Task Archetype Essay Example for Free

Task Archetype Essay Every man is born with a task which he must fulfill and if he is successful, the world recognizes him for it. Fate is unarguably the main factor that pushes a man towards his task; he is nothing but fates puppet. Task can be as simple as finishing homework which will get you good marks, to complex things such as deciding your familys fate through your actions. The situational archetype of The Task is precisely analyzed and adapted in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppolas The Godfather Part 1 and 2 movie and The Real Godfather documentary. The archetype â€Å"The task† is well explained and adapted in the novel, The Godfather. Michael Corleone is one of the main protagonists who demonstrates his task perfectly. Michael, a war-hero, never wishes to get involved in his family business and yet is forced to get involved as life plays its tricks on him. Vito Corleone, Michael’s father and the Mafia boss of the Corleone family, is almost assassinated by hitmens (Puzo, 78-79) and is admitted in a hospital. Shortly after Michael visits his father in the hospital, Cpt. McCluskey arrives and punches Michael in the face, breaking his jaw for showing disrespect to him (Puzo, 129-130). This is the triggering point of Michael’s fate of him getting involved in the family’s business because the hit was not to his body but to his father’s life and his pride. Michael accepts and performs his task of enormous proportion by volunteering to take out the enemies of the family (Puzo, 135-136). This superhuman deed of Michael fulfilling his task identifies him and allows him to assure his rightful position in the family as the future Don Corleone. The task is also portrayed in the movies: Godfather part 1 and 2. In part 1, Michael Corleone visually displays his task being fulfilled. When Michael Corleone is set to get revenge for his father as discussed in the previous paragraph, Michael’s older brother Sonny Corleone says, â€Å"You’re taking this very personal [†¦] this man is taking it very, very personal† (Godfather I) and Michael coldly replies, â€Å"It’s not personal Sonny, it’s strictly business† (God father I). Michael’s resolve is so strong to achieve his task only due to the fateful circumstances that lead him towards it. Don Vito Corleone often tells Michael that, â€Å"Every man has but one destiny† (Godfather I) meaning that a member of a Mafia family cannot defy his fate. This is proven as unfortunate circumstances in Michael’s life get him involved in the family which has always been his fateful task. In Godfather II, Michael is shown fulfilling his task but at  the same time facing many hardships such as assassination attempts and losing his family. This shows how Michael fulfills his fateful task while facing the harshest problems any man in the world can face. Finally, the task archetype influences the thinking of everyday people in the world and this is shown through the documentary: The Real Godfather. This documentary basically shows how world of mobsters was influenced by the Godfather series and vice-versa. In the late 1970s, Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather was an instant success globally and Paramount pictures wanted to turn this epic classic novel into an epic classic movie which was their task. Little did they know the gravity of problems they were going to face later on. Since Godfather was based on Italian-Americans, a civil-rights league of Italian-Americans decided to be not in favor of the movie as it exposed their people too much. The league had connections with the mobs of New York City, who threatened the directors and producers of Paramount.

