Maya Angelou - 994 Words

Dascia Turner Professor Kimberly Balding English 1010: Composition One 20 September 2010 Truly Inspirational I find Dr. Maya Angelou to be a very interesting woman. She has lived a very productive life. She rose up in the face of adversary and succeeded in making a life for herself. Her numerous accomplishments testify to this fact. She did not come from a promising background, but she defied all the odds. During her childhood, she absorbed the faith and values of a traditional African American family such as love and respect for one another. She refused to back down from a challenge. She provides an excellent example of a strong, confident African American woman. She is not ashamed of where she came from. Her upbringings have helped†¦show more content†¦She tackles the most complex issues. She deals with discrimination, exploitation, being on welfare, sexual abuse, and prostitution. She also writes about domestic abuse, child abuse, slavery, drug abuse, and the empowerment of women. She has written over twenty-five bestselling titles. Dr. Angelou is also a singer. Her first album named Calypso Lady was released in 1957. She has also performed in the opera in the performance Porgy and Bess from 1954-1955. In conclusion, Dr. Maya Angelou is a very dynamic woman. She has received many accolades during her lifetime. Her many accomplishments define her as a person. Her two most famous poems have provided an illustration to her innermost feelings. Her poem, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, represents confinement resulting from racism and oppression. She compares a free bird and a caged bird which represents the state of mind of African American human beings today. She encourages society to break the cycle and release its wings to reach their fullest potential. In her other poem, Still I Rise, she is speaking on rising up even when life attempts to push you down. She stresses no matter what the circumstances, she will still rise to the top. By repeating the phrase, Still I Rise, she embeds this mantra in the brains of whoever reads this work of art. Her never endin g drive and carefree spirit will touch the lives of all. A quote from Dr. MayaShow MoreRelatedMaya Angelou655 Words   |  3 PagesMa 2(1565443) Maya Angelou is known as the â€Å"most visible black female autobiographer/poet.† She was born, Marguerite Ann Johnson, on April fourth, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she and her brother were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Seeing all the racial discrimination in the American south strengthened her passion for poetry, music, dance and performance. Maya writes about the struggles people face, racism and freedom. At ageRead More`` Speak, By The Maya Angelou1137 Words   |  5 Pageswriter, the late Maya Angelou. This statement also aligns to a 1999 contemporary classic novel, Speak, where a young freshman, Melinda Sordino, faces isolation and depression to an event that occurred over the summer, one that only she knows about. In the novel, Melinda hangs up a poster of Maya Angelou in her make-shift janitor’s closet hangout. Laurie Halse Anderson uses Maya Angelou as a figure for Melinda to learn and ch ange by in the novel Speak. Melinda could learn from Angelou that she can standRead More Maya Angelou Essay1200 Words   |  5 Pages Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She was born into a devastating decade, that suffered numerous tragedies. Not only had society shaped her as a woman, she has also shaped our society and influenced many lives. She is still living today, yet I believe her legend will never die. Furthermore I will share with you what motivated her and some of her gratifying experiences. How she was effected by society, and what she did about it. Also how the time period she was born into made her the extraordinaryRead More Maya Angelou Essay1926 Words   |  8 Pagesthe time she was born, Maya Angelou was subjected to racism, rape, grief and dehumanization. She beared enough emotional stress in a time frame that most people dont experience in a lifetime. Yet she prevailed. She forced herself to become stronger. And in doing so, she produced writings, which in turn, helped others to become strong. Her experiences and the lessons learned gave her confidence to be a teacher, a preacher, and an inspiration to millions. Maya Angelou was courageous. BasedRead MoreEssay on Maya Angelou612 Words   |  3 Pages Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928. Her real name is Marguerite Johnson, but she later changed it to Maya. She was born in St. Louis, shortly after her birth her family up and move to Arkansaw. Maya grew up there in the rural parts of Arkansaw, and later married to a South African Freedom Fighter. She lived in Cairo with him, there she began her career as editor of the Arab Observer. At the request of Dr. Martin Lutheran King Jr., she became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian LeadershipRead MoreEssay on Maya Angelou1185 Words   |  5 PagesDistress in Maya Angelous Life Marguerite Ann Johnson, commonly known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a famous African-American poet, novelist, and playwright and also worked during the civil rights: Angelou is a very remarkable Renaissance woman who hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature (www.mayaangelou.com). She is also an activist in civil-rights. Angelou went through many controversies during her childhood and adulthood; herRead MoreAnalysis Of Maya Angelou s Angelou 2396 Words   |  10 Pagesparents had decided to put an end to their calamitous marriage and Father shipped us home to mother† (Angelou 7). 1. This excerpt comes from the beginning of chapter one. The narrator, who is also the main character Maya Angelou, informs her reader of her family status. 