Impact of IT on Individuals, Communities and Society

Impact of IT on Individuals, Communities and Society Since its inception, IT has had a substantial impact on the world. The ability to access information at the touch of a button has transformed the way we learn. Education and Training have never been the same, before the dawn of the internet. However, all of this is not as amazing as it first seems. Malicious users roam the far reaches of the internet trying to steal peoples bank details, child pornography sites hidden behind proxies and VPNs deep in the dark net, even illegal drug and weapon sales. Online Shopping Online shopping is an amazing invention since its initiation in 1979 by Michael Aldrich. Michael Aldrich connected a 26 coloured consumer television by a telephone line to a real-time transaction processing computer. He called his new invention teleshopping, this is the forefather to our online shopping today. It even allows people who cant leave their homes, such as disabled people, elderly people, single parents and so much more. However, this godsend isnt as brilliant for local shop owners as it is for consumers; it can leave local economies decimated as people that used to be loyal customers move to services like Amazon and ASDA Direct. Not all is how it seems. Although online shopping can be accessible by many people, a lot of people still dont have access to it. 21.6% of UK residents dont have regular access to the internet. This has become a problem for many rural areas of the UK that seem to be neglected by ISPs (Internet Service Providers), low income areas also seem to have a smaller percent of online activity. In 2015 the UK government tried to combat this issue by passing a bill that was intended to provide everyone with at least 15 mbps (megabits per second) internet access for free. As of February 2017 the bill has disappeared. Free time The way we spend our free time has changed drastically over the last couple of decades. From the dawn of social media to the invention of complex graphically intense video games our choices of media consumption during our free time has vastly increased since the very first commercial computers were produced.   Websites like Twitter and YouTube have become the places where most will spend their free time. This has caused content creators commonly referred to as YouTubers, to make a living. Some even become millionaires. Video games have also become one of the most popular forms of peoples pass times, over 33 million out of the UKs 64 million residents play video games on a daily basis. Thats roughly 51% of the total populous, over half! So its no surprise that the British games market is worth a whopping  £4.193 billion as of 2015. Streaming websites are also among the most popular for internet users, they account for roughly 60% 70% of web traffic. They stream videos and other media like music to their users, some of the most frequently visited websites for streaming include: Netflix, Amazon Prime video and music, Spotify and Crunchyroll An anime streaming site. Communication Communication within the IT industry has shaped how we all communicate on a daily basis. From Emails to Short Message Service (SMS), daily communication has vastly changed from the days of letters and telegrams; this is thanks to the wide adoption of computers and mobile devices. This has only improved as technology has advanced to the internet vastly improved what mobile devices could do thus allowing us to communicate in better and faster ways. With the invention of 3G (short for 3rd Generation, in reference to it being the 3rd iteration of wireless mobile technology).   Users could surf the web from their devices. This newly found technology paved the way for smartphones, has the technology improved with H/HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) offering a theoretical 7.2 mbps connection speed and later H+HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access) offering an insanely fast theoretical speed of 168 mbps. Legal Impacts The legal impacts of IT have always been up for debate, whether it was the ability to copy games from cassette to cassette or the sudden unlimited access to bountiful amounts of information that came from the incredible creation that is the internet. In order to protect peoples data and information, many governments around the world implemented improved copyright and plagiarism laws. In the UK this law is called the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1998. Law lays down foundations to help copyright and patent holders to take legal action again those who steal their works. Hacking, Fraud and other malicious acts also came along with the dawn of commonly available personal computers. The UK government passed the Computer Misuse Act 1990, this bill outlined the dos and donts when it comes to computer use; accessing a computer without permission is considered a crime under the Computer Misuse Act.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Ethical Impacts The ethical impacts of IT mainly from the constant documentation of our information from services such as Google and Amazon has been a heated topic for several years. Should we allow such services to store our personal information and information about items we like or search most often? Although there are many benefits in allowing such information to be stored which can help to form algorithms to better improve our online experiences with search engines and online shops. This can allow services such as Amazon target specific advertisements to be shown to us based on our interests and to have products recommended to us based on our past purchases. However, if this information were to reach the wrong hands, such as a fraudster, it could be extremely dangerous to the users whom data has been stolen. Another ethical question that comes to play with the use of IT is for those who dont have access to high-speed internet that may of us take for granted. For instance, many people who live in rural areas of the UK dont have access to broadband due to the vast distance between them and the telephone exchange. In some cases, even trying to install cables for rural areas are just impossible due to the high cost and low reward aspect of the area. For a broadband company it is more profitable to place expensive high-speed cables in densely populated urban areas since the vast amount of customers would allow the companies to recover their investments much quicker. There are solutions to this however, many mobile communication networks have started providing 4G internet access to those who cant get access to the internet or who have rather weak connections. Most of the time these solutions are cheap and quick to set up however the 800Mhz (megahertz) frequency band, previously used for analog ue television, used by most telecommunication companies although has far reach due to its small wavelength this has the negative effect of not having the ability to transmit as much data as a fibre optic cabling. Life before computers As much as it is hard for some of us who have grown up with and around this amazing technology, we must not forget that computers have not always been around. Even earlier versions of cameras have been around longer than computers. Video games, Instant messaging, Email, DVDs, Cassettes, Laserdiscs: There was a time when all of these werent even thought of. A time of newspapers and radio, vinyl disc and Classic music and Jazz. Going outside to play with friends, working for a sixpence, 240 pence to a pound, before the days of post decimalisation. I asked my Nan about what it was like growing up, what she would have liked to do when she left school. Getting a job as a typist working for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was one of the flashiest jobs for women to get, everyone wanted it. Sustainability The sustainability of our modern technological position has been a question for many centuries. What can we do to help preserve our environment and sustain our current lifestyle? Recycling our old hardware and reusing the precious metals inside them can help us since it uses less energy to regain these metals than it does to mine and refine them. Another advantage to this is that metals are also a finite substance and we only have a set amount of it. Moving to a more sustainable energy source to power our homes and electronics is also a vital way to be stainable. Solar, wind and nuclear energy are the current candidates for us to replace our dependent on fossil fuels. All three of these present a positives and negatives but one thing they all have in common is their amount of pollution they produce or lack there of. PAGE 1 OF YOUR BLOG: Understand the impact of IT on individuals, communities and society. Impacts Social Impacts How we spend free time. Effects on local communities PAGE 2 OF YOUR BLOG: ECONOMIC IMPACTS Employment structure and working practices. Sustainability. PAGE 3 OF YOUR BLOG: Legal impacts Ownership, copyright and plagiarism PAGE 4 OF YOUR BLOG Ethical impacts Privacy of information PAGE 5 OF YOUR BLOG Activity from page 23 Life before computers investigate and write up in your own words.

