Haile Selassie Emperor of Ethiopia was famously quoted as saying “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could of acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” This quote could relate no more so than in the novel The Last King Of Scotland with the protagonist Nicholas Garrigan who continually takes no action against the atrocities he hears and witness whilst he is Idi Amin's personal physician.We can view Garrigan in two different perspectives one being that he is a good person who did nothing or the other being he is a good person that did bad things.
The novel is a memoir of Nicholas Garrigan, a young
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We can perceive Garrigan as a good person as he goes to Uganda with the best intentions.He goes not only for adventure that he lacked in his strict upbringing but to help the hospital in Mbarara. He continually helps people throughout the novel from the first hospital in Mbarara to helping the tanzanian defence forces as they invade Uganda. Nearing the end of the novel when he helps these tanzanian forces he begins to show bravery that he seemed to lack in the rest of the novel becoming an invaluable medic in the dangerous battlefield.Garrigan falls naively into Amins regime and becomes caught up in it, too afraid to leave, however once in it he does many bad things despite being a good person. He hears very early on about the atrocities that Amin is doing yet he takes no action when he has the power instead he believes these stories are exaggerated and even when he sees them for himself he still does nothing. When Garrigan is told by stone to assassinate Amin he once again takes no action despite the power he holds, his only thought being “it would be rather grand to rid the world of a dictator”. He continually uses the excuse of his doctor's oath also known as the hippocratic oath, not to harm or poison anyone, however this is rather contradictory as to kill amin would have meant that hundreds if not thousands of people would have been
Mariet Mankiev English IV Ms.Ellis September 16,2015 1. “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever”,(Doerr 48–49) When Jutta and Werner are sitting by the radio,the Frenchman ends his forecast by saying this. Werner tries to escape the real world with Hitler’s influence by listening to the radio that he and his sister found. This quote is a reoccurring theme throughout the story.
The man was running, running for his life. He did not want to look back, for he was being hunted. He ran and ran, until finally he could not run anymore. But, he was an intelligent man, therefore he had a plan. He ran and jumped off the cliff. This caused the hunter to believe he was dead. However the huntee was just getting started. He got back to the hunters mansion and bam! He fed him to the dogs therefore, through his madness, General Zaroff drives the book’s theme of walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
Charley Goddard when into the war when he was fifteen years old he when into the war only to be a man. He was not thinking of what he would have to live on, the conditions he had to live under. He was not thinking that he would have to see the things that he had seen, doing the things that he had to do to stay alive. When Charley entered the war he wasn’t scared mostly because the didn’t do much. When the war really started to “kick up” or become more intense he started to get scared, he almost threw up half of the time. He didn’t think he would have to walk and take cover from dead men- dead friends. When Charley was out of the war he was twenty one. He was walking with a cane and is complaining that he was too old. When Charley said he was too old he wasn't talking about his age he was talking about the things he had seen.
In March, by Geraldine Brooks, a mixed-race slave named Grace Clement is introduced after a young, aspiring Reverend March visits her manor to sell books and trinkets to women as a peddler. Grace Clement is a complex key character that is a controlling force in March and exhibits a symbol of idealistic freedom to Reverend March during the Civil War. Her complexity is revealed through her tumultous past, and her strong façade that allows her to be virtuous and graceful through hard times.
In the short story The Devil and Tom Walker, written by Washington Irving, the protagonist Tom Walker, is characterized as being a negative man. This is demonstrated through Tom Walker being characterized as being meager, outspoken, fearless, greedy, stubborn, and unloving.
Both men are on a journey to test their courage and how strong their religious commitments are to God. Neither men are quite sure what their destinations are, but Sir Gawain is under the impression that his is certain death however, that doesn’t end up being the case. In Sir Gawain’s situation his beliefs are strong and he lacks any doubts toward God.
