Essay on Wedding part 2

Essay on Wedding part 2 Essay on Wedding part 2 Essay on Wedding part 2Essay on Wedding part  1At the same time, the author suggests looking beyond the external look of the sisters. Dorothy West believes that the audience should not treat the main characters of her book by their look or the color of her skin. This is why her characters are aware of the fact that the look of a person is of a little importance. Dorothy West develops the idea that â€Å"beauty is but skin deep, ugly to the bone. And when beauty fades away, ugly claims its own†Ã‚  (West, 162). In such a way, the difference between sisters is determined not by their complexion or physical look but, instead, the difference is within them. The author wants to show that the sisters are two absolutely different persons with different traits of characters, different believes, views and values. This is why they are so different, although they still are sisters. The revelation of the priority of the internal world of a person over the external look is very important and is one of the main messages conveyed by the author in her book. The idea of the greater role of the inner world of the person over the physical appearance of the person opens the way to the elimination of racial biases and stereotypes. In fact, the author suggests that people should treat each other judging by their deeds and views rather than by their look or race. In such a way, Dorothy West develops the idea that people can treat sisters differently because they are just different persons. In this regard, she opens the way to the elimination of racism in the US society emphasizing that the race of a person does not matter and any person can be treated better or worse depending on the deeds and views of the person rather than on the person’s race.Furthermore, Dorothy West develops the idea that deeds of the main characters as well as other people are very important: â€Å"He had been taught that bread unshared is bread unblessed when someone else is hungry, whether man or beast, friend or stranger† (West, 178). In such a way, the author wants to persuade the audience that people should be judged by their deeds above all, whereas the race of a person is unimportant (Goldenberg 182). Sharing bread is the traditional reference to the generosity and goodness of a person and the author emphasizes that such traits of character do not depend on the race of a person. Instead, they are personal attributes entirely. People may be either supportive or not, either generous or not, and so are the sisters. This is why they are so different.At the same time, Dorothy West raises the problem of the development of social relations and the importance of the social status of sisters and their perception by their social environment. On the one hand, the author argues â€Å"how many people can play a piano? Practically anybody who has ever been a child. It is a standard parlor accomplishment†Ã‚  (West, 182). In such a way, the author shows that some peopl e view playing a piano as something which they take for granted, whereas others view it as the attribute of the higher social status because piano play implies the respective musical education of the person and her identity as well as the perception of the person by her social environment. In such a way, the socioeconomic position of sisters is very important in their self-perception as well as in their perception by their family members and other people (Goldenberg 191). Their different successes lead to their different perception and self-perception. Moreover, the social status turns out to be determinant in the perception of the person by the public. At this point, Dororthy West clearly shows that rich and prosperous people are traditionally associated with the whiteness, while poor people struggling for survival on the daily basis are traditionally associated with blackness. As a result, people can perceive the black person as a white, if the person belongs to the middle- or upp er-class.Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that Dorothy West reveals the difference between sisters showing their belongingness to the African American community but their perception and self-perception as white because of their social status and personal experience. The author attempts to show that the difference between sisters is the result of their inner differences, i.e. differences in the traits of character of sisters. At the same time, the author shows clearly that people belonging to one and the same racial group may be totally different. Therefore, she attempts to persuade the audience that people should not treat each other judging by their appearance. Instead, each person has unique identity which is not determined by the racial background of the person but by the personal experience and social environment of the person. If the person is treated as white, the person identifies herself with the white community and , on the contrary. However, Dorothy West apparently attempts to eliminate racial boundaries. This is why sisters depicted in the book are so different.

