Langston Hughes Salvation Essay Example for Free

Langston Hughes Salvation Essay In Langston Hughes’ essay â€Å"Salvation,† the author recounts how his failure to â€Å"see† Jesus and be outwardly saved results in a deeper, more stirring revelation: that only he and not Jesus can save his soul. Although Hughes devotes much of his essay to parodying the salvation experiences and apparent hypocrisy of other church members, and he tells us that the church building is stuffy, uncomfortable, hot and boring, he abruptly changes his tone at the end. When he describes how he cried in bed from guilt at having lied about his salvation, the reader realizes that Hughes has indeed undergone a powerful spiritual awakening: he has been saved from his own hypocrisy. Hughes starts off his essay using apparent irony by saying he â€Å"was saved from sin when [he] was going on thirteen. But not really saved. † (Hughes 351). This leads us to believe that he is cynical about Christianity, and we should not believe he is about to undergo any real spiritual transformation. When he describes having attended Auntie Reed’s Baptist church when he was not even thirteen years old, we get the impression that he is not responsible for taking the experience seriously. At that age, children are impressionable and naive about religion, which they may not understand, because it offers protection at a time when they are already protected and forgiven by their parents for errors they make, or â€Å"sinful† acts. Hughes gives the impression that he is being forced to go to church because of social expectations. He is strongly influenced by his friend Westley, who does not hide his real reason for getting baptized, which is to get out of that hot, stuffy church and get on with his adolescence. Westley tells Hughes â€Å"God damn! I’m tired o’ sitting here. Let’s get up and be saved! † Hughes (351). Westley’s ironic and comical interjection aptly sums up Hughes’ view of how the salvation process works in the mind of an adolescent: just do it and get it over with to make your elders happy, because it’s all a game anyway. It is only when Hughes’ aunt Reed comes and sobs at his side and is summoned by the minister that Hughes begins to break down Hughes (351). In paragraph 11, Hughes states: â€Å"Now it was really getting late. I began to be ashamed of myself, holding everything up so long. I began to wonder what God thought about Westley who certainly hadn’t seen Jesus either, but who was now sitting proudly on the platform†¦. So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I’d better lie, too, and say that Jesus had come, and get up and be saved†¦. So I got up† Hughes (352). Here, Hughes discovers that the mere physical act of rising in response to his summons has begun to change him internally. He may not yet â€Å"see† Jesus, but he certainly sees and feels the effects of what he has done: â€Å"Suddenly the whole room broke into a sea of shouting, as they saw me rise. Waves of rejoicing swept the place. Women leaped in the air. My aunt threw her arms around me. The minister took me by the hand and led me to the platform†¦.. joyous singing filled the room. † Hughes (352). To Hughes, Jesus may as well be in the arms of his beloved aunt as in the â€Å"God damn† of his cocky pal Westley. He finds salvation in the spirit of the moment, and it feels good, if not a little confusing. Towards the end of the story in paragraph 15, Langston begins to notice what he has done wrong and feels emotionally distraught and full of neglect in his actions. He has fooled everyone into believing that he had found Jesus Christ. The only reason why he went up to the podium in the first place was to seek a way out sitting on the pews all day at church being told by the church elders, you’ll be damned if you don’t repent and be baptized! etc. Later on that night, Langston felt not only pressured into doing this but a sense of self actualization that he wanted to truly find Jesus, but in the end he ended up not only hurting himself, but the rest of his family for lying the whole time about his true feelings and the reason why he was in bed crying that whole night. Hughes writes, â€Å"I couldn’t bear the fact that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, and I hadn’t seen Jesus, and that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come help me,† Hughes (352). This passage provides a vivid explanation of his outlook on those around him and how he betrayed himself into lying for the sake of God. Hughes’ sadness and lack of faith came from those around him who kept on pressuring him to accept Jesus Christ into his heart. In the end, he appears to have turned away from God because he didn’t believe, rather he looked on the outside and not from within being only that he was twelve and naive. However, the fact that he undergoes such a transformation into self-doubt and remorse at having liednot just to himself and to everyone elsebut perhaps also to that notion of God as presented to him in Church. ] What Hughes sees as his own hypocrisy can also be interpreted as his own salvation: not from a traditional baptism of water and spirit and rebirth, but of his own tears of remorse as he realizes he has been baptized into adulthood and the burdens of truth and consequence that are inescapable for Langston Hughes’ Salvation.

