Pearl Harbor: Accidental or Political :: essays research papers

Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers, fighter planes, and torpedo planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. This sneak attack plunged the United States into World War II. The first wave, consisting of 183 planes, arrived at approximately 7:50AM. They had taken off from aircraft carriers about 200 miles to the northwest, a fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (Thomas 3). The Japanese goal was to destroy the ships on Battleship Row and the airplanes on the ground at the Naval Air Station, Wheeler, and Hickam Airfields. Because it was a Sunday morning, most of the 780 antiaircraft guns were not manned. Many military personnel were on shore for the weekend and hundreds of others were still asleep on their ships. Did the U.S. Government know about the attack beforehand? Why were the warning signs not more deeply investigated? The Naval Air Station, Wheeler, and Hickam Airfields were the first to be hit by the Japanese to ensure the US had no ability to fight back. 212 of the fleets grounded airplanes were hit, and the 53 that were able to take off were shot down in the attack. The U.S.S. Oklahoma, West Virginia, Arizona, California, and Nevada were five of the 19 sunken or damaged U.S. ships. In the midst of the attack, 2,403 American military personnel were killed; including the 1,177 forever entombed in the Arizona. Another 1,178 were wounded. The U.S. did not inflict much damage to the Japanese during the attack. The Japanese only lost one midget submarine and 29 planes; 20 were kamikaze missions, 2 were mechanical malfunctions, and only 7 were shot down. December 8, the president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, addressed Congress and the American people. "Yesterday, December 7, a date which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan†¦" Congress declared war on Japan, and the US was dragged into World War II (Thomas 5). The warning signs of the attack were there, but weren't investigated. The 3 major warning signs that the Japanese were going to attack were the "East Wind Rain" message, the unidentified submarine, and the radar signals. On the morning of Dec 4, 1941 Naval Officer Ralph T. Briggs was on watch at the Cheltenham, MD, intercept station, when he received the startling and unexpected "East Wind Rain" message.

Chicago Gangs :: Gang Essays

From the late 1800’s up through the present date, musical theater has changed. Though customs and love for the theater will always be carried on, origins, trends, and styles will change throughout time. â€Å"The American musical was born long before European operetta crossed the Atlantic. In The American Musical Stage Before 1800. Julian Mates tells us that â€Å"America’s early theatres were essentially lyric theatres†¦In America, no earlier dramatic forms existed, and the musical stage became our only tradition (musicals101.com)†. During America’s first hundred years, the favorite musical entertainments during the time were variety musical shows. In the 1860’s and 70’s, Pantomime was a the main Broadway staple. In these types of shows, clown characters were taken and placed in plots based on Mother Goose stories. Also seen was the insertion of popular songs whenever the audience needed a breather. The Pantomime form disappeared completely from American stages by 1880.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From 1879 until 1884 the variety team of Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and performed in musical farces set on the streets of New York. The main focus of the shows was on lower class immigrant life, depicting real-life problems as interracial tensions, political corruption and gang violence. Harrigan and Hart are best known as the creators of musical comedy. They made these problems into harmless humor. â€Å"Harrigan and Hart’s shows had scores in the style of contemporary popular music with simple melodies and lyrics, lots of sentiment and a wry sense of street-smart humor (musicals 101.com).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1878, Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore premiered in the United States. Their arrival sparked an overwhelming response from the people, the craze that was, was known as â€Å"Pinafore-Mania†. The songs that were sung in the show became the language of the people, and became part of everyday conversation. Even though it seemed all was good, some were not pleased and happy with the two â€Å"invaders†. â€Å"In the century since Gilbert and Sullivan, people on both sides of the Atlantic have bitched about â€Å"invasions† coming from the other side. America and Britain have continually sent each other their best shows for over a hundred years. If the balance tilts a bit every now and then, no matter: it will shift again (musical 101.com)†. With the growth of the American cities and with the Industrial Revolution going on, the theater-fans were becoming more sophisticated. With this, the homegrown musical entertainment, due to the success of Gilbert and Sullivan, looked second rate.