Wake up before its too late

Wake up before its too late Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. ‘When the well is dry, we shall know the value of water- these famous words by Benjamin Franklin vividly describe the world we live in today. It is only when we run out of things that we take for granted, that we realise how valuable and priceless it really was. Unfortunately, by that time it is usually too late to mend the damage. I would like to start with a little story that took place at a sea-side. Each time a wave washed on land, it would carry a couple of dozens of starfish, deposit them ashore and then the waves would reunite with the sea. As you all know, starfish can only survive on land for a few days. A young boy decided that this had to stop. The death of these wondrous creatures deeply disturbed him. Determined to put an end to this terrible fate, he set about trying to save them by picking up each one and throwing it back into the sea. A man came across him and curiously asked, â€Å"Why bother throwing the starfish back into the sea? Each time you throw one, a dozen more wash across the beach!† â€Å"Well,† said the boy, stooping down to pick a starfish, â€Å"At least, Im saving this one,† as he threw it back into the sea. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to address this important session at the 12th Annual International Conference on the Environment. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude towards all of you for your august presence. Today, I stand here, positive that I speak on behalf of several others, with similar concerns and hopes for the future of our planet. I am going to tell you about the three environmental issues, which, in my opinion, are the most pressing problems that need to be dealt with, to heal our Mother Earth, to save it from destruction. Let me tell you what is happening to our planet Earth, what will happen to it if we do not enact a change, effective immediately. Firstly, let me take you on a journey to todays tropical rainforests. We have cut trees to serve our personal benefits. We have cut trees to expand our agriculture. We have cut trees to exploit oil to use in our factories. We have cut trees to use in our paper, furniture and building industries, to name a few. All this has undoubtedly enabled us to have a comfortable life. However, there are always two sides to a coin. Lets sneak a peek at the other side. We have cut our single, most essential source of oxygen. Rainforests are so much more than our typical image of just trees and shrubs. They are a home to some of the most diverse species of plants and animals and we are thoughtlessly destroying it. Our tree cutting is also causing soil erosion, flooding and global warming. We have been seeking ways to make our life comfortable. Our comforts have created d iscomforts for our Mother Earth. We have, instead, forgotten it for own convenience, for our immediate wants and needs. Trees can not be cut down one day and then be expected to grow back the following day. So let us wake up before it is too late! Now, let us venture from the rainforests to the vast oceans and seas. Since the beginning of mankind, water has been the key source of civilization. It has been our heritage and we owe everything to it. As you all know, water covers about 70% of the Earths surface. However, only 3% of it is fresh which can be used for drinking or irrigation. Recently, during my visit to a seaside, my eyes were opened to the sheer amounts of discarded waste, stretching from the beaches to the sea. I was appalled by the amount of unexpected litter strewn across the beach. People ruthlessly throw syringes, rubber slippers, plastic bottles, bags and tins on the beach. Wastewater from factories and industries, and insecticides from farms had also ended up in the sea. This results in the endangering of marine ecosystems and also makes the water harmful for human consumption. As the world population grows, the need for water also increases. Approximately 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe water; this is roughly one sixth of the worlds population. If we do not act fast to prevent water pollution, it wont be long before our Earth will turn from a blue planet to a dirty blue planet. So let us wake up before it is too late! Finally, let us take a trip to the upper atmosphere and get a close-up of what is actually happening there. Rain- our source of water- has also become dangerous. There is an increasingly high concentration of pollutant gases worldwide from power stations, factories and cars. These gases have dissolved with tiny droplets in the clouds to form acid rain. The proof of this is the famous site in India- the Taj Mahal. The effects of acid rain have taken toll and weathered away the beautiful marble. That is not all! The ozone layer- the shield which protects the Earths surface from the dangerous rays of the sun is being destroyed due to air pollution. Today, there is a massive hole over the Antarctica. The list of such follies is just endless. As a society, we need to understand that our actions have major implications on the environment that can be virtually irreversible. So let us wake up before it is too late! Remember back to the forest fires in Scandinavia, to the dying coral reefs in Fiji, to the flooding in Manila and then remember all the stories that we hear of philanthropy and humility displayed by humans all over the world every week. All of this is proof that we care, that we are perfectly capable of defining what is right and wrong and thereafter standing up for what is right, standing up for each other, and standing up for the environment. In spite of all our selfish acts, we all have a sense of compassion treasured within us. Together, let us cultivate this compassion towards making a fruitful future for our planet. The question is how. How can you as an individual enable a change to help the environment? How can you ensure that you will never have to walk out on the streets to face a never-ending landscape of bareness? The truth is that we can not resolve this problem without a joint effort. The truth is that we have the ability to make a change, all we need is willpower. The truth is that it may be challenging, but it will also, most certainly, bear the fruits of the seeds we have sown. The fruits that will be enjoyed, not just by us or our children, but also, the children of the future- those who are not yet born, those, who we will never know and never meet, they are the ones who need us the most. If we as individuals take the initiative to create a clean environment nothing is impossible. We must start with the little things such as saving energy and disposing of litter properly, which, on its own, can make a huge difference. A consciousness should be cultivated in us. It is only then that we shall be able to advance to working on major issues. If we all work together from a local scale, to a national scale and eventually a global scale we will most definitely be able to re-create a beautiful earth to live in, for not only the generation of today but also for many more generations, yet to come. We must join hands to protect our environment, join hands to secure its future and join hands to ensure a better place for our future generations. Together, we can make a change, a change for the better; we can make a change today. It is never easy to accept defeat, to accept failure and to admit that we didnt do enough. Let us hope that the day never comes when we regret our actions. Let us act now to prevent our very own despair, remorse and resentment for what we may lose because of what we didnt do. Lets not give us a chance to ask ourselves- ‘How did we get to this? I urge you now to do every little bit you can to benefit the environment. Let us not wait till its too late. On this note, I would like to end by saying that every little action will make a difference. Every little action counts. Just like the little boy at the seashore, we too must save every little starfish that we can. Thank you very much for your kind attention, ladies and gentlemen.

History of the Calle Ocho Festival :: Little Havana Culture

Twenty Years of Calle Ocho Over the years, the Calle Ocho festival has brought hundreds of smiles to thousands of people. Behind the smiles, the laughter, and the dances, there is a serious side to the festivities. In the beginning, Willy Bermello just wanted a little backyard get-together that would bring neighbors closer, but the festival turned into something much, much bigger. With the festival's growth and inevitable commercialization, Bermello increasingly felt that its importance was being forgotten. He wanted to let people know this was more than just a big party. He wanted people of different races and different ethnicities to be able to feel comfortable with each other, and not just for one day. He wanted Calle Ocho's influence felt throughout the year. In 1998, Cuban refugees are still being held captive in camps at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Many refugees left Guantanamo last year in hopes of reaching America, but unfortunately, few have yet to make it here. In the hearts of many people, there lies the hope, that, by the next festival, those Cubans wishing to be in South Florida will be able to celebrate the festival with their friends and family. On Calle Ocho, people of all races and backgrounds are helping to make the Cuban exile community party a success. It has been a difficult year for divided families everywhere. Many of the proceeds from various stands at the festival go to giving financial aid to Cubans who are brought over from the island. A portion of the festival proceeds go to support Operation Angel; the MCI long-distance telephone tents are giving away five minutes of free calling time. This calling time gives families the chance to call Cuba; many are calling their families for the first time. Furthermore, T-shirt stand s are raising money to help those still interred in camps. Block after block, people from all over are packed in Little Havana; they form a river of cultural unity. Unfortunately, the Calle Ocho festival of 1996 was cancelled due to the ill-fated shooting down of four Cuban exile aviators, from the Brothers to the Rescue organization, by Cuban warplanes on February 24, 1996. People who attended the festivals after that incident maintain, in their hearts, the memories of those pilots who gave their lives to help refugees in need.