2. The author informs us that she is currently living with her Father’s mother due to the separation of their parents. 3. Maya Angelou includes this passage to show that there is no perfect marriage and provide knowledge as to how hardRead More Maya Angelou Essay1043 Words   |  5 PagesMaya Angelou      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By consistently weaving the theme of motherhood into her literature, Maya Angelou creates both personal narratives and poems that the reader can relate to. Her exploration of this universal theme lends itself to a very large and diverse audience.   Throughout Angelous works, she allows her followers to witness her metamorphosis through different aspects of motherhood.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Well-worked themes are always present in Angelous works-   self-Read MoreMaya Angelou Essay883 Words   |  4 PagesMaya Angelou was an inspiring activist, poet, and woman. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. Throughout her lifetime she explored her career options as an actress, dancer, singer, writer, and editor among many other careers. Angelou had a tough childhood. Her parents divorced when she was very young and she was sent to live with her grandmother in Arkansas along with her brother Bailey. As an African American, Angelou experienced discrimination and racial prejudices. AngelouRead MoreEssay On Maya Angelou1879 Words   |  8 PagesMaya Angelou is one of the most important American Authors who ever lived. She was an African-American woman who spoke her mind and when someone told her she couldn’t do something, it made her want to do it even more so that she could prove them wrong (Shapiro). Her life was incredi bly difficult, but it made her who she was and influenced her writing and poetry immensely. As Gary Younge once said, â€Å"To know her life story is to simultaneously wonder what on earth you have been doing with your

Euthanasi Murder Or Mercy - 1375 Words

Euthanasia:Murder or Mercy? Imagine having to witness a family member suffer through many years of pain and not being able to do anything about it. This,however, can be resolved through euthanasia. Euthanasia is an intentional act that involves a doctor or physician ending a patient s life so that the patient may stop suffering from a harmful disease (Nordqvist 2016). It is a solution in which doctors can help patients with terminal diseases, such as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, to end their suffering because they do not want the patients to live a life in which they have to endure such pain and agony. 87% of the people believe and support the fact that euthanasia is beneficial for those with terminally ill diseases (â€Å"Euthanasia Statistics†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦How exactly in this situation is â€Å"Do no harm,† being interpreted here? Is letting a patient who has a terminal disease, continue to live their life full of pain and suffering, not causing harm to the patient? Rather, the patient could end their suffering through a painless death (Torrey 2016). It is the doctor s job to make sure that their patient is living a life with happiness and hope rather than suffer and all their thoughts of hope vanishing (Andersen 2014). A doctor named Philip Nitschke said â€Å" Over time the Hippocratic Oath has been changed on number of occasions†¦. References to women not studying medicine and doctors not breaking the skin have been deleted† (â€Å"Top 10†¦.† 2013). The oath has been changed in order to fit today s society (â€Å"History Hippocratic†). Doctors break the Hippocratic Oath by letting their patients continue to live a life of pain, by doing so, they are doing more harm than good because a patient is living in immense suffering, when the doctor could ease the patients suffering (Andersen 2014). One opposition of euthanasia comes back to the Hippocratic Oath being broken, especially on the â€Å"Do no harm,†part. The anti-euthanasia activist view doctors killing their patients to end their suffering as worsening the patient’s conditions rather than help. Many believe that doctors tend to make many mistakes and are killing their patients through their mistakes. People feel killing the patient is doing more than just

Does War Affect Literature Free Essays

string(74) " in their government and it began to spill over into literature and arts\." Many writers use the environment, political issues, or social issues as inspiration to their work. During romanticism nature imagery was a common occurrence in literature. However does on particular issue effect writers so much that a new literature movement is sprung from it? I pose the question what were considerable differences between Victorian literature and Modernism and how did the Great War play apart in those differences? Was it because of the war that there was the Victorian Era and Modernism or was it bound to be a new literary movement with or ithout the Great War. We will write a custom essay sample on Does War Affect Literature or any similar topic only for you Order Now I pose to answer these questions to the best of my ability in this paper. The Victorian era took place from 1830 – 1901, which is almost the exact same time frame that Queen Victoria reined thus the name Victorian Era. Writers during this time were at an awe trying to respond to the expansion of the country due to the industrialization going on at the time. Reactions it the changes going on at that time were numerous between writers and the people. Some welcomed the changes, while others challenged the changes because they found them to be threatening to their raditions. While others felt that breaking away from the traditions was more freeing than trying to maintain this conventional life. The