Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson - 1964 Words

Jake Gallo Professor Underwood English 1B 4 May, 2016 Unassailable Truth in the Lottery Society can have a great effect on one’s actions and thoughts of truth. Some believe there is an idea of an unassailable truth, which is a truth that cannot be deemed false. This ideology is brought to the forefront in Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† (1948), a short story in which a small village of about 300 people stone one of their own each year as part of a cultural tradition. In this story the focus is on a woman named Tess Hutchinson, or â€Å"Tessie† is the victim of the stoning. To demonstrate the villager’s mentality towards the ottery a quote by the towns elder, Old Man Warner, gives his opinion on the lottery â€Å"Used to be a saying ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery.† (Jackson 262). There is another village addressed in this story, however it is briefly touched on and it is made aware to the reader that the other village has stopped participating in the lottery. The villagers have this mentality that the lottery should not be questioned, showing ignorance to all other alternatives and ending the lottery all together. Many analysts of â€Å"The Lottery† address tradition being shown in the story. In his article â€Å"Shirley Jackson’s Literary Discourse and the Allegation of Feminism as Socio-Cultural Subversion in Mid-Twentieth Century America† (2011) Gustavo Vargas Cohen, a faculty member at theShow MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson744 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† - For Analysis 1. There are multiple examples to suggest that â€Å"The Lottery† is a ritualistic ceremony. In several instances â€Å"The Lottery† is referred to as a ritual: â€Å"..so much of the ritual had been forgotten..† and â€Å"†¦because so much of the ritual had been forgotten†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . In addition, the ceremony happens annually on June 27th, a t0:00 a.m., suggesting a ceremonial quality. This happens with such regularity that the citizens â€Å"†¦only half listened to the directions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This ceremonyRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson Analysis732 Words   |  3 PagesFollowing other people may have a positive or negative effect, but when it reaches a certain point where you blindly follow others it may not have a positive outcome. â€Å"The Lottery† made by Shirley Jackson is about a small community of villagers that gather together every year to perform a tradition. All of the villagers gather together and draw small sl ips of paper from a black wooden box, whoever draws the first slip with the black dot on it, their family has to draw first. Now all of the membersRead More Analysis of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay693 Words   |  3 PagesAnalysis of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson was written in 1948. The story takes place in a village square of a town on June 27th. The author does not use much emotion in the writing to show how the barbaric act that is going on is look at as normal. This story is about a town that has a lottery once a year to choose who should be sacrificed, so that the town will have a plentiful year for growing crops. Jackson has many messages about human nature in this shortRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson910 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis of the Short Story â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson Shirley Jackson explores the subject of tradition in her short story â€Å"The Lottery†. A short story is normally evaluated based on its ability to provide a satisfying and complete presentation of its characters and themes. Shirley describes a small village that engages in an annual tradition known as â€Å"the lottery†. Narrating the story from a third person point of view, Shirley uses symbolism, foreshadowing and suspense to illustrateRead MoreEssay on The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: an Analysis1522 Words   |  7 PagesKouyialis EN102: Composition II Professor Eklund The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: An Analysis The short story â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson was written in 1948 and takes place in a small town, on the 27th of June. In this story, the lottery occurs every year, around the summer solstice. All families gather together to draw slips of paper from a black box. When reading this story, it is unclear the full premise of the lottery until near the end. The heads of households are the firstRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson1534 Words   |  7 Pages Literary Analysis: â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson is a short story written in 1948. Due to World War II ending around this time, her story took some strong criticism. The people at that time wanted uplifting stories, and this story is the very opposite because of its underlying theme of tradition and conformity. â€Å"The Lottery† shows that no matter the tradition or belief, people will not stray from their daily routine because humans are creatures of habitRead MoreAnalysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson773 Words   |  4 PagesIn the short story, The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson, is about a small village or some type of society with a yearly tradition called, the lottery. From what the reader may read online, they may find out that during the time period Jackson wrote this, she