American Indians Essay Example for Free

American Indians Essay The people now known as Indians or Native Americans were the first people to live in the Americas. They had been living there for thousands of years before any Europeans arrived. The Vikings explored the east coast of North America around A. D. 1000 and had some contact with Indians (Watson Howell 1980). But lasting contact between Indians and Europeans began with Christopher Columbuss voyages to the Americas. In 1492, Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain. He was seeking a short sea route to the Indies, which then included India, China, the East Indies, and Japan. Europeans did not then know that North and South America existed. When Columbus landed in what is now known as the West Indies, he did not realize he had come to a New World. He thought he had reached the Indies, and so he called the people he met Indians. Almost every Indian group had its own name. Many of these names reflected the pride of each group in itself and its way of life. For example, the Delaware Indians of eastern North America called themselves Lenape, which means genuine people. Today, many Indians refer to themselves as Native Americans. The first Indians came to the New World from Siberia, in Asia. Most scientists think they arrived at least 15,000 years ago. At that time huge ice sheets covered much of the northern half of the earth. The Bering Strait, which today is a narrow area of water that separates Asia and North America, was easily walked across by the Indians who were following the animals that they were hunting. Much later this ice sheet melted and the land bridge became covered with water. By then, Indian groups had already spread throughout the New World, all over North and South America. These Indian groups developed different cultures because of the different climates and landforms in the regions in which they settled. Body Anthropologists, scientists who study human culture, classify the hundreds of North and South American Indian tribes into groups of tribes that are alike. These groups are called culture areas. Some of the cultures of North America are the Arctic; the Northeast, or Eastern Woodlands; the Plains; and Southwest. The Indians spoke hundreds of different languages and had many different ways of life. Some groups lived in great cities and others in small villages. The Aztec and the Maya of Central America built large cities. Some of the Aztec cities had as many as 100,000 people. The Maya built special buildings in which they studied the moon, the stars, and the sun. They also developed a calendar and a system of writing. Many of the Indians of Eastern North America lived in villages. They hunted and farmed, growing such crops as beans, corns and squash (Bains, 1985). Most of the Indians were friendly at first and taught the newcomers many things. The European explorers followed Indian trails to sources of water and deposits of copper, gold, silver, turquoise, and other minerals. The Indians taught them to make snowshoes and sleds and to travel by canoe. Food was another of the Indians important gifts. The Indians grew many foods that the newcomers had never heard of, such as avocados, corn, peanuts, peppers, pineapples, potatoes, squash, and tomatoes. They also introduced the whites to tobacco. The Indians, in turn, learned much from the whites. The Europeans brought many goods that were new to the Indians. These goods included metal tools, guns, and liquor. The Europeans also brought cattle and horses, which were unknown to the Indians. The Europeans and the Indians had widely different ways of life. Some Europeans tried to understand the Indians ways and treated them fairly. But others cheated the Indians and took their land. When the Indians fought back, thousands of them were killed in battle. At first, they had only bows and arrows and spears, but the Europeans had guns. Even more Indians died from measles, smallpox, and other new diseases introduced by the whites. As the Europeans moved westward across North America, they became a greater threat to the Indian way of life. Finally, most of the remaining Indians were moved onto reservations. Most daily activities of an Indian family centered on providing the main necessities of life such as food, clothing, and shelter. Men and women usually had separate tasks. For example, both men and women were often involved in providing food. But they did so in different ways. In some areas, the women gathered wild plants for food, and the men hunted. In the Northeast and Southeast culture areas, the men hunted, and the women farmed the land. In parts of what are now Arizona and New Mexico and in Middle and South America, the men did the farming. The women gathered plants. In all areas, women were generally responsible for preparing the food. Many Indians married at an early age, the girls between 13 and 15 and the boys between 15 and 20. In some Indian tribes, the parents or other relatives chose the marriage partners for the young people. In other tribes, especially those of North America, a young man could select his own mate. He had to convince the girl and her parents that he would make a suitable husband. In many cases, he offered them valuable gifts to win their approval. Throughout most of the New World, marriage was a family affair and not a religious ceremony. The boys family usually gave presents to the brides family. Many newly married couples