The Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Bonnie Parker

Bonnie and Clyde were legendary and historic outlaws who robbed banks and killed people. The authorities saw the couple as dangerous criminals, while the public viewed Bonnie and Clyde as modern-day Robin Hoods. The couples legend was in part helped along by Bonnies poems: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, and The Story of Suicide Sal. Bonnie Parker wrote the poems in the middle of their 1934 crime spree, while she and Clyde Barrow were on the run from the law. This poem, The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, was the last one she wrote, and the legend reports that Bonnie gave a copy of the poem to her mother just weeks before the couple was gunned down. Bonnie and Clyde as Social Bandits Parkers poem is part of a long-established outlaw-folk hero tradition, what British historian Eric Hobsbawm called social bandits. The social bandit/outlaw-hero is a peoples champion who adheres to a higher law and defies the established authority of his time. The idea of a social bandit is a nearly universal social phenomenon found throughout history, and ballads and legends of them share a long set of characteristics. The main feature shared by ballads and legends around such historical figures as Jesse James, Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, and Pretty Boy Floyd is the enormous amount of distortion of the known facts. That distortion enables the transition of a violent criminal into a folk hero. In all cases, the peoples champion story the people need to hear is more important than the facts—during the Great Depression, the public needed reassurance that there were people working against a government perceived as callous to their predicament. The voice of the Depression, American balladeer Woody Guthrie, wrote just such a ballad about Pretty Boy Floyd after Floyd was killed six months after Bonnie and Clyde died. Curiously, many of the ballads, like Bonnies, also use the metaphor of the pen is mightier than the sword, stating that what newspapers have written about the bandit hero is false, but that the truth can be found written in their legends and ballads. 12 Characteristics of the Social Outlaw American historian Richard Meyer identified 12 characteristics that are common to social outlaw stories. Not all of them appear in every story, but many of them come from older ancient legends—tricksters, champions of the oppressed, and ancient betrayals. The social bandit hero is a man of the people who stands in opposition to certain established, oppressive economic, civil, and legal systems. He is a champion who wouldnt harm the little man.His first crime is brought about through extreme provocation by agents of the oppressive system.He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, serving as one who rights wrongs. (Robin Hood, Zorro)Despite his reputation, he is good-natured, kind-hearted, and frequently pious.His criminal exploits are audacious and daring.He frequently outwits and confounds his opponents by trickery, often expressed humorously. (Trickster)He is helped, supported, and admired by his own people.The authorities cant catch him through conventional means.His death is only brought about by the betrayal by a former friend. (Judas)His death provokes great mourning on the part of his people.After he dies, the hero manages to live on in a number of ways: stories say that he is not really dead, or that his ghost or spirit con tinues to help and inspire people.His actions and deeds may not always gain approval or admiration, but rather are sometimes decried in the ballads as mildly stated criticism to outright condemnation and refutation of all the other 11 elements. Bonnie Parkers Social Outlaw True to the form, in The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, Parker cements their image as social bandits. Clyde used to be honest and upright and clean, and she reports that he was locked up unjustly. The couple has supporters in the regular people like newsboys, and she foretells that the law will beat them in the end. Like most of us, Parker had heard ballads and legends of lost heroes as a child. She even references Jesse James in the first stanza. What is interesting about her poems is that we see her actively spinning their criminal history into a legend. The Story of Bonnie and ClydeYouve read the story of Jesse JamesOf how he lived and died;If youre still in needOf something to read,Heres the story of Bonnie and Clyde. Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang,Im sure you all have readHow they rob and stealAnd those who squealAre usually found dying or dead. Theres lots of untruths to these write-ups;Theyre not so ruthless as that;Their nature is raw;They hate all the lawThe stool pigeons, spotters, and rats. They call them cold-blooded killers;They say they are heartless and mean;But I say this with pride,That I once knew ClydeWhen he was honest and upright and clean. But the laws fooled around,Kept taking him downAnd locking him up in a cell,Till he said to me,Ill never be free,So Ill meet a few of them in hell. The road was so dimly lighted;There were no highway signs to guide;But they made up their mindsIf all roads were blind,They wouldnt give up till they died. The road gets dimmer and dimmer;Sometimes you can hardly see;But its fight, man to man,And do all you can,For they know they can never be free. From heart-break some people have suffered;From weariness some people have died;But take it all in all,Our troubles are smallTill we get like Bonnie and Clyde. If a policeman is killed in Dallas,And they have no clue or guide;If they cant find