Does drug treatment reduce recidivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Does drug treatment reduce recidivism - Essay Example Victim awareness, monetary penalties, and juvenile supervision interventions are rating poorly on their effectiveness (MacKenzie, 2006). Guts feelings help inform decisions about many things in life and experience helps sharpen gut feelings. The experience of community correctional officials enables them to infer about the effectiveness of certain aspects of correctional programs. Even so, there are elements about correctional programs that gut feelings cannot capture accurately and that need the input of research. Research provides scientific ways of testing the effectiveness and flaws of a correctional program (Craig et. al., 2013). An added advantage with research is that the findings can be replicated to test for their reliability, something that is difficult with gut feelings. Research uses empirical ways of generating knowledge whereas gut feelings use intuition. Overall, both research and gut feelings are important and community correctional officials should combine them in assessing the effectiveness of a program (White et. al., 2008). The inputs of the two should complement each

The Speeches Of Acts Essay Example for Free

The Speeches Of Acts Essay The two-volume set of Luke-Acts was an ancient scholars attempt at defending Christianity as not only a religion, but also as a way of life. While the first volume focused on the life of Jesus, the second volume, focused on the origins of the Christian Church. The speeches found within the book of Acts are ordered in such a way to plainly demonstrate how Christianity progressed from one mans idea into the dominant religion of the time period in which Acts was written. Each speech given is representative of a theme found in the book of Acts. When studying the speeches from Acts, it is important to keep the broader context in mind. The book of Acts itself is about the spread of Christianity and its church throughout the Roman world. It was the story of a spiritual conquest that eventually spread throughout the entire known world. And as with any epic story, it was made up of many smaller stories. Most of these stories found in the book of Acts revolved around a singular speech or occasionally, a group of speeches. In the second volume of Luke-Acts, these speeches make up about one quarter of the entire text. By inserting these unbroken speeches into the book of Acts, the author was able to convey a sense of immediacy that did not normally exist to the reader. When these speeches are observed in their larger context however, they begin to take on an entirely new meaning and intent. This large group of speeches can easily be sorted into groups and themes by looking at who was orating, what their intent was, who the audience was, and what the audiences reactions were. Because Acts was about the spread of Christian Church, the speakers were predominately Jewish-Christians. Paul and Peter orated the majority of the speeches although they are only part of the many Christian advocates who were spreading the Christian message during this time period. Throughout the time frame that book of Acts hopes to frame, many things were happening that were not recorded. It is important to realize that every recorded event portrayed in Acts, surely created Christianesque ripples that flowed continuously outward from the apostles and other devout followers. Many times, Christian speeches and activities often spurred other speeches that were orated by non-Christians. These non-Christian speeches were mainly negative to the Christian cause and were often preemptive to floggings and violence. Even though these outlying speeches are legitimate, the authors function of these speeches remains fundamentally different than that of the pro-Christian speeches found in Acts. Therefore they should be viewed as mere reactions and complements to the Christian speeches rather than speeches themselves. Many of these negative reactions were spurred when Christian speakers attempted to convert devout Jews into Christians, especially early on in Acts. For example, when Paul spoke to a Sadducees council early on in the book of Acts, the reaction the apostles received was not only a speech negating their preaching, but also a beating at the hands of the council. (Acts 5.29-5.40). The apostles were not deterred by these set backs posed by the council however, and they became more persistent in their witnessing to Jews and non-Jews alike. One method used to persuade Jews to cross over into Christianity was the implementation of history in their arguments and speeches. In Acts 13.16-13.41 Paul explained Jesus Jewish origins and how the same Jews that shared his ancestry had eventually rejected him. This message was extremely effective to small groups of Jews, but when a large group amassed during the next Sabbath day, Paul and the apostles were inevitably rejected once again by the Jews. The apostles were not content with speaking only to Jews because in their opinion, God was universal in his love of humans. They hoped to eventually unify Gentiles and Jews under one religion in which all were equal. In hopes of spreading this message to potential Gentile converts Paul and Barnabas traveled to the town of Lystria and spoke to the inhabitants. (Acts14.8-14.20). By healing a crippled man in public, Paul and Barnabas gained the attention of many Gentiles, who immediately regarded them as the Hellenistic Gods Zeus and Hermes. After convincing the masses about the way of Christianity, they traveled outwards from Jerusalem still into yet another Gentile town called Derbe. This continual path away from Jerusalem into the outer world paralleled what the apostles were attempting to do with Gentiles. By allowing the Gentiles to maintain their customs and culture, the way of worshipping the one Christian god became more appealing to the majority of them than pertaining to the typical Roman Gods. The only thing that Christian law required of Gentiles and Jews was belief in the idea that repentance of sin resulted in the forgiveness of God. As the apostles continued to journey outwards away from Jerusalem, the notion of the Christian church spread with them. In some cases the word of Christianity spread faster than the apostles. When Paul traveled to Ephesus in Acts 19.1 for example, he was met with disciples of Christianity who had been baptized in the name of John, but not yet of Jesus. After Paul had spent considerable time in Ephesus, he began his journey back towards Jerusalem. Once Paul was back in Jerusalem, the style of speeches drastically changed from evangelistic to defensive. Now that Paul was back in the midst of the hub of Jewish activity, he was constantly questioned, attacked, provoked, and arrested. When Paul went on trial before King Agrippa in Acts 26.1-26.32 his speech had a different message than most of his previous ones. Paul attempted to pacify his accusers by reverting to his Jewish roots and demonstrating that he had disobeyed no laws while within the temple. Paul summed up his experiences with the Jews and Gentiles and eventually was allowed freedom once again. The purpose for Pauls arrest in the context of Acts, was to not only sum up the previous themes found in the volume, but to also demonstrate the justification of unity between Jews and Gentiles under the same God. After this was accomplished, Paul was allowed his freedom so that he could continue his travels and repeat all of the subsequent themes that came with his earlier travels. Once Paul was in Rome, he continued his preaching to the Gentiles. While in Rome, he was subject to much of the same treatment he had found elsewhere in the world. On one hand, much praise and jubilation followed him, but on the other, he was also eventually persecuted and sent to jail. He was eventually forced to basically repeat his earlier apologies and arguments to justify his freedom. As before, he was allowed release so he could continue preaching and teaching in Rome. (Acts 28.17 28.28) To summarize the book of Acts, once Paul had conquered Jerusalem in a spiritual sense, he set out to conquer Rome as well. These cities represent both the Jewish capital of the world and the Gentile capital of the world. Upon implementation of Christianity of any giving town, the apostles set out to other towns and cities in order to give their powerful speeches, which signified so much more than the words they contained. Works Cited Ehrman, Bart D., The New Testament: A Historical Introduction To The Early Christian Writers. New York: Oxford, 2000. Harvey, A. E., The New English Bible: Companion To The New Testament. Cambridge: Oxford, 1970. Meeks, Wayne A., et al. ed. The Harper Collins Study Bible. Vol. 44. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. Stendahl, Krister. Paul Among Jews And Gentiles And Other Essays. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973.