A Look At Greek Lyric Poetry And John Cage Essay Example for Free

A Look At Greek Lyric Poetry And John Cage Essay Music goes beyond language barriers; it speaks no language but that of the heart. However, like all art forms it has tenets and principles as to what is good music and what is simply noise. How about when artists claim that their works are music when it seems that these are perceived to be avant garde, not the kind of music that dominates the cultural period and worse, does not come from tradition? This paper seeks to take a look at the music in Hellenistic Greece, in particular a lyric by one of its known muses, Sappho, with her only surviving complete work, Ode to Aphrodite, and compare it with what is considered to be experimental composition from John Cage, his 4’33†. Both pieces were meant to be performed – although how these are performed also raised questions. Ancient Greece is revered to be a center of learning, where arts and culture flourished. It was one of the places where the earliest treatises on the different art forms were written, and they were keen to what constituted good and bad art, giving raise even to debates as to what is the function of art. Plato was known to promote the arts that will inspire people’s thinking, not their emotions, for he considered human emotions a weakness, and also because during that time musical scales developed from the study of the harmony in the universe, the mathematical equations used by the Pythagoreans (Henderson, 1957). It was because of this that he did not approve of the poets’ lyrics, because it deviated from the musical modes they were used to and relied on what sounded good to the ear, making music became accessible to the people (Anderson, 1966). Sappho was one of those poets whose lyric poetry when sung communicated the love and sensuality it contained, as with her work Ode to Aphrodite, deviating from their traditionally highly mathematically composed melodies where people were supposed to be quiet and listen to rigidly, for her lyric love poems were made to be felt and inspire emotion. In this way, Sappho, and her contemporary poets at the time helped create a turn for Greek music. Like Sappho, John Cage contributed to music with his compositions, characterized as avant-garde especially his chance pieces. However, his work that challenged perceptions and definition of music is his notorious 4’33†, a piece where for four minutes and thirty-three seconds the orchestra plays nothing. John Cage wrote this piece when he realized that there will always be sound, and deliberately wrote â€Å"Tacet†, to instruct the musician not to play. What Cage wanted for the audience to hear was the different sounds that occur during the interval the piece is played – all the various sounds that one does not pay attention to because they listen to something else. This is different from silence, unless the figuratively the sound of silence, since Cage’s point was that there is always sound if one listens intently (Cage, 1973). Both Sappho and Cage’s music differed from one another in that Sappho was expressing herself through her poetry, while Cage was making the listener turn to his environment. Although created in different environment and cultures, both musical pieces can be interpreted in a personal way, making it a unique experience. Sappho’s Ode to Aphrodite can mean something else to a modern listener than it used to in ancient Greece, and of course Cage’s 4’33† would always conjure something unique for each individual. What this shows us is that although music is made in a certain era, it can transcend the boundaries of time as long as it resonates with what is human and universal, as an appreciation for the sounds around us and those that speak of love, and that although music is governed by principles of what makes it good, it will always be a matter of personal experience. SOURCES: Anderson, W. (1966). Ethos and Education in Greek Music. Cambridge, HUP. Cage, John. (1973). Silence: Lectures and Writings, Wesleyan Paperback. Henderson, Isobel (1957). Ancient Greek Music in The New Oxford History of Music, vol. 1: Ancient and Oriental Music, Oxford, Oxford University Press. http://homoecumenicus. com/ioannidis_ancient_greek_texts. htm, Accessed on June, 15, 2009. http://www. greylodge. org/occultreview/glor_013/433. htm , Accessed on June 15, 2009.

