A Worn Path :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A Tattered Trail   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Worn Path† by Eudora Welty, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care of a grandmother for her grandchild. The main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, is an old black woman who makes a long journey into town to get medicine for her ill grandson. Despite the many obstacles Phoenix encounters along her journey, determination helps her to continue. I will analyze â€Å" A Worn Path† by Eudora Welty in terms of symbolism and characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, I will analyze â€Å"A Worn Path† by Eudora Welty in terms of symbolism. One way symbolism was shown in the story was by the obstacles Phoenix encounters along her journey. The first obstacle Phoenix faces is when she gets herself tangled in a bush, and she does not want to tear her dress. Phoenix begins to take to the bush saying, â€Å"Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir† (Welty 389). Eventually, she frees herself from the bush. â€Å" Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush† (Welty 389). This shows that you should not judge from the outside and that things are not always, what they seem to be. Another obstacle she faces is when she meets the barbed wire fence. She begins to speak to herself, â€Å" she could not pay for having her arm or leg sawed off if she got caught fast where she was†(Welty 390). Again, determination helps her to continue. Phoenix’s name also shows symbolism. â€Å"As Wesley 2 most critics have noted, Phoenix Jackson’s first name links her to the Egyptian myth of the bird that renews itself periodically from its own ashes†(Bartel 45). In addition, like her name, Phoenix seems ageless. When she stops to drink water from the spring she says, â€Å"Nobody know who made this well, for it was here when I was born†(Welty 391). When she encounters the hunter and he asks her how old she is she says, â€Å"There is no telling, mister, â€Å"said, â€Å"no telling† (Welty 392). Again her age is emphasized when she goes to the doctor’s office and the nurse ask her why she never went to school. â€Å"I never did go to school, I was too old at the Surrender† (Welty 394).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secondly, I will analyze â€Å"A Worn Path†, by Eudora Welty in terms of characters. The main character in the story is Phoenix Jackson.

Equality And Diversity Within The Workplace Essay

When I am supporting the individuals I work with, I find it vital to always reflect on my work. What I do well, what I don’t do well and improve and enhance my performance. It is important for me to think about and evaluate what I do, as I can always improve to fit the customers needs. I like to focus on how I interact with the customers, and how the environment around them is. I have a reflective log/personal development plan which I fill out and give to my manager each year. It contains examples of what I can do to improve and shape ideas. I also write about my strengths and what I do well. Other than a yearly personal development plan, I am always discussing with my manager and colleagues different and better ways in which we can work as a team to better the lives of the customers we support. When I first began working in care and support, I thought, through following other staff who had worked in the industry a long while, that it was okay to prompt customers to say â€Å"please† and â€Å"thank you†. Since building up my own way of working and knowledge through others, I know that it is right and better for the customers to let them make their own decisions. My own values and beliefs could affect my working practice, as I work with other people who have different beliefs and values. In a professional environment, I have to accept and support the people I work alongside and work for, if I don’t agree with their values or beliefs, I try my hardest to understand their point of view, and of course if it is a customers point of view, I will support them in what they want to do. For example, one of the ladies I support openly admits she is racist, and she stands by her beliefs. My job is to be kind and supportive, and although I don’t personally agree with racism, it is my job to be open minded and supportive. Diversity means to encompass acceptance for others, and respect all beings as unique individuals. It is important to recognize others as individuals, including their race, sex, religions and beliefs, sexual orientation, age and other concepts that make us the way we are. Diversity is about moving forward and being able to accept everyone for who they are. Equality is about each and every individual being seen as equal to one another. To be fair and give everyone equal opportunities, no matter their race, age,  religion etc. Promoting equality should remove discrimination towards others, and to not victimize or harass others for the way they are. Inclusion is ensuring people are being included, engaging in ‘everyday’ things and having human rights. To have a sense of belonging and feeling respected is a part of inclusion, and valuing all individuals. The effect a person could have by being discriminated could be different to another person. The adults I support should be given choices and chances to join in with activities, and if the were judged for having a disability, this would be discrimination. This could make the individual feel a lot of different things, depressed, stressed, fear, feeling withdrawn, low self esteem and humiliation. I always ensure the two customers I support are involved in everyday activities, such as cleaning their home, cooking their dinner and choosing what they would like to wear. There are many pieces of legislation that have been put in place to ensure equality is promoted and discrimination is reduced, these include: