Essay --

Some agile teams hold a retrospective meeting once a week along with their daily project stand-up meetings. It is called â€Å"stand-up† because the meeting is essentially conducted with all the team members standing. The basic idea behind this is to keep the meeting as short as possible typically 15 minutes or lesser. During this meeting the team members discuss about the status of the project and the issues that they are facing. The weekly retrospective would help in identifying any process changes that are required immediately. As the completion time for the sprint nears, the time taken to discuss about process improvement for the current sprint decreases as improvements for the ongoing sprint has been discussed in the everyday stand-up meeting. This results in a better software product as the team is continuously working on improving its knowledge management process. Each retrospective has both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The qualitative part discusses the various team practices and the success of each. It also comprises the specific challenges that presented themselves during the iteration. Upon identification of the issues, root cause analysis is performed and potential corrective actions are discussed and recorded. The quantitative review gathers and reviews any metrics the team is using to measure its performance. Purpose An iteration retrospective is a reflective process. The iteration retrospective enables the team to reflect on the iteration just completed and derive new ideas for process improvement. This helps instill the spirit of continuous improvement or kaizen mind in the individuals and the team, and helps assure every iteration makes some small improvements in the processes. The Scrum Master plays an import... ...s an insight into the project from the perspective of each team member and make them realize that it’s the team that can make the change. A qualitative study can be done among companies employing the agile methodology about the effectiveness of the retrospective process. Interviews can be conducted with the scrum masters and certain important people within the team to elicit what kind of improvements they have seen in their projects due to the action items suggested in retrospective meetings. A major challenge facing most agile teams is how to keep the retrospective meetings fresh. A comparative study can be done among agile teams about the various retrospective techniques that they employ and how effective and interesting these techniques. This would give an insight into a plethora of ideas on conducting a retrospective that will never become boring and redundant.

Women and Food Security

There is a strong link between food security, good nutrition and gender. A gender approach to food security can enable shifts in gender power relations and assure that all people, re-gardless of gender, benefit from, and are em-powered by development policies and practices to improve food security and nutrition. This brief gives an overview on why and how to consider gender aspects in both short-term humanitarian assistance and long-term development coopera-tion that address food security. Every woman, man and child has the right to ade-quate food. In far too many cases, women and girls are overrepresented among those who are food-insecure, partly because women often are denied basic human rights such as the right to own property, to find decent work, and to have an education and good health. People's overall access to food relies to a great extent on the work of rural women. Women comprise, in average, 43 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries.1 Hence, securing women's human rights is a key strategy in assuring food security for all. Women are involved in a variety of agricultural operations such as crops, livestock and fish farming. They produce food and cash crops at subsistence and commercial levels. At community level women undertake a range of activities that support natural resource management and agricultur-al development, such as soil and water conservation, afforestation and crop domestication. Women often have 1 FAO 2011 (see references under â€Å"Further reading†). unique perspectives on, as well as understanding of local biodiversity importance for the development of adapted and improved varieties. Also for dietary diversity women have a decisive role. Poor households headed by women often succeed in providing more nutritional food for their children than those headed by men. There is a strong correlation between a higher level of gender equality and lower level of child mortality. Cultural traditions and social structures often mean that women are more affect-ed by hunger and poverty than men even though women, and in particular expectant and nursing mothers, often need special or increased intake of food. And too often, child hunger is inherited: a mother who is stunted or underweight due to an inadequate diet often give birth to low birth weight children. The critical link between women's social status and nutrition The wide differences in women's nutrition among coun-tries that have similar income levels indicate that some-thing other than income affects women's nutrition. Re-search indicates that cultural norms about eating and women's low social status often affect women's diets. In 2003, India and Bolivia had similar gross national in-comes, but 36 percent of Indian women were under-weight, compared with only 1 percent of Bolivian women.3 2 ADB 2013. 