lived with the girls family and the husband worked for her family until the birth of a child. Then the couple might establish their own home. But they generally did not move to a new home in a new area. Many other newly married couples joined an existing family group or lived close to one. Some of the couples moved in with other relatives of the woman or with the relatives of the man. This extended family shared with the daily work of the household, including the raising of children. Many Indian groups allowed men to have more than one wife. But this practice was common only among rich or powerful men. After a man died, his wife would often live with his brother as husband and wife even if the brother was already married. Similarly, if a woman died, her family would probably be expected to give her husband another unmarried daughter to replace her. Most Indian families were small because many children died at birth or as babies. Indian children were praised when they behaved well and shamed when they misbehaved. Only the Aztec and Inca tribes had regular schools. Boys and girls of other tribes learned to perform mens and womens jobs by helping their parents and older brothers and sisters. After most boys reached their early teens, they went through a test of strength or bravery called an initiation ceremony. Many went without food for a long period or lived alone in the wilderness. In some tribes, a boy was expected to have a vision of the spirit that would become his lifelong guardian. Some groups also had initiation ceremonies for girls. A teenager who successfully completed an initiation ceremony was considered an adult and ready to be married. Food that Indians ate depended on where they lived. Indian tribes that lived on the plains of the United States, where buffalo and other game were plentiful, ate mainly meat. Meat was also the principal food of those Indians who inhabited the woodlands and tundra (frigid treeless plain) of Alaska and Canada. The Pueblo of the Southwest and other farming groups lived chiefly on beans, corn, and squash. Potatoes were an important crop among the Inca. MacNeish (1992) stated that Indians in the tropical areas of South America made bread from the roots of bitter cassava, a small shrub. Tribes that lived near water caught fish and gathered shellfish. Most Indian groups ate berries, nuts, roots, seeds, and wild plants. They also gathered salt and collected maple sap wherever they could. Indians made a kind of tea from such plants as sassafras and wintergreen. Many Indians drank a mild beer that was known as chicha. They made this beer from corn, cassava, peanuts, or potatoes. Indians who ate mostly meat cooked it by roasting, broiling, or boiling. Farming Indians and others who ate chiefly vegetables developed various methods of boiling or baking. They often made pit ovens by lining holes in the ground with hot stones. Indians preserved meat by smoking it or by drying it in the sun. North American Indians mixed dried meat with grease and berries to make a food called pemmican. Most Indians ate with their fingers, but some used spoons made from animal bones, shells, or wood. Indians built many kinds of homes because they lived in different climates and had different building materials available to them (Brandt Guzzi, 1985). Those who moved about a great deal had simple shelters they could carry easily, or they built temporary shelters. Indians who stayed in one place built larger, more permanent homes. Some groups built large houses where many families lived together. Others had simple dwellings that housed only a few people. In some cases, shelter changed with the season. Some Indians in Canada built snow houses during the winter. But in the summer, they lived in tents made of animal hides. In the United States, these Indians are sometimes called Eskimos. In other areas, the Indians covered their tepees with animal skins or with tree bark. Indians at the southern tip of South America also used skins to cover shelters called windbreaks, which were open on one side. Some tribes of the Northwest made cloth of bark and reeds, and the Pueblo wove cotton cloth. The Aztec, Inca, Maya, and some Caribbean tribes wove beautiful cotton and woolen cloth. Indians in the hot South American areas often wore no clothing at all. In many tribes, a man wore only a breechcloth, a narrow band of cloth that passed between the legs and looped over the front and rear of a belt. Women wore simple aprons or skirts. Indians in colder climates wore leggings, shirts, and robes. Some wore sandals or moccasins to protect their feet. Travel by water was the most common means of transportation. Many Indians used bark canoes, which were light and easy to carry. Some large dugout canoes carried as many as 60 people. The Plains tribes used dogs and, later, horses to pull a load-carrying frame called a travois. Andean Indians used alpacas and llamas as beasts of burden. But these animals could not carry heavy loads, so the people themselves carried most of their goods. People often supported a heavy load on their back with a pack strap called a tumpline. Indians of the Arctic and the Northwest Coast and some other areas hunted or fished for most of their food. They also hunted some birds only for the feathers, and they prized the fur of beavers and certain other animals. Indians in the West got most of their food by gathering wild seeds, nuts, and roots. Even in the Southwest and