Antigone

Antigone In the play Antigone, written by Sophocels, there are many complications. The most important event is the killing of Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices. It was the main inspiration for the whole play. It all starts after King Oedipus was exiled from the city of Thebes after he learns that he has committed incest and patricide, his younger son Eteocles declares to be the king, exiling his older brother Polyneices. Polyneices then attacks Thebes with a huge army, but none of the two brothers wins the war because they both kill each other in combat. Creon then declares to be the king of Thebes, and he decides that Eteocles should be buried and honored as a hero while Polyneices body shouldn’t be honored, but it should be thrown in the streets of Thebes left for dogs and birds to be eaten in humiliation. Creon decides that the punishment for trying to bury the body of Polyneices will be death. Antigone, Eteocles and Polynices’ sister, insists that her br others body must be buried so that his spirit can rest in peace, in spite of the cautious advice of her younger sister, Ismene. She goes to the battleground, pouring sand over Polyneices body and performing burial rites. After that the guards discovers that someone was trying to bury the body, they uncover the dust from the body, and they starts to look for who does that. Antigone comes back insisting on burying her brother’s body .She finally allows herself to be captured after coming out of hiding when some guards try to uncover the body again, and a rebellious Antigone is brought to Creon. He decides to execute only Antigone since Ismenes is innocent and Antigone is sent outside of Thebes to starve to death in a cave. Even though Antigone was nothing but a girl left alone, she faces many obstacles by herself to do what she believes it is right without any concerns about the consequences. The first obstacle that faces Antigone was her sister, Ismene. They were the only two family members left after their father’s death and their two brothers’ shameful war against each other and killing each other in the battlefield. Instead of supporting her sister, and trying to keep what’s left of the family together, Ismene abandons Antigone and tries to convince her to obey the king’s orders. The author quotes Ismene saying â€Å"The worst of all if we violate the laws and override the fixed decree of the throne, its power- we must be sensible. Remember we are women, we’re not born to contend with men† (Sophocles 1144). It is clear that Ismene is so frightened of Antigone’s decision to bury her brother Polyneices. It is also clear how Creon, the king, put his fear in his people’s minds so he will has full control over his kingdom. Antigone doesn’t worry about Creon’s punishment and decides to continue. The autho r quotes her answering her sister â€Å" So, do as you like, whatever suits you best- I’ll bury him myself. And even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory.† (Sophocles 1144). This quote shows how determined Antigone is to bury her brother without having any concerns about the result. It also shows how she considers the death a glory to her for doing what’s she believes is right. She considers honoring her brother by giving hem the proper burial is her obligation. Antigone overcomes this obstacle by excusing her sister from joining her to bury their brother. The second obstacle that faces Antigone is the king himself. He wanted to force his authority and power over the kingdom after the disturbance that happened in Thebes. He wants his orders and commands to be followed by everyone. Creon creates a monster of himself to scare his people; he likes power, authority, and to be obeyed. That’s why everybody was scared and afraid to disobey Creon except Antigone. She did what’s right; she wasn’t even afraid when the guards arrested her, she bravely surrendered to them (1152). Creon felt that he lost his power and authority once Antigone disobey his orders. Creon says, â€Å"This girl was an old hand at insolence when she overrode the edicts we made public. But once she’d don it- the insolence, twice over- to glory in it, laughing, mocking us to our face with what she’d done† (Sophocles 1154). He considers Antigone’s act an insult to the king without considering that she wants to give her brother the proper burial to honor him as prince. That explains why he was so harsh in his verdict to execute her by starvation. Antigone knows that she is doing what’s right and she surrenders to her destiny to be killed. On the other hand she seems to refuse to be killed by Creon, that’s why she killed herself as if she considers killing herself more honor than Creon kills her. The final obstacle that faces Antigone is her lover, Haemon, who was Creon’s son and who was very sad that he’s going to lose his pride. Antigone thinks about her lover. She doesn’t want to die and leave him because she loves him so much. She is between two difficult decisions. One of them is if she decides to step on what she believes in and forget about her honored brother to stay with her lover, the other decision is to leave her lover and to die for what she believes in. Antigone doesn’t think about her happiness; she rather dies because of what she believes in than stays with Haemon. She overcomes this obstacle by deciding to kill herself. Haemon, on the other hand, was used by Gods to punish Creon for his acts. He was not convinced with his father’s actions. Haemon states, â€Å"I see my father offending justice-wrong† (Sophocles 1161). He continues his conversation asking â€Å"Protect your rights? When you trample down the honors of the gods?† (Sophocles 1611). Haemon realizes the fact that his father doesn’t realize, is that he dishonors the gods. Haemon wants to explain to Creon that no matter what happened don’t disobey or disrespect the gods. Another thing Haemon realizes that Creon doesn’t realize that there is more powerful force than Creon’s force which is the gods force. Creon thinks that he has the ultimate power and authority that’s why he can’t see Haemon point of view. Haemon goes to Antigone’s grave and he couldn’t see her kills herself in the front of him, so he kills himself. In the play, Antigone faces a lot of obstacles, and she overcomes them all. She doesn’t give up, and once she feels that the king’s authority will bring her down, she decides to take her own life rather than the injustice system does. She is determining to do what she feels is right, no matter what the laws of the kingdom says. She is motivating by her obligations towards her family, and by her personal beliefs. She first faces her sister who is against her from the beginning, because she is afraid of Creon’s decrees. Antigone excuses her sister from burying her brother with her. Second obstacle Antigone faces is the rigorous king, Creon, who gives his strict orders that whoever bury Polynices will die. Antigone doesn’t care about Creon’s decrees; she knows the consequences will be the death penalty, but she stands bravely in front of Creon. The final obstacle Antigone faces is her lover who is so in love with her and he can’t see her dieing. Antigone also can’t see her lover cries and she can’t leave him as well. This is the most difficult obstacle that faces Antigone. Finally she kills herself when she finds that it’s more honor to kill herself than Creon kills her. Antigone knows that she will die for what she did. She put what she believes in before her and sacrifices her own life to do what’s right.