The Role Of Ethics In Education

The Role Of Ethics In Education The lifestyle of a human being is closely bound with ethical values unlike other organisms living on this planet. This highlights the importance of embracing ethics on our day today activities. According to the New Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary ethics is defined as the moral principles that control or influence a persons behaviour. In other words as mentioned in an article appeared originally in Issues in ethics IIE V1 N1 (Fall 1987), ethics is two things. First ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness or specific virtues. Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of ones ethical standards. As a person moulding the younger generation, a teacher has to act as a role model to protect the honour, culture and the discipline of the school while achieving educational goals with success due to sheer dedicated service to the teaching profession. Th erefore it is quite obvious that ethics play a major role in the teaching career. There are several ethical rules to be followed for a good moral conduct. To elaborate more on this topic, I have chosen two standards taken from the teaching of ethics of Graduate School at Penn State. At first, I wish to discuss about fairness or impartiality which is one of the most challenging codes of ethics a teacher can possess. It is extremely important to act neutral while judging the performance of a student because being biased towards some students may hurt and lower the self-esteem of other students. Fairness: Recognizing the inherent subjectivity involved in grading, instructors ought to ensure that their grading practices are as objective as possible by creating and adhering to unambiguous criteria.(From the teaching ethics of Graduate School at Penn State). An outstanding teacher understands that all students require equal love and attention. A teacher trying to be fair among the students will not even bother to look at the name on the top of the paper when awarding a grade for a student. Next, let me discuss about showing respect to the others. Respect can be defined as the consideration of self and of others. Teachers and the whole department of academic and non-academic staff work as a team no matter where they come from. Hence being respectful to each other makes a well-oiled team which in turn strengthens the unity of the school. Further, respecting the views and ideas of the learners may help them build their confidence in learning and sharing knowledge. Respect for Persons: Teachers ought to encourage mutual respect among students. Additionally, instructors ought to show respect and common courtesy for students both during interpersonal interactions and in responding promptly to students need for guidance and feedback. (From the teaching ethics of Graduate School at Penn State). Thus it is clear that following ethical rules is a key factor in achieving excellence not only for ones own self but also in the teaching profession as well.. B) As a potential teacher, I see myself as a valuable person capable of delivering a mammoth service to the humankind. My roles include not only teaching but several other aspects as well. Meeting the needs of the learners through effective teaching strategy is my topmost priority. But on several occasions my roles differ from time to time according to the given situation. Sometimes I will have to be a planner with a suitable teaching plan to make the learners understand the lessons better. Sometimes as an assessor ,monitoring and evaluating the students providing appropriate feedback. Next a facilitator supporting and guiding the students to learn on their own, an information provider, conveying knowledge, a resource developer, managing the available resources and a role model capable of influencing a learners attitudes and behaviours. To compare my roles with two other professionals in my organization, I would like to choose a sports coach and a professional school counsellor in th is regard. A sports coach is a professional who works in the school. He/she is responsible for training athletes while understanding the different skills of each individual separately. These include diet plans, training sessions, physical examinations etc. My role as a teacher shows some similarities with the roles of a sports coach such as being a mentor, adviser, supporter and motivator, dissimilarity being that it is done in a more academical context. Examination of the calorie intake and physical fitness do not necessarily include in my roles as a teacher. A professional school counsellor is someone who counsels the students with a genuine heart to solve the problems of them, be it academic or personal. A teacher also plays a role as a counsellor looking into the affairs of the students when they confide in them, dissimilarity being that the teacher might not have a professional training on counseling whereas a professional counsellor must have had. Hence a teacher relies on logical analysis and personal experience in solving problems during counselling. In some instance they may require help from others too. Its important to note that although different professionals work together in a school, everyone should understand their professional roles and invest their maximum effort in succeeding them. C) Teams comprising individuals working together towards a common goal while holding themselves accountable for the team output is known as teamwork. The most valued advantage of teamwork is its efficiency. In team, the work often gets done faster thus saving a lot of time. This is because large tasks are organized into smaller assignments and divided among the team members equally while sorting out the individuals best suited for the job. While working in a team, each individuals unique skills and ideas gets combined effectively and put to usage to produce the desired outcome. These combined skills lead to an increase in creativity. Hence this helps in strengthening the team unity and the team spirit. The team members will also develop a sense of responsibility since they depend on each other for success. Sharing ideas with one another and relying on others feedback gives a better team output close to perfection. While responsible team members invest sufficient time and effort, the low productivity of some members due to lack of commitment and dedication is a setback to the whole team. In some instances, this may cause resentment and a rift between the teammates. Hence a better output is not expected. Some members delay their portion of work. This will not help in finishing the task on time. Contrasting personal styles and difficulty in accepting ideas which differ from their own can result in clashes between the team members thus reducing the efficiency of teamwork. To understand team work better, Bruce Tuckman first came up with a theory called forming, storming, norming and performing in 1965. Later, he added a fifth stage called adjourning. Working individually is completing the given tasks on your own without the help of the others. When working individually, we get to think independently and incorporate our ideas into the task. Hence it develops our hidden potentials. Since there are no intruders, conflicts may not arise. Hence the speed and clarity could be an added advantage. Even the laziest person is put to work here thus giving an opportunity to shoulder responsibilities. The disadvantages of working individually include possible chances of having errors since the task is not checked by the others, no room for variations and a combination of creative thoughts, occurence of some doubts regarding the accuracy of the task and the possible chance of socialization getting hampered. Its important to understand that some activities in the school like the sports meet, prize giving and shramadana campaigns are best done in teams while maintenance of registers, library book keeping system and lab experiments are best done individually. D) Interpersonal relationships are social associations or connections between two or more people. In an organization such as the school, basically there are three types of interpersonal relationships. They are: student-teacher, teacher-parent and teacher-teacher relationships. It is vital to maintain a healthy interpersonal relationship with the others. The student-teacher relationship is a very special one. The teacher should be able to understand the learners and help them out. This is only possible if there was a healthy relationship among the students and the teacher. The teacher-teacher relationship is also equally important because the teacher might decide on lesson plans and strategies according to the feedback and the advice given by their colleagues. Further, planning on several occasions which are to be held at school could be done if the teacher-teacher relationship is healthy. To advice and talk about the short commings of a student, a healthy teacher-parent relationship is required. These types of positive interpersonal relationships can further develop the roles of a teacher while magnifying its effects several times. Sometimes the above mentioned interpersonal relationships end up in conflicts if there was no understanding between the two parties. Due to the uneasiness prevailing among the two parties, the activities meant to be carried out together may not be completed to perfection thus affecting the school as well. The teachers might also not be able to concentrate on their work and may feel restless. This will have a great impact on their professional role. Hence a teacher should be wise and tactful in handling different types of interpersonal relationships so that it may only bring out a positive improvement in their professional role.

