Gender and Social Norms Essay Example for Free

Gender and Social Norms Essay In today’s society social norms have huge effects on parental decisions. Some would say that shaping a child’s life around these norms might be what is needed in order for one to have a successful life. Majority of individuals tend to migrate towards others who are like them. With this being said, if you aren’t raised how the average person is, you will not have a group to migrate to and will never develop relationships that can benefit your future. My survey consisted of three questions, which were answered anonymously by ten different individuals. The first two questions were to find out what my participant’s sexes were and what their current marital status was. My final question was, â€Å"Do you feel boys from the ages four to seven should be provided with Barbie Toys if asked for them?† The statistics I received were quite diverse. Being accepted in today’s society is the key factor when developing early relationships, which will impact your future. As it is one has to face plenty of other obstacles such as being discriminated against due to their individual sex, race, culture or religion. If you aren’t raised around the norms society has developed then that is one more obstacle you must face when going through life. Sociological imagination is stated to be forces of society that control our personal experiences. I believe that this hits the direct point I am making when I say that there are forces outside of what one’s parents believe in that influence the way someone is raised. Parents want their children to have the average childhood and be accepted by everyone. The only way one can accomplish this is to base the decisions made for their child around the social norms. For boys, they should only play with action figures and should participate in athletics. Females should only play with Barbies and should be put in classes such as ballet. It is out of what society accepts if one’s child does participate in anything that the opposite sex should be doing. This may lead to harassment of many sorts and keep one from advancing and becoming successful. On the other hand, if someone partakes in something their gender is known for, this may lead to extra opportunities. I am stating that if someone of a specific sex has been raised the way the rest of that society has been, it will broaden their chances to migrate towards others due to a higher chance of commonalities. I found out that sex did not play much of a part when determining what people thought about my topic. Majority of the males did answer no when asked if boys should be allowed to play with Barbies. Females also leaned towards that end. Seventy-one percent of them said they would not allow a boy to play with a Barbie if they asked for it. While tallying the statistics I noticed that every person who was currently in a relationship said they would not allow it. I feel they answered it no because they may have already spoken with their significant others about possibly having children, and they wouldn’t want their child to be an outcast. I would bet that they have not spoken about this specific topic in general; therefore they would keep aware from such topics to avoid any disagreements with their partner. They may believe in two different sides, but choose to stick to what society accepts. I also saw that the few who answered yes were either single or divorced. I think these individuals are at a point where they know they are free to have their own beliefs and will exercise them because there is no one they have to persuade, other than themselves. A single parent may stick to what they believe in when raising their child, or they may resort to what society accepts. The only person I received a survey from who was married chose not to buy such toys for young boys. She actually chose to express why she felt this way. She said that her and her husband are expecting a child shortly and have been open with one another about these sorts of scenarios. She stated that they refuse to force their child (ren) to live in this â€Å"invisible acceptance bubble† that society has come to. They feel everyone should be raised differently so the world will be as diverse as possible. She expressed that she does not want to be a part of raising someone who is exactly like the next child. She described it as society losing its color. Everything will soon be black in white if we keep allowing these invisible rules to take over what should be our decisions. Society has developed norms that many people feel forced to go buy in order to achieve acceptance. Although they may not agree with what the majority does, they refuse to be a part of an outcast group. I understand why people would take part in such actions. I believe it is because they are afraid to be different and not accepted by most, which can lead to lack of relationships, needed to be considered â€Å"normal.† The survey I conducted showed what ten random people thought when asked if they would allow and/or supply a boy from the ages four to seven with a Barbie if asked. Majority responded no, which I feel was because it has been declared â€Å"wrong† in our society. Survey You are being asked to complete this survey on family issues for a paper I am writing for my FCS 340 class. All answers will remain confidential and anonymous.

