Meaning to Human Life Essay Example for Free

Meaning to Human Life Essay Is there any meaning to human life? After listening to the first two lectures I gathered what I felt to be Professor Amrbosio’s definitions of the hero and the saint. I took notes and after going back through and reading them it helped me to put a few things together. He asks the question about whether or not human existence is meaningful or absurd. We live in a hostile and deadly environment so we try to find our purpose and meaning so we have some sense of security. It is a defense mechanism. Why is there so much evil in this world? We have the good and the bad. The good being our loving parents and the soldiers who put their lives at risk to defend our freedom and our lives. But then you have the bad and the evil such as the homeless people and the terrorist attacks and the holocaust. It is unfair how there are so many people with nothing and living on the streets when there are just as many people who have much more then they need to survive. The hero and the saint represent traits that can and will be inherited and passed on across different cultures and over time. The hero and the saint are metaphors that humans have used to search for the meaning of life. With the hero, reality is formed and driven by the struggle of humans. They believe in honor and self-esteem along with self-fulfillment and admiration. They always run up against bad things and they believe the good guys will come in last. The Saint believes that reality is made up of our personal and loving relationships. These relationships are based around unconditional trust. They feel like humans really have no goal but they have a purpose. Love and gratitude define them. Some people say life is a wrong turn and it’s down a dead end street. Saints and heroes show us ways we can share and participate in living every day and still asking our questions about life. The best we can do is to live the most meaningful life. Make every day count and always tell the ones you love how much you love them because you never know when it could be the last time that you are able to tell them. Sometimes you just have to trust that our life has a purpose.

Love Gone Wrong in Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay -- Literary Critici

In the novel Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte talks about two cities combining by a forced marriage. She talks about how these characters are in one big love triangle. These characters are Catherine, Edger, Cathy, Heathcliff, Isabella, Linton, Hareton, and many more. The novel starts off with these characters that are in love with each other. They end up getting separated by an event that will change relations not only between them but the entire city. So the novel starts off with Catherine who is madly in love with Heathcliff who owns Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff and Catherine where the best of friends when they where children. When they got older that friendship turned into love. Heathcliff and Catherine where caught spying on Edger’s party. When they ran off Heathcliff got away but Catherine didn’t. She twisted her ankle trying to escape. â€Å"He sends his love, ma’ma [Catherine], and his wishes for your happiness† (107). Heathcliff hopes that Catherine forgives him for all the grief she went through. He feels bad and hopes that everything goes back to the way it was when she gets back. Edger got his people on her to help her and he had her stay with him as he nursed her back to help. This is when Catherine starts to think she is falling in love with Edger. She sees how life is being in the upper class and having money. She realizes that is what she wants. â€Å"I could fancy a love for life here almost possible; and I was a fixed unbeliever in any love of a year standing† (62). She is willing to fake love for her want to be in the upper class and to have money. She is even willing to sacrifice her love for Heathcliff for it. When Catherine comes back from the grange, Edger and Isabella are coming over to visit. Cat... ...s and popularity. So Catherine and Heathcliff had a long and very bumpy relationship. They are soul mates but don’t realize it till they are dead and end up happily in love in Heaven because it was to late to realize there love for each other. Catherine was too stubborn and to in love of her life of money and social standing to realize who her true love was. She realizes that she is not in love with Edger but with the money and social standing they have together. So the cities are finally combined when Cathy marries Linton (forcefully) and Linton dies leaving Wuthering Heights to his father in his will. So then Cathy is finally able to marry somebody that she wants to marry instead of being forced to. She marries Hareton at the end of the novel so we don’t really know how the marriage went but to assume that they have a family and live happily ever after.

