Gender Roles in Children’s Books: An Examination of Little House in the

People use several different classification systems to help organize a complex society. For example, scientists use a system composed of hierarchies in order to place animals in their proper kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. By creating this classification system, people of society are better able to understand the relationships that these animals have with each other. Just as scientists use this hierarchy to organize animals, people use the concept of gender to classify their own kind. However, many people fail to realize that gender, unlike the system of hierarchies used by scientists to classify animals, is not biologically based. While sex is a biological concept, gender can be defined as the sociological, psychological, and cultural attributes that society associates with sex. Thus, society creates gender roles, and, accordingly, â€Å"does gender.† In other words, people require that others act out the gender roles set by society if they want to be part of the social norm. The purpose of this paper, then, is to first examine literature which discusses ways in which society â€Å"does gender†, and then examine the manner in which authors of children’s books promote these gender roles that society has assigned. Judith Lorber’s article entitled, â€Å"Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender† (Lorber, 1994) is one example of a piece of literature that examines â€Å"doing gender.† In this article, she argues that the concept of gender exists because of socialization; that is, society teaches that certain characteristics should be associated with boys while other characteristics should be associated with girls. As aforementioned, in order to demonstrate why society uses gender classifications from birth, Lorber says that people must look at gender as a social institution in that â€Å"gender is one of the major ways that human beings organize their lives† (Lorber, 1994). One of the ways that people allocate others for performing tasks in society, then, is through gender classification. After discussing socialization theory, Lorber goes on to give several examples of how people â€Å"do gender† in today’s society. For example, she discusses how men with baby carriers are stared at approvingly on the bus because these men are seen as changing the role of fathers more towards the domestic end of the spectrum, a role that was previously played only... ...ly. While Wilder’s characters exhibit traits that help to reinforce the gender norms created by society, Rowling seems to suggest that life is more interesting when these traditional gender roles are bent, just as life is more exciting at Hogwart’s than at the Dursley household. Therefore, in order for males and females to feel comfortable taking advantage of the plethora of opportunities that are available to them, members of society must strive to bend the gender roles that they have assigned. Works Cited Lorber, Judith. â€Å"Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender† Excerpts from: Paradoxes of Gender (Chapter 1) by Judith Lorber, 1994 Yale University Press. Web. http://faculty.ucc.edu/english-chewning/SocialConstructionOfGender.pdf Messner, Michael. â€Å"Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities† Journal of Contemporary Ethnography January 1990 vol. 18 no. 4 416-444 http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/18602_Chapter_5.pdf Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York City: Scholastic, 1997. Print. Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 1953.