Cyrus the Shepherd

Sorie Kargbo AP World 1A 10-9-12 In  Persia  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Cyrus  the Shepherd† invited a newer, more sophisticated government that distinguished it from the previous foundation civilization. In this new government, a centralized bureaucracy ruled, meaning that while Cyrus was the king and Persepolis was the capital a highly staffed team helped run the empire. Since the Persian Empire was so large, Cyrus broke it up into many distinct sections called satraps, which had considerable local autonomy (power).In other words, not only was there a strong central government but there was also bureaucrats who helped rule and maintain order in provinces throughout the empire. The Persian Empire, in addition, was very diverse, containing many different religions and ethnicities. Overall, the Persian Emperors were very tolerant and respected all peoples. The big religion you should know, however, is Zoroastrianism. Many historians consider this the first Monotheistic faith.Technologically, the Persians had Qantas which were sophisticated irrigation dams. Of course, metallurgy was still an integral part of technological life. In China, as you may know, the foundations period ended with the fall of the Zhou Dynasty and the commencement of Warring States Period, a time of great strife and civil war in China. Finally, however, the  Qin Dynasty  gained power. Qin Huangde (sp) was the emperor of the Qin and he was very, very power-hungry and intolerant.He made his people complete many public works project, pay high taxes, and he even ordered the burnings of thousands of books. If someone disagreed with him, they would die – no questions asked! Of course, not all bad came out of this period. First of all, the Qin Dynasty marked the return to stable rule after centuries of ravaging civil war. Also, magnificent structures like The Great Wall of China were commenced at this time. Later, after the fall of the Qin (which only lasted 10 years due to peasant unrest †“ I wonder why†¦.. the Han Dynasty took over. The Han was much more similar to the Persians. It was centralized and bureaucratic. One important distinction, however, is that the leaders practiced Confucianism and had to pass a civil-service examination to serve as a government leader. While religion formed the backbone of culture in Persia, Confucianism was the cultural hallmark of China. Like Persia, China used progressively more advanced irrigation techniques to stop the flooding of the Yellow River and metallurgy

Twelfth night – would you agree with Viola that the use of disguise and deception is wicked?

