Bartleby and civil disobedience

Bartleby and civil disobedience Essay The extremely simplified definition of civil disobedience given by Websters Dictionary is nonviolent opposition to a law through refusal to comply with it, on grounds of conscience. Thoreau in Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King in Letter from Birmingham Jail both argue that laws thought of as unjust in ones mind should not be adhered to. In Herman Melvilles Bartleby, a man named Bartleby is thought of by many to be practicing civil disobedience. His actions are nonviolent, and he refuses to comply with anything his boss says. But his behavior has nothing to do with morals. Bartleby is merely a lonely guy who does not wish to work and has nothing to do with civil disobedience. Thoreau says that if injustice is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say break the law (Jacobus 134). He is personally giving permission for an individual to ignore anything he or she finds morally unacceptable. However, in Bartleby, Bartlebys boss places no unjust laws and assigns no unjust work. He simply asks Bartleby to do easy tasks such as, when those papers are all copied, I will compare them with you, or, just step around the Post Office, wont you? And see if there is anything for me (Melville 116). The boss, who is also the narrator, never requests Bartleby to perform any difficult chores. Martin Luther King, Jr.s interpretation of an unjust law is, a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself (Jacobus 159). The injustice described here by King also does not match the characterization of Bartlebys boss. Bartleby needs no civil disobedience since nothing could be considered unjust in the bosss management. Even if an unjust act were placed against Bartleby, he would not have had any cares about the injustice. He was a man who needed a place to live and chose to be a law-copyist. He has no desire to do any work and no desire to interact with other humans. Anytime an order was given, the same response would reply from Bartlebys mouth: I would prefer not to (Melville). Bartleby did not weigh the issues of morality and immorality in his assignments. He just does not want to deal with others. When asked to look over some work with Turkey and Nipping, he refuses. His boss offers him a home, and he refuses this as well. The ending footnote to Bartleby states that Bartlebys previous profession was a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letters Office in Washington. The dead letters he handled had no association to any living person. Bartleby was accustomed to working at a place where dealing with man is unnecessary. As Thoreau says, Dead letters! Does it not sound like dead men? (Melville 140). Bartleby has no connection with civil disobedience. King and Thoreaus ideas of what civil disobedience is do not match up with the actions of Bartleby. Bartleby was not trying to make a statement against unjust laws by not abiding by them. He was just a loner. All his refusals to do what was ordered stemmed from his need to be separated from humanity. Bartleby only wanted to live by himself with nothing but his own thoughts to deal with. .

Marketing issues portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing issues portfolio - Essay Example A micro-environment is the internal environment in which the company operates in. This environment is directly related to a given company and it affects a particular company at a given time because it is internal. These factors can be controlled or managed by the management of the company if the right measures are taken at the right time. These factors include; the company itself whereby it is found that different companies have different policies, management style and culture that regulate how business is conducted. As such each company in the economy has different objectives that they aim to achieve where some are growth oriented while others want to make profit as they reach their corporate responsibility goal. The company environment is important as it determines how marketing is done and activities controlled in the company. Suppliers are another micro-environment that affects how the customers receive the intended goods at the required time so as to increase their satisfaction. When selecting the suppliers, careful consideration has to be put into consideration to avoid any inconveniences that may affect the customers in a negative way, for example, the technology available to the supplier, their efficiency in delivering goods as well as the cost of their goods as this will affect the prices that are charged to the customers (Palmer & Worthington, 1992, p. 112). The third aspect of a micro-environment is the intermediaries or those parties that help link the company and its final customers. These parties ensure that the goods reach the customers at the convenience place and time and they play an important role in developing the customer loyalty, for example, the retailers. The customers to the company create another aspect of a micro marketing environment. They are important as they are the immediate users of goods and services provided by the company

Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Communication - Essay Example This new innovative technology came into being in 1998 and within a short span of time became popular specially among youngsters. The reason for its increasing popularity is the ease of usage and accessibility it has brought in communication. Moreover, certain scholars call it as an innovative tool and an interesting mode of communication. This is because electronic communication has brought ease not only for young people but also for businesses and students of all ages. Even elders are benefited with it since electronic communication has given birth to virtual communication, which has made it convenient to talk face-to-face with relatives overseas. Yet where this communication medium has benefited the society, it has brought with it certain downsides as well. This is because where virtual communication and networking has helped bring people closer, it has also developed certain negative consequences in numerous ways. In this paper we will be evaluating both the positive and negative contributions of electronic methods of communication in our society (Middlewood & Abbott, 124; Krus, 28-1 to 28-8). First off, we will discuss the benefits electronic communication has brought to our society. Firstly, on a personal level, virtual means of communication has helped people build closer ties with their family and friends living overseas. This is due to the social networking websites like Skype and Facebook through which people could communicate with their friends and relatives no matter what place or country they are in. Both the networking sites provide the facility of video calls which allow face-to-face conversations with the other person anywhere in the world (Middlewood & Abbott, 124; Krus, 28-1 to 28-8). On academic level, virtual communication has enabled the students to communicate more conveniently with teachers/instructors at a faster speed. Also, the networking sites mentioned has enabled the students to take virtual classes on Skype. Email facility and Face book communication (which includes the study groups made on Facebook nowadays and other academic groups) provides student with the ease of getting instant feedbacks from teachers. Also Smart phones have further enhanced the communication since through smart phones, students and instructors can instantly communicate with each other. Moreover, the new trend of Colleges and Universities developing their own grading software on their websites has made it easy for professors to update student grades online in minutes. On the other side, students could immediately log in and see their results without waiting for the next day or so to get their reports in paper form. In addition, electronic communication through social networking websites have enabled professors to upload study materials on their College website account or on the Facebook group, which could be accessed by students within seconds. Most importantly, virtual/electronic communication has turned our environment into a paperless environment, since everything is documented and managed online (Middlewood & Abbott, 124; Krus, 28-1 to 28-8). On a business level, virtual communication has enabled businessmen to conduct meetings online without having to travel to another city or country. Emails, faxes and social networking websites have benefited the businesses in the fields of marketing, finance, public relations and all kinds of management. It is with the help of social networking and