bible women :: essays research papers

Rebekah   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The values in Genesis are disobeyed by yet another woman who does not conform to the female model of a fertile mother. While fertility is an overriding value in god’s human construct that women in Genesis threaten to undermine women also obstruct the â€Å"natural† course of history which god has set in motion as part of his ideal world. After god reconstructs the world through Noah and then Abraham, the divine element withdraws from the world slightly, and a natural historical course begins to play out through the momentum that god has initiated. The incident in Genesis in which a woman interferes with this momentum involves Rebekah, who intervenes on behalf of her second born son, Jacob. As a result of Rebekah’s manipulative orders, Jacob, the younger son, inherits the divine blessing from Isaac, though it is clear from the text that Jacob’s brother, Esau, had been Isaac’s favored child. Rebekah’s actions are rebellious because they result in the violation of the law of primogeniture that seems to have been the standard practice of inheritance in the book of Genesis. And by reassigning the inheritance, Rebekah threatens to destroy the course of events god has anticipated en route to the creation of his select nation. While the text shows that Rebekah had received a prophecy that â€Å"the older would serve the younger† (25:23), whenever women in Genesis take assertive actions that ramifications, conflict always ensues. Just because Rebekah received a prophecy, there is no indication that sh e was in any position to actively seek its fulfillment. Jacob, as a result of his mother’s initiative, is forced to flee his home for fear that Esau will kill him. The hate between the brothers endures, and just as Sara’s infertility caused family conflict, Rebekah’s actions likewise cause disruption in the house of Isaac and its descendents. Unlike the instances where the men in genesis take the fate of their family’s lives into their own hands under open direction from god, the rare occasions when women, such as Rebekah, take aggressive action, the result is battles and feuds. As in the case of infertility, a women’s inheritance with the divine scheme can be seen as a multiple threat to the thematic framework of Genesis. Rebekah takes assertive, independent action with regard to her family’s development, and this action clearly crosses over the rigid boundaries of the prescribed female role.

Beloved Interpretation

Music, rhyme and rhythm combine together as a means to fortify the impact of words and poetry. In Beloved the poet is able to genuinely express their longing for a lover through the passing of time, and specifically that of seasons.He uses grey, white and dull imagery to portray the lack-lustre of his life in winter due to the deficiency of figurative color as a result of missing his â€Å"Beloved. † It almost seems as if the speaker’s every moment is spent waiting and hoping. Evidently, the love is reciprocated and is extremely deep.The speaker’s use of seasons is a metaphor for time spent with his lover and away from his lover. Everyday life seems monotonous and dull like winter. He has become numb, lost all physical and emotional sensation. On the other hand, being together with his lover is a â€Å"warm wind† and â€Å"no heights could keep [them] from their reach. † The poet’s image of wings, clouds and the sky is another metaphor for en dless possibilities, uncertainties and the hope to achieve unfulfilled aspirations and dreams.Being together allows both of the lovers to live up to their full potential, inspire each other as well as connect on a strong emotional and spiritual level. Time is a recurring and significant element throughout the poem. Time appears to have slowed down significantly because every second, every minute is spent in longing.The fact that â€Å"eternity awaits† indicates that even though being together and in love may be extremely difficult, it is well worth the wait. I chose this poem because it is packed with raw emotion and talks about powerful love that is able to overcome difficult boundaries and circumstances.These lyrics are relatable and invoke a sense of hope within the reader. People tend to look towards books, words, songs and even movies for emotional strength and encouragement.The speaker tells a very personal story and reaches out to not only his lover but also to the rea ders and listeners. The elusive component of time is alluring and appealing; it manages to draw you in. In a way you hope the lovers and reunited. Overall, the poem is whimsical and sincere, making it unique and pleasant to read, and probably even better when set to a tune.

