Saturday, December 28, 2019

Edgar Allen Poe And King - 1063 Words

Casandra Crawford Mrs. Dean English 11 March 14, 2015 Poe and King What is thought of when the word ‘Horror’ is said. One would usually think of a scary clown, an ax murderer, and demons. Many minds would wander over to the brilliant horror author, Stephen King, and his many wondrous villains. Many intellectuals would have briefly wandered over to Edgar Allen Poe, and his gift to entice the readers into his stories. Poe and King are both monarchs of the Horror genre and it would be very easy to contrast the two icons. Many wouldn’t think that with King’s homicidal monsters, and with Poe’s causing his characters self-conflict, that the two iconic authors are in any ways similar to one another. Poe lived a melancholy life: His mother died of tuberculosis, his foster father openly thought he was not worth a penny, he got himself kicked out of the Military College, his wife Virginia also died of the same disease that claimed his parents lives and then later dying himself behind a bar with no clear reason on how he died. ( Childhood, Poe ) It is no wonder that Poe wrote his stories to vent out his pain and frustrations. He often wrote stories that included subtle clues to his life. In one example, Berenice, he wrote about a man who was engaged to his cousin and had an unhealthy obsession with her teeth as she succumbs to a deadly disease. ( Writer, Poe ) Minus the unhealthy obsession with teeth, the man who married his cousin who was dying of a deadly disease could be arguedShow MoreRelatedPoe: An Analysis of His Work862 Words   |  4 Pages The Portable Edgar Allen Poe, edited by J. Gerald Kennedy, is a phenomenal compilation of works from one of Americas greatest writers of the nineteenth century. Published in 2006, the book contains short stories, poems, and letters, written by Edgar Allen Poe. Full of lies, hope, revenge, and guilt, the stories in this assemblage are suspenseful and convey powerful messages. Of all the amazing stories that comprise this anthology, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, â€Å"The Black Cat†, and â€Å"The Pit and theRead More Edgar Allen Poe1501 Words   |  7 PagesEdgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe was a great writer and made many contributions to the works of literature. He is known as the father of the American short story and also the father of the detective story. To understand Poe’s literary contributions, his early life, literacy life, and works must be examined. Each aspect of his life revolves around the other. Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. He was born to a Southern family who belonged in a traveling companyRead MoreEssay about Edgar Allen Poes Gothicism695 Words   |  3 PagesEdgar Allen Poe Gothicism When the name Edgar Allen Poe is mentioned the thoughts of horror, shock, and terror come to the common readers mind. Some though, think more powerful words such as revolutionary, intellectual, or gothic. Poe’s works such as Pit And The Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, Hop-Frog, and The Fall of the House of Usher are considered to be staple works of the 19th century gothic genre. Elements of gothic writing include the number seven, madness, and ironic twists. Read MoreA Brief Biography of Edgar Allan Poe Essay1001 Words   |  5 Pages Thesis Edgar Allan Poe was a fictional writer that astonished readers with his many mysterious poems and his tales of horror such as â€Å"The Raven†, â€Å"Annabelle Lee†, and â€Å"The Fall of the house of Usher†. Biography Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston Massachusetts. (A-1) His parents were English born actors Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe Jr. (A-2) After his parents died he wasRead MoreEdgar Allen Poe s Death Of Rock And Roll1147 Words   |  5 PagesEveryone knows Michael Jackson as the king of pop. Elvis Presley is famously the king of rock and roll. But what about gothic literature? Yes, even a genre of literature can have a throne. And who occupies that throne you may ask? Edgar Allen Poe, that’s who. Believed to have originated in Germany in the 1700s, gothic literature is the genre where the romantic movement found its home. It began with unrequited love stories ending in tragic suicide, then evolved into happily ever afters in France.Read More Use of Contrasts in Poes The Masque (Mask) of the Red Death569 Words   |  3 PagesDeath  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dansers, there were musicians, there was beauty, there was wine. All these and security within. Without was the Red Death. (Poe, 209) In the short story, The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allen Poe uses the sanctity within the abbey walls to juxtapose the harshness and inescapable nature of the Red Death. The author uses the contrasts between the abbey and the Red Death to reveal the true characterRead MoreEdgar Allen Poe s The Cast Of Amontillado And Dexter1493 Words   |  6 Pagesshow how they compare to Edgar Allen Poe and his work. But with this said, what keeps the audience coming back for more? To begin the To begin there are a lot of similarities and differences between Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cast of Amontillado and Hop Frog and Today’s television show(s) Arrow and Dexter. If you have ever read or saw these stories/shows you are probably thinking to yourself that how can a hip television series