Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris Essay Example for Free

Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris Essay Introduction Writing this paper, I faced a challenging task of exploring, discussing and analyzing a well-written book about one of the most prominent and controversial figures in American politics and history. In the first part of my report I would like to discover basic themes and concepts of the book as well as compare and contrast â€Å"Theodore Rex† and other books about the twenty-sixth US President. Also I would like to concentrate my attention on the major accomplishments of the author and on possible bias found in the book. The book is a thorough and profound biographical account of Roosevelt’s presidency and discusses and evaluates his major deeds and successes. The book concentrates on the two presidential terms he served, while â€Å"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt†, another celebrated biographical work by Morris, sheds light on Roosevelt’s career before presidency. â€Å"Theodore Rex† ends with Mr. Roosevelt quitting the office. Edmund Morris writes about Theodore Roosevelt with great respect combined with admiration. The author doesn’t always clearly state it, but we can read it between the lines. When exploring Roosevelt external policy in the global context, the author quotes London Morning Post that stated Roosevelt’s presidency marked, â€Å"the emergence of a new world peacemaker: Mr. Roosevelts success has amazed everybody, not because he succeeded, but because of the manner by which he achieved success.† (Morris, 2002: p.391) Roosevelt is positioned as a great an innovative man of state for the ample reason that he was the first US president to leave the country or to fly in an airplane. I strongly deem that any book addressing questions connected with politics or history can’t be absolutely free from bias. For instance, Morris argues that American world hegemony and superpower is largely, if not only, Roosevelt’s accomplishment. But we know that economic and political conditions at the beginning of the century were very favourable, and the president seized the moment and American gilded age so he enhanced country’s position on the international arena. The book is different from others in many ways. First of all, it concentrates not only on the strengths of the twenty-sixth president, but also on his faults. The book provides the reader with full and comprehensive account of Roosevelt as a man of state and some insightful information about Roosevelt as a personality. Another difference is the focus of this biography solely on the presidential years of Theodore Roosevelt. Main Body Now let me proceed with evaluating the organization and the persuasive power of the book. The choice of the sources is satisfactory; the bibliography of the book is diverse and trustworthy. Morris consults sources dating from the early 20th centuries up to nowadays. The major material for Morris’ research consists of Roosevelt’s presidential whitepapers and worksheets, his private documentation, the archives of John Hay, William Howard Taft and Owen Wister. The author manages to be stylistically good and historically balanced. The book gives very specific account of political events that happened during the presidency of Roosevelt and goes through every political crisis, external or internal. The book doesn’t give much information about personal life of the twenty-sixth president, but it makes the reader feel as if sharing all the daily routine with Mr. Roosevelt. Let me enlist the issues, on which the author concentrates most. Morris reminds us about the success of Roosevelt’s external policy and stresses the fact of US acquisition of Panama Canal and the Philippines, signing a treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War and strengthening American naval forces. The book states that, â€Å"French foreign-policy experts believed him to be the strongest international personality since Bismarck.† (Morris, 2002: 193) He gives a positive account of Roosevelt’s policy in the spheres of culture, science, and ecology and urges to keep in mind presidential initiatives to create national parks and monuments and to start national conservation policy. He praises the president’s ability of dealing with labor issues by discussing the settlement of the significant coal strike in the early 1990s. Still, the author admits the existence of complicated points during the Roosevelt’s career, for instance, the Brownsville Incident. I believe that Morris concentrates too much on the description of major and minor state affairs. The book is purely a narrative. Instead of going so deep into daily matters of the president, Morris might have included more analysis of Roosevelt’s policies and practices. I would like to read more about Roosevelt in the wider historical context; the reader wants not only a success story, but the discussion of president’s actions to ensure success. Still, enough attention is paid to important people in Roosevelt’s life, namely Edith and Alice. Morris shows us the twenty-sixth president as a loving husband and caring father. Roosevelt’s family supported him in the turmoil of state affairs, and the president valued his dearest and nearest very much. When his wife arrived, â€Å"Careless of watching eyes, he threw his arms around Edith, then escorted her inside for supper.† (Morris, 2002: 47) Morris clearly states what traits of character are necessary for an outstanding leader. The author describes sometimes controversial behavior and complicated character of the president. Some small personal details give us better understanding of Theodore’s nature, for example, president’s habit to carry pistols with him. The detailed descriptions in a combination with easy way of presenting the information made the book seem convincing and trustworthy. Conclusion In the concluding part I would speak about the relevance and historical value of â€Å"Theodore Rex The book is readable and enjoyable, giving insight into big and small issues of governing. Sometimes the book may seem to be too detailed for a non-professional reader. I dare call this book to be a research of Roosevelt’s biography, since it keeps track of everything taking place in the president administration. Morris’ book may be useful for historians as well as for the general public. The book is very short still it has everything the one needs to know about Roosevelt and the US at the dawn of the 20th century. The organization of the book is good, but the tone of the story isn’t always adequate since Morris describes very official events using lyrical language. Let’s analyze the episode concerned with Panama-US treaty: â€Å"Pens scratched across parchment. Wax melted on silk. Two oceans brimmed closer, ready to spill.† (Morris, 2002: p.298) The prologue is marked by unnecessary romanticism, too. But it can’t be called a disadvantage since it saves the book from being boring. Paragraph and sentence structure is adequate and quite clear. And I didn’t notice any serious contradictions worth mentioning here. The organizational drawback is that personal and political episodes aren’t described in separate chapters. Still, the strictly chronological way of presenting the events with clear separation of the first and the second administration is definitely a plus. I believe that some practical solutions of social and economical problems, e.g. unemployment or discrimination, can be used by contemporary politicians as well. I would like to end my report with giving an overall assessment of â€Å"Theodore Rex† by Edmund Morris. This account of Roosevelt’s presidency and charismatic personality is in-depth but transparent, analytical but charming, complex but inspiring. I believe that such a charismatic leader as Theodore Roosevelt definitely deserves such a brilliant biographer as Edmund Morris.    References:    Morris, E. 2002. Theodore Rex. New York: Modern Library

