Create a dialogue between two people. Describe and critique two Essay

Create a dialogue between two people. Describe and critique two perspectives on morality - Essay Example I believe in utilitarian ethics and I would like to discuss it with you and maybe learn about your moral basis.† Steve was delighted by the topic and replied, â€Å"I have also noted our differences and attributed it to diversity. Discussing our moral values would be important to our interpersonal relationship and will improve our perspective on our environments. I believe in deontology ethics. Could you please tell me about your ethical perspective?† David: â€Å"Utilitarian ethical perspective is based on the concept maximum good to a majority of members of the society (Brooks and Dunn 183). It informs judgment on a act, whether of commission or of omission, based on effects on members of the society and therefore means that morality of an act is determined after members of the society have interacted with the act and its effects, both positive and negative have been observed. The act is then said to be unethical if realized bad effects on members of the society are m ore significant than benefits from the act. It is however considered moral if greater benefits can be derived from it and this identifies two perspectives to determining ethics in an act, the extent of effects on people and the number of people that the act affect. Utilitarianism also relates to decisions whose implementation has effects on people. Rule utilitarianism explains this by offering rules that can lead to maximum good in a society. A decision to restrict a person’s right to smoke in a public place is for example moral under utilitarian ethics because while it may infringe the smoker’s need and may be cause distress, it will be beneficial to many other people I the immediate environment through ensuring clean air and protecting the people’s lives (Kanniyakonil 65- 66).† David: â€Å"I should have been keen to note that your judgments are based on consequentialism. My ethical perspective, deontology, is however a rule based perspective to moral j udgment. The perspective associates morality with duty that is expected of people in a society and is based on social rules. It is different from your ethical perspective because it disregards consequences of an act or a decision. An act that is consistent with established rules is for example considered ethical despite its negative consequence to members of the society and an act that contradicts existing rules and obligations is considered immoral irrespective of the net benefit that in which it results. considering your example of smoking in a public place and suppose that a the society allows people to smoke in public places, then the act of smoking is considered moral regardless of the air pollution and its associated effects on people’s health (Basford and Slevin 214, Showler 21)† David: â€Å"Reliance on rules for judging decisions and actions has the benefits in fair judgment and this is contrary to the scope of your utilitarian approach that also appear to be subjective. One of my concerns with utilitarian approach to ethics is the lack of a suitable measure for benefits and harm of an act. There is no standard measure and this compromises reliability and fairness because some people may be more sensitive than others are while some may exaggerate consequences. It is also difficult to identify population segments that have been affected by an act or a decis

The History and General Overview of Gay Marriages Research Paper

The History and General Overview of Gay Marriages - Research Paper Example Thirty eight states in the US have adopted provisions that prohibit same sex marriage. This is achievable through the adoption of the â€Å"defense of marriage† provisions in the US constitutions. Universally, marriage means a legal union between a man and woman. The couples become husband and wife in the institution of marriage. There are various states known to ban same sex marriages and gender (Samar 54). In the twenty states of US, they have placed this language when it comes to their state constitutions. An additional ten states have legislative language that adopts the restrictive language. This does not include Washington and Maryland as of this year (2012) they adopted laws that allowed same sex marriages. Currently, there are also six states and the District of Columbia permits marriage by persons of the same sex. The highest courts in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa ruled that the state's constitution did recommend same sex partners to be accorded similar rights as the opposite sex. In DC, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, their legislative organs have passed legislative changes to allow same sex marriage (Samar 55). The above mentioned states perform same sex marriages. ... Marriage in different states is a secular activity, and the government should not start making laws just because religion demands (Samar 55). Marital Benefit Gay couples deserve to enjoy the benefits other married couples do enjoy. Such benefits will include shared ownership and having the decision making capacity. Marriage is more than just a legal