Mrs. Bergmeier's Ethical Dilemma In The Prison Camp

Philip Zimbardo questioned, “What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?” (Zimbardo, 1971) In 1971 a psychologist named Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment on the effects prison has on young males with the help of his colleague Stanley Milgram. They wanted to find out if the reports of brutality from guards was due to the way guards treated prisoners or the prison environment. Zimbardo offered $15 per day for two weeks to take part in the experiment. The experiment was held in the basement of Stanford University Psychology building; they turned it into a mock prison.

In this paper, I argue that Singer’s strong principle of sacrifice is flawed due to its over -demandingness. Singer denotes that as affluent individuals, we have a moral obligation to sacrifice up to the point of comparable moral significance to help those in absolute poverty. This essay will argue against Singer’s strong principle as it is psychologically too strong of an argument to be morally obliging.

Money: the root of most social problems and one of the few matters that almost everyone has an opinion on. Peter Singer’s “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” a newspaper article, is no exception. Singer argues that one should donate all unnecessary money to the less fortunate because of the morality of the situation. However, though the goal is noble, his commentary is very ineffective due to its condescending tone, lack of hard facts, and overall extremism.

“Is it possible to forgive and not forget? How can victims come to peace with their past, and hold on to their own humanity and morals in the process?” In The Sunflower, Simon Wiesenthal writes about an incident that occurs when he is imprisoned in a concentration camp. One day, when he is working in a hospital, he gets summoned to the room of a dying SS member. His head wrapped in bandages his body so thin his bones stick out, he reaches for Simon's hand and says, “I am resigned to dying soon, but before that I want to talk about an experience which is torturing me. Otherwise I cannot die in peace.” The member of the SS, tortured by his murderous crimes, seeks forgiveness from a Jew, any Jew. “I cannot die...without coming clean. This must be my confession.” Simon stays silent inching farther and farther away from the

A personal belief that many people have is that puppies are one of the most adorable creatures in the world. The young, energetic, playfulness of one can bring joy and love to people who are a fan of dogs. The story by George Saunders titled “puppy” brings to light the youthful nature of children and how they are like puppies needing understanding and guidance. On the adult side of the spectrum, adults may not always make the best decisions just like puppies when it comes to making choices about the people they love and having clear judgment. The story is set in the belief that we prioritize the people we love based on the conditions and choices that come with that person. In doing so it is about wanting what is best for them even when it is not directly in sight while not holding them back but building them up.

runaway trolley and the only way to save five people on the tracks is to sacrifice

Authority gives a person the chance to feel superior, and as seen throughout this film, those within the position of authority will only then abuse this opportunity. Given the chance for people to gain authority or rather the sense of authority is enough to awaken the evil within. Within the movie, The Stanford Prison Experiment the guards were enabled to set a line of difference between the prisoners and themselves. They were able to make the prisoners feel weak or emasculated, forcing the students to strip and wear the assigned prison clothes that barely covered their genitals (Alvarez). Forcing the prisoners to wear these feminine articles of clothing and assigning them a number, gives the opportunity to strip away their personality and

Bernard Williams’ essay, A Critique of Utilitarianism, launches a rather scathing criticism of J. J. C. Smart’s, An Outline of a System of Utilitarian ethics. Even though Williams claims his essay is not a direct response to Smart’s paper, the manner in which he constantly refers to Smart’s work indicates that Smart’s version of Utilitarianism, referred to as act-Utilitarianism, is the main focus of Williams’ critique.

Rena asked the Nazis about finding her belongings later because she was worried about her belongings and notices it would be difficult to locate hers from the others since the pile was multiplying. This is shown when the author wrote, “I place mine upright, neatly, next to the growing pile then ask one of the SS guards, ‘How are we going to find our suitcases later?’ ”. This shows that Rena is concerned about her suitcase because she doesn’t want to lose her things. That is why Rena asked one of the SS guards about her suitcase so quickly.

A single needle attached to a pen holder took away someone’s identity. A pair of disheveled, ill-fitting rags stripped someone of their individuality. Depriving someone of basic necessities took away their soul. Upon arrival at the camps Elie and his father were separated from his female family members, never to see them again. Immediately, Elie along with the other prisoners were subjected to camp life. This entailed deplorable living conditions, cruel physical punishment from the S.S. officers and food deprivation. Although Elie survived despite these many challenges and the vacillating weather, his father was not as fortunate. Eventually, when the camp was liberated in 1945 Elie was so emaciated that after looking into a mirror he only

holocaust. The main characters are two Jewish girls, Zlatka and Fania. They both live in ghettos, until their lives drastically change. They are both sent in cargo trains to one of the biggest death camps, Auschwitz. There, the two girls meet. Closer and closer they become friends as they struggle to survive. They both start working in factories, doing everything they can to make it by. When Fania’s birthday comes around, Zlatka makes her cake, a card in the shape of a heart, and paper dolls. By doing all of this, she’s risking her life. As the USSR front draws closer to Auschwitz, the Jews walk Death Marches. Eventually, they are rescued by Soviet Union soldiers while sleeping in a revene. They are told not to hope to find their families

Following the background knowledge of her career and her father’s, Rosenberg includes an emotion filled sentence about O’Connell, “But behind the trophies and the swagger of the racing circuit, Hayes was harboring a painful secret: He had always believed he was a woman” (481). There are multiple words in the sentence that convey sympathy and guilt for O’Connell and her secret. The first word in the sentence but, suggests the opposite of something, and has a negative connotation towards the great amount of success she has had, which completely contradicts the feeling of happiness the reader could have had when reading about her success. Next, the author also uses the word behind, which creates an imagery effect of her having trophies and success

Victor Frankl’s “Experiences from a Concentration Camp” from his book Man’s Search for Meaning details the everyday occurances of the average prisoner in a concentration camp. Through a series of brief stories accounting his experience in concentration camps, Frankl vividly depicts the suffering that he and other prisoners experienced and how these experiences affected them mentally. These stories demonstrate how the prisoners adapted their ways of thinking in order to ensure the survival of themselves and their friends. Survival techniques included doing anything in order to be seen as useful around the camp, using humor, and focusing one’s thoughts on love. Frankl describes how he and other prisoners used these techniques

Every person has the right to be and feel free. They have the right to be independent and live happily. Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences a revelation about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive. Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the readers to contemplate a hidden meaning woven into the story line. Mr. Mallard is assumed to die in a railroad accident, leaving Mrs. Mallard devastated. Instead of feeling sadness or grief, Mrs. Mallard actually feels free. "There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" (Page 499). Chopin makes her strong statement in this quote from the story. Mrs. Mallard has no one to answer to but herself, and she feels liberated that her husband can no longer control her. During the late nineteenth century, women quite frequently had to suppress themselves to the will of their husbands, or to some other man who had a significant amount of control over their lives. Chopin successfully uses vivid imagery, point of view, and irony that gives a different view of marriage that is not typical of today.

The novel is written from a third person objective. This novel is written as a play, so I know that this is third person. Plays are narrated in third person because you do not see the play through one character 's viewpoint. Also the word I does not often appear in the play.