Macroeconomics Project - 6761 Words

MBA 6410 Project Part 1 The Financial Accelerator and the Flight to Quality One puzzle that has long plagued business cycle analysis is the existence of large fluctuations in aggregate economic activity that arise from what seem to be small shocks. This anomaly is what motivated the research into the financial accelerator. The financial accelerator is a possible explanation for these disproportional fluctuations. Changes in the credit market amplify and spread the initial shocks. This is explanation fits particularly well when firms and households are overextended or highly leveraged. This credit-market amplification of economic shocks is the result of reduced access to borrowed funds. Using the principal-agent approach to credit†¦show more content†¦The flight to quality also affects the real economy. Investment is very sensitive to cash flow for firms that are most likely to be credit constrained. Studies have also shown that, for firms subject to credit-market constraints, employment, RD spending, and inventory investment are affected by an economic downturn. The primary principle of the financial accelerator suggests two main ideas. First, borrowers facing relatively high agency costs in credit markets will bear the brunt of economic downturns (flight to quality). And second, reduced spending, production, and investment by borrowers with high agency costs will worsen the effects of recessionary shocks. The Financial Accelerator in a Quantitative Business Cycle Framework Economic authors as far back as Fisher and Keynes have posited that credit-market conditions play a central role in the transmission of cyclical economic fluctuations. According to this theory, deteriorating credit-market conditions – marked by increases in insolvency and bankruptcy, rising debt burdens, falling asset prices, and bank failures – are not merely a reflection of the real economy. They are, in and of themselves, major factors contributing to the depression of an economy. By adding credit-market conditions to the standard economic models, the ability of these models to explain fluctuations is strengthened. Based on the data, friction in theShow MoreRelatedProject Paper Macroeconomics1161 Words   |  5 PagesProject Paper 1. What is the gross domestic product? Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is the total market value of final goods and services produced within an economy in a given year. It is the most common measure of an economy’s total output. 2. When prices change, how do we measure real income? When prices change we measure real income with 3. What is unemployment? Why can’t it be driven down to zero? Unemployment is when you don’t have a job. Unemployed people are those who don’t have aRead MoreThe Great Recession : Macroeconomics Project1096 Words   |  5 PagesTHE GREAT RECESSION MACROECONOMICS PROJECT Max: Hi I’m Max Lessins. This is Crash Course for economics and today we’ll be discussing the Great Recession, focusing on the fiscal and monetary policies used to recover from the 2008 economic meltdown. First, we need to understand how the Great Recession occurred. It all started with President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Reagan was famous for his supply-side economic views (Amadeo 1). He used top-down economics meaning he used government interventionRead MoreMacroeconomics Research Project : Income Inequality924 Words   |  4 PagesMacroeconomics Research Project: Income Inequality Income Inequality means the uneven income is distributed among individuals in a company, groups in a population, or countries in the world. â€Å"One-fourth of American employees make less than $10 per hour, which is the income that below the Federal poverty level† (Amadeo). Those are the people like cashier, waiters, or fast food clerks. There is a huge gap between rich people and poor people. The rich people are getting richer while the poor peopleRead MoreEcon 545 Project 2 Macroeconomic Analysis Essay3358 Words   |  14 Pages California has become one of the largest solar energy markets in the United States due to incentives the state offers for installation of solar panel on roofs of homes and businesses. In addition, government subsidies help to fund installation projects. Choosing to do business in this region will be very competitive, but it seem there is still opportunity in these states. (Wang, 2013) International trade is another option to consider when looking into marketing a product. Solar energy is a resourceRead MoreFinal Project Part I Milestone One: Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium855 Words   |  4 PagesFinal Project Part I Milestone One: Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwaid.com/shop/final-project-part-i-milestone-one-supply-demand-and-market-equilibrium/ Apple is the Company and the product is IPhone 6 3-2 Final Project Part I