The American Civil War Essay - 2428 Words

The American Civil War emanated feelings of joy, exuberance, and glory, yet it substantiated loneliness, destruction, and death. In the antebellum South, nationalism and pride forged a new path, and society saw soldiers as heroic actors and war as their stage. While these actors played out their roles, the audience, the world, could see that their stage did not make them heroes, but war deprived them of body and soul. In Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier develops this excitement and progression to hardship in both Ada and Inman’s journeys. The progression, corroborated by historical evidence, shows that while the antebellum South held a Romantic ideal of war, war itself negated the romantic opinion and became destructive, monstrous,†¦show more content†¦Southern gentility may have held excitement for the Romantic war because they did not have to partake in battle; however, Cold Mountain shows that poor Southern soldiers did not quake in the coming of war but celebrated. As war begins, an excitement is spread to all the soldiers. War is not seen as imminent death, but it is seen as a quintessential example of bravery and honor. As soon as men join the army they pay to have their pictures taken so they can send a memento, a war souvenir back to their families and lovers. The men stand up for their pictures as â€Å"farm boys more bright in their moods than on hog- killing days† (247). War was not destruction for these men, it was an exhilarating experience of manhood. They not only celebrated war through their photographs, but they received new uniforms and â€Å"shiny new bowie knives† (247). Cold Mountain shows that war did not symbolize death to the South, but it in a sense was a Romantic celebration in which society and soldiers could look towards future glory and success. War in Cold Mountain is seen as Romantic, and historical references prove, that in truth, the South did not look upon war as a harbinger of death, but as a symbol of glory and honor. Validating Frazier’s idea that war was not feared but celebrated, historical references show that there was an â€Å"excitement of the first few months of war† (Eaton 203), and everyone â€Å"talks, thinks, and dreams ofShow MoreRelatedAmerican War And The American Civil War1551 Words   |  7 Pageswhich then caused the Southern states of America to decide to leave the American Union and create their own Southern Confederacy. This tore our nation apart. The American Civil War had begun and the very people that were once neighbors had each other’s blood on their hands. Many American lives had been lost. The American lives lost in the Civil War even exceeded the number of American lives lost during World War I and World War II. We were divided. The North wanted to reunite with the southern statesRead MoreThe War Of The American Civil War1376 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Civil War was arguably the most important war in the history of the country. The War of Independence may have allowed American to become its’ own country, but the Civil War resulted in something even more important than that, the end of slavery in the so uthern states. All of the issues that caused the Civil war were based around slavery, such as states’ rights that involved how slavery would be handled in each state, and trying to preserve the Union since the south seceded from the northRead MoreThe American Civil War1296 Words   |  6 Pages The American Civil War, also known as the State’s War, was a conflict that arose mostly from the issue of slavery, but deep down was due to economic differences between the North and the South. The South seceded from the North and created their own self-government due to their belief in the lack of state’s rights versus the federal government and what they saw as a weakness in the Articles of Confederation. While the Confederacy of the United States depended on slave labor for their economy in regardsRead MoreThe American Civil War1418 Words   |  6 PagesGuns fired, smoke lingering in the air, people dying. The American Civil War had a huge impact on the United States . Two compromises took place before the start of the Civil War. These compromises include the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. The Missouri Compromise dealt with the crisis in 1819 over Missouri entering the Union as a slave state. The compromise was â€Å"the first major crisis over slavery, and it shattered a tacit agreement between the two regions that had been in placeRead MoreThe War Of The American Civil War1618 Words   |  7 Pages A Civil War is a battle between the same citizens in a country. The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the independence for the Confederacy or the survival of the Union. By the time Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1861, in the mist of 34 states, the constant disagreement caused seven Southern slave states to their independence from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy, generally known as the South, grew to include elevenRead MoreThe War Of The American Civil War1324 Words   |  6 PagesThere were many events that led to the cause of one of America’s most devastating war, the American Civil War. The American Civil War was an unfortunate war that cost more than the lives of six hundred thousand people. Events such as the Missouri Compromise, Kansas Nebraska Act, Dred Scott Decision, and the Election of Abraham Lincoln resulted in the four yearlong battles between the Northern and Southern states due to social and economic differences on the idea of slavery. In the 19th century,Read MoreThe War Of The American Civil War Essay1472 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865. It