Synthesis

The idea of gender wage discrimination being widely practiced in the United States today is a difficult concept for many to swallow. With the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the realization of the existence of the gender wage gap surprises many Americans. These authors bring to the forefront the idea that there is more to the gender wage gap then just companies discriminating against women and minorities. They sight many sources with defined data including Burres and Zucca who looked at database information from 1992 through 1997 and confirmed that just over 3% of women held a position in the top 5 spots in most companies. Furthermore, the pay for executives showed women’s salaries were considerably lower than those of their male counterparts (Kennedy, Nagata, Mushenski, &Johnson, 2008, p. 13-14). This fact alone directly affects the productivity of the workplace, causing resentment and discontent with female employees. Add to the issue those women with disabilities and the percentages of discrimination raise a staggering fifty percent. The authors also showed evidence of wage discrimination against African Americans, adding to the argument that female African Americans are fighting an even tougher battle then white women (Kennedy et al. , 2009, p. 14). The authors provide arguments as to why these wage differences still exist, sighting Hartmann, Gault, Lovell, Sinzdak, & Caiazza (2003) who claim the most prevalent reason is fewer hours worked. Women have other responsibilities with family and home that pull them away from work, which in turn gives them less experience and training, justifying a lower salary. Even in the last 40+ years women have been working their way into male dominated positions, yet their wage is still 23. 5% lower than their male co-worker (Kennedy et al. , 2008, p. 15). Another argument is that of social and professional networking playing a part in the wage differences. Most evidence leans toward the concept that networking is beneficial in securing higher paying positions. It also showed that white men were more apt to promote other white men than women or other minorities. Yet, women with powerful social or professional connections were also able to secure higher paying positions. Other minorities seemed to have lower socioeconomic status and thus had difficulty in obtaining higher paying positions (Kennedy et al. , 2008, p. 15-16). The authors also touch on the idea that women are less apt to boast about their accomplishments, or pat themselves on the back, effectively letting their superiors know about positive situations, or client successes. Women also tend not to negotiate salaries therefore leaving money at the negotiating table and keeping their salaries lower. There is also mention of the correlation between emotions and pay reviews, being that women respond to positive feedback with more satisfaction then that of monetary compensation, thus failing to acquire the much deserved pay increase. These facts may address a small percentage of the wage gap, but in no way explain away the entire 23. 5% difference (Kennedy et al. , 2008, p. 8). If fighting the battle of wage discrimination isn’t enough, then take a look at how the laws are written. Both the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 put the burden of cost and the difficulty of proof on the employee, making the chance of winning almost impossible. The government needs to provide assistance to those facing this unjust, and assist at all levels, state and federal to enforce and prosecute those crossing the line (Kennedy et al. , 2 008 p. 14). Equal pay to all could bring harmony and cooperation to the workplace, which could encourage higher production and increased revenue, proving that elimination of gender wage discrimination is a healthy change for the economy (Kennedy et al. , 2008 p. 14). All of these arguments play into the idea that if the gender wage gap was completely eliminated the economy and the government would benefit. Education, experience, networking and negotiating all play a part in the difference in pay, but as pointed out in this article, those arguments do not justify the 23. % variance. Equal pay also promotes women to a higher pay scale and removes many single parents from government assistance, in turn saving to government money. Higher pay and abolishment of gender wage discrimination means more taxes, more discretionary funds available for spending, decreased resentment in the workplace and positive teamwork, which could result in higher productivity equating to a stronger economy.

Gender Stereotyping Of Sports Media - 1743 Words

Gender stereotyping in sports media is something we see everyday in magazines and on TV. Since sports were invented, males have dominated one of Canada’s largest pastimes. Reasons for this being physicality and strength, but as time progressed women began to become more involved in the culture of sport. Today there is almost an equal amount of women participating in sports as man, yet women are still not being represented with the same approach as men. About a month ago I found a video online that followed a sports reporter who was trying to make a point about gender stereotyping within sports media. He would interview professional male athletes but rather than ask them the typical interview questions we see in male sports, such as â€Å"has your workout routine changed since†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but rather asked them questions that are typically related to female athlete interviews such as one that was asked to swimmer Michael Phelps â€Å"Shaving your body hair gives you an edge in the pool, but how about your love life†, or â€Å"any comments about reports about your girlish figure†. At the end of the video they show real women athletes being asked these types of questions in real interviews. The men’s reactions of embarrassment to disgust vs. the women’s reactions of showing no surprise to being asked these derogatory questions, says it all. It is no surprise that the sexualization of female athletes is something all too common in sports media. 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