What Is An Historical Fact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What Is An Historical Fact - Essay Example A prolonged conflict may, at times, culminate or involve historical facts. According to Carr, historians of times to come do not expect production of decisive history (7). This is because they possess expectations that their history will experience archaism after every undefined period. The notions that past knowledge originate from human thoughts make them conclude that knowledge is devoid of elemental aspects as would be in elements as atoms with nothing to transform (Carr 7). Further investigations suggest scholars to involve their self in skepticism depicting historical judgments of lacking succinct truths. The reliance emanate from the notions that judgments as found in history, entail the ideas of humans (Carr 8). Controversy arises where the pundits in opposition leave space for questions. Some historians would brand some works emanating from the recent past as outdated because they have no idea if the work is updated (Carr 9). The issue of inquiry in historical facts and the need to unravel the succinctness of information brings out the nature of history. Regarding on how to answer such queries, every historian will rely on current issues to an extent of including the ideas of the communities they dwell (Carr 9). Various historians suggest 19th century era as successful period entailing various issues of history transformed into facts of history. Historians emanating from France and Britain were optimistic and wanted to expose to the people their suggestions plus evident indicating history as science (Carr 10). They thought of a unique approach such as ascertaining factual issues and drawing assumptions from them. The notions of history are evident, mainly, in Britain where they conform to the tradition of empiricism whose dominance is viewable from philosophical notions of philosophers in the region. Empiricism dominance is evident in differentiating the subjects plus objects. Various facts of history originate from the observer, and are self-sufficien t (Davidson & Mark 9). Empiricism would define a historic fact as one possessing a datum of experience, and having dissimilarities from conclusions. Historian’s view facts availed to them from materials such as documents. Carr equates them to â€Å"fish on the fish mongers chunk† in order to draw the meaning of historical facts to concerned individuals (Carr 8). It is the accountability of the historian to filter and transform facts to anything that is pleasant to him. Interpretation of facts requires sound approach including freedom when choosing opinion and how to portray those facts (Carr 8). Carr uses an example of Caesar making it across Rubicon, and the presence of an object in a room to represent facts that are comparable (Carr 11). The facts hold similar aims as seen by a knowing person. However, this culminates to a thought development that facts, though there may be evidence of their occurrence, cannot attain the status of being regarded as historical facts, unless the historian himself decides to separate them from other events of the past (Carr 9). In order to define a historical fact, one has to consider the common facts which form the basis of the entire history. Some historical facts should remain no matter the direction that a historian decides to embrace to ensure that certain facts are rigid (Davidson & Mark 9). In order to give attracting implications of historical facts, Carr uses examples to convey his message. Facts like â€Å"battle of Hastings occurring in 1066† should remain because they indicate the time plus the place the event occurred (Carr 10). Accuracy is an aspect that every historian builds and portrays in his work. To enhance accuracy in history, the historian incorporates science in his work by embracing archaeology,

A critical response to Donald Davidsons views of self-deception Essay

A critical response to Donald Davidsons views of self-deception - Essay Example Such event, according to the theory, will "permit" the idea that an individual may at any given time cling to incongruous viewpoints and ambiguous judgments about her/him or about a given state of affairs. The concept, Davidson contends, is that if parts of the mind are, to some degree or level, independent, we can comprehend how they are able to entertain and embrace inconsistencies, contradictions and variations, and to intermingle and cooperate on a causal level. This, I beg to disagree. If we take a cursory glimpse, Davidson's account offers a fascinating depiction of self-deception. It seemed to naturally and readily settle the absurdity and the irony of the concept. Nonetheless, if we investigate seriously the sketch of this phenomenon on the "divided-mind" paradigm, grave doubts and opposing protestations will come to our mind.However, before explicitly elucidating my disagreement, let me first discuss another angle that runs parallel to Davidson's idea of the divided-mind occ urrence - Freud's embodiment of the human mind consisting of an ego, super-ego, and id. To the Freudian picture, the ego matches up with the conscious part of the mind, while the super-ego and the id, to the unconscious. The id is steered by impulses, cravings and desires; as the super-ego flushes out the "undesirables" conceived by the id, the ego puts things into action. A Freudian version of self-deception, then, would justify for the absurd possession of diametrically opposed beliefs. The unconscious id discerns and understands that p, but is compelled by a desire to believe that not-p, so it "cooperates" or "works together" with the super-ego to deceive the ego. In this scenario, the agent may deliberately and knowingly assumes a belief this same agent instinctively knows to be false, but the fact that this belief is false is one way or another "concealed" from such agent. In this manner, self-deception becomes unequivocally comparable to interpersonal deception, with two agent -like structures misleading/deceiving a third into believing something they know to be false. Though desisting to succumb to the Freudian concepts of ego, super-ego and id, Davidson concurs with Freud that particular facets of the mind must be put forward in order to explain self-deception or absurdity of any kind: [First,]the mind is to be regarded as having two or more semi-autonomous structures. [Second, we assign] a particular kind of structure to one or more subdivisions of the mind: a structure similar to that needed to explain ordinary actions. [Third,]certain mental events take on the character of mere causes relative to some other mental events in the same mind. [I]n order to accommodate [this feature] we must allow a degree of autonomy to parts of the mind (Davidson 1982) As Davidson puts it, one psychological event can be a cause of but not a sufficient reason for another mental event. Certainly, this framework can be a probable occurrence in interpersonal interaction. For instance -- I yearn for Mr. X to be inside my bedroom, so, I positioned a hundred scented candles of different sizes and colors in strategic places, allow some erotic music to reverberate inside the room and open the door a few inches apart just enough for Mr. X to have a wondrous peek of what's inside and what he can expect if he gets in. As he saw what's in store for him inside that room, he then craves to enter and will want to

