Richard Wright’s Misperception of Zora Neale Hurston’s...

It is strange that two of the most prominent artists of the Harlem Renaissance could ever disagree as much as or be as different as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright. Despite the fact that they are the same color and lived during the same time period, they do not have much else in common. On the one hand is Hurston, a female writer who indulges in black art and culture and creates subtle messages throughout her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. On the other hand is Wright, who is a male writer who demonstrates that whites do not like black people, nor will they ever except for when they are in the condition â€Å"†¦America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.† Hurston was also a less political writer than†¦show more content†¦However, upon further speculation of the novel, it can be said that even though Wright argues that Hurston did not make enough of a conscious effort to make a political statement with her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, she did; she just did not employ violence to demonstrate that racial oppression does not control her life. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston follows the main character Janie’s journey to find love on her own terms. The first man she married, she married to appease Nanny, her grandmother. The second man she marries is Jody Starks, who she marries because she failed to find love for her previous husband. After the oppressive Starks dies, Janie remarries Vergible â€Å"Tea Cake† Woods, the only man she has ever loved. They move to â€Å"the muck† where Janie feels more at home than ever before because she is with Tea Cake and because she can choose to indulge in her own relations without anyone telling her what to do or with whom to associate. By some tragic circumstance, Janie finds that she must kill Tea Cake before he kills her. When she is put on trial, she chooses not to speak, demonstrating that she found a way to control her voice, thereby asserting her independent womanhood, by the end of the novel. That may have been Hurston’s political message: that women should not be treated as â€Å"de mules uh de

Cognitive Dissonance And Its Effect On Behavior - 1654 Words

People experience cognitive dissonance when they perceive that there is a mismatch between their attitudes and behaviors. Because we are motivated to keep our cognitions consistent, the inconsistency brought about by dissonance becomes a drive that must be reduced. This is done by changing either the attitude or the behavior such that they may accurately align with each other. Eventually, the New Look model to dissonance will shift the causal path to an explanation using avoidance of aversive consequences, but still resulting in the same need to reduce cognitive inconsistency. Finally, addressing the limitations of the former, the Self-Standards approach operationalizes the nature of aversive consequences as violations of societal or†¦show more content†¦As in the self-standards model, they do not experience dissonance because they believe that their actions will never result in aversive circumstances, nor are they violating any social standards as they believe in the righte ousness of all these events. Within Joel Cooper’s exposition of the development of cognitive dissonance theory, he frequently alternates between accounts of inconsistent cognitions (and attitude-behavior discrepancies) and the aversive consequences of one’s actions as the determinants of dissonance. Empirically, Cooper elucidates that the reason behind the attitude change of the participants from Leon Festinger’s original study is not the inconsistency between their dislike of the given task (attitude) and the need to present it as enjoyable to a confederate next in line (behavior) per se: Instead, the need to deceive another person of the nature of the task is itself an undesirable circumstance that brings a state of dissonance. However, upon discussing vicarious dissonance and the application of the theory to social concerns, the focus again shifts to the failure to follow one’s self-sanctions. As demonstrated in the hypocrisy paradigm where people are made aware of their violations of personal standards (or vicariously observing ingroup members admitting their lapses), dissonance is aroused because they have done things in the pastShow MoreRelatedCognitive Dissonance And Its Effects On Behavior1497 Words   |  6 PagesCognitive Dissonance is refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance etc. The research on cognitive dissonance was done by Festinger and Carlsmith in 1959. It gives a background history of the time when Cognitive Dissonance was investigated by Leon Festinger. However, In the case being discussed in this paper, participantsRead MoreCognitive Dissonance Essay1632 Words   |  7 PagesCognitive dissonance can be described as the feeling of discomfort resulting from holding two conflicting beliefs. It can also be