Cry the Beloved Country free essay sample

Cry the Beloved Country When the earth’s humans were endowed with that spark of life, that intelligence that enabled them to plan ahead for the future generations of all of the creatures inhabiting the earth, and indeed even the very earth itself, only a few took up the challenge—they have since the â€Å"beginning† been the â€Å"People of the Earth†. Cry the Beloved Country is the story of some of those people who found themselves born to Africa. Alan Paton became their spokesperson the minute he wrote these words: Cry the beloved country, for the unborn child who is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, not stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much. Cry the Beloved Country , page 8 This book touched me deeply for two reasons: Paton’s mastery of the beauty of the written word and because my grandmother was a â€Å"Person of the Earth†. She was born on a different continent to a different piece of earth, but no less a part of the earth. She often quoted her own grandmother who first settled the little farm my grandparents bought when my grandfather came home from WWII, â€Å"This 62 acres is too much to starve on and not enough to make a living. † Yet five generations have persisted, careful stewards of this little piece of earth—our little piece of earth—and its many inhabitants: the little brown earthworms in the soil, the ancient pear tree, the owl nesting in the pine tree†¦. They say that my grandmother was afraid to die, but I knew her to be incredibly emotionally and physically brave. Now I think I know the origin of her fear. She loved the earth too deeply to leave it to the stewardship of others. She said to me as I was pushing her wheelchair on a particularly lovely spring afternoon outside the Alzheimer’s unit to which she had been forcibly assigned, â€Å"I am too sad I will never be a farmer again. † She simply did not want to leave her earth. Paton’s story takes place in South Africa in the 1940s against a backdrop of racial tension stemming from economic and political inequality that has a history dating back to the mid-1600s when the first Dutch settlers arrived in South Africa. Before this time southern Africa was populated only by various African tribal groups. The story of South Africa’s colonization is not so different from the colonization of the Americas. At first the Dutch only wanted to set up bases for trade, not to colonize the country, and they met with little resistance from the original inhabitants. But as more and more Dutch people were born â€Å"to the African earth†, they renamed themselves the Boers, developed the Afrikaans language, and by the mid-1700s were settling deeper and deeper into the native Africans’ country taking over their land. Just like the Native Americans, the African tribes were forced off of their traditional lands, decimated by disease and starvation, and defeated in battle by the much better armed Boers. Arriving in 1795, the British aimed to make South Africa a full-fledged colony. For the next hundred years there followed a series of bloody battles involving the British and the Boers and the Zulus, the Zulus led by the famous warrior-leader Shaka. The next two hundred years were not kind to â€Å"The People of the Earth† on either continent. In the end the British were victorious in South Africa and in 1910 they established the Union of South Africa. Just as in Ireland, India, and throughout the British Empire, colonial rule was brutal and oppressive. In 1913 the Native Lands Act limited the amount of land that black South Africans were permitted to own. As Arthur Jarvis stated in the novel, â€Å"†¦just one-tenth of the land was set aside for four-fifths of the country’s people. † Cry the Beloved Country, page 179. Years of drought, overcrowding on the land, poor farming practices, and the practice of turning a blind eye to their black neighbors’ plight—indeed the failure to even recognize them as fellow humans—forced many black South Africans to migrate to Johannesburg to work in the mines and to find whatever work they could find just to eat. It is into this maelstrom of racial and social upheaval immediately before the 1948 implementation of apartheid when one of the novel’s protagonists, Stephen Kumalo, finds himself forced to travel to Johannesburg to find his son and his sister. A Zulu priest, Kumalo is a quiet, humble, gentle man who has a strong moral value and an abiding faith in God. He is sorely tested when he enters the big city of Johannesburg after living his entire life in his little village of Ndotsheni in the Natal province of eastern South Africa. Those in power, I am sure we would recognize them today, those for whom too much of everything is not enough, were welcoming the huge influx of cheap black labor to keep their gold mines going and the gold prices high. Not being â€Å"People of the Earth†, it never occurred to them to provide adequate housing or indeed any sort of services to villagers flooding into Johannesburg. Naive, hungry, confused village people easily fell prey to the big city â€Å"snake people†. Just like little mice they were taken by the vipers who had been patiently waiting. The â€Å"snake people† always know just which paths their victims will be taking. Sustenance for the body and the soul drives the newcomers to liquor, drugs, sex and finally crime. And even though the white man did not provide other services, they did provide themselves with diligent â€Å"officers of the law†. This was the unfortunate path of Absalom Kumalo, as his father was to learn, who because of his fear and naivete, found himself a prisoner of those officers of the law. A young black priest, Msimangu, who befriended Kumalo upon his arrival in Johannesburg explained to Kumalo the horrible tragedy of Johannesburg (that is Johannesburg even today) very