Overcoming the Ultimate Tragedy Understanding Life Is Beautiful and A Thousand Splendid Suns - Literature Essay Samples

As a victimized African-American man living in America during a time of discrimination, Martin Luther King, Jr’s influential words are still repeated fifty years later: â€Å"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.† There is truth in this message, as although a target cannot control what a tormentor does, he can change his position and perspective on the circumstance. Khaled Hosseini and Roberto Benigni tell the story of protagonists who have to endure opposition from entire societies. In turn, they realize that they need to overcome the criticism in order to escape from the negativity. Hosseinis A Thousand Splendid Suns and Benigni’s Life is Beautiful reveal that people rely on their own bravery as well as reassurance from those they love in times of oppression, seen through Laila and Guido’s courage to take action on a situation and support received from others during harsh co nditions. Laila’s boldness in trying to escape from Rasheed with Mariam and the kids as well as Guido’s daring move to sneak into the women’s camp prove that a human will take matters into their own hands in search of a positive outcome. After enduring abusive effects of her marriage with Rasheed for several years, Laila decides to attempt to flee to Pakistan in order to get away from the violence. In the middle of her getaway, â€Å"Laila felt giddy and bold. She had another of those little sparks of euphoria, and when a stray dog with yellow eyes limped by, Laila leaned forward and pet its back† (Hosseini 262). The â€Å"euphoria† Laila feels shows that in spite of being a patronized Afghan woman, her initiative brings a moment of joy. Laila feels this boldness so clearly because without her attempt to try and change her repressive position in society, she would keep suffering. Hosseini further develops the hope of the situation when a â€Å"stray dog with yellow eyes limp[s] by†. The helplessness of the dog is replaced with encouragement when Laila pets it, demonstrating that Laila feels optimistic and confident about her decision. Her courageous act opposes the common views on subordinate woman living in Afghanistan, but is needed in order to take herself out of that subordinance. Likewise, in Benigni’s Life is Beautiful, Guido takes a bold move in trying to save his family while in a concentration camp during World War II. After being told that the war has ended, he tells his son, Joshua, to hide. Guido then puts a rag over his head to look like a woman and sneaks into the female side of the camp to warn his wife, Dora, not to get on any trucks, which he was told leave with people but come back empty. While the large number of people that boarded the trucks may have known they would be killed eventually, Guido realizes that he would rather die trying to keep his family together than succumb to the soldiers’ injustice. He understands that the only way to keep his wife and son alive is to find a way to communicate with them himself. Guido’s quick thinking and excited, youthful tone when explaining what is happening to Joshua are what saves his family from being killed. Although Guido ends up sacrificing his life for the safety of his wife a nd son, his act of bravery helps them escape the severe oppression during the war. Both Laila and Guido demonstrate that courage is an essential part in overcoming opposition, as they are both discriminated against for their gender or religion. A person needs support from others during hardships and suffering, as seen when Mariam defends and gives motherly advice to Laila and Joshua provides Guido with the motivation to stay safe and alive. In the middle of Laila’s brutal beating by Rasheed caused by his jealousy of her relationship with Tariq, Mariam intervenes. Mariam’s reasoning includes that â€Å"had [she] been certain that he would be satisfied with shooting only her, that there was a chance he would spare Laila, she might have dropped the shovel. But in Rasheed’s eyes she saw murder for them both† (349). Rasheed’s visions of â€Å"murder† for the two women prove the extremity of the danger they were in, which leads to the undoubted support of Mariam to Laila, as Laila is like a daughter to her. Mariam knew that when she brought the shovel down, she would be severely punished for her action. However, she and Laila had suffered together and stuck by each other through the pain the whole time. Mariam’s protection gave Laila a glimpse of reassurance, since she confirmed that the cause of their suffering would no longer be able to hurt them. Aside from giving Laila physical safety, Mariam also provides Laila with emotional advice and comfort when deciding what to do after Rasheed was killed: â€Å"Mariam twiddled a strand of Laila’s hair, untangled a stubborn curl. ‘For me, it ends here. There’s nothing more I wantIt’s all right, Laila jo. This is all right. Don’t be sad’† (358). Mariam’s actions of affection and repetition of â€Å"it’s all right† illustrate that she is acting as a mother to Laila during the stressful position that they’re both in. This ultimately helps to calm Laila down and allow her to think rationally as to what is the best option for the well-being of her children. Without the guidance of Mariam, it is likely that Laila could have made a rash decision re garding where they will go that would have harmed herself and her children. Her survival and the happiness of her future was directly related to the support received from Mariam. Similarly, without the intent to, Joshua supports his dad throughout their time at the concentration camp by taking belief in Guido’s â€Å"game†. After boarding a train with other Jews on their way to camps, Joshua asks his father where they are going. It is Guido’s desire to preserve Joshua’s innocence and childhood that leads him to say they are going on a trip for his birthday. One rule leads to another, and soon Joshua is living in a fantasy game of points and tanks when his reality is a deathtrap. Joshua’s ability to absorb Guido’s lies and keep a relatively positive attitude drives Guido to take extra caution to stay alive. Since the Jews were being tortured and deprived of their humanity, it could have been easy for Guido to lose will if it were not for his family to protect. During these harsh conditions, it was especially beneficial to Guido to have Joshua as a source of inspiration to help him make something positive from a inevita bly negative situation. Although provided in different forms, Laila and Guido both have support from the people they love to keep fighting through the opposition that the face, ultimately helping them better tolerate their conflicts. While the plots of the two works are contrasting in the gender and age of the protagonist, Hosseini and Benigni both demonstrate the idea that people can be self-sufficient to protect themselves and others, but also can rely on the support from others when faced with discrimination. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Laila uses her own plans when she is confident and excited about her decision, but uses Mariam’s advice when she is not able to think straight. Guido in Life is Beautiful also takes actions of bravery and risk when trying to prevent separation of his family and uses his son’s innocence as a motivator to stay strong. The brutal oppression that the protagonists were faced with are less common, but still prevalent in today’s society. There are many countries, such as Afghanistan, where women still have fewer rights and are discriminated against with job opportunities. However, the â€Å"good† people’s spirits can not be broken if they do not let silence overpower the â€Å"bad† people’s cruelty.

