Battle Royal Ralph Ellison Analysis Essay

Battle Royal Ralph Ellison Analysis Essay Rope-a-dope is a precarious boxing strategy first introduced by Muhammad Ali against George Foreman in the Heavyweight Championship match held on October 30, 1974, in Kinsasha, Zaire. The match is best known as the Rumble in the Jungle because of the fiery action among the two great heavyweight fighters of that era. As told on his official website www.ali.com, Ali was the better technical fighter while Foreman the bruiser packed an unyielding harder punch. During the first round of the bout, Ali scored several technical hits but Foreman remained unfazed. Throughout the next three rounds, Ali changed his strategy, frequently lying against the ropes, allowing a determined Foreman to exhaust himself by throwing repeated ineffective punches to Alis protective arms. Confusing the commentators and the judges, Ali laid on Foreman repeatedly forcing him to hold up his weight while continuing to thrust pin-point blows. By round five, Foreman was exhausted while Ali had taken every opportunity to land several choice blows to Foremans face and head when the big fighter let his guard down. Finally, in the eighth round, Foremans punches were too futile and Ali knocked him out. Twenty-two years prior to the use of this strategy by Ali, Ralph Ellison mastered a similar literary version. Ellisons royal fight is evident when in The Battle Royal the narrator says, It took me a long time and much boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself. But first I had to discover that I am an invisible man (1)! Here, he shares his belief that African Americans have to battle for an equal playing field when Caucasians are born in an equal arena. If we clear away the conceptions of his essay Battle Royal and begin to examine the references with an eye to the subtext, a largely unrecognized place for the essay emerges within a more sociological and materialist reading of the African American plight in the post Emancipation Proclamation era. Christopher Butler (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994) states that 1914 was the beginning of The Modernist Period in literature where the majority of widely published works came from a select group of predominantly white male writers. Furthermore, Allain Lockes The New Negro chronicled the how and why a renaissance of black art was establishing itself in Harlem. In short, the 1920s and 1930s were extraordinary years in American culture. Two men key in paving the way for the breakthrough for black writers during the Harlem Renaissance were Langston Hughes and Richard Wright. The book Ralph Ellison: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad describes how Ellison wanted to be Renaissance Man at an early age which explains his move to Harlem upon leaving Tuskegee Institute without a degree. His goal was to become a great musician. After several odd jobs, he met Richard Wright who noticed Ellisons writing talent. Robert G. OMeally states that the two authors (Hughes and Wright) encouraged Ellison to pursue a career in fiction, and it would be in this medium that Ellisons talents would reach fruition. In Battle Royal, Ellison shows us how important his personal life and the context of the era had been in creating a work of fiction that speaks not only to African Americans sense of dignity but to the human circumstance and desired equality of all men. Ralph Ellison wrote Battle Royal during a time of concentrated American social unrest. The main character in essay Battle Royal is an educated student who has recently graduated and is to deliver a speech in front of a crowd of prominent white men They were all there-bankers, lawyers, judges, doctors, fire chiefs, teachers, merchants. Even one of the more fashionable pastors (6). The spectrum represented by the white men is a symbol that every vocation of protecting and serving our society presents a battle for African Americans. Ellison also reveals to the reader how the white men portray the black males as a means of brutal entertainment. This is a free-for-all battle that involves ten combatants sealed in morale conflict for the pu rpose of financial gain. Therefore, the blacks are competing for the money of the whites who wont offer any of the civil liberties that an equal race deserves. Placing the narrator in the fight allows him to be objectified and disrespected which adds a first person account of this story. The narrators unyielding fortitude to deliver his speech is the central theme of the essay. The sub-textual emphasis of the black mans humility explains why Ellison closely followed the footsteps