status. The legal status is instrumental in regards to the subject of tax, ownership of property, benefits from the insurance, and agency laws. It can also affect serious medical decisions (Samar 55). Medical decision includes instances of personal incapacitation or surgery. Gay Marriage as a Lifestyle In the today world, homosexuality has become a situation that is acceptable, and there is biological evidence that one been gay is in their DNA. Homosexuality been seen as a deviant sexual behavior for a long time. There are history books and psychological research that supports these allegations. The term lesbian originates from a Greek is land Lesbos (Samar 55). At the same time, there are biological reasons to support homosexuality and the issues of it been genetic are yet to be fully proved. Discrimination of Minorities The foundation of America embraces majority rule, however, a greater deal of protecting the rights of minorities. The Bill of Rights supports the need to protect the rights of minorities, anti slavery, and protection of the equal amendments (Samar 55). This contributes to the opinion that denying gay couples to be married is the same as denying marriage among Hispanic and Black Couples. Should Gay Marriages be supported (NO)? Religion considers it to be Sin Homosexuality is a cardinal sin among various religions around the globe. The basic or societal morals state that homosexuality and gay marriages are

Americas Vision Essay Example for Free

Americas Vision Essay Fame, wealth, freedom, and success. Every person desires a life where riches, glory, or freedom surround them. Numerous people consider this dream the American dream, however, is it truly possible to achieve? Even those various immigrants who travel a great distance to come to America to live their own American dream shortly become intemperate people. The idea of the American dream is not attainable because people in general are exceedingly paradoxical and are constantly left yearning for more in a variety of ways. In the heartfelt story America and Americans, Is the American Dream Even Possible, by John Steinbeck, he wrote, One of the generalities often noted about the Americans is that we are restless, a dissatisfied, a searching people (Steinbeck 1). I feel that Steinbeck conveys a great deal of truth about Americans and how we live our lives. We all aspire to have something and once we acquire it we become discontent and strive to have more. For instance, a man works his whole life to become someone or something he truly is not and once he gets there he realizes that he wants more and longs to become more. In truth we all do what we want to and are searching for the greatest, but nothing ever seems to be good enough in our dissatisfied lives. Immigrants from all over the world arrive in America to pursue their own American dream. Whether they come for religious freedom, education, or just to obtain better lives, they quickly strive for more and more even though they have accomplished their intended goals. After residing in America for years they overlook the ways of their homeland customs and become drawn to the lives of Americans even when it is in opposition to their original traditions. In numerous ways they somewhat become brainwashed by Americans who live their lives not in reality but in idealism, and they attempt to live their life like them as well. However, once they return to their homelands after believing they have obtained their goals, they cannot figure out why their families and friends no longer wish to speak to them. They have altered and become intemperate people resembling us Americans and have brought back terrible habits and ways to their homelands that their people have despised in their customs for several years. Americans are truly paradoxical people who say one thing and do another. We  are constantly contradicting ourselves and others and cannot comprehend why we are so unhappy. We make every effort to achieve happiness but nothing ever seems to be good enough. John Steinbeck expresses that our priorities are extremely wrong in this quote, Americans are remarkably kind and hospitable and open with both guests and strangers; yet they will make a wide circle around the man dying on the pavement. Fortunes are spent getting cats out of trees and dogs out of sewer pipes; but a girl screaming for help in the street draws only slammed doors, closed widows, and silence (Steinbeck 1). Steinbeck puts across a serious point and I boldly agree that we Americans have our priorities twisted around. Ultimately, Americans have a large number of adjustments they will have to carry out before they will ever be able to achieve their American dream and be content. We are so full of dissatisfaction and failure to stick with our goals. We tread on friends and family who get in the way of our so called American dream, and after we believe we have attained it we are not sure as to why we are so miserable. If Americans can take that further step to transform, the American dream may become possible. However, until then the American dream will merely be an idea, not a possibility. Works Cited: 1. Steinbeck, John. America and Americans, Is the American dream even possible.

