The topic of whether it is in the nature of living beings to be naturally good has been examined by several authors throughout previous centuries, for example, Susan Griffin. Using a humanistic perspective, Griffin’s chapter, “Our Secret”, from her book, A Chorus of Stones, approaches this topic and can reflect on her own life and feelings using other people’s stories about fears and their secrets. Combining her personal life stories, Himmler’s life narrative, as well as two sub stories, Griffin’s chapter allows characters to represent human emotions and emphasize the hidden feelings of living beings. Similarly, Plato’s dialogue, Phaedrus, and Franz de Waal’s, The Ape and the Sushi Master, talk about the topic of living beings being naturally …show more content…
At the beginning of the chapter, the second italicized lines of one of the sub stories include the creation of a V-1 rocket that is used as a deadly weapon although previously, the materials were not harmful (Griffin 36). The sub stories serve as a comparison between a machine and the characters, and a way to further explain the evolution of Himmler and Griffin while growing up. For example, it is stated that, “The missile is guided by a programmed mechanism… once it is fired it cannot stop,” which serves as a comparison to Himmler because he was raised with a certain discipline that did not allow him to be himself, instead he became someone deadly, as the weapon (Griffin 37). Griffin uses an image of a baby to illustrate that everyone is born with no negative intentions, however, it is while being raised and being forced to be someone different that the intentions begin taking either the good or evil side (41). This idea of good and evil is illustrated in Plato’s, Phaedrus, when he mentions the concept of the two horses and the charioteer. In this concept, one of the horses is evil, while the other horse is good, and the charioteer must balance both horses under his control, just like Himmler had to choose either to become good or evil (Plato 74). Both Griffin and Plato mention that as living beings, we have the right to choose whether our intentions should be good and evil, and it is up to decide what we
The Susan Lee Johnson article, “Bulls, Bears, and Dancing Boys: Race, Gender, and Leisure in California Gold Rush,” illustrated how Anglo-men in the mining towns coped without Anglo-women present. The pattern of behavior from men in the Californian Gold Rush is reminiscent of the female gender roles assumed by men in the early establishment of Jamestown, Virginia. Although, factors such as; inadequacy, spare time, and clashing cultural concepts about the womanhood and race in California created more exaggerated distortions to the behavior of Anglo men.
Ethel Wilson’s exercise of brilliant literary techniques services the reader to comprehend the underlying message in her writing which is nominally responsibility of the human conscience when masked in nature. With application of clever symbolism, motif and character development, Wilson makes the reader question to what extent one should be responsible to through exploration of the human mind when manipulated by nature.
The essay begins with Griffin across the room from a woman called Laura. Griffin recalls the lady taking on an identity from long ago: “As she speaks the space between us grows larger. She has entered her past. She is speaking of her childhood.” (Griffin 233) Griffin then begins to document memories told from the lady about her family, and specifically her father. Her father was a German soldier from around the same time as Himmler. Griffin carefully weaves the story of Laura with her own comments and metaphors from her unique writing style.
In the year 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He stated, “Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other” (Essays Dedication of Death). Clearly, external surroundings affect perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although C.S. Lewis published the novel, Out of the Silent Planet, over three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory on fear, Lewis similarly portrayed external surrounding to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis revealed fear to be a weakness that leads to ignorance. It was this ignorance that apparently fueled the cycle of corruption and immorality on “The Silent Planet.” Using the character Ransom to reveal the effect of memory and morality on fear, C.S. Lewis demonstrates that fear is a quality of the “bent” race (humans), and only by eliminating fear in our lives can the human race become hnau.
The author starts the essay with an interviewee and adds in the first fragment about V-1 rockets. Then the interviewee's story mixed in with a biology fragment. The author uses this type of fragment to relate to subjects farther down the essay which makes each fragment relate to the content. Fragments that are used help to explain human nature, insides and outsides, everything affected by past, secrets, cause and effect, and development. All of these factors can go with the stories of Heinrich Himmler, Gebhard (Dad of Himmler), Laura (story in beginning), Heinz, Wernher von Braun (rocket scientist), Helene (author met at Metro station), and Leo. The author also uses examples of homosexuality, torture, child-rearing practices, parents/family, and also relates it with the stories and the fragments. Knowing that this essay has a lot of subjects that the author writes on, can make this piece seem confusing. Knowing that all of the issues will be tied together in some way, makes the essay more understandable. To use an example to tie together the fragments one can see that V-1 rockets are potentially destructive, complex, conveys images of strength, outcome unpredictable, inside guides outside, and that it has a target or destination which shows that in some way each fragment can relate to torture, human nature, cause and effect, parents and family, and many others. For example, Himmler is complex, conveys images of strength, his outcome is unpredictable, and he is potentially dangerous to the jews. In some way, all of the topics are put together with the fragments. To use another example to connect the fragments one can see that cells and DNA are used to show development through the book.