Improving Language Acquisition in Bilingual Children Essay -- learning

For most bilingual speakers, the English language is hard to navigate. Like an unknown street, not natural to them, they stumble to find the words to say what they want to say; they trip over cracks of pronunciation, taking wrong turns over careless misuse, out of context phrasing, as they attempt to follow the rules of ambiguous signage established by others. â€Å"Uh, um, hmmm, how do you say†¦?† A long pause follows. The image that comes to mind is of a student scratching at their head, hesitating before finally delivering the â€Å"right† word. It’s a matter of translating it to convey the correct meaning. Many bilingual speakers think out a process of word sorting that allows them to think through their vocabularies, sort, and choose a word that sounds right and is easy to say. A significant amount of bilingual speakers make every effort to learn how to say pronunciations that do not always readily translate from their native language; thus they struggl e to express themselves correctly in everyday conversations. Today in the U.S., The Department of Education reports that 21% of school-age children between the ages of 5 and 17 speak a language other than English at home. Studies have shown that students that first learn to speak languages other than English often face neurolinguistic challenges, especially with the formation of organized thoughts for pronunciations and syntax. It is important that bilingual speakers in the U.S. become more comfortable and confident speaking English, but this can only be carried out and developed correctly if done at the right age and in the right environment. What makes for better bilingual speakers? It all depends on timing. Widely acclaimed linguistic psychologists like Patricia K. Kuhl and Steven ... ...go: College-Hill, 1984. 27-41. Print. Hatch, Evelyn M. "Introduction: A Perspective on Psycholinguistics." Psycholinguistics: A Second Language Perspective. Rowley: Newbury House, 1983. 1+. Print Hatch, Evelyn M. "Phonology." Psycholinguistics: A Second Language Perspective. Rowley: Newbury House, 1983. 12+. Print Badger, Emily. "Where 60 Million People in the U.S. Don't Speak English at Home." The Atlantic Cities. The Atlantic Cities, 6 Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Kim, K. H., Relkin, N. R., Lee, K. M., & Hirsch, J. (1997). Distinct cortical areas asso- ciated with native and second languages. Nature, 388(6638), 171–4. "Fact Sheets: Languages Spoken in the United States According to the 2000 U.S. Census." U.S. English. U.S. English, 200. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. Kuhl, Patricia. â€Å"The Linguistic Genius of Babies.† TEDTalks, Feb. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Enron Scandal

Ethics are values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. If all people lived by this code the world would be a much better place. Having business ethics in the workplaces is very significant to having a truly successful business. Many companies have been forced to suffer losses or even forced to enter bankruptcy. Enron is one of the biggest examples of when making business ethical decisions go wrong.An American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas Enron was a big deal. Employing approximately 20,000 staff and was being one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies. Enron was a company on top on of the reason the fall was so drastic. Since Enron was the largest corporation contributor to the first presidential Bush campaign some people believed it to be a political conspiracy. The people in charge of Enron you can say lost their way, they became more worried about the money instead of the wellbeing of their company and employees.If Enron had stayed in the gray areas or at least the moral minimum then thing might have turned out different for them. Staying in these areas they would have made sure that all there business dealing was in compliance with the law. However just because a business deal is in compliance with the law does not mean it is ethical. Enron is the largest bankruptcy reorganization in American history and also the biggest audit failure of that time. With the using of accounting loopholes, special purpose entities, and poor financial reporting, Enron was able to hide billions in debt from failed deals and projects.Many executives at Enron were indicted for a variety of charges and were later sentenced to prison. Employees and shareholders received limited returns in lawsuits, despite losing billions in pensions and stock prices. As a cons equence of the scandal, new regulations and legislation were enacted to expand the accuracy of financial reporting for public companies. Enron first started sliding down the unethical path when the market to market accounting style was introduced. Market to market accounting allowed Enron to book potential future profit on the day a deal was signed.This is a problem because even if the company did not receive any money that day Enron could make it look anyway they wanted. Due to the large discrepancies of attempting to match profits and cash, investors were typically given false or misleading reports. While using the method, income from projects could be recorded, although they might not have ever received the money, and in turn increasing financial earnings on the books. Enron also had something in place called PRC the performance review committee.It let employees review each other and people that did not meet the requirement you were let go and the better employees were rewarded. Employees constantly looked to start high-volume deals, often disregarding the quality of cash flow or profits, in order to get a higher rating for their performance review. Enron paid out multimillion dollars bonuses to top executive based on imaginary profit. Enron had to find real money to fund them so they merged with Portland General Electric Company. Enron became the largest marketer of natural gas and electricity.Enron and Blockbuster signed a 20 year agreement to introduce video on-demand. After several attempts to get the concept together Enron realized it was not going to work. Enron estimated profits of more than $110 million from the deal, even though analysts questioned the technical viability and market demand of the service. When the network failed to work, Blockbuster pulled out of the contract. Enron continued to recognize future profits, even though the deal resulted in a loss. Enron debt was beginning to catch up with them and raise questions so they found differe nt ways to hide it.One ways was hiding the debt in a lot of dummy corporations. Their purpose was to purpose to raise the company’s stock to make it look like profit was coming in. At this point Enron had thrown business ethics out of the window. Making people invest their money in a company stock that had false value. Enron started using the electricity needs to their advantages having forced black out for the cost of electricity to raise and to make a profit. They did not care what the lack of electricity was doing to the people. When Enron went bankrupt the people lost everything there whole savings where gone and they were now without a job.If people had stop to ask there self is this decision ethical or how it well affect others the Enron scandal could have been avoided. The executive put money over the wellbeing of the company as a whole and the employees. When making the important decisions about your business you should always look at the business, personal and legal side of the deal. Every deal has its outcome it is your job to predict the outcome and deal with the consequences of your actions. Hanshermannhesse3. â€Å"Enron – The Smartest Guys in the Room. † YouTube. YouTube, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER ELEVEN SAYSHELL

SAYSHELL Janov Pelorat watched, for the first time in his life, as the bright star graduated into an orb after what Trevize had called a â€Å"micro-Jump.† The fourth planet – the habitable one and their immediate destination, Sayshell – then grew in size and prominence more slowly – over a period of days. A map of the planet had been produced by the computer and was displayed on a portable screening device, which Pelorat held in his lap. Trevize – with the aplomb of someone who had, in his time, touched down upon several dozen worlds – said, â€Å"Don't start watching too hard too soon, Janov. We have to go through the entry station first and that can be tedious.† Pelorat looked up. â€Å"Surely that's just a formality.† â€Å"It is. But it can still be tedious.† â€Å"But it's peacetime.† â€Å"Of course. That means we'll be passed through. First, though, there's a little matter of the ecological balance. Every planet has its own and they don't want it upset. So they make a natural point of checking the ship for undesirable organisms, or infections. It's a reasonable precaution.† â€Å"We don't have such things, it seems to me.† â€Å"No, we don't and they'll find that out. Remember, too, that Sayshell is not a member of the Foundation Federation, so there's certain to be some leaning over backward to demonstrate their independence.† A small ship came out to inspect them and a Sayshellian Customs official boarded. Trevize was brisk, not having forgotten his military days. â€Å"The Far Star, out of Terminus,† he said. â€Å"Ship's papers. Unarmed. Private vessel. My passport. There is one passenger. His passport. We are tourists.