Feminist Refutation of the Deconstruction of The True Confessions of Ch

A Feminist Refutation of the Deconstruction of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle  Ã‚   As Captain Jaggery’s ostensibly moral imperative from Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle implores, we the readers â€Å"protect the natural order of the world† through our disbelief in our heroine as reflected in our intuitive reflection upon and deconstructionalist critique of the book.  Ã‚  Ã‚   In fact, it is likely that our disbelief of Charlotte’s story is as much a comment on our attitudes towards gender roles as it is an educated and thoughtful response to its clues.   Even as we find ourselves believing along with the story, we, upon reflection, find valid ways to destroy that believability, in no small part because we define what she does as either â€Å"female† (believable) and â€Å"male† (not believable). The preceding was provided so that the student could gain an understanding of the paper. The complete paper begins below: So what we have here is a girl who admits she owns the weapon that murdered Mr. Hollybrass.   A girl who lied about where she got it.   A girl who was taught to use a blade, and learned to use it, as Mr. Grimes would have it, ‘uncommon’ well.   A girl who, all agree, is unnatural in every way she acts.   Gentlemen, do we not, as natural men, need to take heed?   Is it not our duty, our obligation, to protect the natural order of the world? (Avi, 178) As Captain Jaggery’s ostensibly moral imperative from Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle implores, we the readers â€Å"protect the natural order of the world† through our disbelief in our heroine as reflected in our intuitive reflection upon and deconstructionalist critique of the book.  Ã‚  Ã‚   In fact, it is likely that our disbelief of Charlotte’s story is a... ...ive to males.   This in itself indicates a gender expectation on the part of the reader, one that predisposes the reader to disbelieve and should lead us all to re-examine our motivations in deconstructing the text.  Ã‚   Moreover, females and males alike colored Charlotte’s adaptation to her circumstances with a movement from a female role to a male role as if gender roles were intractable and binding from both the male and female points of view -- she wouldn’t be able to do it, despite the fact that quite possibly her own survival dictated she probably could have not done otherwise!   Once again, logic dictates that we at least acknowledge that our inability to accept Charlotte’s account could be more of a reflection of our gender expectations than her twisting of the truth.    Works Cited: Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. New York: Avon Books.1990.

Where Is the Diversity in America Today

The dream of a diverse America has to be one of the most fundamental philosophies on which our country has been built. From the first group of pilgrims that landed at Plymouth Rock, to the thousands that immigrate to America every year, they all still believe in the same dream that the pilgrims had when they came to America. The Dream that no matter what their racial, religious, or social background and beliefs are they can find wealth and happiness in America. This philosophy was so important that our Founding Fathers had to mention it in the Constitution. Yet nearly two and half centuries later where is that diversity in America today? It seems that even with the population of America at over 300 million today we are still like the first groups of Pilgrims, content to stay within our own little groups. As a conscious America we talk a good game, however when we go home at night our subconscious takes over, and we retreat into that comfort zone within our group. American’s should admit that they really don’t care about anyone else except themselves. They should stop pretending that they do, unless they can actually live by the example that our conscious mind has us profess. According to the 2000 Census report the composite of races in America today are basically 75% White, 12. 3% Black, 12. 5% Hispanic or Latino, with Native Americans and other races making up the rest of our population. One can see from these numbers that it would be very easy to segregate into racial groups and to live within one group. The Columbia Encyclopedia’s unsigned essay on race which happens to be titled Race points out how we classify groups strictly by our physical characteristics and even argues that the term race is an inappropriate term; Race says that many physical anthropologists believe: â€Å"The term race is inappropriate when applied to national, religious, geographic, linguistic or ethnic groups, nor can the biological criteria of race be equated with any mental characteristics such as intelligence, personality, or character. (263). Still those social distinctions like living with your own race, having all your friends of the same race and background, and even maybe those who are only in the same tax bracket or educational level prevail in our society today, and is not only natural for people to gravitate towards a comfort zone that they find within themselves and their environment? The answer would have to be yes, this means certain social distinctions do in fact matter. There is Religion in America today, which may not be viewed as one of those important factors of our social make-up as it once was, but when we take a look at the population numbers which profess that Christians and of other religious beliefs are in the majority that make up Americans today; we do have to admit it does play an important role. Probably not as much as in Europe or in some other countries, but Religion is an important factor none the less. According to the U. S. Census Bureau we have an adult population of: approximately 207 million, approximately 159 million are Christians, approximately 8 million in other religions, and approximately 29 million who believe in something other than a specified religion. With this data we can see that the majority of America’s social make-up is indeed Christian. This provides the American culture with very specific views and customs. Since religion is one of those fundamental beliefs that founded our country it is easy to see how it becomes a major factor in determining how we act and live in our society today. The facts are that your social background can predetermine your future. David Brooks, a senior editor for The Weekly Standard and who publishes frequently in Atlantic Monthly, Newsweek, and The New York Times, says it best in one of his essays People Like Us, when he says: â€Å"Human beings are capable of drawing amazingly subtle social distinctions and then shaping their lives around them. (253). Truly we shape our lives based on our environment and our beliefs that are familiar to us and we are raised within. That is why people tend to stay with their own group based on the color of their skin, religious beliefs, and social background. We see it everyday in our conscious life, where we go to work, school, shop, or relax. All these are influenced by those subtle social distinctions that make up our lives. Bringing all of these facts together, we can only conclude that man is a driven being. One driven by his environment, and that just by the luck of the social economic environment they were born into predetermines for the most part where they will live, work, and also which religion they will choose to follow. We can almost go as far as to determine the tax bracket into which they will fall. So when is America going to wake and realize that the only way to find diversity is to come to some happy medium with our conscious and subconscious mind? Change that is not to dramatic, but change none the less, seems to be the only answer.

Research Paper on Anabolic-androgenic Steroids - 2116 Words

Research Paper on Anabolic-androgenic Steroids Anabolic-androgenic steroids are a group of hormones, which includes the natural male hormone, testosterone, and a number of synthetic compounds. Anabolic refers to muscle building, while androgenic refers to increased masculine characteristics. Anabolic effects are basically muscle growth. Androgenic effects produce secondary male sex characteristics like facial hair, body hair, deepening of the voice, and so on. In the 1950s scientists were trying to isolate the muscle building properties without the masculinizing effects. This lead to the development of synthetic anabolic steroids. The word steroid simply means a class of drugs. Steroids are hormones†¦show more content†¦Overall steroids are illegal, and dangerous, but they are still used by many people. Steroids go straight to the bloodstream, quicker if they are injected. When taken orally they first go through the liver. Basically steroids work like this: A steroid enters the bloodstream and is carried into the muscle cell by diffusion then it binds to a receptor site. (These are certain areas in a cell that are receptive to free-floating molecules in the blood). The connection formed lets the steroid send a message to the receptor site to have some sort of a metabolic change in the cell. This is primarily increased protein synthesis and nitrogen retention (Taylor 143-145). This leads to increased size and strength in the muscle cell. There are a number of ways that anabolic steroids are used including medical uses. Some people take steroids orally, by injection, or by rubbing gels or creams onto skin. Abusers take 10-100 times larger doses than would be prescribed by a doctor (Blue and Lombardo 98). Stacking is a way of using. This means the abuser takes two or more different anabolic steroids. Sometimes they mix oral and injectable types. 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