was interested in magic and witchcraft. Not only that she was also rumored to have gotten rocks thrown at her by children who believed she was a witch. One may also say, that the story wa s absolutely unique and the ending completely shockingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson1060 Words   |  5 Pagesthird point of view about other but our view are mostly to always limited, not knowing everything. In a story called â€Å"Charles† by Shirley Jackson, the author creates a limited first point of view of Laurels mother where the reader reads and understand only what Laurie’s mother understand and see. In the other story also written by Shirley Jackson called â€Å"The Lottery†, the story proceed at a limited third point of view where the reader understands more ideas. Although each storied have a differentRead MoreAnalysis of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson993 Words   |  4 PagesSpanish author, When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow. Shirley Jackson was born in 1919 in San Francisco, California to Leslie and Geraldine Jackson. She is most well known for her s hort story titled â€Å"The Lottery† which was first published in The New Yorker to overwhelming and mixed reviews. The lottery, as portrayed in the short story, is a religious, annual ceremony in the afternoon of June 27. This event is said to be olderRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson Analysis802 Words   |  4 PagesIf everyone else was doing something, would you? Or maybe if someone needed to be stood up for, would you have their back? In The Lottery, people do follow other people blindly. And the consequences are devastating. But in First They Came, not having someone’s back might get you in the same position†¦ The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a story that takes place in a small village on a warm summer day. Little boy’s run around in boisterous play, collecting small stones into a pile. As the adults gather

The Yakuza a Large Crime Organization Essay - 654 Words

One is known for his occupation and what he does and what he withholds from doing. The yakuza is a large crime organization that has thousands of members that span throughout the entire world. They originated in Japan and since then have slowly moved across the globe into many different countries; they even have members in the United States today. *The yakuza is a highly organized crime organization that places great importance in respect and honor and seeks revenge when they do not receive it, they are involved in different types of crimes and they have certain characteristics that separate them from other organizations.* Based on what was being portrayed in the both movies, the yakuza’s fate is in the hands of others. By that I mean you†¦show more content†¦Kitano is focused on faces, but never shows us more than we need to know. The characters in the movie react to violence even when it is imposed on them with a satirical impassiveness not shocked when a pistol is pointed at them. Kitano leaves us with an alley or an isolated beach. The yakuza portrayed are violent and cruel but besides the violence there are separate character moments that are interesting. You can see that the gangsters do have a sense of humanity as they play on the beach, creating a major disparity between the heartless violence that fills this tragic story. The yakuza are involved in many types of crimes from all levels including gambling, prostitution, extortion, pornography, weapons smuggling and drug trafficking. Many of the members can be found in casinos all over the world, since they are big gamblers. This is also portrayed in the movie Outrage in the scene where one of the rival family members continues to attend Otomo’s casino and gamble, even when they were on bad terms, eventually leading to his death. The gang is mostly dominated by men, because they do not believe that women are capable of keeping certain information private. It is ironic how in the movie, â€Å"Sonantine’s first point of difference from these other movies is that, while the yakuza are being wiped out one by one the single mainShow MoreRelatedYakuza1710 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century, criminal organizations have begun to develop within various nations throughout the world. Some of these criminal or ganizations consist of various national and ethnic groups who centralized themselves as a single enterprise and various illegal activity which results in monetary gains, such as drug trafficking, racketeering, human trafficking, setting up illegal gambling establishments, and corrupting the local government with members of their ownRead MoreEssay about Organized Crime Around the World1874 Words   |  8 PagesWhen people think of organized crime they think of the Italian mob and the Russian mafia. They are the ones that they see in movies and on television, and the ones that they hear about the most. However, they were created a couple centuries after their Asian counterparts, the Yakuza in Japan, and the Triads in China. These Asian syndicates were founded in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and consisted of merchants and other people in what was basically the middle class. They were just groupsRead MoreEssay about Japanese, Russian, Chinese, and Mexican Organized Crime1042 W ords   |  5 Pages Organized crime is an international issue and it exists in several different countries, such as; Italy, China, Japan, Russia and the United States of America. Although all these groups of organized crime have many things in common they tend to have different