Warming Up :: Personal Narrative Papers

Warming Up "Why is it always so cold in here?" I said, aiming my voice in the direction of my parents. "It's only 68," was the invariable response from one of them. "That's room temperature." I couldn't understand why they kept the house so cold in the winter, 68 degrees during the day, 66 at night. "It's more economical to keep the house at this temperature," my dad would tell me. How much money could it cost to heat the house a few degrees more? Even though I was sure our finances would not suffer if we used more heat, I never thought of my family as rich. Rather, by comparing my family with some of my friends' families, I thought we were comparatively poor. We never had many luxuries; even our house was spartan. A few years ago, my dad and stepmom bought a plot of land in a new subdivision and designed a house. After it was built, it was obvious that we had the plainest house in the cul-de-sac. It was a one-story house with conservative beige siding and absolutely nothing fancy to make it stand out. All the other houses had two stories or decorative rows of brickwork or beautiful gables on the roof. I knew that these kinds of decorations did not come cheap, and I thought that all our neighbors must be very rich to be able to build such fancy houses. If our house was not ornate, it was certainly well kept. My dad or I mowed the yard frequently so the grass wouldn't look ragged. Neat flowerbeds encircled the house, giving it the proper, orderly look that convention demanded. Most adults I knew looked down on houses that did not meet this standard. "It's too bad they couldn't fix that siding; it would be a nice house otherwise," I would hear while passing a run-down home. Or someone else would say, "Can't that family mow their lawn? Look how bad the neighborhood looks because of that one yard." My world was clean and tidy, organized and proper. I had spent all of my 16 years in the same town, raised with a standard of propriety. I knew, in an abstract sense, that there was poverty in the world. Even so, I thought my family was, if not poor, at least poorer than most families. But I rarely thought about poverty or living conditions at all.

Ap Literature Open Response Questions Essay

2011: In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life â€Å"is a search for justice.† Choose a character from a novel or play who responds in some significant way to justice or injustice. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the character’s understanding of justice, the degree to which the character’s search for justice is successful, and the significance of this search for the work as a whole. 2010: Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that â€Å"Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.† Yet Said has also said that exile can become â€Å"a potent, even enriching† experience. Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from â€Å"home ,† whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. 2009: A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 2008: In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work. 2007: In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present actions, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an  essay in which you show how the character’s relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. 2006: Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or primitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 2005: In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), the protagonist, Edna Pontellier is said to possess â€Å"that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.† In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a character who conforms outwardly while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how that tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid mere plot summary. 2004: Critic Roland Barthes has said, â€Å"Literature is the question minus the answer.† Choose a novel or play and, considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. 2003: According to critic Northrop Frye, â€Å"Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning. Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole. 2002: Morally ambiguous characters—characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good—are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous characters plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. 2001: One definition of madness is â€Å"mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.† But Emily Dickinson wrote Much Madness is  divinest Sense–To a discerning Eye–Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a â€Å"discerning Eye.† Select a novel or play in which a character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the â€Å"madness† to the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 2000: Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more of the characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 1999: The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, â€Å"No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.† From a novel or play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict within one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may use one of the novels or plays listed below or another novel or play of similar literary quality. 1998: In his essay â€Å"Walking,† Henry David Thoreau offers the following assessment of literature: â€Å"In literature it is only the wild that attracts us. Dullness is but another name for tameness. It is the uncivilized free and wild thinking in Hamlet and The Iliad, in all scriptures and mythologies, not learned in schools, that delights us. From the works you have studied in school, choose a novel, play, or epic poem that you may initially have thought was conventional and tame but that you now value for its â€Å"uncivilized free and wild thinking.† Write an essay in which you explain what constitutes its â€Å"uncivilized free and wild thinking† and how that thinking is central to the value of the work as a whole.  Support your ideas with specific references to the work you choose. 1997: Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole. 1996: The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings: â€Å"The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events–a marriage or a last-minute rescue from death–but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.† Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well-written essay, identify the â€Å"spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation† evident in the ending and explain its significance in the work as a whole. 1995: Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class or creed. Choose a play or novel in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values. 1994: In some works of literature, a character who appears briefly, or does not appear at all, is a significant presence. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write an essay in which you show how such a character functions in the work. You may wish to discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters. 1993: â€Å"The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter.† (George Meredith) Choose a novel, play, or long poem in which a scene or character awakens â€Å"thoughtful laughter† in the reader. Write an essay in which you show why this laughter is â€Å"thoughtful† and how it contributes to the meaning of the work. 1992: In a novel or play, a confidant (male) or a confidante (female) is a character, often a friend or relative of the hero or heroine, whose roles is to be present when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked, that the confidant or confidante can be as much â€Å"the reader’s friend as the protagonist’s.† However, the author sometimes uses this character for other purposes as well. Choose a confidant or  confidante from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you discuss the various ways this character functions in the work. 1991: Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work. 1990: Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. 1989: In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O’Connor has written, â€Å"I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only way to make people see.† Write an essay in which you â€Å"make a good case for distortion,† as distinct from literary realism. Analyze how important elements of the work you choose are â€Å"distorted† and explain how these distortions contribute to the effectiveness of the work. 1988: Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological: for example, awakenings, discoveries, and changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external actions. Do not merely summarize the plot. 1987: Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader’s or audience’s views. Avoid plot summary. 1986: Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of recognized literary merit and show how the author’s manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the  work as a whole. 1985: A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this â€Å"healthy confusion.† Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the â€Å"pleasure and disquietude† experienced by the readers of the work and how this pairing contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. 1984: Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness. 1983: From a novel or play of literary merit, select an important a character who is a villain. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the nature of the character’s villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work. 1982: In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. 1981: The meaning of some literary works is often enhanced by sustained allusion to myths, the Bible, or other works of literature. Select a literary work that makes use of such a sustained reference. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain the allusion that predominates in the work and analyze how it enhances the work’s meaning. 1980: A recurring theme in literature is â€Å"the classic war between a passion and responsibility.† For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work. 1979: Choose a complex and important character in a novel or play of recognized literary merit who might–on the basis of the character’s actions alone–be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. 1978: Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized literary merit. Write  an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic or plausible elements in the rest of the work, [and why the pairing of these elements contributes to the meaning as a whole.] 1977: In some novels and plays certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant. In an essay, describe the major  similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events in a novel or play and discuss the significance of such events. 1976: A character’s attempt to recapture or to reject the past is important in many plays, novels, and poems. Choose a literary work in which a character views the past with such feelings as reverence, bitterness, or longing. Show with clear evidence from the work how the character’s view of the past is used to develop a theme in the work. 1975: Unlike the novelist, the writer of a play does not use his own voice and only rarely uses a narrator’s voice to guide the audience’s responses to character and action. Select a play you have read and write an essay in which you explain the techniques the playwright uses to guide his audience’s responses to the central characters and action. You might consider the effect on the audience of things like setting, the use of comparable and contrasting characters, and the characters’ responses to each other. Support your argument with specific references to the play. 1974: Choose a work of literature written before 1900. Write an essay in which you present arguments for and against the work’s relevance for a person in 1974. Your own position should emerge in the course of your essay. You may refer to works of literature written after 1900 for the purpose of contrast or comparison. 1973: An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant â€Å"closure† has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In a well-organized essay, discuss the endin g of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot. 1971: In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the first chapter of a novel in  which you explain how the chapter functions to set forth major themes. 1968: In many plays, a character has a misconception of himself or his world. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the play. Choose a play with a major character to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points: what the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the play and how the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a them of the play. 1966: An individual’s struggle toward understanding and awareness is the traditional subject for the novelist. In an essay, apply this statement to one novel of literary merit. Organize your essay according to the following play: 1) Compare the hero as we see him in an early scene with the hero as we see him in a scene near the end of the novel. 2) Describe the techniques that the author uses to reveal the new understanding and awareness that the hero has achieved. 1963: Character determines incident. Incident illustrates character. Write a well-organized essay evaluating this statement through a discussion of one character from each of two novels. 1959: All kinds of books have been attacked, suppressed, or disapproved of by authorities, groups or individuals. Select an important work which you admire and which you propose to defend against possible objections. In a well-organized essay, present reasons why the work might be attacked, and base your defense on a consideration of such matters as its language, the people in it, its mood and spirit, and consequently its artistic purpose and its value for the readers. ? Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic or plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary. ? The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her society; or, from a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you choose.