† The Customs official wore a garish uniform in which crimson was the dominating color. Cheeks and upper lip were smooth-shaven, but he wore a short beard parted in such a way that tufts thrust out to both sides of his chin. He said, â€Å"Foundation ship?† He pronounced it â€Å"Foundaysun sip,† but Trevize was careful neither to correct him nor to smile. There were as many varieties of dialects to Galactic Standard as there were planets, and you just spoke your own. As long as there was cross-comprehension, it didn't matter. â€Å"Yes, sir,† said Trevize. â€Å"Foundation ship. Privately owned.† â€Å"Very nice. – Your lading, if you please.† â€Å"My what?† â€Å"Your lading. What are you carrying?† â€Å"Ah, my cargo. Here is the itemized list. Personal property only. We are not here to trade. As I told you, we are simply tourists.† The Customs official looked about curiously. â€Å"This is rather an elaborate vessel for tourists.† â€Å"Not by Foundation standards,† said Trevize with a display of good humor. â€Å"And I'm well off and can afford this.† â€Å"Are you suggesting that I might be richified?† The official looked at him briefly, then looked away. Trevize hesitated a moment in order to interpret the meaning of the word, then another moment to decide his course of action. He said, â€Å"No, it is not my intention to bribe you. I have no reason to bribe you – and you don't look like the kind of person who could be bribed, if that were my intention. You can look over the ship, if you wish.† â€Å"No need,† said the official, putting away his pocket recorder. â€Å"You have already been examined for specific contraband infection and have passed. The ship has been assigned a radio wavelength that will serve as an approach beam.† He left. The whole procedure had taken fifteen minutes. Pelorat said in a low voice. â€Å"Could he have made trouble? Did he really expect a bribe?† Trevize shrugged. â€Å"Tipping the Customs man is as old as the Galaxy and I would have done it readily if he had made a second try for it. As it is – well, I presume he prefers not to take – a chance with a Foundation ship, and a fancy one, at that. The old Mayor, bless her cross-grained hide, said the name of the Foundation would protect us wherever we went and she wasn't wrong. – It could have taken a great deal longer.† â€Å"Why? He seemed to find out what he wanted to know.† â€Å"Yes, but he was courteous enough to check us by remote radioscanning. If he had wished, he could have gone over the ship with a hand-machine and taken hours. He could have put us both in a field hospital and kept us days.† â€Å"What? My dear fellow!† â€Å"Don't get excited. He didn't do it. I thought he might, but he didn't. Which means we're free to land. I'd like to go down gravitically – which could take us fifteen minutes – but I don't know where the permitted landing sites might be and I don't want to cause trouble. That means we'll have to follow the radio beam, which will take hours – as we spiral down through the atmosphere.† Pelorat looked cheerful. â€Å"But that's excellent, Golan. Will we be going slowly enough to watch the terrain?† He held up his portable viewscreen with the map spread out on it at low magnification. â€Å"After a fashion. We'd have to get beneath the cloud deck, and we'll be moving at a few kilometers per second. It won't be ballooning through the atmosphere, but you'll spot the planetography.† â€Å"Excellent! Excellent!† Trevize said thoughtfully, â€Å"I'm wondering, though, if we'll be on Sayshell Planet long enough to make it worth our while to adjust the ship's clock to local time.† â€Å"It depends on what we plan to do, I suppose. What do you think we'll be doing, Golan?† â€Å"Our job is to find Gaia and I don't know how long that will take.† Pelorat said, â€Å"We can adjust our wrist-strips and leave the ship's clock as is.† â€Å"Good enough,† said Trevize. He looked down at the planet spreading broadly beneath them. â€Å"No use waiting any longer. I'll adjust the computer to our assigned radio beam and it can use the gravities to mimic conventional flight. So! – Let's go down, Janov, and see what we can find.† He stared at the planet thoughtfully as the ship began to move on its smoothly adjusted gravitational potential-curve. Trevize had never been in the Sayshell Union, but he knew that over the last century it had been steadfastly unfriendly to the Foundation. He was surprised – and a little dismayed – they had gotten through Customs so quickly. It didn't seem reasonable. The Customs official's name was Jogoroth Sobhaddartha and he had been serving on the station on and off for half his life. He didn't mind the life, for it gave him a chance – one month out of three – to view his books, to listen to his music, and to be away from his wife and growing son. Of course, during the last two years the current Head of Customs had been a Dreamer, which was irritating. There is no one so insufferable as a person who gives no other excuse for a peculiar action than saying he had been directed to it in a dream. Personally Sobhaddartha decided he believed none of it, though he was careful not to say so aloud, since most people on Sayshell rather disapproved of antipsychic doubts. To become known as a materialist might put his forthcoming pension at risk. He stroked the two tufts of hair at his chin, one with his right hand and the other with his left, cleared his throat rather loudly, and then, with inappropriate casualness, said, â€Å"Was that the ship, Head?† The Head, who bore the equally Sayshellian name of Namarath Godhisavatta, was concerned with a matter involving some computer-born data and did not look up. â€Å"What ship?† he said. â€Å"The Far Star. The Foundation ship. The one I just sent past. The one that was holographed from every angle. Was that the one you dreamed of?† Godhisavatta looked up now. He was a small man, with eyes that were almost black and that were surrounded by fine wrinkles that had not been produced by any penchant for smiling. He said, â€Å"Why do you ask?† Sobhaddartha straightened up and allowed his dark and luxuriant eyebrows to approach each other. â€Å"They said they were tourists, but I've never seen a ship like that before and my own opinion is they're Foundation agents.† – Godhisavatta sat back in his chair. â€Å"See here, my man, try as I might I cannot recall asking for your opinion.† â€Å"But Head, I consider it my patriotic duty to point out that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Godhisavatta crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at the underling, who (though much the more impressive in physical stature and bearing) allowed himself to droop and take on a somehow bedraggled appearance under the gaze of his superior. Godhisavatta said, â€Å"My man, if you know what is good for you, you will do your job without comment – or I'll see to it that there will be no pension when you retire, which will be soon if I hear any more on a subject that does not concern you.† In a low voice, Sobhaddartha said, â€Å"Yes, sir.† Then, with a suspicious degree of subservience in his voice, he added, â€Å"Is it within the range of my duties, sir, to report that a second ship is in range of our screens?† â€Å"Consider it reported,† Godhisavatta said irritably, returning to his work. â€Å"With,† said Sobhaddartha even more humbly, â€Å"characteristics very similar to the one I just sent through.† Godhisavatta placed his hands on the desk and lifted himself to his feet. â€Å"A second one?† Sobhaddartha smiled inwardly. That sanguinary person born of an irregular union (he was referring to the Head) had clearly not dreamed of two ships. He said, â€Å"Apparently, sir! I will now return to my post and await orders and I hope, sir†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes?† Sobhaddartha could not resist, pension-risk notwithstanding. â€Å"And I hope, sir, we didn't send the wrong one through.† The Far Star moved rapidly across the face of Sayshell Planet and Pelorat watched with fascination. The cloud layer was thinner and more scattered than upon Terminus and, precisely as the map showed, the land surfaces were more compact and extensive-including broader desert areas, to judge by the rusty color of much of the continental expanse. There were no signs of anything living. It seemed a world of sterile desert, gray plain, of endless wrinkles that might have represented mountainous areas, and, of course, of ocean. â€Å"It looks lifeless,† muttered Pelorat. â€Å"You don't expect to see any life-signs at this height,† said Trevize. â€Å"As we get lower, you'll see the land turn green in patches. Before that, in fact, you'll see the twinkling landscape on the nightside. Human beings have a penchant for lighting their worlds when darkness falls; I've never heard of a world that's an exception to that rule. In other words, the first sign of life you'll see will not only be human but technological.† Pelorat said thoughtfully, â€Å"Human beings are diurnal in nature, after all. It seems to me that among the very first tasks of a developing technology would be the conversion of night to day. In fact, if a world lacked technology and developed one, you ought to be able to follow the progress of technological development by the increase in light upon the darkened surface. How long would it take, do you suppose, to go from uniform darkness to uniform light?