Milestone One: Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium This milestone, which covers Section II of Final Project Part I, should be a paper structured as follows: 1. Describe the price elasticity of supply or demand forRead MoreIntroduction And Literature Review : The Decline Of Economic Conditions881 Words   |  4 Pagesin U.S. economy. How do macroeconomic factors influence consumer confidence in different groups of people? I used data from Survey of Consumer Attitude and Behavior by University of Michigan, Survey Research Center and examine the relationship between the Index of Consumer Expectation and four categories of parameters: demographic variables, macroeconomic factors, news heard and their interactions to observe the interacting effect of demographic factors and macroeconomic factors. In Part 1, I introducedRead MoreEcon 2301 Study Guide1079 Words   |  5 PagesECON 2301: Principles of Macroeconomics Hennessy ECON 2301 Principles of Macroeconomics Time: Th 7:05 pm – 9:45 pm Synonym: 40512 Section: 023 Room: NRG2 2120 Instructor: Gregory Hennessy Office: NRG PB3 Hours: Th 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm Th 9:45 pm – 10:15 pm And by appointment Phone: Email: Course Description Principles of Macroeconomics deals with consumers as a whole, producers as a whole, the effects of government spending and taxation policies, and the effects of the monetary policy carriedRead MoreMicroeconomics1441 Words   |  6 Pagesservices. For the purpose of microeconomics, the actions of individuals, households and businesses are crucial, unlike the study of macroeconomics, which focuses on national and international economic trends. Despite the differences between the two fields, however, micro-level trends and the study of microeconomics are considered the basis of modern macroeconomics. Macroeconomics is concerned with the big picture, for example, the national economy and gross domestic product. By contrast, microeconomicsRead MoreThe Washington Consensus And Related Structural Adjustment Provisions ( Saps )1101 Words   |  5 Pageseconomic growth. Subsequent SAPs promoted a strong macroeconomic masquerade that forwent its symbiosis with microeconomi c issues. It was the growing statism in 1989 Latin America that drove this rebellious neo-liberalist direction, countering overt government control through deregulatory, penetrative strategies. Informing Williamson’s (2000) argument of rapid economic development, Naim (1993) crystallises the Consensus’ goals in Venezuela’s macroeconomic platform. GDP grew in the 1990s to a record highRead MoreThe End Of The Eastern Alliance1561 Words   |  7 Pagesclaims there are 3 major thoughts behind the so-called Washington consensus: â€Å"macroeconomic discipline, market economy and the opening of economy† (Mavroudeas, Stavros, 2007)) To begin with, the macroeconomic discipline of Washington Consensus has particular significances that differentiate it from other macroeconomic approaches. It is neither related to the Keynesian macroeconomic arrangements nor other macroeconomic strategies. In most cases, it led to â€Å"austerity budgets† and different approaches

The Souls Of Black Folk - 864 Words

â€Å"A piece of cloth or net worn usually by a woman over the head and shoulders and sometimes over the face.† This simple definition, provided by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is often the first thing that comes to mind when speaking about a veil. However, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers another definition: â€Å"something that covers or hides something else.† I believe that this definition is more closely related to the veil that W.E.B. DuBois discusses in this book, â€Å"The Souls of Black Folk.† The first time Dubois brings up the idea of a veil, it is when he is describing an experience from his past that made him feel as though he was different from other people. He uses the idea of a veil to emphasize separation he felt from the other people— the white people. However, Dubois reveals that he had, â€Å"to tear down that veil, to creep through that veil, to creep though,† (DuBois, 10). Does this mean the veil isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As DuBois continues to talk about his experiences, the veil eventually turns into â€Å"the shades of the prison-house†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (10). This signifies that, as Dubois became older, his anger grew towards white people. But who could blame him? DuBois was growing up the post-civil war era, the time also known as Reconstruction, a time when slaves were â€Å"free† but black people were still extremely mistreated. Many slave owners in the south were outraged when slaves were declared free. Many of them would threaten their former slaves that if they tried toShow MoreRelatedThe Souls Of Black Folk1466 Words   |  6 Pagestitled