Analysis of ‘Ceremony’ By Leslie Marmon Silko Essay

If Native American community adopts the ethics of white traditions that regards them as less than human being, they begin to look down on themselves. In ‘Ceremony’ Leslie Marmon Silko visibly represents this dual bind sociology called internalized domination. ‘Ceremony’ is one of the most reflective and touching works of Native American literature, a story that is itself a ceremony of curative. Tayo, a World War II experienced person of combined lineage, comes back to the Laguna Pueblo stipulation. He is intensely frightened by his experience as a hostage of the Japanese and later offended by the negative response he came across from his community. Only by throwing himself in the Indian past can he can set in motion to get back the harmony that was taken away from him. Masterfully written, full of sober magnificence of Pueblo saga, ‘Ceremony’ is a use of lasting power. ‘Ceremony’ deals with the gender roles of three women are significant to the development of a character named Tayo who is half-white and half-Indian. These three women are Tayo’s birth mother, Auntie, and Old Grandma. His mother left him when he was four years old and that began his sense of emptiness and abandonment. She could not bear to raise a child that brought the reservation shame by her mistake. Auntie raised Tayo and was the mother figure he lacked. She had no problem accepting to take him, but only to conceal the shame of her younger sister. Auntie was always hesitant toward Tayo as he was not her real son and was also a half-breed. For Tayo, this only added to his feeling of displacement and emptiness. She would give her affection and attention to her real son Rocky, but would let Tayo just sit there alone. After the war Auntie nursed him because he was all she had left after Rocky got killed. He would wake up crying after dreaming about how much Josiah had loved him and always hugged him when he was a little child. Now he realized that there was no place left for him and he would never find peace. Auntie may have been a mother figure to him, but to Tayo she was just someone who looked after him. Old Grandma, unlike Auntie, does accept Tayo and wants what is best for him. When Auntie rejected the idea of a medicine doctor because he’s not full blood, Old Grandma got angry and said that he was her grandson and why should she care what they say anyway. She has been around for many years and doesn’t worry about what other people will say about Tayo or about their family. The significance of Montano to the novel, Ceremony is very powerful and vital to the recovery of Tayo. She lives up in the rim rock and is in touch with the earth and her surroundings in every way. Being torn between the white world and the Indian world is what leaves Tayo feeling invisible and hollow inside. Montano helps him to become more in touch with his Indian side and to feel the strength and power from the earth. She teaches him the importance of certain plants, flowers, and ceremonies and how they are significant to Indian culture and survival. Tayo falls in love with her, and through his love, he begins to feel alive again. He realizes that he does have a place and that he is not invisible to everyone and to his surroundings. When he is not with her, instead of the nightmares, she fills his dreams. He woke up one night and thought about the overpowering love he felt for her. He shed tears filled his eyes and the ache in his throat ran deep into his chest. Tayo no longer feels like a walking shadow, but finally a real person with feelings and emotions. It is through Montano that he discovers himself and ultimately is able to deal with being a half-breed in a changing world. When she finally leaves him, he is able to go on living and remembering all that she taught him. Conclusion: I really enjoyed this story. It was a great portrayal of how family might mistreat you just because you are a little different than them. Sometimes people can’t deal with the fact that a family member is only half of the race that they are. I would definitely recommend this book to others, especially to anyone who feels that they are secluded and have no friends just because they are bi-racial.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In ‘Ceremony’, the main character, ‘Tayo’ have to come to terms with himself and his near environment upon his come back from World War II. He is distressed from a sort of post disturbing anxiety disorder which has affected him bodily as well as psychologically due to the fact that he has lived as a prisoner of war in Japan. As a result, he must deal with all of the terrible memories when he comes back to stay with his family on the Laguna Pueblo reservation in New Mexico. To complex his problems, Tayo is half Native American and half Caucasian, so he should also deal with the extra pressures of the double culture. He is torn between the Native American world and the white world, and is unable to feel a secure refuge or belonging. Tayo’s friends and family think that they know the personality of and cure for Tayo’s sickness and depression; though it is only the Native American formal procedures which will really help him. He needs to observe the junction of life and actually realize the cyclical nature of his feelings and measures that he has faced. With the help and good judgment of Old Betonie, Tayo ultimately finds harmony in the Native American ceremonial even surrounded by all of the contradictions currently in America. In Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko exposes the many contradictions present in America today. Be it the government’s policies concerning Native Americans, the American model of courage, or the history which the children study in their classrooms, America is full of sarcasm and paradoxes. These inconsistencies do not in any way cut down the magnificence of America as a country, but to a certain extent serve to remind its people that we do not at all times keep in mind those who helped us turn out to be what we are at present. Silko’s novel is a legendary reminder for Americans to recognize our first true nationalized custom and keep in mind that the Native American tradition is still alive and well today. Silko has demonstrated that America has made blunders in the history, but undoubtedly has the power to put right those mistakes today. References Silko M, Leslie â€Å"Ceremony† Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Rep edition (March 4, 1986). ISBN-13: 978-0140086836

