African American and Haitian Heritage Essay Example for Free

African American and Haitian Heritage Essay There are many different beliefs and values with the African American Culture compared to the Haitian Culture relating to child bearing and pregnancy. Both of the cultures have history of having large families in the rural areas, which was viewed as a necessary necessity because of the economic pressures each culture went though. The African American choice of birth control was oral contraceptives compared to the Haitians who used a variety of contraception methods such as the â€Å"birth control pill, female sterilization, injections, and condoms† Kemp (2012) states. The Haitians are mostly Catholic which makes them unwillingly to engage in conversations about pregnancy, and their fertility practices. Compared to African Americans who willingly to speak to older family members about their behavior during their pregnancy, or will help guide them with many of the practices and beliefs of a pregnant women. The African Americans view and belief on abortion is that many oppose abortion because of their â€Å"religious or moral beliefs†, and others oppose abortion because of moral, cultural, or â€Å"Afrocentric beliefs† WHO (2011) states. These beliefs will cause a delay in decision which makes abortions unsafe, compared to the Haitian Culture who does not talk about abortion openly, it is considered a women’s issue. Pregnancy is not considered a disease, or a â€Å"health problem, many Haitian women seek no prenatal care†, work fulltime until delivery, and celebrate their pregnancy as a time of joy. Haitian women also â€Å"do not eat spices†, but are encouraged to eat vegetables, and red fruits to increase the fetus blood Kemp (2012) claims. Compared to the African American women who seek prenatal care early in their pregnancy, also they respond to being pregnant as any other women in an ethnic group. Furthermore each one of the cultures has views, and beliefs that they follow during their pregnancy. The â€Å"Haitian women historically would walk, squat, or sit†, during labor, practice natural childbirth, but since migrating most Haitian women have adopted other practices. The fathers do not participate in delivery, but other female families members offer support Kemp (2012) states. The African American women have many beliefs or myths they believe in during their pregnancy. â€Å"Pica is the eating of a nonnutritive substance† such as soap, needles, dirt, and etc., this practice will help ease pain during delivery, and reduce nausea Galanti (2012) states. Furthermore African American women believe in many beliefs because it will cause harm to them and the unborn baby, during delivery they believe it is ok to be vocal. In addition during delivery African American women will have granny midwives deliver their unborn baby, and others will arrive at the Hospital in advanced labor to reduce the time spent there. Emotional support is provided by other women especially their mother, because men believe it is a private issue between women. The Haitian women believe that postpartum is a crucial period of childbearing, immediately after birth they will dress warmly to become more healthy, and clean. After delivery Haitian women believe that their â€Å"bones are open which makes them stay in bed 2-3 days postpartum† Galanti (2012) states so the bones can close. Another postpartum practice is the â€Å"three baths†, the first three days the mother will bathe in hot boiled water that will have leaves, bought or picked from the field. Then for the next three days the mother will bathe in water and leaves warmed by the sun. At the end of the third week the mother takes the third bath which is cold, Haitian women also avoid white foods during this period. Compared to the â€Å"African American women during postpartum period family support is needed to care for them six to eight weeks† after delivery Galanti (2012) states. Babies were not named until after they were known to survive, and the placenta has a spirit of its own which has to be buried after birth to avoid having a connection to the baby. Increased â€Å"vaginal bleeding is a sign of a sickness†, and tea is believed to have healing powers Kemp (2012) states. References Galanti, G. (2012) â€Å"Cultural Diversity in Health Care† African American. Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from www.ggalanti.org Kemp, C. (2012) â€Å"Haitians† Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from www.baylor.edu World Health Organization (2011) World Global Cultures† Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from www.who.org