was the bloodiest war in American history, killing approximately 620,000 soldiers in total. The War was fought and won by the North, ensuring that all the United States would stay united and slavery would be illegal in The United States. However, history is one of the most complicated things in the world. It’s also one of the most important things in the world because history is what made the present possible. Historians have debatedRead MoreThe War Of The American Civil War856 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery may have been established as the catalyst of the American Civil War, but the beginning of the dispute began in the time of the Revolution with a weak decentralized government under the Articles of Confederation. Later gained momentum as territorial expansion set Americans against each other on debating whether th e new states should be slave states or free states, it questioned the power of the Federal government regarding state rights, and brought about instability in the unity of the UnitedRead MoreThe War Of The American Civil War960 Words   |  4 Pagesslavery even if it meant war caused peace in this nation. Slavery was the vital cause of the American Civil War. The north and the south both had their differences on how to run the country. People in the North believed in unity and that slavery should not exist because â€Å"all men are created equally.† On the other hand, the South believed in continuing slavery. People tried to talk it out and come to a middle ground after both sides compromising, however that didn’t work and caused war. Ideological differencesRead MoreThe American Civil War878 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction A civil war is a prolonged high-intensity conflict between people, countries, or parties, which is usually barefaced and armed. Every war has its causes either acceptable or not and some are inevitable. Commonly, civil wars are between countries within a state. It results from one country aiming to make implementations on their governing policies or take control of certain areas within the state. 1Civil War refers to the American Civil War, which took place in the year 1861 to 1865

‘Lord of the flies’ †take it out of the classroom Free Essays

string(47) " by the Allies who had struggled against them\." The arrival of Y2K brought none of the social, environmental, or technological catastrophes predicted by the tabloids, but neither did the new millennium bring relief from the persistent impediments to free expression that characterized the twentieth century. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., reminds us that throughout most of human history, authority, â€Å"fortified by the highest religious and philosophical texts, has righteously invoked censorship to stifle expression. We will write a custom essay sample on ‘Lord of the flies’ – take it out of the classroom or any similar topic only for you Order Now † He cites the Old Testament proscription: â€Å"Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.† Schlesinger also offers the injunction of Plato: â€Å"The poet shall compose nothing contrary to the ideas of the lawful, or just, or beautiful, or good, which are allowed in the state; nor shall he be permitted to show his compositions to any private individual until he shall have shown them to the appointed censors and the guardians of the law, and they are satisfied with them.† Introduction Lord of the Flies has been the center of controversy over the years having been resurrected from its status as a cult classic. However, in my opinion this novel represents a lot of possible socially wrong viewpoints and could be the cause for seeding violent, vulgar and anti-social thoughts in school children. It is because of this reason that I propose to restrict it from classrooms in the school system. The issue of banned books has been escalating since Guttenberg introduced the printing press in 1455. Once speech could be printed, it became a commodity, to be controlled and manipulated on the basis of religion, politics, or profit. After Pope Leo X condemned Martin Luther’s Ninety Five Theses in 1517, both Catholics and Protestants began censoring materials that they found dangerous or subversive. Religious censorship quickly led to political censorship when Luther defied the Pope, bringing an immediate response from Emperor Charles V. On May 26, 1521, the emperor issued the Edict of Worms, containing a â€Å"Law of Printing,† which prohibited the printing, sale, possession, reading, or copying of Luther’s works. However, in the United States and England, a social consensus on censorship was emerging that would be far more repressive than overt state or church power. By the 1830s, this new ideology was proclaiming the necessity for propriety, prudence, and sexual restraint. During the remainder of the nineteenth century, private virtue became public virtue, and American and British editors, publishers, writers, and librarians felt obliged to examine every book for crude language or unduly explicit or realistic portrayals of life. In her introduction to the 1984 New York Public Library exhibition on censorship, Ann Ilan Alter said that there may have been more censorship, self-imposed or otherwise, during the nineteenth century in England and the United States than during all the preceding centuries of printed literature. The twentieth century in America has seen the emergence of pressure groups that maintain an uneasy balance in the struggle to interpret our First Amendment rights. The federal government tips that balance in whatever direction the winds blow, and since 1980, those winds have been chilling. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. notes: â€Å"[T]he struggle between expression and authority is unending. The instinct to suppress discomforting ideas is rooted deep in human nature. It is rooted above all in profound human propensities to faith and fear.† Lord of the Flies – In the Spotlight Lord of the Flies focused attention on the concept of cult literature as a campus phenomenon. Time magazine called it â€Å"Lord of the Campus† and identified it as one in a series of underground literary favorites that were challenging the required reading lists of the traditional humanities curriculum. Up until William Golding’s surprise bestseller, it had been common knowledge that students were reading â€Å"unauthorized books,† especially J. D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye, in spite of (and frequently because of) their condemnation by â€Å"the establishment.† But the existence of a serious sub-literature with an intelligent, dedicated readership flourishing in the midst of the conventional curriculum was something unprecedented on college campuses. During the twenties and thirties, the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe had quickly been welcomed into the ranks of mainstream, respectable writers and labeled literature. While a few critics might choose to ignore these newcomers, there was nothing particularly subversive about what they wrote. Following the success of The Catcher in the Rye, however, no literary observer could be quite sure that the tastes of young readers could be trusted. After all, there were certain attitudes in Salinger that threatened the established order, and when Golding wrote Lord of the Flies, there was apprehension afoot that young readers might find Jack more interesting than Ralph-as indeed many of them did. Analysis What nervous detractors overlooked was the obvious lesson in this Golding classic: that traits like naked aggression and gratuitous cruelty, selfishness, idolatry, superstition, and a taste for violence are not restricted to any particular nationality or race but are inherent in human nature and inhabit the mentality of every human being. If there was anything subversive about this idea, it was that no longer could evil be considered peculiar to the Japanese or the German character. In fact, those who had recently fought against them had waged war with equal relish. When Golding saw the ecstasy on the faces of his fellow sailors in the North Atlantic as they returned the fire of the enemy or launched an attack he felt the shock of recognition that the beast was within us all, just waiting to break through that fragile veneer we call civilization. What he clearly intended as a reminder to his readers (after all, man’s aggressive nature was not a new philosophical position by any means) became for cult readers another weapon to use against those who argued that atrocities such as those committed by the Germans and the Japanese could never be committed by the Allies who had struggled against them. You read "‘Lord of the flies’ – take it out of the classroom" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"We† were good people who treated others with kindness and generosity and fought those who attacked us with the greatest reluctance and the utmost disdain. Even to suggest that we might enjoy the slaughter was to malign the honor and integrity of the Allied forces. Regardless of how his theme was interpreted, however, Golding’s thesis had firm mythological precedents. There are many myths underlying Lord of the Flies, but the basic description of reality is of a world inhabited by men of an evil nature restrained only by voluntary adherence to a pragmatic pact of nonaggression. Such a pact passes for civilization, but because it is maintained only through fear, it is constantly threatened by that fear. The defensive fear that keeps one man from his neighbor’s throat can also incite him to cut that throat before his own gets cut. Lord of the Flies is a case study in alienation. Gradually, with horrifying inevitability, against a backdrop of paradise, the numbers of those who remember their humanity and still cling to the threads of civilization are reduced until there is but one solitary figure left, and just before the ironic rescue, we see him–become him–as he flees his savage pursuers, the backdrop itself reflecting the degradation of those pursuers as the island of paradise burns and smokes and is reduced to char and ashes. Storyline First we see the whole group splitting and taking sides, but the balance, at least for a while, remains on the side of Ralph. Then slowly but irresistibly, Ralph’s supporters are drawn toward the charismatic Jack and his choir, until finally there are only four holding out against them: the twins, Piggy, and Ralph himself. Then the twins are captured and Piggy is killed. Ralph is alone, civilized man alone against the powers of darkness. But we are left with the awful suspicion that he remains â€Å"civilized† only because Jack must have an enemy and Ralph must be that enemy. Excluded forever from Jack’s group, Ralph encourages exaggerated sympathy because he is so terribly alone. A victim always seems somehow more civilized than his tormentors. Nevertheless, much of the power of this book derives from the fact that our sympathies can only be with Ralph and that we, therefore, can feel the vulnerability, the awful weakness, of flimsy rationality at the mercy of a world gone mad. There is no place to run, no place to hide, no exit. And rescue is only temporary and perhaps ultimately more horrible than quick and early death. Media treatment of issues about children relies heavily on such simplistic generalizations with children represented as objects of concern or as threats to adult order. The former relies on an idealized view