Compare and Contrast Sir Gawain and Beowulf

Heroes come in many forms, yet traits such as: courage, honor, and loyalty, reappear as themes throughout the personality of a hero. The characters of Beowulf and Sir Gawain each represent a version of a hero, yet each comes across quite differently in their respective story. A hero can be said to truly win if he remains constant to his noble values when put in any situation that crosses his way. When measured by that criteria, Sir Gawain stands out above Beowulf as a true hero, due to his command of both personal and spiritual power through the use of thought, as well as valiant deeds.Gawain embodies many of the characteristics of the chivalric knight and hero, among them, modesty, honesty, commitment, loyalty, and courage. Although he is almost beyond reproach, he does commit a single error, accepting the lady's green girdle. This sets him apart from Beowulf. Distraught with his sin, Sir Gawain, concerned with maintaining his reputation and image as a chivalrous knight, admits he a ccepted the lady's green girdle to the host. This lie, once it is revealed, becomes the means by which the mild hubris that afflicts Gawain is exposed and also the means by which the hubris can be corrected.This flaw completes the character of Sir Gawain, for in his humility he becomes a lasting hero. Beowulf, is quite different in this respect, written in a perfect light in the absence of any flaw. This exemplifies the superior honor of Sir Gawain over Beowulf, because he is able to confront his sin and gain virtue, while Beowulf is portrayed as void of any wrongdoing, unable to denounce any defect in his person for lack of its existence. Beowulf is indeed an epic hero and king.What is especially interesting is that the way in which the tale is structured and narrated permits the reader to observe two different types of heroism: the heroism of youth and the heroism of an older, wiser, and more mature warrior. In his youth, the physical characteristics of heroism are emphasized. Beo wulf is recalled as having performed physical feats that no other man was capable of doing, and such feats required immense reserves of courage, such as his battle with Grendel in the hall, Herot, and his journey to Grendel's mother's lair inthe glimmering pool where he fought and defeated her. In his older age the feats of heroism are more subtle, more abstract, and one might question his decision to battle the dragon, which would ultimately result in his death. However, the code of the hero compelled Beowulf to defend his people one final time; he seemed to trust that a younger hero-warrior would rise to the occasion should death befall him, as it did. In â€Å"Beowulf,† the hero-king is faced with challenges that are both physical and moral, both threatening his life.Like Sir Gawain, Beowulf has all the requisite characteristics of a hero and like Sir Gawain, he is invested in protecting his reputation, yet in this respect, Beowulf chose pride over being humble, which Sir Gawain emanates. Beowulf does not know when to stop fighting; even in old age he is still waging war against evil forces, this is a prime example of his selflessness, sacrificial, yet boastful personality. Sir Gawain, was also selfless when he volunteered to behead the Green Knight, sacrificial when he chose to approach the Green Knight at the end of the tale, yet he never boasted or praised himself for these accomplishments.Sir Gawain was virtuous in his deeds, adhering to the chivalric code of earning the praise of God rather than the praise of fellow peers and subjects. Surely Beowulf and Sir Gawain are heroes. They hold heroic qualities such as bravery, valor and chivalry. But it is interesting to note that there greatest qualities are often their downfall. Beowulf, void of any downfall, was a great king and warrior, dying in his last feat of slaying a dragon.To the contrary, Sir Gawain fell to the sway's of women by accepting the lady's green girdle, yet after he had heroically faced the Green Knight, he continued to wear the girdle to display his shame. However, In considering heroes it is important to remember that for as strong as the values are, if they are to be considered true heroes, they must have their faults. This should not discount from their achievements, but serve to enhance them. For this reason, Sir Gawain is more honorable than Beowulf.