The Human Rights Act 1998, The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and Employment Equality Regulations 2003. These legislations are to promote equality for all, regardless of sex, age, disability or religion etc. Although these legislations are in place, people still may not be able to change their views or opinions, and this is why good practice should be set in place, and others should reflect on how they work and support others. Everyone has a right to be included, and to participate in equal activities and to be valued as a unique individual. One of the customers I support had never been to church at 37 years old, and had told me one day that she would like to go. We walked up to the church and attended a service one Sunday, which she really enjoyed and was extremely happy to join in with singing hymns, praying and interacting with other church goers. She decided that she only wanted to go on special occasions, such as Christmas and Easter, and I respected her choices and updated her ‘This is Me’ document. If I was to witness a discriminatory incident, I would write down what happened in my own personal records, and report the incident to my line manager. If would possibly challenge the person in a calm and professional manner, and tell them that what they are saying or doing is unacceptable, and explain to them why. In my workplace, discrimination towards another person can lead to disciplinary action, and we have policies in place to deal with discrimination. My duties and responsibilities in my job role are to support adults with learning disabilities with good practice, and complying to all policies and procedures whilst doing so. Improving my performance at work is an everyday thing, I always remain focused and keep a reflective journal of which I record daily things, what I could improve, be done differently, how I feel about things and why I do them. Throughout my shift, I keep an open mind, and look at things from different perspectives, for example if a customer wants to go out in the snow without shoes on, I would support them in trying to think of a different way to do this, such as wearing shoes or waiting until it is sunny to wear no shoes in the garden. This way, the customer still has different options, but the potential negative outcomes would be explained to them e.g. catching a cold or something more serious. I have a personal development plan, and I see my line manager as my mentor. She goes through my PDP with me and supports me to achieve my goals. Within my PDP are various things including training I would like to attend, usually optional training that would benefit my knowledge and understanding and the customers I support. I am applying for the senior support worker programme this year, which is a programme my company set up to give support workers guidance and training if they want to become a manager in the future. This includes giving presentations and working extra hours and taking on more responsibilities such as doing rotas, giving other staff supervisions and being the PIC – Person in Charge. My manager reviews my personal development plan yearly, and sets me goals and targets to achieve throughout the year, for example attend MCA training, support a customer on holiday and complete my diploma in health and social care. Monitoring my own practice has changed the way in which I work for the better. By attending more training, for example epilepsy training, I now have a better knowledge about epilepsy, and what to do if someone has a seizure. Completing my diploma will change and advance my job role as I will have learned more about vulnerable adults, practices and standards and more to help me support the best way I can. I have a yearly appraisal which is part of my PDP. My manager tells me what I  am doing well and what I can improve on, and I continue to feedback to her every month during my supervision to ensure I am on my way to achieve my goals and have a successful appraisal. My beliefs and values are something I keep out of the workplace, as some people I support and work alongside have different views to me, which I need to respect in a professional manner. What I believe in and value are a part of who I am as a person, and the same goes for others, therefore as a professional I must provide the same quality of support to each individual, not just those who believe in the same things I do.

African American Culture in the Americas - 741 Words

African Americans brought over a distinctive culture into America from Africa. The Africans can create many different sounds that we never knew about. They revived the way we held church and worship, and brought joy to many citizens. African Americans enslaved by the South created a truly magnificent culture in slavery using new music, oral traditions, and religious ideas. Many African countries are known for their spectacular music, and during the time of slavery many African American slaves used a lot of positive and uplifting music. A lot of our present day language and music has a lot to do with African traditions that occurred during the 19th century (Slave Culture). They performed a lot of sea chanties, yodeling, and created a falsetto to better convey their spiritualness (Slave Culture).They also made quite a lot of musical instruments like drums, banjos, and rattles from a type of gourd that was similarly found in Africa (Sambol-Tosco). When slaves did get some free time on Sundays or holidays, they usually did quite a lot of singing and dancing together (Sambol-Tosco). The African Americans did use a lot of instruments and clapped their hands together in a form of music known as â€Å"patting juba† (Sambol-Tosco). Music and singing held a lot of importance to the slaves both secularly and spiritually, and many great black musicians wer e praised by both black and white citizens (Sambol-Tosco). However, not all of this