Keeping up with the Jones :: essays research papers

The expression, â€Å"Keeping up with the Joneses† a very common quote that, Juliet Schor, used in her work, The New Politics of Consumption, could not fit a society more. The average household debt excluding mortgage is estimated fifteen thousand dollars, eight thousand of that debt comes from credit cards. (Paul Bannister, bankrate.com) Credit cards are becoming a huge problem in our society that it is affecting more than just consumerism. It’s affecting the way we live.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everywhere public place you go it is hard not to run in to the idea of the credit card. You will see credit card logos on the front of every business. Every department store you go in has it’s own version of a credit card from Target to Macy’s. The Diner’s Club Card that originally was only for businessmen to eat lunch at 27 different restaurants. Now it is accepted almost everywhere. And for everything else there’s Mastercard†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(or Visa, Discover Card orAmerican Express. Currently there are 1.2 billion active credit cards used in the United States. A typical purchase on a credit card cost more than 112% then a purchase paid for by cash. Americans are not only purchasing items on their credit cards as they go on shopping sprees. They are now paying their rent, tuition, utilities, car payments, and anything else they can think of. 9 in 10 credit cards users say that their credit card debt is nothing they worry about, but 47% of these people refused to tell a friend exactly how much they owe. (Paul Bannister, bankrate.com).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Initially when people receive a credit card they state that it is for â€Å"emergency purposes only†. However, that does not seem to be the case. For some, keeping up with the Joneses is an emergency. Heaven forbid, a sale at the GAP. Fewer people are saving money. Instead they rely on the plastic. However, the average credit card holder pays $1200 just in credit card interest. You would think that those individual would figure this out and start putting that $1200 into saving for â€Å"emergency purposes only†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It seems odd that so many people say that they their credit card debt is nothing they worry about. When people have been filing bankruptcy more and more. In 1991, the rate of 25 years and under that filed for as rose to 50%. Maybe this has to do with so many Universities and Colleges allowing banks and credit card companies to hound financial uneducated students on campuses with promises of a free calling card or hopes of winning a plasma TV for their dorm room.

Fleeting Satisfaction in Madame Bovary Essay -- Madame Bovary Essays

Fleeting Satisfaction in Madame Bovary      Ã‚   The desire to have romance, rapture, and passion can often times be fleeting and momentary where as the foundation of true love and commitment generally stands solid throughout many trials. In Madame Bovary (1857), a novel written by Gustave Flaubert, the main character of the story, Emma Bovary, finds both passion and commitment in different facets yet she chooses to yield herself to the desires of her heart and seek out passion in other men instead of staying in the comfort of commitment offered to her by her husband.    Emma is first introduced in the story when her ailing father needs tending from a local physician. The doctor is Charles Bovary, whom Emma will later marry. Charles is married at the time he first visits Emma's father. However, Charles wife is old and frail and passes away shortly after he meets Emma. Charles then marries Emma and they move to a small town in France named Yohnville, where Charles sets up his practice. Early in their marriage, Charles takes Emma to a party held by the Secretary of State of France in a large chà ¢teau. After a small taste of royalty, Emma is enamored with the romantic feel of living a royal life. She begins feeling unhappy with her marriage, complaining her husband is boring and dull compared to some of the men she had met at the party. She soon seeks out companionship with other men and eventually becomes two different men's mistress. They, however, tire of her romantic ideas and leave her. Throughout her marriage to Charles, and the diff erent relationships she has, all Emma can see is hopelessness and despair, so she eventually eats poison and dies, leaving her husband and her young daughter, Berthe. ... ...irs (441). Though she may not have realized it, Emma's actions affected many more people than just herself.    All Emma Bovary wanted in her life was to be loved with a passionate love, and she eventually was both loved with commitment and loved with passion, but neither of those satisfied her longings. She compromised her standards for the one thing she desired most and eventually paid the ultimate consequence with her life. The need to feel passion and romance is not nearly worth the price of a human being's life. Madame Bovary truly discovered that the desire to have romance, rapture, and passion is often times a fleeting satisfaction whereas the foundation of true love and commitment stands solid throughout many trials.    Work Cited Flaubert, Gustave. The World's Great Classics: Madame Bovary. New York: Grolier Incorporated. 1968.   