The Reign of Charles V

Charles V reigned over a vast empire in a tumultuous age. The New World was a relatively recent discovery, and several other factors point to the idea that Charles V's reign coincided with a global transition into the modern age. Although Charles V's focus was primarily domestic (in the sense of Europe and the surrounding territory), the meeting of traditional values and modern ideology was one of many issues Charles faced, independence was another. Consolidating and re-consolidating his power was a problem that sapped much of Charles V's, and by extension his empire's, time and resources. From the papacy to the fiercely independent German coalition of prince-states, Charles often to had to take extra measures to enforce his policy in an empire that varied greatly from one polity to the next. Religion was another obstacle faced by Charles. The Protestant Reformation (steeped in the last vestiges of a somewhat anti-clerical Renaissance movement) appealed to many not only as more pious faith, but as a tool to be used for political maneuvering and opposition against an emperor whose motto was â€Å"Further beyond† (in regards to spreading the Christian faith). These concerns coupled with the always-present threat of foreign invasion made ruling over his empire an incredibly demanding and difficult task. Add to that the largely impractical and complex political process of the time, the question of finance, and a peasantry discontent synonymous with the values of the modern age, and you have a long and arduous list of problems faced by Charles. Although Charles the V was focused primarily on reform and maintenance rather than expansion, his conquering of the Aztecs and Incas can be considered brutal success and added greatly to the territory of New Spain. Cultural, economic, and political disparity throughout the empire, the search for financial backing (as well as questionable fiscal habits), foreign threat, and the problem of enforcing his often conventional policy in an era of change make the reign of Charles the V one worth studying. The empire preceded over by Charles encompassed many different cultures and made the vision of one wholly unified political entity hugely unfeasible, â€Å"By tradition he ruled only with the consent of the Imperial Diet, whose sheer size and diversity of interests made agreement almost impossible† (Maltby 22). As heir to not only the Habsburg dynasty, but a host of other territories (some of which his authority was unrecognized), Charles had to undertake the task of administrating over unique polities that themselves had issues administrating. Peasant unhappiness had long been an issue in medieval Europe, and combined with the scarcity of labor (due to the Black Death) peasants took on a new feeling of self-worth and importance. This often culminated in open revolt and passive resistance when the peasant class's demands were discarded as usual. This caused issues in management for the individual polities and on a larger scale for Charles. Charles had to deal with a huge difference in political process between any given polity, from the loose organization of the German States to the Cortes. Charles dealt with this largely on a by-issue basis, choosing to solve one problem at a time. This was in line with Charles's cautious nature, for a decision made to solve one problem could not be considered without regard to how it would affect the others, such is the nature of the interconnected problems facing him. Even unifying factors such as the church had trouble bringing together polities that were more often concerned with individual well being and privilege then with the welfare of the empire. Charles had too many issues too deal with at once, so he employed viceroys (regional governors) as extensions of imperial will. Many of Charles' problems stem from the lack of a unifying force in the empire, as unrealistic as it would be to imagine one at that time. A constant and expensive threat faced by Charles was that of foreign invasion. Charles was faced with defense of a â€Å"Vast patchwork of principalities that were neither geographically contiguous nor similar†¦ in culture or tradition† (Maltby 8). The frequent clashes with France and it's monarch Francis the I mark the most prominent campaign in â€Å"terms of blood and money† (Maltby 32). Charles developed a personal rivalry with Francis as evidenced by his repeated offers to settle huge disputes with a duel. Sometimes called the Habsburg-Valois rivalry, France was located dead in the center of Charles's empire. And with France's resources and military ambition rivaling that of Charles, conflicts between the two were frequent and costly. France's interest in the Italian peninsula fueled it's military conquests and was a continuation of French interest in the area dating back to Charles VIII's invasion in 1494. The French were defeated in 1525 (culminating in Francis's capture and the treaty of Madrid), inconclusively in 1529 (leading to the Treaty of Cambrai), and again inconclusively in 1538 with a truce (although the conflict would later start up with a renewed Frankish-Ottoman alliance). Charles owed much of his military success to his elite corps the tercios, a cohesive