The Effects of Oppression on the Innocent Mind: A Comparative Analysis
In my early childhood, I have many memories of my summers in Greece. Greece was an idyllic tropical paradise, where the air was laced with the alluringly sweet smell of peace. The golden sun shined resplendently, releasing waves of bliss and life. My family lived together in harmony, and laughed together happily; life was good. Some children experienced the exact opposite. They lived on a decaying wasteland, where the air reeked of oppression and fear. Thick smog churned in the gray sky, blocking out all visible sunlight. In this land free thinking was frowned upon and those who cried out against the government were eerily silenced. In Spain and in Pan’s Labyrinth, we find a similar scene, where fear’s dominion over the populace is evident. The respective masters of that fear, Francisco Franco and Captain Vidal, along with their respective victims (Ofelia and the Spanish population), demonstrate the lasting effect of conflict and tyranny on the human mind. Both settings suggest a dark, cruel vision of the world in which Spain and Ofelia are oppressed and straddle the line between sanity and insanity. For these people to maintain physical and mental well-being in these environments, people have a variety of natural escape routes including fleeing and rebellion.
Franco ruled as the military dictator of Spain, and set down a firm set of regulations, set by Catholic Church, the central government, and other conservative bodies. These agents of chaos oppressed innocent civilians for years, slamming free thinking behind steel bars and chaining liberty to the cold walls of despair. People were unable to express themselves freely without fear of prosecution, exile, o...
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...th the Spanish Civil War and Pan’s Labyrinth suggest a vision of the world in which leaders use scare-tactics and oppression to control people, while (to maintain physical and mental well-being). In Spain, people could either flee the country, or fight against tyranny through organizations such as ETA. In Pan’s Labyrinth, Ofelia escaped tyranny using her own imaginative conduit, while Mercedes fought against Vidal by aiding his enemies: the rebels. Based on the above evidence, it is clear that when people are unable to express themselves, they become depressed, and eventually will go insane. While some of the Spanish people and Ofelia formed a physical/mental escape, other Spanish people and Mercedes from fought directly against their oppressor. Without these natural mechanisms of survival, identity will be crushed under the unforgiving force of affliction.
The article “Leaving Omelas: Questions of Faith and Understanding,” by Jerre Collins, draws attention to the fact that the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula Le Guin, has not impacted Western thought despite its literary merit. Collins breaks his article down into three parts, the first explaining that he will “take this story as seriously as we are meant to take it” (525). Collins then goes over several highly descriptive sections of the story, which invite the reader to become part of the utopia that is Omelas. Collins states that when it comes to the state of the child and how it affects the citizens of Omelas the descriptions “may seem to be excessive and facetious” (527). But this is because Le Guin is using a
In "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," Ursula K. LeGuin makes use of colorful descriptions and hypothetical situations to draw us into a surrealistic world that illustrates how unsympathetic society can be. LeGuin's ambiguity of how the story will go is purposeful; she cunningly makes her case that each of us handles the undesirable aspects of the world we live in differently, and that ultimately, happiness is relative.
The life of the ostracized is something widely expressed in Luis Borges “House of Asterion”. The metaphor being Asterion being a prisoner of something without restriction. Asterion explains how he is a (lonely) prisoner of the labyrinths: “Another ridiculous falsehood has it that I, Asterion, am a prisoner. Shall I repeat that there are no locked doors, shall I add that there are no locks?”. It’s almost a metaphor that explains to how when someone is ostracized to the point they feel like they are in a prison in their own space in this world because the people around him don’t accept him. As the result the setting is further elaborated into a prison it is more than a prison than the house or maze Asterion had bluntly told us about. “Besides, one afternoon I did step into the streets; if I returned before night, I did so because of the fear that the faces of the common people inspired in me”. The labyrinths are not restricting him to stay there but, if he were to leave he would have been too revoked to stay in the outside world he explored one night. Because he was as scared as the people who wanted didn’t want him there.
It is funny and yet tragic to see that no matter where an individual’s geographical location is or for the most part when in history the duration of their lifetime occurred, that they still can share with other tormented individuals the same pain, as a result of the same malignancies plaguing humanity for what seems to have been from the beginning. Emily Dickinson’s poetry, Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, and Lu Xun’s “Diary of a Madman” all exhibit disgust for their societies, what is particularly interesting however, is that the subject of their complaints are almost identical in nature. This demonstrates how literature really does reflect the attitudes and tribulations the society and or culture endures from which it was written. The grievances that they feel to be of such importance as to base their literary works on are that of traditionalism and, the carnivorous nature of society. Different societies will inevitably produce different restrictive and consuming faces to these problems.
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is written as a metaphor, providing a thought provoking view of the real world and the power of our choices. Ursula Le Guin begins the story establishing a connection between the short story and the real world, “These were not simple folk… they were not less complex than us.” Metaphorically, the people of Omelas embody humanity as a whole. In our world, there are individuals that are far worse off than others. For our present society to exist, must this conventional standard be accepted? Ursula Le Guin writes with the purpose to convey man has the power to
Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a short story that captures racism directly towards blacks in America. In the story, the people of Omelas are celebrating the summer festival which song and dance. They decorated the streets; children are running around playing while the whole city attends. The people of Omelas don’t have a care in the world. They don’t use weapons, aren’t reckless people, but they aren’t simple people. They seem to be living in a utopia, a place where everything is perfect, granted by some type of devil or person. For a utopia to come true there has to be a sacrifice or arrangement. For the people of Omelas, they believe that to achieve a utopian society means someone has to suffer. The story portrays slavery in the United States. In the story, the sufferer, or the kid, symbolizes
La Movida began when Dictator Francisco Franco died in Madrid on November 19th, 1975. Franco’s 36-year reign had been one in which rigid public and church laws preserved the traditional role of family, enforced formal relations between the sexes, and controlled expression in the press and media. Eager to distance themselves from Franco’s repression and censorship, Spain quickly began the move to democracy called the “Transition”. King Juan Carlos I helped the transition by quickly naming Adolfo Suárez Prime Minister. Spain’s first democratic vote in over 40 years took place in 1977, and a new constitution was signed in 1978. That constitution is still in place now. In 1979, Enrique Tierno Galván became the mayor of Madrid, the capital of Spain. In this position he had a lot of power to help or hinder La Movida. His choices helped Spain to move past its repressive past. Then, in 1982 the Socialist PSOE party, headed by Felipe González, was voted in by a landslide and became Spain’s first leftist government since the 1930s.