of Washington for a time. Ellison even makes a direct reference to Booker T. Washington and the title of his novel Invisible Man in the story when, after he stresses the importance of the narrators speech, he writes In those pre-invisible days I visualized myself as a potential Booker T Washington (5). Humility and the importance of social responsibility are both objectives contrary to the dual nature of the grandfathers curse. However, the narrators dream involving his grandfather proves that the actual wo rth of the curse has nothing to do with its words. In fact, in reference to the value of keep up the good fight (3) as said by the dying grandfather, the narrator in the last line of the essay First I had to finish college.) (107) Social conflict and upheaval because of the disenfranchisement of the African American had become commonplace especially, during the late 19th and early 20th century. Degrading titles gained universal acceptance such as boy, nigger, coon, and Negro before the civil rights movement. The Black community basically had two major activists held sway over them during this period, and both had articulated contrasting dogmas for the success and social progress of the black race in America when whites continued to dominate and segregate the African Americans through outdated grandfather clauses and legal barriers as stated by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The two notions were that blacks could either succeed by acceptance of their social station and be viewed as cooperative with the white society, or fight their oppression through activism. Dudley Randalls poem: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois It seems to me, said Booker T., It shows a mighty lot of cheek To study chemistry and Greek When Mister Charlie needs a hand To hoe the cotton on his land, And when Miss Ann looks for a cook, Why stick your nose inside a book? I dont agree, said W.E.B. If I should have the drive to seek Knowledge of chemistry or Greek, Ill do it. Charles and Miss can look Another place for hand or cook, Some men rejoice in skill of hand, And some in cultivating land, But there are others who maintain The right to cultivate the brain. It seems to me, said Booker T., That all you folks have missed the boat Who shout about the right to vote, And spend vain days and sleepless nights In uproar over civil rights. Just keep your mouths shut, do not grouse, But work, and save, and buy a house. I dont agree, said W.E.B. For what can property avail If dignity and justice fail? Unless you help to make the laws, Theyll steal your house with trumped-up clause. A ropes as tight, a fire as hot, No matter how much cash youve got. Speak soft, and try your little plan, But as for me, Ill be a man. It seems to me, said Booker T. I dont agree, Said W.E.B. This poem accurately describes the contrast in approaches of the two men to the advancement of black people after reconstruction. Fast-forwarding to 2011, if we clear away the conceptions of this essay that I am writing and begin to examine the references with an eye to the subtext, a largely unrecognized place emerges within a more sociological and materialist reading of the current African American plight. For the first time in the storied and hypocritical history of The United States of America, we have an African American President. The grass-roots monetary record shattering campaign of Barack Obama in 2007 set a new bar for allowing anyone and everyone interested to get involved in having a voice in making American cultural history. As Lee Corso says, not so fast my friend. The exact humiliating fight portrayed in Battle Royal is being engaged today by President Obama. Certain fascist people (many being white) are questioning the very legitimacy of the leader of the free world. Disguising racism by challenging your birth certificate, religion, friends, family, and education doesnt make the actions (that no other American President has ever faced) any less than what they areà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦degrading. There is no joy in accepting partial equality. If Dr. Martin Luther King was witnessing the visible character punches being thrown at Barack Obama today, he would tell him to persevere so that one day he will be judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin. Now, I see why Ralph Ellison was not sold on the fundamental new awareness of the so called modernism authors opening the door of tolerance in America as wide as they regarded. Undoubtedly, Ellisons no-nonsense serious fiction about blacks added a new dimension, a new voice, if you will, to modern American writing.