The use of children in the Cambodian genocide Essay

The use of children in the Cambodian genocide - Essay Example The farms today are known as the 'killing fields' as so many died through over work, hunger or slaughter. Amongst the victims were the children who were taken away from their families and made to live in communal groups where the only family they were to consider was that of the Khmer Rouge. This essay sets out to show the lives these children led The Khmer Rouge wanted to eradicate anyone suspected of "involvement in free-market activities" including professionals, almost everyone with an education and who had connections to government and those who lived in the cities. The regime did not want the risk of anybody having the consciousness to rebel against their movement. The country was predominantly Buddhist and its monks were disrobed, half of them were killed and the rest forced to work in the harsh agricultural labor camps and Christianity was also abolished. They also believed that parents were corrupted by capitalism and felt that children should be separated from their families in order to ensure that they were swathed in socialist ideology. Children were taught methods of torture and were instrumental to the leadership of the communist dictatorship. The regime saw that children could be molded and indoctrinated to their political ideology; they were able to condition the children to believe that they were not the enemy and in doing so developed a community of children who were not able to identify with any other than the Khmer Rouge. The intention was to destroy the family values that were part of their culture and irradiate the trust that is held within family and community networks. Community and family members were expected and given incentives to spy on each other and this shattered networks and dissolved any trust through imbedding deeply rooted fear [1]. The young minds of children were easier to manipulate and the regime were able to brainwash children to such an extent that they would report back to the regime if their own parents were being antagonistic, the regime taught them to believe that they were their family and that their own kin were their enemies. Slogans such as 'I'm not killing my mother -I'm killing my enemy' were planted into their minds [2]. A propaganda song entitled, "We Children Love Angkar boundlessly," compared pre-revolutionary children to orphans abandoned by "the enemy", their parents, an excerpt from the song follows: [1] Colletta, N. J., & Cullen, M. L. (2000). The nexus between violent conflict, social capital and social cohesion: Case studies from Cambodia and Rwanda [electronic version]. [2] Martin, M. A. (1994). Cambodia: A shattered society. Berkeley, California: University of California Press Before the revolution, children were poor and lived lives of misery, Living like animals, suffering as orphans. The enemy abandoned all thought of us Now the glorious revolution supports us all [3]. The book the 'Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields' contains 29 essays from children who suffered at the hands of the regime. The children speak about their astonishing and painful experiences at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, how their families were torn apart to assist the social engineering plan of the regime, how

Reflective Diary on Health-Issues Personal Statement

Reflective Diary on Health-Issues - Personal Statement Example Hopefully they can care for themselves until they are much older, but there needs to be places for them to go when they do need care. Having more and more elderly care facilities built would alleviate some of the problem for the society. America's aging population. The "baby-boom" generation is entering its peak health-care-using period. In fact, over eighty million Americans will turn 50 in the next 10 years. The cost of providing health care to them will be staggering. (Lowery and Heuer) Many elderly people fall ill and are being taken care of by family until the resources are drained. What if they do not have family and they are not found in time, it just is upsetting that there are not more places to house them. Personally, we all have known an elderly person or someone who comes down with an illness. We are all affected by health issues. It was sad to have my grandmother have to go in a home because she couldn't walk. The reason it was so sad was that she wanted to stay in her home and live there until she died, but she couldn't. She had to be in a home. It took long, hard work to find a home where my grandmother could stay, but I am grateful that they had room. Lots of other homes were filled. Without more homes there will not be enough places to take in these elderly people that so desperately need care. I hope they make more homes to care for them in the future so that everyone can find a place to stay when they are older. Another health issue that I think about is the rising cost of healthcare and the lack of companies wanting to provide healthcare to their workers. As the cost of healthcare rises, so do the needs of the many people that need to get care. The people that depend on medicines to stay healthy also need ways to get what they need. Without health insurance the expenses are so enormous that they may not even go to a doctor without it. There should be coverage provided for all workers so that just in case something happens to them, they can afford to go to the doctor without going bankrupt. More than 18,000 adults in the USA die each year because they are uninsured and can't get proper health care, researchers report in a landmark study released Tuesday. (Sternberg) Another health issue that concerns me is the care that is given to illegal aliens when they are in this country without being a citizen. Because the hospitals have to care for anyone whether they are or are not citizens, they are taxing the system. Where as I agree that people should not be turned away from being cared for, I also understand that some illegal aliens come to the United States to utilize the hospitals to get medical care. That is a problem and one that needs to be corrected in some way. Well, as I would love to have the answer to solve that problem I really have no way of solving it. Other health issues that concern me are the diseases that do not have cures yet. We need to find cures for them as soon as possible and every effort should be given to help find those cures. The incurable diseases are too many, we should by now have cures for a lot of them and it seems that research should be funded more so that these cures are found and relatively soon. We all should be concerned that there aren't cures found for some of them yet, because they have been