Are Teen Age Years The Best Essay Example for Free

Are Teen Age Years The Best Essay Are Teenage year the best of your life? The teenage years are considered the best years of your life that is what magazine. Im going to tell you why they are not. First you are always looked at to succeed by your parents, the lack of freedom we get and last but not least we are considered lairs and criminal among todays society. One of the disadvantages of being a teenager is that we are always looked to succeed in school so you can do and be better then them. They also say if we fool around the future for us is going the extinguished. Other disadvantage of being a teen is the lack of freedom we get. Sure we might live in a free country but are we all free? The freedom that Im talking about is staying up late, working and school. Staying up late I dont know about you but I have to get home before my parents I cant even be in front of my house to the wee hours of the morning. Working is another one we another one we cant work on weekdays because my Dad says it will effect my school work how will he know if he doesnt give it a chance. School is the worst of all we cant even wear earrings because its not part of the uniform I understand that but the shaving is just stupid how could you order someone to do something that comes in naturally. It is like telling someone you have to get a hair cut every week. Its violating our freedom of expressing. The worst part of being a teenager is that we are considered lairs and criminals among our society. For example if a bunch of teens walk into a variety store the owners automatically think we are going to rob them but the only thing we want is a little snack. The other thing is lying adults never believe teens why you ask? I dont really know. For example a teacher and a student get into an argument and its the teachers fault the principle is going to believe the teacher because they dont tell lies. So with the facts that I just stated that is why I have to say the teenage years are not what people say they are.

