My Research Paper
Was there really a place where there once existed kings with castles and their knights? Research tells us that before we took our first breath on earth, there were these great powerful people that were symbolized for many things. One of those powerful kings was King Hammurabi.
3000 B.C. was the beginning to a whole new world full of rules. Researchers believe that there once lived a king named Hammurabi who was revealed to the code of laws, by the god of justice named Shamash. These rules that are now called laws were broken down to books. Greek law had constitutional manner in making a democracy. In 400 B.C. Southern Asia were influenced by treaties of India. This spread like a disease all over Asia. In the United States, laws and discoveries were experienced ever since the year of 1000. The beginning of that year Explorers from Europe were discovering a lot of places that are now states in this country. 1700’s, 1800’s, 1900’s and the year of 2000 and beyond have created so many laws that are now held in our history books. The very first amendment in the United States was to respect the establishment of religion.
“Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” This quote was once said by one of the greatest leaders in the country, Martin Luther King Jr. That man had dreams that had come to reality. On December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court had established laws of declaring segregation in the city and the buses of the city. He walked millions of miles and made speeches throughout the whole country! He was arrested a few times but with that he had people’s faith in his hands. John F. Kennedy finally heard his words and vetoed the law. He made millions of p...
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...B 1070. Another new law was enforced by Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona. She signed a new law stating that now Hispanic students, in the schools, are going to receive the same treatment. Why is this situation getting worst? The people of Arizona are stronger than ever. They’re willing to do whatever to accomplish their determination on eliminating these ridiculous laws.
Why is peace so easy to say but hard to get? Its takes a lot of courage to overcome obstacles in order to accomplish a dream. Since the time of Egyptian monarchy to the presidents of the United States, new laws have been created. These rules develop friendship and enemies. Overlooking the years makes people realize how disagreements can bring violence, racism, blame and hate towards others. Hopefully people will open their eyes and appreciate what other people of the world have provided for us.
A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age novel about two boys at boarding school and their friendship during World War II. There are three significant scenes of violence that occur in the novel; however, the core of the plot is based upon one. The first and most poignant is the incident where Gene, the narrator, jiggles the tree branch while he and Phineas, his best friend, are preparing to jump, causing Phineas to fall and break his leg. The next scene of violence is when Quackenbush calls Gene a lame and Gene pushes him into the water. Lastly, Gene pushes Leper out of his chair while visiting him after he is accused of causing Phineas’ injury. All of these occurrences contribute to the overall meaning of the work.
On this planet there is only the one sure way to ensure peace, government. Luckily throughout history there have been big societies that helped countries establish governments of their own. One of the biggest and well shaped government is the democracy of the United States of America. The U.S. had two societies in particular to look to for guidance, and those two were ancient Greece and ancient Rome.
Throughout the novel, A Separate Peace, the author John Knowles conveys many messages of symbolism. The symbolism can be found in an array of ways, ranging from internal war, to the theme of human aggression, and a variety of religious principles. The main characters, Gene and Phineas, and their story could be paralleled to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The similarities can be seen in the way in which in both of the stories, everyone is living in perfect harmony and peace until something comes along to disrupt it. Also in how the main characters do something out of jealousy, greed, and selfishness; and in addition, how Finny's fall out of a tree relates to the “Fall of Mankind.”
“…It seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.”
Historians offer different perceptions of the significance of Martin Luther King and the 1963 March on Washington. Without examining this event within its historical context the media publicity and iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech can easily overshadow progress that was already underway in America. It was insisted by prominent civil rights activist Ella Baker, ‘the movement made Martin rather than Martin making the movement.’ What is important not to overlook is the significant change that took place in the United States during the previous 100 years. Such that, many influential figures in support of racial equality opposed the March. The Civil Rights Act proposed by President Kennedy in 1963 was already in the legislative process. Furthermore the Federal Government was now reasserting power over the entire of the United States by enforcing a policy of desegregation. It is important to note that these changes all took place less than one hundred years after the Thirteenth Amendment in 1965 abolished slavery, and the Fourteenth amendment in 1968 acknowledged the rights of former slaves to be acknowledged as U.S citizens. With this level of progress Kennedy was against the March going ahead due to the argument that it was limited in what it could achieve. Today, King’s 1963 Speech is viewed as one of the most iconic speeches in history. However, was it a key turning point in African Americans achieving racial equality? Federal endorsement would suggest yes after decades of southern states being able to subvert the Federal law designed to break down segregation. This support built upon the corner stones of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments in the nineteenth century. Therefore looking at the national status of black Americans fro...
A Separate Peace is a coming of age novel in which Gene, the main character, revisits his high school and his traumatic teen years. When Gene was a teen-ager his best friend and roommate Phineas (Finny) was the star athlete of the school.
Through out the book A Separate Peace, Gene, his growth and harmony seem to change. His opinions, and outlook on life also seem to change as his relationship with Phineas does likewise. Gene’s self-perception changes from insecurity to imitation to independence as his relationship with Phineas changes.