Population Control in China Essay - 1711 Words

Population Control in China â€Å"Vigilantes abduct pregnant women on the streets and haul them off, sometimes handcuffed or trussed, to abortion clinics. [Some] aborted babies cry when they are born (Steven Mosher).† This quotation shows one method how China tries to carry through its population control in a manner which is very cruel and against human rights. We, Western people, do not understand why China needs a population control and why this control has to be carried out so harshly. But why had China to control its population? From 1949 on, Mao Zedong feared war with the United States or the Soviet Union. â€Å"China’s millions [of people] were the country’s primary weapon against technologically superior enemies.† The Chinese population†¦show more content†¦The desire for sons and the infanticides of girls lead to another problem. Today the imbalance between men and women is already very high, and will even get higher in the future. For example, in the Guangxi province 19 out of 24 births were boys (2001). Because of this imbalance men will have a hard time finding a Chinese woman in the next couple of years. But how does China try to carry out its one-child policy? The techniques to enforce the one-child family are sometimes very cruel and violate human rights. First of all, families need an authorization to have a baby. That means that when they decide to have a baby, they first have to get an official authorization to have a child. To learn about unauthorized pregnancies, Chinese officials pay informants to report them pregnancies of women. These informants can be neighbors, friends, or even family. This method is comparable to what the East German â€Å"Stasi† did in former times. Chinese people cannot trust anybody, because they can be reported to the officials. Women are also only allowed to have children when they are married. 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Graduation Speech High School - 880 Words