The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 as a response to the condition of black people in America. The book predates the 1920s Harlem Renaissance, but can be viewed as a precursor to the New Negro Movement. Prior to 1903, blacks lived primarily in the South, but by the 1920s the black population in New York City rose by 115 percent. The movem ent of blacks from the South to the North occurred for various reasons; discontent with life in the Jim Crow South, widespread violence against blacks and theRead MoreThe Souls Of Black Folk1141 Words   |  5 PagesRace is simply black or white, or simply light or dark, which plays into internalized or reverse racism. Personally I believe that African Americans struggle with race more than any other ethnicity because they struggle with both internal and external racism. W.E.B. Dubois as well as Glenn Loury spoke about the African American struggle in their works. W.E.B. DuBois wrote The Souls of Black Folk. In this work DuBois talks about life behind the shadow of race. In The Souls of Black Folk, DuBois makesRead MoreThe Souls Of Black Folk938 Words   |  4 Pages The reading that I found most compelling to me was W.E.B DuBois excerpt titled â€Å"The Souls of Black Folk†. I find this reading compelling because DuBois was a huge advocate on togetherness and that people were being treated equal. During time that this reading was created, there were many obstacles African Americans were facing in that era that was not so promising for a bright future. The struggles they faced were, racial biasness, lack of representation and lack of educational attainment. DuBoisRead MoreThe Souls Of Black Folk1236 Words   |  5 Pagesmind. Du Bois argues in his book The Souls of Black Folk, that the gap between being black and American is far too wide. This is not an unjustified view especially in his time period, where laws were set in place purposely to prevent equality of the freedman. But even today, where those laws are no longer in place, a non-white American is too ethnic to be American and is simultaneously too American to be ethnic. Du Bois en tertains the idea of a Negro being both black and American but unfortunately hisRead MoreThe Souls of Black Folk1595 Words   |  7 Pagesthe text of The Souls of Black Folk embodies Du Bois experience of duality as well as his peoples. In Du Bois Forethought to his essay collection, The Souls of Black Folk, he entreats the reader to receive his book in an attempt to understand the world of African Americans—in effect the souls of black folk. Implicit in this appeal is the assumption that the author is capable of representing an entire people. This presumption comes out of Du Bois own dual nature as a black man who has livedRead MoreThe Souls Of Black Folk1048 Words   |  5 Pages The Souls of Black Folk is Written by W.E.B Du Bois and was published in 1903. This book is a collection of essays put together in a single book. Each essay is not the same, but revolve around the central idea of â€Å"the veil†. Another thought it revolves around is about segregation, and the lives of an average African American. The setting of this book takes place in the 19 20th century of the United States of America. Let me begin by explaining W.E.B Du Bois’s thinking of â€Å"the veil†. The veilRead MoreThe Souls Of Black Folk780 Words   |  4 PagesAfrica, in America and the islands of the sea† (W.E.B DuBois). This is part of the theme in the novel The Souls of Black Folk, which is based on an actual story/ autobiography of an African American leader, W.E.B DuBois. The narrator DuBois writes about race relations in the United Sates distributing the color-line. The color-line is the fundamental issue of racial conflict between the blacks and whites. It deals with the inequality and disparity of living in America as an African American. W.E.BRead MoreThe Souls Of Black Folks958 Words   |  4 PagesThe Souls of Black Folks â€Å"The Songs† The Songs sited in each chapter of this book was put together to deliberately guide the reader’s cerebration process in scrutinizing the context to identify with DuBois of how these events described effected Black people during this era in our history. Each example was directly associated with the subsequent chapter and solidified the arguments from DuBois’ perspective. It was translucently clear that the deliberate specimens of the song segments and the essaysRead MoreThe Souls Of Black Folks1486 Words   |  6 Pagescertain knowledge, and we have people in our lives who fit into our unaware identity with us. Then, we have our aware life in which we know about the unsuspecting self and can look at things in a more critical way. Double-Consciousness In the Souls of Black Folks, DuBois writes about a ‘double consciousness . This term suggests African Americans perceive the world through two competing lenses. The first lens views the self as pushing forward from the social position of a marginalized other. TheRead MoreThe Black Music : The Soul Of Black Folk1855 Words   |  8 Pagespopular culture was created or directly influenced by Black music. Through the history of Black musical forms, each style represented a reality of the Black community, whether regionally or based on the time period and politics. Before enslaved Africans had the education to write their stories, they were told orally, often set to music. Highlighting the genius of a people, when there were ideas and stories that were adverse to those in power, Black people were able to hide their true messages in a