Essays on Rape -- Catharine MacKinnon Susan Estrich Essays

Essays on Rape Only Words, by Catharine MacKinnon is a collection of three essays; each essay argues her claim that sexual words and pictures should be banned instead of Constitutionally protected under the First Amendment as free speech. In her first essay, â€Å"Defamation and Discrimination,† MacKinnon takes the stance that pornography is sex, and should not be treated as speech, but as a sexist act. She claims that pornography is an action, just as, â€Å"a sign saying ‘White Only’ is only words, but †¦ it is seen as the act of segregation that it is.†(MacKinnon 13) MacKinnon claims that other action words, such as death threats, are banned, pornography should be banned as well. According to her essay, pornography rapes women. First, the photographers select already victimized women to be photographed, and thereby re-victimizing them. Then each man who views the pornography uses the ideas he attains from it to force his own sexual partner to perform the acts in the pornography. In the second essay, â€Å"Racial and Sexual Harassment,† MacKinnon states, â€Å"if ever words have been understood as acts, it has been when they are sexual harassment.†(MacKinnon 45) She explains how written words can have the same effects on a reader as an action. They can evoke the same fear and violation as a physical threat of rape. In her final essay, â€Å"Equality and Speech,† MacKinnon suggests that the words as actions that she has describes in her previous essays should be subject to a group defamation lawsuit. She states that the Constitution protects speech that promotes sexual inequality. She feels that the Fourteenth Amendment should cover the discrimination allowed in the First Amendment. Susan Estrich’s Real Rape is an essay preaching proposed changes in rape statutes. Estrich first describes, in great detail, the history of rape legislation in England. She follows pertinent cases through history, citing changes and analyzing the effects of those changes. Estrich bases her findings on summaries, dissents, and other legal documentation. She then describes the current law, and evaluates how it has changed the way in which the court views rape. Throughout her essay, Estrich makes a distinction between classic rape and simple rape. She defines the former as aggravated rape by a stranger, and the latter as rape by a date or acquaintance. Estrich focuses on simple ... ... although it can be used to hurt, it can also be used to bring aid and information to those in need. Imposing limits on freedom of expression would dampen our nation’s uniqueness and suppress the voice of the people. Her idea that pornography acts as sex and can therefore be banned because it is no longer speech is ludicrous and rash. The repercussions of such an amendment would change our society to one of ultimate government control. The examples that she gives to relate pornography to racism are limited in scope. She suggests that because Henri Matisse’s â€Å"The Blue Nude†(Matisse) portrays an unclothed female that a man may, in her words, â€Å"get off on,†(MacKinnon 58) it should be banned. The line between art and explicit pornography is not one that the government should be able to draw. The government should, however, protect victims from physical acts of rape as Susan Estrich describes. Bibliography: Estrich, Susan. Real Rape. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987. MacKinnon, Catharine. Only Words. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993. Matisse, Henri. The Blue Nude. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland.

