Government vs. Individual in Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has made important contributions to
the development of the 20th century American novel. His
influences are felt in modern social satire, as well as
nontraditional science fiction. One theme that is recurrent in
his work is the common portrayal of government forces as
destructive to individuals; to force characters to do evil in the
name of good.
Kurt Vonegut, Jr. was born November 11, 1922 in
Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of an architect. He attended
Cornell University in 1940, studying biochemistry, but soon quit
because his grades were poor. He worked as a columnist for the
Cornell Daily Sun until joining the army in 1942. He was captured
by the Germans in 1944 and forced to work in a factory, where he
lived through the fire bombing of Dresden. This, and the suicide
of his mother in 1944, were the two most influential events in
his life.
After the war he worked for the Chicago News Bureau and
studied anthropology. He has written many novels and one short
story collection. His most acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse-Five,
is a twisted account of the Dresden bombing. He is still alive
and writing. His most recent published work, Timequake,
appeared in the December 1997 Playboy Magazine.
Mother Night was Vonnegut's third novel and one his few
works that contains no elements of science fiction. Though this
novel is not one of his most critically acclaimed, it serves as
a prime example of Vonnegut's skill as a black humorist and
weaver of human absurdity.
Mother Night is the story of Howard W. Campbell, Jr, Nazi
radio propagandist and American spy. The novel begins and ends in
the same spot; a "new jail in old Jerusalem" (Mother Night p.
Abuse is a difficult and sensitive subject that can have long lasting effects. These traumatic emotional effects are often intensified if the abuse happens at a young age because children do not understand why the abuse is happening or how to deal with it. There are many abuse programs set up to counter the severe effects which abuse can have. Even more, poets and writers all over the world contribute works that express the saddening events and force the public to realize it is much more real than the informative articles we read about. One such poem is Theodore Roethke’s My Papa’s Waltz which looks carefully through the eyes of a young boy into the household of an abusive father. Robert Hayden’s Those Winter Sundays is a similar poem from the perspective of a young adult reflecting back on the childhood relationship with his father and the abuse his father inflicted. These poems are important because they deal with the complex issues surrounding the subject of abuse and also show the different ways which children react to it. My Papa’s Waltz and Those Winter Sundays are similar poems because they use tone, imagery, and sounds and rhythms to create tension between the negative aspects of abuse and the boys own love and understanding for their father.
Prejudice is just a word until a book or movie puts pictures in your mind. In Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Mississippi Burning, there are several scenes that have an impact on me. Both stories tell how badly the black families of Mississippi were treated, and they show how they suffered through it and came out the other end with courage and honor. It also tells how unfair the white men were to the blacks, inside and outside of the courtroom. Prejudice is an ugly subject, and is still taught today. The horrible things that the white man did to the colored man make me realize how ignorance certainly is bliss.
Beautifully realized, exquisitely detailed film directed by George Stevens I Remember Mama tells of a Norwegian family living in San Francisco during the beginning of this century. It is an old classical movie, based on Kathryn Forbes' novel titled Mama?s Bank Account. The film is rendered and it is a moving act of memory about how an immigrant family copes with poverty and how they try to overcome the odds of living in a foreign country. I could identify with almost every scene in the movie and not because of the era but because of the feelings it provoked. There was so much warmth, so much hope and yet it wasn't the "perfect" family, it was just people living life on life's terms.
Becky from the passage called “Becky and the Wheels-and-Brake Boys” and Janet from the passage called ‘Southpaw” are similar and different. They both are want to do what the boys are doing. Becky’s motive is that she wants a bike so she can join the Wheels-and-Brake Boys. She can’t have a bike because her family doesn't have enough money and only boys ride bikes. Her mom doesn’t want her to have a bike because the boys just want to make trouble. Just because her mom and grand mother won’t let her have a bike that doesn't stop her from getting one. Some character traits that help her achieve this goal are determined and confident. Determination helps her achieve this goal because she never
Non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels have been used up by society on a daily basis and have forced the world to find a new, clean energy source. The rising price of oil and the constant emission of carbon dioxide are proof that in the future our lives will be much harder to live. One answer to this problem is nuclear power, which has shown its efficiency during the times of World War II but has not been used commercially due to the challenges of dealing with nuclear waste and proliferation. In today?s modern era, nuclear power has been used in liquid metal fast breeder reactors, reactors that use uranium-238 to produce plutonium-239.