In order to understand the effects of the Spanish Civil War, the atmosphere of Spain prior to 1936 needs to be understood as well. Spain, unlike major European powers, never experienced a bourgeois revolution and was therefore still dominated by a significant aristocracy. However, Spain had gone through several civil wars and revolutions making violence one of the most common devices for change. It, also, had undergone several cycles of reform, reaction from the opposition, and reversal by military uprising led by a dictator before 1936 (Preston 18).
La Movida began when Dictator Francisco Franco died in Madrid on November 19th, 1975. Franco’s 36-year reign had been one in which rigid public and church laws preserved the traditional role of family, enforced formal relations between the sexes, and controlled expression in the press and media. Eager to distance themselves from Franco’s repression and censorship, Spain quickly began the move to democracy called the “Transition”. King Juan Carlos I helped the transition by quickly naming Adolfo Suárez Prime Minister. Spain’s first democratic vote in over 40 years took place in 1977, and a new constitution was signed in 1978. That constitution is still in place now. In 1979, Enrique Tierno Galván became the mayor of Madrid, the capital of Spain. In this position he had a lot of power to help or hinder La Movida. His choices helped Spain to move past its repressive past. Then, in 1982, the Socialist PSOE party, headed by Felipe González, was voted in by a landslide and became Spain’s first leftist government since the 1930s.
It was Emerson who said it best, “For nonconformity, the world whips you with its displeasure” (Porter 1155). With a detailed look of Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” and John Updike’s “A&P,” you will find that this quote is entirely applicable in the context of oppressiveness and in the likeness of “coming of age.” These two stories document the different perspectives of two characters’ growing up and how the role of the invisible hand of oppression guides developing adolescents into mature adults; without prejudice or even forethought. The characters in question are: Sammy, an A&P store clerk whose time spent at work reveals how oppressed by society he is, and Jing-Mei, whose life and every move is dictated by the iron fist of her high-expectations Asian mother. In comparing these stories, you will find how two characters, with very different lives, are essentially affected by the same forces of humanity.
2) Utilizing Glasberg and Shannon, Chapter 1 Introduction, and the works of Karl Marx explain to the reader the structures of oppression, in reference to power, politics and the state? Utilize the concepts of patriarch, racism and heteronormativity.
In society, a racial hierarchy is constructed in the form of racism, where each race is classified, such as the whites being the most superior, whereas the blacks are perceived as inferior. Oppression takes formation in several ways and can limit a certain group from excelling in life, and suppressing their own cultural values. In the autobiography of Assata, Skakur depicts how oppression is present in every day society and its impact on Blacks.
THE WAYS OF MEETING OPPRESSION IS AN ESSAY WRITTEN BY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., ADDRESSING SEGREGATION THAT IS SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED TOWARD THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE. King’s primary audience is the African Americans, but also he has secondary audiences that he addresses, which are a combination of Christians or those who know of, or believe in the Christian views, as well as people in the legal system. He gives examples through his text that will demonstrate how he addresses mostly the African Americans, but also the various other audiences he is trying to reach to through his memorable speech. In his writing, he tells of three ways that they deal with oppression, and based on these he sends out a message to all who have read or heard his words. This message states what has been done in the past, as well as what should be done based on these past experiences. King chooses to speak to certain people through certain contexts and key phrases. In choosing certain phrases and also on how he states his words, he is successful in influencing all his audiences that he intended to persuade. The words that he carefully chose will tell how and why he wanted to focus on the primary and secondary audiences of his choice.
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a short story depicting the utopian society of Omelas. “Omelas” was written by sci-fi author, Ursula K. Le Guin, and won a Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction the year following its publication. A plot-less story, “Omelas” features a strong narrative voice that presents to readers a compelling ethical dilemma-- the perfect happiness of everyone in Omelas is reliant on keeping one small child in a perpetual state of torment. When Omelans come of age, they visit this child and are educated about its existence. They then make a decision on whether to stay in Omelas, knowing that the happiness of the city rests upon the suffering of an innocent victim, or to walk away from Omelas forever.
To stand firm in one’s beliefs is a difficult task. In the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin, readers are left conflicted with the issue of conformity in a moral situation. Le Guin captures the audience with descriptive imagery of a beautiful city, “a clamor of bells that set the swallows soaring” and “the rigging of the boats in harbor sparkled with flags,” however, life isn’t as perfect as the sugar-coated descriptions. Hidden underneath the city in a filthy room, a child suffers the “abominable misery,” so the people of Omelas can live happily. The citizens have a choice to leave and go to a place that is unknown or they can stay in Omelas and live to the standards of the injustice city. Le Guin displays the theme of conformity through diction, mood, and symbolism.