other farming areas, hunting, gathering, and fishing were important. The most important game animals of North and South America included deer; rabbits and other small game: ducks, geese, herons, seals, sea lions, whales, turtles, and snakes. Bear, buffalo, caribou, elk, and moose lived only in North America. Animals that were hunted mainly in South America included the guanaco, jaguar, peccary, rhea, and tapir. Indians hunted with the same kinds of weapons they used in war. Many bows and arrows, spears, and clubs had special features for hunting. For example, some Indians used unsharpened arrows to shoot birds in trees. These arrows stunned the birds so that they fell to the ground. The Hopi stunned small game with a kind of boomerang. The Indians caught fish with harpoons, hooks and lines, spears, and traps and nets. Tribes of the Northwest Coast also used long poles called herring rakes. These poles had jagged points and could catch a number of herring at one time. In tropical South America, Indians stood on river sand bars and shot fish with bows and arrows. Both North and South American Indians used drugs to catch fish. In one method, Indians chopped up certain plants and threw them in the water. These plants stunned the fish. Then the Indians could easily scoop them out of the water. Indians of the Northeast and the Tropical Forest used slash-and-burn farming methods. They cut down a number of trees and burned them. Then they planted their crops among the trunks. The ashes from the burned trees served as fertilizer. Indians in Mexico and the Southern United States raised turkeys. Wars occurred from time to time among the tribes of the Americas. But not all tribes took part in warfare. Many tribes opposed fighting, and others were so small that they did not have enough warriors to fight a war. Many of the Indian leaders who tried to defend their tribes and land against the white people became famous warriors. They included King Philip, a Wampanoag; Pontiac, an Ottawa; Tecumseh, a Shawnee; Osceola, a Seminole; Crazy Horse, of the Sioux; and Geronimo, an Apache. The bow and arrow was probably the most common Indian weapon throughout North and South America. Some South American tribes put poison on their arrowheads. Many Indians fought with spears and war clubs (Steele Galdone 1992). The Indians of eastern North America developed a special type of club known as the tomahawk. A weapon of the Aztec consisted of pieces of obsidian (volcanic glass) stuck into a wooden club. South American Indians used blowguns and slings. Warfare gave Indians a chance to achieve high rank in their tribes. On the Plains, it was considered braver to touch a live enemy and get away than to kill the enemy. This act was known as counting coup â€Å"koo†. Warriors on the Plains carried a coup stick into battle and attempted to touch an enemy with it. Those warriors who counted coup wore eagle feathers as signs of their courage.

Breaking of Taboo Essay -- Literacy Analysis

The Breaking of Taboo Adrienne Rich was a very critically acclaimed and widely read poet of her era. Ms. Rich was a rebellious pioneer in expressing her viewpoint through her poetry in what was considered highly taboo topics of her time, such as, politics, lesbianism, and feminism. Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland .Her father was renowned pathologist at John Hopkins University, Dr. Arnold Rich, and her mother Helen Elizabeth Rich, was a concert pianist and composer. Adrienne began writing at a very early age, with the encouragement of her father. As a child she grew up reading works from her fathers extensive library from Tennyson, Keats, Arnold. Blake. Rossetti. Swinburne, Carlyle, and Patter (Booth). Adrienne attended college at A. B. Radcliffe College, and graduated in 1951. In her final year at Radcliffe, her collection, A Change of World, was selected by, W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets award. In 1953 Adrienne married Alfred Conrad, an economics professor at Harvard, whom she had meet while she was an undergraduate student at Harvard. During their marriage they had three children, David, Paul, and Jacob. In the mid- 60’s Adrienne became very involved in Vietnam anti war protests, feminist, and civil right issues. As time went on Alfred thought she was losing her mind because of the obsession and devotion she had to these causes. This created quite a bit of tension in their marriage. In 1970 she separated from Alfred, which lead to his suicide a few months later. Rich’s early works were very traditional and structured. Her style mirrored the poets who she read extensively as a child. As Rich progressed in her writings, her styled changed drastically. Rich took on a dialogue... ... J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. 876. Print. Brown, Maressa. "6 Powerful Adrienne Rich Quotes Every Woman Should Read." The Stir, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Meredith, May. "Adrienne Rich: 1929-2012 / Feminist poet turned personal into political." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 29 Mar. 2012: A1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne, comp. Twenty-One Love Poems. 2nd. Emeryville, Ca.: Effie's Press, 1977. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne. Collected Early Poems 1950-1970. 1st. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 419. Print. Rich, Adrienne. Dark Fields of the Republic 1991-1995. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995 3. Print. Schuduel, Matt. "Adrienne Rich, feminist poet who wrote of politics and lesbian identity, dies at 82." 28 Mar. 2012, n. p. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. Breaking of Taboo Essay -- Literacy Analysis The Breaking of Taboo Adrienne Rich was a very critically acclaimed and widely read poet of her era. Ms. Rich was a rebellious pioneer in expressing her viewpoint through her poetry in what was considered highly taboo topics of her time, such as, politics, lesbianism, and feminism. Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland .Her father was renowned pathologist at John Hopkins University, Dr. Arnold Rich, and her mother Helen Elizabeth Rich, was a concert pianist and composer. Adrienne began writing at a very early age, with the encouragement of her father. As a child she grew up reading works from her fathers extensive library from Tennyson, Keats, Arnold. Blake. Rossetti. Swinburne, Carlyle, and Patter (Booth). Adrienne attended college at A. B. Radcliffe College, and graduated in 1951. In her final year at Radcliffe, her collection, A Change of World, was selected by, W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets award. In 1953 Adrienne married Alfred Conrad, an economics professor at Harvard, whom she had meet while she was an undergraduate student at Harvard. During their marriage they had three children, David, Paul, and Jacob. In the mid- 60’s Adrienne became very involved in Vietnam anti war protests, feminist, and civil right issues. As time went on Alfred thought she was losing her mind because of the obsession and devotion she had to these causes. This created quite a bit of tension in their marriage. In 1970 she separated from Alfred, which lead to his suicide a few months later. Rich’s early works were very traditional and structured. Her style mirrored the poets who she read extensively as a child. As Rich progressed in her writings, her styled changed drastically. Rich took on a dialogue... ... J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. 876. Print. Brown, Maressa. "6 Powerful Adrienne Rich Quotes Every Woman Should Read." The Stir, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Meredith, May. "Adrienne Rich: 1929-2012 / Feminist poet turned personal into political." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 29 Mar. 2012: A1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne, comp. Twenty-One Love Poems. 2nd. Emeryville, Ca.: Effie's Press, 1977. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne. Collected Early Poems 1950-1970. 1st. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 419. Print. Rich, Adrienne. Dark Fields of the Republic 1991-1995. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995 3. Print. Schuduel, Matt. "Adrienne Rich, feminist poet who wrote of politics and lesbian identity, dies at 82." 28 Mar. 2012, n. p. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Culturally Poetic

Culturally Poetic Cultural identity is the collective personality of a people usually associated with a certain group or culture, or that of an individual in relation to certain behavior, thoughts, and influences. (Central Michigan University) These beliefs and shared characteristics allow a group to establish a common ground and in turn make them unique to others. A cultural identity may be national, ethnic, or even generational. Our identity is based upon our differences when compared to other groups. Cultural identity is essentially defined by differences rather than likenesses to others. The identifiable aspects of culture are historical, linguistic, and mental. These three factors may also be found in poetry and are related to the views that an author wishes to express. In my essay, I will seek to identify elements of culture in the following poems: â€Å"Bully†, â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl†, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet†, â€Å"Rite of Passage†, and â€Å"The Panther†, In Martin Espada’s poem, â€Å"Bully† cultural identity is evident throughout the length of the poem. The poem is introduced by way of location, the time period, and the year, â€Å"In the school auditorium / the Theodore Roosevelt statue / is nostalgic for the Spanish American War† (713). The poet themes seemingly focus on change within American society. This theme is noticeably identifiable in the following stanza: But now the Roosevelt school is pronounced Hernandez. Puerto Rico has invaded Roosevelt with its army of Spanish-singing children in the hallways, brown children devouring the stockpiles of the cafeteria, children painting Taino ancestors that leap naked across murals. 