3 Ransom, E. ; Elder, L. (2003) Nutrition of Women and Adolescent Girls: Why It Matters. Population Reference Bureau. [ BRIEF ] Women and Food Security Women face numerous obstacles to access productive inputs, assets to land and services required for rural livelihoods. These include access to fertilizers, livestock, mechanical equipment, improved seed varieties, exten-sion services, agricultural education and credit. Women receive for example only 5 percent of agricultural exten-sion services worldwide. As rural women often spend a large amount of their time on additional household obli-gations they have less time to spend on food production or other income opportunities. Women also have less access to markets than men which hamper their opportu-nities to earn an income even further, and thus their pos-sibilities to be able to buy food. With fewer assets and heavier burdens, women are more vulnerable to shocks and less well positioned to respond to e.g. the effects of climate change or other rapid changes in the environ-ment. Social and economic inequalities between men and women result in less food being produced, less income being earned, and higher levels of poverty and food inse-curity. If women farmers had the same access to re-sources as men, the agricultural yield could increase by 20 to 30 percent. This could raise total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 percent, which could re-duce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 percent. Another emerging challenge in food security and nutri-tion that needs to be addressed is to enhance women and men's resilience to climate change; e.g. by diversified production as well as strengthened capacity to respond to challenges related to climate change, building on the different needs and coping mechanisms of women, men, boys and girls. Disasters, especially droughts, and emergency situa-tions are the most common causes of food shortages in the world (WFP). In humanitarian contexts discrimina-tion of women and girls may be reinforced, and the oc-currence of domestic violence increase during times of food scarcity. Because of women's specific roles and experiences in food production and preparation, it is crucial to include them in emergency-related food securi-ty planning and decision making as potential change agents and decision makers, rather than as the â€Å"victims† they often are portrayed to be. Gender dynamics within households must be taken into account in situations of displacement when food aid and other relief items are distributed. This includes men's and 4 UNDP 2012. 5 FAO 2012. women's ability to access and equitably distribute relief items within households. Humanitarian interventions that radically alter gender roles, for example by giving women greater control over water and food distribution, may impact power dynamics negatively and can also lead to increased gender-based violence. The four dimension of food security from a gender perspective Availability. Inequalities in ownership of, access to and control of livelihoods assets negatively affect women's food production and food security. Tenure insecurity for women results in lower investment and potential envi-ronmental degradation. It compromises future production potential and increases food insecurity and reduces women ´s income and the availability of food. Stability. Differences in risk and vulnerability between men and women can affect the stability of their food security in different ways. During times of crisis, women and girls are often forced to reduce their intake in (fa-vour?) of other household members. In cases of crop failure or natural disasters, cultural traditions make it easier for men to leave their farm in search for employ-ment elsewhere, leaving women behind to struggle for feeding their families and making ends meet. Utilization. Women ´s role in food utilization for food security is perhaps the most critical and outweighs the importance of their role in food production and how they spend the income they earn. Women are typically re-sponsible for food preparation and thus are crucial to the dietary diversity of their households. Access. Access to food within the household is deter-mined by cultural practices and power relationships within the family. Although food may be available, adequate amounts to maintain nutritional intake may not necessari-ly be as accessible to women compared to men. Source: FAO (2013): Gender and climate change research in agriculture and food security for rural development. Food security and agricultural programmes can strength-en human rights and be more effective if they also tackle the constraints around women's access to resources. This is done through addressing the issue of unequal gender roles, responsibilities and workloads. To acknowledge women's role in food security, contributions are needed at all levels in a variety of result areas. Entry points for Sida can be identified within the following areas: Women's right to food ? Assure women's human rights including the rights to education, knowledge and employment and women's equal rights to land, water and other resources that are necessary for raising the productivity of their agricul-tural activity, food and nutrition security. Promote women's productive activities by providing trainings, credit and access to improved and appropriate technology to reduce their work load. ? Ensure that women are empowered and trained to exercise their rights and take active participation in decision-making bodies. ? Mother-and-child health and nutrition programmes can break gender barriers in childcare by including men and boys in nutrition and health education activities. Women's access to land? Contribute to the reforming of laws on tenure, land distribution, land