Prison Term Armed Robbery Essay

As you know all robberies are felonies and with the use of weapons brings tougher penalties towards the crime committed by the individual. While all robberies are considered to be violent crimes certain states took the initiative to raise the punishment when a violator uses a weapon of choice to rob. This means the person that is robbing you is more at risk of serving a greater prison sentence if he is caught and convicted. For the most part, many people do not realize that 40% of all robberies that are committed are strong armed robbery. Strong arm robbery is known as taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. In this paper, I will be giving a recommendation on a bill from the state legislator which involves criminals who commit arm robbery and I will not recommended the sentence to be doubled for the maximum prison term for anyone convicted of armed robbery. Robberies can happen at any time and any place unexpectedly. And it really does not matter how it’s done. The victim should always satisfy the robber by giving what the robber wants at the time of the attack without any hassle or lip. There are so many ways and places for a robber to attack. Even though a robbery could take less than one minute to attack the victim it is still a very wise idea that the victim does not create any hassle. Most robberies that take place involve one robber and one victim. When robber’s attack, they usually like to hit areas that are private rather than public. And if it is a public place, the robber will make sure that there will be more than one or two escape routes for a fast get away. Most regular people think that all robberies take place in a bank, stores, gas stations, or restaurants that stay open late. However, most robberies take place in the street dealing directly with the target/person, which is another example of strong arm robbery if a weapon is involved. This is when a person who uses force or fear against the victim to get what they wa nt. Is robbery a violent crime? I believe it is. According to the 2006 FBI Uniform Crime Report, they say â€Å"the weapon of choice for robbers is a firearm at a high of 42.2% and knives or cutting instruments are second on the list at 8.6%. Strong arm tactics like punching, pushing, kicking or threats are used mainly on the street and that is at 39.9%.† While being robbed, robbers like to use force on their victims and also like to showcase their weapons. Robbers like to use weapons because it is a  quicker method of getting what they need. And by doing so it increases the sentence of the perpetrator to a higher class sentence of strong armed robbery if caught. Also, let’s keep in mind, robbers are scared too when in the attack mode and have been known to hurt the victim when an attack is happening. This can also be another reason why the sentence should be increased to double maximum sentence due to the fact of unintentionally harmful acts you propose on the victim while using a weapon. And also, most of all, rob beries are pre-meditated when time of committing this violent act upon victims. There are different ways on how to commit armed robbery. Some of those ways are using a gun to rob a person, being wolf packed by a crowd of people/gang, using a knife or metal objects to rob the victim just so they can get what they want. By using an object and showing it off to the victim will allow a faster and easier attack at the time of the robbery. By doing so it will help speed up the process on getting what they want from the victim and still uphold a scheduled robbery under a minute. As far as my recommendation about armed robbery and if it should uphold a double maximum sentence, I will have to vote no. My reason is because armed robbery should already have a sentence attached on the type of robbery the attacker committed. Just because the attacker robs someone does not mean they should have to serve a double maximum sentence when caught. Whatever the sentence is now by law should be the sentence the attacker has to serve in jail. Unless the attacker harms the victim in any way, then more penalties/punishment should apply to their criminal charge when being sentenced. I think this double maximum sentence should be more for the murder cases and child molestations/rape cases we have committed today. Those are more important crimes we should be looking at and for us to throw these type of punishment in those directions. We know that robbery is a common crime. We all know this crime will happen over and over again. But, we as the people and the law should make this crime more punishable by maybe adding a year more to the sentence when armed robbery is committed. It should be not a double maximum crime. Although, this crime is harsh, unpredictable, and dangerous for a victim to face when attacked. Looking through the eyes of a criminal advisor, no I do not think this crime should uphold double maximum sentence for armed robbery. I think the crime should be based on what the crime is and what has happened during the crime when it  was committed for more severe punishment. I know armed robbery is a serious crime and we all want to put a stop to it, but putting a double maximum sentence is going overboard. The reason I am against this bill and for it not to pass it is because I think the punishment is already set in our law guidelines. If anything, the punishment should be increase by a year so the attacker will know that this crime is serous when caught in the act of arm robbery and plus it will give them a little more time to think about not robbing someone else while back on the street. Let’s keep in mind most robberies are pre-meditated and by increasing the punishment one year might put into perspective that this crime should not be committed. We all as a whole want this crime to stop, and by pushing for this bill for double maximum sentence should be held off for the time being. This bill is a good guster for the future of double the maximum sentence for those who commit armed robbery if we do not come up with any other solutions that is more suitable for this crime. But for now, let us explore other ways for this crime to be more punishable than to fill up our jails with people that committed armed robbery serving double maximum sentences. This is my recommendation towards the bill.