ways of doing something, or they may not do them at all. Many also commit similar types of crimes, and others commit crimes other groups would not. It is thought that the Russian Mafia has existed in Russia for several centuries. When RussiaRead MoreThe Triad : Chinese Gangs868 Words   |  4 PagesTriad: Chinese Gangs Triads are a system of organized crime gangs that are closely knit and very often family run. Referred to as the Chinese Mafia, Triads are active in numerous countries including China, Taiwan, Southeast parts of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and many Chinatown scattered throughout the United States (Huston, 2001). Believed to have in excess of 250,000 members, Chinese Triads are one of the most expansive crime organizations in the world (Booth, 2000). While the term â€Å"Triad†Read MoreThe Law Enforcement Of Japan2852 Words   |  12 Pagesexamined and distinguished to be one of the most leading countries for the lowest crime rate in the world. â€Å"Japan shows the lowest overall crime rate with 22 incidents per 100 inhabitants, and the second lowest property crime rate† (Entorf, Spengler, 2002:21). This is a tremendous achievement for such an industrialized and high-populated country. Perhaps, some are contemplating on how Japan became to have one of the low est crime rates, along with its influence and operation of its law enforcement systemRead MoreThe Italian Mob And The Russian Mafia1323 Words   |  6 PagesWhen people think of organized crime they think of the Italian mob and the Russian mafia. They are the ones that they see in movies and on television, and the ones that they hear about the most. However, they were created a couple centuries after their Asian counterparts, the Yakuza in Japan, and the Triads in China. These Asian syndicates were founded in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and consisted of merchants and other people in what was basically the middle class. They were just groupsRead MoreAn Analysis of Asian Gangs Essay1714 Words   |  7 Pagesfact that gang related crime is one of the most dangerous challenges facing society and law enforcement today. They are younger, more brutal, unafraid of consequences and becoming increasingly more vicious. Gang members work together as cliques, they commit all sorts o f violent crimes including murders, rapes, robberies and kidnappings. They live in aimless and violent presents; have no sense of the past and no hope for the future; they commit unspeakably brutal crimes against other people oftenRead MorePersonal Perception of Organized Crime787 Words   |  4 PagesPersonal Perception of Organized Crime In answering this question of what Angie’s personal perception of organized crime, it takes me back to the days of organized groups that united for financial gain, control over business, law enforcement, the public and anyone or anything that they could rule. Organized crime brings about change in a community, hurt, danger, and sometimes death. When thinking of organized crime it takes us back to the days of the Mafia. The days of Al Capone comes to mind moreRead MoreCja 384 Controlling Organized Crime1370 Words   |  6 Pagesorganized crime and not just in the United States of America but also abroad. This is a country and others are wrought with opportunities, but many would seek to use those opportunities improperly to illegal ends. The consequences of these criminals and their actions can be detrimental to the overall well-being of the general populace by introducing negative elements into the greater whole of society. For that reason, and many others, numerous agencies were created to police these crimes and the peopleRead MoreCriminal Activity During The 1920s2140 Words   |  9 Pagesto achieve the American Dream, parties, money and social representation became a main contribute to an individual’s persona. As these factors were sought to be obtained, many criminal engagements were enacted. These crimes included but were not limited to, bootlegging, organized crime, scandals and murder, which were set by the infamous Al Capone and the Mafia, with contribution to the corruption of the FBI, the KKK and their racial and religious prejudice, Leopold and Loeb, and Warren G. Harding

Master of Business Administration free essay sample

Pricing policy refers to the policy of setting the price of the product or products and services by the management after taking into account of various internal and external factors, forces and its own business objectives. Pricing Policy basically depends on price theory that is the corner stone of economic theory. Pricing is considered as one of the basic and central problems of economic theory in a modern economy. Fixing prices are the most important aspect of managerial decision making because market price charged by the company affects the present and future production plans, pattern of distribution, nature of marketing etc. Generally speaking, in economic theory, we take into account of only two parties, i. e. , buyers and sellers while fixing the prices. However, in practice many parties are associated with pricing of a product. They are rival competitors, potential rivals, middlemen, wholesalers, retailers, commission agents and above all the Govt. Hence, we should give due consideration to the influence exerted by these parties in the process of price determination. Broadly speaking, the various factors and forces that affect the price are divided into two categories. They are as follows: I External Factors (Outside factors) 1. Demand, supply and their determinants. 2. Elasticity of demand and supply. 