Immigration history Essay

It was in the early 19th century when immigration of Chinese started in US and the history witnesses both hardship and success for them. In the early years Chinese could get employment as laborers for construction of railroads and in mining industry. But these immigrants had to face the racial discrimination by the local people always. There had been lot of changes in the law of Chinese immigration and there were times when mixed marriages were also banned. There were all kinds of people in society but most of them were against these immigrants as they thought they have come to snatch their job pportunities. Those who were in need of cheap labor favored these immigrants and it was again in 1940s that Chinese immigrants started to come to US. Now the situation is that they are almost 1% of the total population although majority lives the life of middle class there. Most of the Americans treated Chinese as aliens and this discrimination made Chinese live with a distance from them They wore their traditional dress along with the little round hats. Usually these immigrants were poor farmers and in order to work and make money they left their wives and children in China and came to US. They even borrowed money from relatives or moneylenders to pay for the voyage to US. Some of the agencies that needed labors paid for their voyage and that was deducted from their wages later. In this way these immigrants reached US only for the need of a job to fulfill the requirements of their family members. As these were from rural China they faced many kinds of difficulties like language problem, as they didn’t even understand English along with the racial discrimination. The trade relationship of China with New York in the beginning of the nineteenth century rought many Chinese traders in US. The discovery of gold in California caught the main attraction and Wei Long, a small farmer set on a voyage to US. The first thing that came into Wei’s mind was to collect money for his voyage and for this he tried his relatives. Most of them had their own family problems or were already in debt. Lastly Wei had to go to a moneylender and borrow money for his voyage with a promise to repay him as soon as he gets a job. He left his wife with a small child in the village and went to California on the ship that sailed with many more Chinese men. Wei had a dream of aving his own gold mines and become rich as soon as he can. He dreamt of returning back to China with lots of money and solving all the problems in his family. When he reached California, he had to find any kind of work so that to support his living and also thought of saving some for his dream. After peripatetic search for job he got one in Central Pacific Railroad Company. Since the Union Pacific Railroad Company, the chief rival of Central Pacific, was heading fast and prospering, the Central Pacific started hiring Chinese laborers and this is how Wei got a job to carry on. He along with other Chinese laborers were paid quite less than the white laborers but no one had another choice than to accept the most difficult jobs that were offered to them. Wei was quite scared when he first saw the job but with the power of his dream collected and started working. He had to stand in wicker baskets that were lowered with the help of ropes and he had to drill holes in the granite rocks. Then put dynamite in the hole lit the fuse and immediately after this he was lifted up. So many times he thought if there was a few econds of mishandling or late in pulling him up he would have been blown into pieces with the rocks. He had seen many of his fellow workers who either died or lived handicapped. Days and months passed and Wei got employment because Chinese immigrants used to work hard in quite less money and they moved faster than the expectations of their employers. Wei was able to save some money and tried business many times but due to racial discrimination he lost all his money. After trying and loosing his money he thought of just saving some money and go back to his hometown. But this was a difficult task as he immigrants had to face a lot of difficulty to get legal permission for returning back home. However he had started living in Chinatown and was feeling a little bit comfortable with the feeling that he was with his countrymen. It was more than five years and he desperately wanted to go back to his family and his home in Guangdong. He could not buy a house apart from Chinatowns. It was not because there was any kind of law against it but the social discrimination never let him do so. He somehow managed to return back home but he had to sign on papers that he would come back and work for the man who helped him in returning.