succinctly when he said, â€Å"It suited the white man to break the tribe†¦. But it has not suited him to build something in the place of what is broken. † Msimangu went on to say, â€Å"There are some white men who give their lives to build up what is broken. But they are not enough†¦They are afraid, that is the truth. It is fear that rules this land. Cry the Beloved Country, page 56 As human history goes, not so many years later Robert F. Kennedy would say: â€Å"Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change (Ken nedy). † On the eve of apartheid, debilitated by fear, South Africa’s people found themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of inequality and injustice. I have a pin that reads: If you want peace, work for justice (Paul IV). Sadly, precious little understanding that might lead to peace talks was to be found on either side, and it seemed that the cycle of inequality and injustice would go on forever. Paton could not have known in 1946 when he wrote this book that all men would not be paralyzed by fear, but that courageous men by the name of Mandela, Tutu and others would be born, â€Å"People of the Land†, guardians of their earth, to courageously continue the fight for their beloved country. One cannot examine a peoples’ struggles without examining their belief system, what the white men call religion. The two overriding themes of Cry the Beloved Country are the vicious cycle of inequality and injustice and the role Christianity plays in this injustice. Throughout history Christianity has been a source of comfort for the oppressed, as well as tool for resisting oppressive authority. Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu has played a major role on the worldwide stage in gaining social justice for South Africa’s people. He first gained worldwide attention in 1976 during the Soweto Riots against the government’s use of Afrikaans as â€Å"a compulsory medium of instruction in black school (Miller). † The Soweto protest movement became a massive uprising against apartheid. Many African people have always believed that religion is the only common meeting ground that can prevent a racial explosion of South Africa’s racial tensions. Religion has a dark side. As Arthur Jarvis observed, â€Å"The truth is that our Christian civilization is riddled through and through with dilemma. Cry the Beloved Country, page 187. The history of Christianity is riddled with corruption and instances of blatant social injustice. John Kumalo points out to his brother in Cry the Beloved Country that black priests are paid less than white priests. Paton writes how each day Stephen Kumalo and the other priests staying at the mission house in Johannesburg sit down to ample meals in a nice, clean, well-furnis hed home when just outside their door their people are living in squalor, forced to steal and prostitute themselves for a bite of food and a bit of shelter. Just outside their door their people are desperately trying to numb their consciences and hold back their fear with liquor, drugs, and sex. Through his character, Arthur Jarvis, Alan Paton reveals a universal truth about all â€Å"religion† no less true today than it was in 1946 when he penned the words: We believe in the brotherhood of man, but we do not want it in South Africa. We believe that God endows men with diverse gifts, and that human life depends for its fullness on their employment and enjoyment, but we are afraid to explore his belief too deeply. We believe in help for the underdog, but we want him to stay under. And we are therefore compelled, in order to preserve our belief that we are Christian, to ascribe to Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, our own human intentions, and to say that because He created black and white, He gives the Divine Approval to any human action that is designed to keep black men from advancement. Cry the Beloved Country, page 187 I have always believed that all people are born with a â€Å"God† center—an instinct telling us what is good and what is right. Cry the Beloved Country has made such an impact since it was written because those reading it instinctively recognize that Paton’s words are true and rightwords written for all of earth’s inhabitants no matter their â€Å"religion†. We can deny the truth of Arthur Jarvis’s words, but we cannot ignore them. They tell us the universal truth of human existence on this earth. To quote Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act 2, scene 2 â€Å"Truth will out. † The truth is that our civilization is not Christian (or Muslim or Hindu†¦); it is a tragic compound of great ideal and fearful practice, of high assurance and desperate anxiety, of loving charity and fearful clutching of possessions. Cry the Beloved Country, page 188 Bibliography Callan, Edward. Cry, the Beloved Country: A Novel of South Africa : [a Study]. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991. Giliomee Et. all. The Dutch Settlement. The Dutch Settlement. Accessed March 13, 2013. http://www. sahistory. org. za/print/cape-town/dutch-settlement. Lampure, Kelly. History of Johannesburg. Wikipedia. July 03, 2013. Accessed March 13, 2013. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_Johannesburg. Miller, Lindsay. DesmondTutu. Wikipedia. November 03, 2013. Accessed March 12, 2013. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/DesmondTutu. Shakespear, William. Shakespeare Quotes. Enotes. com. 2013. Accessed March 13, 2013. http://www. enotes. com/shakespeare-quotes. Shillington, Kevin. Timeline of Land Dispossession and Segregation in South Africa 1800-1899 | South African History Online. Timeline of Land Dispossession and Segregation in South Africa 1800-1899 | South African History Online. Accessed March 13, 2013. http://www. sahistory. org. za/topic/timeline-land-dispossession-and-segregation-south-africa-1800-1899.