3. Degree of competition in the market. 4. Size of the market. 5. Good will, name, fame and reputation of a firm in the market. 6. Trends in the market. 7. Purchasing power of the buyers. 8. Bargaining power of customers 9. Buyers behavior in respect of particular product II. Internal Factors (Inside Factors) 1. Objectives of the firm. 2. Production Costs. 3. Quality of the product and its characteristics. 4. Scale of production. 5. Efficient management of resources. 6. Policy towards percentage of profits and dividend distribution. 7. Advertising and sales promotion policies. 8. Wage policy and sales turn over policy etc. 9. The stages of the product on the product life cycle. 10. Use pattern of the product. Objectives of the Price Policy: A firm has multiple objectives today. In spite of several objectives, the ultimate aim of every business concern is to maximize its profits. This is possible when the returns exceed costs. In this context, setting an ideal price for a product assumes greater importance. Pricing objectives has to be established by top management to ensure not only that the company’s profitability is adequate but also that pricing is complementary to the total strategy of the organization. While formulating the pricing policy, a firm has to consider various economic, social, political and other factors. The Following objectives are to be considered while fixing the prices of the product. 1. Profit maximization in the short term The primary objective of the firm is to maximize its profits. Pricing policy as an instrument to achieve this objective should be formulated in such a way as to maximize the sales revenue and profit. Maximum profit refers to the highest possible of profit. In the short run, a firm not only should be able to recover its total costs, but also should get excess revenue over costs. This will build the morale of the firm and instill the spirit of confidence in its operations. 2. Profit optimization in the long run The traditional profit maximization hypothesis may not prove beneficial in the long run. With the sole motive of profit making a firm may resort to several kinds of unethical practices like charging exorbitant prices, follow Monopoly Trade Practices (MTP), Restrictive Trade Practices (RTP) and Unfair Trade Practices (UTP) etc. This may lead to opposition from the people. In order to over- come these evils, a firm instead of profit maximization, and aims at profit optimization. Optimum profit refers to the most ideal or desirable level of profit. Hence, earning the most reasonable or optimum profit has become a part and parcel of a sound pricing policy of a firm in recent years. 3. Price Stabilization Price stabilization over a period of time is another objective. The prices as far as possible should not fluctuate too often. Price instability creates uncertain atmosphere in business circles. Sales plan becomes difficult under such circumstances. Hence, price stability is one of the pre requisite conditions for steady and persistent growth of a firm. A stable price policy only can win the confidence of customers and may add to the good will of the concern. It builds up the reputation and image of the firm. 4. Facing competitive situation One of the objectives of the pricing policy is to face the competitive situations in the market. In many cases, this policy has been merely influenced by the market share psychology. Wherever companies are aware of specific competitive products, they try to match the prices of their products with those of their rivals to expand the volume of their business. Most of the firms are not merely interested in meeting competition but are keen to prevent it. Hence, a firm is always busy with its counter business strategy. 5. Maintenance of market share Market share refers to the share of a firm’s sales of a particular product in the total sales of all firms in the market. The economic strength and success of a firm is measured in terms of its market share. In a competitive world, each firm makes a successful attempt to expand its market share. If it is impossible, it has to maintain its existing market share. Any decline in market share is a symptom of the poor performance of a firm. Hence, the pricing policy has to assist a firm to maintain its market share at any cost. Ques2. Explain the important features of long run AC curve. Ans: Long run AC curves Long run is defined as a period of time where adjustments to changed conditions are complete. It is actually a period during which the quantities of all factors, variable as well as fixed factors can be adjusted. Hence, there are no fixed costs in the long run. In the short run, a firm has to carry on its production within the existing plant capacity, but in the long run it is not tied up to a particular plant capacity. If demand for the product increases, it can expand output by enlarging its plant capacity. It can construct new buildings or hire them, install new machines, employ administrative and other permanent staff. It can make use of the existing as well as new staff in the most efficient way and there is lot of scope for making indivisible factors to become divisible factors. On the other hand, if demand for the product declines, a firm can cut down its production permanently. The size of the plant can also be reduced and other expenditure can be minimized. Hence, production cost comes down to a greater extent in the long run. As all costs are variable in the long run, the total of these costs is total cost of production. Hence, the distinction between fixed and variables costs in the total cost of production will disappear in the long run. In the long run only the average total cost is important and considered in taking long term output decisions. Important features of long run AC curve 1. Tangent curve Different SAC curves represent different operational capacities of different plants in the short run. LAC curve is locus of all these points of tangency. The SAC curve can never cut a LAC curve though they are tangential to each other. This implies that for any given level of output, no SAC curve can ever be below the LAC curve. Hence, SAC cannot be lower than the LAC in the ling run. Thus, LAC curve is tangential to various SAC curves. 