be in the smallest way similar to Edgar Allen Poe and his work. The answerRead MoreThe Precedent Of Gothic Horror1031 Words   |  5 PagesThe Precedent of Gothic-Horror The king of the gothic-horror genre, Edgar Allan Poe, is well-known for intriguing short stories, especially â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†. In cinematic art, Alfred Hitchcock, â€Å"The Master of Suspense†, uses similar techniques in his film such as foreshadowing, and suspense to give the audience a sense of an adrenaline overdose. Fear, terror and suspense are the most vivid emotions created by Poe’s stories and by Hitchcock’s films have paved the road for future horror entertainmentRead MoreThe Mystery And Surprise Of Character Essay1426 Words   |  6 Pagesstories, would cease to exist and the tone of each story would not be near as terrifying as it is with the isolation playing a huge theme in Poe’s literature. Martin Luther King Jr. once said â€Å"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.† This quote could possibly be related to Poe’s characters in that their own character is measured on how they handle fear and terror. Harry Baker said of characterRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado Analysis935 Words   |  4 PagesRiley Akers Mr. Hooper English II 531-09 September 2, 2017 The Cask of Amontillado In the short story â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allen Poe, Montressor uses his rival, Fortunato’s, Hubris to plot his revenge for the wrongs Fortunato has done against Montreseor’s family. In the beginning of the story, Montressor explains why he must get his revenge on Fortunato and also explains how Fortunato believes he is a skilled judge of fine wines. His plan to kill Fortunato is to lure him into his wine

Friday, December 20, 2019

Body Image Essay - 1966 Words

Body Image nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The purpose of this study is to further explore and examine the influences of mass media on maleamp;#8217;s and femaleamp;#8217;s personal body image satisfaction and the awareness and internalization of societal pressures regarding appearance. For a number years evidence surrounding the insecurities that women have towards their own bodies has been widely published. More recently, it has been suggested that men are falling victim to media and societal pressure, and are developing insecurities traditionally associated with women. Much of the body dissatisfaction that we see today can be attributed to the enormous disparity between our current cultural beauty ideals and our actual bodies.†¦show more content†¦They further indicated that men generally have more positive attitudes toward their bodies than women do. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Levine and associates (1994) reported that 70% of the teenage women who regularly read fashion magazines considered the magazines an important source of beauty and fitness information. The mass marketing of body images through print media and television advertising has been well documented as a powerful force in creating the 90amp;#8217;s perception of the tall, thin, and toned ideal for women and the medium-sized, muscular ideal for men (Rabak-Wagener, Eickhoff-Shemek, amp; Kelly-Vance, 1998). As media increases as a vehicle for information to develop our identities it expands its potential to create and reinforce particular values, stereotypes and behaviors as well as alter societies perceptions of reality (Fouts amp; Burggraf, 1999, Sipiora, 1991, Leobert amp; Sprafkin, 1988). The more people are exposed to these values, stereotypes, and behaviors the more it is reinforced that there is an association between the ideal body image, physical attractiveness, desirability, personal self-worth, and success (Fouts amp; Burggraf, 1999). The implication is a society that appears to associate body size and shape as direct aspects of their identities and self worth; if a man or a woman is unhappy with the way they look,thenShow MoreRelatedBody Image And Body Images1896 Words   |  8 Pagesfeelings of body image. Many people think a dancer’s personal vision of their body image is an important part of their psychological health and well-being and can help or hinder their dance performance. But what is body image? Body image is both perceptual (what we see) and affective (how we feel about what we see) (Rudd Carter, 2006). Cash, (2004) referred body image to the multifaceted psychological experience of embodiment, especially one’s physical appearance and encompasses one’s body-relatedRead MoreEating Disorders And Body Image Essay1115 Words   |  5 PagesKarlye Weber AMST 3723 Dr. Carreiro 15 November 2016 Typically when covering the topic of eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction athletes and young women are the center of research and are stereotyped to be the only groups of people who suffer from self-image issues. In â€Å"The Hidden Faces of Eating Disorders and Body Image,† authors Justine Reels and Katherine Beals look to breakdown the stereotypes and dig deeper into the issues that cross over the borders of ethnicity, age and genderRead MoreThe Body Image Movement Aims Essay1780 Words   |  8 Pages2014). Movements have purposes, even when these have to do with transforming members themselves rather then the worlds outside the movement (Jasper 2014). The body image movement aims to improve the relationship between women and their bodies in a more positive