Perspectives Of Moral Development

Perspectives Of Moral Development Morality has different principal meanings. In its first, descriptive usage, morality means a code of conduct or belief which is held to be authoritative in matters of right and wrong. Morals are created and defined by society, philosophy, religion, and/or individual conscience. Morality is also synonymous with ethics. Ethics is the philosophical study of the moral domain. Ethics seeks to address questions such as how a moral outcome can be achieved in a specific situation, how moral values should be determined, and what morals people actually abide by. This paper and presentation will discuss morality as it relates to the learning and cognitive perspectives in psychology, with the primary goal of discovering which perspective is stronger and why. There are many different theories of moral development, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. Perspectives, such as the competing learning and cognitive perspectives in this paper, try to explain why morality exists amongst humans. In this paper, we will discuss several important learning and cognitive theories of moral development and their associated critiques. More specifically, from the learning perspective, we will discuss Banduras social learning theory of moral development, Kohlbergs stages of moral development and Gillians expanded research on Kohlbergs stages of moral development. In particular, the cognitive perspective also shows to be particularly convincing in presenting morality in its light. The cognitive perspective brings many things to the table, such as, how evolutionary adaptive selfishness and never feeling anonymous can create ethical behavior and morality. The cognitive perspective ventures to say morality is only understood when seen in collections of people seeking their own self interest. Included in this paper is a study that supports this selfish tendency of humans. Morality can also been seen as an interplay of emotions and cognition. Lastly, through the cognitive perspective, cause and effect and brain structures are used to help explain morality. Learning Perspectives Social Learning Perspective Social learning is the acquisition of new behavior from watching others demonstration actions (children see, children do) (Bandura, 1969). It is important to note that just because you learn an observable behavior from someone else does not mean that you fully imitate that behavior. When discussing morality, people may pick up only certain pieces from observing others moral action, emulating to achieve the same goal, not imitating the exact motor functions. This is prevalent when discussing how we develop our morality. Most moral development theories state that acquisition of morality often occurs during childhood, as explained later on. One of the most important theories of moral development is Banduras social learning theory of moral development. According to social learning, a childs acquisition of adult moral standards is a gradual process of imitating the observable values and behavior of others. In this theory, moral development is learned through modeling (Bandura, 1969). Bandura believed that direct reinforcement does not account for all learning and intrinsic reinforcement as a form of internal reward, such as pride, satisfaction, and sense of accomplishment (Wagoner). Modeling teaches new behaviors, influences the frequency of previously learned behaviors, encourages previously forbidden behaviors, and increases the frequency of similar behaviors (Bandura, 1969). In order for modeling to work accurately, a person must be paying attention to the observable behavior, retain knowledge of the behavior, be able to replicate it, and have motivation of intrinsic-positive reinforcement. Modeling can be seen in the variety of ways people acquire their personal moral behavior. Primary attainment of morality is derived from immediate family. As a child your parents teach you their perspective of right and wrong through both contingencies and observational learning. For example the parents donate their clothes to the Salvation Army as an act of good will; by the child observing this behavior, he learns to be charitable and donate his clothes as well. Religion also heavily influences moral development by teaching a child to believe and ask for help from a higher power or creator. If a child were to go to church every Sunday growing up they would learn to have similar morals as the congregation such as helping others, living for the higher power, and differentiating between good and evil. Another important influence on childrens moral development is their education. In school, if a child sees another child get in trouble for cheating, that child will view the punishment a nd choose not to pick up the unmoral behavior of the other student. Other moral inspirations can include, but are not limited to media, peers, mentors, and positive role models. Overall, this model is the most frequently used when discussing moral development, but no theory comes without critiques. Our evaluation of this theory leads us to believe that this theory does not take into account that everyone has different ideas of morality. Therefore, what may be seen as just in ones life may not be for another. Another issue is whether morality develops out of intention or behavior. For example, if a person knows that his married friends husband is cheating of her, and tells her with the good intention of helping their marriage and it actually causes a murder, even though the friends intention was moral, the end result is not. This theory does not account for such ambiguities. Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development Another important theory is Kohlbergs stages of Moral development. He based his theory on research and interviews that he conducted with children at younger ages. Kohlbergs theory consisted of six stages, and he was not so interested in the yes or no answers he received, but more on the logic behind the response (Jorgenson, 2006). The six stages included obedience and punishment orientation, individualism and exchange, good interpersonal relationships, maintaining the social order, social contract and individual rights, and universal principles (Jorgenson, 2006). Along with these six stages were three levels: pre-conventional morality, conventional morality, and post-conventional morality. Through the stages and levels the children begin to see that there is not just one authority, and there are different sides to all situations (Jorgenson, 2006). They also emphasize on being a good person, obeying laws, and concentrate on values that will make for a good society. Pre-conventional le vel holds stages one and two, and is when the child focuses on external consequences of a certain action (Jorgenson, 2006). At the conventional level the person is concerned with right or wrong and obeys laws rules and societys norms without consequences, and contains stages three and four (Jorgenson, 2006). Last the post-conventional level which composes stages five and six allows the person to realize to live by their own principles and definition of right and wrong (Jorgenson, 2006). Is it right or wrong to take something that is desperately needed if you have been turned down to receiving it? In one of Kohlbergs examples a women has a deadly disease and needs some rare medicine that the town druggist makes and sells for way too much. The husband of the women gathers some money, but not enough and asks the druggist for to give him the drug for what money he does have. The druggist of course says no, and later that night the husband breaks into the store and takes the medicine, so his wife does not have to suffer (Jorgenson, 2006). There are many different answers to this question, but your morals would be justified with your response. As any other theory Kohlbergs had critiques as well. The major dilemma with this particular theory is that some psychologists found it sexist. The six stages were more directed towards men than women (Jorgenson, 2006). Another problem with Kohlbergs theory is that is limited to morals and excludes moral values such as caring, and that there is an overlap between some of the stages. Critics also state that Kohlberg overemphasizes justice when making a moral decision. One last critique that seems to be an issue is the difference in knowing what we need to do and actually doing it. Gilligans Perspective of Moral Development Expanding on Kohlbergs theory, Carol Gilligan complained against male-centered psychology including Kohlbergs theory of moral development. Gilligan proposed stages of moral development for women. Her theory is very similar to Kohlbergs stages in that there is a preconvention, conventional, and post conventional stage, but what she discovered through her years of work with women is that when women make monumental moral decisions they are more concerned with caring than the rules of the game (Jorgenson, 2006). For Gilligan, the transitions between the stages are fueled by changes in the sense of self rather than in changes in cognitive capability (Jorgenson, 2006). With that in mind, Gilligan explained that the goal of the first stage is individual survival, transitioning from selfishness to responsibility for others. The second stages goal is to learn that self-sacrifice is goodness and a person transition is from goodness into truth that you are a person. Followed by the third, post conventional stage, where the goal is learning the principle of non-violence. (Jorgenson, 2006) Cognitive Perspectives Adaptation From the cognitive perspective, one way of explaining morality is by using evolution. From this viewpoint it is argued that more altruistic behavior was (in our ancestry) more beneficial than selfish behavior, which increased fitness for the non-selfish competing homo-sapiens. This would indeed allow more success than selfish behavior (Gintis, Henrich, Bowles, Boyd, Fehr, 2008). When it comes to surviving, it is of course easier to work as a group. This goes along well with the discussion that took place in Intro to Cognition class about whether or not there is truly a genuine altruistic act. In this particular case, the homo-sapiens that are less selfish are more altruistic, however, they are acting in their best interest. So it