Essay --

According to Laurence Sterne, â€Å"Nobody, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, but obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time†. In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the character Huckleberry Finn, also known as Huck, is one who can conceive this plague. Huck Finn’s ‘two projects of equal strength’ was the difficult decision whether to turn Jim, a black slave, over to his rightful â€Å"property† owner or to continue helping Jim escape to freedom. This inner conflict took place in Jim’s conscience of trying to decide what the right thing to do was. These two conflicting forces were the basis of how the story was told. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told from Huck’s viewpoint, and it illuminated the quandary that Huck faces as he befriends Jim and helps him to freedom, as well as convincing himself talkimg himself into believing feeling . A part of Huck thought helping Jim was wrong because helping a black man escape to freedom was against society’s rules and went against everything that he had been taught and raised to believe. The other part of Huck saw Jim as a good person, a friend, and believed Jim should be free from slavery. It was a war between Huck’s conscience of not following society’s conventional laws and following his heart in what seemed right. Throughout the novel, Huck questioned whether he was doing the right thing. Even though he felt he was doing the right thing, he kept thinking about how he was going against society’s values and ideals. Huck also felt that he was betraying Miss Watson by taking Jim, her â€Å"property†, away from her. Miss Watson was always good to Huc... ... I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: â€Å"All right, then, I’ll go to hell†Ã¢â‚¬â€and tore it up† (Twain 317). At this point in the novel, Huck realizes that he would rather go to Hell for doing what he believed to be right even if it is wrong in others’ eyes, including God’s. Although Huck knew it was wrong to help a runaway slave, he also knew it was what he had to do, it felt right to him. The inner turmoil that Huck experienced within his conscience was a constant battle, but Huck made the decision to follow his heart. Huck learns, from his own life experiences of befriending Jim and his own moral conscience and intuition, that standing up for what seems â€Å"right† isn’t always easy to do, but it’s the right thing to do. Huck made the moral decision to go against what he had been taught was â€Å"right† and do what he knew was â€Å"right†.

Hero Definition Essay

How do you know when you’ve seen a hero before your eyes? Most likely in real life they won’t be wearing a cape or suit that identifies themselves as this well known hero. Realistically you’ve never or even possibly ever will see that kind of hero. Why is it that that kind of hero always seems to be the first thing that pops into one’s mind when the word â€Å"hero† is said; that stereotypical hero that always features in movies? We often forget that we’re actually surrounded every single day by heroes.Teachers, firefighters, you name it, are all considered heroes in one or more peoples’ eyes based on the things they’ve done. A hero not only goes beyond their needs and boundaries to help and encourage others, but also have a strong mind set. Heroes can be looked in the eye and show that they will not back down or give in to the defeat of something they’ve put their mind to. One important quality of heroism is stepping out from their comfort zone to help others in need, as they put aside their own demands.Often times a hero has a choice whether to go and help others or focus on themselves and pay attention to their only needs, but the fact that they put down their focus on themselves to help another shows how a true hero can be distinguished from amongst the crowd. For instance, an example of this quality can be found in the story Love Triumphs: 6 Year Old Becomes a Hero to Band of Toddlers, Rescuers by Ellen Barry.In this story, a little 6 year old boy named Deamonte Love takes on the responsibility of taking care of several other children, including his baby brother and cousins when they all were separated from their parents due to Hurricane Katrina. Deamonte â€Å"promised he’d take care of his brother† after seeing â€Å"his mother cry when he was loaded onto the helicopter† along with the other children to be taken to safety(SB 20). Even if Deamonte was scared, he took the l ead role in directing and watching over the children, putting his focus only on the children, encouraging and making them feel safe till they were all reunited again with their parents.This quality of heroism can not only be seen in boys, but also in girls, movies, and real life. Another example that shows this quality is from the movie Mulan. In this particular movie, a young woman, named Mulan poses as a young man and son of his (Mulan’s) father in order to save him from fighting in the war forcefully. Mulan then goes out pretending she is one of the many soldiers in the army and saves her father from serving. What Mulan did not only showed courage but also some determination as well.She had courage to pose as a man in order to save her father from fighting in the war, where also she placed herself in dangerous positions being in the army with no training at all. Doing that Mulan showed how she went beyond her own abilities to help her father. Mulan also showed some determi nation in how when she was in the army she wanted to prove to many of the other soldiers that she can be considered a real warrior. She also showed determination in which she impersonated a fake son of her father and continued out with her plan just so she knew that her own father with his old age and disabilities would be safe at home.As you can see, Mulan definitely went outside of her limits and surpassed her zone of security and comfort to help and meet the needs of her father. Heroism often calls for the hero to have a strong mind set. Having this quality in a hero means that they are able to change their outlook or attitude on something for the better so they can accomplish their goal. For example, this quality of heroism can be clearly shown in the poem A Man by Nina Cassian. In this poem, a soldier who loses his arm while fighting for his country must overcome his new challenge, continuing life with one arm.Undoubtedly, in the beginning of the poem the soldier recognizes in a very negative way how his life will forever be changed and impacted. Despite his sadness and physical limitations he rises above and looks at being positive, setting â€Å"himself to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm (line 15). † This soldier’s optimism is what helped him conquer the battles both physically and emotionally having to deal with just one arm. He decides to push through this challenge and enjoy life as it comes.His strong mind set was the determination and optimism of bouncing back from what he only thought of negative things and how he was able to change his outlook on his situation. Another example of this quality are the firefighters and policemen doing their job every single day. They portray this trait of a hero by how they have the certainty and bravery to go into any situation knowing that they are there to protect people from harm. One last quality of heroism is how a hero doesn’t give in to the defeat of something. An example of this characteristic of a hero is from October Sky.In this movie, a young teenage boy named Homer Hickman Jr. is expected to work in the coal mines after graduating from high school, just like all the other boys, but dares to refuse that job and instead pursues a passion for science. His passion all started when he wanted to build a rocket. Although nobody believed that he would actually build one, Homer goes on with no support in building a small rocket with the help of a smart classmate. Despite the first failure of his small rocket, Homer continued to chase after his dream of building a rocket until he finally does.His persistent determination and motivation to keep going after having no support in the beginning and having many fail attempts gets him to win a national science fair with a college scholarship. In the very beginning of the movie though, Homer had perseverance when he wanted to make the football team, even though the chances of him making it were clear that he wouldn ’t. Despite this though Homer tried and tried over again getting back up after each tackle he received on the football field knowing that football could have gotten him into college. Heroism can be identified and seen in multiple ways.A definition of heroism varies from person to person and can mean more personal to one that has actually identified a hero in their life. A hero not only goes beyond their needs and boundaries to help and encourage others, but also have a strong mind set. Heroes can be looked in the eye and show that they will not back down or give in to the defeat of something they’ve put their mind to. Even though a definition can start or end differently they all have one message that can interpret differently to several people. It comes down to the fact of how you look at the idea of a hero and maybe apply that to your own life.