Othello - Character Analysis Essays - Othello,

Othello - Character Analysis In the play Othello, the character of Othello has certain traits which make him seem naive and unsophisticated compared to many other people. This is why Iago, to get his just rewards uses him as a scapegoat. Iago told Roderigo, " O,sir, content you. I follow him [Othello] to serve my turn upon him "(I, i lines 38-9). Iago is saying, he only follows Othello to a point, and upon reaching it he will not follow him any longer. Iago has opened my eyes to see the real meaning of deceit. No matter what, Iago will try to take advantage of Othello any time and he will be easily lead to believe the lies of Iago. The Moor, as many Venetians call him, is of strong character. He is very proud and in control of every move throughout the play. The control is not only of power but of the sense of his being who he is, a great warrior. In Act I, Othello has a scuffle with Brabantio, who has come to kill him, but before anything could happen Othello said, "Hold your hands, both of you of my inclining and the rest. Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it without a prompter" (I, ii, lines 80-3). The power shown here is quite astounding. The nature of Othello's character is of a dark man. A dark man, not only because he is black, but also because his whole person is very mysterious. He is mysterious in that he believes there is magic brewing everywhere. With this dark side he is also very outgoing, and not very bright. He isn't observant and the schemes of Iago work well on him. Though he doesn't reflect too much on his past, except occasional ventures of wars fought, he does let his emotions run his life. For all the dangers and encounters he has been involved in, this man is still naive of the corruptness of other individuals. Othello has a trusting nature in which he gives it all. He put all his trust in Iago during times of war and during Othello's marriage to Desdemona. This wasn't very bright of Othello, even if he wasn't trusting or more corrupt he still wouldn't realize Iago was lying. Everyone considered Iago as honest, and would be out of character for Othello to believe any different. For example, Othello had told the Duke, "So please your grace, my ancient; A man he is of honesty and trust. To his conveyance I assign my wife, With what else needful your good grace shall think, To be sent after me" (I, iii, lines 284-8). The control over any situation is one Othello's strong characteristics. Through the whole first act you can picture a man so much power and natural leadership and when he changes you cannot believe it. For example, when Lodovico had witnessed Othello hit Desdemona, he said: "Is this the noble Moor whom our full Senate Call all in all sufficient? Is this the nature Whom passion could not shake? whose solid virtue The shot of accident nor dart of chance could neither graze nor pierce" (IV, i, lines 264-8)? While Iago, being the honest man he is, answers: "He's that he is, I may not breathe my censure. What he might be (if, what he might, he is not) I would to heaven he were" (IV, i, lines 270-2). Another place where Shakespeare shows Othello taking control over a situation is when Cassio and Montano are fighting after Roderigo antagonized him. These words Othello said are important now, but they will be more important later when he is alone with Desdemona in their bedroom. He will say: "Now, by heaven, My blood begins my safer guides to rule, And passion, having my best judgement collied, Assays to lead the way. If I once stir Or do but lift this arm, the best of you Shall sink in my rebuke" (II, iii, lines 203-8). You must feel sorrow for Othello because with all the power he has and the endless trust he gives, you try to reach out and show him the truth. By having his ancient or friend, Honest Iago bring