Architecture and System Integration

The report has been made on the topic of architecture and system integration. The use of architecture and system integration would assist the operations of the organization. The case study selected for understanding the integration of the architecture and system is RetailCo. The existing system of RetailCo was outdated and slow. It created a hindrance for the development of new opportunities and globalization. The use of better technological equipments and techniques would provide the organization with scope for development and improvement. The following repot consists of five sections and each section has provided a unique diagram for the proposed system of RetailCo. The analysis has been done for being able to make the system context diagram, architecture overview diagram, logical architecture view diagram, component relationship diagram for sales operation, component interaction diagrams for sales operation, logical operational model diagram for infrastructure, and logical operational model diagram for sales operation.) The context level diagram is useful for understanding the boundary between the system and parts of system. It shows the environment of operations of the infrastructure system and the entities that are related to the system. The context level diagram for RetailCo has shown the various entities and their relationship with the Systematic Information System Infrastructure. The architecture overview diagram is helpful for getting a better visualization of the system architecture. The components of the diagram are in the form of blocks providing a better overview of the information system. The architecture overview diagram has divided the system components and operations in terms of users, channel, operations, data, and technology. The logical architecture diagram is useful for analysis of the system components by categorizing them in separate tiers/class (client, access, service, presentation, and data). The logical architecture diagram of RetailCo has been used for making the tiered structure of the organization’s infrastructure. Each of the tier has some services (security, persistence, runtime, and integration services) included for the information system of RetailCo. The component relationship model diagram is the study of the relationships of the components of the infrastructure system. The sale operation has been used for making the component relationship model for RetailCo and it has shown the manual and online shopping activities of the customers at RetailCo. The component interaction model diagram is the study of the interaction among the components of the infrastructure system. The sales operation has been used for making the component interaction model for RetailCo and it has shown the interactions among the components of the system with the operation included in sales process. The Logic Operational Diagram is used for making the model of business infrastructure and it consists of both data and process model of RetailCo. The use of the modeling technique is useful for understanding the difference between process model and data model of the business infrastructure for RetailCo. The Logic Operational Diagram has been used for understanding the sales operation of RetailCo and it consists of both data and process model of sales operation. The use of the modeling technique is useful for differentiating between process model and data model of the sales operation for RetailCo. The report had been made for the analysis of the new information system and business architecture of RetailCo. The project had the time duration of 5 years and budget of 1.2 billion US dollars. It has taken almost 5 years of time duration for completing the project and implementing the new information system and business infrastructure. The report has provided with many diagrams that would be helpful for understanding the operations and functions of the new information system. The analysis of the information system would assist the business organization for implementing any further development. The context level diagram has shown the boundary between the system and parts of system and the architecture overview diagram has provided a better visualization of the system architecture and divided the system components and operations in terms of users, channel, operations, data, and technology. The logical architecture diagram has analyzed the system components in a tiered structure. The component relationship model diagram has studied the relationships of the components of the infrastructure system. The Logic Operational Diagram consists of both data and process model of business infrastructure and sales operation of RetailCo. Baskerville, R.L. and Wood-Harper, A.T., 2016. A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research. In  Enacting Research Methods in Information Systems: Volume 2  (pp. 169-190). Springer International Publishing. Cai, G., Wang, B., Chen, B.M. and Lee, T.H., 2013. Design and implementation of a flight control system for an unmanned rotorcraft using RPT control approach.  Asian Journal of Control,  15(1), pp.95-119. Chong, S., 2014. Business process management for SMEs: an exploratory study of implementation factors for the Australian wine industry.  Journal of Information Systems and Small Business,  1(1-2), pp.41-58. Dumas, M., La Rosa, M., Mendling, J. and Reijers, H.A., 2013.  Fundamentals of business process management  (Vol. 1, p. 2). Heidelberg: Springer. Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E., 2014.  Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge. Gonà §alo, T.E.E. and Morais, D.C., 2015, October. Agent-Based Negotiation Protocol for Selecting Transportation Providers in a Retail Company. In  Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), 2015 IEEE International Conference on  (pp. 263-267). IEEE. Kim, Y., Koh, J., Xie, Q., Wang, Y., Chang, N. and Pedram, M., 2014. A scalable and flexible hybrid energy storage system design and implementation.  Journal of Power Sources,  255, pp.410-422. Li, S., Zhou, M. and Yu, X., 2013. Design and implementation of terminal sliding mode control method for PMSM speed regulation system.  IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics,  9(4), pp.1879-1891. Malhotra, A., Melville, N.P. and Watson, R.T., 2013. Spurring impactful research on information systems for environmental sustainability.  MIS Quarterly,  37(4), pp.1265-1274. McCormack, K.P. and Johnson, W.C., 2016.  Supply chain networks and business process orientation: advanced strategies and best practices. CRC Press. McKusick, M.K., Neville-Neil, G.V. and Watson, R.N., 2014.  The design and implementation of the FreeBSD operating system. Pearson Education. Merriam, S.B. and Tisdell, E.J., 2015.  Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. John Wiley & Sons. Neves, D., Silva, C.A. and Connors, S., 2014. Design and implementation of hybrid renewable energy systems on micro-communities: a review on case studies.  Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,  31, pp.935-946. Roth, L.J., 2016. Successful Business Process Management in Retail. Shin, J., Shin, S., Kim, Y., Ahn, S., Lee, S., Jung, G., Jeon, S.J. and Cho, D.H., 2014. Design and implementation of shaped magnetic-resonance-based wireless power transfer system for roadway-powered moving electric vehicles.  IEEE Transactions on Industrial electronics,  61(3), pp.1179-1192. Sousa, K.J. and Oz, E., 2014.  Management information systems. Nelson Education. Stair, R. and Reynolds, G., 2013.  Principles of information systems. Cengage Learning. Venkatesh, V., Brown, S.A. and Bala, H., 2013. Bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide: Guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in information systems.  MIS quarterly,  37(1), pp.21-54. Ward, J. and Peppard, J., 2016.  The Strategic Management of Information Systems: Building a Digital Strategy. John Wiley & Sons. Zolnowski, A., Weiß, C. and Bà ¶hmann, T., 2014, January. Representing Service Business Models with the Service Business Model Canvas--The Case of a Mobile Payment Service in the Retail Industry. In  2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences  (pp. 718-727). IEEE.

