Legalizing Same-sex Marriage in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Legalizing Same-sex Marriage in America - Essay Example Scientific research to date proves that homosexuality is genetically inclined, and those who are indeed homosexual, have a genetic predisposition of sorts to their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is not a â€Å"sexual preference†; it’s not something that one can change, therefore, those with homosexual orientation should be granted each and every single American right that heterosexuals have, including marriage, parenting, etc., otherwise America, who takes pride in being a nation of equality, is making their claim on fraudulent terms. While proving that sexual orientation is not a choice and that homosexuality is indeed the genetic makeup of an individual, it should be recognized by the U.S. government that homosexuality is a â€Å"normal† orientation just like heterosexuality is, and those of a homosexual orientation should be granted the same equal rights as heterosexuals, Whites, Africans, Hispanics, and everyone else who call this great nation their à ¢â‚¬Å"home†. Genetically speaking, it has been discovered that antibodies in the womb can attack the Y chromosome in an unborn male, causing him to be gay. This normally happens when a woman already has several, several, meaning two or three, â€Å"straight† male sons; her body just builds up an antibody to carrying males, and these antibodies attack the Y chromosome in the unborn male, making him homosexual (Independent). For every prior male brother who is â€Å"straight†, the chances of the next male becoming gay later in life, increases by one third (Independent). This study, conducted by Canadian scientists in 2006, proves that homosexuality in men is of a biological nature and nothing else. Gay men are â€Å"created† (Independent) meaning; they are born with a genetic predisposition to homosexuality. Thus proving that homosexuality is not a choice, but completely biological, even before birth (Independent). Also, it is common that most homosexual mal es have reported the same feelings concerning their identities and such during childhood. Many say that they â€Å"felt different† at an early age and often had to defend their masculinity (Handbook). They also reported that from a very, very young age, they did not take interest in the same games, toys, clothing, etc. as other â€Å"straight† males their age, and also felt an overwhelming attraction to the same sex, even from as early as 2 to 5 years old (Handbook). These young males reported that they often enjoyed playing with toys made for the opposite sex and also enjoyed wearing clothes of the opposite gender as well. The males said they did not take much of an interest in masculine games, such as sports and â€Å"boy† toys. â€Å"My cousin, who is now an openly gay, nineteen year old male, always collected Barbie dolls,† says Bessie Cherry, an award-winning journalist from Tennessee. â€Å"It was always a question ‘if’ my cousin was g oing to be gay or not. He loved to play with toys of the opposite sex, often carried a purse, and wore girls’ jeans and shoes. He was always very interested in things that boys his age were not, like collecting antique dishes and such. He never wanted to play football, like the rest of his male cousins his age. He never wanted to play with ‘boy’ toys, such as trucks and cars; it was always Barbie dolls and ‘girly’ things that he chose to play with instead. When my cousin became a teenager, he was so handsome that so many of the girls