Deception is a key theme within Shakespearean drama, whether it be tragedy, history or comedy. It is often the cause of a lot of turmoil, especially within Twelfth Night, as there are many romantic difficulties due to the art of disguise. However Shakespeare does not always use deception to cause romantic problems, he shows the act of deceit in many different lights, as is done in Hamlet, for example. Claudius lies to everyone about the murder of Hamlet's father and as a result is guilt ridden, saying â€Å"O heavy burthen†, so it seems that Shakespeare often intends to portray deception as wicked, but does the audience agree with this concept? For surely some good must come from the great extent of trickery. Twelfth Night is an ideal play to discuss this, as although the chicanery causes a lot of distress, this is evened out by the happy ending we would not receive when discussing a tragedy such as Hamlet. It seems this play is reasonably unbiased. When we first hear of Viola's disguise there is immediate foreshadowing as she says â€Å"what else may hap† (I, ii, 60), surely hinting that a lot shall occur due to the extent of her deception, and we have to wait just two scenes to hear of this. We initially learn how Viola's disguise will cause grief as she tells us in an aside â€Å"myself would be his wife† (I, iiii, 39-41), the audience immediately knows that this is an intricate dilemma, as not only is Orsino her employer, but he also believes her to be a man. This is surely wicked, as Viola's love cannot yet be returned, on the other hand if Viola had not disguised herself then she may not have met, and fell in love with, Orsino. The happy ending does not occur until the end of the play, so there is a lot of hardship for Viola to endure before her wishes are eventually fulfilled. In Act two Viola tries desperately to give Orsino an idea of her love for him, telling him that the person she loves is â€Å"of your complexion† (II, iiii, 24), during this conversation Viola's dialogue is in blank verse, showing that she is unable to express her true love for him, this is another example of the cruelty of deception as it is extremely difficult for someone to conceal their love for someone who is constantly in their presence, the audience would relate to this as similar, less dramatic occurrences can often happen in real life. In the final Act of the play Viola's disguise unravels, and to her ecstasy her femininity is received graciously. Orsino tells her â€Å"you shall from this time be your master's mistress†, this is an extremely successful ending for Viola, so it seems her disguise (previously the bane of her life) has finally brought her good fortune. Therefore, in these circumstances, deception has been wicked, only to eventually be rather gratifying. Viola's love for Orsino is not the only problem emanated from her faiade, as it also causes a woman to fall in love with her. Olivia is immediately struck by Cesario's effeminate way of thinking and she says that Cesario â€Å"do give thee five-fold blazon†. This is a dilemma as Cesario (being female) cannot return this love, and viola's realisation of this love causes her to acknowledge the sheer brutality of the effects of her pretence. She expresses her distress with a soliloquy, saying â€Å"she were better love a dream†. So Viola now believes deception to be a cruel thing, and at this point the audience would tend to agree. We have not yet seen any happiness come from beguilement, so we result in agreeing with Viola, however melodramatic her opinion may be. As a result of all this Olivia is put through much heartbreak, and she acknowledges this saying â€Å"so I did abuse myself† (III, I, 95 – 107), she evidently knows that her love for Cesario is an enigma, although she does not yet know that she is being deceived. So even when characters are unaware that they are being fooled the effects of this trickery can still have treacherous outcomes. Olivia is deceived further still when she, in thinking he is Cesario, marries Sebastian in haste, so that her â€Å"most jealous and too doubtful soul may live at peace†. This may currently be seen by the audience as wicked, due to the fact that Olivia does not know the man she is marrying. However this accidental marriage turns out to be a happy one, as when Cesario is uncovered as Viola Olivia is grateful for the misunderstanding and, as far as we know, goes on to love her new husband Sebastian. This is a clear example of when deception is quite the opposite of wicked, as Olivia originally fell in love with Viola, who Sebastian (being her twin) is supposedly the male version of, and as Olivia does not think of herself as gay, this unlikely coincidence – brought upon by deception – is an extremely successful one. Maria instigates the manipulation of Malvolio through means of deception, and the consequences of this prove very wicked on his behalf. First, he humiliates himself in front of his colleagues. They watch on, making comments such as â€Å"fie on