Beauty and the self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Beauty and the self - Essay Example With these characteristics, a woman will always be â€Å"beautiful, whole, and free† (Walker 255), no matter what physical imperfections she may have. The beauty of a woman is multi-dimensional, combining the tradition aesthetic notions of attractiveness and inner self-realization with a soul pursuing her most innermost desires and dream in life. Beauty is a complex word with numerous, often conflicting, definitions. When connected to inner beauty, however, it results in a process of actualizing one’s identity by realizing one’s value. Walker first emphasizes the outer beauty. For the photographer, this is the beauty of what a photo can capture and for the artist; it is the beauty that can only be seen by the eyes when a picture is drawn. For the writer, just like most women, regardless of her age or ethnicity, to be beautiful is one of most important aspects of her life. After being blinded at a young age, Walker was so depressed about her eye, not because of her loss of vision, but because of the perceived blemish to her beauty. She was not strong enough to accept the fact that she was no longer the â€Å"cutest thing† in â€Å"biscuit-polished paten-leather shoes and lavender socks, tossing [her] head in a way that makers [her] ribbons bounce†, but instead the girl with â€Å"a glob of whitish scar tissue, a hideous cataract on [her] eye† (Walker 251, 253). She â€Å"[did] not pray for sight,† she â€Å"[prayed] for beauty† (Walker 254). She became lost inside herself. She did not find her true identity at first because she thought that her identity, or the ‘self’, was defined by how she looked. The relationship between the ‘self’ and beauty cannot be described without being conscious of one’s weaknesses and strengths. For a long time, Walker only saw her own weaknesses and used that as a basis for defining the roots

The Knife :: essays research papers

It all started on a warm Saturday afternoon. My parents decided that we should go out on the boat that afternoon. So we changed into our swimsuits, got our beach towels, and finally piled into the van for the drive to the cabin. The cabin, where my grandparents live, is where we park our boat. Their house is about a mile from lock and dam fourteen on the Iowa side.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My grandparents were away on a lustrous journey when we arrived. My dad went to fuel the boat, my mom loaded the boat with food for the day, and I went to go whittle on the roof of the garage. I went into the garage and got my filet knife out of my tackle box. Then went around to the back, climbed the fence, and got onto the roof. I had done this several times before and liked this place because it was serene and peaceful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I took a branch off the great oak tree that stood before me and began carving. Suddenly, the knife slipped off the fresh, smooth, moist wood and sliced into my leg for what seemed like an eternity. It hurt for what seemed like a decade, but was only a few seconds. After I realized what happened, I rushed down off the roof to get my mother. As I was climbing down from the roof, it began to pulse and hurt again. The wound was beginning to bleed profusely from the movement. Luckily, my mother was just leaving the house as I got down from the roof. â€Å"Mom, would you be mad if I cut myself?† Because of the blood on my finger, she thought I had cut my finger and needed a Band-Aid. â€Å"No, of course not, do you need a Band-Aid?† I then showed her the great gash on my leg. â€Å"Go into the house while I get your father!† I went inside and waited†¦ â€Å"Lie down on the floor while I get some towels to stop the bleeding,† he said calmly. With the bleeding under control he carried me to the van and rushed to the hospital emergency room.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inside the emergency room, we waited for nearly an hour before seeing a doctor. Finally, we were escorted back by a nurse to see the doctor. Then after about another half-hour the doctor came in. The cut was about two and a half inches long and one inch deep, so it was a nice one as the doctor said.