Death of a Salesman Willy Lomans Mental Breakdwon Essay Example for Free

Death of a Salesman Willy Lomans Mental Breakdwon Essay In Death of a Salesman Willy Loman was a man made of false dreams. Willy Loman was a man who destroyed himself with his false hopes and dreams. Throughout his whole life he was trying to become a Salesman like his father and he thought he would die a rich and successful man. Willy Loman was a man who tried so hard to achieve the American dream but failed to do so due to the multiple circumstances throughout his life. Environment around Willy Loman has had a huge affect on him which is causing him to be instable. Willy is not only destroyed by his own ideals but destroyed by his own two children Biff and Happy and Howard firing him also broke him down even more. Willy Loman is destroying himself trying to achieve the American Dream and trying to become a salesman like his own father but is failing to do so. He wants to own his own business. Willy also wants to be â€Å"bigger† then Uncle Charlie and that is why he never takes a job under Uncle Charlie even after getting fired. He wishes to die the â€Å"Death of a Salesmman† where many people to mourn for him and remember him as a great salesman. Willy has spent his whole life trying to achieve all these dreams of his but he still hasn’t really achieved any of them which is causing him to have a mental breakdown. However Willy aims in life have been useless as he hasn’t really achieved anything. Willy Loman is constantly lying to himself and his family to escape from being a failure. He is constantly trying to achieve his dream of becoming a great salesman but is lost in reality and is running out of time. In the play Charlie said to Willy â€Å"When are you going to grow up. † Even though Charlie was made fun of by Willy he still is his only friend and cares for him and even offers him a job after Willy gets fired by Howard but Willy refuses to take the job because of his high standards and his dreams which he hasn’t be able to accomplish yet. Willy knows he hasn’t accomplished anything yet and that is why he is guilty and starts lying to himself and to his family and even goes on and has an affair with another woman. He has the affair with the other woman to give himself a â€Å"boost† or to go into another world because he feels he has been a failure at not achieving the â€Å"American Dream. † Having an affair also caused Willy to breakdown because Biff caught him cheating and Willy feels guilty about it. Willy put in his whole life for his sons, Biff and Happy and they turned their backs on him. Willy always loved Biff and thought he would be an amazing business man but after Biff saw Willy cheating it tore Biff apart. Biff failed math and went to Boston to get his dad to talk to his math teacher but at that time he caught his father cheating which made him not get along with his dad for the rest of his life. Willy knows deep down it his fault that Biff never became a successful business man. The fact that he feels guilty is also a huge factor in his mental breakdown. The psychoanalytic theory describes how the environment around a person has an effect on the person. In Willy’s case it his sons and his failiures in life which is causing him to be unstable. From the multiple causes of Willy’s mental breakdown the biggest thing that broke him down was when Biff at the end of Act II shows him the rubber tube he found and explains to him that he was never what Willy wanted him to be. After all that Willy realizes his sons actually do love him even though they aren’t successful businessman. When will realizes he is almost finished is when Biff says â€Å"Pop, I’m nothing! Im nothing Pop. Cant you understand that? There’s no spite in it anymore. Im just what I am, that’s all. † Biff also says â€Å"Will you let me go for Christ’s sake† Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens? After this situation Willy realizes he has not accomplished much in life and his life is almost finished but Biff does love him. Willy has been chasing the American dream for ever trying to follow his father but has never succeeded which has caused him to fail throughout his whole life because he never really did what he was good at which was using his hands. After Willy committed suicide biff tells us what Willy could have been which could have made him successful. Biff says â€Å"Charley, there’s more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made. † This shows that Willy was never a salesman but was good with his hands. The played concluded with Willy committing suicide so his sons could collect the insurance money and because he had realized he was a failure in life but still wanted his children to be happy and successful. The multiple complications lead to the destruction of an American Dream. Willy wanted a dream that seemed materialistic and unimportant which caused his own life and destruction of his kids. Willy trying to chase the American dream and trying to be better then Charley and trying to be like his dad caused him to be a failure and eventually take his own life. Him not being able to achieve his dreams throughout his life caused him to be a failure and destroying his kids as well.