Nuclear Energy And Nuclear Power Essay - 1582 Words

Nuclear Energy For many Americans, the electric bill is the most dreaded bill to arrive each month; it is always expensive, yet it doesn’t have to be. To lower electricity costs for citizens and businesses, the Unites States could increase its use of nuclear power. Nuclear energy is created when an unstable radioactive element decays and emits nanoparticles called radiation. With today’s current technology, the emission of these atoms as well as the energy released can be controlled and used in different ways. One such way is in the creation of electricity produced by nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is not renewable; however, it meets every reasonable criterion for sustainability, which is a primary concern for many people. Furthermore, the United States should use nuclear energy as its main source of power for three primary reasons: first, it is the most reliable source of power in the world today. Second, it is more cost effective than any other non-renewable reso urce and, finally, nuclear energy releases no greenhouse gasses, which contribute to global warming. The first reason the United States should use nuclear energy is because it is a reliable source of power due to an abundance of uranium as well as nuclear energy’s independence of climate conditions. Rinkesh Kukreja, author of â€Å"Conserve Energy Future† stresses this when he states, â€Å"As solar and wind energy are dependent upon weather conditions, nuclear power plants have no such constraints and can runShow MoreRelatedNuclear Power And Nuclear Energy Essay1456 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Nuclear power is used to some degree to provide electricity to many countries, and it is also playing a significant role as a main fuel resource for marine propulsion for ships. For many countries, nuclear energy is their primary energy source, such as France. However, nuclear energy has its benefits and drawbacks. The nuclear energy power plants need less raw materials than the other energy power plants, such as coal power plants. But if there is an accident, large amount of radioactiveRead MoreNuclear Power And Nuclear Energy1341 Words   |  6 Pageswhen nuclear energy is produced without incident, the science itself creates vast quantities of toxic waste, which is impossible to discard† (Dupea, n. pag.). Because of the fact that there is no way to safely dispose of nuclear energy and waste, many issues have arose. There are many more safe and more reliable sources and ways to produce energy that involves less risks. Countries need to eliminate the use of nuclear energy due to the problems it causes. Some of the largest issues with nuclear energyRead MoreNuclear Power And Nuclear Energy1491 Words   |  6 Pagesnatural resources. Nuclear energy is one of the most important alternative resources that the world can be used for. However, when the term â€Å"nuclear power† gets used usually the first thing that comes to mind for most people is about the bomb, war, negative effects and many more. However, almost all the nuclear energy we use today comes in the form of electricity, which is not dangerous. People are frightened and concerned about the nuclear power, because they believe that the nuclear power has many negativeRead MoreNuclear Energy : Nuclear Power1260 Words   |  6 Pagestemperatures increasing and climate change controversies arising, the world seeks a clean, reliable energy source; could nuclear energy be the answer? Due to massive amounts of carbon dioxide emitted into the air by our main energy provider, the coal power plant, society is yearning for a cleaner form of energy. Nuclear power plants release minimal amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Nuclear energy, in the public eye, has a bad reputation because of accidents that have occurred in recent historyRead MoreNuclear Energy And Nuclear Power1705 Words   |  7 PagesNew energy sources are invested in every year to produce heat and electricity for the citizens of the United States. However, nuclear power is becoming a much more urgent discussion topic. Nuclear power, or the use of nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity, contributes to nearly 20% of the electricity generated and used in America. According to the Department of Energy, the United States has invested 60 years of their time into nuclear power! But why have we done so? Well, the productionRead MoreNuclear Energy : Nuclear Power1251 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is Nuclear Power? Nuclear power uses nuclear fission to release nuclear energy which creates heat that can t hen be used in nuclear power stations to provide electricity. In nuclear fission, the nucleus splits apart generating large amounts of energy. Nuclear fusion is also an excellent energy source because it produces no greenhouse gases or combustion products which are not radioactive. The drawback is that it takes too much energy so we are sticking to nuclear fission. Nuclear power a controversialRead MoreNuclear Energy : Nuclear Power Essay1265 Words   |  6 PagesWhen one hears the words ‘nuclear power’ they are immediately offset with images of Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These were agreeably a few devastatingly deadly and lasting disasters involving nuclear energy. With newer technologies and processes such as the use of nuclear fission, however, harnessing nuclear energy has become a safe practice. The global climate and overall health of the world is shifting toward the worse, and humanity only has itself to blame. It is time thatRead MoreNucl ear Power And Nuclear Energy1637 Words   |  7 Pages While some say nuclear power is risky, the facts prove otherwise. Nuclear energy is often treated as a taboo subject due to misconceptions throughout history by the public, but in actuality, nuclear energy is relatively safe, when practiced correctly. Nuclear energy is a process in which atoms are split, producing heat, which boils water. The steam then turns a turbine to produce electricity. While fission is involved in nuclear bombs, the process in each are both different. The ‘fuel’ used forRead MoreNuclear Power And Nuclear Energy Essay1739 Words   |  7 Pagessources of energy are discussed, the focus is usually centered around energy productions like solar and wind. But an important source of energy is often overlooked, nuclear energy. The viability of nuclear power plants has been a topic of debate since their inception, with many both for and against it. Many countries are broadly opposed to nuclear energy with poor public opinion resulting in the decommissioni ng of nuclear power plants in their country. With the potential dangers of nuclear energy and theRead MoreNuclear Power And Nuclear Energy1323 Words   |  6 Pagesever increasing population, [energy demand, and the need for alternative resources continues to increase.] Nuclear energy comes up as a strong contender by being clean, sustainable, and more consistent moreover than others in the renewables category. Even though those in the energy industry argue that the use of nuclear plants provides a stable source of power in a clean and renewable matter, in areas where other resources are available, the potential threat of nuclear meltdowns outweigh the positive