In a state of martial law one individual does not have much to say. This statement holds true in the novel, No One Writes to the Colonel, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The author discusses the political climate of one man, the Colonel, who after fighting to create the government in power is being controlled by the bureaucracy. A corrupt government can ruin a man, sap his will, and drive him mindless with hunger; although times are hard the Colonel keeps his dignity and pride.
The government, through the use of martial law, controls the people quite readily. The government maintains itself through "Big-Brother" tactics that include the use of censors, secret police, and ordinances like "TALKING POLITICS FORBIDDEN." The sweeping control that is present under this martial law is evident in the every day life of the Colonel and the people of his town. The first example of the nature of their lives is shown through the funeral. A poor musician has died of natural causes; the first in a long period of time. The government in attempt to avoid a demonstration and possibly a riot, reroutes his funeral procession to avoid the police barracks. Since the musician is a first to have died of natural causes, we can assume that martial law has resulted in the untimely death of many people. Another example is the death of the Colonel's son, Agustin, Whom after his death has become the embodiment of the underground. It is rightly so, being that he was the writer of the "clandestine" papers.
"'Agustin wrote.'
The Colonel observed the deserted street.
'What does he say?'
'The same as always.'
They gave him the clandestine sheet of paper" (p.32)
Martial law has restricted the free flow of id...
... middle of paper ...
...is moment
the Colonel feels "pure, explicit, invincible" (p.64) in replying "shit."
(p.64)
This novel takes place somewhere in South America and it is evident
that because of the type of government, conditions are difficult during
this period for the group of people fighting tyranny. The Colonel has
little material wealth after a life of work and service to his country.
These monetary circumstances dictate how he and his wife must live day by
day; and this hardship is in addition to the medical problems they both
endure requiring the service of a doctor. And yet through it all, the
Colonel with steadfast resolve awaits his letter from Congress regarding
his pension. This corrupt and unjust government has ruined this man, but
has not broken him. His pride enables him to retain his dignity through it
all.
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
As the war progresses, Caputo requests to go to a line company in the middle of November. This is a change from the “office” position he currently held where he was largely responsible for counting casualties. At this point, the romanticized visions Caputo had of war have been completely shattered and he goes into this transfer being fully aware of this. This change in viewpoint becomes even more clear when compared to the beginning of the novel where Caputo was intrigued by the romance and action of war. While readers would expect more action and typical war stories in this section of the book, Philip Caputo writes anything but. Caputo writes, “It went like that for the rest of the month. It was a time of little action and endless misery…Almost every hour of every night, the radio operators chanted, ‘All secure. Situation remains the same’ (1996: 240). Caputo repeats the phrase “All secure. Situation remains the same” five times throughout this single paragraph. Because of this, readers see the dull and mundane side of war that is often not talked about. In addition, Caputo continues to comment of the large amounts of waiting throughout the autobiography. When most think of the Vietnam War, they picture the “main events”. Similar to the numerous documentaries we watched in class, some of the main points of the war include: The first Indochina War, The Gulf of Tonkin, and the Tet Offensive. These documentaries all focused on these monumental events and because of this, the public perceives this war as the sum of these events. However, what many fail to consider the large gaps in time between these events. It is in these large gaps that little action occurred and most of the soldier’s time was spent waiting as Caputo depicted in this scene. In connection with
Standing out more than the other soldiers in his regiment Henry defines his bravery by many different points throughout his experiences. While Henry is just a boy, his self-image is shared very descriptively while Henry tells his mother that he is joining the army. His mother completely rejects his adult decisions of becoming a soldier, but his thoughts were like bricks that could not be moved. Assuring that Henry was not making any rash decisions that he would regret, his mother respects his ideas and allows him to pursue his goal. Henry’s mother shows that she will dignify his decisions, “She had then covered her face with the quilt. There was an end to the matter for that night.” (Crane 5). For Henry’s sake of becoming a man and increasing his self-image, his mother puts her worries aside and lets him go to war. Therefore, Henry, with his decisions of war continues to lack knowledge of reality. His adolescent mind cannot comprehend the horrific scenes of battle, in preparation, he must increase his life visually before he is encouraged to fight for his country. The soldiers in Henry’s regiment tell their stories of battle and how different it really is compared to Henry's life back home. “He was nobody; now he is suddenly special, and this is what he wants.”(Breslin 268) . As Henry continues to be told the stories of men dying, people suffering, and the conditions of war, Henry’s vision of war changes. By understanding how war really is, it enables Henry to become more of a man while he is preparing himself mentally for his first experience in battle. On the other hand, Henry is unaware of how the future will end up. The risks he will have to take and the struggles he will have to overcome in order survive in battle will reveal...
War is not meant to be glorified. War is not meant to look easy. Stephen Crane was one of the few authors during his era who realized this fantasy-like aura around war and battles and decided to do something about it. The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, was inspired by Crane’s life and his desire to portray the realistic side of war.