said to be the mental conflict that occurs when bel iefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. A well-known psychologist Leon Festinger (1919–89), introduced this concept in the late 1950s where he proved that, when confronted with challenging new information; most people are observed to preserve their current understanding of the world by rejecting or avoidingRead MoreCognitive Dissonance in Employment658 Words   |  3 PagesCognitive Dissonance in Employment: In a practical sense, cognitive dissonance reactions generally originate from the peoples perspective of themselves, especially as intelligent and nice people. Generally, the concept or theory of cognitive dissonance helps to understand how people attempt to make sense of the world they live in. However, the theory does not precisely forecast what a person will do minimize or get rid of disagreement. This theory mainly states that a person will be stimulatedRead MoreThe Link Between Pleasure And Aggression Dealing With Peoples Choices And Judgement1726 Words   |  7 Pagesthe two groups were of similar age, young delinquents and normal university students. One of the groups studied, showed more violence or bad behavior, while the other population is considered normal. The overall goal of the experiment is to evaluate whether the connection between pleasure and aggression and decision making primes a fixed or dissonant behavior (Alvarado Ramirez; 2014). This testing was a voluntar y unpaid experiment for participants and was completely anonymous. The ages used in theRead MoreThe Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Essay example877 Words   |  4 Pagestheory of cognitive dissonance started as a very simple observation by Leon Festinger that people do not like to deal with inconsistency. This simple observation led to the development of a theory that became very controversial, and it would be this controversy that propelled the theory forward. Many years of research has led to many different ideas of what cognitive dissonance really is and why it actually occurs. Festinger developed the term cognitions while developing his theory on cognitive dissonanceRead MoreSocial Psychologists And Its Effect On People s Self Esteem1518 Words   |  7 Pagespeople, the belief in a just world. Social psychologists have studied ways to remove the hypocrisy effect while maintaining people’s self-esteem. The research design often used is a hypocrisy induction where researchers arouse dissonance in participants by having them make statements that are contrary to their behaviors and them reminding the participants of the inconsistency between their behavior and what they have advocated for. The goal of hypocrisy induction is for individuals to behave moreRead MoreCognitive Dissonance Theory1621 Words   |  7 Pagescreated the cognitive dissonance theory as an attempt to explain why people desire to have consistency between their behaviors and actions. Cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state people feel when they find themselves doing thi ngs that don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold (Festinger, 1957; as cited in Griffin, 2009). Thus, people are motivated to change either their behavior or their belief when feelings of dissonance arise. Read MoreSelf Perception Theory1700 Words   |  7 Pagespeople develop their attitudes by observing their behavior and concluding what attitudes must have caused them. The theory is counterintuitive in nature, as the conventional wisdom is that attitudes come prior to behaviors. Furthermore, the theory suggests that a person induces attitudes without accessing internal cognition and mood states. The person reasons their own overt behaviors rationally in the same way they attempt to explain others behaviors. Original experiment on self-perception theory:-Read MoreCrash : Thomas Theorem And Cognitive Dissonance Essay1604 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Crash†: Thomas Theorem and Cognitive Dissonance The movie â€Å"Crash†, by Director and Writer Paul Haggis, follows 8 ethnically diverse families/ individuals facing the struggle of modern day racism and stereotypes created and faced in modern Los Angeles, California. These individuals take the roles of individuals living their daily lives within Los Angeles, California while facing stereotypes. The cast portrays: 2 caucasian white male police officers, an African American director and his wife, a whiteRead MoreActions Caused by Cognitive Dissonance Essay919 Words   |  4 PagesFestinger’s cognitive dissonance theory that asserts that we act to reduce discomfort or dissonance, an unpleasant tension, we experience when two of our thoughts or cognitions are inconsistent. Mkimmie, et al. (2003) investigated the impact of social support on cognitive dissonance arousal in their experiment, â€Å"I’m a Hypocrite, but So Is Everyone Else: Group Support and the Reduction of Cognitive Dissonance.† The psycholo gists aimed to test the impact of social support on dissonance by testing two