Traumas Apologize and Healing of the Colonized and Radicalized Essay

Throughout the twentieth century, the trauma inflicted upon people of color as a by-product of colonization, racialization, and assimilation has left a lasting imprint not on only the lives of the oppressed, but on the lives of the generations that follow them as well. Years after these subjective events have passed and been recognized as unjust and immoral and formal apologies from the U.S. government have been made, the trauma remains ever present in the minds of individual victims as well as the affected community as a whole, and traumatic healing does not actualize. Racial oppression has been an overtly prevalent issue; from the unjust treatment in WWII Japanese relocation camps and Cambodian refugee camps, to the colonization of land, compromised reservation sovereignty, and physical abuse of Native Americans. Although not as pronounced, racial injustice still continues today in a more discretely structuralized manner that is purposely designed to allow forms of oppression to co ntinue yet have them over looked or passed off as lawful under U.S. regulation. The most prevalent forms of trauma that were experienced during these occasions include but are not limited to, post traumatic stress, intergenerational trauma, and soul wounds. The end of these oppressive events does not mean that repression is over, nor does it erase the scars it as left on the victims; the traumatic wounds still linger within individuals, the affected community, and through future generations. Attempts to remedy the harm done through apologizes, and in some instances compensation, address the error, and attempt to restore financial balance; however, they neglect to change the underlying inequality issues that were set in place that for the injustices to ... ...Loss in First Person Plural, Bontoc Eulogy, and History and Memory." Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Korean Adoption Studies. By Nelson Kim. Park, Tobias Hu%u0308binette, Eleana Kim, and Petersen Lene. Myong. S.l.: S.n., 2010. 129-45. Print. Duran, Bonnie, and Eduardo Duran. "Native Americans and the Trauma of History." Studying Native America: Problems and Prospects. By Russell Thornton. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1998. 60-72. Print. Smith, Andrea. "Sexual Violence as a Tool of Genocide." Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide. Cambridge, MA: South End, 2005. 7-31. Print. Um, Khatharya. "Refractions of Home Exile, Memory, and Diasporic Longing." Expressions of Cambodia: The Politics of Tradition, Identity, and Change. By Leakthina Chan-Pech Ollier and Tim Winter. London: Routledge, 2006. 86-100. Print.

Critic of the Application of Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory in Assessing and understanding employee motivation at work: a Ghanaian Perspective Essay