reform and family law, including marital and inheritance laws, to become gender equal. ? Support education and capacity building for govern-ment officials, legislators, and local land officials on gender equality in access to land and property rights. ? Advocate the creation of mechanisms to monitor the enforcement of policies, targets and laws on women's access and rights to land. ? Promote women's access and rights to land in custom-ary law e.g. by supporting women's participation in bodies responsible for interpreting customary law. ? Support awareness-raising and access to information among women regarding land rights, including infor-mation about complaints mechanisms. Women's equal participation in labour markets ? Support government legislation that guarantees equita-ble employment conditions that protect workers in both formal and informal employment. ? Extend the coverage of social protection to all catego-ries of rural workers and ensure that they incorporate women's special needs. ? Support policies and investments in labour-saving technologies and support public investments that make it easier for women to participate in the labour market. ? Intensify the provision of better-quality education and vocational training for women. Policy processes and frameworks ? â€Å"The right to adequate food†: 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ? Women's specific role for rural development: 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), (Article 14) ? Special attention to the gender gap in nutrition: 1992 The Global Plan of Action on Nutrition of the In-ternational Conference on Nutrition ? Highlight the close interlinkages between gender equality and women's empowerment: 1992 the Mil-lennium Development Goals (MDGs) ? Emphasize the specific role that women play in food security: 2004 The Voluntary Guidelines to sup-port Member States' efforts to achieve the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security ? Highlights full and equal participation of men and women for achieving sustainable food security: 2006 World Summit on Food Security and The World Food Summit Plan of Action (e.g. 16, 1.3) ? Gender issues in food security and nutrition: 2012 The First Version of the Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition GSF ? Women's empowerment & equality of opportunity: 2012 UN Secretary General â€Å"Zero hunger Challenge† ? The importance of empowering rural women as critical agents: 2012 Rio +20 Outcome Document ? Food insecurity indicator allowing disparities in food access based on e.g. gender: 2013 FAO's Voices of the Hungry ? Support women's engagement in producer organisa-tions, cooperatives, labour unions, outgrow schemes etc. to strengthen women's voice and decision-making power. ? Support women's groups and other forms of collective action that builds relations and networks addressing gender gaps by reducing transaction costs, pooling risks, developing skills and building confidence. Women's access to financial services ? Improve financial systems and services, e.g. loans and insurances, to respond to the needs and constraints of women producers and entrepreneurs. ? Ensure that women are being consulted and included in discussions, decision-making, planning and provi-sion of financial services. Support financial institutions, governments and NGOs to offer financial literacy training to ensure that wom-en can make informed financial decisions. ? Promote technological innovations, such as prepaid cards and mobile phone plans for making loan pay-ments and transfer cash, to facilitate for women to gain access to capital. Women's access to technology ? Promote productivity enhancing agricultural tech-niques, including machines and tools, improved plant varieties and animal breeds, fertilizers, pest control measures and management techniques that address women ´s needs. ? Invest in labour-saving and productivity enhancing technologies and infrastructure, e.g. water sources in villages, fuel efficient stoves, and roads, to free wom-en ´s time for more productive activities. Promote women's training on farming adaptation techniques such as rainwater harvesting and agrofor-estry, and on agricultural diversification to increase their resilience. ? Promote extension services that are more gender-responsive, i.e. considering all the roles of women and are closely linked to women's activities. Support participatory gender-inclusive research and technology development programmes. Example of indicators ? Share of population (women/men) in targeted areas suffering from starvation (impact level indicator, measures effect on target group) ? Proportion of population (women/men/girls/boys) below minimum level of dietary energy consump-tion (impact level indicator, measures effect on target group) ? A monitoring system providing food-security data disaggregated by sex, geographic location (or oth-er as relevant in the specific context) in use (out-come level indicator, measures capacity development) ? Share of women and men using agricultural exten-sion services (output level indicator, measures ca-pacity development) Gender mainstreaming in humanitarian assis-tance ? Collect sex-disaggregated data for planning, imple-mentation and evaluation of food aid. Ensure that women and men take part equally in deci-sion-making, planning, implementation and manage-ment of food aid programmes. ? Design services to reduce women ´s and children's time spent getting to, and from food distribution points. ? Ensure that women's access to services is routinely monitored through observations and discussions with affected communities. Asian