2. Envelope curve It is known as Envelope curve because it envelopes a group of SAC curves appropriate to different levels of output. 3. Flatter Unshaped or dish-shaped curve. The LAC curve is also U shaped or dish shaped cost curve. But It is less pronounced and much flatter in nature. LAC gradually falls and rises due to economies and diseconomies of scale. 4. Planning curve. The LAC cure is described as the Planning Curve of the firm because it represents the least cost of producing each possible level of output. This helps in producing optimum level of output at the minimum LAC. This is possible when the entrepreneur is selecting the optimum scale plant. Optimum scale plant is that size where the minimum point of SAC is tangent to the minimum point of LAC. . Minimum point of LAC curve should be always lower than the minimum point of SAC curve. This is because LAC can never be higher than SAC or SAC can never be lower than LAC. The LAC curve will touch the optimum plant SAC curve at its minimum point. A rational entrepreneur would select the optimum scale plant. Optimum scale plant is that size at which SAC is tangent to LAC, such that both the curves h ave the minimum point of tangency. In the diagram, OM2 is regarded as the optimum scale of output, as it has the least per unit cost. At OM2 output LAC = SAC.

Post

Post-Traumatic Stress Essay The Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental illness that maydevelop in people after a horrible experience. This is a big reaction to extremestress. There are many causes, symptoms, and treatments for the post-traumaticstress disorder. There are many causes this disorder has, and this includes:coming out of war, being raped, or attacked, child abuse, natural disasters, caraccidents, and even people who witness traumatic events could develop thisdisorder. A person who has experienced a bad traumatic event has a better chanceof developing this disorder than a person who experienced a less traumatic eventdevelops. This works the same way with people who witness something horrible. There are several themes in Possession that tie this book to earlier texts that we have read. Individual versus group identity, feminism, sexuality and the link between present and past are themes that Byatt deals with in her novel. Interestingly, Byatt expresses many of these themes using symbolic color imagery, a technique that makes her writing reminiscent of Pre-Raphaelite style. According to Byatt, the struggle of the individual to discover and then live out her own identity, an identity etched out only with enormous effort and determination is a major theme running through many of her novels, especially this one. The title itself brings out the first questions of identity-Possession. Who possesses whom? Does he possess her, or does she possess him? Are they owning and possessing their literary history, or does it possess them? Individual identity is lost in the way the book is written. Many times, the reader cannot tell one couple from the other-who is reading Ashs poetry, kiss ing, running away on a honeymoon of sorts, and making love? Is it Roland and Maud, or is she suddenly writing about Christabel and Ash again? Throughout the book, Byatt often makes these switches in characters between scenes without telling the reader. The effect is that the narrative is essentially no different for each couple living in different time periods. The same love story that defines Christabel and Ash in the 1860s also describes Roland and Maud in the 1980s. In Victorian tradition, it was the man who owned the woman, his wife. Yet in this modern Victorian work, that becomes twisted. When Ash attempts to claim Christabel on page 308 by holding her and making love to her, the act of possession is switched around. He is trying figuratively to grasp her, and she was liquid moving through his grasping fingers, as though she was waves of the sea rising all round him. He tries to take her all in, to know her, and her womanhood eludes him, as personality always will. Byatts messa ge seems to be that a personality cannot be taken or possessed by someone else, that individuality always remains, even in Victorian situations of female oppression and domination by males. This interwovenness and connection between the two couples through themes and situations, serves also to connect the past to the present, the Victorian to the Post-modern. Gilded Age Essay The poverty that Native Americans and those of other similar demographics lived in caused a sharp difference in veterans who suffered from PTSD, as Sarah L. Knox writes in a review of Eric T. Dean, Jr.s Shook over Hell: Post-Traumatic Stress, Vietnam, and the Civil War (111). Knox says Dean argues that the privileged veteran would receive better treatment and medical attention compared to his impoverished counterpart (111). Neal also states that the communities and employers of Vietnam veterans treated them as if they had just gotten back from a vacation (140). This casual handling .