a fiend,They just wipe their slate cleanAnd hand it on Bonnie and Clyde. Theres two crimes committed in AmericaNot accredited to the Barrow mob;They had no handIn the kidnap demand,Nor the Kansas City depot job. A newsboy once said to his buddy;I wish old Clyde would get jumped;In these awful hard timesWed make a few dimesIf five or six cops would get bumped. The police havent got the report yet,But Clyde called me up today;He said, Dont start any fightsWe arent working nightsWere joining the NRA. From Irving to West Dallas viaductIs known as the Great Divide,Where the women are kin,And the men are men,And they wont stool on Bonnie and Clyde. If they try to act like citizensAnd rent them a nice little flat,About the third nightTheyre invited to fightBy a sub-guns rat-tat-tat. They dont think theyre too tough or desperate,They know that the law always wins;Theyve been shot at before,But they do not ignoreThat death is the wages of sin. Some day theyll go down together;And theyll bury them side by side;To few itll be griefTo the law a reliefBut its death for Bonnie and Clyde. — Bonnie Parker 1934 Sources Hobsbawm, Eric. Bandits. Orion, 2010.Lundblad, Bonnie Jo. The Rebel-Victim: Past and Present. The English Journal 60.6 (1971): 763–66.Meyer, Richard E. The Outlaw: A Distinctive American Folktype. Journal of the Folklore Institute 17.2/3 (1980): 94–124.Muecke, Stephen, Alan Rumsey, and Banjo Wirrunmarra. Pigeon the Outlaw: History as Texts. Aboriginal History 9.1/2 (1985): 81–100.Roberts, John W. Railroad Bill and the American Outlaw Tradition. Western Folklore 40.4 (1981): 315–28.Seal, Graham. The Robin Hood Principle: Folklore, History, and the Social Bandit. Journal of Folklore Research 46.1 (2009): 67–89.

Gun Control Laws Should Not The Safety Of The Citizens

America is the number one country for number of gun related deaths ratio each year. â€Å"In Germany 381, in France 255, in Canada 165 in the United Kingdom 68, in Australia 65, in Japan 39 and in the United States, 11,127† (Moore Michael, 51:15-51:48). Due to the United States having the greatest number of gun related deaths, it is almost essential to implement gun-control laws that restrict people from purchasing and owning dangerous firearms. The laws that are created to control the guns should ultimately keep the safety of the citizens first. Of course, there is no easy way or solution to please both sides of the argument, but there should be a balance between both sides. In 2008 a survey was conducted stating: â€Å"Adult poll respondents’†¦show more content†¦In the 1900s America like other counties during that time considered guns a tool used to survive and protect. â€Å"As Americans civilized the wilderness, they would eventually be able to rely not just on their own skills at individual self-defense for protection, but on laws and civil authorities and the other institutions of government they were building † ( Whitney, Pg. 103). In the early 1900s The United States did not have the modern civil authorities that are used today. Citizens relied on firearms to protect not only themselves but their family, and property because law enforcement was basic and simple. What was deemed acceptable then is not now in America and that is why the Second Amendment was ideal in the 1900s. Firearms of military grade that have the ability to shoot 700–950 rounds/min, like the M16, did not exist. Firearms during that time did not co me close the capability of modern weapons that are available today and that is one of the reasons why gun control was not a pressing issue. The need for Gun control became necessary throughout history as technology advanced and different types of firearms emerged that were more powerful and deadly. Also the issues of people becoming more interested in guns not only for civic duty but for entertainment/ recreational use lead to

Learning via observation Free Essays

string(24) " olds passed the tasks\." Abravanel and Gingold (1985) conducted a study on learning specifically on deferred imitation and immediate imitation. Its review of previous studies conducted on learning revealed that a child at the second year of life shows evidence of deferred imitation, which is imitation of modeled behavior after an interval where other events have intervened between modeling and reproduction of behavior. Classes of object/action combinations used in the current study were taken from the study by McCall, Parke and Kavanaugh (as qtd by Abravanel Gingold, 1985). We will write a custom essay sample on Learning via observation or any similar topic only for you Order Now The current study however further classified these classes of actions with objects into three: simple/single actions, reiterative actions and sequentially coordinated actions. Simple/single actions required demonstration of one behavior. Tasks measuring this were the Barrels where the child had to reveal contents of the large barrel by separating it into halves, and the Doll and crown, where the child has to put the crown on the bald-headed wooden doll. Reiterative actions were simple actions that had to be repeated several times. Tasks for this include the Spacemen, where the child is expected to produce vertical column of five spacemen toys in a feet-to-head order, the Blocks, where the child had to stack the cube block, disc block and pyramid block in that order, and Screwtoy, where the child had to turn the screwnut counterclockwise until it is free of the screw. Sequentially coordinated action tasks require two or more actions that differ from each other but have to be performed in some specific order. Tasks for this include the Cylinder and doll, where the child has to insert