Development Bank (2013) & FAO (2013): Gen-der Equality and Food Security – Women's empower-ment as a tool against hunger, FAO (2013): Training Guide: Gender and climate change research in agriculture and food security FAO (2012): Global Strategic Framework for Food Se-curity and Nutrition FAO (2011): The state of Food and Agriculture – Wom-en in agriculture Gender in agriculture: Platform for knowledge sharing Global Gender ; Climate Alliance and UNDP (2012): Gender, agriculture and food security IFAD, FAO ; WB (2009): Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook IFPRI, 2012 Global Food Policy Report, chapter 4: Closing the Gender Gap IASC (2006): Gender Handbook in Humanitarian Action World Bank (2012): World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development World Food Program: Causes to hunger ; the Zero Hunger Challenge UN Human Rights Council (2010): HRC's Advisory Committee on discrimination in the context of the right to food

Gender Roles In Primates Essay

Primate behavioral and biological research has resulted in a huge number of observations that has served as basis in understanding gender roles among their closest relatives, the humans. Earlier concepts of gender differences among primates only described that female primates influenced the organization structure of primate groups. After comprehensive analyses of primate behavior for several decades, it has now been determined that female primates serve as the foundation for primate social organization, acting as the prime individuals that shape the structure of the society, as well as mold the dynamics of primate groups (Gagneux et al. , 1999). More importantly, observations from kin selection among primates have facilitated the understanding of human sexual behavior. Primate behavioral studies have examined that the females of several primate species have diverse roles in their kin, as well as in the primate social groups. The significant increase in information associated with primate behavior has been observed in the past decade and the amount of information is massive that it has circumvented the previous knowledge on primate behavior and social roles in the past centuries. Another primate behavioral feature that has been of interest to primatologists and anthropologists is primate dominance. Earlier studies have described that male primates have an inherent characteristic of dominance, which thus can be translated to the dominant personalities among humans. However, a novel characteristic that was recently reported involved the behavior of female primates, wherein females were observed to be highly competitive among their groups, which explains the human aspect of competition among women over different issues in life. In addition, primate studies have also shown that female primates are very resourceful in finding ways in solving issues on daily living in the wild, including searching for food, a place to live and even finding worthwhile mates for offspring production (Pope, 2000). The female primates are also independent wherein they have the inherent ability of constructing contraptions and methods that would help in their survival in the wild. Such observation among female primates helps in the understanding of human females and their ability to easily adapt to different situations in life, better than their human male counterpart. Primate research has also reported that primate females are assertive in terms of sexual behavior. Primate females show the ability to control a situation when a primate male is present and they are the ones who will determine whether copulation will occur with a particular primate male. It is also interesting to know that female primates are more susceptible to promiscuity during stages of puberty than male primates. The social organization of primates is very interesting because these species also have hierarchies which determine which individual will have the right to choose his mate and this is mainly based on the level of aggressiveness of the male primate. The most aggressive male primate is thus given the first chance to pick his female primate of choice and the least aggressive male primate often ends up with lesser of a choice among the female primates. Such behavior is generally observed in human society wherein the most aggressive men often get to choose and pursue the most attractive woman and the shy and quiet men often end up with relationships with less attractive women. The female primates have also been observed to show prime responsibility over her offspring, just like the human female (Maestripieri, 1994). The primate males have also been determined to be responsible in finding food for his offspring, searching the forest for fruits and other plants that will be brought to their place of living to feed his young. The male primate has also been observed to protect their place of living from other predatory species as well as other aggressive and destructive male primates. Primate research has transformed our old concepts of human behavior and it is interesting to know that all primates follow the same behavior for specific situations. References Gagneux, P, Boesch, C. , and Woodruff, D. 1999. Female reproductive strategies, paternity, and community structure in wild West African chimpanzees. Anim. Behav. 57: 19-32. Maestripieri, D. 1994. Social structure, infant handling, and mother styles in group-living Old World monkeys. Int. J. Primatol. 15: 531-553. Pope, T. R. 2000. Reproductive success increases with degree of kinship in cooperative coalitions of female red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 48: 253-267.