Reality of War on Mexican Drug Cartels Research Paper

Reality of War on Mexican Drug Cartels - Research Paper Example This is because the systems put in place to monitor, control and prevent cross-border movement of drugs are perceived to be failing steadily. With increased violence along the trafficking routes as the cartel lords fight each other for control there is no doubt that there is urgent need for the US and Mexico as mutual participants in the harmful effects of this trend to get back to the drawing board and restructure their approach to the issue with regard to border security, corruption in the Mexican systems of governance and the drug prohibition campaigns. Altogether it is sound to suppose that the drug war in Mexico is failing because of the unsecured U.S./Mexico border, Mexicos corrupt infrastructure, and drug prohibition strategies that rarely work. With the recent declaration by President Obama that drug use with the damaging effects it causes must be reduced, our focus shifts on some of eh contributing factors that have led to the prevalence in the vice and activity that the US generally acknowledges as â€Å"the greatest organized crime threat to the United States† in the recent times Seelke (4). Even with very high spending on the threat there still looms the dangers of failure in the war whose humiliation to the US might be worse than the Vietnam War while to the world it will be a sign of the failure of humanity. As the Mexican authorities acknowledge, the problem is a shared one and will require a shared solution from the border point to other areas within the countries. However, the Mexico/US border is considered the firing engine that provides the fuel the cartels need to propagate their activities.

