coming of age in samoa Essay -- essays research papers

Coming of Age in Somoa Margaret Mead’s â€Å"Coming of Age in Samoa†, which was actually her doctoral dissertation, was compiled in a period of six months starting in 1925. Through it, people were given a look at a society not affected by the problems of 20th century industrial America. She illustrated a picture of a society where love was available for the asking and crime was dealt with by exchanging a few mats. This book helps one to realize the large role played by social environment. One of Mead’s biggest challenges was probably the fact that her fieldwork was done entirely in the Samoan language. In Samoa, few, if any natives spoke English. To get information, Mead spent her time talking to approximately 25 Samoan women. However, she spent much of her focus on two young Samoan women, Fa’apua’a Fa’amu and Fofoa. It is said that one Samoan woman’s life is very much like the next. At the time of her visit to Samoa, Mead, a graduate student was only 23 years old. She was barely older than the girls she interviewed and lovingly called her â€Å"merry companions†. The vision recieved while reading â€Å"Coming of Age in Samoa† is that it is a place of nearly stress free living. The children pass through adolescence without the many pressures put upon teenagers in an industrial America: ...adolescence represented no period of crisis or stress,but was instead an orderly developing of a set of slowly maturing interests and activities (95). According to Mead, families are large, taboos and restrictions are few, and disagreements are settled by the giving of mats. The stresses encountered by American teenagers are unknown to their Samoan counterparts. Mead refers to premarital sex as the â€Å"pastime par excellence† for Samoan youth. She writes that Samoa is a virtual paradise of free love, as the young people from 14 years of age until they are married have nothing on their minds except sex. Of Samoan girls Mead says: She thrusts virtuosity away from her as she thrusts away from her every other sort of responsibility with the invariable comment, â€Å"Laitit a’u† (â€Å"I am but young†). All of her interest is expanded on clandestine sex adventures (33). She explains that growing up can be free, easy and uncomplicated. Romantic love in Samoa is not bound with ideas of monogamy, exclusiveness, jealousy and fidelity as it is in America. Evidently, due to the lack of priva... ...ons. After a girl is eight or nine years old she has learned not to approach a group of older boys. However, when it comes to younger boys, they are taught to antagonize them. The boys are considered â€Å"older† after they have been circumcised. When a girl is looking for her first lover, she looks to an older man, most often a widower or a divorcee. There are two types of sexual relations other than marriage that are recognized by Samoans. These include love affairs between unmarried young people, and also adultery. Although virginity is not expected in girls, Mead claims that it defiantly adds to their attractiveness. Essentially, having sex with a virgin is much more of a feat for a man than sex with a girl who is not. Marriage in Samoa is regarded as a social and economic arrangement in which relative wealth, rank and the skill of both husband and wife must be considered. In conclusion, Margaret Mead’s dissertation on Samoa is still interesting after 75 years. The customs of Samoans, especially those regarding sex are very interesting to people of other cultures. This society rests most of their regard on love and happiness and seem to have been successful in achieving that

The French and Russian Revolutions: Similar? Or Different?