What led to the development of postmodernism in architecture

What led to the development of postmodernism in architecture Post modernism was devised from its previous movement, modernism and first began to emerge around the states of America in the 1960s but really took off around the early 1970s when it came to England and Europe and became a movement. It still continues to influence modern architecture today. The most obvious design traits can be seen in architecture; features that best represent this style include bold, visual exteriors, designs that are functional yet contain architectural characteristics that have been seen before but combining these with exciting, colourful, fresh designs. An example of this is the Portland building; Oregon designed by Michael Graves. (See Fig.1) This block of government offices built in 1980 has a very decorative exterior and has become an icon of Post modernism. Post modernism came about when modernist views were being rejected by many people and architects although there where still some whom where in favour of the current modernist ideas, yet still recognized the need for further development within this style to take place as the world fast continued to modernise around them, this saw the beginnings of Postmodernism. This quote from Michael Graves gives his view on how modernism designed everything to be machine like, which worked, although buildings should be made decorative and not so set in the modernist ways: While any architectural language, to be built, will always exist within the technical realm, it is important to keep the technical expression parallel to an equal and complementary expression of ritual and symbol. It could be argued that the Modern Movement did this, that as well as its internal language; it expressed the symbol of the machine, and therefore practiced cultural symbolism. But in this case, the machine is retroactive, for the machine itself is a utility. So this symbol is not an external allusion, but rather a second, internalized reading. A significant architecture must incorporate both internal and external expressions. The external language, which engages inventions of culture at large, is rooted in a figurative, associational and anthropomorphic attitude.1 In this quote Graves refers to the modernist movement and how they designed their buildings to be like machines, extremely clean, sleek and purely functional with no needless design features. His view is not to think that the inside of a building should be run as a machine but to think of the building as a whole and to think outside the modernists clean cut lines and un decorative architecture. Unlike the modernist architecture previous to this movement the post modernism architecture is usually quite ornamental, new but also borrowing some features from the past, such as bringing colour back into architecture which taken away for modernist era. There is quite a lot of rivalry between the two movements, modernists strongly believe in form follows function, their architecture showing functional, formalized shapes and spaces, where post modernists believe in not necessarily form over function but making their functional buildings a lot more visually dynamic and I suppose more of an experience. There is no true reality not even your own2 This is a saying from the late 90s which reflects post modernists views. They felt you need to question reality and think outside the box where as the modernists believed in questioning authority, their thinking that if people looked into why things are designed the way they are and the truth is to be discovered then tradition would be questioned. The postmodern architecture features shameless aesthetics different from anything before, they have a more organic feel and stand out. The post modern era also found the use of different materials being used with in architecture than before, whether it be the colour or the specification of the material that was to be desired. The two main materials used in postmodern architecture are stone and glass. The stone is bold and comes in a very wide range of colours, which stuck to the postmodernist ideas. The glass was used a lot especially in America and large city buildings, office blocks and skyscrapers such as Le 1000 de la Gauchetiere in Canada, its the tallest skyscraper in Montreal. (See fig.2) This was built a bit later on, in 1992 but still shows strong postmodern values. For example the distinctive triangular copper roof and four copper capped entrances at each of the tower base corners. The structural core is constructed from concrete and steel and the exterior consists of glass in a metal frame. The form used in postmodern buildings is also very contemporary, the building function is still important for the designers but compared to the modernist buildings the forms, shapes and look of the buildings are almost there for the designers sake, not for any specific reason other than good aesthetics. As I said before there is almost a collision of beliefs between the two movements, though most of the dislike at the time was focused towards the post modern architecture as the modernist architectures such as Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had put the belief into the people that a building that was almost wholly based on function was the best way. So when post modern architects such as Frank Gehry, Robert Venturi and Eero Saarinen started designing buildings that where thinking outside the slick, functional, simple design box of modernism and completely aesthetical and almost quite wacky there was quite an uproar and possibly a confusion as people started t o question what was right for the future of architecture? Were the new buildings functional enough and would the new buildings stand the test of time? As the people began to accept the more complex designs of the post-modern world the buildings began to become popular and more and more architectures began to come round to the idea. In todays architecture you can clearly see the inspiration from these initial designs and that architects and designers have turned modernist ideas on their head, by carrying on the idea of aesthetically pleasing designs and almost having more fun with their design rather than just focusing on the function. So how exactly did Postmodernism come about? Well as I have just confirmed the strongest link/lead to postmodernism was obviously the modernist designs lack of decoration, but I also looked at some other factors that could have lead to the development of postmodern architecture. As is well known, the lead to postmodernism was when people started to reject the views of the modernist movement, though how did this come about? And why did people start to reject the modernist ways? The rejection of modernism first came from architects In their works. In Europe Aldo Rossi documented his views of the current art movement, while in America Raunch and Scott Brown expressed similar views on the need for development of the modernist architecture. Though the most influential change came from the work of Robert Venturi. He famously wrote the book Complexity and Contradiction in architecture in 1966 which attacked the modernism of international style, with his strong views on his dislike for modernism. In the writing he replaces Miles van der Rohes (a modernist architect) modernist phrase less is more with : less is a bore. Blatant simplification means bland architecture This quote is just a brief look to his views in the piece, he continues throughout rejecting the moral, clean cut ways of modern architecture for elements that are more a blend of features than pure. Frank Gehry seems to be a name that frequently appears when investigating post modernism architecture. His Designs were very contemporary, bold and different to what had been seen before. He denied that his work was post modernist or that it even fit into any category other than something totally new. This would not happen with a modernist architect as; although the designs are different all modernists buildings tend to have the same features, sleek and following function so much that there is not a lot of individuality between the designs. Where as post modernist architecture is all so decorative and ornamental that each design is unique. Just by looking at a few of Frank Gehrys designs you can definitely tell that they are individual although they do fit in with the post modern category his architecture has moved beyond the modernist era being based on geometric and organic forms. As Gehry says himself : Not every person has the same kinds of talents, so you discover what yours are and work with them. Dont try to be me, or try to be Frank Lloyd Wright, or try to be I M Pei. Try to be yourself. You have to understand what drives people to build buildings. 