How does fitzgerald tell the story in chapter

â€Å"How does Fitzgerald tell the story in chapter 1 of ‘The Great Gatsby? † Fitzgerald opens the first chapter introducing us to Nick Carroway, who is clearly of first person narration and he is telling the story from the future. By telling the story as though it has already occurred, Fitzgerald has created the Illusion that his maln character has already experienced the events that are unfolding. This ensures that Nick is a retrospective narrator throughout the book but also obviously a bias story teller.Fitzgerald makes it known that Nick has already met all the characters and knows hem and their story, he openly has his own personal Judgements and opinions of them, also making It clear he is going to be a bias narrator, giving out inaccurate and one-sided information to the reader. The chapter also tells us about Nick's life in New York when he lived in 1922 and his life in West Egg. Fitzgerald's purpose of chapter one is mainly to introduce the characters of the bo ok and to drop hints and revelations for the events in the rest of the book, such as suggesting themes of class and characterisation of Gatsby.The chapter also presents us the relationship etween Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Furthermore, the housing is deeply described by Fitzgerald, â€Å"A sunken Italian garden, a half-acre of deep, pungent roses, and a snub- nosed motor boat that bumped the tide offshore†. This presents an Image of wealth and the strong themes of money linked with social class due to the immense description of the expansive home Tom and Daisy took for granted. The author's description of the houses shows the difference clearly between Nick's home which hed â€Å"Rented In one of the strangest communities†, Inexpensive In comparison toTom and Daisy's house which was a representation of old money. This is again also shown in chapter one with Gatsbys home which Nick had described as a â€Å"mansion†, Implying that his house Is huge and could possibly link to Gatsby's personality from what we know of him. This shows that Gatsby has new wealth and that he simply bought his mansion to fit his stereotyped personality and ego. Fitzgerald still telling the story from Nicks point of view, makes the audience aware that Nick is new into this lifestyle, and that he is not particularly wealthy within his own devices.However I think It's clear from the start that Nick will have to change his personality also In order to fit in with everyone else and his friends. This is due to the fact that when Nick leaves the Buchannan's' house, he is â€Å"confused and a little disgusted. † This is aimed at the attitude Daisy has towards Tom's evident promiscuity and blatant affair he has going on with a girl from New York as Daisy is aware and doesnt show any sign of caring that her husband Is having an affair as she Is not making any effort to stop it.He's confused as to why Daisy doesn't simply leave Tom and find someone else, but as I said he has yet to adjust to the mind-set of the rich and foolish upper- class. This Is done well by Fitzgerald however, as It gives Nicka sense of lower status In comparison to his friends in that before he becomes Involved them he must first adjust his personality. Not only does this work on a human level, but it also reveals more about Nick's character as he explained how genuine and non-judgemental he completely fake in front of these friends he has made.This can Introduce and theme of people being fake'. The author starts off the story in chapter one, talking to the reader through Nick, â€Å"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one†¦ ]ust remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had. † – This is the first case of Fitzgerald pointing towards the reader and asking them to look at themselves. This is because of the fact that we all Judge our friends, our familV'How does Fitzgerald tell the story in chapter 1 of ‘The Gre at GatsbV? , and other members f community in our mind, but we do not all have the courage to come out and say it. Nick does not talk of his opinions as far as I know from chapter one to his friends, the story tells us all his accurate Judgements of the other characters. However I don't think we can trust his completely as he is bias. I think Fitzgerald has purposely done that to leave a mystery of Nick from what I can tell from chapter one alone, but also Nick can be considered reliable as he speaks his opinions to the readers and doesn't hold back what's on his mind.Nick is portrayed to us as an honest guy in the first hapter, however I think he is of the theme fake' a he is being nice to the people he has met so far despite the Judgements he has formed of them. So he gets along with everyone in public but Judges them in private which is only revealed to us readers. I think that Nick is a very real and genuine character, and that Fitzgerald has created an accurate depiction of the average American man. He isn't born to old money, and isn't born in to new money, he's Just born into a normal family, making his own judgements.Even though Nick can be considered a secret hypocrite. And even though he claims to be appalled and disgusted by the ways of the rich and upper- classes due to the cheating that goes on, on Tom's behalf, it fascinates him, and he wants to know more. I think that this is where Fitzgerald has made us somewhat ‘like' Nick as he is Just a normal person trying to change to fit in with his surroundings and peers. So I think that Fitzgerald is telling us the story in chapter one through Nick as us readers can relate to him being a regular person, so in some ways we live the story and there is a part of Nick in all of us.