Victorian Era was full of liveliness surrounding the social and industrial changes that were going on at the time. Nevertheless with all the change some things are bound to stay the same, Great Britain was still in a great deal of debt. Even though national debt was at an all time high the British banks continued to borrow money. Brantlinger says borrowing money is the best way of sustaining credit in his book, the debt that the country was n played a major role in the literature and art of the time because money is used in everyday life. Whether you were paying with credit or ready money determined whether or not you would eat that night. During the Victorian Era writers focused most of their literature on social differences in social classes and reform. During this time society’s interpretation reined supreme over personal interpretation. During that time writer such as John Stuart Mill, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde emerged. John Stuart Mill shed more light on the philosophical idea of Utilitarianism. John Stuart Mill son of Philosopher James Mill was a close friend to the creator of Utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism is the doctrine that actions are morally and socially acceptable if they benefit the majority. John Stuart Mill used this doctrine to preach reform in the social classes. John Stuart Mill felt that the government should work on the living conditions of working and lower class people. This philosophical idea was used to argue in most political arguments during the Victorian period. Even when it came time for parliament to decide whether to continue to borrow money from allied ountries, this greater good philosophy came into play. An idea that remains strong and has stand the test of time still being used by philosophers today. Charles Dickens was renowned to be one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian Era. His works were heavy on sub textual references. He enjoyed creating then breaking down meanings and interruptions. Otten times ne put some ot his own person experiences into his work. Fore example in his novel â€Å"Oliver Twist†, Charles Dickens himself once lived in an orphanage after his father was thrown into debtor prison like many people during this time period. While using â€Å"Oliver Twist† to somewhat tell his life story, he was also using a very melancholy type of humor reminiscent of other authors during the time. Mid Victorian era literary realism appeared, Writers and artist began to incorporate the industrial work and the excessive use of credit in the country into their work likewise discussing the social conventions of the time. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest takes a Jab at Victorian social conventions in this satire filled play. Beside the play making fun at the Victorian Era it also marked the end of an era and the start of Modernism and also the events leading up to the Great War. The Great War began in summer on 1914 with the assassination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungry, once Britain entered the war they quickly asked for both financial and military assistance from allies and colonies of theirs. By entering the Great War, a greater financial strain was put on to both the country and the people. Britain fell further into debt with the United States as the war continued to rage on and on. Besides Britain suffering financially, on the battlefield the men were suffering. Spending countless days and nights in muddy blood filled trenches to stay out of the line of fire. A new type of warfare emerged through the bloodshed, poison gas. All you saw on the battlefields during were gas masks gas, gas, and gas. Chlorine gas killed more soldiers than actual bullets during this war. Most men who enlisted to fght during the Great War were dead men walking. Chlorine gas was a favorite weapon of the Germans as Duffy has told us. However soldiers went the only ones being choked to death so to speak. Freedom of speech was being silenced in Britain by the Defense of the Realm Act in 194, besides silencing the people election were deferred during the war. Britain was becoming a place were the people no longer aw eye to eye with the government. The working class was now truly breaking away from the idea of the Victorian period; they no longer wanted to survive Just solely on credit in fear of losing everything if they were not able to pay their bills on time. This war made the people actually see what was going on in their country and in their government and it began to spill over into literature and arts. You read "Does War Affect Literature" in category "Papers" Literature went from discussing social class and poverty to describing battlefields in great details and questioning the readers’ moral Judgment. Modernism directly followed the Victorian Era. It is said that Modernism started in 1901 and lasted until the 1960’s or 70’s. I believe it was small changes in art and literature started in 1901 but Modernism did not really begin to appear until during the Great War and everything after. It was a conscious break from traditional art, subjective, full of alienation and despair while also rejecting the past. Modernism is extremely different from Victorian Literature, while modernism focuses on how the readers will interpretation the work and not society. Where in Victorian literature it was society’s interpretation trumps everything. Also during this time both World Wars had occurred giving writers at the time even more to write about and shed their own opinions on. This period was a time where experimentation and individualism were encouraged most things about the past were thrown to the side and discouraged like writing about social conventions or painting pictures ot a dinner scene. Also Modernism unlike