Your educational path has been set out for you since before you even were entered into it. First, you were preparing for preschool, preschool prepared you for kindergarten, kindergarten prepared you for elementary school, elementary school prepared you for middle school, middle school prepared you for high school, and high school is supposed to prepare you for college. But, ask the majority of high school seniors right now and they’ll more than likely tell you they’re not feeling very ready for college. High school is known as college preparation, but it is actually nothing like it. High school has teachers who are more worried about standardized test scores than anything else, starts at 8:25 when studies show students shouldn’t even be awake then, sets your 7.5 hour block of classes without breaks, and only gives you a week of vacation at most. Whereas college does just about none of these things. Every high school student dreads standardized tests. These standards don’t help the kids, but the state officials who want to know where their students’ education is at. Teachers spend too much time trying to teach the kids the standards rather than teaching them useful information that is needed for college. This is detrimental to both the teachers and the students. As a way to solve this problem and make both sides happy, the state could test students every two years. Tests could have standards that are updated every five years. By only having the students take oneShow MoreRelatedGraduation Speech : High School934 Words   |  4 Pageslife would be graduation. For many people, graduating from high school is an objective. It takes a lot of time, effort, and determination to accomplish that goal. For others graduation is the end of high school, and the beginning of a new chapter in life. When graduated people feel as if adulthood has begun. In the long run, graduating opens a lot of opportunities for people to thrive. 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Analyse the poetry of Thomas Hardy Essay Example For Students