Imagine you are a small business owner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Imagine you are a small business owner - Essay Example Net margin can be calculated dividing net income by total sales. The managers of small businesses must pay close attention to the profitability of the business as well as its cash flow position. The current ratio is a good ratio to analyze small businesses because it measures the liquidity of a company. It measures the ability of the company to pay off its short term debt. A current ratio is positive if is above 1.0. The inventory turnover ratio measures how many times a company sold its inventory during a year. The desired outcome is to have a high inventory turnover rate. Three ratios that are suitable to evaluate the financial performance of a large enterprise are return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and debt to equity ratio. Return on asset measures how well assets were employed by management, while return on equity measures the extent to which financial leverage is working for or against common stockholders (Garrison & Noreen, 2003). The debt to equity ratio is calcul ated dividing total liabilities by stockholder’s equity. B) Explain the advantages and disadvantages of debt financing and why an organization would choose to issue stocks rather than bonds to generate funds. Debt financing has become an extremely popular financing tool in today’s global economy. ... â€Å"Another advantage of debt financing is that interest paid on debt reduces tax burden of the business† (Kido, 2012). Despite the advantages of debt financing it also has cons. A drawback of debt financing is that in cases of business failure lenders have first option at the liquidating assets of a firm. A second drawback of using debt financing is the obligation to pay interest to the lenders. Sometimes interest expenses of debt instrument can be very high. A third con of debt financing is that if it is excessively used it can negatively impact the credit rating of the company (Simplyfinance, 2007). C) Discuss how financial returns are related to risk. Financial returns and risk are two factors that are positively related. This means that to obtain higher rewards managers must assume greater risk. In the stock market companies that have higher risk have a greater chance of equity appreciation. Risk adverse people try to stay away from risk. Being risk conservative can hel p a company minimize the risk of financial loss. â€Å"Financial risk is the loss probability arising from adverse price fluctuations in financial markets or business partner defaults† (Codjia, 2012). When companies get too greedy they often make bad business decisions by incurring in too much risk. Firms that have higher risk tend to have higher cost of capital. When the cost of capital is high the profitability of the company is adversely affected. D) Describe the concept of beta and how it is used. The beta coefficient is a measure of an asset’s risk in relation to the market or to an alternative benchmark or factor (Thefreedictionary, 2012). The average beta coefficient of the stock market is 1.0. When the beta coefficient of a company is higher than 1.0 the stock has

Building Standard Oil Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Building Standard Oil Company - Research Paper Example Rockefeller paid attention to every aspect of his business, checking every detail to cut his costs, to make his product better, and to add new products. Sometimes he worked with the manual laborers to understand his business better and greatly influenced his partners and managers to follow his example. Dominick Armetano described that his business: â€Å"prospered quickly in the intensely competitive industry due to the economic excellence of its entire operations. Instead of buying oil from jobbers, they made the jobbers' profit by sending their own purchasing men into the oil region. They also made their own sulfuric acid, barrels, lumber, wagons, and glue. They kept minute and accurate records of every item from rivets to barrel bungs. They built elaborate storage facilities near their refineries. Rockefeller bargained as shrewdly for crude as anyone has before or since; and Sam Andrews coaxed more kerosene from a barrel of crude than the competition could. In addition, the Rocke feller firm put out the cleanest burning kerosene and managed to profitably dispose of most of the residues, in the form of lubricating oil, paraffin wax, and Vaseline.† (Armetano, 1982) In his quest to make better products Rockefeller started in-house preparation of important inputs into the production process now recognized as â€Å"vertical integration†. ... Turning waste into a product to resell increases income and lowers the costs. Rockefeller made the oil-refining industry much more efficient, so he was able to purchase many of poorly managed refineries yet his competition like Sun Oil in the USA still existed while international competitors were even larger. Even his most hostile critics like Ida Tarbell (whose brother was in management of competing company, Pure Oil Company) recognized this efficiency: â€Å"Not far away from the canning works, on Newtown Creek, is an oil refinery. This oil runs to the canning works, and, as the newmade cans come down by a chute from the works above, where they have just been finished, they are filled, twelve at a time, with the oil made a few miles away. The filling apparatus is admirable As the newmade cans come down the chute they are distributed, twelve in a row, along one side of a turn-table. The turn-table is revolved, and the cans come directly under twelve measures, each holding five gall ons of oil — a turn of a valve, and the cans are full. The table is turned a quarter, and while twelve more cans are filled and twelve fresh ones are distributed, four men with soldering cappers put the caps on the first set†¦. The cans are placed at once in wooden boxes standing ready, and, after a twenty-four-hour wait for discovering leaks are nailed up and carted to a nearby door. This door opens on the river, and there at anchor by the side of the factory is a vessel chartered for South America or China †¦ waiting to receive the cans†¦. It is a marvelous example of economy, not only in materials, but in time and footsteps (Tarbell, 1972) Making good quality products efficiently and selling