714) Espada effectively provides contrast between Roosevelt’s belief of ethnocentrism and the invasion of the Spanish colonies by comparing the immigration of Puerto Rican families in a 1987 Boston, Massachusetts. At the poem’s ending we are able to envision a revenge of sorts with the children now invading Roosevelt himself. The following stanza is irony at its best and brings the ele ment of culture and change to the forefront, Roosevelt is surrounded by all the faces he ever shoved in eugenic spite and cursed as mongrels, skin of one race, hair and cheekbones of another. (714) This bit of irony is representative of the fact that change once experienced on the island of Puerto Rico now too is prevalent within America. Roosevelt is declared the â€Å"bully† by his conquest and those that were once without power are now empowered through change and assimilation. This poem uses historical factors to establish a cultural identity. Patricia Smith’s, â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† (for Those of You Who Aren’t) approaches the idea of a black girl becoming a woman at a time when race matters were still prevalent. The author begins with a direct but conversation like tone to denote the importance of what is being imparted: First of all, it’s being 9 years old and/ feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong†¦(672) The theme here is puberty based changes that takes place according to a â€Å"black girl. † The girl feels incomplete because her body is experiencing changes. Smith goes on to describe the girl’s desire to fit into society by wanting to have the physical traits of a white woman. The young girl is displeased with being black and seeks to change her appearance: †¦it’s dropping food coloring In your eyes to make them blue and suffering Their burn in silence. It’s popping a bleached White mophead over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of the mirrors that deny your reflection†¦(672) She goes on to describe the Black Power Movement and the Motown era by mentioning â€Å"it’s flame and fists and life according to Motown. † As a blossoming young girl approaching womanhood she finds it not only difficult to become a woman, but a black woman. Finally, the girl looks forward to every woman’s dream of becoming a bride. This is evidenced in the final three lines: â€Å"it’s finally having a man reach out for you/then caving in/around his fingers. The girl anticipates a completed transition when she will become married. This poem uses mental aspects to form cultural identity during a time or racial tension. Michelle Boisseau’s, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† focuses on the way that society views beauty, self-image, and self-confidence. Boisseau uses figurative speech, imagery, and perceived sounds throughout the poem to bring light to a poor self image. The theme of this poem is equated to as the poem states self-pity. What seemingly appears as others judging us blinds us to the fact that we judge ourselves far worse than others would. The closet so to speak is within the individual feelings of: â€Å"Depression, loneliness, anger, shame, envy† (999) are the basis of self-pity. Feelings of self-loathing and self-hurt are evident in the following lines: after your vast and painful declarations subtle humiliations creeping up like the smell of wet upholstery, dial tone in the brain, the conviction that your friends never really loved you†¦(1000) The author seeks to express an inner fight a person struggles with when worried about the way others perceive them. The narrator uses the words, â€Å"dial tone in the brain† to describe a continuous mode of embarrassment within herself. She is unable to part with a feeling of inadequacy and is therefore trapped by her very own self pity. This poem uses mental aspects by associating self-pity with not being able to identify with the status quo of our cultural identity. In Sharon Olds’s, â€Å"Rite of Passage† a mother examines the behavior of her son and his friend during his birthday party. The title of the poem allows the reader to relate the â€Å"rite of passage† being the journey that her son will take toward manhood. Male maturity is the theme of the poem. What makes the poem ironic is her ability to view them as men though they are but six and seven years old. The following lines are quite imaginable to any mother noticing the machismo nature of young boys: As the guests arrive at my son’s party they gather in the living room— short men, men in first grade with smooth jaws and chins. Hands in pockets, they stand around jostling, jockeying for place, small fights breaking out and calming. One says to another How old are you? Six. I’m seven. So? (811) In the last line we experience a typical conversation between two boys that are likely â€Å"sizing† each other up; the six year old responds to the seven year old â€Å"So? The mother then goes onto visualizing the boys as men with careers by stating, â€Å"They clear their/throats a lot, a room of small bankers/they fold their arms and frown†¦Ã¢â‚¬  One cannot help but to envision the boys as men at a table matching wits at an older age. The birthday boy as if chairman of the bank settles the dispute between his friends in the following lines: â€Å"speaks up as a host/for the sake of the group. /We could easily kill a two-year old,/he says in his clear voice. † The group agrees and the children return to playing or as the mother describes, â€Å"†¦they relax and get down to playing war, celebrating my son’s life. Just as Smith’s â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† focused on a girl approaching maturity so did Olds’ â€Å"Rite of Passage. † Olds uses mature language and terms to equate the behavior expressed by the boys as being their way of coming into manhood. The boys feel a need to intimidate each other with physical threats which showcases their immaturity on their way to adulthood. This poem identifies with the culturally defined behavior of a male having to prove he is a â€Å"man. † In Rainier Rilke’s poem â€Å"The Panther† the poet uses the panther a wild animal to express personification and similes to express confinement. An obvious reason for the panther