Good Earth Olan Essay -- Essays Papers

Good Earth Olan Throughout The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, O-lan showed herself as a very humble woman. O-lan was a slave in the House of Hwang before her marriage was arranged by the Old Mistress of the House of Hwang. O-lan was faithful throughout the book to Wang Lung through harvest, famine, and even when Wang Lung brought home another woman. O-lan was a hard worker and worked even when no one told her to. She had wisdom that only a slave and a hardworking woman could acquire. Pearl S. Buck reveals many things that all show O-lan to be the humble woman she was. O-lan's physical appearance showed her as a very modest woman. When Wang Lung sees her, he stares at O-lan seeing that, "plain though her face was and rough the skin upon her hands the flesh of her big body was soft and untouched . . . her body was beautiful, spare, and big boned yet rounded and soft" (26). From her physical qualities, it is clear that O-lan isn't a spoiled woman who sits around all day, but a hard worker. She is described as an ugly, flat-footed, stolid-faced woman. Many times, Wang Lung secretly wishes that O-lan didn't have such big feet. During the time of this book, women's feet were bound so they would be smaller. O-lan had big feet because they were never bound. This was another aspect of Chinese life that seemed designed to make women suffer was the practice of altering the feet of girls so they could barely walk. The Chinese custom of foot binding was meant to please men esthetically and to enhance a man's status by showing he was wealthy enough for his wife or concubine not to work. O-lan said many significant things that showed her to be the modest woman she was. She was a very quiet woman. Though she spoke very few words, they meant so much. In the first part of the book, when the Ancient One asked O-lan if she was ready to head into the world with this stranger, answering in her "not loud, not soft, plain, and not ill-tempered" voice, she says, "ready" (17). Many times, O-lan is fearful of speaking. When it is the first time taking hot water to the old man, she tells Wang Lung fearfully, "'I took no tea to the Old One-I did as you said-but to you I . . .'" (27). O-lan listens well to Wang Lung, but fears that she is not doing her jobs correctly. O-lan's timidity when she first gets married is only natural for her situation. At the b... ...d" (36). Other characters in the novel said things about O-lan that showed her to be the modest woman she was. When Wang Lung was talking to his father, he said a lot shouldn't be expected of O-lan's appearance. He said, "We are farmers. Moreover, who has heard of a pretty slave who was a virgin in a wealthy house? All the young lords have had their fill of her." (18) O-lan was obviously a very bold and important woman in this novel yet never knew it. She would do what she was raised to do and try her best to make her husband happy. Through all her marriage, she helped Wang Lung to be one of the wealthiest men in his city. While O-lan endured many difficulties, she continued with her duties as wife through thick and thin. Whether it was her begging on the streets for food and money, or putting up with Lotus, her husband's concubine, O-lan remained a strong woman with good qualities until the day she died. While she usually had little to say, O-lan's impact on the Lung family is one that wont be forgotton. She accomplished all of her goals in life and fulfilled her marital duty in making Wang Lung very happy. Even after all this, O-lan still was a very modest woman.