Victorian Era gives you a clear definition on what to expect from literature and art during that time period. I attribute the mast amount of differences between the two literary periods to the dark cloud that was hanging over Britain and its people once the Great War was over. People were questioning both their countrys morality and their own patriotism. Just like the Victorian Era there were great Modernism authors. Authors like Joseph Conrad, T. S Eliot, and Wilfred Owen all with very similar dark styles that you can attribute to the Great War. Joseph Conrad still known for his short story The Heart of Darkness and novel â€Å"The Nigger of the Narcissus†. Both works drift far away from the traditional standards of the Victorian Era and was a true work of modernism. The slow dark story of The Heart of Darkness was a story whose major theme was savagery versus civilization while traveling through Africa. That was something that was not seen at that time. This story made people question savagery and civilization. Everyone has a little savage in them but how much is too much and you cross the line of being uncivilized. This was a very big question during the Great War, what was too much? What was considered uncivilized? That was a question that was constantly raised during the Great War. Besides questioning civilization Conrad had a dark way about his work similar to another Modernism writer. The Heart Of Darkness was dark story about a voyage, a voyage that many of us could never dream of making or going on. A voyage that would test the morality of most men, Just like the Great War tested the morality of most of its soldiers. Was it morally acceptable to continuously heave poison gas back and forth at each other? T. S Eliot was a dark writer with his works such as â€Å"The Hollow Men†, a poem that begins by quoting Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and mimicking its darkness for entirety of the poem. Unlike the Conrad’s story, which questioned what is civilized and what is not this poem, speaks of the end of the world and humanity, as we know. The poem discusses us as humans losing our individuality and becoming empty. While reading â€Å"The Hollow Men†, I questioned was humanity lost after the Great War with all of the unnecessary bloodshed and death. People in Britain became empty and inhuman after the Great War. Besides his dark works T. S Eliot’s poems are prime examples of Modernism. Poems like â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† and â€Å"The Wasteland† both poems were bold and broke far away from everything Victorian. In Eliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† he broke away from tradition with a title that has on particular inference to anything in the poem, there was no love in this poem. Modernism is all about being different and T. S Eliot did that. He also wrote with a style that forced readers to read his work several times to grasp the different meaning, with his lines like the muttering retreats, of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels. Which could be interpreted as he had a considerable amount of one- night stands or he traveled a great deal and was in a different city every night. The interpretation varies from reader to reader another characteristic of Modernism. Lastly Eliot’s work do not fit any type of cookie cutter mold, Eliot focused only on † The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock†. Solely on his chaotic thinking and perception of his ife. He’s not worried about what social effect his poem has on the world. This poem shows he does not care if the reader can even understand his thought process completely subjective like Modernism works should be. Wilfred Owen another author to nave works published during Modernism. Owen is known tor his war poems classifying him as a war poet. Many of his poems describe British soldiers after or during battle. Most famously known for his poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† which was published towards the end of the Great War. In his poem Owen paints a gruesome picture of English troops dying from poison gas. The same young men that were so anxious to fght for their country are now tired covered in blood and barely alive. At the end of the poem Owen uses Just a bit of satire after describing this horrible scene. Owen’s tells us that it is sweet and right to die for your country. Owen tells readers the old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mor. But really how sweet is it to choke to death for your country. I bet most soldier would rather be shot than to die choking on a cloud of poison gas. The Great War made it possible for works like â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† to be created and become popular for the reason that it is ust like a car crash people will slow down to watch, so if a writer is describing the horrors of the battlefield people will slow down and read it. Just like the writers I described before Owen’s his works our faultless examples of Modernism and how the war contributed to the development of the literary movement and the clear differences between Victorian era and Modernism. After writing this paper I know have an improved understanding of what was going on in Britain Pre war and after. I also can further see the differences between the two literary movements, the topic that were debated on plus by what means the topics were conversed about. The primary topic in literature during the Victorian Era were the remarkable differences between the social classes and the living conditions of the mast majority of citizens in Britain during this time. Most of these works were Jam-packed with humor to try to contradict the dim truth about the horrible situations many citizens had to deal with on the day to day. Spending countless