Professional Development Plan Essay Example for Free

Professional Development Plan Essay The group members of Learning Team D 3 took a DISC assessment test to determine their personality styles, strengths and weaknesses, and areas that need enhancement. The group members are (Antonia, Brenda, Matthew, Robin, Steven). The Professional Development Plan will give a description of the strengths, and weaknesses each personality styles, individualities each styles share, and characteristics that may cause conflict, and how each styles can work together for the betterment of the organization. As well as to show how I, the manager can improve my abilities to lead from each team member. The DISC assessment generated two personality types within the group: Cautious, and Dominance. Three out of the five members of the group including my-self are labeled as Cautious. The Cautious strengths entails independence, dependable, good listeners, ask numerous questions over critical information, and are good at follow-through, they want perfection, and tend to be tense with themselves and others when under pressure, they have a natural curiosity about people, and are concerned about what people expect, think, and feel, they have strong affections to their personal interests, undervaluing the time required to complete tasks, being intuitive and observant about situations and people, they tend to associate their self-worth with their work accomplishments, and are intrigued by concepts, ideas and processes. They are known for being assessors and tend to have strong opinions about people and groups with whom they do not agree or identify. Their weaknesses of Cautious are they tend to work at a slow pace, unlike The Dominance personality types who are goal-oriented, fast-paced, take authority, and willing to challenge outdated thinking and ideas. Dominance weaknesses are what make them stand out from Cautious personality type. Dominance is not afraid to bend the rules; they become annoyed with delays, and prefer to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission to make certain decision on assignments. In order for each group member to work together as a team; it is important to first understand each member’s strengths and weaknesses and utilize them as a tool for the group  to accomplish their goal. Evaluating the different personality types I’ve come to the conclusion that Dominance and Cautious types are similar in personality traits, they are both problem solvers, efficien t, productive, independent, and have the same sense of irritations. The only differences between these two types are the pace in which they choose to work. The Cautious style prefers to work at a slower pace whilst, the Dominance style prefers to work at faster pace. Subsequently, understanding each personality styles, the characteristics of each member, and what each group has in common. We now need to utilize each of these characteristics and use them as a tool to accomplish our goals. For example, if our group was working for a financial organization, the Cautious types would be best place in a Human Resources position or even in the Marketing department. Those positions require individuals that possess such traits as being detail oriented, independent workers, and follow-through on certain types of assignments. Dominance type would be greater in managerial positions, for they like to take charge, and are comfortable in a fast paced environment; they are willing to take on challenges head on, and don’t mind taking risks. In order for the organization to run smoothly all these positions need each other in order to become succes sful, and to work as a team. Even though my personality style is Cautious I feel a good leader is usually passionate about the organization and his or her work, exudes confidence in his or her abilities, can organizes and makes sense of complex situations, maintains high standards and inspires others to do the same, can motivate and inspire employees, and is generally looked up to as a person of vision (Hill, 2009). This is a quote I feel strongly about and would want to base my leadership style on. I agree with the whole statement it expresses, and feel I can be inspirational with my group and motivate them to accomplish our goals. As a leader, I look forward to learning the skills that are required in order to become a better leader/manager. The DISC assessment has shown the different characteristics each personality styles possess. There are numerous traits each type shared, and a few that could cause conflicts, we must learn that we are all different individuals who have different learning styles and traits, as a result, we much learn from each other in order to grow and become better individuals, and need to help each other to be better individuals whether in work or educational environment. It is imperative  that each group member have an understanding on how to rely on each other even though there is discomfort with the various types of personalities. My capability to lead the team will be based on my willingness to learn from each team member and to understand that we should work as a team and not as an independent person on a project. All of the information provided above plan will be supervised closely, with periodic meetings organized in order to allow employees to give their views, opinion and concerns about various topics, that way it will help to ensure that full compliance is being achieved. I believe it is imperative that regular (weekly) monitoring is performed to make sure that the organization stays on track on all assignments, and concerns are being discussed, this will help ensure the long term success of the organization, and recognizing each individual’s style, as well as their strengths, and weaknesses will permit a more personal and individualized approach taken in regards to team dynamics and goal achievement. Reference Alessandra, Tony, Ph.D., and Michael J. O’Connor, Ph.D. 1996. The Platinum Rule ®. New York, NY: Warner Books. DISC Test and DISC Assessment: Explained. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.discinsights.com/whatisdisc#.VBMXGGOEzSg Hill, C. (2009). NY Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/2.1353/ effective-leader-article-1.372028 Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A. (2013). Organizational Behavior (15th ed.). : Pearson. University of Phoenix. (2014). DISC Assessments [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, LDR531 website.