combination of â€Å"pikes with shot.. that would dominate European battlefields until the Thirty Years War† (Maltby 40). Some of the war successes and failures during conflict were directly related to advance in technology such as the bastion. Another threat, and one that endangered his very values, was that of the Islamic Ottoman empire. Starting out as one of many Christian raiding advocates of Islam, the Ottoman empire made territorial acquisitions at an alarming rate, especially alarming to the heavily Christian population at the time. The Ottoman empire found an able leader in Suleyman â€Å"The Magnificent† whose campaigns ended twice at Vienna due to logistical reasons. Failure to conquer the entirety of Charles's empire did not stop the sultan from dominating the Mediterranean and also unleashing the pirates upon Charles, some of who caused serious issues for him (Barbarossa) via harassment and guerrilla techniques. Charles's conflict with religion can be seen in his dealings with the Protestant Reformation (and a general anti-clerical position) as well as his subjugation of the papacy. Holding the title of Holy Roman Emperor had personal meaning to Charles, and his actions were often motivated by his desire to advance and protect the Christian faith. He met with opposition by not only the Protestant Reformation, but by a rebellious papacy concerned first with its own survival and second with the Christian faith. Although the papacy under Clement VII was largely pacified by instilling the Medici in Florence, the Reformation was not so easily quieted. The values behind the reformation attracted opportunists, condemners of the church, and peasant revolts alike, but the movement found a special foothold in the Germanic provinces. Besides using the new religion as a means of resisting imperial control, the princes had a more practical motivation, that by breaking with the church they could â€Å"Increase their revenues, strengthen their reserves of patronage, and gain control of†¦ institutions†¦. without alienating their subjects. † (Maltby 49). Actual proponents of the movement believed that it â€Å"offered a truer interpretation of the Gospels than that provided by the traditions of the Old Church† (Maltby 49). Whatever their justification, Charles V adopted a number of different stances concerning the Protestant Reformation. Domestically, the Inquisition was still active, and destroyed Spanish Protestantism (what little there was), and they also persecuted effectively any other movement that strayed from the accepted doctrine of the time. Concerning his less secure territorial acquisitions, Charles's stance ranged from tolerance to viewing Luther's doctrine as â€Å"False† and â€Å"Evil†, but the conflict manifested itself in the struggle between the Protestant formed Schmalkaldic League and Charles. Formed to be a united Protestant front against the still majority Christian Orthodoxy, The League was allowed to exist only as long as Charles was busy with the Ottomans. Once that threat had been neutralized (via treaty), Charles turned his attention elsewhere, namely to what he viewed as religious rebellion, the Schmalkaldic League. Charles, backed by papal troops, eradicated the league (who was plagued by authoritative indecisiveness) in a fashion reminiscent of the crusades. However the ever-present problem of enforcing his policy appeared in Charles's victory over the league. Many of the prince-states that re-converted remained largely protestant in population, placed no constrictions on the spread or practice of the faith, and some outright reverted back to Protestantism. Charles's legacy is often tainted by his fiscal actions. The empire needed mass amounts of money not only to function, but to finance Charles's martial actions. Charles's often depended on the system of redress after compensation, expected donations, and random windfalls. But by far his most relied upon source for money, were the banks. Charles borrowed heavily from many banks to support his endeavors. Often Charles could not repay the loan by the deadline, which led to a slew of re-negotiations, raised interest rates, and fees instituted by the banks to ensure profit. The relationship between them was initially symbiotic. Charles needed money and the banks were happy to profit off of the high interest rates and continued to supply him even when his credit dropped in the later years of his reign. Later in Charles's reign however, the banks realized he was no longer a safe nor profitable investment, which often forced him to resort to coercion to get the necessary funds. The diverse nature of the problems meant that no one solution would encompass the broad spectrum of issues facing Charles and his empire. Ranging from financial troubles, to foreign threat, to having core values that conflict with the changing times of that age, Charles allowed caution and his deep Christian values to guide him through those troubled times until his abdication and retirement to a monastery. Charles' reign certainly had its share of successes and failures, and Charles has been described as â€Å"not quite a good man, and not quite a great man† (Maltby 129), but he is certainly one worth re-examining, even four centuries later.