hours each day working low paying Jobs in factories, orphans on the street begging for money because their parents were locked in debtors’ prison. As much as authors complained of the living conditions and he need for social reform in the country, they still remained very patriotic. Nevertheless once the Great War began both the country and the literature started to change. I expected the change but I did not expect to see such a massive change in the short four-year timespan of the Great War. Even though the textbooks roughly estimates that Modernism began before the Great War on the other hand authentic Modernism did not appear until the war began. That is because most Modernism literature questioned actions that occurred during the war. Actions like use of poison gas, trench warfare, and imperialism. Modernism was also a decline in the patriotism that was apparent in Victorian literature. The Great war made writers break from caring about the entirety of the countries issues and focus only on what interests them. For Wilfred Owen it was war, Joseph Conrad focused on imperialism and questioning morality. To answer the question I posed in my introduction the Great War played apart in making the differences between Victorian era and Modernism because it gave authors a new topic to discuss and new moral to question. Pre-war authors did not have to question the acts of their countries soldiers if they were morally acceptable or not. The last question I posed – was it because of the Great war that Modernism appear or was it bound to be another literary movement with or without the war. After doing this paper I believe that it was bound to be another movement without the war i t is Just that the war gave authors the push needed speed up the movement. In the end I can say that war does affect literature. How to cite Does War Affect Literature, Essays

An Exploration of the Intimate Economies of Bangkok free essay sample

Ara Wilson’s detailing of her exploration of Bangkok in her ethnography â€Å"The Intimate Economies of Bangkok†, I was able to become an observer of the meshing of the native culture that already existed in Bangkok with the Western culture that has been spreading into the nation for many years. Typically the concept of cultural homogenization discusses an extremely skewed power dynamic in which one regional culture (typically one that exists in countries that have been classified as developing) is taken over and dissembled by the presence of the prevalent Western culture. From Wilson’s account, I find that economies in Bangkok are not so much experiencing a homogenization, but a merging of different cultures which keeps the elements of the native culture, but reworks the rules around the global market. At the same time there is this pervasive air of hegemony which dictates that the Western way is the better way. As per usual when dealing with hegemony, many of the Thai/Sino-Thai people that are affected by this encounter are not aware of its presence. This unawareness comes in the face of continued reiteration of Western ideals that subliminally commute the message that Western commodities are better. This may explain why Western standards of beauty/organization still find their way into the lives of the people featured throughout Wilson’s in-depth portrait of Bangkok. Wilson’s ethnography also illustrates how this meeting of global capitalism and local, cultural models works in the real world. Wilson fully illustrates global capitalism’s effect on Thailand by delving into the local culture in Bangkok and talking to the people who are living in this meshed world. Wilson’s ethnography is able to provide a more complex understanding of the coming together of global capitalism due to her exploration of the interplay of global capitalism and local practices. According to Richard Robbins in his work â€Å"Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism†: The culture of capitalism is devoted to encouraging the production and sale of commodities. For capitalists, the culture encourages the accumulation of profit; for laborers, it encourages the accumulation of wages; and for consumers, it encourages the accumulation of goods. As is the case in many countries who are introduced to culture of capitalism, Thailand experienced a boon in the interest concerning Western goods and business models. Chapter 3 of Wilson’s ethnography discusses the influx of malls that started in the 1970s and was still in place during Wilson’s time in Bangkok. Before the introduction of the culture of capitalism, malls did not exist in Thailand. Instead the Thai/Sino-Thai utilized the traditional shop-house or market place which featured a more individual approach when it came to selling items as opposed to malls having stores selling various goods all condensed and placed into a particular area. While the notion of the mall existing in Thailand may appear to represent the homogenization of the Thai marketplace, elements of traditional Thai culture ended up weaving themselves into the structure that existed within the mall. In the cases of various malls that Wilson discussed in her third chapter, the owners of the malls were sure to include structures that would be family friendly (such as theme parks, miniature zoos, and ice skating rinks). However, many of these structures, in the words of Wilson, â€Å"represented high investments, but usually low returns. Despite the disparity between the investment in these structures and the income that they yielded, business owners continued to include them in the designs for malls that were being built because the, â€Å"companies rely on concepts of family that are not timeless and traditional but emerge through and in relation to commercial discourses and institutions. † This concept of producing structures that aren’t