Frederick Douglass Reflection Essay - 2012 Words

The narrative of Frederick Douglass is an essential piece in learning of the hardships slaves endured in the pre-civil war era in the United States. Frederick Douglass’s use of diction puts oneself in the place of the slaves and ultimately leads to an intense feeling of disappointment in mankind. One is deeply saddened in learning about how incompetent some slaves were of their position in life. Slaves feared the white population because they didn’t know that there were any whites out in the world who cared about them, and abolishment of the harsh practice of slavery. The only whites an American slave knew were the whites who were cold hearted, barbaric, and hypocritically religious. Douglass’s recollection of the repulsive acts of slave†¦show more content†¦In using these words, Douglass forces the reader to visualize Henny, the lame woman and her deep agony as she hangs from the ropes, just like our savior Jesus Christ hung from the cross, spilling war m red blood, before being removed from existence. These thoughts and images conjured by Douglass’s diction lead the modern reader to see how wrong the owners of slaves were in their position of quoting misunderstood scripture. This realization regarding religious hypocrisy is again evident shortly after Master Thomas becomes a very devout Methodist, and frequently invites the preachers to meals with him. Here, the reader learns just how disgusting this aspect of slavery was: â€Å"His house was the preachers’ home. They used to take great pleasure in coming there to put up; for while he starved us, he stuffed them† (Douglass 50). In this passage, Douglasss diction is well executed in a way that hits hard for the reader. He uses the words, starved and stuffed, to really convey the message that the preachers were leaving the house full, while Douglass and the fellow slaves, were given not a scap. Douglass, chooses these words specifically, so that a clear image i s drawn in the readers mind. Douglass’s diction in this passage strongly enforces the reader’s new knowledge regarding religious hypocrisy in slavery by showingShow MoreRelatedHow I Learned to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan1178 Words   |  5 Pages How I Learned to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan are essays that share a common theme. The theme is opposition and how it is necessary to build strength. In the essay How I Learned to Read and Write, Frederick Douglass explains that he was born into slavery and faced his own ignorance with a resolve to overcome this challenge. 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