Essays on Captivity

Inspired by real-life events of the Lima Crisis, the novel Bel Canto creates an eloquent – and probably rather unexpected – image of the terrorist-hostage situation: Ann Pratchett drives the plot away from political and economic intricacies and moves it into the realm of real human relationships and life experiences. Pratchett places people of different occupations, languages, dispositions and tempers into one presidential mansion where – captured by the terrorists for four months – they find new ways of looking at the world and can finally take a fresher look at their lives, passions and desires. It is pure humanity in the multiplicity ...

After a read of Belinda Sutton’s 1783 Petition and the 1791 letter dubbed To Thomas Jefferson from Benjamin Banneker, it is impossible to overlook the authors’ shared perception of men and women of color deserving more than what the Caucasians gave them at the time. Sutton believed that after her years of captivity as the human chattel of one Isaac Royall, she should have a “morsel of [the] immense wealth” her servitude under bondage had given the master (1783, par.5). Similarly, in a wider perspective of the racist ideologies that fueled the slavery system, Banneker insisted that his ...

In the article entitled, “No Ethical Way to Keep Elephants in Captivity” by Ed Stewart, the reader is introduced to a progressive issue or concern that has been debated about for decades. This issue involves whether it is ethical or not to keep elephants in captivity. Mr. Stewart is very clear and concise on what his thoughts are on this issue as he describes the cruel nature and hazardous conditions that many elephants in captivity experience such as: “deadly foot disease and arthritis, infertility, obesity, and abnormal repetitive behaviors such as swaying and head bobbing” (Stewart, 2013). Mr. Stewart, ...

Middle East History: Trickster Travels by Natalie Zemon Davis

“Trickster Travels” was written by Natalie Davis, who is a historian of the early modern period. Her main interests are cultural history and social history. She has worked for the period ranging from 15th to 18th centuries, and focused on Europe (Princeton University, history.princeton.edu). She has taught history in many universities including the University of Toronto, Brown University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Princeton University. Her book “Trickster Travels” was published in 2006, and with the publication of this book, she successfully managed to sustain her name as one of the most interesting historians of the early ...

Scientists, the world over, have a common belief that over 90% of earth’s species have become extinct over the last three billion years that the planet has supported life . It is estimated that there have been at least five mass extinctions spread over millions of years at a time. The latest known mass extinction was towards the end of the Cretaceous period. It is most likely so well known because, the event which occurred over 65 million years ago, caused the end of the dinosaurs. Although in terms of the scale it was smaller than the previous four, ...

Stanford Prison experiment took place at Stanford University in the year 1971 and it was conducted by Philip Zimbardo to find out the influence of social roles on our behavior. It was one of the landmarks of the human psychological study in response to subjected to captivity and to reveal to the world on the real circumstances of the prison life (Konnikovaet al., 2015). The intention of the experiment was to examine captivity, but the results it generated have proven useful in demonstrating the impression people’s obedience especially if provided with an idea that is legitimized and support ...

Captive narratives form an important aspect of the history of colonial American literature as the writers are able to present stories that are rich in the suffering, thrill danger and adventure of relating real life experiences that are associated with Colonial America. The story of Hannah Emerson Duston brings the readers to a world where a woman as abducted from her home and faced the trauma of having to endure time with the Native Americans. Being from Massachusetts, Duston actions are surprising. She kills two women, two men and six children in their sleep so that she could escape ...

Part One: Primate Observation Field Notes

The observations of the primate took place at San Francisco Zoo. The following information provides the comments on the field notes made about the two primates – the Colobus Monkey and the Western Lowland Gorilla. The Colobus Monkey – a medium sized monkey of moderate build at San Francisco Zoo is found in the Doelger Primate Discovery Center (DPDC). Together with other species such as the pied tamarins, black howler monkey, siamangs and the squirrel monkeys, the colobus monkey is managed at DPDC under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plans. These plans are designed to protect those species ...

International Crime

Introduction Human trafficking is the use of force or coercion to transfer, harbor, or otherwise recruit persons against their will to perform acts that may or may not be illegal in nature. It is a vile practice that robs human beings of their free will and degrades them in ways that are unimaginable to any thinking being. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most lucrative and easy practices that those who make a living exploiting others can imagine. While method and practices have been set into place across international borders to keep better tabs on such a horrific ...

The process of observing a primate can take on many shapes and forms. Prior to beginning my observation, I was not sure what approach I would take because I didn’t know what animals and in what order I would be able to observe these animals. Once I reached the facility, however, I realized that ab-lib sampling would be the most effective approach for me because the monkeys were spread out and it was difficult to consistently observe one group of these together. Similarly, I did not think focal sampling would be effective in this instance, because such an ...