Albert Bandera

Albert Bandura has made great contributions to the field of learning and cognition. His finding formed the foundation of modern social learning theory. Bandura studies were base on observational learning or modeling (2013). He believed that people learn by observing others, such behaviors, but not necessary by imitating or mimicking (2013) For example if you see a friend slipping on the wet floor, you would go around to prevent from slipping like your friend. Observing behavior is a form of information a person obtains, a process of learning to later recover when need it. It incorporates the basic principles of learning like attention, memory and motivation. Albert Bandura Bobo Doll experiment set principles on social learning. Through this experiment he observed 33 children, boys and girls. These children were then divided into 3 groups, each group watch a different ending of the video. The video was of a woman beating a Bobo Doll; she beat up the doll, threw it across the room, kicked it, and called it names. She was very aggressive towards the doll for no apparent reason. The first group watched a video that showed the person beating the doll receiving a reward after the behavior. Second group watched the person being punished for the behavior, and the third group watched the video with no consequences (2013). After watching the video the children were presented to a bobo doll just like the one in the video. All 33 children reacted aggressively towards the doll. The aggression varied on what video each children watched. The children that watched the person being rewarded were more aggressive; the aggression decrease with the children that watched the person being punished and aggression was neutral with those that watch the video with no consequence (2013). In conclusion to this study, Bandura explain the influence of observational learning. First is attention, in order for a person to learn he or she needs to pay attention, be focused (2013). If there is distraction the observational learning process will have a negative affect. For example a dancer learning a new step, while the dance master is howing a new step, Silvia notices her crush walk-in the dance room. Instead of paying attention to the new step, her attention is elsewhere. Second is retention, is the ability to store the information a person learns through observing, he or she obtains the information to later act on it (2013). Third, reproduction, which is the process of practicing on what the person learns from observing, likes performi ng the behavior. For example; after the dancer learns a new step by observing the dance master, she then practice the behavior, in this case is the new dancing step. Last is motivation, for a person to act the behavior learned after observing he or she has to be motivated. Reinforcements and punishments are actually important role in the process of motivation. For example, lets take Silva the dancer, she makes sure to learn the right steps to the dance routine because if she does the dance master will defiantly picker her to be at the show to perform the dance. Albert Bandera social learning theory has become popular in todays society, like entertainment, education, and especially in the media such as advertising. Bandura did not like how the media would use the observational learning theory because it was mostly used to show negative or violent behaviors that people would learn (2013). Fox example alcohol or cigarette companies use media to advertise their product. These companies use attractive models like role models that todays society look up to or are considered to be â€Å"cool†. Society watches these advertisements, they become amuse some act the behaviors, such as smoking or drinking because they think is the â€Å"cool† thing to do especially the youth. Albert Bandura theory brought great contribution to the psychology field, observational learning or modeling has very concepts process, but if you think about it is really just common sense. Observational learning or modeling would be use more for children because they have not yet developed right from wrong (2013). Is also away that a parent or just any adult can know how to act a certain way around children, because a child behavior always reflects his or her parent or role model.

Impact Of The Enlightenment On Modern Political Thought

David Wolkoff English 9CP/Western Civ. Mrs. Orens/Mr. Reiss April 1, 2016 The Impact of the Enlightenment on Modern Political Thought The philosopher John Locke once said, â€Å"[g]overnment has no other end, but the preservation of property† (â€Å"John Locke†). The social contract is the fundamental basis for modern government. This idea affects everything we believe a modern state should represent for itself and its people. This way of understanding the role of government was inspired by the writings of the Enlightenment era philosophers. This way of understanding the role of the state and its people is significantly different from what was believed in ancient Athens and Rome. The Enlightenment era philosophers did more than just think of new ideas of government; their works not only inspired changes during the 18th century, but also continued to shape modern governments. While it is true that certain forms of democracy evolved in ancient Athens and Rome, modern governments differ significantly from these ancient societies. In some cases, the very words put forth by the philosophers were written directly into the constitutions of countries practicing these new ideas. Without the contributions of John Locke and other enlightenment philosophers, democracy and government as we know it today would not exist. The shape of modern government in America and Europe today comes from many different ideas that existed before the Enlightenment even began. Concepts in ancient Greece areShow MoreRelatedThe Enlightenment Puritanism Essay807 Words   |  4 Pages The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this â€Å"awakening† time. 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