A Pair Of Tickets English Literature Essay

A Pair Of Tickets English Literature Essay A Pair of Tickets by Amy Tan explores the relationship of ethnic, identity, heritage and place and setting. According to Oxford dictionary, self-identity is the recognition of ones potential and qualities as an individual especially in relation to social context. June May the protagonist in this story, denies herself as a Chinese. She was raised in San Francisco as a Chinese-American. Her mother grew up in China and immigrated to America whereas June May born in America and grew with American culture. Jane May has not been raised in China and never had been able to relate to the Chinese way of life or felt Chinese. As she sees the relationships and the style of life, she is able to have a look at the way her both parents had been raised and why they thought and felt different than she did when she was growing. After June Mays mother passes away, June May tries to find her true roots and origin. Initially, Jane May has trouble accepting herself as Chinese despite her Chinese blood identity. She did not understand what her mother meant when her mother said once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chineseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is in your blood, waiting to be let go (Tan 218).She often felt embarrassed by her mothers behavior. June May was born in America and goes to American school. She starts to claim herself as a part of American by making friends with Caucasian. As educated under American culture, she thinks in an American way. Therefore, she wants to be more associated with her Caucasian friends. Ethnic minority members have actually learned and acquired Western values and patterns in their behavior. The ways in which people express their emotions and interpret the facial expressions and bodily gestures of others are instances of such psychological features (Fong 265).She denies her Chinese identity as she does not want to be an outsider in a foreign count ry and wants to be more associated with Americans in Americans way. She does not want to follow her mother by being Chinese as it embarrassed her by haggling with store owners, pecking her mouth with a toothpick in public, being colour blind to the fact that lemon yellow and pale pink are not good combination for winter clothes(Tan 218). She feel embarrassed by doing so in public as people will look down at her and does not want to be stereotyped by Americans. She does not admit herself as Chinese. Since June May is primarily ignorant of Chinese culture, she assumes that the stereotypical behaviors that her mother sometimes expressed are representative of what it means by being a Chinese. June May begins to accept the reality of her being a Chinese when she travelled to China with her father. At China she start to realize how her mothers past influenced her present life. She also realizes that her family history is in China. The story begins when June May enters Shenzhen, China and she starts to feel her cultural identity changing, I feel different. I can feel the skin on my forehead tingling, my blood rushing through a new course, my bones aching with familiar old pain. And I think, my mother was right. I am becoming Chinese (Tan 217). Upon arrival, she becomes nervous and try to assimilate there is a conflict because her thoughts seem to go back and forth between being Chinese and continually questioning heritage. She begins to realize her mother was right because her mother was reflecting how much her family had to go through and leaving her life in China to go to America. According to Harold Bloom who cites Ben Xu wrote She once associated with being a Chinese, wh en she was unable to understand what her mother said that a person born Chinese cannot help but feel and think Chinese(Bloom 55).Jing Mei begins to understand the other side of her mother, and the strength of her soul on the way to Guangzhou... their mother-their mother was coming, whereas my mother was dead.(Tan 220).Jane May even saw her father crying as he has so much history in China. She was surprised with her fathers reaction as she understands what does family attachment means. This view is evident in line And I cant help myself. I also have misty eyes, as if I had seen this a long time ago (Tan 218). She felt the difference once she entered the city because she realized she did not accept herself as a Chinese. She realized that she did not embrace her culture when she was growing up as she told herself at the age of fifteen that she was American. Once Jane May and her father disembark from the train, they must wait in the line to be processed through customs. That incident reminds Jane May of her waiting for a bus in San Francisco. She remarks I am in China, I remind myself (Tan 222). This shows that she still reaching back for a sense of familiarity. She has not reached the place where she has fully embraced her roots. She questions herself whether the customs officers will believe that her passport is truly hers as she is heavily make up in the picture. For that day, she is without make up and perhaps they will think she is a true Chinese and it is a forged passport. I wonder if the customs people will question whether Im the same person in the passport photo. In this picture, my chin length is swept back and artfully styled. I am wearing false eyelashes, eye shadow, and lip liner (Tan 222). As quickly that thought comes to mind, Jane May dismisses it because she rationalizes, within her own mind, that her height is much ta ller than most Chinese women. I stand five-foot-six, and my head pokes above the crowd so that I am eye level only with other tourists (Tan 222). She is complicated with her past and her current life. It is clearly shown when Jane May was completely westernized; throughout her life in America and Jane Mays mother did her best to instill in her the identity of a Chinese. Jane May only a few minutes later introduce herself to her family by her Chinese name, Jing Mei although her passport reveals her American name of June May. This marks the beginning of her acceptance of her true identity as a Chinese woman. She still struggles to accept all these strange encounters. There is another indication of Jing Meis American upbringing and her lack of being current on Chinese modernization and culture when she visits the hotel. The taxi stops and I assume weve arrived, but then I peer out at what looks like a grander version of the Hyatt Regency. This is communist China?(Tan 226). She exclaims! Americans culture tends to instill in its citizens a mindset about other cultures particularly those to which are antagonistic and Jing Mei is the example of how we sometimes think we are the only ones who have certain things or certain experiences. When she sees things are very similar, she begins to accept all the things that represent Chinese culture. Strangely enough, she begins to envision her first Chinese meal of a big banquet with one of those soups steaming out of a carved winter melon, chicken wrapped in clay, pecking duck, the works. However it is ironically hamburgers, French fries and apple pie, the stereotypical American dinner ( Tan 227). Jing Mei discovered herself more when her father shares a time of intimate story telling about Suyuans (Jing Meis mother) heartbreaking journey from China to America during Japanese invasion and how her mother was forced to leave behind her twin daughters back at China due to her sickness and also starvation. Finally, Jing Mei discovered the meaning of her mothers name, Suyuan which means long cherished love. After Jing Mei gradually understands her mother and about her sisters, she gains respect towards her mother as she learns the battle her mother has fought to get to America and she slowly realizes how important it is for herself to meet her half sisters, Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa. When Jing Mei arrived at Shanghai, Jing Mei met her twin sisters. It is cherished wish that her mother dreamt of Jing Mei eventually meets up with her half sisters and realizes that they all resemble their mother.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn Essay

