Applications of “Diary of a Madman" in Our Society
Like any piece of good literature, “Diary of a Madman” does not just apply to the time it was written. It can also be seen as a critique on the world today. However, the relation between the story and the modern world is not easily visible on the surface. One must dig deeper in order to see the parallels. Once one examines the symbolism that is used, it is clear that the story is relevant to today’s world just as much as it was to the world in which Lu Xun wrote it. There are many parallels between the story and our society, so many that this story could just as easily be a critique of our society as a critique of China in 1918.
On the surface, “Diary of a Madman” is about a crazy man and his belief that everyone around him is a cannibal. Not only this, but he believes that they intend to eat him. This causes him to become paranoid and he does not trust anyone, even the animals. By the end of the story, he is resigned to the fact that he will be a victim of cannibalism, and he knows that there is nothing that he can do to protect himself. His only hope is that somewhere there are children who have not yet become cannibals and that these children can somehow be saved from what appears to be their fate.
Although this is the literal reading of the text, when one looks deeper one is able to see that this is not all that Lu Xun intended to say with his story. Cannibalism is used simply because it is the most blatant way of taking advantage of other people, which is what it symbolizes. Unfortunately, the madman is the only one who notices that other people are constantly being taken advantage of. He is the only one who can see what is really going on in his societ...
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...There are many similarities between the society that Lu Xun wrote his “Diary of a Madman” for and the society that we live in today. Both societies practice cannibalism through their blatant disregard of others. Both societies are guilty of relatively the same crimes, and the cure for both societies is the same. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that a change will ever be made in either society, because the only people who could bring this change about, the children, will be indoctrinated into the culture before they are old enough to make a difference.
Works Cited:
Voltaire, Candide, Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Maynard Mack, Expanded Edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), pp. 548-554.
Xun, Lu, “Diary of a Madman,” Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Maynard Mack, Expanded Edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), pp. 1684-1693.
“Saboteur” written by Ha Jin is the beautiful depiction of the cruel but true image of our society. The story focuses on Mr. Chiu who was on his honeymoon with his wife. Everything was fine until they encounter the police. During his honeymoon he was concerned about his acute hepatitis and afraid of the relapse. But after he was arrested by the police for showing his attitude, although he had not done anything wrong, everything started worsen. His health starts deteriorating as he was not supplied with his medication and the unhealthy food of prison. The cruel circumstances make the innocent man as cruel and evil as it is. His decision of taking revenge on those policemen even worsens the situation that is represented on the last sentences
In the glory days of Rome, the empire was safe. People got along very well, large scale public works including bathhouses and aqueducts were built. A single emperor had control of one of the largest empires in history. Great games and festivities rang throughout the land. But, all glory eventually comes to an end. With the largest empire at the time, Rome had an equal fall from grace. Rome fell because of the political corruption, inflation and the decline in morals of its citizens.
Rome was an ancient empire, and a powerful one, at that. It grew from a small village started by two brothers, Romulus and Remus, to a republic. Eventually, it became a huge empire controlled by emperors that lead Rome to being more impressive. But, questions still remain: Why did Rome fall? What event or series of events contributed to the decline of Rome?
In the play,Hippolytus hates women. He openly insult women and thinks low of them. However, Hippolytus conception explain why he hates women so much. Hippolytus parents were of king theseus and an amazon. Hippolytus was raised by his Thesis. However, His mother abandoned him. Hippolytus did not have mother. He did not have some to teach him to respect women and he did not have a women to respect, thus why he acts the way he does, and makes people feel sorry for him, thus validating the
Rome was a great city with much potential at hand. The Roman empire had strong leaders that actually cared for their people more than their own power. Their intentions weren't always for something that would benefit themselves but that would benefit Rome. Rome was growing rapidly and its future was very bright. Things were looking great for Rome until things got out of hand. Many reasons contributed to the fall of the Roman empire, but I think the biggest reason was for the corrupt public officials and emperors that began leading Rome. Leaders are very important because the leaders of Rome are the ones that decide what's best for everyone and they're who the people are looking up to. Unfortunately, Roman leaders became obsessed with their own power and wealth more than anything which would
This is an odd little book, but a very important one nonetheless. The story it tells is something like an extended parablethe style is plain, the characters are nearly stick figures, the story itself is contrived. And yet ... and yet, the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking.