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson - 600 Words

One of the most shocking literary devices in Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† is the setting. â€Å"The Lottery† being set in any town of the United States of America points to how important the reoccurring theme is. By not placing the story in any specific place, Jackson leaves the readers to wonder and evaluate the general inhumanity that surrounds them. When it comes to saving oneself a person seems to easily harm someone else. Along with the setting Jackson uses a great deal of irony, motifs, and symbolism to illustrate how easily society conforms in order to save oneself in â€Å"The Lottery.† Conformity is allowing social influence to change ones belief and behaviors in order to stay connected to the group The opening of the story provides the reader with the knowledge of all the town’s people coming together in the square for what is known as the lottery, but does not specify exactly what the lottery is. Jackson’s setting on a clea r and sunny summer day gives the reader a picnic like feel as the town’s people gather together. Jackson uses situational irony here as all the characters know what the lottery leads to, but the readers do not. These people are all conforming as majority of them are against the lottery, but no one speaks up because of their desire to save themselves. This use of irony shows that one is more likely to go along with the crowd than draw attention to themselves. The lottery is a sacrifice believed to enrich crop growth. This is not the first time thisShow MoreRelatedThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1195 Words   |  5 PagesOn the surface, Shirley Jackson’s short story, â€Å"The Lottery,† reads as a work of horror. There is a village that holds an annual lottery where the winner is stoned to death so the village and its people could prosper. Some underlying themes include: the idea that faith and tradition are often followed blindly, and those who veer away from tradition are met with punishment, as well as the idea of a herd mentality and bystander apathy. What the author manages to do successfully is that she actuallyRead MoreThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson757 Words   |  4 Pagessucceed but many fail just like the main character Tessie Hutchinson in Shirley Jackson’s short story â€Å"The Lottery†. When someone hears the word â€Å"lottery†, he or she may think that someone will be rewarded with prize. But â€Å"The Lottery† By Shirley Jackson is different than what one thinks. In the story, a lottery is going to be conducted not like Mega Million or Powerball one play here. In the story, the person who wins the lottery is stoned to death instead of being rewarded with the prize. TessieRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson931 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1948 Shirley Jackson composed the controversial short story â€Å"The Lottery.† Generally speaking, a title such as â€Å"The Lottery† is usually affiliated with an optimistic outlook. However, Jackson’s approach is quite unorthodox and will surely leave readers contemplating the intent of her content. The story exposes a crude, senseless lottery system in which random villagers are murdered amongst their peers. Essentially, the lottery system counteracts as a form of population control, but negatives easilyRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson1504 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† by Sh irley Jackson In The Lottery Shirley Jackson fills her story with many literary elements to mask the evil. The story demonstrates how it is in human nature to blindly follow traditions. Even though some people have no idea why they follow these traditions. The title of the story plays a role in how Shirley Jackson used some literary elements to help mask the evils and develop the story. The title â€Å"The Lottery† serves as an allegory. When people think of the lottery majorityRead More`` The Lottery `` By Shirley Jackson894 Words   |  4 Pagesshort story â€Å"The Lottery†, author Shirley Jackson demonstrates Zimbardo’s concepts in three different areas: Authority figures, Tradition and Superstition, and Loyalty. The first concept Jackson portrays in â€Å"The