of children as pure, innocent and vulnerable, needing protection or salvation from dangers they can neither identify nor comprehend. The latter, of children drawn innately (unless prevented) towards evil and anarchy, also has deep historical roots (Miller, 1983). It is a portrayal powerfully evoked by William Golding’s (1959) novel, Lord of the Flies. The power of this fictional work is evident in the frequency with which it is given respect and credibility in press accounts of ‘deviant’ children. It evokes an apocalyptic vision of anarchy as being inevitable should children lose the discipline and order of the adult presence. The portrayals of children as ‘innocent victims’ or ‘culpable delinquents’ are no more than alternative placements that the adult world creates into which children are located at different times, in different circumstances. The idea that children are products of nature or nurture leads to media concern as to whether child ‘deviance’ is rooted in a biological predisposition or in an environmental determinism. Children’s meanings and motivations are persistently ignored, as is the position of adults, both familial and professional, as powerful definers of deviant behavior. Consequently, much of the physical and psychological harm inflicted on children by adults is disregarded, while transgressions by children of their set role are the subject of furious condemnation. Original sin is what Golding was writing about a religious concept, we suspect more relevant to the mayhem that occurred at this C of E school in Liverpool than any glib sociological generalization. Children will run wild, viciously wild, unless they are properly supervised. They need parents to give them a stable and ordered home. They need teachers who know how to keep order as well as how to impart knowledge. They need, God help them, practical instruction in the difference between right and wrong. Here was a rhetoric established and developed which was to re-emerge throughout the next decade, particularly following the murder of James Bulger. It invoked Golding’s construct of anarchy inherent in children left to themselves. Thesis – Fallacies and Immoralities Golding seems in many ways to simplify Lord of the Flies in order to make his point as clearly as possible. For example, all developments in the book are entirely predictable, suggesting not only that the course taken by Golding’s boys is inevitable, but that violence and brutality are inevitable in all interactions among human beings. Moreover, though Golding’s carefully constructed book includes a fairly complex network of literary symbols and devices, all of them tend directly to support the central message. For example, the apparent deus ex machina ending of the book is undercut by the facts that the British are still at war and the adults who arrive to restore order are themselves engaged in a mission of destruction the motivation of which is not fundamentally different from that of the savage hunting frenzies of Jack and his tribe of boys. This parallel presumably suggests that the supposedly â€Å"civilized† adults are really as savage as the primitivized boys, though it could also be taken as a suggestion that the training received by Jack and his â€Å"choir† in military school had already been sufficient to inculcate them with the kind of militaristic values that have led civilization to a cataclysmic war. Indeed, despite the apparent clarity of its message, Golding’s fable is flawed on several accounts. For one thing, this island society could never really represent a new start for humanity because it is all male and therefore incapable of perpetuating itself. For another, the boys on the island are not really innocent; they have already been thoroughly socialized by the same society that seems to be destroying itself through warfare. Still, in some ways Lord of the Flies is an exemplary dystopian fiction. In it Golding creates a fictional society distant from the â€Å"real† world, then utilizes the defamiliarizing perspective of that distance to comment upon the shortcomings of our own social reality. However, whereas most dystopian fictions are designed to function as cautionary tales that warn against the development of specific social and political problems, Golding suggests that all human societies are inevitably doomed by the darkness at the heart of humanity itself. Golding’s book thus lacks the drive toward positive social and political change that informs the best dystopian fictions. If there is a cautionary element in the book, it would seem to involve a hope that were humans aware of their natural tendencies toward violence they might stand a better chance of keeping those tendencies in check. In this respect, it is important to note that Lord of the Flies really makes two major points. First, and more obvious, is the suggestion that human nature lies at the root of most of the ills that plague society. But the book also suggests that society itself is based on an attempt to deny this fact, thus making matters even worse. Although many critics have complained about the gimmick at the end of the novel — the boys are saved; the officer doesn’t â€Å"understand† the violence which has occurred — it is justified because it is another â€Å"appearance.† The officer allows his â€Å"eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance,† but we doubt that he can see it or the water with full knowledge. Lord of the Flies is therefore a novel of faulty vision. Can the boys ever see the elements? Are the elements really there? Is a marriage between elements and consciousness possible? The novel is not about Evil, Innocence, or Free Will; it goes beyond (or under) these abstractions by questioning the very ability to formulate them. Look at any crucial scene. There is an abundance of descriptive details — the elements are â€Å"exaggerated† because they are all that the boys possess — but these details are blurred in one way or another. The result is, paradoxically, a confusing clarity. (Even the â€Å"solid† words the boys use are illusive: Piggy says â€Å"ass-mar† for asthma; Sam and Eric call themselves one name, â€Å"Sam ‘n Eric.