really depends on how one defines altruism. If altruism is defined by a person receiving zero benefit from a selfless act, then defending true altruism is quite difficult. It could be argued that a seemingly selfless act always provides a reward to an organ ism, whether it is internal or external. If the reward is not material, then it could be in the form of, for lack of better terms, a warm cozy feeling. Anonymity Discounting morality as an adaptation, Price explains being charitable to strangers as a carry over from our Pleistocene ancestors. In the past we encountered few strangers and our Pleistocene brains confused strangers with acquaintances and even kin. Furthermore, Price believes we act ethically under anonymous conditions, because anonymity was rare in our hunter-gatherer times. With anonymity being so rare, our stone-age brains never really act as if we are not being closely watched and socially evaluated (as cited in Gintis, Henrich, Bowles, Boyd, Fehr, 2008). It seems that we always think we are on stage even though we are not. Group survival One may argue that genuine altruism exists, but consider that an altruistic act, which may be costly to an individual may benefit the survival of a group (Gintis, Henrich, Bowles, Boyd, Fehr, 2008). Benefiting the group also benefits the individual that acted altruistically. So is this true altruism? Could our morality be based off of cognitive processes that are just a long run of our own self interest (Dawkins, 1989)? This further highlights the evolutionary advantages of morality. Taking the perspective that humans are purely survival machines, it is clear that ones self-interest is best preserved when being a team player. As R.D. Alexander put it in The Biology of Moral Systems, ethics, morality, human conduct, and the human psyche are to be understood only if societies are seen as collections of individuals seeking their own self-interest (as cited in, Gintis, Henrich, Bowles, Boyd, Fehr, 2008). Saving yourself vs. others To further show the evolutionary ingrained self-interest to act morally, a study by Moore, Clark, and Kane (2008), accurately predicted that killing to save oneself and other people would be more acceptable than killing to save only other people. When the situation called for inflicting harm to save only others, the harm was considered especially inappropriate. However, when the situation called for saving themselves and others, the harm was particularly appropriate. Factors such as personal or impersonal nature of inflicted harm, the benefit to the agent, the inevitability of victims deaths, and individual differences in Working-Memory-Capacity were all factors taken into account with this study. Emotion and Cognition Both emotion and cognition are at play with moral judgment, but it is still unclear as to how they interact. One view suggests that even though emotion and cognition operate together, they are dependent on largely separable neural systems. This is best seen when looking at difficult moral decisions associated with response conflict, leading to a competition between the limbic (emotional) and cognitive brain regions. In this scenario, automatic emotional responses must be suppressed by rational (cognitive) top-down processes so that better decisions can be made (Moll, de Oliveira-Souza, Zahn, 2008). Cause and Effect A way to look at the cognitive perspective of morality is based off of influence and consequence. People tend to make decisions based on the nature of the effect their actions will have on them. Moral judgment is said to be a cognitive process which is developed naturally. Cognitive scientists believe that the mind functions by means of heuristics-fast and frugal procedures for forming beliefs, reaching decisions, and performing actions (W. Armstrong, 14). Piaget states that morality is acquired through construction-actively thinking about multiple aspects of situations in which social conflicts arise and deriving new moral understandings. According to Lawrence Kohlberg, a strong follower of Piaget, the center of moral choice and feelings are based on the outcome of personal well being (Garcia, Solis p. 349). Kohlberg lays out six stages of moral development. In his book, Theories of Development, W.C. Crain summarizes Kohlbergs stages well. Collectively, in the six stages, a child co nceives right and wrong according to his authorities, then notices differentiating sides to issues and decides to pursue his own interest. As the child develops, he begins to absorb the societys values and expectations, and finally decides to adhere to the morals he thinks are accurate. This coincides with the beliefs that morality is both a learned and mental process. Brain Structures Morality is also said to be connected with brain structures and chemical reactions within the brain. These findings are mainly the result of the analysis and study of patients with changes in their social and moral behavior as a consequence of acquired brain injuries, as well as the study of normal and pathologic behaviors with structural and functional neuroimaging (Garcia, Solis p. 352). Lets go to the case of Phineas Gage. Gage was a railroad