Analyse the poetry of Thomas Hardy Essay Thomas Hardy Is an Intriguing and enigmatic poet whose poetic themes deviate from war, nature and heroism to love, the transience of life and the death of the soul. Though penned some eighty years ago, the poetry of Thomas Hardy remains remarkably accessible and identifiable to a modern reader. While some critics claim that his poetic writing is archaism. His language elegant but awkward and his work difficult to comprehend, I enjoyed the poetry of Hardy for its diversity of themes, its earthly realism and his descriptive and metaphorical language. I identified and metatheses with his poetry of love and loss, change and decay. Hither he Is describing the transience of life and the onslaught of time Down their carved names the raindrop ploughs or the mystery, enchantment and wonder of first love with magic in my eyes, the world that Hardy creates is always vivid and real for his reader. When I set out for Loneness Is a beautiful, sad, magical and poignant lyric that captures the magic , mystery and wonder of first love. Despite the fact that the poem describes the wonder and Joy that the poet feels for his new love, the poem Is devoid f any specific details about the narrators beloved, their initial meeting or the nature of their relationship. And it is because of this, because of the poets description of an emotion rather than an event that When I set out for Loneness becomes a universal love poem to all and for all that have ever loved or have hoped to love. While much of Hardys work focus upon the Irrationality of war, the transience of life and the destructive progress of time, When I set out for Loneness is different in many respects. Depicting great personal happiness. Fulfillment and love. A ransoming and memorable moment In the poets life, a time where everything has changed. Despite the Joy and happiness that the poet describes, it Is Impossible to ignore the poignancy of this simple lyric. After all, Hardy composed this poem after his wifes death, forty-four years after their initial encounter. Biographical details indicate the marriage was an unhappy and unfulfilled one. Hardy might thus be suggesting that despite the fervor, romance and enchantment of first love, such feelings will never last, that love Itself Is little more than an elaborate Illusion, that eve is transience, as subject to the ravages of time as we are. On the 7th March 1870, at the second bidding, Hardy traveled to SST Julio in Cornwall to draw an architects plan of the church. It was during this visit that Hardy was to meet, fall in love with and eventually to marry Emma Gifford. Their marriage was thirty-eight years long and an unhappy one. After Emma passed away Hardy found a series of manuscripts among his wifes possessions. One of them described their first meeting and It appears that it was this manuscript that provided the motivation for his poem. Hardy noted l have a faculty for burying emotion in heart or brain for forty years and exhuming it at the end of that time as fresh as when interred. While Hardy is frequently condemned for his archaism language and awkward tots language. Despite the unusual alliterated expressions durst declare and Should sojourn, the poem is easily comprehensible and is laced with the mythical, magical, even childlike terms such as wisest wizard or prophet. Structurally, each stanza describes a different stage in Hardys Journey. Stanza one depicts the departures, Tanta two the Journey itself and stanza three the transformation. When I set out for Loneness is based the Wordsmiths principal of emotion recollected in tranquility. There is a sense of reluctance rather than anticipation at the beginning of the poem as the poet emphasizes the loneliness and isolation of the speaker starlight lonesomeness yet there is a sense of enchantment evident from the poets first utterances. The still night sky creates a luminance of romance and mystery. Loneness, a mythical kingdom normally associated with King Arthur is more of a fairytale world than a real one. It is hundred miles away, and thus the land described assumes magical, mythical significance Repetition, particularly of the word Loneness, and rhyme contribute to the musical quality of the poem. There is a contrast between the narrators demeanor at the outset and the demeanor of the poet upon return from his Journey. Hardy captures the sense of transformation as a result of falling in love. While initially feeling only lonesomeness, the poet returned with magic in my eyes. American Poetry EssayAs the narrator plunge(s) moment from the past. Through this simple action, the poet can excavate and recall her memory of that day frequently and vividly. While the memory fades and corrodes over time, the narrator never miss(sees) the sweet sharp sense of fugitive day. Much of the poem is dedicated to the description of the idyllic picnic. The scene is evicted as one akin to Eden, a perfect and happy time in the lives of the lovers. August, to paint the scene, and we placed our basket of fruit by the runlets rim, where we sat to dine. The wine glass, so central to our understanding of the poem as a whole is introduced in the main body of the text and with it, the tone of the poem alters, becoming darker and bleaker. While the function of the wine glass is ambiguous with some critics suggesting that the glass, while lost, functions as a symbol of the all enduring love of the narrator for her beloved. Equally it may be argues that the forever lost and unbound glass becomes a powerful and extended symbol of the lost and unattained love of the protagonists. Just as their love faded over time, There the glass still is. In the intricate detail, the loss of the glass is conveyed, Where it slipped, and it sank, and was past recall, Through we stooped and plumbed the little abyss With long bared arms. It is for this reason that plunging her arm in a basin reminds her of the wine glass. Written in 1917 during the First World War and during what the poet presumed to be the final years of his life. Afterwards is an elegy, lyric and self portrait that reflects the manner in which the poet wishes to be remembered after his passing, once he has stilled at last. Afterwards contains obvious philosophical musings surrounding life, death and reputation, and while Hardy maintains the perspective of a detached outsider and observer, the poem reveals much about Hardy as a person. Afterwards suggests that Hardy cared little for reverence brought about by his literature, preferring that he would be remembered as a keen environmentalist, who dedicated his life to the dew-fall hawk, the green leaves and the innocent re turns. While death is mentioned in each stanza, it is not depicted as something fearful of apprehensive, rather it is familiar and gentle. Afterward illustrates Hardys craft and skill as a poet. With its control of diction and image to create the effect required, and its equal control of syntax and rhythm. Each stanza is written in a single sentence with the main verb coming late to introduce the imagined comment at the end. The repetition of this sentence structure, with the slow rhythm of the lines h=gives an appropriately solemn, funeral quality to the poem. The poem opens with an image of Hardys death, an unusual personification of the present fastening its back gate posters after Hardy had departed. Posters suggests a small a gate used by unimportant guests. The adjective tremulous suggests fragility, uncertainty and brevity, emphasizes the transitory nature of life itself, or Hardys stay on earth. Creature. This is my favorite line on the English course. And the May month flap s its glad green leaves like wings The verb flaps compares its glad green leaves with the wings Delicate filmed as new spun silk, of a newly emerged butterfly. The simile is unexpected and embellished by alliteration. The cycle of nature, of birth and rejuvenation will continue long after the poets passing. The may be associating the new leaves with a fledglings wings, suggesting the innocence, youth and naivety that the poet lost a lifetime ago. The new-spun silk can be further associated with the silk of a cocoon, within which the process of metamorphosis occurs. Thomas Hardys gloomy poem about the turn of the twentieth century The Darling Thrush, remains one of his most popular and anthologists lyrics. The Darling Thrush is a transitional poem, illustrating the trepidation and doubt many people felt about the future as the Victorian Era came to an end and the modern Era was about to begin. During Wind and Rain is a haunting, poignant, beautiful and pessimistic reflection on the transience of life, the passage of time and fragility of life. Though inspired by the memories of his late wife, During Wind and Rain is an intensely personal poem, a lament for inexorable march of time and the destruction and oblivion, which time precipitates. In many ways, the poem is an elegy for life itself. A conclusion needs to be added