Human nature has many elements that reveal the growth and personality of a person. In Markus Zusak’s “The Book Thief”, the author successfully portrays various aspects of human nature through Hans’ conflicts that originate from the tough reality that he lives in. Elements of human nature can be seen as a result of Hans’ constant struggles with guilt, kindness, and love.
The novel Sula, is a work which contrasts the lives of its two main characters Nel and Sula. They appear, on the surface, to be the epidemy of binary opposites but this is in actuality their underlying bond. The differences in their personalities complement one another in a way that forges an almost unbreakable alliance. Sula is compulsive and uncontrollable while her counterpart, Nel, is sensible and principled. To prove Nel human by subscribing to the theory that a human is one who possess both good and bad traits, one must only look at how she interacts with Sula, here both negative and positive traits are evident.Nel’s "good" traits obviously come to the forefront when looking at her character. One might say this is a result of how she was raised and that she was simply a pr...
Whether discussing virtue, honor or the meaning of life on the whole great books demands of its students an open yet critical mind. Every book discussed deepens our understanding of the world around us and life itself and whether or not we come to the conclusion that nothing has meaning the way Meursualt did or that everything has meaning but we have not yet recollected the truth as Socrates posits, it is the responsibility of the great books student to ask questions and grapple with each text and question in order to strengthen our own constructs. Thus in ending with The Stranger we are offered one more unique and challenging perspective.
Griffin is saying that Himmler has these hidden secrets that are suppressed and it’s creating a conflict within. These are the barriers to Himmler’s emotions created by his upbringing and ideas. Griffin is stating in this quote that having to keep a secret creates emotional instability, which affects the well being of the individual. The barrier of the secret creates a barrier to true emotions. When someone has a secret their true emotions are hidden within and it is unknown.
Milan Kundera contends, “A novel that does not discover a hitherto unknown segment of existence is immoral” (3). In this it is seen that the primary utility of the novel lies in its ability to explore an array of possible existences. For these possible existences to tell us something of our actual existence, they need to be populated by living beings that are both as whole, and as flawed, as those in the real world. To achieve this the author must become the object he writes of. J.M. Coetzee states, “there is no limit to the extent to which we can think ourselves into the being of another. There are no bounds to the sympathetic imagination” (35). Through this sympathetic faculty, a writer is able to give flesh, authenticity and a genuine perspective to the imagined. It is only in this manner that the goal of creating living beings may be realized. Anything short of this becomes an exercise in image and in Kundera’s words, produces an immoral novel (3).
Many may contend that the novel’s main character, Grendel, is guilty of evil by virtue of his vile actions. However, Gardner’s description of Grendel’s resistance to evil impulses and capability of human emotions suggest that Grendel is simply responding to his environment. Furthermore, Gardner deftly accrues readers’ sympathies towards Grendel, making it difficult for the empathetic reader to condemn the monster ex officio. By forging connections between humanity and his protagonist, Gardner indicates that readers are equally as guilty of sin as Grendel. Through this implication, he insinuates that humans are unqualified to judge Grendel’s actions, and, perhaps, each other. After all, if Grendel can be called evil, can the same not be said of all of mankind? The novel’s ultimate truth seems to harken back to Tupac Shakur’s assertion that, “Only God can judge me,” (Tupac
The human condition, a concept prevalent in several pieces of literature, encompasses the emotional, moral, questioning, and observant nature of humans. This concept is often used by authors to emphasize the characteristics that set humans apart from other living creature. Edgar Allan Poe’s dark fantasy piece “The Fall of the House of Usher” perfectly depicts the human condition as it conveys how fear and over-thinking can control one’s actions and life.
In this paper I will talk about some information that I have obtained from reading Mary Piphers, Reviving Ophelia, Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls and give my view on some of her main points and arguments. I also will discuss why I feel Mary Pipher’s views on the toxic influence of media are accurate, and that it does affect adolescent girls. This paper will also point out the importance of Mary Pipher’s studies on the problems that today’s female teens are facing and why I feel they are important and cannot be ignored.
In the story, The Natural, certain characters and events are portrayed in a distinctive way that makes this story unique to other books and shows the typical writing style of the narrator. The author uses a repetitive writing technique that is impossible to overlook. The writer of this book is able to catch the reader’s eye with his concept of the importance of beautiful description. The Natural, by Bernard Malamud, uses great imagery that makes the story appealing.
This is an explorative essay on the theme in Patricia Grace’s novel Potiki that ‘telling and retelling stories is an important and valuable part of being human’.