manner (Dove 2014). Currently, women are suffering from an increase in body self-consciousness as a result of medias role regarding beauty ideals. Researchers have found that women worldwide do not view themselves as beautiful and are consistentlyRead MoreBad Body Image Days Or Bad Self Image1235 Words   |  5 PagesBad body image days or bad self-image days, in general, are something that every person at some point in time endures. Everyone has their insecurities and some days these insecurities  strike out to us more so than other days. Being our own worst critic, the days you wake up swearing you gained 10 pounds over night or the days you wake up shocked to see your face as one inflamed  pimple can be extremely  hindering. We all love morning stomach but some days you wake up bloated and feeling a tad moreRead MoreThe Impact Of Fitspiration Images On College Women s Body Image1433 Words   |  6 Pages​It is undeniable that the body changes many times throughout the length of adulthood. Education is one indicator that a person has began their journey into adulthood. Attending a University is a time when many men and women set out on their own to find their own identity and place in the world. Part of that identity is body image. Tiggemann and Zaccardo (2015) conducted research that aimed to investigate the impact of fitspiration images on college women’s body image. Participants included 130 femaleRead MoreBody Image : The African American Culture1667 Words   |  7 PagesBody Image in the African American Culture Today we live in a society that over the years has become so obsessed with body image and how an individual should look. Different cultures have different standards and norms that help to define their ideal body image. African Americans because of their differences in culture have gone against most cultural norms and have set their own definitions of beauty, body image, and body satisfaction. Because of these key differences, the African American communityRead MorePositive Body Image Group Essay1234 Words   |  5 Pages Body image disturbance, or BID, can have negative effects on individuals and can be found among many different ages of women. In fact, BID can even be found in girls as young as age seven. Many negative effects have been attributed to BID, such as increased anxiety, stress, and depression, which can cause issues both psychologically and physically (Devaraj Lewis, 2010). Therefore, there is a need to help women combat these negative effects of body image disturbance and help maintain a more positiveRead MoreNegative Body Image of Women in the Media2325 Words   |  10 Pagesside effects resulting in low self-esteem, eating disorders, or depression. Media projects images of women that have been surgically or technologically edited, these projections are causing negative effects. These unrealistic women have a greater effect on young women today, society has enveloped this idea that we have to meet this certain image. We have become so overwhelmed with the stereotypical image causi ng great disapproval for women who are slightly overweight. Everyone wants to look theirRead MoreThe Media And It s Impute On Body Image1850 Words   |  8 Pages2015 The Media and It’s Impute on Body Image There are no questions to whether the media has influenced the self-consciousness people have on their body or not. Whether it is the front of a magazine cover or in a film or television show, the selection of models or actors are primarily thin or fit leading readers and viewers to worry or want to change the way their body looks. Body image is the way one sees oneself and imagine how one looks. Having a positive body image means that most of the time someoneRead MoreSocietal Expectations And Media Influences Of Body Image Essay1769 Words   |  8 PagesExpectations and Media Influences of Body Image Numerous studies have been conducted on the various aspects of the impact and societal expectations held by north America and the impacts that it has on today’s youth. Body Image is a picture or mental image of your own body and how you view it.However, during my research process, there were very few sources that supported the media’s projection of body image. As we explore all the aspects of what body image really is and what impact may the media

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Cause and Effect of Human Trafficking free essay sample

Humans are highly profitable as forced labourer (Polaris Japan, 2012). Forced labour is an all work service which is exhausted from any person under cruelty, where the individual is unwilling to perform voluntarily (C29 Forced Labour Convention, 1930). Major forms of forced labourer are commercial sexual exploitations and forced economical exploitations. Commercial sexual exploitations include prostitution and pornography, while economical exploitations cover manual labour. These trades generate an estimated 31. 