Ancient Civilizations Essay example -- essays research papers

#1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A pattern that was common among the ancient civilizations of China, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India was that most of them started as a dictatorship, a monarchy, or a dynasty. Eventually, most of them changed to a democracy, republic, or to class systems. Almost all of the civilizations had one or two great leaders. For example, Egypt had King Tut, Greece had Alexander the Great and Rome had Julius Caesar.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China has had many different leaders through the years. Dynasties, or a series of rulers from the same decent, ruled this government. Some of the most powerful dynasties were the Shang, Zhou, and Qin. These dynasties and many others ruled from the times of 1500 BC to 1900 AD. The dynasty that lasted the longest was the Zhou Dynasty. It lasted from 1122 BC through 256 BC. The Qin Dynasty had one of the strongest central governments, but only lasted fourteen years. The most peaceful time was when the Han Dynasty ruled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another ancient civilization was the Romans. They started out as a monarchy government by having one ruler. Eventually an idea of republicanism overthrew the monarchy. The Romans thought that this would keep any one person from gaining too much power. The most powerful governing body was the senate. The senators elected two consuls each year. The consul’s jobs were to supervise the business of government and command the armies. They could only se...

A lesson Before Dying

In the book â€Å" A lesson Before Dying† the chracters in the book have a lot of different personalities. There are many ways to compare the meaning of the characters name to themselves in the book. Grant’s name means great and as in the story he struggles between the meaning of life and the things that control it, many influences in his life show him valuble things that help him get through his struggles of being a black man in the south with an education, and himself considering he is powerless against changing his life around. Vivian’s name means alive, and as it shows she is a white schoolteacher and represents grants individualist side, in a way that pushes him in the way of doing great things, but her family does not accept grant because of his color. She shows frant the meaning of being alive and working for things. Emma’s name means universal so in a way it ties in with her in the story because she has an open mind and is kind to everyone no matter the race, or ethnicity. She shows people the good they have in themselves and why it is important to show love and kindness. Lastly there is Paul and his name means small, since he is the youngest in the sheriff’s department he is more tolerant but stubborn, and finds new ways for things, and everyone say he comes from a good stock, which means he comes from a family that he treats people well regardless of race or ethnicity. Many of the names from the characters go along with their personalities in the story, not always exactly the same but close to who they are. A Lesson Before Dying Professor Askassi ENGL 102 Section 021 12 April 2010 Rodnika’s Personal Reflection on A Lesson Before Dying. The story, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines is a awesome book so far. I can relate to this whole situation in numerous of ways. This story just bring back a time that my brother had to go through years ago and how he is still paying the price even though he guilty in all matters. I believe that the court system is full of a lot of stuff. They convict incents people for no reason. I can imagine how not only Jefferson but his family is going through.My life has change in way that I couldn’t imagine after my brother was locked up and sentence to life in prison. My life changed tremendously on August 15, 2007 as I sat in the court room with my family and friend as the prosecutor read the verdict of my brother Rodney as guilty with two counts of first-degree murder charges and life in prison. I sat there crying over and over again because I knew that just was n’t true and they made a mistake but then I realize that I will never see my brother again walking on these streets.The way I was raised as I’m my brother keeper and the same goes for him. Even though, he wasn’t my mother child she felt grief that I was going through. Just a year before, my brother and I were sitting outside Barry Farm neighborhood in Washington, Dc with my cousins and friends on a nice spring day. We all was out enjoying the sun and was glad to be around the neighborhood where all the fun happens at. Even, thought this environment wasn’t as safe as it should we still enjoy ourselves and was glad to be around there.But then same night time, and that was my key to go in the house because too much stuff goes on at night time. I got a funny feeling inside of me to tell my brother to come inside too but at the age of twenty-one he just wouldn’t listen to me. The clock hit one in the morning and I started to hear a lot of gun shots outs ide of my cousin window. Then when I heard a lot going off I just knew something wasn’t right. I looked outside and there was a shootout going on in the neighborhood. I was scared and nervous cause I didn’t know where my brother was.The gun shot had to have