Media production Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media production - Assignment Example The texts are mostly in black and various hues of pink, used to emphasize words in titles. As a whole, the written text, being influenced by the background color now becomes part of the visual. The coordination of colors of the titles, the model’s clothes and other objects in the cover page all come together well to produce an impression of high stylization and a connotation of modern fashion (Machin & Thornborrow, 2003) which Cosmopolitan is known for. Using Miley Cyrus, previously known as a wholesome star of a youth-oriented program, Hannah Montana, as the cover girl who has shed such goody-goody image and embraced a sophisticated-woman-persona may have been a move to stir controversy, and so, attract buyers. Miley’s cover reflects Cosmopolitan’s â€Å"fun, fearless female† philosophy (Streitmatter, 2004). No matter what background Miley Cyrus had, once she becomes a Cosmopolitan woman, she is welcomed into the world of strong, sexually seductive and powerful women (Machin & Thornborrow, 2003). The use of pink background may intentionally indicate Miley’s past as a wholesome teenager. The color Pink usually connotes softness and femininity (Machin, 2007) which were words that could have described her as Hannah Montana. However, Miley’s picture becomes ironic to what Pink represents because she can be perceived as a sexually mature woman, knowledgeable about the ways of the world. Her Cosmopolitan image is far from the innocent Hannah Montana that she characterized just a few years before. The visual elements of the cover page collaborated to successfully depict Miley’s transformation a daring, fun and uninhibited sex symbol and no longer an innocent child. In analyzing the cover page in-depth, the image of Miley Cyrus can be considered symbolic of what she was undergoing at the time of the shoot. While she wears white, a color that connotes purity and wholesomeness, she wears

See Below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

See Below - Essay Example Secure Communities is a new strategy developed by the Department of Homeland Security, with the goal of identifying arrested immigrants who are to be deported under U.S. law. The Secure Communities strategy has considerable benefits and several weaknesses. Despite the growing concern with regard to the validity and legitimacy of the Secure Communities strategy, it is the best way to diminish the scope of illegal immigration and its potential contribution to terrorism: through Secure Communities, the U.S. will finally remove thousands of offenders from its territory and reduce the costs of law enforcement and criminal justice without any damage caused to the security and individual rights protection of U.S. citizens. Secure Communities is a new strategy developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with the goal of identifying arrested immigrants who are to be deported from the country under U.S. law (Immigration Policy Center). The Secure Communities strategy works in a quite straightforward way. Once an individual is arrested, his (her) fingerprints are sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and checked against all criminal databases (Immigration Policy Center). Under the Secure Communities strategy, these fingerprints are also sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to be checked against the U.S. ... Before the individual is released back into the community, ICE will decide whether he (she) has the legal right to be present on the American territory or should be detained to be further deported from the country under U.S. law. Secure Communities has the potential to reduce the number of immigrant offenders in the United States. It is no secret that the entire program is intended to reduce the number of immigrant criminals and terrorists in the American land. The program offers vast opportunities for removing the most dangerous criminals (MacDonald). Statistically, every fifth suspect matched to a violation record in the Secure Communities program is deemed Class I offender (MacDonald). Since the beginning of the program, a total of 64,000 individuals, including more than 14,000 Class I offenders, have been deported from the country (MacDonald). To a large extent, Secure Communities increase safety and security across all American communities where the program is implemented: by 20 13, all states and communities will need to have the program in place. As a result, all communities will be able to enjoy the benefits of the new program and to become safe and secure for their members. Secure Communities reduce the costs of law enforcement and criminal justice for U.S. taxpayers without any damage caused to their safety and security in American communities. The program enables greater interoperability across all law enforcement agencies (Immigration Policy Center). With the help of the Secure Communities program, law enforcement professionals can access both IAFIS and IDENT databases, which reduce the time of information processing and its costs (Pless). The discussed integration of computer databases