“…we’ll both claim we want to die. But we’ll mean: Please someone convince us to stick around… Because last night, we stood on top of fourteen floors of suffering—from the maternity to the morgue. Hundreds of bed buckling beneath the weight of legitimate illness, thousands of plastic sacks of donated blood—we stood above all of it and did not leap” (38). The meaningful words of Eireann Corrigan speak volumes about her past experience growing up with an eating disorder. In her memoir she highlights many ideas of how she felt through not only her experiences, but also those of her boyfriend, Danny. The various poetic devices present within the story come together to create a deep and meaningful novel. Eireann Corrigan, author of the memoir, You
As a result, he learns an essential, inescapable fact about himself and human nature - there is no shame in being imperfect. The true test of Gawain's bravery was to bare his neck to the Green Knight and finish their trading of blows. Even with his 'magic' girdle, Gawain flinched the first time. The second and third times he was able to hold steady and accept fate. After the ordeal the Green Knight ridiculed him for his weakness and fear.
Action is the only remedy to indifference, the most insidious danger of all.” Elie Wiesel asserts that the world community is responsible to interfere when acts such as mass murder or genocide occur. He says that “silence encourages the tormentor” and “indifference is the most insidious danger of all”. One must speak out against oppression so there can be a difference. When one remains silent and doesn’t act, they are encouraging the person responsible for the genocide, not the victim.
The novel ‘Jasper Jones’ and the film ‘Jindabyne’ both use the representation of characters and their relationships to challenge the treatment of individuals with regards to race, class and gender. The historical contexts surrounding these two texts sets the basis for the stratification and racial discrimination present. The lack of dignity that is depicted between the relationships formed between characters displays the regard in which communities treat each other. ‘Jasper Jones’ and ‘Jindabyne’ are comparable texts as it is clear that the gap between these communities has reduced since the time period of ‘Jasper Jones’ when compared to ‘Jindabyne’, however, it is identified that this gap still exists.
Sir Gawain was heroic in seeking out the Green Knight to finish the challenge that was brought to King Arthur’s men. “Said Gawain, ‘Strike once more; /I shall neither flinch nor flee; /But if my head falls to the floor /There is no mending me!’” (lns. 2280-2283) There was no physical power that forced Sir Gawain to keep true to his word. Gawain sought out the Green Knight, just as he had promised, and was now about to receive the blow that would send him to his death. This quote shows that Sir Gawain was ready to be dealt his fate, and that he knew there was no way for him to survive as the Green Knight had done earlier in the poem. This shows a very human side to Sir Gawain as he appears somewhat afraid of death, but ready to face it nonetheless. It is this willingness and readiness to accept death at the hand of the Green Knight that makes Sir Gawain a...
Of all the themes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the one which stood out the most to me was that of deception. With the Green Knight, the “evil” and Sir Gawain, the “good”, we see both forces partake in deceptive practices to achieve the desired outcome they sought. Throughout the poem, Sir Gawain’s moral compass was constantly being tested with deception being used to gage his level of loyalty, morality, and chivalry. The “game” that the Green Knight was hell bent on playing was not an honest one. He utilized a host of deceptions to gain the results that he sought after—there was little to no room for error with him. First, he presented a challenge in which he alone knew that he would not perish. When he asked for a volunteer to strike him with the ax, the Green Knight
The Crucible, a play written in the 1950’s by American playwright, Arthur Miller, is based on the chaotic witch hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1600’s. Abigail, a sinful protagonist in the play, is the root to the myriad problems that conspire throughout the play. She is to blame for the executions of innocent citizens, and for acts of lechery between marriages. An important reappearing theme throughout the play is one’s reputation and the extremes the characters would take in order to preserve their name. The characters in The Crucible, particularly, Parris, John Proctor, and Judge Danforth, use the sanctity of their names to prioritize how they will look in the public eye, rather than what is beneficial to them individually.
He demonstrates goodness at the hand of the Green Knight. He shows courage by accepting what is to come upon him during his voyage. His journey to find the Green Knight is filled with temptations. In the conversation with him and the “Lady”, Sir Gawain showed a Chivalrous code by keeping his loyalty to the king by not kissing his wife. The lady states “if I should exchange at my choice and choose me a husband for the noble I know….would I elect before you”.
At last, his tyrannical manner developed from his ambitious goals corrupts Scotland, the country he leads, as well as his connection with other countries. When one is driven by a want, happiness is attained through achieving this goal; but by willingly choosing to put forth desires before moral judgement, ambition holds the power to corrupt one's life.