In the book “The GCC and the International Relations of the Gulf: Diplomacy, Security and Economic Coordination in a Changing Middle East” Matteo Legranzi provides detailed description of how mechanisms of Gulf cooperation work. Special attention is paid to limitations of gulf cooperation, the rise of Iran’s economic and political influence, economic globalization and diplomatic regionalization. Legranzi argues that little is known and highlighted about Gulf’s international cooperation and, therefore, modern researches should concentrate more on explorations gulf member states and their impact on the whole world. Little evidence is provided about the work of decision-makers in GCC, how decisions are formulated and what key political and economical factors are considered during this process. (Legranzi 2011)
Titus Andronicus has had a fair share of mixed reviews over the last centuries but has still remained a work of fascinating symbolism as well as a violent, poetic story. The story was meant to entertain the lower classes of England at the time who enjoyed such activities as bear baiting, where a bear would have its claws and teeth pulled out before being tied to a post where savage pitt-bulls would bite it to death (White). The people of sixteenth century England were also very accustomed to public hangings and torturous punishments. Colin Burrow, a researcher of early Tudor literature, noted that, "Cruelty is part of Shakespeare's World and it generates a high proportion of the energy into his drama." (Smith 4). When the play was first published, it received exceptional reviews, but later it was spat on as one of the most disgustingly violent and worse written Shakespeare play. How did the reviews turn so sour so quickly? The culture at the time had the most to do with it. With such violent epics such as The Godfather, Scarface, Natural Born Killers, and Pulp Fiction, it is no wonder that Titus Andronicus has once again revealed itself to the masses as an entertaining piece of work. The idolization of violent entertainment in recent years is the reason for the increase of appeal towards Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus.
When I listen to music, I do so much more than just hear it. Every song is a story that I experience and let flow through me. If ever there was a song that triggered the strongest reaction from me, it would be “Handlebars” by Flobots. I feel as though that song is a masterpiece, a moving work of art that gets my heart pounding and my mind racing. “Handlebars” is a song I can relate to, a song that improves my mood, and even inspires me.
“That if either twin learns that he was one of a pair they shall both
"The Economics of Nuclear Power." Nuclear Power Economics. World Nuclear Association, Feb. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
When King Sigibert find that almost all his brothers’ wives are from lower social classes and cannot match them perfectly, he decides to “ask for the hand of Brunhild” because she is a princess and is “elgant in all that she did… chaste and decorous in her behaviour”( The History of The Franks IV: p.221) Undoubtly, King Sigibert expresses his understanding of marriage, which is a man should take a wife who can match him. In other words, he thinks that it is necessary to take the family backgrounds into account since people from higher social status seem to behave themselves more decently. It is true that Sigibert tends to care about this aspect, but in the whole book the more commom examples provided by Gregory are that poor women marry to the aristocrats, for instance, Marcovef, Merofled and Theudechild all get married to the King etc. The numerous examples at least demonstrates that this phenomenon is becoming prevelant in those days. And the prevalence of flexible marriage policy gives women, especially those with a humble beginning, a chance to love and marry with
“Every dollar spent on nuclear energy is one less dollar spent on clean renewable energy and one more dollar spent on making the world a comparatively dirtier and a more dangerous place, because nuclear power and nuclear weapons go hand in hand” (Jacobson). Most countries today are becoming more and more dependent on nuclear power as a source of energy because of its high energy output and the availability of uranium used for fuelling nuclear reactors that generate power to provide electricity in households. Although using nuclear power as a source of energy has benefits like this, the danger posed by using nuclear power is too ominous.
Starcraft 2 tournaments follow this separation. Commentators earn money and therefore use a dominant discourse. However, even though the language viewers use is near-identical to that of the commentators, they are not also a dominant discourse. The commentators are required to act more professionally and entertain an audience. Their abilities to speak clearly and keep current knowledge about the game are highly valued. Conversely, the tournament viewers' discourse only allows them to effectively communicate with other viewers. They do not stand to procure or forfeit any social goods. This reinforces Gee's idea that a discourse includes all aspects of a person and not just
In our busy lives we often forget to stop and listen to the wonderful sounds our ancestors heard everyday. Our lives are now filled with the constant hum of a car going by or the constant drum of airplanes overhead among other noises. In the video package “Sounds of Silence” Gordon Hampton encourages people to experience nature and all of its magnificent sounds. Hampton shows though, that even where he wishes his square inch of silence is, he can’t escape the sounds of an industrialized nation.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, The Hunger Games, and The Outsiders are three books that would be in my personal library. Each of these books has a lead character - Cassie Logan, Katniss Everdeen, and Ponyboy Curtis – who is an underdog that fights for justice.