economically viable in order to appeal to a particular market typically wouldn’t be done in the traditional Western business model. If structures aren’t viable in this traditional model, then they are typically torn down and replaced with structures that would justify the money that was initially invested in them. However, the Thai version of this â€Å"Western† business model differs from this rule of profit. In order to produce malls that are more appealing to a given market, the business owners must discover and recognize the current cultural norms that are in existence in Thailand. While the malls and the family-based structures completely deviate from tradition in the purest sense of the word, traditions all over the world have changed and evolved with the changing times and the new level of cultural exposure that exists at this time. In the case of the malls, while the idea of a mall can be recognized as being Western at their base level, in many ways they embody the current desires of the middle-class Thai/Sino-Thai population. In this case it can be argued the malls ended up representing a fusion between Western and Thai ideals. Wilson’s ethnography provides a more complex understanding of the coming together of global capitalism and local, cultural models by virtue of the detail that she goes into when recounting the stories behind the rise of the corporations along with the honest discussions that she is willing to engage in with various Thai/Sino-Thai people. Perhaps due in large part to her gender (which made it more socially acceptable for her to have continued conversations with women without any significant reputational backlash for her female informants) combined with her American-ness ( which places her outside of the limitations imposed by typical gender-dictated rules regarding deportment and behavior in Thai/Sino-Thai culture) , Wilson is able to circumnavigate the gender stratified Thai society and gain information regarding the perspectives of both males and females who are navigating through modern-day Thailand. Most of the individuals who Wilson interviews are toeing the newly developed line between traditional and â€Å"modern† modes of behavior (whether these modes are referring to romantic relationships, dealings with familial obligations, navigating through the job market). One of the many examples of such navigation around or through norms in Thai culture would be the story of Sila, a Thai tom woman who was an Avon lady. As Wilson discovered while gathering information for her ethnography: Within many Sino-Thai and Thai families, earning income and fulfilling family duties can overrule the costs of inappropriate gender or sexual behaviors†¦what most determined status in Sila’s household was fiscal, rather than normative gender, achievement. As a tom and a female, Sila could typically expect to be discriminated against and afforded less privilege then her male relatives in her family, but due to the increased emphasis in Thai culture on the role that income now plays in the Thai/Sino-Thai family structure (probably due, in large part, to the introduction of the rules of Western capitalism), Sila was still able to have status in her family. It is highly unlikely that such status would have been possible before the introduction of the capitalistic economic structure since this structure also introduced novel methods of subsistence. These subsistence methods (i. e. jobs with multinational corporations such as Amway, Avon, and Shinawatra which remains intrinsically Thai while still resembling the Western business model at surface level) provides more opportunities for those who fall outside of the â€Å"norm. † Such stories enable the tale of the joining of capitalism and Thai culture to jump off the page and become real to whoever is reading the story. Wilson’s analysis of the impact of globalization in the economy of Thailand suggests that capitalism is reworking the threads of the traditional kinship economy of Thailand, but not truly extinguishing it. Wilson postulates: Capitalist markets interact with other economies—with folk, kin, and moral economies. These alternate economies are not timeless but have transformed alongside and informed modernization in Thailand. They provide a symbolic and practical counterpoint to capitalist exchange. In this respect, I am inclined to agree with the presentation of her argument. In the final chapter of her ethnography which was entitled, â€Å"The Avon Lady, the Amway Plan, and the Making of Thai Entrepreneurs,† I was able to directly view how American corporations marketed themselves to the Thai entrepreneur. I was also able to view how, in turn, the Thai entrepreneur marketed and sold these Western commodities to their friends and family within the scope of the traditional Thai kinship-based economy. Wilson’s presentation of the market structure in Thailand during the time following the initial introduction of capitalism has led me to conclude that globalization as it is presented in Thailand has not led to cultural homogenization (which typically dictates that one culture completely yield to another and abdicate the traditional ideals). Instead globalization has produced a hegemonic notion of Western products being more valuable and desirable. While I wouldn’t presume to state that Thailand’s situation applies to all (former and current) developing nations, this notion steeped in hegemony is one which has changed the nature of the kinship based economy by introducing products that were not previously commoditized into the Thai commodity knowledge base and creating a necessity for them. While the traditional mode of economy is strained under this increased outside pressure, it is yet to yield. Instead it continually evolves within the structure that is forever changing around it.