†) Here is the first vision of the dead man in the tree: In front of them, only three or four yards away, was a rock-like hump where no rock should be. Ralph could hear a tiny chattering noise coming from somewhere–perhaps from his own mouth. He bound himself together with his will, fused his fear and loathing into a hatred, and stood up. He took two leaden steps forward. Behind them the sliver of moon had drawn clear of the horizon. Before them, something like a great ape was sitting asleep with its head between its knees. Then the wind roared in the forest, there was confusion in the darkness and the creature lifted its head, holding towards them the ruin of a face. Conclusion Golding gives us the short distance, the hulking object. Ralph (and the others) should be able to see. But he cannot. Although he â€Å"binds† himself — becoming more stable — he does not know where the noise comes from or what the â€Å"no-rock† is. His senses cannot rule the elements. He, like the lifted face, is a ruin. V. S. Pritchett claims that Lord of the Flies indicates â€Å"Golding’s desire to catch the sensation of things coming into us.† On the contrary, it indicates his need to tell us that â€Å"out there† and â€Å"in here† never marry — not even on an enchanted island. We should not forget that the Lord of the Flies may be only a skull — an object given miraculous life because of faulty vision. It is precisely because of this misguided literary piece and its possibility to lead school children astray with its vague philosophies. Works Cited Carey John, ed. William Golding: the Man and His Books. New York: Farrar, Straus Giroux, 1987. Devkota Padma Prasad. â€Å"The Darkness Motif in the ‘Primitive’ Novels of William Golding.† DAI 51 ( 1990): 860A. Monteith Charles. â€Å"Strangers from Within into ‘Lord of the Flies.'† ( London) Times Literary Supplement ( September 19, 1986): 1030. Tanzman Leo. â€Å"The Murder of Simon in Golding’s Lord of the Flies.† Notes on Contemporary Literature ( Nov. 1987): 2-3. Watson George. â€Å"The Coronation of Realism.† The Georgia Review (Spring 1987): 5-16. Golding William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. How to cite ‘Lord of the flies’ – take it out of the classroom, Essay examples

Ideologies Essay Example For Students

Ideologies Essay IdeologiesAn ideology is a set of ideas connected together that explain how government and society should be organized and what set of values the society should embrace. The concept of an ideology is a very slippery topic in that people range in the level or degree of their feelings. Ideologies are simplistic and not concerned about logic and consistency. This means that if they are either conservatives or liberal their ideas may vary slightly. Conservatives may have slight differences in the way they think about society. Their ideas are not clear cut or precise. Ideologies contain a view of human nature. In other words, they tell what people are like. There are not clear-cut answers to who is right with their ideas. They are people’s opinions. There are no right answers, but some seem to work better than others do. Nazism is an ideology where a dictator rules all and runs the country himself. The people who join the party believe that there needs to be a single person in charge of the government in order for the country to be run correctly. A communist thinks everybody should be the same. Everybody gets paid the same for doing different degrees of work. No matter how disgusted people may feel about their views, they are ideologies and they are practiced none the less. Liberals are very progressive and optimistic about people. They think that people are good when given a chance. They believe in lighter prison sentences for convicted criminals and blame crime on environmental factors like poverty. A big emphasis is on better education and job training for people who are being rehabilitated. Liberals think that all people can become â€Å"better† with rehabilitation and think prisons should emphasize on rehab. I believe that liberals would rather have freedom over order. Conservatives on the other hand have a more pessimistic outlook on people. They believe that there will always be crime and poverty so why not increase jail time. Conservatives would also like to see harsher penalties given to convicted felons. Forget about the rehabilitation and start paying for the crime that was done. Build more prisons and send more people to them. Conservatives would rather have order over rights. Public order is more important to uphold so that there are fewer crimes. With this you lose a little more freedom as well. In order to find out what our personal ideology was we took a small quiz with questions about different ideas. Once all of the questions were completed you had to add up the number of total points. That would give you a rough idea of what you believed in. Many of the questions had to do with human nature or at least aspects of human nature. Myself looking at the world sort of pessimistically was considered to be more conservative than liberal. The only problem with my results was that some of the questions did not pertain to me. Also I did not understand a few of them. Some of the questions I answered could have gone either way so there is a thin line in between being a liberal and conservative. Political Issues