Christopher Columbus A Hero Or Hero - 1445 Words

Christopher Columbus was he a hero or was he a villain? As attitudes change throughout the years and new discoveries are being made, history is constantly being rewritten. In the recent years, there has been much controversy over the â€Å"achievements† of the great admiral Christopher Columbus. There have also been many books, articles, and historians that have described him as â€Å"one of the greatest mariners in history, a visionary genius, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naive entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist.† This essay will attempt to clarify who Christopher Columbus was and how he altered history for the better and for worse. Christopher Columbus was a renowned Italian sailor, navigator, and explorer who accidently discovered the â€Å"New World† of the Americas in 1492 as the result of an expedition sponsored by the Spanish monarchy Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, in hopes of finding an alternate trade route to Asia, the source of luxury and wealth in the eyes of Europeans. Altogether Columbus commanded four expeditions under the Spanish monarchy between 1492 and 1504. Although Columbus never found an alternate lucrative trade route to Asia, Columbus’s encounter with America in 1492 forever changed world history, symbolizing the beginning of a new relationship between Western Europe and the rest of the world. Columbus’s discovery ended cultural isolation by bringing together people and ecosystems that had developed separately forShow MoreRelatedChristopher Columbus Is Not A Hero Essay1610 Words   |  7 PagesChristopher Columbus is commonly known as the â€Å"discover er† of the Americas. From a young age students are taught all the wonderful things he did for our land and how well he interacted with the Natives. Although the truth is disregarded and as students grow, they come to learn that Columbus was not a hero in fact. Columbus came close to causing a genocide of the Native Americans, and basically began the â€Å"white power† movement that America is forced to deal with today. The truth of what ChristopherRead MoreChristopher Columbus As A Hero965 Words   |  4 Pages In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America. He helped build implement a trade network between Europe (old world) and the America (new world). Which introduced new food and technology to both worlds. Although Christopher Columbus is recognized as a hero, who discovered the America and made it what it is today, his motives were to take all the valuable goods from the new world to the Spain. He have killed millions of natives. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus began to sail, he wanted to goRead MoreChristopher Columbus: Not a Hero1057 Words   |  5 Pagesannual holiday known as Columbus Day ever since the early 1900s? While enjoying the day off has the question of why an Italian explorer has a day dedicated to him in America ever occurred to you? Probably not, but every American with at least an elementary education has the general knowledge that Christopher Columbus is the hero credited with discovering America. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to even say that he is a national icon. In actuality, he’s far from being a hero. Although he did find aRead MoreChristopher Columbus As A Hero1211 Words   |  5 Pagescelebrate Columbus Day; whether Christopher Columbus, the man with a holiday named after him, the man who â€Å"discovered† America, was really hero. There are people who claim that Columbus was, in fact, someone to be celebrated. This is false. Christopher Columbus was, most blatantly put, a villain. He deserves this status because he did not discover the land now known as America, he forced his beliefs onto others, and he utterly destroyed the lives of unknowing, innocent people. Christopher Columbus is mainlyRead MoreChristopher Columbus : Hero Or Villain?884 Words   |  4 PagesRian White Crawford 3rd Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain? In elementary school students are taught that Christopher Columbus is some godly hero who discovered that the earth was round and a shorter route to â€Å"Asia†. They even have a day dedicated to him. Typically, children are gullible and just believe what they are taught, rather than actually researching and learning the history on their own. As a child one’s brain is not developed enough to possess a sense of moral discernment. Also, childrenRead MoreChristopher Columbus As A Hero For The Discovery Essay1601 Words   |  7 PagesOn the second Monday in October we celebrate Christopher Columbus, for â€Å"discovering† the Americas. However, it was actually the Vikings were the first to discover America 500 years prior to Columbus. Since preschool all through middle school, children are taught that he was a great Spanish explorer who sailed to the Americas on the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. In our textbooks we are taught that he helped prove that world was not flat, but many people had already began to realize that it wasRead MoreWhy Is Christopher Columbus A Hero1466 Words   |  6 PagesChristopher Columbus is best known for his voyage across the Atlantic where he accidentally discovered America. He paved the way for future exploration and set the course for history. Although Columbus is known as a historical hero for this discovery, he committed many awful acts along the way. Therefore, this writer concludes that Columbus was more of a villain than a hero. This researcher has reached this conclusion after examining many secondary sources including†¦(list sources)†¦ Important informationRead MoreChristopher Columbus Hero Or Villain1658 Words   |  7 PagesChristopher Columbus is an internationally celebrated explorer, due to his voyages to Central America during the Age of Discovery, a period between 15th and 16th centuries where explorers would be supported by countries to claim land. Columbus was an Italian explorer, on a conquest for gold and riches, who was sponsored by the monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, to travel to Southern Asia. Columbus proposed the idea of traveling from East to West, rather than travelingRead MoreChristopher Columbus: Villain or Hero? Essay458 Words   |  2 PagesIn 1492, Christopher Columbus unintentionally discovered America, when he landed in the Caribbean Islands, while looking for a direct sea route to Asia. Despite the fact that Columbus believed he had foun d a direct sea route to India, he has been called the discoverer of America and hailed as a hero. More recently, however, he has been called a villain, with accusations saying that not only did he not discover America, but also that he was the cause of slavery and oppression in the Americas. TheseRead MoreChristopher Columbus: Hero or Villain? Essay1788 Words   |  8 Pages School taught us about the infamous Christopher Columbus who was known as the hero who found the Americas in 1492, but is that the truth? Is Columbus really the hero that grade school portrayed him to be? Columbus was not. Columbus was a greedy man who destroyed an entire race of people with genocide just so only he could benefit and become a man of money and power. Columbus was a very good speaker and very persuasive. He convinced the King and Queen of Spain to fund his expedition to â€Å"Asia†