Lottery† is the authority figures. Jackson indicates that the lottery is being held in the town center by one authority figure, Mr. Summers, annually on June 27th. Every June 27th, without fail, townspeople gather in the town square to participate in the annually lottery even though mostRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1510 Words   |  7 PagesShirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† illustrates several aspects of the darker side of human nature. The townspeople in Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† unquestioningly adhere to a tradition which seems to have lost its relevance in their lives. The ritual that is the lottery shows how easily and willingly people will give up their free will and suspend their consciences to conform to tradition and people in authority. The same mindless complacency and obedience shown by the villagers in Jackson’s story are seenRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson8 11 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† was published by Shirley Jackson. The story was true expression of Jackson’s genuine thoughts about human beings and their heinous competence in an annual village event for corn harvest . First, her used to word symbolized main point of the story. Second, Jackson was inspired by few historical events happened in the past and a life incident in her life. Lastly, She was able to accomplish the connection between historical and biographical with the story. Therefore, Shirley Jackson’sRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson934 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson signifies the physical connection between the villagers and their unwillingness to give up their tradition. â€Å"The Lottery† is very unpredictable and quite misleading. The black box has no functionality, except every June 27th. Shirley Jackson depicts the black box as an important and traditional tool. Although the villagers in â€Å"The Lottery† are terrified of the goal of the lottery and the black box, they are unwilling to let go of the tradition. Shirley Jackson portraysRead MoreThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson799 Words   |  4 Pagesthe mood and to foreshadow of things to come. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader to think of positive outcomes. However, this description of the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. In addition, the theme that we learn of at the end leads us to think of where the sanity of some human beings lies. The story begins with the establishment of the setting. To begin, Shirley Jackson tells the reader what time of day and what time ofRead MoreThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson1764 Words   |  7 Pagesfilled with excitement and eeriness, leaving the reader speechless. The Lottery , a short story written by famous writer Shirley Jackson, created an uproar on June 26, 1948, when it was published in the magazine The New Yorker (Ball). The gothic thriller, set in an unknown time and place, shares the tradition of a small town, a little larger than three hundred people, in which a drawing is held once a year. In this â€Å"Lottery,† each family’s husband draws a slip of paper from a black box. The husband

Fight For Agency By Emily Dickinson - 985 Words

Fight for Agency Emily Dickinson’s poems predominantly portray the confinements placed on married women and illustrate the doubts that come along their role as a â€Å"wife†. In many of her poems, the speakers present a strong opinion about the lack of independence and autonomy women receive when they get married. Given the fact that Dickinson was born in the 1830’s, women in that era were consecutively facing massive oppression and were treated lesser than men. Consequentially, the societal norms greatly influenced her opinion on marriage, which was clearly portrayed in her writing. In her poem, â€Å"My life has stood –a loaded gun†, the speaker described her inner turmoil and anger towards the agency she was seeking during her marriage. As for this poem Dickinson personified herself as a loaded gun, suggesting that she has been supressing the inner anger and chaos over time. In other words, her inner thoughts about her marital status have accumulated into rage, indicating that her mind is not any less dangerous than a weapon. Nevertheless, the speaker of â€Å"My life had stood –a loaded gun† addressed her supressed anger and resentment towards marriage because there was limited space to express independent action. The greatest emphasis the speaker illustrated in this poem was being â€Å"identified† by a man, â€Å"the owner passed –identified- /and carried me away† (line 3-4). In fact, marriage was the most common way women were recognized during Dickinson’s time period. Not to mention that,Show MoreRelatedHow Fa Has the Use of English Language Enriched or Disrupted