† Trevize laughed. â€Å"You have odd thoughts, but I suppose that comes from being a mythologist. I don't think a world would ever achieve a uniform glow. Night light would follow the pattern of population density, so that the continents would spark in knots and strings. Even Trantor at its height, when it was one huge structure, let light escape that structure only at scattered points.† The land turned green as Trevize had predicted and, on the last circling of the globe, he pointed out markings that he said were cities. â€Å"It's not a very urban world. I've never been in the Sayshell Union before, but according to the information the computer gives me, they tend to cling to the past. Technology, in the eyes of all the Galaxy, has been associated with the Foundation, and wherever the Foundation is unpopular, there is a tendency to cling to the past, except, of course, as far as weapons of war are concerned. I assure you Sayshell is quite modern in that respect.† â€Å"Dear me, Golan, this is not going to be unpleasant, is it? We are Foundationers, after all, and being in enemy territory†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's not enemy territory, Janov. They'll be perfectly polite, never fear. The Foundation just isn't popular, that's all. Sayshell is not part of the Foundation Federation. Therefore, because they're proud of their independence and because they don't like to remember that they are much weaker than the Foundation and remain independent only because we're willing to let them remain so, they indulge in the luxury of disliking us.† – â€Å"I fear it will still be unpleasant, then,† said Pelorat despondently. â€Å"Not at all,† said Trevize. â€Å"Come on, Janov. I'm talking about the official attitude of the Sayshellian government. The individual people on the planet are just people, and if we're pleasant and don't act as though we're Lords of the Galaxy, they'll be pleasant, too. We're not coming to Sayshell in order to establish Foundation mastery. We're just tourists, asking the kind of questions about Sayshell that any tourist would ask. â€Å"And we can have a little legitimate relaxation, too, if the situation permits. There's nothing wrong with staying here a few days and experiencing what they have to offer. They may have an interesting culture, interesting scenery, interesting food, and – if all else fails – interesting women. We have money to spend.† Pelorat frowned, â€Å"Oh, my dear chap.† â€Å"Come on,† said Trevize. â€Å"You're not that old. Wouldn't you be interested?† â€Å"I don't say there wasn't a time when I played that role properly, but surely this isn't the time for it. We have a mission. We want to reach Gaia. I have nothing against a good time – I really don't – but if we start involving ourselves, it might be difficult to pull free.† He shook his head and said mildly, â€Å"I think you feared that I might have too good a time at the Galactic Library on Trantor and would be unable to pull free. Surely, what the Library is to me, an attractive dark-eyed damsel – or five or six – might be to you.† Trevize said, â€Å"I'm not a rakehell, Janov, but I have no intention of being ascetic, either. Very well, I promise you we'll get on with this business of Gaia, but if something pleasant comes my way, there's no reason in the Galaxy I ought not to respond normally.† â€Å"If you'll just put Gaia first†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I will. Just remember, though, don't tell anyone we're from the Foundation. They'll know we are, because we've got Foundation credits and we speak with strong Terminus accents, but if we say nothing about it, they can pretend we are placeless strangers and be friendly. If we make a point of being Foundationers, they will speak politely enough, but they will tell us nothing, show us nothing, take us nowhere, and leave us strictly alone.† Pelorat sighed. â€Å"I will never understand people.† â€Å"There's nothing to it. All you have to do is take a close look at yourself and you will understand everyone else. We're in no way different ourselves. How would Seldon have worked out his Plan, and I don't care how subtle his mathematics was – if he didn't understand people; and how could he have done that if people weren't easy to understand? You show me someone who can't understand people and I'll show you someone who has built up a false image of himself – no offense intended.† â€Å"None taken. I'm willing to admit I'm inexperienced and that I've spent a rather self-centered and constricted life. It may be that I've never really taken a good look at myself, so I'll let you be my guide and adviser where people are concerned.† â€Å"Good. Then take my advice now and just watch the scenery. We'll be landing soon and I assure you you'll feel nothing. The computer and I will take care of everything.† â€Å"Golan, don't be annoyed. If a young woman should†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Forget it! Just let me take care of the landing.† Pelorat turned to look at the world at the end of the ship's contracting spiral. It would be the first foreign world upon which he would ever stand. This thought somehow filled him with foreboding, despite the fact that all the millions of inhabited planets in the Galaxy had been colonized by people who had not been born upon them. All but one, he thought with a shudder of trepidation/delight. The spaceport was not large by Foundation standards, but it was well kept. Trevize watched the Far Star moved into a berth and locked in place. They were given an elaborate coded receipt. Pelorat said in a low voice, â€Å"Do we just leave it here?† Trevize nodded and placed his hand on the other's shoulder in reassurance. â€Å"Don't worry,† he said in an equally low voice. They stepped into the ground-car they had rented and Trevize plugged in the map of the city, whose towers he could see on the horizon. â€Å"Sayshell City,† he said, â€Å"the capital of the planet. City – planet – star – all named Sayshell.† â€Å"I'm worried about the ship,† insisted Pelorat. â€Å"Nothing to worry about,† said Trevize. â€Å"We'll be back tonight, because it will be our sleeping quarters if we have to stay here more than a few hours. You have to understand, too, that there's an interstellar code of spaceport ethics that – as far as I know – has never been broken, even in wartime. Spaceships that come in peace are inviolate. If that were not so, no one would be safe and trade would be impossible. Any world on which that code was broken would be boycotted by the space pilots of the Galaxy. I assure you, no world would risk that. Besides†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Besides?† â€Å"Well, besides, I've arranged with the computer that anyone who doesn't look and sound like one of us will be killed if he – or she tries to board the ship. I've taken the liberty of explaining that to the Port Commander. I told him very politely that I would love to turn off that particular facility out of deference to the reputation that the Sayshell City Spaceport holds for absolute integrity and security – throughout the Galaxy, I said – but the ship is a new model and I didn't know how to turn it off.† â€Å"He didn't believe that, surely.† â€Å"Of course not! But he had to pretend he did, as otherwise he would have no choice but to be insulted. And since there would be nothing he could do about that, being insulted would only lead to humiliation. And since he didn't want that, the simplest path to follow was to believe what I said.† â€Å"And that's another example of how people are?† â€Å"Yes. You'll get used to this.† â€Å"How do you know this ground-car isn't bugged?† â€Å"I thought it might be. So when they offered me one, I took another one at random. If they're all bugged – well, what have we been saying that's so terrible?† Pelorat looked unhappy. â€Å"I don't know how to say this. It seems rather impolite to complain, but I don't like the way it smells. There's an – odor.† â€Å"In the ground-car?† â€Å"Well, in the spaceport, to begin with. I suppose that's the way spaceports smell, but the ground-car carries the odor with it. Could we open the windows?† Trevize laughed. â€Å"I suppose I could figure out which portion of the control panel will do that trick, but it won't help. This planet stinks. Is it very bad?† â€Å"It's not very strong, but it's noticeable – and somewhat repulsive. Does the whole world smell this way?† â€Å"I keep forgetting you've never been on another world. Every inhabited world has its own odor. It's the general vegetation, mostly, though I suppose the animals and even the human beings contribute. And as far as I know, nobody ever likes the smell of any world when he first lands on it. But you'll get used to it, Janov. In a few hours, I promise you won't notice.† â€Å"Surely you don't mean that all worlds smell like this.† â€Å"No. As I said, each has its own. If we really paid attention or if our noses were a little keener – like those of Anacreonian dogs – we could probably tell which world we were on with one sniff. When I first entered the Navy I could never eat the first day on a new world; then I learned the old spacer trick of sniffing a handkerchief with the world-scent on it during the landing. By the time you get out into the open world, you don't smell it. And after a while, you get hardened to the whole thing; you just learn to disregard it. – The worst of it is returning home, in fact.