Dorothea Dix Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

Dorothea Dix – One of the Great Women of the 1800s Once in a while a truly exceptional person has made a mark on the growth of mankind. Dorothea Dix was an exceptional woman. She wrote children’s books, she was a school teacher, and she helped reform in prisons. Some of her most notable work was in the field of making mental health institutions a better place for the patients that lived in them. Dorothea Dix gave a great deal to humanity and her achievements are still being felt today, especially in the treatment of those with mental disabilities. Dix started out though with very humble beginnings. Dorothea Dix was born in Hampden, Maine in 1802. Her mother was not very mentally stable and her dad was an abusive alcoholic. The Dix moved from Maine to Vermont just before the British War of 1812. Then, after the war they moved to Worcester, MA. While in Worcester, the Dix had two more children, both boys. The family would eventually break apart because of the mother’s mental state and the father’s drinking.1 Dorothea Dix and her two brothers ended up moving to Boston to live with their grandmother on their father’s side Dorothea Lynde, who was the wife of Dr Elijah Dix.2 Dix helped with the rearing of her brothers as she had done in her parents’ home. The grandmother tried to instill her Puritan ways of Boston’s wealthy into Dix’s mind. Grandmother Dix tried to turn young Dorothea into a nice proper girl from Boston, but that wasn’t in the cards for young Dix. The grandmother had given her dancing lessons and even her own private seamstress. Dix was not into this style of life and she would give some of her clothes away, and food to the poor; which had infuriated her grandmother. This angered the grandmother enough to send youn... ... Patterson Smith, 1967 Gollaher, David. Voice for the Mad: The Life of Dorothea Dix, New York. Free Press. 1995 Marshall, H.E. . Dorothea Dix, forgotten Samaritan. Chapel Hill. University of North Carolina Press. 1937