Rome has fallen and cannot get up. Rome may have begun as a tiny settlement in 750 BCE; however, by 200 BCE, the war machine known as Rome, had taken out all of their major rivals. As Julius Caesar came to power, the well working Republic had shifted to an empire. Then, things took a turn for the worse. Critics may argue that foreign invasions was the main contributor to Rome’s decline, but the true contributors to the fall of Rome were the empire’s military mistakes and moral decline in society. Military mistakes was a big problem for the Romans. The Roman military was as good as a rock at fighting. Also, the people of Rome had a only-do-what’s-expected-of-me attitude. That is not going to cut it for a first-class and massive empire.
I think that made Rome fall was because the Roman empire grew too large. The first reason why I think this is true because it went out of hand and Rome fell apart because it was too late to fix anything. This could happen to anyone because when things rush right away it could cause a problem and it could turn out in the end bad and it can't be fixed anymore just like what happened with the roman empire when it got out of hand. Another reason why I think the problem that caused Roman to fall was because some of the people couldn’t afford to pay taxes, so less money went into Rome. When this was happening the emperors raised the taxes. That didn’t even work either. This also happens today like when people don't have enough money to pay their
...kness” hallucinations of madness. While the setting emphasizes searching for freedom despite the forms of confinement throughout the bittersweet stories, lets us view each characters life as it portrays the author’s time in which they lived, showing us there setting of life. Despite each characters will power giving them a hope of being liberated, somewhere along the lines of the story, we can conclude that freedom is just another metaphor of false hope.
Rome did go through a rough time towards its end. This city of marble, as Augustus Caesar had said, had turned into a city mold and spread diseases causing millions of people to die. Rome did not have a purpose, people had thought and they became lazy and less caring about their environment. Forgery of money, excess of violence, and overflow of slaves were some of the problems that led to Rome’s fall. But the biggest problem was Rome’s government, which didn't do as much like before to change these crises and instead thought that some money,food, or type of entertainment would help, and the only thing this did was distract people of how Rome was slowly coming to an end. All of Rome’s problems usually led to its government for instance, the barbarian attacks succeeded because of Rome’s struggle in the army, and farmers left their jobs and became homeless so the government could give them money and food to live on and because of this “handout” more and more people stopped working, became lazy, and there was no food supply. But there was more to Rome than just its fall.
Their military power was diminished and became weak due to lack of people enlisting. Their political structure never worked and there was always corruption present. And the economic downfall was a crushing blow to the empire. And although christianity and the loss of the Roman values were a defining factor in the fall of Rome it can’t be blamed as much as the military, political and economic
Candide: A Satire On The Enlightenment. Works Cited Missing Candide is an outlandishly humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism espoused by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. It is the story of a young man’s adventures throughout the world, where he witnesses evil and disaster. Throughout his travels, he adheres to the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, believing that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. " Candide is Voltaire’s answer to what he saw as an absurd belief proposed by the Optimists – an easy way to rationalize evil and suffering.
In Candide, Voltaire sought to point out the fallacy of Gottfried Leibniz's theory of optimism and the hardships brought on by the resulting inaction toward the evils of the world. Voltaire's use of satire, and its techniques of exaggeration and contrast highlight the evil and brutality of war and the world in general when men are meekly accepting of their fate.
Voltaire, Francois-Marie Arouet de. “Candide.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. Shoter 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2013. 100-59. Print.
Bottiglia, William. "Candide's Garden." Voltaire: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.