Censorship in Huck Finn

Many people claim that the novel is racist due to the frequent use of racial slurs and the disrespect and mistreatment of the character Jim who is a runaway slave. Mark Twain’s famous novel is not a racist text because it is a historical account of the south during the 1840s, when racism was commonplace. The book’s purpose was to emphasize real life and mock the faults in human nature. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a young boy named Huckleberry Finn runs away from his life and travels down the Mississippi River with his friend Jim, a runaway slave. The story follows Huck’s moral growth and maturity throughout his many adventures and experiences. The major turning point of the book is when Huck realizes that Jim cares about him, and that he cares about Jim in return. As a child, Huck is taught that Jim isn’t a person because of his skin color and that he does not deserve respect, but Huck discovers that Jim is a person and deserves more respect than most people Huckleberry met on his journeys. He comes to this decision because Jim cares for him and treats Huck better than his own father. Huck says â€Å"All right, then, I’ll go to hell. when he decides to go against the racist teachings of his childhood and help Jim get his freedom (Twain 216-217). The book was written to show what life was like in the 1840s and successfully revealed the way people viewed each other and people of other races. In the beginning of the story, Huck treats Jim poorly because he is taught that Jim isn’t a real person and h e could get away with it. One of the many tricks Huckleberry plays on Jim was hiding a snake in the cave they were living in, but the snake bites Jim and Huck realizes how cruel his trick was and begins to feel sorry for how he treats Jim (Twain 55). Events like this are the reason people believe that Mark Twain’s book is racist, but without these examples the book’s purpose is muddled and the historical reliability is gone. The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered a controversial text because it contains derogatory language and examples of disrespectful behavior towards people of color. Speech and actions like the ones in the book were common in the setting of the book (Knab 1). People want to ban or edit the original text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, because of these elements, but they still allow these remarks in other literary works. Fredric Douglass used the same language in his narrative that was published in 1845, forty years before Twain published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but people don’t challenge his work because he was a slave and his story is a historical account of a slave’s life (Bowker). The two stories are based in the same time, are about the same topic, and both aim to be realistic portrayals of everyday life in the 1840s, yet one is constantly challenged while the other is allowed to be as it is. People today are concerned with being â€Å"politically correct† and â€Å"non-offensive†, but they have reached the point where they are willing to change history to protect the feelings of certain people (Kay). If these â€Å"racist† remarks and actions were removed from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the message of the book would not be evident, its historical accuracy destroyed, and the book would just be a meaningless children’s story. Censorship is useful to an extent, it allows people to keep mature information from children, but when it is used on history it takes away from the importance of knowing about and learning from the past. The reason racism is so important to avoid now is because of the negative effects it had in the past. If people don’t learn about these effects, then they can not understand the importance of equality now. When books are censored, their historical accuracy is lost and they are unable to educate people on the importance of the past to modern-day (Kay). Without learning about the good, bad, and ugly of the past, people wont be able to comprehend why the world is the way it is and how they can avoid the mistakes of the past. If the offensive content of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is removed, then people will not be able to see the severity of racism during the 1840s (Bosman). If the book is censored, then the point where Pap starts ranting about the â€Å"injustice† of a well educated black man being able to vote will not have the impact it should, representing the opinion of the average white male in the south (Twain 28). The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is seen as a masterpiece (Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) and a classic (Robert O’Meally) due to the original riting and arrangement. Without these elements, that people want to change, the book would not be as renowned or highly regarded. Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn may have some content that offends some people and they believe that it would be better to remove the offensive content, it would take away from the plot and meaning of the story. If the novel really offends someone, then they do not have to read it again or even finish reading it, but they do not have the right to change the words of someone else to suit their own ideals. The words of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were all carefully picked by Mark Twain to carry the message of his story and editing them would be defacing his hard work. Twain often complained about his proofreaders and editors changing his work (Kurutz). The book was written by Mark Twain and if he saw the need to add these controversial elements, then we should not interfere with his decision or his historical accuracy (Kay). Then novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist text, nor is Mark Twain a racist himself. Mark Twain’s novel was written as a historical account of life in the 1840s and as a result, any content that could be considered offensive to some is all added to make the literary work more realistic and a more accurate portrayal of life in the setting. Without these elements, the story of Huckleberry’s moral growth would not be as developed and the message of the book will not be as prominent. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be censored because the way the book is written provides an accurate account of life in the 1840s and without the writing staying as it is, the whole integrity of the work will be diminished. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered a classic because of how it was written. Changing the text changes the whole book and since the book is so highly regarded as it is, it should remain the same. When people claim that a book is racist, they make this assumption based on the content of the book. What people need to note is when the book is set, its publication date, and the purpose of the offensive content. With The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the story takes place in the 1840s when racism was very common. It also was published in 1885 when people in the United States were struggling with racism after the Civil War. The offensive content of the book is used to portray what life was like in the 1840s and to mock the behavior of the people of that time. When the book was written, language like that used in the text was still common and not seen as offensive as it does now. Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not racist, it just contains racist content, and this content makes the story what it is and develops its meaning. To take away this major element of the literary work to protect the feelings of some individuals would ruin the story and would hurt more people than it would help. To censor The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would take away a valuable source of historical knowledge that allows us to see the importance of how our society has changed and developed. Without this knowledge, people will forget the importance of the progress humankind has made and will not be able to avoid the mistakes we have already made as a whole in the past. Because of these reasons, changing the great literary work of Mark Twain Is unnecessary because The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist text and exposure to the harsh realities in the story will help the people of today to truly understand our past as a whole and improve our future. Works Cited Page Bosman, Julie. â€Å"Publisher Tinkers with Twain. † National Post. 4 Jan 2011. Print. Bowker, Gene. â€Å"Mark Twain, racism and Huckleberry Finn. † Examiner. com. Web. 9 Feb 2013 ;http://www. examiner. om/article/mark-twain-racism-and-huckleberry-finn; Kay, Barbara. â€Å"We Shouldn’t Censor History. † National Post. 10 Jan 2011. Print. Knab, Jakob. Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2011. Print. Kurutz,, Steven. â€Å"A Twain Scholar Reacts to the New, Censored Version ‘Huckleberry Finn’. † National Post. 9 Jan 2011. Print. PBS. â€Å"Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. † Web. 9 Feb 2013 ;http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/literature/huck. html; Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2003. Print. Censorship in Huck Finn Many people claim that the novel is racist due to the frequent use of racial slurs and the disrespect and mistreatment of the character Jim who is a runaway slave. Mark Twain’s famous novel is not a racist text because it is a historical account of the south during the 1840s, when racism was commonplace. The book’s purpose was to emphasize real life and mock the faults in human nature. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a young boy named Huckleberry Finn runs away from his life and travels down the Mississippi River with his friend Jim, a runaway slave. The story follows Huck’s moral growth and maturity throughout his many adventures and experiences. The major turning point of the book is when Huck realizes that Jim cares about him, and that he cares about Jim in return. As a child, Huck is taught that Jim isn’t a person because of his skin color and that he does not deserve respect, but Huck discovers that Jim is a person and deserves more respect than most people Huckleberry met on his journeys. He comes to this decision because Jim cares for him and treats Huck better than his own father. Huck says â€Å"All right, then, I’ll go to hell. when he decides to go against the racist teachings of his childhood and help Jim get his freedom (Twain 216-217). The book was written to show what life was like in the 1840s and successfully revealed the way people viewed each other and people of other races. In the beginning of the story, Huck treats Jim poorly because he is taught that Jim isn’t a real person and h e could get away with it. One of the many tricks Huckleberry plays on Jim was hiding a snake in the cave they were living in, but the snake bites Jim and Huck realizes how cruel his trick was and begins to feel sorry