Separate Peace What really happened in the tree? Gene and Finny were very good friends; however, whatever happened in the tree the day the Finny "fell" out, is the actual cause of Gene “…My knees bent and I jounced the limb…” page 52. In fact, Finny did not fall out of the tree, but Gene had actually pushed him out. Gene had very good reasons to push him out “Finny had put him up to it, to finish me fro good on the exam.” Page 49. He pushed him out of jealousy for two things. For athleticism, and for his popularity, and also for his ability to talk his way out of anything.. First, Finny was a very athletic person; however, Gene is just a normal average day person. Gene couldn't stand attempting to compete with Finny because he knew that he would always lose.
On June 11, 1963, John F. Kennedy made history when he pleaded for support on live television. While a majority of the American people were shocked by his plea, many Americans saw the broadcast as a spark igniting a change in the way African American’s were treated. That evening, John F. Kennedy asked the American people for their support of his Civil Rights Bill. The bill, one of the examples in which Kennedy responded to the Civil Rights Movement, would bring an end to segregation in public places among other Jim Crow laws. However, much of his response involved the national outlook on the events that took place in the Civil Rights Movement. John F. Kennedy started a national conversation on the Civil Rights Movement throughout America promoting
A friendship without mutual love and respect leads to selfishness and jealousy. In A Separate Peace, Gene remains envious of his best friend: Finny’s good looks, his ability to charm everyone that he meets, his ability to take charge, and his natural athleticism. As their friendship flourishes, Gene becomes desirous of Finny’s physical appearance and his build. Finny uses his ability to take charge and organizes the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. Before each meeting, Finny and Gene jump from the tree that overlooks the river. Prior to one meeting, both climb the tree to begin the meeting; when they make it to the top of the tree, Gene takes the opportunity to wiggle the branch. As a result, Finny falls, which ends Finny’s athleticism and changes his life. Gene’s guilt leads him to lie multiple times to cover his spiteful endeavor. His guiltiness causes him to confess to Phineas. Finny never accepts Gene’s reason for an apology; Phineas only agrees to the fact after Leper explains in detail what happens on that dreadful day. In a rage, Finny falls down the marble stairs, which causes another break and ends his life. In the novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles illustrates the contrast between a friendship of jealousy and one of love through foreshadowing, metaphors, and symbolism.
John Knowles tells the story of a young adolescent approaching adulthood and the war he must fight in. The main character, Gene, has a nonexistent rivalry with his best friend, Finny. Throughout the beginning of the novel, Gene tries to compete with everything Finny does, and then assumes that Finny was jealous of him. However, as the viewers saw Finny get injured and then die, they also saw Gene mature and develop as an adult. In my opinion, this tells the story of two boys growing up, and the struggles that come with it. Finny’s changing outlook, Gene’s loss of innocence, and their friendship symbolizes the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discussed the hope that the movement needed when he said that “With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope” (King). Although the Civil Rights activists were despairing at the time over the many issues, they needed to find hope in order to triumph over the misfortune. Lewis used the power of the speech to develop the message of hope, saying that “in those moments, Dr. King made plain all of our hopes, our aspirations… everything we dared to imagine about a new America, a better America” (March Book Two 173). Dr. King’s speech conveyed what had already permeated the minds of each and every Civil Rights activist, that the future could be bright if they kept working at
Dealing with enemies has been a problem since the beginning of time. “I never killed anybody,” Gene had commented later in his life, “And I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform, I was on active duty all my time at Devon; I killed my enemy there.” In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the value of dealing with enemies is shown by Gene, who was dealing with few human enemies, but his emotions created far greater rivals than any human could ever posses.
In John Knowles novel A Separate Peace the quote "Everything has to evolve or else it perishes" (125), serves as a realization that instead of dwelling in the past, everything needs to move forward or else it will be left behind to be forgotten. This quote refers to the boys. Throughout the book they have to be able to deal with all that is thrown at them including all of the changes that are occurring during the war. Each boy has evolved in some way. Gene is finally learning to except his emotions, Finny is admitting the bad, and Leper the person you would least expect to be in the war joined the war.
The lives and prosperity of millions of people depend on peace and, in turn, peace depends on treaties - fragile documents that must do more than end wars. Negotiations and peace treaties may lead to decades of cooperation during which disputes between nations are resolved without military action and economic cost, or may prolong or even intensify the grievances which provoked conflict in the first place. In 1996, as Canada and the United States celebrated their mutual boundary as the longest undefended border in the world, Greece and Turkey nearly came to blows over a rocky island so small it scarcely had space for a flagpole.1 Both territorial questions had been raised as issues in peace treaties. The Treaty of Ghent in 1815 set the framework for the resolution of Canadian-American territorial questions. The Treaty of Sevres in 1920, between the Sultan and the victorious Allies of World War I, dismantled the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and distributed its territories. Examination of the terms and consequences of the two treaties clearly establishes that a successful treaty must provide more than the absence of war.