Your Personalized MBA Essay Sample

Your Personalized MBA Essay SampleDoes your MBA Essay Sample includes a major section on your strengths and weaknesses? The fact is, many people know this is a very important part of the application process. Unfortunately, it is often the case that many of these students find it almost impossible to show these aspects to their prospective employers.In fact, many job applicants have to contend with questions such as: What led you to the MBA program? What career objectives did you set for yourself after you graduated? And how much experience do you have in the business sector?Fortunately, those who are applying for jobs in the business world are now realizing that there is no reason why they can't be as open and honest as possible. And that is why MBA Essay Sample Tips have been produced to help you present this information in the most professional way possible.For example, you can include a 'Strengths and Weaknesses' section in your MBA Essay Sample. These types of sections can help g et your attention and can motivate you to put in the extra effort necessary to create a strong application.But these sections should also focus on the less obvious strengths and weaknesses that are common to all candidates. You don't want to spend too much time on the more 'unique' problems that only your candidacy presents. Rather, you should concentrate on what sets you apart from others.But this does not mean that you should eliminate any accomplishments you may have had while in school and on campus as recent graduates. Instead, you should make sure that the emphasis is put on things that might actually be unique or unusual to you.As a student preparing for your MBA Essay Sample, you should not leave any doubt about whether or not you can successfully complete a degree program. The sooner you can manage to accomplish this, the better your chances will be for success.So keep the 'Strengths and Weaknesses' section of your MBA Essay Sample handy, and start preparing for your next s tep in life. You'll be glad you did.