Why Projects Fail In Airbus-A380 In Singapore Airline Essay

Why Projects Fail In Airbus-A380 In Singapore Airline - Essay Example From this research it is clear that Airbus had high expectations regarding its most ambitious project of A380. It was a commercial aircraft, intended to guide in the new age of superjumbo airplane. It was also aimed to carry about 800 travellers and crewmembers. The problem with the project arrived during 2006 when the pre-assembled wiring, manufactured in Hamburg, Germany plant failed to be adjusted appropriately in the A380 aircraft frame. The wiring was designed by utilising old version of CATIA, an application commonly used in the aviation industry, where the body of A380 was manufactured by using upgraded version of similar application. Unfortunately, these versions were incompatible with each other and therefore, during the project lifecycle phase, the capability to share the design of aircraft between these two plants was conceded. As a consequence, considerable number of fabricated cabins developed could not be adjusted in the airplane. Hence, Airbus had no other option than halting the manufacturing work, delaying the deliveries of Aircrafts for two years and remodelling the wiring system. The expenses of the project failure exceeded about US$6 billion, positioning the program about two years behind the planned schedule. For any project to be successful, organisations must meet the delivery and production obligations made to its customers. However, Airbus was unable to fulfil its obligations towards the customers owing to the above stated problems causing the Airbus A380 project failure.

Is The World Really Becoming A Global Village Essay

Is The World Really Becoming A Global Village - Essay Example This essay stresses that the majority of the world is still separated politically, economically, and culturally. People still fear the unknown, change, and those who look at the world with different perceptions and beliefs to theirs. War still rages, international crime continues, terrorist acts murder innocent people on a daily basis, and we still haven’t been able to feed the world. Why does the Western world think it has anything to offer? This paper makes a conclusion that it was not so long ago that the West smiled to itself when hearing reports telling of Chinese and Russians donning blue jeans and bopping to rock music. Somehow everyone knew that this meant that we were winning. And, perhaps, some of that confidence was justified – after all we are constantly penetrating the â€Å"enemy† through modern media, television, cinema, and the Internet. However, is the imposing of our brave new world really the best possible outcome? In time, perhaps, these barriers will be broken down as modern technology is implemented with physical networks, opening up new channels of communication. But at what price? Is man really capable of moving forwards without destroying cultures, traditions, and belief systems? Will we crush ethnic groups by enforcing our worldview in the name of progress? A look back at history doesn’t allow for much hope, and yet we must forge ahead if we are serious about becoming an inte rnational community that allows equality and the liberty of all mankind.

The Impact of the Two World of Black America Essay

The Impact of the Two World of Black America - Essay Example The First World War did not reduce but, on the contrary, increased racial opposition between white and African-American citizens. Racial tensions were accompanied by serious economic and social controversies. At the beginning of the Second World War, military institutions and forces in America continued to reflect racial tendencies in society, refusing to willingly accept Black soldiers. Despite those controversies, WWII became the turning point in the development of new racial relations in America. Changes in military structures, the rise in racial awareness, and wartime intercultural education shaped the ground for restructuring the entire system of racial relations in contemporary American state. WWI and racism in America World War I was the time when the lives of African-Americans became virtually unbearable. That was also when racism and racial antagonism became serious barriers to effective military action in America. â€Å"World War I brought the American South to the brink o f momentous change, with the sense of energy and opportunity that accompanied mobilization on the home front† (Hudson 2009, p.3). ... Failure to engage Black citizens in military service distorted the picture of citizenship in America and reduced its chances to ensure loyal service (Lentz-Smith 2009). White supremacy before and during WWI were both tragic and inevitable. Blacks had little opportunity to change their situation to the better. It would be fair to say that WWI did not change the place and position of Blacks in America; moreover, it deepened the conflicts between Blacks and Whites, leading to the subsequent reaffirmation of white supremacy at all levels of the country’s social hierarchy. Davis (2008) tells the story of an African American soldier getting back home after the end of WWI. An exception rather than the rule, Blacks’ involvement in military actions was a continued source of controversy. More serious were the consequences of Blacks’ participation in the military: upon his return to Blakely, Georgia, the young soldier was met by a group of white men and forced to put off hi s uniform (Davis 2008). He was also threatened not to wear the uniform in public (Davis 2008). However, the young man ignored the threat and, for this reason, was lynched by a mob (Davis 2008). Lynching had to send an explicit message to all African American soldiers throughout the state: that they sacrificed their lives and health to protect the liberty of their people would not lead to racial equality (Sollors 1996). The lynched soldier became the hero of African American literature during the 1930s, but even the popularization of the soldier’s image could not change the situation. WWI further intensified the conflicts between African-Americans and the white majority. Lynching was just one example of open racial discrimination in America