The Great Depression Was The Worst Economic Slump Ever In U.S. Essays

The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the maldistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize. The "roaring twenties" was an era when our country prospered tremendously. The nation's total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929(end note 1). However, the rewards of the "Coolidge Prosperity" of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. According to a study done by the Brookings Institute, in 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%(end note 2). That same top 0.1% of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all(end note 3). Automotive industry mogul Henry Ford provides a striking example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class. Henry Ford reported a personal income of $14 million(end note 4) in the same year that the average personal income was $750(end note 5). By present day standards, where the average yearly income in the U.S. is around $18,500(end note 6), Mr. Ford would be earning over $345 million a year! This maldistribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 1920's. While the disposable income per capita rose 9% from 1920 to 1929, those with income within the top 1% enjoyed a stupendous 75% increase in per capita disposable income(end note 7). A major reason for this large and growing gap between the rich and the working-class people was the increased manufacturing output throughout this period. From 1923-1929 the average output per worker increased 32% in manufacturing(end note 8). During that same period of time average wages for manufacturing jobs increased only 8%(end note 9). Thus wages increased at a rate one fourth as fast as productivity increased. As production costs fell quickly, wages rose slowly, and prices remained constant, the bulk benefit of the increased productivity went into corporate profits. In fact, from 1923-1929 corporate profits rose 62% and dividends rose 65%(end note 10). The federal government also contributed to the growing gap between the rich and middle-class. Calvin Coolidge's administration (and the conservative-controlled government) favored business, and as a result the wealthy who invested in these businesses. An example of legislation to this purpose is the Revenue Act of 1926, signed by President Coolidge on February 26, 1926, which reduced federal income and inheritance taxes dramatically(end note 11). Andrew Mellon, Coolidge's Secretary of the Treasury, was the main force behind these and other tax cuts throughout the 1920's. In effect, he was able to lower federal taxes such that a man with a million-dollar annual income had his federal taxes reduced from $600,000 to $200,000(end note 12). Even the Supreme Court played a role in expanding the gap between the socioeconomic classes. In the 1923 case Adkins v. Children's Hospital, the Supreme Court ruled minimum-wage legislation unconstitutional(end note 13). The large and growing disparity of wealth between the well-to-do and the middle-income citizens made the U.S. economy unstable. For an economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. In an economy with such disparate distribution of income it is not assured that demand will always equal supply. Essentially what happened in the 1920's was that there was an oversupply of goods. It was not that the surplus products of industrialized society were not wanted, but rather that those whose needs were not satiated could not afford more, whereas the wealthy were satiated by spending only a small portion of their income. A 1932 article in Current History articulates the problems of this maldistribution of wealth: "We still pray to be given each day our daily bread. Yet there is too much bread, too much wheat and corn, meat and oil and almost every other commodity required by

Babylon, the Glorious Ancient Mesopotamian Capital

Babylon, the Glorious Ancient Mesopotamian Capital Babylon was the name of the capital of Babylonia, one of several city-states in Mesopotamia. Our modern name for the city is a version of the  ancient Akkadian name for it: Bab Ilani or Gate of the Gods. Babylons ruins are located in what is today Iraq, near the modern town of Hilla and on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river. People first lived at Babylon at least as long ago as the late 3rd millennium BC, and it became the political center of southern Mesopotamia beginning in the 18th century, during the reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). Babylon maintained its importance as a city for an astounding 1,500 years, until around 300 BC. Hammurabis City A Babylonian description of the ancient city, or rather a list of the names of the city and its temples, is found in the cuneiform text called Tintir Babylon, so named because its first sentence translates to something like Tintir is a name of Babylon, on which glory and jubilation are bestowed. This document is a compendium of Babylons significant architecture, and it was probably compiled about 1225 BC, during the era of Nebuchadnezzar I. Tintir lists 43 temples, grouped by the quarter of the