American Revolution Causes Essay Example For Students

American Revolution Causes Essay The American Revolution began for many reasons, some are; long-term social, economic, and political changes in the British colonies, prior to 1750 provided the basis for and started a course to America becoming an independent nation under its own control with its own government. Not a tyrant king thousands of miles away. A huge factor in the start of the revolution was the French and Indian War during the years of 1754 through 1763; this changed the age-old bond between the colonies and Britain its mother. To top it off, a decade of conflicts between the British rule and the colonists, starting with the Stamp Act in 1765 that eventually led to the eruption of war in 1775, along with the drafting of The Declaration of Independence in 1776. Originally the fighting between Britain and France began in 1754 with a quarrel in North America. It had two different names. In America it is known as the French and Indian War. In Britain and Europe it is known as the Seven Years War, because the fighting lasted from 1756 to 1763. A result of the French and Indian war was a British decision to reconsider its relationship with its colonies. Prior to the French and Indian War, Britain had loosely controlled its colonies. British leaders regarded the colonial government as inferior. As long as only a few serious conflicts between Britain and America occurred, the British government permitted colonial assemblies to oversee the royal governors and to pass new laws that suited to the needs of the colonists. In addition, the British did not always enforce their laws in the colonies. For example, the British Customs Service, which was unproductive, understaffed, and open to corruption, did not enforce the Molasses Act of 1733. British leaders did not insist on strict enforcement of this tax or other commercial duties because thriving American trade was making Britain very wealthy and powerful nation. British statesman and political theorist Edmund Burke, a orator who successfully championed many human rights and causes by bringing people to attention through his moving speeches. Described his countrys policies toward the colonies as salutary neglect because he believed their leniency was actually beneficial. As a result of this salutary neglect, the colonists developed a political and economic system that was virtually independent. They were loyal, although somewhat uncooperative, subjects of the crown. (Encarta, 2k1)The war in North America was fought mostly throughout the Northern Briti sh colonies, and in the closing stages Great Britain overpowered France. During the peace talks, Britain gained French holdings in Canada and Florida from Frances ally, Spain. Nevertheless, Britain amassed a large debt over the course of the war. To help pay off the debt, Britain came up with the idea to use the American colonies to generate lost money. The French and Indian War changed the connection between Great Britain and the colonies. Before the war, Great Britain had become very wealthy from the colonies, after passing such acts as the Molasses Act in 1733, which imposed a tax on molasses. Molasses was used for a variety of things including making rum and was very important to the colonies economics. During the early period, the colonists had developed a nearly independent political and economic system. Because Britain had amassed large war debts; the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. The act was intended to generate money from the colonies that would help pay for the cost to keep up a stable force of British troops in the American colonies. All authorized documents, including deeds, mortgages, newspapers, had to have a British government stamp, in order to be considered legal. Members of the Sons of Liberty, a patriotic secret group, were mostly active in opposing the stamp tax. They led a course of physical violence in which many official stamp agents were attacked by mobs and their possessions and property destroyed and taken from them. Resolutions of protest against the stamp act were adopted by a number of the colonial assemblies. The Virginia House of Burgesses made five such resolutions offered by Patrick Henry the American patriot. In resistance to the stamp act the Americans formed a stamp act congress as a means to protest against the acts. American Merchant s agreed to stop bringing in British goods until the act was abolished, and trade was considerably weakened. Rejecting to use the stamps on official and business papers became common, and the courts would not punish if the stamp was not on legal documents. British Parliament repealed the act on March 4, 1766, Benjamin Franklin argued to the House of Commons. Franklin was Pennsylvanias representative, in London. He turned out to be more of a representative of the Colonies as a whole. Repeal was to go along with the Declaratory Act, which declared the right of the British government to pass acts lawfully binding the colonists. The unity of the American colonists in their dislike of the Stamp Act added significantly to the rise of American opposition, and the argument between the colonists and the British government. The Stamp Act of 1765 required the American colonists to apply tax stamps, like those shown here, to all official documents, including deeds, mortgages, newspapers, and pa mphlets. The colonists convened the Stamp Act Congress to protest the act, which they called, taxation without representation. The Stamp Act is often considered one of the main causes of the American Revolution. Internet Privacy EssayIn the spring of 1766, John Gilchrist, a Norfolk merchant and ship-owner, came to believe that Captain William Smith had reported his smuggling activities to British authorities. In retribution, Gilchrist and several accomplices captured Smith and, as he reported, dawbed my body and face all over with tar and afterwards threw feathers on me. Smiths assailants, which included the mayor of Norfolk, then carted him through every street in town, and threw him into the sea. Fortunately, Smith was rescued by a passing boat just as he was sinking, being able to swim no longer. (1) (1) Captain William Smith to J. Morgan, Apr. 3, 1766, in William and Mary Quarterly, 1st Ser., XXI (1913), p. 167. from sight : http://revolution.h-net.msu.edu/Tar and feathers was a very old form of punishment, but it does not appear to have ever been widely applied in England or in Europe. Why Gilchrist and his allies chose to resurrect tar and feathers on this particular occasion histori ans can only surmise. Whatever their reasons, these Virginians inaugurated a new trend in colonial resistance, a trend that their New England neighbors would eagerly follow. Throughout New England, tar and feathers soon became the popular Punishment for modern delinquents. By March, 1770, at least thirteen individuals had been feathered in the American colonies: eight in Massachusetts, two in New York, one in Virginia, one in Pennsylvania, and one in Connecticut. In all of these instances, the tar brush was reserved exclusively for customs inspectors and informers, those persons responsible for enforcing the Townshend duties on certain imported goods. Indeed, American patriots used tar and feathers to wage a war of intimidation against British tax collectors. These were the actions that made our country leap towards a revolution and eventually make it free. As the first line of the constitution says We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America., and this selection along with the rest of the constitution still stands today and has not been changed or altered since it was made. Work citedCarroll, Andrew, Letters for a Nation, Broadway New York, 1997 Gottschalk, Louis. Cause of Revolution. Schenckman Publishing Company, Inc.: Cambridge, 1971. Grolier Encyclopedia, Grolier 98, 1995-1998Microsoft Encarta, Encarta 2k1, 1993-2000 Microsoft. Olsen, Keith W., et al. An Outline of American History. As reprinted on the Internet http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/H/