Discrimination is a Virtue Essay -- Robert Keith Miller Essays

Discrimination is a Virtue In the next few paragraphs I will critique the rhetorical effectiveness of Robert Keith Miller’s essay, Discrimination is a Virtue. In his essay Miller tries to redefine the word discrimination. I will evaluate the effectiveness of his argument, and suggest different elements he could have incorporated or deleted to make his paper more effective. Overall, Miller gets his point across and enlightens the reader, but I do not believe he had a goal in writing this to make any tangible changes. The first aspect of this text that diminishes the credibility of the essay, is the fact that the only thing the reader knows about the author, is that his name is Robert Keith Miller. No additional background information is supplied to let the reader know if Miller has any authority on the topic. It is unknown if he is in a minority, if he has been traditionally well educated, or if he is just an observant man who is able to convey his observations through words. The topic that he chose to write on however, is obvious to anyone who is willing to open their eyes. Miller explains to the reader that the word discrimination is no longer used in the context that it was originally meant, but instead is now used to negatively define differences. He expands on this idea, highlighting the fact that our society tries to pretend that these differences don’t matter, when they clearly do. Miller doesn’t seem to have a specific intended audience, instead he seems to be addressing Ame rican society as a whole. He makes the essay accessible to everyone by siting numerous different examples and short parables. This was an effective technique for the beginning of the essay because it drew in the readers attention. Miller ... ...ph, which focuses on politics is the weakest of the three. Miller uses all generalizations in his argument that the voting population is faced with too many options, and too little information. Yet again he makes a valid point, but like the candidates he is criticizing, he fails to back it up. Miller brings up two very good points in this essay, the misuse of the word discrimination and Americans refusal to see differences in our society. He is criticizing a trait that many people in America have, and because of this negative reflection Miller needs to back up his conclusion with solid evidence. If Miller had chosen one of the three examples to expand on, his paper would have had more authority. As it is, Discrimination is a Virtue, brings up ideas that really should be expanded on to make our country a better place, but on its own fails to convince the reader.

Of Mice and Men – Why Curley is Intimidating?

In the book, Of Mice and Men, Curley is the antagonist who creates problems for George and Lennie. He is a pugnacious man who is small in stature. Curley has a Napoleonic complex and tries to compensate for his small size by fighting with people who are larger than him. This makes him feel bigger. The reason he is able to intimidate everyone by fighting, is that he has power over everyone. Being the boss’ son he has no fear of punishment and is able to do anything with impunity.He uses his freedom as an advantage, while he can fight someone and not get into any trouble the other person will and will not fight back. Lastly, he has an excuse to fight; Curley is small and if he thinks someone bigger than him is intimidating he can fight them. The main reason Curley is able to intimidate everyone is because he can do anything without the fear of punishment. Curley is the boss’ son and has a high power over the other workers. He is able to pick a fight without the punishment of losing a job.Curley’s freedom is intimating to other people, they know that Curley is able to do anything to them, and with his aggressive personality they are afraid that he could do something very severe. Most people like Curley will bluff and say they would fight, but with Curley the other people know he will do it. This lack of restrictions is a reason to fight more; since there is no punishment he does it more. Curley, with his ability to do anything with impunity will cause great hardship for both Lennie and George.Curley is very intimidating to everyone because he has the advantage of freedom. Not only that he can do anything he wants without a consequence, but the other person cannot do anything back to him. The other people know that even if Curley fights them they cannot fight back in fear of trouble. He can threaten other people by trying to get them fired. For example, George is afraid that Curley will pick a fight on Lennie and when Lennie fights back they wi ll lose their job. Not only are people afraid of losing their jobs, but they are afraid because there are many people on Curley’s side.In the book, Candy says â€Å"S’pose Curley jumps a big guy an’ licks him. Ever’body says what a game guy Curley is. And s’pose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then ever’body says the big guy oughtta pick somebody his own size, and maybe they gang up on the big guy. † This gives him a sense of power, he feels bigger because people are afraid to even throw a punch at him. With Curley around the ranch it will be very hard for George and Lennie to keep their jobs. Curley is intimidating to both George and Lennie, mainly because he finds any excuse to fight with them.Curley always got â€Å"a chip on his shoulder,† he is looking for any excuse to engage in a conflict. For example, when he sees Lennie, he gets mad at wants to fight. He uses Lennie’s large build as a reason to â€Å"sc rap†. Even George wonders, â€Å"What the hell’s he got on his shoulder? Lennie didn’t do nothing to him.† It turns out Curley just thinks Lennie is intimidating. George is also afraid that Curley’s wife will create problems. George has to guard Lennie from her or Curley could use her as an excuse to fight with him, even though Curley’s wife is a flirtatious woman.Curley can create many excuses and all of them are valid because of his high power. All the reasons that Curley is able to intimidate people with, are tied in with power. With power comes impunity, and being the boss’ son gives him the freedom to do anything without consequence. Since people are afraid to start a conflict with him, because of fear of punishment, Curley feels a sense of power over other people. Lastly all the excuses Curly makes are valid because of his power. Curley uses his authority in a way that intimidates everyone.

Gandhi s Self Awareness And Courage - 1977 Words

For Mahatma Gandhi self-awareness, humility and courage are the main virtues of Hinduism. Gandhi is extremely self-aware he â€Å"know[s] he fails often† whether â€Å"consciously, more often unconsciously† and he is â€Å"painfully aware of [his] feelings.† Self-awareness, to Gandhi is the only way he is able to become non-violent, because it is a constant process. As Gandhi continues on the path of non-violence, he knows he will make mistakes. He believes that humility is one way to receive â€Å"true guidance by God.† Humility is accepting that you don’t have all the answers, and trusting that, if you are patient, God will show you the way. It is about being humble before God. By picking the path of non-violence as the â€Å"rule and breadth† of his life, Gandhi exhibits courage. Non-violence is not a cowardly path, or an easy one, â€Å"its practice requires fearlessness and courage of the highest order.† In fact, â€Å"non-viole nce in its dynamic condition means conscious suffering† (Gandhi, 54). Gandhi is consciously suffering as he practices non-violence because not only is he suppressing his own response, as a human being with emotions, to injustice he is also dealing with bringing others to the practice of non-violence by putting himself in harm’s way. The passage above discusses some of the major ideas in Hinduism without naming them explicitly. For instance, in Hinduism, one’s main goal is to perform one’s actions or works with one’s duty in mind. The varna that one is born into or theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Civil-Rights Movements Of Gandhi And Malcolm X879 Words   |  4 Pagesoverlooked flaw or exaggerated prejudice against a certain situation. 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