6 billion dollars with industrialized economies contributing 49% of the grand total (Besler Patrick, 2005). High demands play a crucial role. When people are willing to buy sex, they create a market for traffickers to sexually exploit; when consumers buys services from forced labour industries, labour traffickers gain a profit incentive. Human trafficking is a low risk trade. People are ignorant to trafficking, institutions are not trained to respond, laws are ineffective to address the crime, victims have no safety nets and when the law does not prosecute the crime, traffickers perceive little risks to affect their operations. We will write a custom essay sample on Cause and Effect of Human Trafficking or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Country permitting prostitution like Germany, often had human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitations concealed even to the eyes of the law enforcer for prostitution is deemed normal and tolerated. Every 800 people trafficked, only one person was convicted in 2006 (US State Department, 2007), the other traffickers were sentenced to little or no jail time, marring the power of the law that failed to prosecute them, for example in Uzbekistan (United States Mission, 2005) The mind set of society plays an important role. There are people living in poverty. The desires for people to leave poverty for consumer products and higher living standards has forced many household to devise survival strategies that have included migrating for work and makes them vulnerable to the conmen of trafficking that rents out that persons labour to pay off a debt or loan, also known as debt bondage (William Finnegan, 2008). There is a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable (George W. Bush n. d. ). The seeds of evil planted have grown in the tree that affects us all. Not only us or the victims, but every human alike. Human trafficking has not only given rise to the increase in global health risk, it fuels international crimes and it violates human rights. Victims of human trafficking have gone through hell. Relentless anxiety, insecurity, fear and physical pain and injury caused by the abuse of the trafficker in forms of rape, torture or threat (Paloma Pineda, 2011) will have significant effects on the mental health and well-being of trafficked victims (Lunde Ortmann, 1992). Symptoms of psychological trauma reported by trafficked persons include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, alienation and disorientation. Studies indicate that trauma worsens throughout the duration of the trafficking process This clearly shows the effects of trafficking on global health risks. Human trafficking fuels international crime. Every time there is trafficking you have mass corruption, there is document fraud and there are corrupted cops, officials and custom agents looking the other way (Austein Michelle, 2007). The traffickers often collaborate with corrupt officials in order to facilitate the transportation process (Labour Rights Promotion Network, 2007). In Nigeria for example, with numerous checkpoints throughout the border provinces, it would be quite a challenge if not impossible to transport trafficked workers to the workplace successfully without help from corrupt officials. The forms of collaboration can be paying bribes, but in some cases officials have been known to partner with or lead these operations (West Africa Review, n. d. ). Human trafficking violates human rights. Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declares that everybody have the right to be free from torture, free from slavery, free to live life. Human trafficking violates the right to be free from torture. 95% of victims experiences physical or sexual violence during trafficking (The London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine, 2006). It violates the right to live as it controls victims forcing them to live a live as slaves Human trafficking is the opium of society. It leads to degradation of society as it raises global crime and health risks. The public should be educated to observe the signs of trafficking. The law should be reform so that trafficking can no longer be concealed. Finally, the people should work closely with the government to reduce the demand through new approaches toward all forms of exploitations through trafficking. References: (Austein Michelle, 2007. Human Trafficking: A Human Rights Violation and Security Risks,Washington: Washington Files) (Besler Patrick, 2005. Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits, Geneva:International Labour Office.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Fidal Castro Essay Example For Students

Fidal Castro Essay #9;In 1959, a rebel, Fidel Castro, overthrew the reign of FulgenciaBatista in Cuba; a small island 90 miles off the Florida coast. There havebeen many coups and changes of government in the world since then. Few ifany have had the effect on Americans and American foreign policy as thisone. In 1952, Sergeant Fulgencia Batista staged a successful bloodless coupin Cuba . Batista never really had any cooperation and rarely garnered muchsupport. His reign was marked by continual dissension. After waiting to see if Batista would be seriously opposed, Washingtonrecognized his government. Batista had already broken ties with the SovietUnion and became an ally to the U.S. throughout the cold war. He wascontinually friendly and helpful to American business interest. But hefailed to bring democracy to Cuba or secure the broad popular support thatmight have legitimized his rape of the 1940 Constitution. As the people of Cuba grew increasingly dissatisfied with his gangsterstyle politics, the tiny rebellions that had sprouted began to grow. Meanwhile the U.S. government was aware of and shared the distaste for aregime increasingly nauseating to most public opinion. It became clear thatBatista regime was an odious type of government. It killed its owncitizens, it stifled