worker who had an accident on the job resulting in a rod piercing his brain and destroying his frontal lobes. Prior to his accident, Gage was well balanced, intelligent, and respectful. Afterwards, his friends described him as fitful, irreverent, and grossly profane, showing little deference for his fellows (Macmillan). The frontal lobe is believed to be the motor house for morality and cognition. According to researchers, any dysfunction in the frontal lobes of the brain shows a disassociation between social cognition and moral knowledge. Th e person no longer understands what morals are and how they affect his behavior. Research done by scientists at Harvard, Caltech, and the University of California concluded that there is a direct link between the neuro-anatomy of emotion and moral judgment. According to F. A. Von Hayek, humans do not directly perceive and respond. Instead, human perceptions, thoughts and actions are the result of internal transformations and computations that follow from processes repeatedly carried out by our minds (E. Gick). This belief associates with the dual process theory of moral judgment. Hayek supposes that we as individuals live in two worlds, a substantial one and phenomenal one. In our bodies, our minds are always processing new information. Our neurotransmitters, when excited by a stimuli, will send messages to our brain, which will in turn elicit a certain response. At times, a person can react one way when enticed by a stimulus, and a completely different way when enticed by that same stimuli in a different environment. Conclusion Both the learning and cognitive perspectives bring great arguments to the table; however, our group believes that the cognitive perspective wins out with more supporting scientific evidence. There is an obvious interplay between both perspectives. You must have a predisposing for moral development but you also must have an aspect of social learning involved. We have reasoned that people act morally by socially learning from their family, peers and other environmental factors, nevertheless, morality is ingrained in our brain. There are no morals without a place to put them. With that in mind, organisms have evolved into moral beings because it is beneficial to the person; making altruistic acts nonexistent. Another reason we believe the cognitive perspective to be stronger is because of the anatomy of the brain. Damage to the frontal lobes will change cognition, specifically moral cognition. Also, in general moral development is a cognitive process, led by the idea of heuristics. The social learning theory may explain morality in one aspect, but the organism still has to choose what they think (cognition) is moral behavior. Therefore, choosing the learning perspective as the strongest argument would be understandable and debatable, but without the cognitive backbone, morality would not exist.

Sports, Athletes, and Nutirion - Athletic Fuel :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Pure Athletic Fuel      Ã‚  Ã‚   An athlete's diet must include foods particularly suited for the athlete's sport. This has been an area of great study in recent years. Researchers are creating diets that provide athletes with the foods that contain high levels of the nutrients needed for each particular sport. For an athlete to have proper nutrition in sports, one must have knowledge of the six classes of nutrients and the four basic food groups. The six classes of nutrients are water, vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Each class plays a different role in the energy cycle of the body.    Water is essential. An adult male body weight is about 60 percent water. The average person needs two and a half liters of water a day. It is also known that a person's water mass is replaced every 11 to 13 days under light physical activity (Smith 91). With these facts in mind, it is understandable why an athlete, who undergoes heavy physical exertion, has an extreme need for large quantities of water. This water comes from the intake of all fluids and food during a day.    Vitamins are needed in small amounts. It was the last class to be discovered. It is divided in to fat-soluble and water-soluble groups of vitamins. Vitamins help regulate body functions and are not a direct source of energy. Vitamins are needed in such small quantities that a person's natural diet will provide most of the necessary amounts (Smith 5-7).    The third class is minerals. This class is divided into the minerals needed in large amounts and the minerals needed in small amounts. The minerals needed in larger quantities include sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, and various chlorides. Sodium is needed in extremely large amounts for very active athletes. This is because a person's sweat contains sodium; profuse sweating will cause a large drop in the sodium level of the body. Potassium is directly associated with muscle cells and muscle fatigue. It affects the amount of water a person's body will hold. The other large-amount needed minerals provide for an athlete but have no direct effect on an athlete's performance. The trace minerals number about fourteen.