Life and Culture in Mauritius15928 Words   |  64 PagesREADINGS CLOSE READINGS Post your close reading posts here. Share this: †¢ Twitter †¢ Facebook †¢ Like this: Like Loading... [pic] 26 Comments on â€Å"CLOSE READINGS† 1. [pic]John Cooper says: July 13, 2011 at 3:36 pm Emily Dickenson’s poem â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† details the events the narrator experiences after dying. In the poem, the narrator is driven around in a horse-drawn carriage to several places, including a schoolyard, a field of wheat, and a houseRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesas a firm grows to a large size. As a firm becomes larger, and especially if the major characters are young, the climate is ripe for jealousy and envy. This can arise among associates, employees, Update—Going into 2008 †¢ 23 governmental agencies, and others that the firm has to deal with. In its early growth stage, Google was the darling of the media. With increasing size, however, the media would likely become just as eager to capitalize on any miscues, with reporting not always objectiveRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 PagesKing Ferdinand and Queen Isabella united Aragon and Castille into the modern country of Spain in 1469. They founded the Spanish Inquisition in 1478 as a branch of the government and appointed Torquemada to be the grand inquisitor. This government agency caused all sorts of official terror, and was generally bad for Europeans, although it brought certain shortterm benefits to the Catholic Church. On the other hand, King Ferdinand and especially Queen Isabella paid for Christopher Columbus’ trip

Methanol As Fuel Essay Example For Students

Methanol As Fuel Essay This section is about methanol fuel cells for our future. Since I have done thisresearch I have never realized how important future fuels are. Methanol is aliquid fuel made form natural gas or renewable biomass resources. Methanol isthe leading candidate to provide the hydrogen necessary to power fuel cellvehicles. The commercialization of methanol-powered fuel cells will offerpractical, affordable, long-range electric vehicles with zero or near zeroemissions while retaining the convenience of a liquid fuel. By 2004 they say oreven sooner, fuel cells operating on methanol will power a variety of cars andbuses in the U.S and worldwide. ( www.mehanol.org) Methanol is predoninantlyproduced by steam reforming of natural gas to dcreate a sythesis gas, which isthen dfed into a reactor vessel in the presence of a catalyst to producemethanol and water vapor. Although a variety of feedstocks other than naturalgas can and have been used, todays economics favor natural gas. Synthesis gasrefers to combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen while a large amount ofsynthesis gas us used to make methanol, most synthesis gas is used to makeammonia. As a result, most methanol plants are adjacent o or are part of ammoniaplants. The gas fed into another reactor vessel under high temperatures andpressures, where monoxide and hydrogen are came in the presence of a catalyst toproduce methanol. Finally, the reactor product is distilled to purify andseparate the methanol from the reactor effluent. (wwwadfc.nrel.gov.)(Washington, D. C., January 28) A study by the environmental engineering firmMalcolm Pirnie, Inc. finds far fewer environmental threats from using methanolin fuel cell vehicles, compared to gasolines use for internal combustionengines. In addition, a video presentation on methanol and the environmentproduced by the Public Interest Video Network will be premiered at TheRoad to Fuel Cell Vehicles: A National Forum being held on February 4thand 5th at the Hotel Washington in Washington, D. C (www.methanol.org)Methanol will probably be transferred from import terminals or productionfacilities by barge, rail, or truck to eventually reach retail outlets. Whilethe alcohol fuel is a liquid at ambient temperatures and atmospheric pressures,the cannot be moved easily through the existing petroleum product marketnetwork. The worlds major automakers have all announced plans for themarket introduction of fuel cell vehicles by 2003/2004. These fuel cell vehicleswill require a source of hydrogen fuel. As a liquid fuel rich in hydrogen,methanol is the leading candidate to power tomorrows fuel cell cars andbuses. A comprehensive needs assessment should be performed to determine howbest to provide methanol fuel to an emerging market for fuel cell vehicles. (www. The American Methanol Foundation From the information gathered it seemsthat methanol is the number one candidate for future fuels for leading carmanufactures. It is also nice to know that the government has plans to figure Inaddition, this assessment will attempt to forecast methanol fuel direction andtools for consumer education efforts regarding the use of methanol in fuel cellvehicles.