stopped twenty minutes later. I called and called my brother because I heard police siren everywhere in neighborhood. But, he never answered the phone. I didn’t sleep at all that night. But, then I finally got a phone call saying that the police had locked him up and took him in. I was so shocked I knew my brother wasn’t responsible for that dangerous activity that went on. When, my family and I got down there they said there are locking my brother up because he was the key shooter of this event and they found the gun he was using.I knew my brother never owned a gun. We had to wait months for the DA to come out with evidenced that they thought they had on Rodney. While, going through trail they explain ed that the fingerprint on the gun matched my brother. But, I knew that was impossible. We always question them to do another test but they ignore us every time. I believe it’s funny how the court systems lock poor innocent people up. My brother is in there surviving time for something he had nothing to do with.Till this day we are still trying to get his case back on trail so we can retest the fingerprint on the gun again. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the story A Lesson Before Dying, I feel sorry for Jefferson a young black man that was in a situation at the wrong place at the wrong time just like my brother Rodney. They are both in the system surviving time and will never walk foot outside of a jail yard ever again. It funny the system believes and does what they want to do and thinks it alright. But, in my brother case they will not win this battle. A Lesson Before Dying Professor Askassi ENGL 102 Section 021 12 April 2010 Rodnika’s Personal Reflection on A Lesson Before Dying. The story, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines is a awesome book so far. I can relate to this whole situation in numerous of ways. This story just bring back a time that my brother had to go through years ago and how he is still paying the price even though he guilty in all matters. I believe that the court system is full of a lot of stuff. They convict incents people for no reason. I can imagine how not only Jefferson but his family is going through.My life has change in way that I couldn’t imagine after my brother was locked up and sentence to life in prison. My life changed tremendously on August 15, 2007 as I sat in the court room with my family and friend as the prosecutor read the verdict of my brother Rodney as guilty with two counts of first-degree murder charges and life in prison. I sat there crying over and over again because I knew that just was n’t true and they made a mistake but then I realize that I will never see my brother again walking on these streets.The way I was raised as I’m my brother keeper and the same goes for him. Even though, he wasn’t my mother child she felt grief that I was going through. Just a year before, my brother and I were sitting outside Barry Farm neighborhood in Washington, Dc with my cousins and friends on a nice spring day. We all was out enjoying the sun and was glad to be around the neighborhood where all the fun happens at. Even, thought this environment wasn’t as safe as it should we still enjoy ourselves and was glad to be around there.But then same night time, and that was my key to go in the house because too much stuff goes on at night time. I got a funny feeling inside of me to tell my brother to come inside too but at the age of twenty-one he just wouldn’t listen to me. The clock hit one in the morning and I started to hear a lot of gun shots outs ide of my cousin window. Then when I heard a lot going off I just knew something wasn’t right. I looked outside and there was a shootout going on in the neighborhood. I was scared and nervous cause I didn’t know where my brother was.The gun shot had to have stopped twenty minutes later. I called and called my brother because I heard police siren everywhere in neighborhood. But, he never answered the phone. I didn’t sleep at all that night. But, then I finally got a phone call saying that the police had locked him up and took him in. I was so shocked I knew my brother wasn’t responsible for that dangerous activity that went on. When, my family and I got down there they said there are locking my brother up because he was the key shooter of this event and they found the gun he was using.I knew my brother never owned a gun. We had to wait months for the DA to come out with evidenced that they thought they had on Rodney. While, going through trail they explain ed that the fingerprint on the gun matched my brother. But, I knew that was impossible. We always question them to do another test but they ignore us every time. I believe it’s funny how the court systems lock poor innocent people up. My brother is in there surviving time for something he had nothing to do with.Till this day we are still trying to get his case back on trail so we can retest the fingerprint on the gun again. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the story A Lesson Before Dying, I feel sorry for Jefferson a young black man that was in a situation at the wrong place at the wrong time just like my brother Rodney. They are both in the system surviving time and will never walk foot outside of a jail yard ever again. It funny the system believes and does what they want to do and thinks it alright. But, in my brother case they will not win this battle.