4 One of Gehrys most creative pieces that represent this is The Frederick R Weisman Art Museum at the university of Minnesota, 1993(See Fig 3). The University officials chose Frank Gehry to design the teaching museum for the campus because of his attention to needs of people that use his buildings and his unique stunning designs. The museums exterior is constructed of amazing, sticking shapes made from brushed stainless steel on one side over looking the Mississippi river creating an abstract image of a waterfall and a fish. The other side of the building is on the side of the campus and blends in with the existing sandstone and brick buildings by using terra cotta coloured bricks. Frank Gehry was also commissioned to design an expansion to the building that was meant to have been completed in 2009 though due to financial reasons it will be built by next year. This shows that post modernism continues to inspired designers today and is still popular. An example of an architect that is continuing post modernism design to todays architecture is Santiago Calatrava. Born in 1951 when the postmodern movement was just starting to come about, Calatrava grew up with the organic architecture from the era. Obviously heavily inspired by it he has continued post modernism on in his own works. He has designed many buildings, which are very well known such as the Museum of tomorrow in Rio de Janerio in Brazil and Liege Guillemins TGV station in Belgium. La Rioja, Bodegas Ysios in Spain is one of his designs, which is not so famous though still unique, and particularly show his postmodernism inspiration (See Fig 4). This building is situated amongst vineyards in Spain where la Rioja Alavesa wine is produced, the company wanted a building that would store the made wine and be a place where guests can test the wine. The design definitely meets the criteria and is very functional; there is separate part for the storing of the wine, making it and a tasting area. Although this could have been enough just in a plain rectangular building but in true post modernist style he has also added some amazing design features, the main feature is that the roof, it continues the shapes of the surrounding hills, creating a wavy organic shape. The material he has used for the roof design is aluminium panelling, which reflects the sunlight making it look even more special contrasting with the calm vineyard surrounding. I have researched the lead to post modern architecture and touched on how it has affected modern design today. Now to conclude this essay I will some up my findings of what led to post modernism in architecture. Post modernism first emerged in the 1960s and became a movement in the early 1970s, its routes stemmed from its previous movement, modernism. Modernists had a very strong belief in form follows function, their views where that a building should be purely functional and machine like which worked well but didnt leave a lot of an imagination for design features and all the buildings began to have a lot of the same features. In the 1960s some architects began to recognise this and voiced their opinions in their written works, which made people realize that designs could be a bit more exciting. The most influential architect in this realisation was Robert Venturi, in his well known writing complexity and contradiction in architecture he strongly expressed his dislike for modernist architecture, stating that less is a bore and that buildings do not have to be all about function, they can still be functional and have design features. This contributed to the lead to post modernism. One of the architects I found whos name kept appearing when looking at post modern architecture is Frank Gehry. His designs are functional but with amazing design features using organic forms and patterns to shape the buildings. As is with most post modernist architecture different organic and bold shapes are a big feature of the building making every design unique unlike the similar designs of the modernist era. Although Gehry do es not class his buildings to be post modernist or in fact fit into any category, his designs are definitely fitting with the era and he seems to share the same views as the post modernists. Buildings like Frank Gehrys continue to influence designers today such as Santiago Calatrava whos modern day designs very much resembles that of post modernist architecture. Part II Book review on: 20th Century Architecture by Jonathan Glancey The 20th Century Architecture explores the roots of modern architecture and explains how the history and the ever-changing social and political conditions helped shape and build the world we live in today. In this book, as the foreword states, by writing the book Jonathan Glancey attempts to achieve informing the reader of an introduction to architecture of the 20th Century, not to cover every aspect of the subject, as he says himself, The subject is very vast and no book can realistically cover the entire history of the twentieth century architecture. If I could it would either be too heavy to carry or else set in such a tiny type that it would be unreadable. This quote also I think captures the way the book is written, very informative yet quite light hearted. The book covers 8 of movements of 20th century architecture: Arts and Crafts, Classicism, organic, Modernism, Post-Modernism, Robotic, Cities and Futures. Each movement has a its own section which is started by a page for a brief explanation of the movement then examples of architecture significant to that time. Each piece of architecture has its own page with a full colour photo to show what it looks like and a section about the designer and the building, why it was built and how it relates to the movement and others in that time. I found the book easy to read, and was able put down at any time and pick back up from where I left off. I particularly like the no jargon take and the fact that you dont have to know an awful lot if anything on architecture or the history of the 20th century. The book is very informative if you read the whole thing or if you just flick to a specific section you are interested in. I originally did this but found that I wanted to read on further. This is as Jonathan Glancey intended as would most authors, wanting to get the attention of the reader and want to read on from their own will, as he says in the book: If this makes you want to find out more then it has done its job. If it encourages you to want to be an architect then good luck. I think he has definitely achieved his original intentions for the book. I borrowed this book from the local library but I would definitely consider buying a copy to keep as a reference book. From reading and sourcing from other architectural books, I think this fits in to the subject very well. Id says it is more aimed at students, people who are interested in architecture and starting architectures. I dont think the book would be so suitable for experienced architects and architect fanatics as it informs you of buildings and architects that this group would probably already know of, thought the may still find it informative about the movements and to find out when the movements happened and why. Over all I think this is a good book and deserves the positive comments it has picked up from press and other readers.