Richard Wrights novel, Native Son A stark naturalistic vision of American society Essay Example For Students

Richard Wrights novel, Native Son: A stark naturalistic vision of American society Essay In Richard Wrights novel, Native Son, Wright uses the theory of naturalism to describe race relations in America. Looking back on his youth, Wright remembers vividly, the struggle against poverty, fear and racism, which are also the themes that are explored in this novel. Wrights description of his protagonists story reflects his own experiences in America. Wright remembers his fathers desertion of the family, coupled with his mothers crippling illness, which left her and her two sons in poverty, and which made Wrights early years unhappy ones. Growing up in Mississippi, Wright felt isolated and rebellious against authority. He left school after completing the ninth grade because he believed that the schools programs were irrelevant to a black boys future. Bakish 5. Self-taught following his graduation and embittered by segregation and racism, he was drawn to the naturalistic novels of Theodore Dreiser and Sinclair Lewis. In his hometown of Mississippi, Wright was often denied jobs because white workers felt threatened. Bakish 6. Perhaps hoping to move from rags to riches, Wright migrated north to Chicago in 1927 at the age of 19, and then to New York in 1937, but the situation was no different. Wright learned that Chicago and New York were no better than Mississippi. He came to the north to break the tragic cycle of his life in the South, what he found, however, was continuing enslavement. Bakish 31. Because Wright chose to deal with the experience he knew best, Native Son is an exploration of how the pressure and racism of the American cultural environment affects black people, their feelings, thoughts, self-images, in fact, their entire lives. Wrights attraction to naturalism comes from his instinctive recognition that his own life as an American black man was so closely reflected in naturalistic fiction. Naturalist doctrine assumes that fate is something imposed on the individual from outside. The protagonist of the naturalist novel is therefore at the mercy of circumstances rather than of himself. Furst and Skrine 18. Naturalistic writers study people by their natural instincts, passions and the way their lives are governed by forces of environment and heredity. The recurrent imagery of naturalism is drawn from the animal world. Human beings, are, in Emile Zolas phrase, human beasts, characters that can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings. So, naturalism abounds in the law of struggle for existence. Furst and Skrine 16. According to the naturalist, man is an animal whose course is determined by his heredity, by the effects of his environment and by the pressures of the moment. This conception robs man of responsibility for his actions. His actions are inescapable results of physical forces and conditions totally beyond his control. Furst and Skrine 18. Through characterization, symbolism and the setting Wright reveals his protagonists fate as a black man in society. Wright, in keeping with the features of a naturalist novel, populates his novel with characters from the lower class, the uneducated and the unsophisticated. Bessie, Bigger, Gus, The Thomas etc Since their daily life is commonplace and ordinary, the novel infuses qualities associated with the heroic such as acts of violence, and passion which involve sexual adventure which culminate in desperate moments and violent death. Pizer 12. Wright begins Native Son with the grotesque scene of Bigger chasing and killing the rat prowling his familys one-room, slum apartment in Chicagos Black Belt. This action is ironically symbolic. The rat characterizes the social environment in which Bigger is forced to exist. In How Bigger Was Born, Wright asserts that the environment supplies the instruments through which the subject expresses itself. Racism is the instrument that controls all aspects of Biggers life- his home, school, job, friends, the church, the police, the court, and the media. So, the violent death of the rat, symbolizes the economic forces that oppress the poor. It also foreshadows Biggers violent efforts to break out of the physical and mental rattrap his life has been. Bakish 31. Bigger was not born a violent criminal, but became one in the unforgiving world of racism and poverty in American society. Bigger experiences physical and psychological alienation from his family and friends as a result of the unfavourable traits in his personality. These traits evolved out of the inner frustrations and rage caused by his exclusion from the larger society around him. Brigano 145. Hence, the environment shapes Biggers consciousness. Bigger also develops a fragmented psyche. In How Bigger Was Born, Wright indicates that white societys negative perceptions