him, jezebel! while he fantasises, with no clue that they are watching. This is surely wicked as Malvolio works himself into an emotional frenzy, causing himself to believe that he loves Olivia, and worst of all that she returns this love. The foolery doesn't stop here, as they take the chicanery as far as they possibly can before they are eventually caught out. Feste even chooses to ridicule Malvolio while he i s imprisoned; deceiving him further still he says he is Sir Topaz. He attempts to convince Malvolio he is insane, saying â€Å"thou art more puzzled than the Egyptians in their fog†. This is severely malicious and causes Malvolio much distress. He acknowledges this, saying â€Å"there was never a man so notoriously abused†, this clearly shows how deception is a hurtful, ruthless thing, especially when used upon cruel intentions. Incidentally, Malvolio is the only character who does not receive a happy ending. He leaves with a passionate line, saying â€Å"I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you! â€Å", yet to our knowledge his vengeance is not resolved, as this is the last we see of him throughout the rest of the play. Viola's disguise even causes herself to be deceived, as there is much confusion concerning herself and Sebastian. This almost causes Viola to be forced into duelling with a man, a fight she would surely lose. Viola knows this and says â€Å"pray God defend me! â€Å", it is surely wicked that her disguise may cause such an unfair fight. On the other hand, it is her disguise which also causes her to be saved from the battle ever occurring. As Antonio thinks she is Sebastian and consequently attempts to fight for her, saying â€Å"I take the fault on me†. So yet again deception is the cause, yet also the remedy for a problem, therefore making it difficult to form an opinion on whether or not deception is wicked. More trouble is to come however, as the confusion between Viola and Sebastian continues to cause difficulties. There is a slight quarrel between Antonio and Viola as he thinks she has his money, he says â€Å"do not tempt my misery†. We are lead to think more arguments will occur due to disguise, but the problem is quickly solved as Antonio calls Viola Sebastian, and the confusion begins to unravel. This is another example of how deception can be the problem which, when resolved, ends up causing a lot of good. It is much like a white lie – sometimes wickedness must be performed in order to do good overall. The whole plot of Twelfth Night depends on the continuous theme of disguise and deception, without it the play would have no foundations on which to grow. How is it that such a crucial factor of the play can be seen as wicked? It is only in Act Two that Viola comments on this, saying â€Å"disguise, I see thou art a wickedness†, therefore surely her opinions may alter since then. At the end of the play she does not seem to have such a bitter perspective on the subject, as it turns out that everything has worked to her advantage. Surely, to decide on whether or not something is wicked, you must decipher the outcomes of it, and whether or not it has been beneficial to the people involved. At the end of the play everyone (except for Malvolio) is happy, Viola and Orsino are in love, as are Olivia and Sebastian. These are the main characters within the play, so these are the ones we should be concentrating on, and the excessive use of deception has obviously worked to their advantage. Admitted, disguise and deception cause a lot of trouble throughout the play, and at times can be seen as very wicked. But the overall effects of this are not wicked, in fact they are quite the opposite! If Shakespeare intended for deception to be seen as a cruel thing, then it is doubtful that he would have made this a romantic comedy. For if he aimed for the audience to have such a pessimistic view on the play, he surely would have made it a tragedy, therefore making the effects of deception obviously bad. I do not think that Shakespeare intends for his audience to see deception as a wicked thing, therefore I do not think they do. Overall I would tend to agree with Viola that disguise is a wickedness, however I believe that Twelfth Night is an exception to this opinion, as although it did cause the characters a lot of grief, this concluded to be a very happy ending, typical of the plays genre. Also I can pick fault with Viola's opinion as she says that the disguise itself is a wickedness. I believe that it is not the disguise that is wicked but of course the nature in which it is used, in the circumstances of this play disguise is used to protect Viola and it is not intended to cause any harm. In my opinion this means that it is not wicked, however had she used deception with cruel intentions – much like Maria – then I would have to agree that it would be a wickedness. Some wickedness may have occurred due to beguilement, bit I think the audience would agree that overall, when referring to Twelfth Night, the act of disguise is not wicked.