a drumstick into a cylinder and push the doll out to let it fall into the table, and the Xylophone, where the child was expected to lose one tube from the base of the xylophone and strike each of the other two metallic pieces. The study was conducted to children aged 12 months (12 ~ 13 months), and 18 months (18 ~ 19 months). There were 42 girls and 40 boys aged 12 months and 45 girls and 40 boys aged 18 months. These children were randomly grouped into two: the treatment group, where children were able to see a model perform a task, and the control group, where the children did not have models to imitate from. Having a control group was hoped to take into account the children’s familiarity to the materials, task and examiner. Both groups follow four phases in every task: 1) Pre-test, where the child was presented with all of the materials for the task and allowed to handle them for 60 seconds. 2) Modeling followed where the treatment groups saw the target actions modeled twice, while the control group did not see any models but allowed to handle the materials for another 10 seconds. Each child had to accumulate four tasks from the seven possible tasks. The child then had an interpolated interval of 10 minutes, where he/she was free to do anything. This time gap was necessary to emphasize on the deferred imitation. 3) Post-test followed, where the child was presented with the materials of a task he/she had taken previously and targeted or expected actions had to be demonstrated within 60 seconds. Responses were recorded and the next materials of second, third and fourth tasks were presented separately. 4) Immediate imitation follows right after post-test when it is clear that the child have not achieved the targeted actions of a particular task. The experimenter models again the targeted action and the child was given 60 seconds to reproduce the action. The third step looked into the deferred imitation while the fourth step looked into immediate imitation. Scores were ranged from zero, where the child did nothing but look at the materials, to six, where the child successfully reproduced the targeted actions. However, scoring was reclassified were score zero to four was rescored as zero and score five to six were rescored as one. Data was analyzed using three-factor analyses of variance (Age X Sex X Treatment Condition). The study seeks to answer whether performance of the three classes of actions (i.e., simple/singe, reiterative and sequential coordinated) in deferential imitation and immediate imitation were the same for 12-month old and 18-month old children and treatment and control groups. The researcher hypothesizes that the 12-months old children would succeed in deferred imitation of simple/single actions and the 18-months old children would succeed in both reiterative and sequentially coordinated tasks. Analysis on the deferred imitation found that in performing simple/single action and reiterative action tasks, the 18-months old produced the targeted actions significantly higher than the 12-month olds. In performing sequentially coordinated tasks, the 18-months old had greater number of targeted actions over the 12-months old on Cylinder and doll task, but equally on the Xylophone task. The treatment group had greater number of targeted actions over the control group in performing simple/single action tasks, in performing the two of the reiterative action tasks: Spacemen and Screwtoy   (but not the Blocks), as well as the Cylinder and doll tasks (but not the xylophone task) of the sequentially coordinated tasks. Interaction effect of age and treatment condition in performing the three classes of action tasks showed that the 18-months old had greater modeling effect. Further, there was no difference between girls and boys in the number of actions tasks successfully performed. Immediate imitation was done for children who have not successfully accomplished the tasks on the third phase. More children from the control group were subjected to this analysis understandably because they had no models to imitate and learn from on how to achieve successfully the tasks subjected to them. Immediate imitation and deferred imitation were not analyzed as scoring for both sets were different. Analysis of immediate imitation data revealed that 18-year old had greater number of targeted actions over the 12-months old children. Less than 50% of the 12-month old children passed the tasks compared to more than 50% of the 18-month olds passed the tasks. You read "Learning via observation" in category "Essay examples" More than 50% of the 18-month olds however find Spacemen and screwtoy tasks difficult to perform in immediate imitation. Approximate deferred imitation was further done where the reiterative and sequentially coordinated actions considered lower forms of imitations and where such forms somehow were equivalent to simple/single action level. The 18-month old children significantly had higher performance in post-tests reiterative tasks and Cylinder and doll task of the sequentially coordinated actions. Interaction between age and treatment conditions showed that at 18-months, treatment group achieved the Spaceman task, screwtoy task, Cylinder and doll task, but not on block task and xylophone tasks. At 12 months, treatment group achieved Spacemen task and Xylophone task but not the Screwtoy, Blocks, Cylinder and doll tasks. The study concluded that there are developmental differences achieved in learning between ages 12-months and 18-months, through imitation, whether through immediate or delayed information. The hypotheses of the research were not supported by the results as only few of the 12-month olds