city in which they were located, as well as city-walls, waterways, and streets, and a definition of the ten city quarters. What else we know of the ancient Babylonian city comes from archaeological excavations. German archaeologist Robert Koldewey  dug a huge pit 21 meters [70 feet] deep into the tell discovering the Esagila temple in the early 20th century. It wasnt until the 1970s when a joint Iraqi-Italian team led by Giancarlo Bergamini revisited the deeply buried ruins. But, apart from that, we dont know a lot about Hammurabis city, because it was destroyed in the ancient past. Babylon Sacked According to cuneiform writings, Babylons rival Assyrian king Sennacherib sacked the city in 689 BC. Sennacherib bragged that he razed all the buildings and dumped the rubble into the Euphrates River. Over the next century, Babylon was reconstructed by its Chaldean rulers, who followed the old city plan. Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562) conducted a massive reconstruction project and left his signature on many of Babylons buildings. It is Nebuchadnezzars city that dazzled the world, beginning with the admiring reports of Mediterranean historians. Nebuchadnezzars City Nebuchadnezzars Babylon was enormous, covering an area of some 900 hectares (2,200 acres): it was the largest city in the Mediterranean region until imperial Rome. The city lay within a large triangle measuring 2.7x4x4.5 kilometers (1.7x2.5x2.8 miles), with one edge formed by the bank of the Euphrates and the other sides made up of walls and a moat. Crossing the Euphrates and intersecting the triangle was the walled rectangular (2.75x1.6 km or 1.7x1 mi) inner city, where most of the major monumental palaces and temples were located. The major streets of Babylon all led to that central location. Two walls and a moat surrounded the inner city and one or more bridges connected the eastern and western parts. Magnificent gates allowed entry to the city: more of that later. Temples and Palaces At the center was the main sanctuary of Babylon: in Nebuchadnezzars day, it contained 14 temples. The most impressive of these was the Marduk Temple Complex, including the Esagila (The House Whose Top is High) and its massive ziggurat, the Etemenanki (House/Foundation of Heaven and the Underworld). The Marduk Temple was surrounded by a wall pierced with seven gates, protected by the statues of dragons made from copper. The ziggurat, located across an 80 m (260 ft) wide street from the Marduk Temple, was also surrounded by high walls, with nine gates also protected by copper dragons. The main palace at Babylon, reserved for official business, was the Southern Palace, with an enormous throne room, decorated with lions and stylized trees. The Northern Palace, thought to have been the Chaldean rulers residence, had lapis-lazuli glazed reliefs. Found within its ruins was a collection of much older artifacts, collected by the Chaldeans from various places around the Mediterranean. The Northern Palace was considered a possible candidate for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; although evidence has not been found and a more likely location outside of Babylon has been identified (see Dalley). Babylons Reputation In the Christian Bibles  Book of Revelation  (ch. 17), Babylon was described as Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earths abominations, making it the epitome of evil and decadence everywhere. This was a bit of religious propaganda to which the preferred cities of  Jerusalem  and Rome were compared and warned against becoming. That notion dominated western thought until late 19th-century German excavators brought home parts of the ancient city and installed them in a museum in Berlin, including the marvelous dark-blue Ishtar gate with its bulls and dragons. Other historians marvel at the citys amazing size. The Roman historian  Herodotus  [~484-425 BC] wrote about Babylon in the first book of his  Histories  (chapters 178-183), although scholars argue about whether Herodotus actually saw Babylon or just heard about it. He described it as a vast city, much much larger than the archaeological evidence shows, claiming that the city walls stretched a circumference of some 480 stadia (90 km). The 5th-century Greek historian Ctesias, who probably did actually visit in person, said the city walls stretched 66 km (360 stadia).  Aristotle  described it as a city that has the size of a nation. He reports that when  Cyrus the Great  captured the outskirts of the city, it took three days for the news to reach the center. The Tower of Babel According to Genesis in the Judeo-Christian Bible, the  Tower of Babel  was built in an attempt to reach heaven. Scholars believe that the massive Etemenanki ziggurat was the inspiration for the legends. Herodotus reported that the ziggurat had a solid central tower with eight tiers. The towers could be climbed by way of an exterior spiral staircase, and about half-way up there was a place to rest. On the 8th tier of the Etemenanki ziggurat was a great temple with a large, richly decorated couch and beside it stood a golden table. No one was allowed to spend the night