Biography of Cotton Mather, Clergyman and Scientist

Biography of Cotton Mather, Clergyman and Scientist Cotton Mather was a Puritan clergyman in Massachusetts known for his scientific studies and literary works, as wells as for the peripheral role he played in the witchcraft trials at Salem. He was a highly influential figure in early America. As a leading scientific mind of his day, Mather was one of only two colonial Americans (the other being Benjamin Franklin) admitted to the prestigious Royal Society of London. Yet as a theologian, he also believed in non-scientific ideas, in particular the existence of witchcraft. Fast Facts: Cotton Mather Known For: Early American Puritan clergyman, scientist, and influential authorBorn: March 19, 1663 in Boston, MassachusettsDied: February 13, 1728, age 65Education: Harvard College, graduated 1678, received masters degree 1681Key Accomplishments: One of two American scientists named to prestigious Royal Society of London. Author of hundreds of works, ranging from pamphlets to massive works of scholarship and history. Early Life Cotton Mather was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 19, 1663. His father was Increase Mather, a prominent citizen of Boston and a noted scholar who served as the president of Harvard College from 1685 to 1701. As a boy, Cotton Mather was well educated, learning Latin and Greek, and was admitted to Harvard at the age of 12. He studied Hebrew and the sciences, and after receiving a degree at the age of 16, intended to pursue a career in medicine. At 19 he received a master’s degree, and he remained involved in the administration of Harvard for the rest of his life (though he was disappointed to never be asked to serve as its president). His personal life was marked by recurring tragedies. He had three marriages. His first two wives died, his third went insane. He and his wives had a total of 15 children, but only six lived to be adults, and of those only two outlived Mather. Minister In 1685 Cotton Mather was ordained in the Second Church in Boston. It was a prestigious institution in the city, and Mather became its pastor. From the pulpit his words carried weight, and he thus had considerable political power in Massachusetts. He was known to have opinions on just about any issues, and was not shy about expressing them. Title page of Cotton Mathers The Wonders of the Invisible World, a book on witchcraft.   Library of Congress / Getty Images When the notorious trials of accused witches began in Salem in the winter of 1692-93, Cotton Mather approved of them, and by some interpretations actively encouraged them. Eventually, 19 people were executed and many more jailed. In 1693 Mather wrote a book, Wonders of the Invisible World, which made the case for the supernatural, and seemed to be a justification for the events at Salem. Mather later recanted his views on the witch trials, eventually considering them to have been excessive and unjustified. Scientist Mather had a deep interest in science since his childhood, and as books about discoveries by scientists in Europe reached America, he devoured them. He also corresponded with scientific authorities in Europe, and though positioned in the American colonies, he managed to stay up to date with the works of men such as Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle. Over the course of his life, Mather wrote about scientific subjects including botany, astronomy, fossils, and medicine. He became an authority on common diseases, including scurvy, measles, fevers, and smallpox. One of the major contributions Cotton Mather made to science in early America was his support for the concept of vaccinations. He was attacked and threatened for advocating that the public receive vaccinations for smallpox (a disease which had killed some of his children). By 1720, he was the foremost American authority on vaccinations. Author Mather possessed boundless energy as a writer, and over the course of his life he published hundreds of works, ranging from pamphlets to hefty books of scholarship. Perhaps his most significant written work was Magnalia Christi Americana, published in 1702, which chronicled the history of the Puritans in New England from 1620 to 1698. The book also serves as something of a history of the Massachusetts colony, and it became a cherished and widely read book in early America. (The copy owned by John Adams can be viewed online.) Title page of Magnalia Christi Americana, by Cotton Mather. Cotton Mather / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons   His writings show his typical wide range of interests. A book of essays, Political Fables, was published in 1692; Psalterium Americanum, a work in which he set the psalms to music, was published in 1718; and The Angel of Bethesda, a medical manual, was published in 1722. Bonifacius, Or Essays to Do Good, which Mather published in 1718, gave practical advice for doing good works. Benjamin Franklin credited the book as having influenced him as a youth. Legacy Cotton Mather died February 13, 1728, at the age of 65. By creating so many written works, Mather left an enduring legacy. He inspired Benjamin Franklin, who pursued simultaneous careers as writer, scientist, and political activist. And later American writers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne all acknowledged debts to Cotton Mather. Sources: Cotton Mather. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 10, Gale, 2004, pp. 330-332. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Mather, Cotton. Colonial America Reference Library, edited by Peggy Saari and Julie L. Carnagie, vol. 4: Biographies: Volume 2, UXL, 2000, pp. 206-212. Gale Virtual Reference Library.