In the story the main character, Juan, stresses about a letter he sent to a lady that can get him in serious trouble with the government involving death as a punishment.This piece of evidence shows the lack of care the government gives to their community. Another piece of evidence that shows the lack of freedom/privacy is that every letter sent in their system has to be examined carefully. In other words, it shows that they have no rights to send personal letters to someone else which is important to the idea of freedom, or the lack of it. This also gives the reader a hint that maybe they take this job seriously for hiding their secrets or making sure no one goes against the government
Moreover, some families choose to Homeschool in order to screen their child’s curriculum to remove secularist views found in modern day public school curriculum (2002). Others have children with special needs or learning disabilities, so they choose to homeschool (Maaja, 1997). Ultimately, families are looking for what they believe is best for their children. And these families want to be actively involved in the education of their children. Homeschooling parents do not want strangers raising their children. They want to raise their children with freedom from government systems and institutions (Ray, 2000a).
Respect to me is admiring someone for their abilities, qualities, or achievements. I think respect is always earned an can never be given. As soldiers soldiers we should always respect our peers because they have made the same sacrifice as us. But as soldiers we should have a higher level of respect for our NCOs because they have done their time an have earned it. Being respectful is not hard it is simple, just treat others the way we would like to be treated ourselves.
Patricia Lines describes homeschooling in the abstract for her article Homeschooling Comes of Age, as “one of the most significant social trends of the past half century.” This trend has sparked debate over its effectiveness and the quality of the students it produces. Roy Lechtrek, in The Case for Homeschooling, and Lines argue in favour of homeschooling while Benjamin Gorman, in An Argument Against Homeschooling, argues against it. All three of them agree that isolation in education, whether social or academic, is not beneficial to students. They also believe that religion plays a major role in the decision to homeschool students. The differences they have are a result of their agreement on these fundamental principles of education. Disagreement is over the execution of these principles and so the common ground is often implied through their ideas of the ideal method.
Homeschooling is an education that gives parents choices and the right to teach their child however they want, but are the parents’ wants what the children need. Parents want to give their children moral instruction or want to teach them based on their religious beliefs and parents do have the right to do that because it is their child, but there are specific things that are essential for a child to learn or to experience. There are religious schools that give children an education on their faith and academically. Homeschooling doesn’t work because states have varying or no regulations on curriculum, some parents just aren’t equipped to teach their children, and homeschooled kids do not experience socialization. Parents don’t have to show how their child is performing academically, some parents only have a high school diploma or less, and homeschooled children are missing an important element of life because they aren’t learning or participating in class discussions or activities in a classroom setting.
War forces young soldiers to grow up quickly. In Stephen Crane’s Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming is no exception. He is faced with the hard reality of war and this forces him to readjust his romantic beliefs about war. Through the novel, the reader can trace the growth and development of Henry through these four stages: (1) romanticizing war and the heroic role each soldier plays, (2) facing the realities of war, (3) lying to himself to maintain his self-importance, and (4) realistic awareness of his abilities and place in life. Through Henry’s experiences in his path to self-discovery, he is strongly affected by events that help shape his ideology of war, death, courage, and manhood. The romantic ideologies will be replaced with a more realistic representation.
Rivero, Lisa. The Homeschooling Option: How to Decide When It's Right for Your Family. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.
Homeschooling is an educational option that permits parents to teach their children at home rather than sending them to public schools. It is believed that "homeschooled children now number 1.2 million in the United States and the number is steadily growing" (Farris, 1997, p. 4). Ray (cited in Mirochinck & McIntyre, 1991). Some Parents believe that sending their children to public schools in which qualified teachers are responsible for educating them is beneficial .However, other parents believe that it is better for their children to be educated at home by people who know their needs. In this paper, I intend to argue with homeschooling.
First of all, it is critical to realize that schools are merely a way of educating the youth, yet schools are not the only way, and there is no soild evidence to prove that schools are better than other methods. In fact, when compated to homeschooling, it is quite the opposite. After the study of Eric Rudner was rejected due to sample issues such as self-selection and socioeconmical differences, Dr. Sandra Martin-Chang, researcher in
Public schools, private schools, boarding schools, you name it. In today’s day and age, there are many different types of schools. But sometimes another type of school passes by our thoughts. The type of school not many know that much about, different than the “normal” schools we have today. That schooling is named homeschooling. Homeschooling is simply that: the process by which students (most often the children of the parents) are taught the classes and arithmetic within the confines of their own house or specified building. But a question always arises that strikes the interest of many: “Are children that are homeschooled that different from children in traditional schools?”.
Every parent is faced with the decision of whether or not to home school their child. While some families may find home schooling as being very helpful and beneficial to their child’s education, others may find that it is crucial their child be sent to a normal school. Some parents are hesitant to send their children to public school because of crime and lack of discipline and also because they fear that the quality of education is declining. Parents may also feel that sending their child to school will aid in their social development. Home schooling has both advantages and disadvantages which aid parents in this difficult decision.