Reading Response: Kindred

Timothy Kramer  |  Literature & Composition  |  January 10, 2013 Timothy Kramer  |  Literature & Composition  |  January 10, 2013 Reading Response Kindred Reading Response Kindred LT02 Summarize the Text In Olivia Butler's novel, Kindred, an African American woman, Dana, is unexpectedly pulled back to the Slave Era where she struggles to face the inequalities that existed at that time. After moving into her new apartment with her newly wedded husband, Dana is unexpectedly pulled back in time to finds herself in 1800, Maryland where she sees Rufus drowning in a river.After rescuing the young white boy, she is then terrified by the father of the boy, threating to take her life, which literally scares her back to the future. It didn’t take very long for another dizzying time travel phenomenon to occur this time, she is pulled back to 1815. She finds Rufus watching his curtains. Dana quickly puts out the fire, talks to Rufus about it, and escapes from the house bef ore Weylin, Rufus’s father, finds her. Dana goes to Alice’s house because she believes that she is an ancestor.Before she was able to arrive at the cabin, a group of white men break down the door whips Alice’s and beat him. They also beat Alice’s mother. After the men leave, Dana comes out from where she was hiding and helps out. When Dana leaves, a white man finds her, beats her, and attempts to rape her†¦ Following with another dizzying effect, where she is returned home to her own time†¦ Thirty minutes later of course. The next time Dana time travels, Kevin comes with. Back at the plantation, Rufus has broken his leg. Rufus refuses to let Dana leave, so everyone returns to the house together.Kevin and Dana stay on the plantation for a while, But when Dana gets caught teaching Nigel to read, Weylin whips her. Dana receives the â€Å"oh so familiar† dizziness and is returned to her normal timeline†¦ without Kevin. After about a week of Dana impatiently waiting and preparing for another infamous dizzying, time travel, extravaganza, she is transported back to 1820 in a forest not far from the plantation. Rufus had gotten into a fight with Isaac, Alice's newly wedded husband, because he had raped her and wants her all to himself. Dana tells Isaac to leave Rufus alone and run away with Alice. Alice and Isaac are caught.After Rufus doesn’t mail her letters to Kevin, who has gone way up north, she tries and fails to escape the plantation, she is punished for her â€Å"crimes† and â€Å"earns† a whipping. Kevin shows up, and they both escape, were they escape a near death by time traveling back to the future. When Dana time travels back to the plantation, she learns that Rufus has sold Alice’s children. Alice soon after kills herself. Rufus attempts to commit suicide as a result. A few days following the â€Å"incident† Rufus confesses his â€Å"love† for her. She leaves plan ning to cut her wrists in order to get home, but Rufus follows her and attempts to rape her.Dana stabs him twice with her knife, killing him. She returns home immediately. Her arm is severed and crushed in the spot where Rufus was holding it. Wrapping the ending that was expressed in the prologue of the book. LT10 Expand Beyond the Text Education is one of the most important opportunities that we could possibly have. In the Olivia Butlers novel, Kindred, it is expressed this opportunity is not available for African Americans back in the 1800’s. Dana is constantly reminded and criticized because of this due to her superior knowledge from the 1970’s.This is expressed as a good thing expressing the fact that we have overcome our past inequalities and allowed this supreme opportunity, but this is only true in a few select countries. This opportunity has not expanded across the states to individuals that reside in third world countries due to extreme poverty. To them, this opportunity is a virtue they cannot afford, in fact it’s looked upon as a privilege that only a select few can experience. Back in the 1800’s, being a African American woman with knowledge was strange and unfamiliar to the people of that time, Which has indeed improved but not at all for what it could be.