Culture and Language in Society Essay

In a world that is rapidly moving toward a predominantly technological and uniformed system, language and culture are becoming increasingly crucial to defining an individual. For many people, culture still completely dictates their way of life, as is evident in many religions, such as Hinduism, where the line between religious traditions and everyday life is blurred. Just as Henry Trueba can be quoted in Afforming Diversity, Whatever knowledge we acquire, it is always acquired through language and culture, two interlocked symbolic systems considered essential for human interaction and survival. Culture and language are so intricately intertwined that even trained scholars find it impossible to decide where language ends and begins, or which one of the two impacts the other the most (189). Without language, culture would be, as Trueba stated, virtually non-existent, as certain emotions can only be conveyed in certain languages. The same holds true for language, as it is often impossible to translate texts while retaining the same literary and emotional connotations the original version contained because certain words only exist in those languages. Moreover, language, especially in literature, leaves much up to interpretation, and translations often omit any ambiguity that the author may have originally intended. When searching for English versions of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, several versions are available, each translated by different individuals. In each of these books, differences can be observed in the way the plot is described, though they seldom make any difference in the larger scheme. Even the spelling differs (e. g. â€Å"Dunya† and â€Å"Dounia†) simply because of the way the translator thought the word sounded phonetically. By the same token, reading a Tang dynasty poem in Chinese differs greatly from the English translation. Though the English version manages to retain most of the poet’s original message, it lacks the fluidity and the poetic essence that can be found in the same poem in Chinese. As with all subjective issues, language is subject to interpretation, and to take away a literary work’s original language is to deduct from the piece as a whole. Knowledge, however, is not, as Trueba described, acquired solely through culture and language. It is not necessary for language to exist in order for us to know that fire is hot, or that water is wet. Though we may not be able to place these feelings with these specific words, we know that they exist because our sense of touch tells us so. If I chose to call â€Å"fire† â€Å"water,† the flames would still burn my hand when I touched it even if I had attributed a word that would normally extinguish the flames to it. By doing so, I have not changed the entity I have renamed, but have simply categorized it under a different label. A baby does not need to know the meaning of the word â€Å"hot† in order to know that a burning stove is extremely warm to the touch, or the meaning of the word â€Å"light† in order to know that it is brighter in the day than it is at not. After all, â€Å"a rose by any other name would be just as sweet† (Shakespeare, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†). Ever since ancient days, culture and language have played integral roles in defining an individual and dictating one’s everyday life. The morals that we live by are directly related to our cultural values, which are evident in ancient texts, such as the Koran, Bible and Torah. These books, however, have been translated so many times that their meaning has no doubt been at least slightly changed. In the Jewish culture, the Torah must be recited in Hebrew, the original language of the Jews. In this instance, Hebrew is much more than just a language; it also symbolizes the religious beliefs and customs of the Jewish people, and in this way, much of their traditional culture can be retained. Likewise, Catholics conduct Mass in Latin (though it is not as common anymore) and like in Judaism, much of the culture is maintained that way as well. Language leads directly to culture and culture to language in a cyclical process so that the boundaries between the two become virtually nonexistent. By the same token, language (be it English, Russian, Greek or Japanese) would differ greatly from what we know today if culture were to cease to exist. Much of culture as we know it would be lost without language, as it would be next to impossible to carry on cultural traditions from generation to generation without a means of communication. Much of the vocabulary accumulated in languages is a direct result of cultural practices, traditions and innovations. Each time a new revolution in society or technology takes place, a string of new words is developed. It is estimated that a few dozen new words are added to the English language alone each year. 1 Common words such as â€Å"television,† â€Å"Internet,† and â€Å"telephone† would have meant nothing two short centuries ago. The word â€Å"silhouette† only came into existence after the French Minister of Finance under Louis XV, Etienne de Silhouette, began decorating his office with cheap, black paper cutouts. Back then, the word was associated with stinginess, as the people felt oppressed by the strict financial measures he set on the French in order to replenish the treasury, which had suffered as a result of wars with Britain and Prussia. 2 Today, however, the word is often used to described stylish, chic products, and can be found on cars like the Oldsmobile Silhouette, and shoes, such as Silhouette, a Dutch shoe store. As culture develops, language, too, must evolve to accommodate the new changes as people feel the need to identify objects and feelings with words. A person’s way of utilizing language can also tell a lot about his/her cultural background. For someone raised in a normal urban environment, the word â€Å"Negro† will have a very meaning as opposed to the individual who had grown up in the Ku Klux Klan. For the urban New Yorker, â€Å"Negro† would be a derogatory and offensive term that should never be used. For the Klan member, however, the term would equate to â€Å"ignorant and degraded and altogether sold to the devil. † Likewise, the word â€Å"woman† could be considered a derogatory insult depending on the context it is used in. For many women in this modern era, if a man were to say â€Å"Hey woman, get over here and help me with this,† it would warrant the man getting a slap across the face, because it not only is insulting, but also reminds women of the days when they were considered inferior to men. This attitude exists particularly in Western culture where women are considered equal to men (even still, discrepancies exist, particularly in positions of power and politics). In many Islamic countries, however, this kind of deprecating behavior towards women is acceptable to the point that a woman basically becomes her husband’s property. Calling someone â€Å"hey woman† would certainly not be regarded as derogatory or insulting by the majority of the people in these countries (e. g. Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan). For the women there, such behavior is acceptable because it is tolerated within their culture. The word itself is simply another label that describes who they are. In a culture that believes that women are inferior to men, sexism towards women in language would be common. Three centuries ago, the same attitude would hold true in Western civilizations as few women could hope to rise above the system and hold a position other than that of a housewife. It had been a belief that too much learning for women would result in â€Å"evil. † Thus, women often obtained an education only to the third grade level. Since society had deemed this acceptable and even necessary back then, calling someone â€Å"woman† would not be as offensive as it would be today. Though the word has remained unchanged, the connotation it carries differs greatly as a result in cultural changes. The number of languages one knows also reflects on the level of cultural awareness one has. The more languages one knows, the more likely it is he/she will have a deeper sense of the various cultures that exist in the world. Being bilingual in Chinese and English, I am able to understand Chinese culture better than someone who does not know the language because my view of the Chinese culture and traditions is subject only to my own interpretation, rather than that of a tour guide, publisher, author or another individual. As stated previously, it is impossible to translate everything word for word and thus certain phrases can only be communicated effectively in the original language, yet such expressions are often imperative to further understand a culture. For example, the words â€Å"Long live the people of the world† appear on the Tiananmen gate in Beijing. To translate it literally, however, the same phrase would be â€Å"May the people of the world live for 10,000 years. † Though the general meaning is the same, slight differences still exist. Language and culture are inextricably linked in defining an individual, society and nation. Without one, the other would cease to exist as we know it. Simply by listening to the language, or even a dialect, a person speaks, one can often tell a lot about their cultural background. Generally speaking, the Californian accent shows that the person is most likely laid back and easy going, while the Southern drawl may depict a person’s tendency to take things slowly. As it would be unlikely to find a member of the social elite speaking Ebonics (Black English), it would be safe to assume that the individual who speaks the dialect is from an urban environment, and is culturally aware of the urban scene. Just as Trueba had states, there is no division at which language ends and culture begins, as they continue in a cycle with one completing the other. In order to understand ourselves better, we must first understand our heritage, which is composed largely of language and culture. To find a definite distinction between the two would be impossible and would call for a change to language and culture as we presently know it.  https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=tlsmarketing&e=com