Bio-Polymer Chemistry Assessment Task

Production of Materials: Chemistry Assessment Task Part A: Biopolymers Definition: The term â€Å"Biopolymer† refers to polymers that are produced by living organisms. Since these are polymers, biopolymers contain monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger sructures. Biopolmers are divided up into 3 main classes. These are: Polynucleotides (which include RNA and DNA), Polypeptides ( short polymers of amino acids) and Polysaccharides. Examples of some Biopolymers include: Cellulose, Starch and Proteins. Source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Biopolymer#Polypeptides Biopolymer: Polylactic acidFormation: PLA is produced from a renewable source. For example corn. Corn is harvested and then milled to extract the starch from the raw materials. From the starch, dextrose is produced. The dextrose is then fermented, transforming into lactic acid. The lactic acid is altered into a polymer by the process of condensation, then forming long chain molecular compounds into pol ylactic acid. The organism is Lactic Acid. Source: http://www. hitachi-pt. com/products/ip/process/pla. html Properties and Uses: Being able to degrade into lactic acid, PLA is used as medical implants in the form of screws, pins, rods and as a mesh.PLA can also be used as a compostable packaging material. Cups and Bags have been made out of PLA. In the form of film, PLA shrinks upon heating allowing it to be used in shrink tunnels. PLA is also useful for producing loose-fill packaging, compost bags and disposable tableware. PLA can also be used in treatment in the body. Depending on the exact type used, it breaks down in the body within 6 months to 2 years. This degredation is desirable for a support structure because it gradually transfers the load to the body as the organ heals.Source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Polylactic_acid#Manufacturers Assessment: The impact of PLA on the society is that due to the high demand or PLA products from resources such as corn, corn growers ha ve been tampering with the genes of the corn to produce higher yields in order to suffice the demand. Even though PLA is biodegradable it still takes at least three months in a controlled environment to properly break down into it’s components. However it is estimated to take 100 to 1000 years to decompose in landfill.PLA is also from a different origin than regular plastics, therefore it needs to be kept separate when recycling. PLA is an alternative to the common plastic bag or plastic cup since it can be recycled which can be useful to the society. Source: http://www. scientificamerican. com/article. cfm? id=environmental-impact-of-corn-based-plastics Judgement: Even though PLA is an alternative to common plastic due to it being recyclable and biodegradable, PLA still needs to be refined to make it more efficient to produce, be cost effective and to be able to degrade at a much faster rate.Part B: Batteries Sources: Vertex Learning Centre: Book, HSC chemistry, Vertex Learn ing Centre: Book, Production of Materials Section 6 and 7 Button Cell Plastic seal Zinc case Graphite rod Electrolyte Negative terminal Positive terminal Plastic seal Zinc case Graphite rod Electrolyte Negative terminal Positive terminal Leclanche Cell (Dry Cell) Sources: http://www. comf-hk. com/zcart/index. php? main_page=page&id=3&chapter=1 Leclanche Cell diagram- 4. 6 cells and batteries word document By Bernard Broekhuizen

Peer and Self Assessment Strategies for University Students

1.0 Introduction The topic of self assessment and peer assessment among university students is fueling a lot of debate from scholars and practitioners in the education specialty. This owes to the reality that Nulty (2011) completed a study on the topic in question. It is necessary to define the terms self and peer assessments because their definitions are vital ingredients to the upcoming discussion. Consequently, (White, 2009) reveals that self-assessment requires an individual to evaluate him or herself. In addition, the same author also defines peer assessment as an evaluation where the efforts of a learner are evaluated by his/her peers. This study identifies the reality that even though various scholars have studied the topic in†¦show more content†¦In the self and peer assessments, students participate in setting the criteria, evaluating performance, and providing feedback. The authors advise that even though students participate in the assessment process, the teachers should always ma ke the final decision. Thus, self and peer assessments encourages students to appreciate the procedure of evaluating and making judgments. Furthermore, the use of peer assessment strategies promotes team work among learners, which is an essential quality to employers. Furthermore, self and peer assessments enables learners to reflect on individual performances by evaluating themselves. Therefore, peer and self-assessment implies that there is lower teacher involvement and increased student involvement that in co-assessments. This lowers the burden to educators by reducing the time and effort of assessing students individually. In fact, this time and effort could be used in different areas that benefit both students and teachers. 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