Alexander Solzhenitsyn's purpose in episodes one and two of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is to develop Ivan Denisovich Shukhov as a mediator for personal views and then to present those views on life, prison, and authority to the reader. This purpose is accomplished by the author's use of characterization, symbolism, and aphorism. The reader's knowledge of Shukhov is almost as restricted as the rules set forth in Shukhov's prison, and there is nothing that sets Shukhov apart from the rest of the prisoners. This allows the reader to focus less on him as a character and more on what he is intended to convey. The author’s first use of characterization occurs in the quotation, "Shukhov never overslept reveille. He always got up at once, for the next ninety, until they assembled for work, belonged to him, not to the authorities" (17). Through this quotation, the reader recognizes how Shukhov is willing to partake in the many challenges set forth by authority, but still appreciates the time he can set aside for himself. This characterization of Shukhov shows that the author values the idea of self-awareness. This is essential further in the novel as seen when Shukhov reflects on the importance of mealtime or breaks as solely for one's self, which contrastingly reveals the extent in which authority has stolen time from the prisoners. Another example of characterization stems from the quotation, "Shukhov realized, as he had guessed on the way there, that he wasn't being sent to the guardhouse at all—it was simply that the guardroom floor needed scrubbing" (23). This quotation shows that Shukhov has an in-depth understanding of the operations within his prison and can be trusted by the reader to provide reliable exposure. The rea... ... the prisoners survived. This is necessary to understand for later in the novel when an importance is placed on one's ability to outsmart the authority in order to actually survive prison. For instance, when Shukhov tricks the cook in prison into giving his squad more dishes. By using aphorisms from Shukhov, Solzhenitsyn is able to express universal truths to discredit the communistic society around him, a personal view he wished to share on a global scale. Through the characterization of Shukhov, the use of symbolism, and the use of aphorisms, Solzhenitsyn is able to recognize Shukhov as a mediator of his personal views thus providing the reader with the observations that he has made as a prisoner himself. Works Cited Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Trans. Ralph Parker. New York: E.P. Dutton, a Division of Penguin, 1963. Print.