there, said Herodotus, except one specially selected Assyrian woman. The ziggurat was dismantled by  Alexander the Great  when he conquered Babylon in the 4th century BC. City Gates The Tintir Babylon tablets list the city gates, which all had evocative nicknames, such as the Urash gate, The Enemy is Abhorrent to it, the Ishtar gate Ishtar overthrows its Assailant and the Adad gate O Adad, Guard the Life of the Troops. Herodotus says there were 100 gates in Babylon: archaeologists have only found eight in the inner city, and the most impressive of those was the Ishtar gate, built and rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II, and currently on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. To get to the Ishtar Gate, the visitor walked for some 200 m (650 ft) between two high walls decorated with bas-reliefs of 120 striding lions. The lions are brightly colored and the background is a striking glazed lapis lazuli dark blue. The tall gate itself, also dark blue, depicts 150 dragons and bulls, symbols of the protectors of the city, Marduk and Adad. Babylon and Archaeology The archaeological site of Babylon has been excavated by a number of people, most notably by  Robert Koldewey  beginning in 1899. Major excavations ended in 1990. Many cuneiform tablets were collected from the city in the 1870s and 1880s, by  Hormuzd Rassam  of the British Museum. The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities conducted work at Babylon between 1958 and the onset of the Iraq war in the 1990s. Other recent work was conducted by a German team in the 1970s and an Italian one from the University of Turin in the 1970s and 1980s. Heavily damaged by the Iraq/US war, Babylon has recently been investigated by researchers of the  Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino  at the University of Turin using QuickBird and satellite imagery to quantify and monitor the ongoing damage. Sources Much of the information about Babylon here is summarized from Marc Van de Mieroops 2003 article in the American Journal of Archaeology for the later city; and George (1993) for the Babylon of Hammurabi. Brusasco P. 2004. Theory and practice in the study of Mesopotamian domestic space.  Antiquity  78(299):142-157.Dalley S. 1993.  Ancient Mesopotamian gardens and the identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon resolved.  Garden History  21(1):1-13.George AR. 1993.  Babylon revisited: archaeology and philology in harness.  Antiquity  67(257):734-746.Jahjah M, Ulivieri C, Invernizzi A, and Parapetti R. 2007.  Archaeological remote sensing application pre-postwar situation of Babylon archaeological site- Iraq.  Acta Astronautica 61:121–130.Reade J. 2000.  Alexander the Great and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  Iraq  62:195-217.Richard S. 2008. ASIA, WEST |  Archaeology of the Near East: The Levant. In: Pearsall DM, editor.  Encyclopedia of Archaeology. New York: Academic Press. p 834-848.Ur J. 2012. Southern Mesopotamia. In: Potts DT, editor.  A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p 533-555.Van de M ieroop M. 2003.  Reading Babylon.  American Journal of Archaeology  107(2):254-275.

Intro to missions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Intro to missions - Essay Example The paper also explains in detail the meaning of Missions and shows how the theme of Missions is the main focus of Missiology. Before we delve into the main areas of Missiology, it is important to look at the distinction between two important Missiology terminologies. The first terminology is the term mission. The term mission (singular) is used in reference to God’s mission in the world, or in other words God’s desire of reconciling all human beings to him (Rogers, 27). Missions (plural) on the other hand refers to the human participation in God’s work of reconciling the human beings to him. As we have said in the introduction, the main aim of Missiology is to prepare the prospective missionaries for the challenging and very important work of missionary. For the missionaries to succeed in their mission work, they should be adequately prepared to face the challenges of mission work. The preparation requires that, first; the missionaries should be well grounded in Theology. This is because as the work of any missionary involves living the Gospel in a radical way and helping the other people to know God and to give their lives to God, the missionaries should be well grounded in Theology. To be effective and successful in their work therefore, the missionaries should understand well the main aim and goal of mission work. This therefore means that the preparation of future missionaries should involve studying salvation history. According to the Bible, especially the book of Genesis, we learn that the main reason why God created human beings is to have a mutually satisfying relationship with the human beings (Rogers, 13). That is why even after man sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, God did not abandon man but He initiated the process of reconciling man back to him. Salvation history is all about this process of God reconciling humanity back to