Fostered or Forgotten - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1630 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/10/30 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Foster Care Essay Did you like this example? Fostered or Forgotten? A drug addict is sprawled out on the floor, unconscious from the heroin coursing through her veins and the one too many nearly fatal blows to the head from an abusive boyfriend. Three kids aged between five and nine hold in their breath as to not be detected in fear of becoming the next victim of the abusive boyfriend.   Unfortunately, for thousands of kids placed into the foster care system this is the reality of their everyday lives.   With no other alternative or solution many minors are placed into foster care, hoping one day to find a stable, permanent home with a forever family or to be reunited with their parents and loved ones.. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Fostered or Forgotten?" essay for you Create order Foster care is a term that refers to the systems in which children under the age of 18 years, who are exposed to high-level of abuse, neglect or excessive home conflict, are placed and taken care of. In these foster cares across the United States of America, children are offered a safe and loving environment in a manner that effectively meets their psychological, social; physical and medical needs (Perez,   p. 47). The key role of foster care is not to separate children from their parents, it is to ensure that the children under the age of 18 years are in a safe place whenever there are huge family conflicts, and that they are able to return back to their home and be reunited with their parent and close family members whenever situations come back to normal (Lahti, p. 26). So, the key aim of foster care centers across the United States is to ensure that children are reunited with their birth-parents when it is safe.   When these vulnerable foster care children are taken to different institutions or community centers, they are assigned to special state certified caregiver known as a foster parent (Lahti, p. 20). The placement is arranged through government or social-service agency.   When the child is identified and handed over to a certain community children Centre, then the states governments and the federal government goes ahead to provide the institution, foster parent or group home with compensation for the expenses they incur while taking care of the child.   In the United States, the process of establishing and running a foster home requires one to have a license from the specific state in which it is to be established.  Ã‚   However, as Graaf, ( p. 66), argues, different state governments have different laws regarding how foster homes are to be established and run. This means that for a foster home to be allowed in the United States, the   home needs to have a home licensing, and the conditions one is required to meet before having such a license vary from one state to the other. However, apart from the varying requirements, what is common in all the states across the US is that the licensing is supervised by each states department of child protective services (Lahti, p. 22). The concepts of foster care in the country has become largely accepted in   all states. This explains the reason as to why there are over 437,465 children accommodated by foster care centres spread across the United States (Padot, p. 74). In fact, out of all types of foster care systems, the nonrelative foster homes are more prevalent as it is stated that they harbour around 48% of all children in foster cares across the country (Graaf,   p. 54).   Other common types of foster care centres include; relative foster homes which harbor 26% of children under foster care in the country, followed by foster institutions which harbour around 9%, and also trial visit homes which takes around 5% of the children in need of foster care services in the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The aim is not to separate children from their birth-parents. This is evident going by the statistics given by Padot ( p. 42), showing how and where children who leave foster care end up. Going by Padot, ( p. 65) information, it is evident that out of 254, 114   children who exited foster care services, 51% of them were reunited with their parents or caretakers. This is after the situations that had made them are taken to such foster care centers normalized and were taken back to their homes.   The other 21% of the 254,114 were adopted through the due legal process of adoption (Padot, p. 43). It is also stated that 11% of those children were emancipated as minors by aging up and becoming adults who can work and provide for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, 8% are said to have been reunited with either one of their relative or relatives, 6% were taken by guardians (Perez, p. 34). This clearly shows that the foster care concept in the United States is a pure success, as its transition rate, the success rate is very high. This means that foster care helps vulnerable children to get a safe-landing after they are exposed to bustling situations and conditions, after which they are reunited with their families and other helpful people when situations improve.