being the subject is because its color represents a seemingly dark nature and contributes to the poem’s tone. A panther is also known to be a solitary creature that stakes out its prey. The use of the panther represents a theme of entrapment that most readers are able to identify with. The panther’s discontentment and longing to be free from his troubles is expressed as the cage’s bars. He has become so accustomed to seeing the bars that he no longer sees anything but what appears directly in front of him it is as if he has lost himself. The panther’s desperation in a sense mirrors human personality. Rilke’s offers her interpretation of this poetically by saying, His vision, from the constantly passing bars, has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else. It seems to him there are a thousand bars and behind the bars, no world. (674) Rilke’s makes us aware that although the panther is confined we are still able to see its power and its beauty. Though caged he is still himself though he feels â€Å"paralyzed† by the cage; this feeling is interpreted in the following lines, â€Å"As he paces in cramped circles, over and over/the movement of his powerful soft strides/is like a ritual dance around a center/in which a mighty will stands paralyzed. The idea of confinement is relatable to a prisoner or anyone trapped in a situation with seemingly no way out. The panther yearns for more and this is evidenced by his pacing and boredom with his life. In the end the panther has lost his soul and his excitement is reduced to the opening of his eyes ever so slightly . It seems that the panther takes his final glance that touches him inwardly to the point his body becomes tense and his heart is excited for a split second until he realizes his situation and no longer bothers to react. This idea is well expressed in the final stanza. Only at times, the curtain of the pupils lifts, quietly—. An image enters in, rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles, plunges into the heart and is gone. Rilke in â€Å"The Panther† and Boisseau in her â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† both convey the message of an inner struggle within their subjects. The poems are able to speak to the reader on a personal level and make the connection of human emotion with their dark but personal nature. â€Å"The Panther† embodied a feeling of weariness and surrender that human often time encounter in not one but within all societies and cultures. Often times we find ourselves staying within the box or the status quo instead of stepping outside of the box-in this case the cage. In comparison, the five poems that I have chosen to review are full of impact and take on a deeper meaning. They touch on outward appearances as well as inner feelings. They were all able to bring out identifiable aspects that we are all able to connect with through either personal or secondary experiences. In contrast, â€Å"Bully† came from a historical standpoint, while â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† and â€Å"Rite of Passage† focused on what is accepted by society. Lastly, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† and â€Å"The Panther† dealt with inner struggles and the way that we tend to view ourselves when we take an inner look. Works Cited Central Michigan University. Cultural Identity as an Instrument. 8 May 2006. 3 November 2009 . Boisseau, Michelle. â€Å"Self Pity's Closet. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 999-1000. Espada, Martin. â€Å"Bully. Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 713-714. Olds, Sharon. â€Å"Rite of Passage. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 811-812. Rilke, Rainier Maria. â€Å"The Panther. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 674. Smith, Patricia. â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literat ure. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 672-73

Cyberbullying, By Justin Healey - 884 Words

To prevent cyberbullying, we need to go beyond responding to harm once an incident has occurred and practice healthy mindsets and relationships. In her article, Cyberbullying, Jennifer Holladay defines the form of bullying as an act of repeated harassment and humiliation with the use of technology. Also, unlike traditional bullying, it comes with a much wider audience. Bullies generally bully because of issues at home and their lack of coping skills. According to Stomp Out Bullying, bullies might be detached, have poor self-esteem, need an outlet, or just don’t understand how to socialize. This leads to the display of name calling, put downs, physical abuse, and manipulation. In terms of Cyberbullying it could be because they feel more in control when being anonymous. Bullies might have adult role models who themselves are bullies causing them to learn from those behaviors. This defines the lack of healthy relationship skills, empathy, compassion and the lack of a healthy mind set. Healthy relationships include communication, honesty, and most of all, respect. In Justin Healey’s eBook, Respectful Relationships, he talks about the importance of respectful relationships; it gives us the ability to mature, create self-confidence and self-expression, as well as mindfulness of oneself and others. Having relationships built on respect create support systems in which one feels comfortable, safe, valued and heard. Bullies do not have a sense of respect, online or not, when they are