Differring Religions In Todays Essay -- essays research papers

Differring Religions Each religious group possesses its’ own individual world- view. Two groups, which vary a great deal when reflecting upon their world-views are the Native Americans and the Puritans. While one group holds one set of standards and beliefs to be true, the other group abides by a completely opposite set of ideas. The Native American religion functions using its’ own world –view. Unlike in Western religions, the Native American religion does not have certain places in which they need to be more religious than others do. In the Native American religion there is no notion of essential monotheism. There is no one true god in their religion; therefore they are free to have open-ended worship. The Native American religion is also made up of a pluralist belief. This means that different tribes have different myths and rituals, although they are all part of the same religion. In the handout, â€Å"Franciscans and Indian Revolt†, the idea that the world-view of Native American religion differs from many others is evident. The main conflict in this reading is that men dominate most positions in religious power. The Shaman, the Native American religious leader, manipulated the people through rituals and trances. He was said to possess supernatural powers. The Shaman was both feared and admired by the Native Americans. He was known to have the ability to either heal a sick man, or kill him. It was these types of powers, which set him apart from the Jesuit priest in the reading. Originally the Native Americans despised the entire Jesuit religion. The hated their clothing, their ideas, the way they went about their lives, etc. However, the Jesuits immunity to disease made the Native Americans take notice of them. It was through this that they began to admire their â€Å"powers†. The Native Americans saw the Jesuits as sorcerers, just as the Jesuits saw them. The Jesuits ritual of baptism made the Indians believe that Jesuits had the power to ki ll people with water. The Jesuits were also able to read and write, which greatly impressed the Native Americans. In the reading â€Å"French Views of Native Americans†, the Native-Americans are described as â€Å" they are I say, savage, haunting the woods, ignorant, lawless and rude.† They reading continues to go on referring to them as wanderers and basically a senseless use of human life. The French formed these opinions of ... ...one God. The Native Americans do not hold the idea of monotheism true, while the Puritans strictly believe in it. This is discussed throughout the reading â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity†, along with the Puritan system of a covenant. It restates the idea of obeying one God, and following the ideas of the covenant along with the commandments. It also discusses the vital need for a close knit community, yet another Puritan belief. As written in the text, â€Å" every man might have need of other, and hence they might be all knit more nearly together in the bond of brotherly affection.† This is simply the idea of having a community, which is a main factor in Puritan life. There are many differences, which separate the Native American religion from the Puritan religion. Their God, their way of life and their belief system take two different paths. One group has a set of ideas which they feel are correct and appropriate to live by, while the other group has world-view s which they expect are the right ways to follow the religion in which they believe. The Puritan religion and the Native American religion may have very little, if nothing, in common, however they both served their people well.