wonderful music was met with praises, as someShow MoreRelatedEssential Differences in Terms of Black and African American Essay942 Words   |  4 PagesBlack, Not African American†, the term â€Å"African American† is being stressed out and misused. McWhorter says, â€Å"It’s time we descendants of slaves brought to the United States let go of the term â€Å"African American† and go back to calling ourselves black – with a capital B† (527). I agree with McWhorter’s argument about calling African American’s Black. I feel people should not be addressing a person as an â€Å"Italian American†, if one has a heritage in America. So why should the term African American be treatedRead MoreAmerican Identity And American Identity1350 Words   |  6 Pagesthrough with our fight for freedom, the ability to create our own-and americas- path through american ingenuity even in times of great distress. Through the workings of Jackson Pollock, showing how not to conform, and through the Jazz evolution; the american identity has always shown its fight for freedom and independence the country contains. Ever since the Puritans landed on this continent, the american identity was established, illustrating the ingenuity and the â€Å"go out and do it† mentality. TheRead MoreAfrican Of African American Culture1572 Words   |  7 PagesThere is no doubt that African Americans have a rich cultural background and history like the many different ethnic groups who settled in the New World, whose origins lie in another country. For this reason, America was known as the melting pot. However, the backgrounds of each of these cultures were not always understood or, in the case of African Americans, accepted among the New World society and culture. Americans were ignorant to the possibility of differences among groups of people until informationRead MoreThe Three Cs ( Christianity, Commerce And Civilization1172 Words   |  5 Pagesrepatriation movement of African descendants from the Americas that they were looking for the â€Å"Black Nationality† by establishing an American colo ny in Africa. DuBois’ notion of double consciousness shed light on their dilemma in relation to Africa and Africans. The notion presents how the African Americans are perceived by the white Americans in the American society where the majority are whites. The difficulties experienced by returnees from the West regarding reintegration into African societies were theRead More Dominicans And Afro-americans Essay944 Words   |  4 Pages In America today, there is a large and diverse African-American population. Within this population, there are several ethnic groups. The other ethnic group similar to Afro-Americans is Dominicans. Not only are they both minorities, but they also look similar as well. Both Dominicans and Afro-Americans are originally from Africa, but their slave masters separated them into two different cultures. African-Americans was African slaves of Americans, and Dominicans were African slaves of the SpanishRead MoreLangston Hughes : A Modernist1222 Words    |  5 Pages Credited as being the most recognizable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes played a vital role in the Modernist literary movement and the movement to revitalize African American culture in the early 20th century. Hughes’s poems reflect his personal struggle and the collective struggle of African Americans during this cultural revival. Langston Hughes’s life contained key influences on his work. As a child, Hughes witnessed a divorce between his parents and the subsequent death ofRead MoreIs America A Post Racial Society?1431 Words   |  6 Pages Many individuals have argued that America is a post-racial society. However, as a nation that as yet to be achieved. Even though, we have a biracial president does not mean that we have yet to achieve the status of all races being equal. We still live in a system that contains one superior group while other racial groups remain inferior. The United states have yet to understand why we have two nations in America. In addition, examining how to combat and prevent those issues that are place by barriersRead MoreAmerican Institutional And Intellectual Life Essay1455 Words   |  6 Pagesinstitution of slavery destroyed African culture in America, and whether it reduced slaves to a child-like state of dependency and incompetence. Anthropologist Melville Herskovits, and historian Stanley Elkins both weigh in on this debate: Herskovits with, The Myth of the Negro Past, and Elkins with, Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life. In, Slavery: A Problem in American In stitutional and Intellectual Life, Elkins asserts that African culture was all but destroyed by a repressionRead MoreLangston Hughes And The Harlem Renaissance1476 Words   |  6 Pagesthat writers and musicians are still influenced by these people’s work published over 80 years ago. To sum it up, the Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement of African-Americans, that popularized African-American culture, and brought it to the public eye. Also, the Harlem Renaissance brought attention to the struggles of African-Americans through art, poems, songs, books, plays, and movies. One of the writers who accomplished these goals was the one and only, Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes experiencedRead MoreThe Jim Crow Laws Stranglehold On The American People1247 Words   |  5 Pagesbut equal. These three words were used to justify the countless lynchings, riots, as well as legal segregation. The Jim Crow laws stranglehold on the American people was slowly diminishing. The racist re gimes which dictated that African Americans be granted the basic rights but not a thing more, only perpetuated the idea of keeping the African Americans as second class citizens, was slowly coming to a close. Langston Hughes could not accept to be thrown into being a second class citizen when at one