Common Job Interview Questions for ESL Learners

Common Job Interview Questions for ESL Learners The first impression you make on the interviewer can decide the rest of the interview. It is important that you introduce yourself, shake hands, and be friendly and polite. The first question is often a breaking the ice (establish a rapport) type of question. Dont be surprised if the interviewer asks you something like: How are you today?Did you have any trouble finding us?Isnt this great weather were having? This type of question is common because the interviewer wants to put you at ease (help you relax). The best way to respond is in a short, friendly manner without going into too much detail. Here are some examples correct responses: Common Interview Questions -  First Impressions Interviewer: How are you today?You: Im fine, thank you. And you? OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: No, the office isnt too difficult to find. OR Interviewer: Isnt this great weather were having?You: Yes, its wonderful. I love this time of year. OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: No, the office isnt too difficult to find. Here are some examples of incorrect responses: Interviewer:  How are you today?You:  So, so. Im rather nervous actually. OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: As a matter of fact, it was very difficult. I missed the exit and had to return via the highway. I was afraid I was going to be late for the interview. OR Interviewer: Isnt this great weather were having?​You: Yes, its wonderful. I can remember this time last year. Wasnt it awful! I thought it would never stop raining! OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: No, the office isnt too difficult to find. Getting Down to Business Once the pleasant beginnings have finished, its time to begin the real interview. Here are a number of the most  common questions  that are asked during the interview. There are two examples of excellent replies given for each question. Following the examples, you will find a comment describing the type of question and important things to remember when answering that type of question. Interviewer:  Tell me about yourself.Candidate:  I was born and raised in Milan, Italy. I attended the University of Milan and received my masters degree in Economics. I have worked for 12 years as a financial consultant in Milan for various companies including Rossi Consultants, Quasar Insurance and  Sardi  and Sons. I enjoy playing tennis in my free time and learning languages. Candidate:  Ive just graduated from the University of Singapore with a degree in Computers. During the summers, I worked as a systems administrator for a small company to help pay for my education. Comment:  This question is meant as an introduction. Do not focus too specifically on any one area. The above question will often be used to help the interviewer choose what h/she would like to ask next. While it is important to give an overall impression of who you are, make sure to concentrate on work-related experience. Work related experience should  always  be the central focus of any interview (work experience is more important than education in most  English-speaking  countries). Interviewer:  What type of position are you looking for?Candidate:  Im interested in an entry-level (beginning) position.Candidate:  Im looking for a position in which I can utilize my experience.Candidate:  I would like any position for which I qualify. Comment:  You  should be willing to take an  entry-level  position in an English speaking company as most of these companies expect non-nationals to begin with such a position. In the United States, most companies provide many opportunities for growth, so dont be afraid to start from the beginning! Interviewer:  Are you interested in a full-time or part-time position?Candidate:  I am more interested in a full-time position. However, I would also consider a part-time position. Comment:  Make sure to leave open as many possibilities as possible. Say you are willing to take any job, once the job has been offered you can always refuse if the job does not appeal (not interest) to you. Interviewer:  Can you tell me about your responsibilities at your last job?Candidate:  I advised customers on financial matters. After I consulted the customer, I completed a customer inquiry form and  cataloged  the information in our database. I then collaborated with colleagues to prepare the best possible package for the client. The clients were then presented with a summarized report on their financial activities that I formulated on a quarterly basis. Comment:  Notice the amount of detail necessary when you are talking about your experience. One of the most  common mistakes  made by foreigners when discussing their former employment is to speak too generally. The employer wants to know exactly what you did and how you did it; the more detail you can give the more the interviewer knows that you understand the type of work. Remember to vary your vocabulary when talking about your responsibilities. Also, do not begin every sentence with I. Use the  passive voice, or an introductory clause to help you add variety to your presentation Interviewer:  What is your greatest strength?Candidate:  I work well under pressure. When there is a deadline (a time by which the work must be finished), I can focus on the task at hand (current project) and structure my work schedule well. I remember one week when I had to get 6 new customer reports out by Friday at 5. I finished all the reports ahead of time without having to work overtime. Candidate:  I am an excellent communicator. People trust me and come to me for advice. One afternoon, my colleague was involved with a troublesome (difficult) customer who felt he was not being served well. I made the customer a cup of coffee and invited both my colleague and the client to my desk where we solved the problem together. Candidate:  I am a trouble shooter. When there was a problem at my last job, the manager would always ask me to solve it. Last summer, the LAN server at work crashed. The manager was desperate and called me in (requested my help) to get the LAN back online. After taking a look at the daily backup, I detected the problem and the LAN  was  up and running (working) within the hour. Comment:  This is not the time to be modest! Be confident and  always  give examples. Examples show that you are not only repeating words you have  learned,  but  actually  do possess that strength. Interviewer:  What is your greatest weakness?Candidate:  I am overzealous (work too hard) and become nervous when my co-workers are not pulling their weight (doing their job). However, I am aware of this problem, and before I say anything to anyone, I ask myself why the colleague is having difficulties. Candidate:  I tend to spend too much time making sure the customer is satisfied. However, I began setting time-limits for myself If I noticed this happening. Comment:  This is a difficult question. You need to mention a weakness that is actually a strength. Make sure that you always mention how you try to improve the weakness. Interviewer:  Why  do you want to work for Smith and Sons?Candidate:  After following your  firms  progress for the last 3 years, I am convinced that Smith and Sons are becoming one of the market leaders and I would like to be part of the team. Candidate:  I am impressed by the quality of your products. I am sure that I would be a convincing salesman because I truly believe that the Atomizer is the best product on the market today. Comment:  Prepare yourself for this question by becoming informed about the company. The more detail you can give, the better you show the interviewer that you understand the company. Interviewer:  When can you begin?Candidate:  Immediately.Candidate:  As soon as you would like me to begin. Comment:  Show your willingness to work! The above questions represent some of the most basic questions asked  on any job interview  in English. Probably the most important aspect of interviewing in English is giving detail. As a speaker of English  as a second language, you might be shy about saying complicated things. However, this is absolutely necessary as the employer is looking for an employee who knows his or her job. If you provide detail, the interviewer will know that you feel comfortable in that job. Dont worry  about making mistakes  in English. It is much better to make simple grammar mistakes and provide detailed information about your experience than to say grammatically perfect sentences without any real content.