Watergate Essays (2387 words) - Watergate Scandal, John Dean

Watergate WATERGATE Sex, drugs, money, power, you name it and there is a scandal for it, but look back and you will see that from all the scandals there have been, Watergate was among the worst. The Watergate scandal had everything. From Nixon disgracing the presidency by lying to the country and abusing his power, to his committees being involved in illegal acts and a big cover up. All leading to little side roads of corruption and lies. Watergate is by far one of the worst presidential scandals in the history of the United States. In the story of Watergate, five burglars were found breaking into democratic offices at the Watergate complex in Washington DC. The break-in was passed off as just another burglary, but when the burglars were found to have connections with the CIA, questions were starting to be asked. Then when the phone number of Howard Hunt was found in one of the burglars phone books, it made people think, ?Why would one of the burglars have the phone number of one of the presidents men Then there is Richard Nixon, the man of the hour, plays the role of the president of the United States of America. The man that was voted into office by the people, and the man that swore to serve the people. When Watergate was uncovered, it revealed that the president was a liar and a cheat. The president lied to our country, lied about his involvement, concealed self incriminating evidence, abused his power, and planed to have the CIA stop the FBI investigations. He was also deeply involved with the cover up and still lied about his involvement. During the times of the unraveling of Watergate, questions were asked about connections with the White House and the president, but when the president was asked about it at a press conference he assured Americans that ?The White House has no involvement whatever in this particular incident.? He was lying to the country like it was part of his job (Dorman 158). The lying did not end there, it went on and on for months, and as the scandal kept unraveling, ?President Nixon and White House, and creep officials were deliberately misleading the public about the significance of the Watergate affair? (158). As Watergate was becoming a front-page article in the newspapers, new evidence was being uncovered. One piece of evidence that changed the peoples ideas of our president was the tapping of every conversation in the oval office ?since about the 18th month of president Nixon's term? (Kutler 368). Those tapes would soon prove that the president was deeply involved in the scandal. During the trials, ?the Nixon administration claimed that the March 21st, 1973 meeting was the first Nixon had heard of the cover-ups?, but after the tapes were heard it was discovered that Nixon was involved from the beginning (Heritage 36). The Nixon tapes brought out much controversy. The tapes alone could prove the president innocent or guilty, whichever one it was, Nixon refused to hand over the tapes. the courts then demanded the tapes, and Nixon still would not give them up. After much struggle Nixon agreed to give a transcript of the tapes. The transcripts brought to light a significant amount of evidence against Nixon. The transcripts revealed payoffs, affiliation with the burglaries, and the OK's to the cover-up, But most important ?the transcripts showed that Nixon had lied repeatedly after he had denied knowing anything about the conspiracy? (27). After much struggle, the courts finally got the tapes from Nixon, It was Archibald Cox that issued the subpoena for the tapes, and that started the bloodbath we now know as the Saturday night massacre. ?The night of October 20,1973, possibly the most tumultuous in American political history, when the special Watergate prosecutor and the nations two top law officers lost their jobs within the space of an hour and a half.? (Heritage 38). Soon the country would find a new problem with the tapes. ?When the presidents lawyers were going over the tapes, they came along an 18 minute gap during a conversation with Nixon and Haldman? (34). Three weeks later, the gap was discovered, Rosemary Woods (Nixon's secretary) testified that while transcribing