for how he treats Jim (Twain 55). Events like this are the reason people believe that Mark Twain’s book is racist, but without these examples the book’s purpose is muddled and the historical reliability is gone. The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered a controversial text because it contains derogatory language and examples of disrespectful behavior towards people of color. Speech and actions like the ones in the book were common in the setting of the book (Knab 1). People want to ban or edit the original text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, because of these elements, but they still allow these remarks in other literary works. Fredric Douglass used the same language in his narrative that was published in 1845, forty years before Twain published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but people don’t challenge his work because he was a slave and his story is a historical account of a slave’s life (Bowker). The two stories are based in the same time, are about the same topic, and both aim to be realistic portrayals of everyday life in the 1840s, yet one is constantly challenged while the other is allowed to be as it is. People today are concerned with being â€Å"politically correct† and â€Å"non-offensive†, but they have reached the point where they are willing to change history to protect the feelings of certain people (Kay). If these â€Å"racist† remarks and actions were removed from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the message of the book would not be evident, its historical accuracy destroyed, and the book would just be a meaningless children’s story. Censorship is useful to an extent, it allows people to keep mature information from children, but when it is used on history it takes away from the importance of knowing about and learning from the past. The reason racism is so important to avoid now is because of the negative effects it had in the past. If people don’t learn about these effects, then they can not understand the importance of equality now. When books are censored, their historical accuracy is lost and they are unable to educate people on the importance of the past to modern-day (Kay). Without learning about the good, bad, and ugly of the past, people wont be able to comprehend why the world is the way it is and how they can avoid the mistakes of the past. If the offensive content of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is removed, then people will not be able to see the severity of racism during the 1840s (Bosman). If the book is censored, then the point where Pap starts ranting about the â€Å"injustice† of a well educated black man being able to vote will not have the impact it should, representing the opinion of the average white male in the south (Twain 28). The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is seen as a masterpiece (Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) and a classic (Robert O’Meally) due to the original riting and arrangement. Without these elements, that people want to change, the book would not be as renowned or highly regarded. Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn may have some content that offends some people and they believe that it would be better to remove the offensive content, it would take away from the plot and meaning of the story. If the novel really offends someone, then they do not have to read it again or even finish reading it, but they do not have the right to change the words of someone else to suit their own ideals. The words of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were all carefully picked by Mark Twain to carry the message of his story and editing them would be defacing his hard work. Twain often complained about his proofreaders and editors changing his work (Kurutz). The book was written by Mark Twain and if he saw the need to add these controversial elements, then we should not interfere with his decision or his historical accuracy (Kay). Then novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist text, nor is Mark Twain a racist himself. Mark Twain’s novel was written as a historical account of life in the 1840s and as a result, any content that could be considered offensive to some is all added to make the literary work more realistic and a more accurate portrayal of life in the setting. Without these elements, the story of Huckleberry’s moral growth would not be as developed and the message of the book will not be as prominent. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be censored because the way the book is written provides an accurate account of life in the 1840s and without the writing staying as it is, the whole integrity of the work will be diminished. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered a classic because of how it was written. Changing the text changes the whole book and since the book is so highly regarded as it is, it should remain the same. When people claim that a book is racist, they make this assumption based on the content of the book. What people need to note is when the book is set, its publication date, and the purpose of the offensive content. With The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the story takes place in the 1840s when racism was very common. It also was published in 1885 when people in the United States were struggling with racism after the Civil War. The offensive content of the book is used to portray what life was like in the 1840s and to mock the behavior of the people of that time. When the book was written, language like that used in the text was still common and not seen as offensive as it does now. Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not racist, it just contains racist content, and this content makes the story what it is and develops its meaning. To take away this major element of the literary work to protect the feelings of some individuals would ruin the story and would hurt more people than it would help. To censor The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would take away a valuable source of historical knowledge that allows us to see the importance of how our society has changed and developed. Without this knowledge, people will forget the importance of the progress humankind has made and will not be able to avoid the mistakes we have already made as a whole in the past. Because of these reasons, changing the great literary work of Mark Twain Is unnecessary because The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist text and exposure to the harsh realities in the story will help the people of today to truly understand our past as a whole and improve our future. Works Cited Page Bosman, Julie. â€Å"Publisher Tinkers with Twain. † National Post. 4 Jan 2011. Print. Bowker, Gene. â€Å"Mark Twain, racism and Huckleberry Finn. † Examiner. com. Web. 9 Feb 2013 ;http://www. examiner. om/article/mark-twain-racism-and-huckleberry-finn; Kay, Barbara. â€Å"We Shouldn’t Censor History. † National Post. 10 Jan 2011. Print. Knab, Jakob. Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2011. Print. Kurutz,, Steven. â€Å"A Twain Scholar Reacts to the New, Censored Version ‘Huckleberry Finn’. † National Post. 9 Jan 2011. Print. PBS. â€Å"Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. † Web. 9 Feb 2013 ;http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/literature/huck. html; Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2003. Print.

Integrated marketing communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Econ Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 8

Research paper - Essay Example The detective raid Irene’s home severally and even bribes her servants but no pictures were retrieved. In an eventuality, the princess family acquires the information concerning the scandal and calls off the wedding; hence, the king loses both the princess and Irene who eventually flees with his lawyer lover to America. During her departure to America, Irene sends Holmes a letter telling him how he foresaw his schemes in his detective mission and leaves her picture portrait to be given to the king. This paper will analyse the general overview of the short story and how femininity is portrayed as the main theme in the story. Analysis The short story contains four characters namely Walton, Holmes, the king and the only woman named Irene. However, the narrator brings out the woman Irene as the main character who takes the central point in the story. In this case, the author tried to bring out the contrast between the woman character and the expected woman character in the 19th ce ntury also referred to as the Victorian era. Unlike the usual Victorian woman perceived to be naive and submissive, the author brings out the character Irene in a different perspective (Doyle 11). To begin with, the author depicts the secretive nature of Irene because she secretly hid the much-wanted photo from everyone and eventually runs away secretly with his lover to another country. In addition, the author depicts Irene’s nature of instinct because somehow, she knew that the king was marrying a Scandinavian princess and more still, her instinct showed her that her precious picture portrait was needed; hence, she hid it. The other amazing fact about her instinct is that she knew that the king was planning for her arrest and that is why she run away in time with his lawyer lover to America. More so, Irene knew that Holmes would visit her home in an attempt to arrest her. On a more interesting note, she exactly knew that Holmes would come looking for the picture where he ha d previously seen it; hence, Irene kept a letter in the same place for Holmes to read and her portrait picture of the king to possess. However, Irene possesses the Victorian woman values because the author depicts how women valued their homes, children and other domestic valuables because in the 19th century, the woman was a homemaker who got married and took care of her home. Irene Adler portrays such a character by rushing home to hide her most valued items, the picture of her, and the king after she learned that the king needed the precious picture portrays (Doyle 11). Moreover, the author depicts how women of the Victorian era were victims of love because they had no authority over the male decisions in terms of love affairs. Irene, who is entangled in a past affair with the king, and uses the picture as the weapon to fight and protect her love right depict this weakness. Nevertheless, Irene Adler’s intelligence surpasses the few portrayed weaknesses, because prior to her instinctive and secretive nature, she goes ahead to show her intelligence by keeping the portrait of his former lover, as a weapon that will protect her from future steps that the king might take, which shows that she has strong intensions of controlling rather than destroying. Ideally, Irene Adler’s beauty and brains lays a platform for admiration. The admiration is in a puzzle concept because at the end of the story the