dissent. At this time Fidel Castro appeared as leader of the growing rebellion. Educated in America he was a proponent of the Marxist-Leninist philosophy. He conducted a brilliant guerilla campaign from the hills of Cuba againstBatista. On January 1959, he prevailed and overthrew the Batistagovernment. Castro promised to restore democracy in Cuba, a feat Batista had failedto accomplish. This promise was looked upon benevolently but watchfully byWashington. Castro was believed to be too much in the hands of the peopleto stretch the rules of politics very far. The U.S. government supportedCastros coup. It professed to not know about Castros Communist leanings. Perhaps this was due to the ramifications of Senator Joe McCartys;nbsp;discredited anti-Communist diatribes. It seemed as if the reciprocal economic interests of the U.S. and Cubawould exert a stabilizing effect on Cuban politics. Cuba had beeneconomically bound to find a market for its #1 crop, sugar. The U.S. hadbeen buying it at prices much higher than market price. For this itreceived a guaranteed flow of sugar. Early on however developments clouded the hope for peaceful relations. According to American Ambassador to Cuba, Phillip Bonsal, From the verybeginning of his rule Castro and his sycophants bitterly and sweepinglyattacked the relations of the United States government with Batista and hisregime. He accused us of supplying arms to Batista to help overthrowCastros revolution and of harboring war criminals for a resurgence effortagainst him. For the most part these were not true: the U.S. put a tradeembargo on Batista in 1957 stopping the U.S. shipment of arms to Cuba. However, his last accusation seems to have been prescient. With the advent of Castro the history of U.S.- Cuban relations wassubjected to a revision of an intensity and cynicism which left earlierefforts in the shade. This downfall took two roads in the eyes ofWashington: Castros incessant campaign of slander against the U.S. andCastros wholesale nationalization of American properties. These actions and the U.S. reaction to them set the stage for what wasto become the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the end of U.S.- Cuban relations. Castro promised the Cuban people that he would bring land reform to Cuba. When he took power, the bulk of the nations wealth and land was in thehands of a small minority. The huge plots of land were to be taken fromthe monopolistic owners and distributed evenly among the people. Compensation was to be paid to the former owners. According to PhillipBonsal, Nothing Castro said, nothing stated in the agrarian reformstatute Castro signed in 1958, and nothing in the law that was promulgatedin the Official Gazzette of June 3, 1959, warranted the belief that in twoyears a wholesale conversion of Cuban agricultural land to state ownershipwould take place. Such a notion then would have been inconsistent withnbsp;many of the Castro pronouncements, including the theory of a peasantrevolution and the pledges to the landless throughout the nation. Todaymost of the people who expected to become independent farmers or membersofcooperatives in the operation of which they would have had a voice are nowlaborers on the state payroll. After secretly drawing up his Land Reform Law, Castro used it to formthe National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA) with broad and illdefined powers. Through the INRA Castro methodically seized all Americanholdings in Cuba. He promised compensa tion but frequently never gave it. He conducted investigations into company affairs, holding control over themin the meantime, and then never divulging the results or giving back thecontrol. These seizures were protested. On January 11 Ambassador Bonsaldelivered a note to Havana protesting the Cuban government seizure of U.S. citizens property. The note was rejected the same night as a U.S. attemptto keep economic control over Cuba. As this continued Castro was engineering a brilliant propagandacampaign aimed at accusing the U.S. of conspiring with the counterrevolutionaries against the Castro regime. Castros ability to whip themasses into a frenzy with wispy fallacies about American imperialistactions against Cuba was his main asset. He constantly found events whichhe could work the ol Castro magic on, as Nixon said , to turn it intoanother of the long list of grievances, real or imagined, that Cuba hadsuffered. Throughout Castros rule there had been numerous minor attacks anddisturbances in Cuba. Always without any investigation whatsoever, Castrowould blatantly and publicly blame the U.S.. Castro continually called forhearings at the Organization of American States and the United Nations tohear charges against the U.S. of overt aggression. These charges werealways denied by the councils. Two events that provided fuel for theCastro propaganda furnace stand out. These are the bombing of Havana onOctober 21 and the explosion of the French munitions ship La Coubre onMarch 4, 1960. On the evening of October 21 the former captain of the rebel air force,Captain Dian-Lanz, flew over Havana and dropped a quantity of virulentlyanti-Castro leaflets. This was an American failure to prevent internationalflights in violation of American law. Untroubled by any considerations oftruth or good faith, the Cuban authorities distorted the facts of thematter and accused the U.S. of a responsibility going way beyondnegligence. Castro, not two days later, elaborated a bombing thesis,complete with witnesses, and launched a propaganda campaign against theU.S. Ambassador Bonsal said, This incident was so welcome to Castro forhis purposes that I was not surprised when, at a later date, a somewhatsimilar flight was actually engineered by Cuban secret agents inFlorida.This outburst constituted the beginning of the end in U.S.