Free Essays on Dangers Of Alcohol

We've all seen these or similar distressing headlines. Case in point - newspapers across the country carried frightening statistics reported by Joe Califano and the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). On national television programs, Califano reported horror stories of alcohol abuse among college students, associating it with assault, rape, and even murder. A CASA report asserted that "60 percent of college women who have acquired sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS and genital herpes, were under the influence of alcohol at the time they had intercourse" "90 percent of all reported campus rapes occur when alcohol is being used by either the assailant or the victim" "The number of women who reported drinking to get drunk more than tripled between 1977 and 1993" "95 percent of violent crime on campus is alcohol-related."1 But relax. These assertions are not supported by the facts. According to an investigative reporter, one of these statistics "appears to have been pulled from thin air," another is based on no evidence whatsoever, another is based on one inadequate survey and is inconsistent with all other surveys, and a fourth is highly suspect at best. 2 (See reference #2 for additional specifics.) Even the most improbable of statistics are often repeated by news media as fact and become part of public belief. It is now commonly believed that the average young person will have seen 100,000 beer commercials between the age of two and eighteen But just think - sixteen years or about 5,844 days occur between a person's second and eighteenth birthday. To see 100,000 beer commercials in that period, a person would have to see an average of more than seventeen a day! Common sense alone should have been enough to dispel the myth. But this clearly absurd statistic has been gullibly repeated over and over: by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in the New York Times, ... Free Essays on Dangers Of Alcohol Free Essays on Dangers Of Alcohol We've all seen these or similar distressing headlines. Case in point - newspapers across the country carried frightening statistics reported by Joe Califano and the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). On national television programs, Califano reported horror stories of alcohol abuse among college students, associating it with assault, rape, and even murder. A CASA report asserted that "60 percent of college women who have acquired sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS and genital herpes, were under the influence of alcohol at the time they had intercourse" "90 percent of all reported campus rapes occur when alcohol is being used by either the assailant or the victim" "The number of women who reported drinking to get drunk more than tripled between 1977 and 1993" "95 percent of violent crime on campus is alcohol-related."1 But relax. These assertions are not supported by the facts. According to an investigative reporter, one of these statistics "appears to have been pulled from thin air," another is based on no evidence whatsoever, another is based on one inadequate survey and is inconsistent with all other surveys, and a fourth is highly suspect at best. 2 (See reference #2 for additional specifics.) Even the most improbable of statistics are often repeated by news media as fact and become part of public belief. It is now commonly believed that the average young person will have seen 100,000 beer commercials between the age of two and eighteen But just think - sixteen years or about 5,844 days occur between a person's second and eighteenth birthday. To see 100,000 beer commercials in that period, a person would have to see an average of more than seventeen a day! Common sense alone should have been enough to dispel the myth. But this clearly absurd statistic has been gullibly repeated over and over: by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in the New York Times, ...

The Growth of China as a Political and Economic Power Research Paper

The Growth of China as a Political and Economic Power - Research Paper Example Many members of global society believe that Communist doctrines are dangerous and a threat to the stability of society, asserting that Communism ensures growing power and influence of government as a dictatorial and oppressive social regime. However, Communism is based solidly on fundamental values related to Socialism ideology, which also ensures that the top priority for society and government is to ensure the well-being and enhanced lifestyle of all citizens under a system that ensures equitable allocation of resources to all members of society regardless of their class position (Lamb & Docherty, 2006). The aforementioned Communist dogma that drove Chinese economic, social and political ideology did ultimately serve as an oppression for adopting principles of globalization that were becoming underpinning strategies to most developed and Westernized nations. Capitalistic economies which promote free-market economic policy and private ownership of business was spreading rapidly across the world during the late 20th Century (Degen, 2008). This changed the dynamics of free trade between developed and developing nations, forcing China to adopt some of the principles of capitalistic ideology in order to remain competitive, improve national GDP, and develop strong political relationships with countries that would be contributing largely to improving the Chinese economy. The transition from Communist values to ideologies that are aligned with capitalism was the major, fundamental shift that made China, today, become such a potent economic and political power in the world in contemporary society.