Class Distinction in Pygmalion Essay -- essays research papers

The play Pygmalion offers the readers a view on the theme of class distinction, and the problem of the barriers separating classes and people. Shaw reveals to us the truth about the artificiality of classes and how anybody can overcome them, He also shows us that society puts up high standards and that people are distinguished by their way of speaking, and their appearance alone and of course that's wrong. In the first act of Pygmalion, Shaw chooses a setting that really helped shedding light on this theme, for he chose the st. portico square between the church and the theatre, a setting that embraced everybody from different classes and made them all clash under one place for shelter. The gathering of all those different characters, and the way Shaw introduced everybody not by their real names, but by other names, show us that society puts artificial barriers for the differentiation between the rich and the poor. But as the play progresses each character's point of view about the classes is presented in different situations. Henry Higgins the phonetician sees the difference between the rich and the poor through their outside appearance, how they talk, walk, dress and eat. Professor Higgins sees that the barriers between classes could be over come in six months, and that changing somebody's looks and their way of pronouncing words means upgrading them to a higher social class, but in spite of this, he treats people equally, and his behavior is absolute rudeness to all. Professor Higgins' rudeness is an embarrassment to his mother Mrs. Higgins, who knows how to treat everybody with respect, and who isn?t fooled by Eliza's good looks and ways of talking. Mrs. Higgins can stil... ... first act they are seen dressed in elegant clothes and waiting for a taxi just like any rich person would do. When they meet Eliza in Mrs. Higgins' house, they are fooled by her appearance and they mistake her for a lady, Clara gets very impressed by Eliza's "new small talk" and Freddy falls for her. So its true, looks can be deceiving, but looks shouldn?t be the one thing that separates classes. Shaw wanted to show people how artificial the barriers are and he succeeded in that, Eliza the poor cockney girl goes to the ambassador's party and is mistaken for a duchess, and her father Alfred Doolittle, he is seen in the last act all well dressed and was considered by people as a middle class man. All that leads us to the conclusion that barriers can be crossed and that society is truly a fool.

The Probability of Landing on Different Properties in Monopoly :: Applied Statistics Essays

One of my favorite board games is Monopoly. I have noticed when I’ve played Monopoly that it seems like you always land on certain squares more than others. For instance, it seems like no one ever lands on Boardwalk, and players land on the pink and orange properties more often than they land on the others. The aim of this exploration is to find out if, over the course of a Monopoly game, a player will land on some squares more often than others and to use this information to figure out which properties are most profitable. This knowledge could help a player decide which properties to buy. The rules of Monopoly are fairly simple. In each turn, the player rolls two dice and moves the number of squares that is the total dice roll. The player then may buy the property he or she lands on if it is available, or if another player already owns it, the first player pays rent according to the instructions on the card associated with the property. If a player owns all the properties in a color group, he or she can increase the rent that other players pay when they land on a square by buying houses or hotels. There are some more complications in the game, but they are not important to this exploration. I decided that the most practical way to find out if a player will land on some squares more than others was to run a simulation. In order to do so, I needed to figure out how many times a player would roll the dice in a game of Monopoly, as that was the number of repetitions I would need to have in my simulation. To find that number, I played a game of Monopoly which I timed and counted the number of rolls in. It was 93 minutes long and the dice were rolled 201 times. I divided the time by the rolls to find the time per roll . The average game of Monopoly is 60 to 240 minutes long (Wikipedia) so I decided to use the middle value, 150. I divided the average length of a Monopoly game by the average time per roll to find the number of rolls in an average length Monopoly game . I decided to assume a four person game, so I divided 324 by 4 and got 81 rolls per person.