determination in the minds of the readers. There is repeated use of repletion which the speaker uses to make more emphasis on her position. The repletion implies that she (the speaker) will back down or be cowed by the advancements of her enemies. She has chosen to disregard every wicked thing they try and use against her. She also uses irony to explain this point loud and clear to her enemies. For instance in the first line, she says that “you may shoot me” (Angelou), this line is ironical because once she is shot, cut into pieces or killed (as used in the first, second and third lines respectively) then the speaker will cease to exist and lose the opportunity to prove her point to her enemies.
The seventh stanza uses tones to bring out the image of bodily sexiness of the speaker. The speaker once again is rhetorical to her enemies by asking them if her beauty and charm is what offends them. In the previous stanzas it occurred as though the speaker is seeking to find out what exactly makes these unknown people or persons hate her. She seems to wonder whether it is her wealth, her achievements, her moods of happiness or her beauty and sexiness that cause such hatred from her enemies. Then the second line creates a sense of past relationships between the speaker and her enemies. The speaker seems to be in wonder why her enemies are now behaving as though they are surprised that she displays sexiness. She uses symbolism in the third line to illustrate how glittering her dancing style is by likening it to the glitters of a diamond. Her moves make her stand out causing feelings of jealousy from her enemies.
Conclusion
It clearly comes out in the poem that the speaker is not only proud of her position but also uses it to create a hope in many people who are enslaved. In the last stanza of the poem this is depicted clearly with a metaphoric representation of the speaker’s passion and goal in life. She has to struggle past all the odds so that she becomes the dream and the source of hope to many slaves because that is the gift that her ancestors gave to her
Works Cited
Angelou, Maya. “Still I rise.” 1978.
Gardner, Helen. New Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1950. New York and London:
Oxford University Press, 1972.
Margaret, Ferguson, Jo Salter Mary and Stallworthy Jon, The Norton Anthology of
Poetry. 4. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1996.