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Do you think Terminus doesn't smell?† â€Å"Are you telling me it does?† â€Å"Of course it does. Once you get acclimated to the smell of another world, such as Sayshell, you'll be surprised at the stench of Terminus. In the old days, whenever the locks opened on Terminus after a sizable tour of duty, all the crew would call out, ‘Back home to the crap. ‘† Pelorat looked revolted. The towers of the city were perceptibly closer, but Pelorat kept his eyes fixed on their immediate surroundings. There were other ground-cars moving in both directions and an occasional air-car above, but Pelorat was studying the trees. He said, â€Å"The plant life seems strange. Do you suppose any of it is indigenous?† â€Å"I doubt it,† said Trevize absently. He was studying the map and attempting to adjust the programming of the car's computer. â€Å"There's not much in the way of indigenous life on any human planet. Settlers always imported their own plants and animals – either at the time of settling or not too long afterward.† â€Å"It seems strange, though.† â€Å"You don't expect the same varieties from world to world, Janov. I was once told that the Encyclopedia Galactica people put out an atlas of varieties which ran to eighty-seven fat computer-discs and was incomplete even so – and outdated anyway, by the time it was finished.† The ground-car moved on and the outskirts of the city gaped and engulfed them. Pelorat shivered slightly, â€Å"I don't think much of their city architecture.† â€Å"To each his own,† said Trevize with the indifference of the seasoned space traveler. â€Å"Where are we going, by the way?† â€Å"Well,† said Trevize with a certain exasperation, â€Å"I'm trying to get the computer to guide this thing to the tourist center. I hope the computer knows the one-way streets and the traffic regulations, because I don't.† â€Å"What do we do there, Golan?† â€Å"To begin with, we're tourists, so that's the place where we'd naturally go, and we want to be as inconspicuous and natural as we can. And secondly, where would you go to get information on Gaia?† Pelorat said, â€Å"To a university – or an anthropological society – or a museum. – Certainly not to a tourist center.† â€Å"Well, you're wrong. At the tourist center, we will be intellectual types who are eager to have a listing of the universities in the city and the museums and so on. We'll decide where to go to first and there we may find the proper people to consult concerning ancient history, galactography, mythology, anthropology, or anything else you can think of. – But the whole thing starts at the tourist center.† Pelorat was silent and the ground-car moved on in a tortuous manner as it joined and became part of the traffic pattern. They plunged into a sub-road and drove past signs that might have represented directions and traffic instructions but were in a style of lettering that made them all-but-unreadable. Fortunately the ground-car behaved as though it knew the way, and when it stopped and drew itself into a parking spot, there was a sign that said: SAYSHELL OUT-WORLD MILIEU in the same difficult printing, and under it: SAYSHELL TOURIST CENTER in straightforward, easy-to-read Galactic Standard lettering. They walked into the building, which was not as large as the facade had led them to believe. ft was certainly not busy inside. There were a series of waiting booths, one of which was occupied by a man reading the news-strips emerging from a small ejector; another contained two women who seemed to be playing some intricate game with cards and tiles. Behind a counter too large for him, with winking computer controls that seemed far too complex for him, was a bored-looking Sayshellian functionary wearing what looked like a multicolored checkerboard. Pelorat stared and whispered, â€Å"This is certainly a world of extroverted garb.† â€Å"Yes,† said Trevize, â€Å"I noticed. Still, fashions change from world to world and even from region to region within a world sometimes. And they change with time. Fifty years ago, everyone on Sayshell might have worn black, for all we know. Take it as it comes, Janov.† â€Å"I suppose I'll have to,† said Pelorat, â€Å"but I prefer our own fashions. At least, they're not an assault upon the optic nerve.† â€Å"Because so many of us are gray on gray? That offends some people. I've heard it referred to as ‘dressing in dirt. ‘ Then too, it's Foundation colorlessness that probably keeps these people in their rainbows – just to emphasize their independence. It's all what you're accustomed to, anyway. – Come on, Janov.† The two headed toward the counter and, as they did so, the man in the booth forsook his news items, rose, and came to meet them, smiling as he did so. His clothing was in shades of gray. Trevize didn't look in his direction at first, but when he did he stopped dead. He took a deep breath, â€Å"By the Galaxy – My friend, the traitor!†

Racism: a Comparison and Contrast of Two Literary Works Essay

The words, purpose and identity are familiar with mankind. These words can mean many things to many different individuals. Each person on this Earth is uniquely made with unique DNA patterns and fingerprints that cannot be matched with any other individual among the billions of people that occupy this planet we call Earth. Why is prejudice so common among people if everyone is unique and special? This question remains unanswered. Many authors have written essays, stories, and poems about negative judgmental and biased views of people in hopes to understand unfair treatment towards mankind and promote changes in human behavior that will bring solutions of peace. This paper will reflect on the stories, Country Lovers, by Nadine Gordimer and The Welcome Table, by Alice Walker. Gordimer and Walker have become activists for fair and unbiased treatment among mankind. Both authors have been rewarded numerous honorary awards for promoting peace. Ironically, Nadine Gordimer is a white woman born and raised in South Africa and Alice Walker is an African American but both authors have kindred spirits and are celebrated for their commitments to fight the cruel elements of racism. Nadine Gordimer’s Country Lovers is a story about Thebedi, a black girl, and Paulus, a white boy, who fell in love. Gordimer wrote the story from a third-person point of view. The point of view is objective; the characters’ thoughts are not exposed as in the omniscient point of view. The point of view allows the reader to concentrate on the characters’ actions, creating a more dramatic effect. Thebedi and Paulus’ attraction to each other was unforbidden and socially not acceptable in the South African culture in which they were raised. Both children were raised on a South African farm, one that was owned by Paulus’ parents. Thebedi was one of the many black hired hands, slaves, or servants who worked on the Eysendyck’s family farm. The story does not clearly give a time period when the events unfolded, but the era of white dominance that existed over the black people was clearly defined, as the story states, â€Å"The farm children play together when they are small, but once the white children go away to school they soon don’t play together any more†¦so that by the time early adolescence is reached, the black children are making along with the bodily changes common to all, an  easy transition to adult forms of address, beginning to call their old playmates missus and baasie little master† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 1). Paulus and Thebedi exchanged gifts and their attraction for each other grew. Thebedi proudly wore a pair of hoop earrings given to her by Paulus but could not tell of the giver’s real identity and stated the earrings came from â€Å"the missus† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 3). Likewise, Paulus wore a bracelet made of elephant hair that was given by Thebedi but told everyone that one of the workers from his father’s farm had given him the gift (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 2). The fact that each person hid each other’s identities about the gifts suggest that their friendship was not acceptable because of their differences in racial and social statuses. As Thebedi and Paulus grew older, they frequently met at a remote dried river bed, each one walking a measureable distance from each other so that they would not be seen together. Paulus often spoke about his adventures away from home, as he was home for the holidays from a boarding school. Thebedi would ask questions and listen intently, enjoying Paulus’ company and laughing together (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 4). The friendship grew stronger and became sexual (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraphs 5 and 8). The couple continued to sneak around and see each other secretly, sometimes at Paulus’ home while his parents were away, as expressed in the line, †The door of the parents’ bedroom was locked and the empty rooms where the girls had slept had sheets of plastic spread over the beds. It was in one of these that she and the farmer’s son stayed together whole nights almost: she had to get away before the house servants, who knew her, came in at dawn.† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 8). The mood of the story quickly begins to change when Thebedi, at age 18, enters an arranged marriage union with Njabulo, a fellow black worker on the Eysendyck farm (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). Thebedi’s father was also a worker on the Eysendyck farm and saw Njabulo worthy of marrying his daughter; Njabulo was of the same social status as Thebedi’s family. Thebedi did not tell Paulus about her engagement to Njabulo, nor did she speak of her pregnancy, which was in the seventh month at the time she  married Njabulo (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). Soon, Thebedi gives birth to a healthy daughter, and with no surprise to the reader, the baby was light skinned (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). Njabulo’s disposition is one of high regards, as the story describes him as making no complaint, but â€Å"Out of his farm labourer’s earnings he bought†¦a pink plastic bath, six napkins, a card of safety pins, a knitted jacket, cap and bootees, a dress, and a tin of Johnson’s Baby Powder, for Thebedi’s baby† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). The author points out that the baby belongs to Thebedi, not Njabulo, but Njabulo assumes the role as father and provides for the child whole heartedly. The story’s plot comes to the climax when Paulus comes home from veterinary school and discovers not only is Thebedi married, but she has a child. Paulus visits the infant and immediately realizes he is the father of Thebedi’s baby. His reaction was a disturbed and embarrassed one, as the story explains, â€Å"He said nothing. He struggled for a moment with a grimace of tears, anger, and self-pity† as he asked Thebedi, â€Å"You haven’t been near the house with it?† (Clugston 2010,section 3.1, paragraphs 11 and 12). The reader sees the heart of Paulus at this point. It. The baby is referred to an it. Not a person but a thing that would bring him and his family shame and disgrace if anyone should find out. Paulus’s heart is further exposed with his commands to Thebedi, â€Å"Don’t take it out. Stay inside. Can’t you take it away somewhere. You must give it to someone—â€Å". Paulus left Thebedi’s home with the words, â€Å"I feel like killing myself† coming from the depths of his heart and out of his mouth (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 19). Paulus returns to Thebedi’s home shortly after and the reader discovers that Thebedi’s baby has been poisoned to death. The autopsy revealed intestinal damage not consistent with natural reason of death (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 22). Thebedi appears at an initial examination for the murder charges against Paulus, wearing the hoop earrings that Paulus had given her during their summer romance (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 24). Thebedi stated she had seen Paulus pouring something into her daughter’s mouth at the initial examination but later changed her story at Paulus’ trial, stating  she did not see anything that took place in her home. Thebedi wore her hoop earrings at both events, suggesting to the reader that she would always cherish Paulus and the affair they had together (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 25). Thebedi brought along her newborn baby at the time of the trial, suggesting to the reader that Thebedi had to go on with her life and concentrate on her new husband and her new baby; while Thebedi still cherished the memories that she and Paulus made together, those memories were only in the past. The reality was that Thebedi and Paulus had no chance of a future together. Paulus was found not guilty of the murder charge and Thebedi was interviewed by the Sunday papers. The author carefully points out that the newspapers â€Å"spelled her name in a variety of ways† suggesting that Thebedi was a common person and viewed in society as an individual with little importance (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 30). The story ends with Thebedi’s comment, â€Å"It was a thing of our childhood. We don’t see each other anymore† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 30). The author of Country Lovers, Nadine Gordimer, spoke out against racism in her interview presented by the Nobel Peace Organization on October 3, 2007. Having been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, an unnamed spokesperson asked Gordimer about the turning point in her life in which she became an activist for racism. Gordimer explained, â€Å"It was unthinkable for me to know black people whom would share my interests. It was always a servant/master basis. Even if you were the child of the master or mistress, you still had this particular position. But being troubled about it†¦I was beginning to find out there was something called racism in this world, and I was living in it. I was part of it. And then when I was older, training at Witwatersrand University, and there for the first time I met.there was one or two†¦there were a few young black members of the University, of course was whites only†¦there were certain courses that were not available in the black universities. And then as concession of post graduate level a few blacks would come in. I met one or two black people with whom I had far more in common than I had with the young whites that I knew at the time. There were young people who were trying to write, who were beginning to write. We had this enormous approach to life. I began at that age to make black friends. I moved into and entered into a fitting of incredible distortions of racism.  Not only the impression of blacks but the distortions in my personality and my mind as a white. These became very part of my life and indeed started my way to freedom from racism† (Nobelpeace.org, 2007). Gordimer, a native from Springs,South Africa, undoubtedly wrote Country Lovers based on experiences she dealt with firsthand growing up. In addition to winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, she has been awarded with several honorary degrees, ranging from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and holds degrees from University of York in England and Witwatersrand in South Africa among many other schools (Nobelpeace.org, 2005). Some of the many honors extended to Gordimer have included being an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Honorary Member of the American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters, and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honour of the Republic of Chile (Nobelpeace.org, 2007). Alice Walker’s The Welcome Table also presents a theme of racism. Walker is best known for her novel, The Color Purple, which led to Walker’s award of the Pulitzer Prize for the literary work (Clugston 2010, section 3.1,). The Welcome Table is told from a third-person omniscient point of view, carefully giving details of the thoughts of the main character, an elderly, rejected black woman, and those of the snobbish, prejudiced white people. The third-person omniscient point of view allows the reader to understand the deepest thoughts of the characters. The story begins introducing the old woman as one who has known suffering and who is looking for peace, dressed in her best Sunday clothes intending to worship at a local church (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 1). The unusual thing about the black woman’s presence is that the church is in an all- white community. The white people do not want the woman at their church and the narrator is quick to disclose the peoples’ thoughts, And so they gazed nakedly upon their own fear transferred; a fear of the black and the old, a terror of the unknown as well as of the deeply known† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 1). The narrator adds that â€Å"some of them there saw the age, the dotage, the missing buttons down the front of her mildewed black dress†¦Those who knew the hesitant creeping up on them of the law, saw the beginning of the end of the sanctuary of Christian worship, saw the desecration of Holy Church, and  saw an invasion of privacy, which they struggled to believe they still kept† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 2). The white people’s prejudice against the black woman suggest that this time period was when Civil Rights laws were being ma de and the white people did not want to accept the new laws that gave the right to black people to be in public places (Cheever J. and Mason B., 2012). Cheever and Mason add that â€Å"Privacy did not really mean privacy. They wanted to maintain their unequal social system and their own privileges at all costs† (Cheever J. and Mason B., 2012). The narrator tells the reader that the woman had walked a half of a mile to get to the church (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 3). The determination of the elderly woman contrasts with the character Thebedi from the previous story in that the unnamed woman does not give in to the white people’s dominating views, as she presses on to the white church. However, Thebedi knew her place within the society that was dominated by the white people. Thebedi accepted that she would not ever be able to fit into the white people’s world and have a future together