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The funding of foster care services was streamlined back in 1961, when the Congress went ahead and passed a law, which gave authority to AFDC (welfare) to pay for the foster care services in the country. Previously, before the passing of the above 1961 law, foster care services funds was only made to children in their own homes (Graaf, p. 65). However, the passing of the above law, made funding of the foster care in the United States easier, thus giving way for rapid and effective growth of foster care services in the country. For example, after the passing of the above law, funding for fostercare in some states was highly streamlined, therefore giving way for its growth (Lahti, p. 28). In Texas, it is stated that the Texas state-paid mental treatment centers as huge as $101,105 a year per child per child per year. This way, foster care centers got a sustainable stream of revenue, which allowed for its massive growth.    Initially, before the 1990s, the United State lacked any clear law on how long children taken to foster care must reside in those centers before they are reunited with their families. This gap created a problem as children were left to waste away in these centers (Lahti, p. 43). However, in 1997, the United States of America passed what is known as the adoption and safe families act (ASFA). The passing of this legislation condensed period allowed children to stay within the care Centre system before they are availed for adoption (Graaf, p. 52).   Under this new legislation, state child welfare agencies are supposed to classify and scrutinize cases where intensified situations create perpetual split-up of a child from his or her birth-parents, and thereafter, a process of identifying the best option for the safety and well-being of a child commences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There was massive opposition of ASFA, with those opposing arguing that the passing of this legislation was not necessary, given that it does not address the situation of children staying for a long time in the foster care centers (Graaf, p. 29). This group argued that the key reason as to why these children stayed in foster care centers was due to the fact that they were taken from their homes without concrete reason. However, a decade or so later, after the passing of ASFA, the situation has largely improved as there are about 7,000 fewer cases of children in foster care than before the passing of the above legislation.   Secondly, in 1999; a new legislation termed as the foster care independence act was passed, and this legislation in a huge way helped address the issue of youths who were aging in foster care centers. The legislation gives a leeway for such youths to achieve self-sufficiency (Padot, p. 13). This means that when a child reaches 18 years, he is no longer forced to stay in foster care, and can automatically be released to find work and engage in other profitable enterprises that will enable him to feed himself or herself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Apart from granting the aging youth the liberty to leave the foster care centers, the new legislation also emphasized the need for proper welfare measures for the aging youths in the foster care centers (Graaf, p. 23). With this clause, the U.S government has made a major investment in almost all main foster care institutions and centers by way of giving out funds to these centers for specialized programs such as the education and training voucher program. Such initiatives have greatly helped youths who are aging in such centers to acquire a college or vocational training at a free or reduced cost (Lahti, p. 21). This process has led to the introduction of Chafee and ETV money in all states, as it is deemed important in helping these growing youths in foster care centers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, it is evident that foster care is a noble process that has helped millions of the United States children; children who could otherwise have been ignored or neglected in the society. Though there are various challenges facing this system, the fact remains that it is a noble system that saves the vulnerable children from the wrath of violence, oppression, and abuse. It allows the children to grow in serene environments where they are able to get physical, psychological; and social support, therefore, enabling them to grow normally. Works Cited Graaf, G. Keeping Kids at Home, in School, and Out of Trouble: Funding Home and Community-Based Care for Non-Medicaid Eligible Youth with Complex Behavioral Healthcare Needs. Cingage, 2018. Lahti, J. Adoption of children in foster care: a comparison of processes leading to adoption by foster parents and adoption by others. 2000, doi:10.15760/etd.878. Padot, R. H. The Politics of Foster Care Administration in the United States. 2014, doi:10.4324/9781315777412. Perez, Enrique M. How do home and community based services change long-term care? Florida Atlantic University, 2010. Stone, J. Fostering across the Globe: The World of Foster Care: An International Sourcebook on Foster Care Family S