‘The Making of Modern Russia’, 1856-1964

a) To what extent do these sources agree that Russian government policy on agriculture consistently failed and that peasants resisted it under both Tsarist and Communist rule? Source1 concerns the emancipation statute of 1861. Western historian Ronald Hingley cites the introduction of redemption payments â€Å"serfs resented receiving too little land for their needs† this undermines the fundamental aims of the policy. Source 1 makes reference to how the Mir was in charge of paying the redemption payments for the whole village. Hingley points out that â€Å"individual peasants were bound in various ways to their village communes†; peasants were detained in their villages until the payments were received. Hingley notes the creation of Special Courts delegated to discipline unruly peasants â€Å"the flogging of recalcitrant peasants† this is evidence of peasant rebellion, mainly due to the fact they were in a poorer position after emancipation than they were before the policy was introduced. Source 1 suggests agricultural policies were a failure, and provoked peasant uprising, due to the hope the emancipation edict gave peasants of being free. Source 2, meanwhile, presents a mixed view on Stolypin's agricultural reforms. Unlike Source 1 from 1992, this piece of evidence was documented circa 1906. It is therefore unaffected by later analysis or post-Communist interpretation. The first quote is from Stolypin himself, stating that the government has placed â€Å"its wager† on the â€Å"sturdy and the strong†, this indicates that past agricultural reform, such as emancipation have failed, as further â€Å"wagers† or reforms were needed. The other two quotes deal with Stolypin's reforms more directly. The second quote is from a Tsarist Official. It provides direct evidence of rebellion by peasants towards Stolypin's reforms â€Å"The peasants were very hostile to the Law of 9 November† rebellions were commonplace, peasants feared that if land belonged to an individual as opposed to the commune, a consequence would be some would be left with nothing. The third quote is from a peasant, it is important to not that 10% of the peasants in Russia did take up Stolypin's proposals. Segei Semenov endorses Stolypin's reforms anticipating a â€Å"bright new future† this challenges the notion that all agricultural policies consistently failed. Stolypin's reforms were based on good principles that could have revitalized agriculture in Russia. This does suggest that this reform did bring some success, but the general consensus confirms that many peasants preferred social security resulting in the failure of the policy. Source 3 is an excerpt from a meeting between Churchill and Stalin during the Second World War. We se Stalin's personal view regarding the collective farm policy, it is thus a subjective piece of evidence. Stalin implies suggests that the collective farm policy was a failure; he refers to the policy as â€Å"a terrible struggle†. Stalin insinuates peasant resistance against the policy, stating some kulaks were â€Å"wiped out by their labourers† the resistance was a product of peasant reluctance to work on collectivised farms. The farms provided little reward or incentive to the actual peasants growing the grain resulting in the dramatic deterioration of the quality and quantity of the grain. Source 3 ends with an important comment that food supply had been â€Å"vastly increased† this indicates policy victory. However modern evidence undermines Stalin's statement, STATISTIC more and more people were dying of famine during the period of collectivization. Although, Source 3 opposes the view that agricultural policy failed, its reliability is debateable and should be questioned before it is taken into account. Source 4 is an extract from Eduard Shevardandse's ‘The future belongs to Freedom' Source 4 describes the Virgin Land Schemes introduced by Khrushchev/. One must note that the writer was a Communist Youth League activist, and may have been more likely to exaggerate the support the peasants actually gave to the scheme. There is no mention of opposition to the scheme, on the contrary Shevardandse describes the â€Å"trains packed with young volunteers† this stands for optimism on part of peasantry towards the scheme. Source 5 confirms the implication in Source 4 of support in some measure for the project as the scheme did successfully increase the amount of grain produced between 1958 to 1965 from 100 to 114. While the evidence in Source 4 may be true to some extent, the reliability of the source is questionable. The other factor source 4 presents is the relative success of the scheme. Source 5 does seem to disagree with the statement that the policy failed due to the increase in grain production. In Source 4 it is suggested that the policy could have been a triumph had it not been for â€Å"stupid decisions† which weighed down many successes. These â€Å"ill-conceived strategies† included lack of coherence between the crops and the terrain, and deficiency of storage place for the grain, consequently the â€Å"crops rotted in the fields†. Source 5 reinforces the feeling that the scheme was a failure, as the agricultural output during the seven year plan only increased by 14%, the target for 1965 was 170, only 114 was achieved. Source 6 also argued that Khrushchev's policy was for the most part unsuccessful. However the failure is blamed on Khrushchev's inheritance of â€Å"a generation of neglect†. The reliability of some sources must be taken into consideration. Some sources suggest subjectivity and bias such as Sources 3 and 4. Policies such as Stolypin's land reforms and Khrushchev's Virgin Land Schemes are shown to have limited success, but ultimately they both failed to reach targets required. By and large, all the sources do converge in the belief that most of the agricultural policies did fail consistently to a degree. Similarly there is evidence that it was resisted by Peasantry both under Tsarist and Communist rule.