Compare/Contrast Greek and Roman Cultures Essay

Assignment: Part 1: Fill in the below table with both similarities and differences of the Greek and Roman cultures. Indicate if you are describing a similarity or a difference. If you are describing a similarity then place your research information under both the Greek and Roman culture. If you are describing a difference list the difference between the two cultures under each culture. Please fill in all 10 lines within the table, each row will expand as you type in your information. Similarity/Difference Greek Culture Roman Culture 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Part 2: For the following questions, provide your response in short-answer format (2-3 sentences each). Use this Unit activities and resources to assist you in answering the questions. 1) How did the Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean cultures contribute to Greeks’ sense of themselves? 2) What is a polis and how did polies shape Greek culture? The rural areas of Greece separated from one another by mountains became to form a community this is known as polis or city-states. The city-states came together to honor the gods at sanctuaries. 3) What was imperial Rome? Imperial Rome explored Rome during its reign as the dominant political, economic and military power of the western civilized world. The exhibition took a glimpse into life during the Roman Empire from 27 BC. 4) What values were retained from the Etruscans and Roman republic roots? Etruscan and republican roots? Roman Culture developed out of both Greek and in- digenous Etruscan roots. The Etruscans also provided the Romans with one of their founding myths, the legend of Romulus and Remus; Virgil’s Aeneid was the othe

Natural Resources, Conflict and Conflict Resolution Research Paper

Natural Resources, Conflict and Conflict Resolution - Research Paper Example It will also look at how samples will be chose and studied for further deductions that will end up in the formation of an appropriate theory. This paper also contains limitations that are inherent in a research of this nature. The problem statement refers to fundamental problem in society that gives impetus for the enquiry to begin in a research (Harvey 2006). Anyone with some knowledge of the American revolution is aware that colonized population of the 13 states of America were fed up with the British taxes and tyrannical rule that practically enslaved the people. This is a common explanation for the revolt and uprising that followed between 1771 and 1776 when the British were eventually kicked out. However, a practical research can be set up in an attempt to evaluate the exact cause or a single cause of the uprising of the Patriots in this context. There is a wide range of issues that can come up this include the taxes, the justice system, general resentment etc. A research question is seen as â€Å"an explanatory question a researcher asks about variables of interest† (Wrench et al, 2003). In other words, when the researcher has an idea of what the research will be about, s/he can come up with a research question that will suit the situation. However, Wench et al (2003) continue to state that a research question should be formulated after some review of literature. In this case, the researcher needs to go through existing sources like books, journals, articles, websites and other materials written by credible sources to state the factual position relevant to the research. This means that the researcher has to fall on other authorities to find important matters and facts that have been arrived at by other authorities in the field. (Fearon 2005) argues that nations whose economies rely heavily or solely on primary commodity