KFC International in China :: Business Economics China Essays

KFC International in China The social values and history have shaped and formed the economical developments and the current environment of business in the People's Republic of China. They have determined the patterns for negotiation and the Chinese perceptions of business, and their feelings towards westerners. The implicit and explicit rules that the Chinese society has on the development of businesses, and the economy in general, are very important issues for any person going into China to understand and consider. In order to achieve a successful partnership between Chinese and Western cultures it is essential to have a basic understanding of history and cultural developments that have shaped the current environment of business. The three pillars of China are economy, culture, and society. Economy The Chinese economy has been formed as a result of centuries of history and development, which reflect the philosophy of China and its current economical position. China started as a mainly agricultural based society with the subsistence group; the family. For more than 2000 years the Chinese economy operated under a type of feudal system; land was concentrated in the hands of a relatively small group of landowners whose income depended on rents from their peasant tenants. Agricultural taxes levied by the imperial government and crop yields subject to drought and floods kept agriculture relatively underdeveloped and organized in small units with the use of primitive methods for basic subsistence. The conclusion of the Opium War of 1840 formally initiated a period of Western penetration of China from the coastal treaty ports. Railroads and highways were constructed, and some industrial development began. Such activity had little impact, however, on the overall Chinese economy. In effect, China was carved up into a number of competing colonial spheres of influence. Japan, which tried to attach China to its East Asia prosperity Sphere, was able to create only isolated nodes of a modern economy. The Chinese Communist party emerged in the 1920s in the midst of a mounting economic crisis caused by foreign intervention and increased landlord influence in the countryside. For more than two decades, it expanded its control over large rural areas by introducing an agrarian program based on the control of rent and usury, and by giving power to peasant associations.

Proposal for Gasoline Tax Increase Essay -- Environment Environmental

Proposal for Gasoline Tax Increase On a daily basis, millions of cars are driven by millions of Americans to millions of different places. For most of those millions of people, their cars are their lives and that's all that matter. A second thought is rarely given to the fact that conventional gasoline vehicles are depositing millions of harmful chemical gases into the atmosphere. Many people in America are not aware of what automobile emissions are doing to our environment. If every American knew all the facts about gasoline vehicles, perhaps then they would be motivated and willing to contribute whatever is needed to save the environment from the destruction that gasoline vehicles are causing. Zero-emission vehicles are a new development and are one of the most aggressive approaches toward preventing global warming. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in order to eliminate conventional gasoline vehicles and begin widespread use of zero-emission vehicles. If there were a national fund for the further dev elopment of these vehicles, the effort to eliminate gasoline vehicles would advance much faster. That is why a proposal for the federal government to raise the gasoline tax by $1 per gallon in order to fund further research and development of zero-emission vehicles sounds entirely plausible. If nothing more, it would be giant step in the effort to conserve our natural environment. In order to first convince a wide majority of people that something needs to be done to stop the destruction of our environment, people first need to know exactly what is harmful about gasoline vehicles. In the United States, approximately 6.6 tons of greenhouse gases are emitted per person every year. Most of the greenhouse gas emi... ...g saved with their extra dollars, let's hope that they would generously pay a little more to save the things that are truly a necessity. Works Cited 1. Background of Zero-Emission Vehicles. 2001. California Air Resources Board. Viewed October 2, 2001 2. California Zero-Emission Vehicle Regulations. 2000. American Lung Association of California. Viewed October 9, 2001 3. Global Warming: Climate. 2001. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Viewed October 2, 2001 4. Global Warming: Individual Emissions. 2001. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Viewed October 4, 2001. 5. Health Risks Associated with Air Pollution. 2001. American Lung Association of California. Viewed October 9, 2001 6. Young, Matt. Pollutants Caused by Internal Combustion Engines. 2001. Viewed October 4, 2001. http://www.bath.ac.uk/~en0mjy/pollutants.htm