Critic of the Application of Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory in Assessing and understanding employee motivation at work: a Ghanaian Perspective. Patrick Ashiadey The Frederick Herzberg Two Factor Theory has had a considerable amount of practical and as well as theoretical influences. In fact, from a practical perspective, the influence of Herzberg’s motivation theory can be seen at every organizational level as well as within every department. From a theoretical perspective, Herzberg’s motivation theory can be perceived as having similarities to Maslow’s Theory of Need with the exception that for Herzberg’s theory, the needs aren’t placed in a progressive continuum, rather they are divided into two independent factors. Herzberg’s motivation theory emerged from a collection of data gathered by the interview of 203 accountants and engineers within the Pittsburgh area. The interview process consisted of asking the respondents to describe a work situation where they felt very happy as well as very unhappy. These descriptions were to include as many details as possible, including their feelings, the interpretation of the situation as well as the events that are suggestive of a change. The analysis of the responses confirmed the proposed hypothesis, where some factors where contributors to job satisfaction, while others were not. In addition, some factors were noted to be a source of dissatisfaction when absent. These were categorized as â€Å"Motivators† and â€Å"Hygiene† factors, the latter also being referred to as Maintenance Factors. (Wikipedia, 2013). Employee motivation in Ghana however takes on a different turn due to many factors that flaw the two factor Theory. This white paper seeks to discuss but a few of these factors. Firstly the difference in cultures and upbringing of the typical Africa especially the Ghanaian worker right from infancy to the work age differs from those used in the interview process as they are from entirely different geographical areas. Th e average Ghanaian lives on or below the poverty line and as such will be happy just having a job with his basic salary regardless of the existence of motivators or hygiene factors. The mentality of the average Ghanaian worker makes him fear joblessness as other forms of employment are hard to come by and that alone will motivate him or her to stay in the job in the absence of motivators or  hygiene factors. That is the theory does not take into account individual personality traits that could provide a different response to a motivator or hygiene factor. The Theory also lacks in the understanding of the inter-relations between some of the motivators which I totally agree with as can be seen from http://www.leadership-central.com/two-factor-theory.html#ixzz2g2Bs3nao in comparison to the dual structure theory. Example, one might receive adequate job recognition nut he or she may not be satisfied with the level of responsibilities therefore one would question the internal motivational value of job recognition for the individual. Lack of highly skilled personnel in the Ghanaian job market, makes the average Ghanaian worker dependent upon his or her professional level which would be more or less sensitive to one or the other of the factors. Frederick Herzberg’s sample space for his research included 203 accountants and engineers, a huge disparity from the large population of Ghanaian workers in the public sector who were only recently introduced to the single spine structure. Responses to the same questions posed to the accountants and engineers that led to the development of the theory would have produced different results as what mattered to a worker in the US would not necessarily have mattered to a worker in Ghana like recreational facilities. This leads us to the point where hygiene factors and motivators vary depending on the types of individuals involved and the nature of work examined. There is also the case where there exists no prove that highly satisfied people are also high performers per a research done on the internet. Example is the average Ghanaian worker in the public sector enjoying the new single spine salary structure still requiring some form of extra cash for him or her to carry out his or her civil duties. All said and done, it is a well-known fact that the Application of the Two Factor Theory is definitely well established within organizational settings. In fact, every leader has the responsibility to ensure that their employee’s hygiene factors are attended to and that proper motivators are implemented to increase job satisfaction. The most common mistake committed by leaders is to attend to the hygiene factor while expecting employee motivation. One application for Herzberg’s theory of motivation that isn’t well known is its importance in managing quality. A great paper by Heinz Weihrich shows the link between the Two Factor Theory  of motivation and quality. He equates the reliability or â€Å"R† factor of a product as being the hygiene factor and therefore customers have grown to expect products they purchase to be reliable. The â€Å"S† factor, the motivator, refers to the product features.

Essay on Gender in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart

This paper will look at the contradictions in the work of Chinua Achebe in relation to his placement of woman and femininity. Kristen Holst Petersen states that ‘the African discussion is between feminist emancipation versus the fight against neo-colonialism, particularly in its cultural aspect...which comes first, the fight for female equality or the fight against Western cultural imperialism’. This paper will attempt to highlight these contradictions in relation to Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Above all the tribe values physical prowess, it places a great deal of importance on individual achievement, these attributes are in fact intended to ensure the security and permanence of the group. For like most early societies this is a†¦show more content†¦It is important to note that ‘When they carried him away, he took with him his flute’. This is not a minor detail, in effect the reader’s sympathy is attracted by a certain humane simplicity. The portrait we have of Unoka is that of a folk hero whose nonchalance stands as a constant rebuke to the vanities of the great and powerful of the world. A reader will soon realize that his son, Okonkwo, forcefully repudiates the subversive significance of Unoka’s refusal to conform to the prevailing ethos of the tribe. Okonkwo in effect becomes the antithesis of all that his father represented. And whilst we are not privy to the psychological workings of Okonkwo’s mind we are made aware of his blatant physicality that is projected outward in all directions in effect incarnating him as his society’s ideal of manhood. It is this attitude and manner that develops into an overbearing masculinity. On more than one occasion we are alerted to the fact that Okonkwo’s adoption of the manly ideal is excessive. Obierika seems to have been conceived as a foil to Okonkwo so that his attitude indicates the possibility of an alternative stance. Okonkwo’s refusal to reconcile himself to the turn of events that lead to his exile provides an occasion for a reminder of the significance of the female principal, at least at the level of connotation, when he is instructed by Uchendu, his maternal uncle, in theShow MoreRelated Gender Relations in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay1498 Words   |  6 PagesGender Relations in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart      Ã‚   In Chinua Achebes novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo peoples patriarchal society has a strict system of behavioral customs according to gender. 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While on the surface, it appears the novel narrows its focus to a single character, Okonkno and his inner battles, one can read deeper into the text and find an array of assorted conflicts in the realm on human vs. human, human vs. nature, human vs. society, and society vs. society