Artificial Intellegence: Identification And Description Of The Issue :: essays research papers

Artificial Intellegence: Identification And Description Of The Issue Over the years people have been wanting robots to become more Intelligent. In the past 50 years since computers have been around, the computer world has grown like you wouldn't believe. Robots have now been given jobs that were 15 years ago no considered to be a robots job. Robots are now part of the huge American government Agency the FBI. They are used to disarm bombs and remove dangerous products from a site without putting human life in danger. You probably don't think that when you are in a carwash that a robotic machine is cleaning your car. The truth is that they are. The robot is uses senses to tell the main computer what temperature the water should be and what style of wash the car is getting e.g. Supreme or Normal wash. Computer robots are being made, that learn from their mistakes. Computers are now creating their own programs. In the past there used to be some problems, now they are pretty much full proof. The Television and Film business has to keep up with the demands from the critics sitting back at home, they try and think of new ideas and ways in which to entertain the audiences. They have found that robotics interests people. With that have made many movies about robotics (e.g. Terminator, Star Wars, Jurassic Park ). Movie characters like the terminator would walk, talk and do actions by its self mimicking a human through the use of Artificial Intelligence. Movies and Television robots don't have Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) but are made to look like they do. This gives us the viewers a reality of robotics with AI. Understanding Of The IT Background Of The Issue Artificial Intelligence means " Behavior performed by a machine that would require some degree of intelligence if carried out by a human ". The Carwash machine has some intelligence which enables it to tell the precise temperature of the water it is spraying onto your car. If the water is to hot it could damage the paint work or even make the rubber seals on the car looser. The definition above shows that AI is present in everyday life surrounding humans where ever they go. Alan Turing Invented a way in which to test AI. This test is called the Turing Test. A computer asks a human various questions. Those conducting the test have to decide whether the human or the computer is asking the questions. Analysis Of The Impact Of The Issue With the increasing amount of robots with AI in the work place and in everyday

The Flowers

†The Flowers† by Alice Walker Summary: â€Å"The Flowers† 1973 is written by Alice Walker who is an Afro-American author. â€Å"The Flowers† is a short story about a girl named Myop. Myop is a black 10-yeard old girl who lives on a farm with her poor sharecropper family in the countryside. She staggers around and plays with animals and discovers beautiful nature in her pleasuring never-ending childhood. But while exploring the land she lives near with flowers in her hands she accidently discovers a horrible crime. The remains of a hanged man reveals in the soil.She lays down her flowers and the summer was over. Analysis: When the ignorance of an innocent child collides with the harsh reality of the miserable slave-history, will the idyllic life, flourishing hopes and dreams of the little ones, soon be gone and forgotten. But this loss of innocence is likely to be replaced by maturity, which makes a clear distinction between child and adult. The story is writ ten as a 3rd person omniscient narrator. The harvesting of corn, cotton, peanuts and squash indicates that the story takes place in the Southern states since these crops were commonly harvested there. Myop and her family live in sharecropper cabin with rusty boards that could indicate that they are poor. Therefore it’s likely that the story is taking place in the 20th century where racial discrimination was at its peak. In the beginning of the story there is dominating use of positive phraseology and the environment is described idyllically. â€Å"†¦ Made each day a golden surprise that caused excited little tremors to run up her jaws. †3 This idyllic description is also equivalent to how peaceful Myop is enjoying her childhood.She seems to be unaware about her presence in the American society where there was an explicit difference between the black and white. The author tries to describe this racial problem symbolically when she mentions how â€Å"tiny white bub bles disrupt the thin black scale of soil†¦ † But the idyllic setting drastically changes at line 18 when Myop finds herself more than a mile away from home. She is walking further away from her secure surroundings. Now the there is negative use of phraseology such as; Strangeness, not pleasant, gloomy, cove, damp air, silence, close and deep etc.She is no longer secure. When trying to escape the strangeness she steps on her history and reality and she is forced to face the suppression for her first time, this is the symbolic meaning of the corpse she steps on. The man is obviously black since he has been lying there rotten and totally forgotten. His blue denim overall cloths also indicates that he was a black poor farmer or slave. Back in the 1960’s the Ku Kux Klan (KKK) executed a lot of executions where they hang black people in the woods.She tries to ignore this ‘reality and suppression’ when reaching out for a pink flower that she associates with her secure childhood. When she notices the hanging noose spinning restlessly in the breeze she lays down the flowers – laying down the flowers symbolizes Myop letting go of her innocence and secure surroundings. â€Å"And the summer was over† means that her childhood is over and she is entering the life as an adult. T Note 1: Line 1 Note 2: Line 2-3 Note 3: Line 2-3 Note 4: Line 10-11