demonstrated complete deferred imitation on simple/single actions and less than 50% of the 18-month olds were fully successful with the three action tasks. It further concluded that the children’s performance in both deferred imitation and immediate imitation were the same by comparing treatment and control groups for immediate imitation analysis. The research further confirmed the study conducted by McCall et all. that 18-months old have internalized action sequences and means-ends relations although the current research acknowledged that spatial and serial properties of actions were difficult for these children. The researcher explained about the children’s possible difficulty of recall ing order for the Blocks task. It finally concludes that imitative ability is a developmental phase by the start of the second year of a child and fluency to make observational learning and deferred imitation during the second year. Analysis on the Article The use of a control group in the study was not necessary. McCall et al, whom the researchers referred to in their study, did not employ control group. The researchers themselves have recognized that imitation and observation learning were facts of human functioning. Thus, learning the tasks as demonstrated by reproducing the targeted actions were better when somebody models how the task was to be accomplished than when children were left to find out for themselves how to accomplish the task. The analysis done on deferred imitation for the control group was subjecting the children in a problem-solving task by their own rather than learning via observation. The employ of control group sidetracked the researcher from the objective of establishing learning through observation in this group, precisely because the subjects in this group did not use observation in learning the tasks. All the control group did was to establish that indeed the use of models significantly facilitated accomplishment of the tasks. This was rather not necessary as previous researches have already established this. The use of control group in the analysis has rather made confusing interpretations and conclusions on the study. Such was done when the researcher made a conclusion on the immediate imitation by comparing the control and the treatment group that deferred imitation had no particular advantage over immediate imitation (p. 621, paragraph 2). This was rather an erroneous conclusion since control group cannot represent immediate imitation nor deferred imitation in any way. The researchers themselves have acknowledged that immediate imitation and deferred imitation cannot be analyzed because of the differential scoring used by the two sets of data but a conclusions made was to infer on this. The representational materials used in this study were carefully selected so that the objects give the platform by which actions (i.e, simple/single, reiterative, sequential coordinated) can be elicited. When disparity in the results existed for reiterative tasks (i.e., Spacemen, blocks and screwtoy) and sequential coordinated tasks (Cylinder and doll, and xylophone), the researchers have attributed this to difficulty in recall (p. 621, paragraph 1) for the Block task and spontaneous performance (p. 620, paragraph 1) for Xylophone task. The Block task was a measure for reiterative action and which was to be accomplished by the child by stacking the cube block, disc block and pyramid block on each other on that specific order. The child, in this task, was not however required only to do a simple action repeated more than once (i.e., reiterative) but also required to demonstrate memory recall on how the order of the blocks should be. This requirement was different from the other reiterative tasks (i.e., Spacemen and Screwtoy) where the targeted action was essentially repetitive ones and did not require some recall of order of how things should be arranged, which was the case for the Block task. This additional requirement for Block task made it in disparity of results with the other reiterative tasks. Block task, in order to elicit only one requirement, which is to demonstrate singular repetitive action, should have used same-shaped blocks. This takes away the requirement for a recall of certain order of blocks, which was rather not a concern of this particular study. It is therefore suggested that the Block task be modified by using the same-shaped blocks or this is taken out all together as there were already two reiterative actions tasks, which were Spacemen and Screwtoy tasks. The disparity in the results of sequential coordinated action tasks, which are the Cylinder and doll task and Xylophone task, was attributed to spontaneous performance. The Xylophone task involved removing one tube loosely attached to the base of the xylophone and striking each of the other two metallic pieces. The researcher’s explanation on spontaneous performance of the Xylophone task implies on the novelty of the task. Making the task as novel as possible was necessary in order to seclude memory recall on possible actions done outside the experiment. If the child have already played xylophone, his/her demonstration of the task may have been a direct recall of how he played a similar toy. A recall on actions outside the experiment would mean lack of control of extraneous variable. To keep extraneous variable to enter into the experiment, the tasks formulated should be novel as possible for the children. Spontaneous performance on Xylophone task as demonstrated by the control group was evidence to this (p. 620, paragraph 1). This explanation by the researcher was rather acceptable, but it should have been suggested that Xylophone