Childhood memories Essay

The purpose of this essay it to analyze the childhood memories of both Judith Ortiz Cofer and Anwar Accawi past from their stories, the silent dancing and the telephone respectively, who both have complicated early childhood memories. Accawi’s childhood memories are about the changes that were brought by the telephone which led to people moving from the village for opportunities away to make money. He is remorseful for this telephone technology since before it came, people were happy but in his adulthood, he claims that in his adult life he has not been able to find a â€Å"Better Life† than the life in Magadaluna. Accawi’s narrative is created on an adult perspective of regret and humor. He vividly remembers the village destruction as he realizes that the cruelty and idyllic coexist as the human being embodies them. Silent dancing is a story of Cofer in her elementary school through to her high school as they migrated from America to Puerto Rica and vice versa, it discusses the means through which the culture, gender, class and race shape her life without Cofer sounding naive or dogmatic. Her childhood memories are about the depression and discrimination in America due to their color and one day hoped that she would win some respect for her culture and herself. She puts it that â€Å"If you were to stretch that rubbery face, you could find my father’s face and deep within that face- my own† the differences in their childhood memories is that Cofer’s bitter memories are contributed by their movement from their native land in Puerto Rica to America where they face racial discrimination whereas the Accawi’s bitter childhood memories are caused by introduction of the telephone technology that is brought in to Magdaluna that ends up transforming the life of the natives. Another difference in both stories is that Accawi is against the changes that occurred due to technology and wishes that they never occurred while Cofer hopes that things will change in America where she and her culture will be recognized. The village of Magdaluna is simple with no new technology. There are no even calendars and people tell about certain times through extraordinary occurrences like earthquakes and birth of certain people. The children did odd jobs for the adults to earn little money and Accawi was very contented with this way of life. Accawi was happy and assumed that everybody else was happy too without the advantages of the technology. After the coming of the telephone, the way of life of the village of Magdaluna changed since people began to worship the phone. The villagers would gather around the phone waiting for any news and for job opportunities. As time passed by more people gathered around the telephone and more villagers emigrated from Magdaluna and this irritated some villagers like Accawi. .Judith Ortiz Cofer recounts the experiences of her upbringing in a chain of chronologically arranged vignettes that details her way of life as a little girl shuttled forth and back between her grandma’s casa in Puerto Rican village and the family’s American home at Paterson in New Jersey. Ortiz Cofer’s father worked in the United States Navy shipyards of Brooklyn Yard, a profession that required him to abandon his family for several months at different time. Worried about the safety of his family and mindful of his companion’s regular longing for the island, he regularly sends his wife (companion) and offspring to their local land located in Puerto Rico regularly. The narrative explains the life of Cofer as she grew against the cultural switch backs. Her past childhood memories involve the sadness, racial discrimination and depression in America where they lived in El Building which hosted many foreigners but they could not interact but it is the â€Å"But the pipes were also a connection to all the other lives being lived around us† and her mother â€Å"had been given strict orders by my father to keep the doors locked, the noise down, ourselves to ourselves†. She remembers a certain moment when her father was referred to as a Cuban but when he said that he was a Puerto Rican the other responded by shouting to Cofer’s father â€Å"same shit†. Cofer’s home life anchored her to the Puerto Rico’s past while the US remained her home. The sad childhood memories are passed from generation to generation in what is said to be the â€Å"Rubbery face† and Cofer hopes that the misery will end. At home she was a Spanish while outside home she spoke in English and she was always told that she sounded like a â€Å"gringa†. One of the mentors for this lady is her grandmother who is also very strict. Both childhood experiences are greatly contributed by their grandparents. Both stories show the reader how the present culture evolved. Cofer’s stories shows how the American culture is a product of many other cultures while Accawi’s story shows how western civilization changed the farming village at Magdaluna in Lebanese.