The French Revolution and the Russian Revolution were the same in many ways, but were also different in just as many ways. A king who believed in absolutism, just as France was before the revolution, led Russia; the kings didn't accurately represent their people, nor were they close to them; the middle class (bourgeoisie, in France, Duma, in Russia) wanted recognition; and in both cases, the royal families were executed. There were even more comparisons to the two Revolutions. Both Louis XVI and Nicholas II were absolute rulers. Neither of them wanted to be king. Louis simply wanted a quiet life where he could be tucked in and eat to his delight. He wanted nothing to do with the problems that arose in his reign. It was also his indifference to the crown that caused those problems. Tsar Nicholas also felt that way. Both kings followed their ancestors' rulings. The Bourbons and Romanovs had always ruled their country with a firm, absolute hand. Though they were relatively kind, gentle men, their people did not see it that way. They saw them as uncaring towards their countries and wanted a new monarchy – but without a monarch. They wanted a fair government. France's Revolution followed America's Revolution, their desire for a free, fair Constitution strong. The problems that arose and caused the French and Russian Revolution were many. In both cases, however, it was the starvation and the bitter winter that had taken its toll on the people. A bread riot began in both cases. In the French Revolution, the women marched to Versailles and chased after Marie Antoinette, fixed upon killing her. They then forced the royal family into the Tuilleries Palace in Paris so they could keep a good eye on them. In the Russian Revolution, the women were calmer and simply paraded down the streets on International Women's Day, merely wanting some bread to sate their hunger. Unlike in the French Revolution, soldiers were ordered to shoot at the people in the â€Å"parade. † They disobeyed and instead shot their officers and joined the â€Å"parade. † The middle-class, which had hardly existed in Russia until socialism was introduced, was also a major factor in both Revolutions. In the French Revolution, the middle-class – or bourgeoisie – was practically ignored by Louis XVI, who only gave recognition to the aristocracy. As for Tsar Nicholas, he refused to acknowledge the middle-class, whom was called the Duma. The aristocracy enjoyed their place in society and had no problems with the way things were. The Duma, on the other hand, was disgusted with the way Tsar Nicholas ruled. Their discontent, along with the poor people's, were one of the uprisings that led to the Revolution of 1917. This, too, happened in the French Revolution. The bourgeoisie planned and organized until striking at the monarch and setting up their own government. The Duma had set up what was called the Provisional Government on March 12, 1917, which â€Å"established equality before law; freedom of religion, speech, and assembly; the right of unions to organize and strike; and the rest of the classic liberal program. † The government in which the bourgeoisie had set up was identical. The Provisional Government lasted only a short time before Vladimir Lenin, an extreme socialist, overthrew it, giving this proclamation: â€Å"To the Citizens of Russia! The Provisional Government has been deposed. State power has passed into the hands of the organ of the Petrogad Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies – the Revolutionary Military Committee, which heads the Petrogad proletariat and the garrison. The cause for which the people had fought, namely, the immediate offer of a democratic peace, the abolition of landlord property-rights over the land, workers' control over production, and the establishment of Soviet power – this cause has been secured. Long live the revolution of workers, soldiers, and peasants! † Conclusively, though the French Revolution and Russian Revolution had many similarities, it also had many differences. Both Revolutions ended in both happiness and sadness. There were two sides to each of the Revolutions. To this day, many see Tsar Nicholas and Louis XVI as men that had ended in a position they were not destined for and paid with their life and their family's for that.

Example Problem of Enthalpy Change of a Reaction

This example problem shows how to find the enthalpy for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Enthalpy Review You may wish to review the Laws of Thermochemistry and Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions before you begin. Enthalpy is a thermodynamic property that is the sum of the internal energy that is added to a system and the product of its pressure and volume. Its a measure of the systems capacity to release heat and perform non-mechanical work. In equations, enthalpy is denoted by the capital letter H, while specific enthalpy is lowercase h. Its units are usually joules, calories, or BTUs. The change in enthalpy is directly proportional to the number of reactants and products, so you work this type of problem using the change in enthalpy for the reaction or by calculating it from the heats of formation of the reactants and products and then multiplying this value times the actual quantity (in moles) of material that is present. Enthalpy Problem Hydrogen peroxide decomposes according to the following thermochemical reaction:H2O2(l) → H2O(l) 1/2 O2(g); ΔH -98.2 kJCalculate the change in enthalpy, ΔH, when 1.00 g of hydrogen peroxide decomposes. Solution This sort of problem is solved by using a table to look up the change in enthalpy  unless its given to you (as it is here).  The thermochemical equation tells us that ΔH  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹for the decomposition of 1 mole of H2O2 is -98.2 kJ, so this relationship can be used as a conversion factor. Once you know the change in enthalpy, you need to know the number of moles of the relevant compound to calculate the answer.  Using the Periodic Table  to add up the masses of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in hydrogen peroxide, you find  the molecular mass of H2O2 is 34.0 (2 x 1 for hydrogen 2 x 16 for oxygen), which means that 1 mol H2O2 34.0 g H2O2. Using these values: ΔH 1.00 g H2O2 x 1 mol H2O2 / 34.0 g H2O2 x -98.2 kJ / 1 mol H2O2ΔH -2.89 kJ Answer The change in enthalpy, ΔH, when 1.00 g of hydrogen peroxide decomposes -2.89 kJ Its a good idea to check your work to make sure the conversion factors all cancel out to leave you with an answer in energy units. The most common error made in the calculation is accidentally switching the numerator and denominator of a conversion factor. The other pitfall is significant figures. In this problem, the change in enthalpy and mass of sample both were given using 3 significant figures, so the answer should be reported using the same number of digits.