task was removed as a measure for sequential coordinated action task in the future study, and suggested to be replaced by another task. Analysis on approximate deferred imitation was not necessary nor called for in the study. The study implied only on differential imitation and immediate imitation to answer the research question. Analysis done on this only confused interpretations and results relative to this were not incorporated nor integrated in the discussions or in the conclusions. The results derived from this analysis were like a free agent that was left to float, without particular beginning, that is, it was not part of the research question, or an end, since it was not integrated in the conclusions. Such kind of analysis should have been left out. Essentially, the research has done well in proving that the children in the second year of their life were advancing in their learning through imitation, whether deferred or immediate. It contributed to the theoretical base for developmental psychology by establishing that imitative ability starts at the second year of a child’s life and continues to develop as the child advances in age towards the end of its second year. The finding that modeling contributes to learning was not novel but was rather reiteratively established from previous studies and researches (p. 614, paragraph 1). If a replicate of the study has to be done, the use of control group, which is not to employ models, is suggested to be deleted. The use of Block task should utilize same-shaped blocks (i.e., three cubes or three discs or three pyramids). The Xylophone task should also be replaced by another sequential coordinated action that requires a novel task or introduces a novel material. Suggested tasks would be: Doll and little umbrella, where the targeted action is for the child to place the plastic doll in a sitting position on a table, to open a little umbrella and to place the umbrella beside the doll. This task required three sequential actions: placing doll  ® opening umbrella  ® placing umbrella. Doll on bucket, where the targeted action is for the child to position the bucket upside down and to put a plastic doll on a sitting position on the bucket. This task required three sequential actions: positioning the bucket  ® placing the doll. The principle is therefore clear, that the task should be novel as possible and requiring at least two different actions done in some particular order. References Abravanel, E. Gingold, H. (1985). Learning via observation during the second year of life. Developmental Psychology, 21 (4), 614-623. How to cite Learning via observation, Essays

A Natural Curiosity by Margaret Drabble Essay Example For Students

A Natural Curiosity by Margaret Drabble Essay Running along the same lines as a daytime soap opera, Margaret Drabbles A Natural Curiosity provides pertinent information about life in Northam, England, a small, quaint town just outside of London, during the mid to late 1900s. Drabble narrates the novel in third person omniscient which allows her to venture into the minds of the diverse characters. Although there exists a black and white central conflict, all of the minor conflicts stem from Alix Bowen, the first, and most essential individual. In one way or another, all of the people share some distinct connection with Alix Bowen. Drabbles description of Alix Bowens obsession with a murderer named Paul Whitmore who had held her hostage in the past, allows the reader identify with Alixs innocence. A good-hearted, well-minded person, Alix Bowen feels compelled to discover how a man of Whitmores intelligence could possibly commit the horrible crimes that he did. Drabble also forces the reader to sympathize with Alix Bowen, and to understand her obsession. In showing her unconditional dedication to Whitmore, Alix sets off to locate the father of the murderer. The reason this infatuation continues relies solely on the fact that Whitmore offers Alix an intellectual and psychological stimulus of an unusually invigorating nature. The chain effect remains evident as individual dilemmas that arise between members of a social group ultimately affect the group as a whole, underlying the theme of the novel. Throughout the novel, when two or more people disagreed on an issue, a third party swiftly enters the picture offering either hurt or help to the issue. In one instance, Carla Davis, a deceitful woman, lays the blame of her husbands supposed hostage situation in Baldai on Charles Headleand, a thoughtful, caring, gentleman. On another occasion, Liz Headleand begins to act odd when she discovers that her long-time friend, Alix Bowen, repeatedly visits the murderer. Undoubtedly, Margaret Drabbles strengths far outweigh her weaknesses in A Natural Curiosity. Drabbles tremendous usage of descriptive adjectives truly brings her characters to life. In addition, the authors serious, yet sometimes sarcastic tones really add to the lively effect of the novel. Drabble shows no fear in coming right out and stating her points, and this indicates the sophistication of her style. Symbolism, the most important strength in Drabbles novel, allows the reader to enter the minds of the characters for themselves without having Drabble do it for the reader. For example, when describing people, the author gives the deceiving characters the dark, evil shades of color, whereas when describing a naive person she uses lighter colors. The lone weakness that stands out in this novel consists of the occasional unnecessary rambling on about certain characters. As Drabble forbids the reader to ever forget about the novel, Life sets us unfair puzzles.Puzzles with pieces missi ng.