of blackness cause Bigger to feel he was something to be hated; his black skin was a badge of shame. Bigger felt uncomfortable in their presence. As a result, when the relief agency offers Bigger a job as a cha uffeur to the wealthy Dalton family, he fears walking through the white section of the city. It is only with his gun and his knife at his side does he feel on equal footing with the white world. Shakespeare, Richard II: analysis of Richard as a king EssayWhen faced with danger, Bigger lashes out just as an animal would. Although Mr. Dalton has periodically converted his profits from the rents into magnanimous contributions to various Negro institutions, Wright establishes that bourgeoisie capitalists engage in such seemingly humanitarian deeds in order to discourage revolt and to appease their own feelings of guilt. Through Mr. Dalton Wright is exposing white hypocrisy. Brignano 77. Similarly, Mrs. Daltons blindness is a symbol of the failure of whites to see blacks as anything but criminals. It is true that Mrs. Dalton cannot see Bigger in the room, but if she could have, she would have been blind to the reason why he was there. The racism that black people endured in the 1930s was not a figment of Wrights imagination. Popular culture displayed negative perceptions of African Americans and perpetuated these through magazines, propaganda, and motion pictures. Bigger himself, used these stereotypes imposed on blacks to escape the repercussions of his murder of Mary Dalton. Bigger reasons that since he is supposed to be a stupid black boy, he would never be expected to commit such a daring act. Therefore, he implicates Jan Erlone in the murder by signing the ransom note Red, because he knew that the Communist party was hated in the society. Further, he acts out the white-assigned role of the stupid black boy, on the morning after the murder, by sitting and waiting for his breakfast. Wright employs the omniscient narrator in this framework by revealing Biggers thoughts: who on earth would think that he, a black timid Negro boy would murder and burn a rich white girl and then sit and wait for his breakfast like this? Wright 91. Through Wrights graphic descriptions of the details of Biggers crimes, Bigger is portrayed as a naturalistic victim caught in an environmental trap. Bloom 65 It may be argued that Bigger was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; a victim of circumstances, for if Mary had stuck to the plan and gone to the lecture at the university she would not have gotten drunk, if she had not been drunk, she would not have had to be carried to her room. If Bigger had not taken her to her room, he would not have had to hide from her mother. If her mother had not come in, he would not have had to put the pillow over her face, which led to her suffocation. Nevertheless, like the rat, overpowered by societal forces stronger than himself, Bigger is doomed to die a violent death for his crimes. However, the murders gave Bigger a strange sense of satisfaction. For the first time in his life, he has defied the legal, social and moral concepts of the society that oppressed him. The murders awaken in him, a new concept of himself. Racism was nothing new in the 1940s. Racism was everywhere, even in the so-called fairness of the American justice system. Wright did not even have to make up the hypocrisy of American justice; he just used actual court cases, like the 1938-39 case of Robert Nixon. Nixon was charged for killing a white girl during a robbery, which did not stray too far from Bigger Thomas story. Through Biggers lawyer, Boris Max, the hypocrisy of the American justice system was highlighted. In Biggers defense, he cited a case where, rich white boys, clearly guilty of kidnapping and first degree murder had escaped the death penalty, but the lawyer sees that Bigger has no chance in this bigoted society. Bakish 38. Through the defense summation in Native Son, Wright indicts the society that has contributed to the development of Bigger Thomas. The tripartite division of the novel-Fear, Flight and Fate reveals the stark realities of African American experience in the 1940s. They lived in fear of white rule, as a result they were always running away, but no matter what they did or where they went, their fate was already decided . From the foregoing, it is clearly evident, that the use of naturalism allowed Wright to present an unbiased account of American social and class relations through the eyes of an ignorant character whose world of poverty, despair, and frustration turn him into a killer. Moreover, since his protagonists experiences reflect his own, Wright is able to use his naturalistic style to objectively record his own experience without distorting it to suit conventional morality and standard literary tastes. So it can be said that Native Son is a stark naturalistic vision of American society.