with Paulus; subsequently, she proceded to marry Njabulo, even though she was carrying Paulus’ child. The next paragraph of The Welcome Table states that even the reverend of the church disapproved of the black woman’s presence (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 4). The people â€Å"stared at her as they came in and sat down near the front†¦the site of her, sitting there somehow passionately ignoring them, brought them up short, burning Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 4). An usher came up to the woman and told her to leave. (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 5). The Welcome Table and Country Lovers both introduce the reader to white people’s prejudiced and biased views toward black people. The black woman was looked down as on outcast in The Welcome Table, much like Paulus’ response when he saw his daughter, a product of a lowly, black servant girl. Paulus’ remark that he wanted to kill himself tells the reader that he thought his situation was so embarrassing and disgraceful that he would rather end his life than be exposed that he was a father to a half black daughter. Paulus wanted to send Thebedi away or have Thebedi give the baby to someone far away- so that no one would know about Thebedi and Paulus’ affair. The white people in The Welcome Table did not  kill anyone as Paulus did but they had hatred in their hearts and they might as well have killed the black woman. They literally picked her up and tossed her back outside into the cold air. The narrator describes the incident as â€Å"It was the ladies who finally did what to them had to be done. Daring their burly indecisive husbands to throw the old colored woman out they made their point†¦Could their husbands expect them to sit up in church with that? No, no, the husbands were quick to answer and even quicker to do their duty (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 5). The next paragraph describes the removal of the woman, â€Å"Under the old woman’s arms they placed their hard fists†¦Under the old woman’s arms they raised their fists, flexed their muscular shoulders, and out she flew through the door, back under the cold blue sky (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 6). The narrator explains that the woman had been singing in her head when she was rudely interrupted and thrown out of the church (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 7). This woman was singing. She had joy in her heart. She was daring and brave to come to the white people’s church but it should not have been a risk. It’s God’s people who are supposed to be lovable and accepting towards people-all people of every race, color, and tribe. The use of the third-person omniscient point of view engages the reader to feel the discomfort and the agitation towards the biased white people who threw someone out of the church simply because of the color of a person’s skin. It is one of the most disgraceful and wrong sins church people could commit. The narrator states that the woman looked down the highway and saw Jesus himself approaching her (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 8). The white people met together for church meeting in their best Sunday clothes, most likely carrying their bibles and sang of God’s love, yet God was not in their church. God was with the black woman and showed compassion by sending His Son Jesus to meet the woman and comfort her in her time of need. As Jesus approached the woman, he simply stated, â€Å"Follow Me† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 10). The author must have known about the bible because Jesus told his disciples many times throughout the bible to follow him. Jesus also stated, â€Å"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me† (John 10:14) and â€Å"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,  and they follow me† (John 10:27). The words, Follow Me were very appropriate for this story. The woman gladly followed Jesus. The narrator states, â€Å"Jesus gave her one of his beautiful smiles and they walked on. She did not know where they were going; someplace wonderful, she suspected. The ground was like clouds under their feet, and she felt she could walk forever without becoming the least bit tired (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 11). Not only is the woman walking side by side by Jesus, she is strengthened and her energy is renewed. The character, Njabulo in Country Lovers can be compared to the loving father like figure Jesus was to the old woman in The Welcome Table. Both Njabulo and Jesus met the needs of those around them. Njabulo was a great provider and bought several of the babies’ needs from his small income earned on the farm and was a great support to Thebedi throughout the story. Jesus accepted the elderly black woman and was everything she needed, taking care of all her needs. Alice Walker, the author of The Welcome Table, has dedicated her entire life in helping people. She has been very active in the Civil Rights Movement, promoting equal rights for black people (Jokinen 2006, p.1). She has also been an activist for the women’s movement, anti-apartheid movement, anti-nuclear movement, and has opposed female genital mutilation (Jokinen 2006, p.1). Walker has received many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for her novel, The Color Purple, the Lillian Smith Award, The Rosenthal Award, the Front Page Award for Best Magazine Criticism, and the Townsend Prize and Lyndhurst Prize (Jokinen 2006, p.1). In the story, Country Lovers, the character Paulus was also educated and could have been influential in his community as an activist for black people but Paulus was more concerned about his social status. The thought of having a biracial child was degrading and unthinkable to Paulus. There has been recent attention to biracial identities in America. Kelly Rockquemore and David Brunsma teamed up together to write Beyond Black; Biracial Identity in America (Harris 2003, p. 436). The two authors presented a new approach to studying biracial profiles, arguing that previous projects by others assumed that all biracial individuals thought of themselves as merely biracial but, in reality, biracials claim they think of themselves as always white, always  black, sometimes white, sometimes black, or even raceless (Harris 2003, p.436). One could suspect that biracial studies as the ones conducted by Rockquemore and Brunsma would promote black and white people to live together in peace, merging communities, families, and hopefully, churches. South Africa, the setting of the story, Country Lovers, has actually had to address the issues of racism and has made changes to its government to promote equal rights among the people. In 1994, South Africa adopted a democratic form of government (Lefko-Everetti, 2012, p. 69). The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, made into law in 1996, states â€Å"full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms’ and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity and gender† (Lefko-Everetti, 2012, p. 69). It has been said that non-racialism was one of the key founding values in making the new Constitution (Lefko-Everetti, 2012, p.79). Lefko-Everetti adds that, â€Å"the goal of pursuing a non-racial society accepting of diversity is embodied in the Constitution and continues to be embraced by many South Africans† (Lefko-Everetti, p.79). Authors Alice Walker and Nadine Gordimer have dedicated themselves for fighting for active rights of the people. Both authors have been awarded with numerous awards and have been recognized publicly for their written works against racism. Many other authors have written about racism and have joined their efforts with Walker and Gordimer to promote peace among mankind and to recognize that every individual deserves to be respected and not to be judged upon the color of their skin, nor of their religion preference, or their ethnicity. The stories, The Welcome Table and Country Lovers are prime examples of literary works that point out the sad and ugly realities of racism’s presence in communities. REFERENCES Cheever, J. and Mason, B. (2012) Alice Walker:Fiction and the Human Experience. Retrieved from http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/pardee/li220- 05/protected/lessons/notes/notes6.htm Clugston, R.W. (2010) Journey Into Literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education Inc. Harrris, D.R. (2003) Beyond Black:Biracial Identity in America (review). Social Forces, Volume 82, Number 1, September 2003, pp.436-437. Oxford University Press. Retrieved From Project MUSE at http://muse.jhu.edu Jokinen, A. (1996 ) Anniina’s Alice Walker Page. Retrieved from http://www.luminarium.org Lefko-Everetti, K (2012). Beyond race? Exploring indicators of (dis)advantage to achieve South Africa’s equity goals. Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, Number 79, 2012 pp.69-92. Retrieved from Project MUSE at http://muse.jhu.edu Nobelprize.org (2005) The Nobel Prize in Literature 1991 Nadine Gordimer Biography. Retrieved from www.nobelprize.org/nobel/prize.org/Nobel_prizesliterture/laureaates/ 1991/gordimer-bio.html Nobelprize.org (2007) Nadine Gordimer on racism 10-3-07(shown on YouTube). Retrieved From http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v+VWcxSsd8NsM