The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson - 1468 Words

Today’s American Literature tends to put more of a realistic tone to writing than in previous time periods. Writers point out what society as a whole likes to pretend does not exist, and were often frowned upon for doing so. In Shirley Jacksons â€Å"The Lottery† she does exactly that by portraying themes like the inhumanity of violence and the tendency people have to follow traditions even when they do not agree with them. In a short biography about Jackson it says â€Å"The story was met with an avalanche of feedback, including hate mail and cancelled subscriptions. Many folks interpreted the story as an attack on the values of small towns America† (â€Å"The Shirley Jackson Page at American Literature†). This negative reaction is how most people†¦show more content†¦The literature has become more like a borderland in the sense that it is an undecided area, to which we are not sure how far we can push. In the dictionary the definition is exactly that â€Å"an uncertain, intermediate district, space, or condition† (Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online). What a person feels morally right about can really define the type of person they are. In this story no one sees anything wrong with what they are doing except the person who actually â€Å"wins,† and she doesn’t exactly see anything wrong with it she just does not want to die. This whole town does not realize what is right and wrong, or if they did they would not be sticking to this tradition let alone giving â€Å"little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles† (5). No matter what is officially declared to be right, these people should recognize the craziness of what they are exactly doing. No matter how important the ritual is officially, it is outdated and it is even stated that â€Å"Some places have already quit lotteries† (4). The only person who is so stuck on following the ritual is the oldest man in town Mr. Warner who feels like if the lottery is not done they will not have any good crops (3). For the reader this is of course an easy decision to make, but it isShow MoreRelatedThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1195 Words   |  5 PagesOn the surface, Shirley Jackson’s short story, â€Å"The Lottery,† reads as a work of horror. There is a village that holds an annual lottery where the winner is stoned to death so the village and its people could prosper. Some underlying themes include: the idea that faith and tradition are often followed blindly, and those who veer away from tradition are met with punishment, as well as the idea of a herd mentality and bystander apathy. What the author manages to do successfully is that she actuallyRead MoreThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson757 Words   |  4 Pagessucceed but many fail just like the main character Tessie Hutchinson in Shirley Jackson’s short story â€Å"The Lottery†. When someone hears the word â€Å"lottery†, he or she may th ink that someone will be rewarded with prize. But â€Å"The Lottery† By Shirley Jackson is different than what one thinks. In the story, a lottery is going to be conducted not like Mega Million or Powerball one play here. In the story, the person who wins the lottery is stoned to death instead of being rewarded with the prize. TessieRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson931 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1948 Shirley Jackson composed the controversial short story â€Å"The Lottery.† Generally speaking, a title such as â€Å"The Lottery† is usually affiliated with an optimistic outlook. However, Jackson’s approach is quite unorthodox and will surely leave readers contemplating the intent of her content. The story exposes a crude, senseless lottery system in which random villagers are murdered amongst their peers. Essentially, the lottery system counteracts as a form of population control, but negatives easilyRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson1504 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson In The Lottery Shirley Jackson fills her story with many literary elements to mask the evil. The story demonstrates how it is in human nature to blindly follow traditions. Even though some people have no idea why they follow these traditions. The title of the story plays a role in how Shirley Jackson used some literary elements to help mask the evils and develop the story. The title â€Å"The Lottery† serves as an allegory. When people think of the lottery majorityRead More`` The Lottery `` By Shirley Jackson894 Words   |  4 Pagesshort story â€Å"The Lottery†, author Shirley Jackson demonstrates Zimbardo’s concepts in three different areas: Authority figures, Tradition and Superstition, and Loyalty. The first concept Jackson portrays in â€Å"The Lottery† is the authority figures. Jackson indicates that the lottery is being held in the town center by one authority figure, Mr. Summers, annually on June 27th. Every June 27th, without fail, townspeople gather in the town square to participate in the annually lottery even though mostRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1510 Words   |  7 PagesShirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† illustrates several aspects of the darker side of human nature. The townspeople in Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† unquestioningly adhere to a tradition which seems to have lost its relevance in their lives. The ritual that is the lottery shows how easily and willingly people will give up their free will and suspend their consciences to conform to tradition and people in authority. The same mindless complacency and obedience shown by the villagers in Jackson’s story are seenRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson8 11 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† was published by Shirley Jackson. The story was true expression of Jackson’s genuine thoughts about human beings and their heinous competence in an annual village event for corn harvest . First, her used to word symbolized main point of the story. Second, Jackson was inspired by few historical events happened in the past and a life incident in her life. Lastly, She was able to accomplish the connection between historical and biographical with the story. Therefore, Shirley Jackson’sRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson934 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson signifies the physical connection between the villagers and their unwillingness to give up their tradition. â€Å"The Lottery† is very unpredictable and quite misleading. The black box has no functionality, except every June 27th. Shirley Jackson depicts the black box as an important and traditional tool. Although the villagers in â€Å"The Lottery† are terrified of the goal of the lottery and the black box, they are unwilling to let go of the tradition. Shirley Jackson portraysRead MoreThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson799 Words   |  4 Pagesthe mood and to foreshadow of things to come. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader to think of positive outcomes. However, this description of the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. In addition, the theme that we learn of at the end leads us to think of where the sanity of some human beings lies. The story begins with the establishment of the setting. To begin, Shirley Jackson tells the reader what time of day and what time ofRead MoreThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson1764 Words   |  7 Pagesfilled with excitement and eeriness, leaving the reader speechless. The Lottery , a short story written by famous writer Shirley Jackson, created an uproar on June 26, 1948, when it was published in the magazine The New Yorker (Ball). The gothic thriller, set in an unknown time and place, shares the tradition of a small town, a little larger than three hundred people, in which a drawing is held once a year. In this â€Å"Lottery,† each family’s husband draws a slip of paper from a black box. The husband