My Greatest Ambition- Morris Lurie Essay

â€Å"My Greatest Ambition† is about a young Australian boy of thirteen who has a dream of being a comic book artist. This dream is rubbished and scoffed at by everyone whom he knows. He has to keep his desire a secret from his parents as they give little or no support for such frivolous activities. However, the young Lurie follows his ambition and makes his first comic strip and sends it to a dying magazine. Seeing his work the editors of this magazine considers asking young Lurie to work for them as a fulltime employee. Here Morris Lurie highlights the prejudiced and judgmental mind-sets of adults towards the capabilities of the youth. Lurie skillfully uses humor to highlight some important issues in the society. He twists the language and the words to get his point across to the readers in the most entertaining fashion. Lurie uses techniques such as irony, imagery, dialogue, typical teenage exaggerated language and different point of views to make his story most enjoyable. At the opening of the story, Nu hilariously describes his peers as â€Å" There they sat, the astronomer, the nuclear physicist, the business tycoon (on the stock exchange), two mathematicians, three farmers, countess chemists, a handful of doctors all aged thirteen and all with their heads in the clouds. Dreamers! Idle speculators! A generation of hopeless romantics!† Here, Lurie uses the exaggerated and overtly dramatic language of a typical thirteen year old who thinks he knows everything. Also this idea is very ironic as in most society’s professions such as doctors and chemists would be considered perfectly normal and creditable. And the idea of becoming a comic book artist would be considered pure fancy. Something which is not stable or respectable. Therefore it is ironic that Lurie thinks of children who aim of having a conventional and conservative occupation as â€Å"idle dreams and hopeless romantics†. Morris Lurie also makes wonderful use of imagery in this short story. †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ read by the sorts that were always t sitting under trees and wearing glasses and squinting and turning pages with licked fingers? An awful prospect!† His sarcastic description of people who read stories without any pictures forms an ideal visual imagery in the reader’s minds. Lurie also describes the comical clothes taking books out f the library and wears to the meeting and the struggle which lead to the final decision. The description of his ‘Good Suit’ which was slightly short for him at the ankles and the corn yellow, silk tie which with the proper Windsor knot would prevent anyone to look elsewhere. This provides a vivid visual. Lurie’s conversation with Ms. Gordon also provides wonderful auditoria imagery. He also uses imagery when he illustrates how Nu humouredly imagined himself walking into his office through a garden of exotic plants with a pipe in his mouth. â€Å"†¦ our eyes met and I would smile, or was that smile stretched across my face from the second I came in?† Gives another hilarious example of imagery which is spread throughout the story. The conversation and description of his father is a perfect example of the way Lurie shows the typical teenage exaggeration and uses amusing dialogue to highlight prominent problems in the society. The discourse with Nu’s father where the father is only interested in the money shows how badly the father is influencing his son. As the father was materialistic and money minded the son feels defensive and begins to think about the money he will receive too. â€Å"Maybe I’ll decide not sell them. Which I will if the price isn’t right.† This is one of the perfect examples of how the author uses humor to emphasize on social trouble. The description of his clothes shows another instance where teenagers exaggerate and hyperbole. He also foreshadows the fate of the young Nu’s comic book artiste dream when he writes about the reaction of the editor when he sees Lurie live or the first time. The awkward behavior and the disappointment at Nu’ age gave hints about how any more of Nu’s comic strip will be treated. As long they didn’t know the age of Lurie he was given the respect his work deserved. But as soon as they discovered Lurie to be thirteen he was dismissed with a capacity of a child. The author also shows how disappointed and humiliated Nu was being at being treated as inferior. In this wonderful story issues such as parental negligence and the judgmental and narrow mindedness of a rigid society is shown. Problems all teenagers face such as lack of support and teenage angst which is usually not considered as an issue and are stereotyped and dealt with and an indifferent sigh â€Å"Teenager. They’ll grow out of it.† In this story Lurie shows how this attitude and narrow-mindedness can actually suppress natural talent and passion. Again, in â€Å"My Greatest Ambition† Morris Lurie uses great language and humor to create an entertaining but indirectly instructing story.

Paraphrase of Alexa Hackbarths Vanity, Thy Name Is...

Paraphrase of Alexa Hackbarth s: Vanity, Thy Name Is Metrosexual In Vanity, Thy Name Is Metrosexual, freelance writer Alexa Hackbarth explains that she had recently moved to Washington, a city different from any other she lived in before, a sanctuary for the metrosexual. A metrosexual is best described as a straight man that is fashion savvy, concerned with personal appearance, and is emotionally secure. Metrosexual men are similar to the clichà © of being gay, but are in fact heterosexual. As an example, Hackbarth explains that even gay men have a difficult time distinguishing between homosexuals and heterosexuals. However, the modern metrosexual is more likely to take any comments from a gay man as a compliment rather than take†¦show more content†¦The speculation behind men changing their appearance and obligations seems to be pleasing to women, but she finds it difficult to believe. Concerned that all this is a byproduct of an advertising campaign towards men, Hackbarth brings up the point that a writer discussing the effects of being a male consumer coined the term metrosexual. Now a marketing ploy has taken the term and is running at the male consumers with it. Realizing there are many factors that have an effect on the modern metrosexual man, the same factors that have an effect on the modern women. Hackbarth feels that there is something else behind it, believing that this new metrosexual trend shows how detached we have become from reality. Hackbart h believes that financial freedom and frivolous spending is making today s man lazy and unskilled. Metrosexuals are able to afford to pay others to do what they once could have done themselves. She feels that there seems to be something missing between working hard and the achievements men reach through their careers. Since there seems to be no real gratification in working anymore, men are looking towards the success of their relationships for satisfaction. Whatever metrosexuals are missing from their lives, Hackbarth hopes they find it. Work Cited Hackbarth, Alexa. Vanity, Thy Name Is Metrosexual. Good Reasons With Contemporary