The Doctrine Of Divine Command Theory Essay - 1665 Words

Divine Command Theory â€Å"If God does not exist, then everything is permitted,† in other words, if there turns out to be no God then nothing is morally wrong. Someone who would believe a statement such as this one would most likely be in agreement with the Divine Command Theory---the reason being that the main claim in this theory is, all that is morally right, is right because God commands it so. Therefore in order to believe in the Divine Command Theory, one would need to be a strong believer in God---and would truly believe that if there were no God, morality would be absent. With this in mind, if God is the creator of all that is morally right, and there turns out to be no god at all, then nothing is morally wrong or can be capable of being morally wrong---would be a statement that non-believers of the Divine Command Theory would believe, and believe that morality can exist on its own, with or without a God. In this paper I will focus on the Divine Command Theory in rela tion to the statement above, and those who would oppose this statement. In doing so, I will attempt to show why I believe that those opposing this statement have a more plausible view. First, I will explain what Divine Command Theory is in more detail, and why someone would believe this theory because of its claims to morality. Robert Mortimer is the creator of this theory and he makes many claims as to why God is the sole reason that morality exists. First, it must be known that people reject the ideaShow MoreRelatedThe Doctrine Of The Divine Command Theory Essay1434 Words   |  6 Pagespaper argues that Utilitarianism is a better ethical theory than many others proposed like the Divine Command Theory, which is the concept that morality is tied strictly to God and Immanuel Kant’s Duty Defined Morality, which has two distinct moral imperatives, because utilitarianism focusses on the benefit of the many which far outweighs the well-being of a single person. 2. Explanation of Philosophical Views The Divine Command Theory is a theory that morals are solely connected to religious beliefRead MoreThe Doctrine Of The Divine Command Theory1377 Words   |  6 Pagessome of the most thought provoking theories and ideas from some of the greatest philosophers. One of those theories is the Divine Command theory. The Divine Command theory tries to explain the relation between God and what is morally correct and there have been many philosophers who have taken very opposing views on the theory in order to determine of society should accept this theory. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Divine Command theory is â€Å"the view that morality is somehowRead MoreThe Doctrine Of The Divine Command Theory884 Words   |  4 PagesThe divine command theory states that â€Å"An act is morally required just because it is commanded by God and immoral just because God forbids it† (Shafer-Landau, The Fundamentals of Ethics, p.67). In interviewing an Elder of a local Jehovah’s Witness congregation on the ethics involved in religion, he agreed that the divine command theory is correct, and that there are many commands and things that are forbidden in the bible that are considered to be God’s standards for the way we live our lives. ButRead MoreThe Doctrine Of The Divine Command Theory1237 Words   |  5 PagesThe Divine Command Theory dictates that â€Å"An act is morally required just because it is commanded by God, and immoral just because God forbids it (Shafer-Landau 65).† This view is often a ccepted by religious people as the basis for morality; the morality of an action is determined by whether or not it is commanded by God. However, there are multiple problems presented by this line of thinking. One of the most common arguments against this theory is known as the Euthyphro Dilemma, derived from Plato’sRead MoreThe Doctrine Of The Divine Command Theory1488 Words   |  6 Pagesmorality is centered on assessing the ethical implications of us as people. Who we ought and be, and what actions we ought to take or avoid based on an understanding of the scripture and relevant human experiences. I do not subscribe to the divine command theory (DCT) of ethics, as I believe you can have ethics without God. The DCT proposes that what is morally right is what God has commanded (for example, love thy neighbor), and what is forbidden by God is morally wrong (i.e. murder), yet there areRead MoreThe Doctrine Of The Divine Command Theory914 Words   |  4 PagesRachels describ es the Divine Command theory as weak because it makes morality mysterious. According to the Divine Command Theory, nothing is good nor bad, unless God’s thinking makes it so. For example, child abuse. Child abuse is wrong, but according to this theory, it is neither right nor wrong (because the God’s have not commanded it so). If the God’s were to command that child abuse was right, this still does not make child abuse right, so therefore this theory is untenable and makes us furtherRead MoreThe Divine Command Theory And The Doctrine Dilemma Essay1448 Words   |  6 PagesThe Divine Command Theory is the idea that morality is ingrained in the nature and command of God, and the Euthyphro Dilemma is one of the most common arguments refuting the Divine Command Theory. The argument was inspired by Plato’s Euthyphro dialogue, which contains the question â€Å"Are morally good acts willed by god because they are morally good? Or are morally good acts, mor ally good because they are willed by god?† (Euthyphro, 10a). This question raises large problems for the Divine Command TheoryRead MoreThe Divine Command Theory And Euthyphro Problem Essay974 Words   |  4 PagesIn this paper, I will discuss about the Divine Command Theory and Euthyphro Problem and show how the Euthyphro Problem makes the Divine Command Theory morality arbitrary. Also, I will discuss why one does not have to reject the belief in God due to the Divine Command Theory cannot give a satisfactory answer to the Euthyphro Problem. First, I will define what the Divine Command Theory is and discuss its attractive features that answer the problem about the objectivity of ethnics. Second, I will defineRead MoreThe Divine Command Theory : Capital Punishment And Abortion Essay1128 Words   |  5 PagesThe Divine Command Theory is the assertion in ethics that an action is morally right if, and only if, it conforms to God’s will. This premise ties together moralit y and religion in a manner that seems expected, since it provides a solution to arguments about moral relativism and the objectivity of ethics. On the other hand, in Plato’s Euthyphro, Socrates questions whether something is right because God commands it, or whether God commands it because it is right. The ethical implications of theRead MoreDeontological and Teleological Ethical Theory1660 Words   |  7 Pagesof Teleological Ethics 1. Utilitarianism – Utilitarian moral theory is classical utilitarianism, 2. Varieties of ancient Greek virtue ethics – Aristotle Ethics is an Example a. The goal of ethics is to explain how one achieves the good life for human beings. There are only two basic kinds of prescriptive moral theories: teleological theories, deontological theories TELEOLOGICAL ETHICAL THEORIES Teleological moral theories locate moral goodness in the consequences of our behavior and not