Discuss the parent and child relationship in essays

Discuss the parent and child relationship in essays Discuss the parent and child relationship in "Snow Falling on Cedars". One of the most important themes in the book "Snow Falling on Cedars" is the parent-child relationship. Parents' believing and past experiences will influence their children, they wish their beliefs can help their child to be a better person who holds his own dignity and values. Each individual's behaviour and their way of thinking or jugdement is therefore, affected directly or sometimes indirectly by their parents' beliefs in this book. In 1954, after passing through the time of World War II, most people were still holding strongly to their traditional thoughts. While her daughters were growing up, Fujiko, Hatsue's mother, was wary of hakujin, the word she used to refer to white Americans. In addition to her past sufferings and experiences in life, she urged her young daughters to follow their Japanese cultural traditions and roles, and did not want to see them act like white Americans. She told her daughters about the Seattle rooms she had cleaned , the sheets on which hakujin had vomit blood, the toilet full of their excrement, etc. Fujiko stressed that her life had long been difficult under the world of hakijin. Fujiko even sent her daughter to Mrs Shigemura, who told Hatsue to avoid white men, claiming that they treated Japanese girls without respect. However, Hatsue, still in her young age of eighteen, with the growth of her own independent thinking and the influence of Western culture from her hakujin school mates, she disagreed the beliefs of her mother, arguing that people should be judged as individuals rather than stereotyped as members of groups. As Hatsue was once crowned as the Strawberry princess, and she was living harmony with her school mates, she thought that her mother was exaggerating, and she did not see any differences between the white and Japanese, she saw herself more America than Japanese. Fujiko did not wish Hatsue to be tainted by t...