- Cubanrelations. President Eisenhower stated ,Castros performance on October 26on the bombing of Havana spelled the end of my hope for rationalrelations between Cuba and the U.S Essay White Privilege And Male Privilege EssayAdditionally these impromptu ground rules were not relayed to theexiles by the CIA, who were expecting massive U.S. military backing! Theexiles had their own problems; guns didnt work, ships sank, codes forcommunication were wrong, the ammunition was the wrong kind everythingthat could go wrong, did. As could be imagined the anti-Castro oppositionachieved not one of its permanent goals. Upon landing at the Bay of Pigson April 17, 1961, the mission marked a landmark failure in U.S. foreignpolitics. By April 20, only three days later, Castros forces hadcompletely destroyed any semblance of the mission: they killed 300 andcaptured the remaining 1,200!Many people since then have chastised Kennedy for his decision to pullU.S. military forces. I feel that his only mistake was in going ahead inthe first place, although, as stated earlier, it seems as if he may nothave had much choice. I feel Kennedy showed surer instincts in t his matterthan his advisors who pleaded with him not to pull U.S. forces. For if theexpedition had succeeded due to American armed forces rather than thestrength of the exile forces and the anti- Castro movement within Cuba, thepost Castro government would have been totally unviable: it would havetaken constant American help to shore it up. In this matter I share theopinion of ambassador Ellis O. Briggs, who has written The Bay of Pigsoperation was a tragic experience for the Cubans who took part, but itsfailure was a fortunate (if mortifying) experience for the U.S., whichotherwise might have been saddled with indefinite occupation of the island. Beyond its immediately damaging effects, the Bay of Pigs fiasco hasshown itself to have far reaching consequences. Washingtons failure toachieve its goal in Cuba provided the catalyst for Russia to seek anadvantage and install nuclear missiles in Cuba. The resulting missilecrisis in 1962 was the closest we have been to thermonuclear war. Americas gain may have been Americas loss. A successful Bay of Pigs may;nbsp;have brought the United States one advantage. The strain on Americanpolitical and military assets resulting from the need to keep the lid on inCuba might have lid on Cuba might have led the President of the UnitedStates to resist, rather than to enthusiastically embrace, the advice hereceived in 1964 and 1965 to make a massive commitment of American airpower, ground forces, and prestige in Vietnam. Cuban troops have been a major presence as Soviet surrogates all overthe world, notably in Angola. The threat of exportation of Castrosrevolution permeates U.S.-Central and South American policy. (Witness theinvasion of Grenada.) This fear still dominates todays headlines. For yearsthe U.S. has urged support for government of El Salvador and the right wingContras in Nicaragua. The major concern underlying American policy in thearea is Castros influence. The fear of a Castro influenced regime inSouth and Central America had such control of American foreign policy as toalmost topple the Presidency in the recent Iran Contra affair. As aresult the U.S. government has once again faced a crisis which threatens todestroy its credibility in foreign affairs. All because of one man with acigar. In concluding I would like to state my own feelings on the whole affairas they formed in researching the topic. To start, all the information Icould gather was one-sided. All the sources were American written, andencompassed an American point of view. In light of this knowledge, andwith the advantage of hindsight, I have formulated my own opinion of thisaffair and how it might have been more productively handled. Americanintervention should have been held to a minimum. In an atmosphere ofconcentration on purely Cuban issues, opposition to Castros personaldictatorship could be expected to grow. Admittedly, even justifiedAmerican retaliation would have led to Cuban counterretaliation and so onwith the prospect that step by step the same end result would have beenattained as was in fact achieved. But the process would have lasted farlonger; measured American responses might have appeared well deserved toanincreasing number of Cubans, thus strengthening Cuban opposition to thenbsp;regime instead of, as was the case, greatly stimulating revolutionaryfervor, leaving the Russians no choice but to give massive support to theRevolution and fortifying the belief among anti-Castro Cubans that theUnited States was rapidly moving to liberate them. The economic pressuresavailable to the United States were not apt to bring Castro to his knees,since the Soviets were capable of meeting Cuban requirements in suchmatters as oil and sugar. I believe the Cuban government would have beendoomed by its own disorganization and incompetence and by the growingdisaffection of an increasing number of the Cuban people. Left to its owndevices, the Castro regime would have withered on the vine.