________________, Vasko Kohlmayer, in his _____________, “The West Alone,” (January 25, 2007), argues that no major civilization has been vilified more virulently than the west is today. He supports his claim by first stating that it has been blamed for nearly every problem there is, then saying that people are beginning to view it as the world’s malefactor, then stating how other societies have failed transitioning to modern era. Kohlmayer’s purpose is to flip the audience’s beliefs in order to show that the West is dominant. He demonstrates a contradictory, but truthful tone for the American
In Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth’s The Space Merchants advertising companies have close to unlimited power in the media and in government, and the company that Courtenay works for Fowler Schocken one of the largest advertising agencies in New York City. Courtenay is one of the top men at Fowler Schocken at the beginning of the novel and because of this only sees people as a tool for making money as evident through selling, “liquor and hangover remedies both” (Kornbluth 39). This is one of the more tame examples of how Courtenay views people. He fully believes that there is no higher calling than advertising and will do anything to get his product sold. Because of overpopulation natural recourses are very scares therefore advertising companies
In writing A Voyage Long and Strange, Tony Horwitz’s goal is clear, to educate others on early America and debunk ignorant myths. Horwitz’s reason for wanting to achieve this goal is because of his own ignorance that he sees while at Plymouth Rock. “Expensively educated at a private school and university- a history major, no less!-I’d matriculated to middle age with a third grader’s grasp of early America.” Horwitz is disappointed in his own lack of knowledge of his home country, especially with his background history and decides not only to research America’s true beginnings, but to also follow the path of those who originally yearned to discover America.
In life, people find different ways to cope with their issues. This is the case in “Vaclav and Lena” by Hayley Tanner, where the main characters Vaclav and Lena face many obstacles, but use their imaginations to help them deal with the struggles they face in reality. This relates to the quote “Imagination is the one weapon in the in the war against reality” by Jules de Gautier, because Vaclav and Lena use their imaginations and dreams of better things to come, to ignore the problems they currently face. Vaclav and Lena use their imaginations and dreams of the future to forget about their issues momentarily, and to be able to postpone dealing with them.
James Horn’s, “A Land As God Made It”, tells about the hardships and tragedies the settlers faced as they attempted to make a settlement in Jamestown. Before attempting to settle at Jamestown, England tried to permanently settle in Roanoke, off the coast of North Carolina. The colony was “unsuitable because its shallow waters could not accommodate ocean-going vessels” (Horn 2005, 31). Horn says that the failure of the Roanoke colony occurred for many different reasons; one of the main reasons being that it was not a time for success for the colony. Although the colony failed, it gave impact on the future for settlers to start a new settlement (Horn 2005, 33).
The Banned Book “Where the Wild Things Are” In 1963 Maurice Sendak’s book “Where the Wild Things Are” was published. This book is one of the bestselling children’s books of all times and it almost didn't make it past his editors. It took him four years to get his book published. There are many reasons why his book was banned from libraries, schools and even homes when it came out.
In the late 1800s, Europe was scrambling to conquer vast amounts of land. Imperialism had swept the continent by storm, with many countries vying for pieces of Africa and Asia to control. From 1880 to 1900, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy fought for African possessions and by 1900, nearly the whole continent had been split and placed under European rule. There was plenty of motivation for Europeans to conquer the world, and while some supported it, others didn’t. Most people in Europe at this time held ethnocentric views toward the “uncivilized” cultures in the world.
In Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night the word “sage” is used to contrast between God and mankind. The memoir explains that in contrast to an omnipotent god a human may be forced to form a decision based on a limited knowledge base, as an example while in the camp Akiba Drummer completely loses faith in god’s benevolence; he even claims that “god is no longer with the prisoners. ”(77) Because Akiba Drummer based this decision only on his own limited observations he arrived at an inccorect decision that caused him to lose “all incentive to fight;”(77) ultimately leading to his death. The memoir asserts that due to a lack of omnipotence humans often arrive at incorrect conclusions. Additionally in the memoir humanity unlike god is described as being
When it comes to knowing and learning the religions of the world one must approach them with a critical mind. One cannot simply just believe every religion and know have their own view points. David Van Biema presents his ideas about Christianity and Jesus in “The Gospel Truth?”. Van Biema’s main point is about how “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John… is notoriously unreliable,” . Van Biema writes about how one cannot be completely sure about whether to believe if Jesus actually said what is written in the bible, he continues to say that Jesus may even be an “imaginative theological construct” .
In the book, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer writes of his personal experience to add more to Chris McCandless’ story and to the readers understanding of his character. After Krakauer had written the article on Chris, many people had believed that Chris was a suicidal kid who wanted to rebel against the world and his parents. Krakauer, however, did not believe that this was the case because at one time he and Chris had similar characteristics and dreams, “As a youth, I am told, I was willful, self-absorbed, intermittently reckless, and moody. I disappointed my father in the usual ways. Like Chris McCandless, figures of male authority aroused in me a confusing melody of corked fury and hunger to please.”
Looking back through history, one can find faults with virtually every culture. Whether it’s the ancient cultures that practiced human sacrifice, or Nazi Germany that tried to exterminate the Jewish people, we can always look back and find something that was amiss. What we often fail to realize, however, is that the people living in those societies weren’t aware of their wrongdoings any more than we are. “The Semplica Girl Diaries”, a short story by George Saunders, illustrates how every culture is oblivious to its own faults, and Saunders is trying to show Americans their own fault, namely, how our fondness of materialism changes the way we look at people.
The perception of wilderness can be problematic. One of the most prominent points that Cronon made in his evaluation is the ideology that wilderness is an illusion to escape reality. This perception can be ambiguous because it segregates humanity from nature, by establishing the idea that wilderness is separate from everyday life. Also, Cronon calls attention to the issue of dividing the land and calling it wilderness. The issue of this isolation is that it disintegrates humans and nature, rather than bringing them more in unity.
The book cover of, All Quiet on The Western Front, quotes to be ‘’the greatest war novel of all time’’. The author, Erich Remarque, experiencing war himself; uses the protagonist, Paul Baumer, to express his own background and horrors of World War One. With this, it alternates between his vividly dying memories of the times before the war and the nightmares of trench warfare; although a first person narrative. Erich served in combat during WW1 in Germany and was wounded five times. The last injury was very severe and kept him out of the war.
Flatland is a fascinating novel taking place in the fictional two-dimensional world of the same name. The readers are guided through this new world by a square-shaped narrator who uses the first few chapters to explain the nature of Flatland, and the last few chapters to explain how he found out about the three-dimensional world. Throughout the story, the narrator gives detailed descriptions of the various shapes, culture, weather, conflicts, history, and politics in Flatland, all while trying to transfer his viewpoint to one that the reader can understand. Besides just being an interesting narrative about basic mathematical principles, the novel also brings up important questions about class, ignorance, and ethics. The narrative tests reader’s
Borderlands, by Gloria Anzaldua, has a connection between all of us. As for knowing part of our past, present, future can be related to most of her writing in many ways. Always having a sense of doubt can become consuming. As of growing up in with four older brothers and two parents, I was the baby of the house. Pretty much not questioning anything as to why it was not possible to do certain jobs around the house.
the Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe 's greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilization and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of “the Other.” In addition, the Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West). (1) Othering is an inherent classification and differentiation of peoples or cultures. This specific definition of Othering involving Europe and the Orient can be applied to other colonial constructions in which one society defines and reifies its centrality in juxtaposition and in comparison to another, neighboring community: the relationship between North Dormer and the Mountain.