A critical review on a perspective of globalization Essay

A critical review on a perspective of globalization - Essay Example Nox made at least three key points in the article. Firstly, Nox argued that the booming economies of India and China lifted millions of people from poverty and enumerated data on how economic boom improved the lives of many. Secondly, Nox refuted the view that rich countries have employed protectionism as they destroy the trade barriers of the developing countries. Thirdly, the author pointed out that with the globalisation, multinational corporations â€Å"spread wealth, work, technologies that raised living standards.† Nox also raised several other points but they do not seem directly relevant to the central question of whether globalisation is good or bad for a country. As a concluding statement, Nox argued that â€Å"if globalisation has not adequately worked, it is because there has not been enough of it or countries resisted it.† Let us assess Nox’s article. 2.0. Critique The main strength of the Nox article is that it stood on the correct foot with regard to globalisation. However, Nox’s article has several weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses arose because the Nox article is too short to elaborate on many of the specifics of globalisation. Nevertheless, the fundamental shortcoming of Nox’s work is that it failed to objectively assess based on theory the overall impact of globalisation on the economy and society. At the outset, however, let us categorically identify a very fundamental weakness of the Nox’s article: the work of Nox is a plagiarised work. At least three sentences of the Chew Nox article are word-for-word copies of sentences in two other articles, each of which was written by authors other than Nox. The sentence, â€Å"World poverty and income inequality fell over the past two decades, for the first time in more than a century and a half, thanks to globalisation- the rising density of economic integration across national borders,† for instance, can be found in Wade (2004). Two sentences were li fted word-for-word from the online article of Meredith and Suzanne (2007): â€Å"The booming economies of India and China - the Elephant and the Dragon - have lifted 200 million people out of abject poverty in the 1990s as globalisation took off. Tens of millions have catapulted themselves far ahead into the middle class.† It is highly likely that other portions of the Nox article were also plagiarised. However, the three sentences quoted earlier already provide adequate evidence of plagiarism. Thus, we need not find out if the other sentences of the Nox article were also plagiarised. The data provided suffice to make us conclude that the Nox article is a plagiarised work. Going into the content, we find several other weaknesses of the Nox article. Firstly, Nox concluded that globalisation has its bad and good sides but Nox did not really identify the bad or negatives sides of globalisation. Some of the bad or negative sides of globalisation actually pertain to the employment effects of globalisation. It is a fundamental view in business economics that, assuming there is no intervention from government, trade moves societies into an economic structure in which production and trade become founded on the country’s comparative advantage. In other words, there will be sectors in society that will human and non-human resources in society that will become unemployed as domestic production and international trade are restructured along society’

A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

A Modest Proposal - Essay Example The majority of the people who were born in Ireland were Roman Catholics and they used to work as labors of agriculture or tenant farmers. The owners of the land known as landlords required a high compensation for leasing their land. These landlords were usually Protestants and were considered to be the ruling class. The majority of them were not the natives of Ireland by birth nor did they use to live over there permanently. If some labors lost the job they were doing, their position in a job was soon taken over by the other people who are poor living there. Ireland, at that time had the same level of starvation as it can be seen in today’s third world countries along with no social security system. Swift’s â€Å"Modest Proposal†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s beginning is based upon the real poverty of the people living in Ireland. Swift presented this pamphlet in a sympathetic manner, but provided the facts and details which indicated an excessive population beyond the capacity of the farmers. mentioned about selling children for slavery as a possibility of living, but is against this as nobody will ever buy children who are younger than twelve years of age rather than being against for this possibility due to its cruelty and wrongness.

Family Story Essay Example for Free

Family Story Essay Jayla had a difficult childhood that kept her busy. She was an African American girl living with a working class family. She had problems with her family which even increased when her parents refused to buy her vegetarian meals. She just didn’t like the taste of meat. She had a child at 16 and was forced to raise the child on her own. It was an untimely pregnancy like 88% of teen births in the US. When she was 14, she thought she had found the love of her life in a classmate of hers named Jaylin. She thought that he would help he forget about the troubled relationship with her parents which she had formerly tried by using alcohol. These risk factors increased the chance that she would get engaged in early sex. The relationship was not as great as she had thought. It showed the exchange theory when her boyfriend paid less costs in the relationship and got more rewards which was the opposite for Jayla. This caused her to have dependency issues with him. One of the rewards for Jaylin was sex. Jayla had sex because of a threat to end the relationship because she grew so attached to him that she would rather have sex than have him leave her. They only used barriers like condoms to protect her against pregnancy. She didn’t have as much of a problem with having it after a while because she was told by her parents if she was going to have sex to use protection which is common for most parents. Their attitudes demonstrated the permissiveness with affection category of Ira Reiss’ four categories. In August Jaya gave birth to her daughter who she named Rain because the rain was the only thing that seemed to calm her down after a long fight with her parents. This made Rain a part of the 39. % of unmarried births in the US. After Rain was born, it didn’t get much easier for Jayla. Her mother had forced her to take care of the child on her own without any help from other family. She was forced to drop out of high school to take care of Rain. Shortly after giving birth, Jaylin left because he said it was too much work for him to be a father. This left Jayla devastated and made her one of the 9. 9 million single mothers in the US. She faced responsibility overload trying to have enough money to pay for Rain’s needs as a child. She also had to contend with emotional overload because she didn’t have enough time to focus on her own needs. She dealt with task overload because she had to do the work of two parents almost by herself. She started going to church with Rain which is where she lost her dependency issues and it helped her refrain from sexual activity. This also made her mind more expressive which is the norm for females. Aiden’s childhood was also troubled. He was an only child who lived with a fairly wealthy family. His parents focused more on their work than they did on him. Also the family was moving constantly from place to place because of his father’s job. Aiden never had enough time to make close friendships with people because of this frequent moving around. Both of these factors caused him to develop emotional loneliness which is fewer intimate relationships than desired. This loneliness made him focus on people and their reactions which interested him. His mind mainly focused on logic and reasoning which is the average for males. When he went to college he started his studies in sociology to continue his interest in the interactions between people. This loneliness went away during college when he started going to church and interacted with fellow Christians. This church was where he met Jayla. When Jayla and Aiden met, they both could feel a connection between them. It helped their growing relationship that they were both androgynous which means they take on both feminine and masculine traits. This is because it increased their intimacy with more love, affection, and attachment to one another. They got married two and a half years after they started dating. This early marriage is quite rare nowadays. Their gender roles in the family skewed some from traditional views. Both of them helped raised the children, worked for a living, and took care of the trailer. The fact that both of the parents worked made it unlike a monolithic family. Jayla wanted to extend the family early because she wanted to have children while she had healthy eggs and have more energy to keep up with them. Her fertility was better because she was a vegetarian so it increased by eating proteins from plants and not animals. Eleven months after they were married Jayla gave birth to her second child, a baby boy named Kyle. Their relationship didn’t come without its share of problems. A while into their relationship they noticed people border patrolling against them. People were treating them like they were abnormal just because they were an interracial couple. Their relationship seemed even more abnormal because it was a white man with a black woman. Later on, Aiden was arrested for assault on Jayla’s supervisor for sexually harassing her. Her supervisor was not charged with anything because harassment is in the eye of the beholder and co-workers saw no harm in what the supervisor was doing. They just believed that Aiden was overreacting. Even worse, he lost his job as a researcher at a local university because of that. Fortunately, Jayla had completed her GED a month before this happened and was starting a full-time job to replace her part-time one. While Aiden was looking for a job, the systems theory started showing in the family. The family could not go eat out as much, everyone had to eat less expensive food, be careful how many resources they used, and buy fewer luxuries. Early in their marriage while Kyle was still very young Jayla and Aiden had intimacy problems because they forgot that they were partners before they were parents. (Pierce) They had gotten so caught up in taking care of their children that they lost sight of their own relationship with one another. They overcame this obstacle after a while. Despite their problems, Jayla and Aiden grew even closer together. They lived in what Levinger described as a full-shell marriage that was fulfilling and strong. They showed the symbolic interaction theory by being able to interpret each other’s verbal and non-verbal symbols to one another. For example, they knew when each other was â€Å"in the mood† by Aiden wanting to go to bed early and Jayla twisting her hair around her finger and constantly looking at Aiden with a smile. They would have the occasional argument, but it never became anything serious. Their arguments were never seen as a problem because it is a myth that a happily married couple doesn’t have conflict. They indulged in what they didn’t have in common as much as what they had in common. They were both surprised by how different their dreams were. Aiden’s dreams were more like action films while Jayla’s focused more on love and family. It made for very interesting conversations in their day-to-day lives. Raising children and getting older posed some adventures of its own. Both children were raised in the normal behaviors for their sex. Rain was given dolls to play with including baby dolls allowed her to pretend to be a mother. Kyle, on the other hand, was encouraged to play outside and his scrapes and bruises were not treated like a big deal which toughened him up. Conflict from within the family expanded with grandchildren because, as Durkheim says, it had become more heterogeneous. The family became more of a group of diverse individuals. Jayla was disappointed that Rain had a child before getting married which is a risk factor for a child born to a teen mother. Jayla was relieved that the father stayed with her and eventually married her. As they got even older, Aiden had to start using Viagra because his refractory period was getting to be too long that he could not have sex with Jayla as frequently as they both wanted. Though they both had their share of problems, they had a very long and successful marriage. Both of them lived well into their eighties, happy and in love.