From the years of 1853 to 1868, the people of Japan experienced major changes in all aspects of their lives. This era, known as the Bakumatsu signified Japan’s change from the traditional Edo period to a modernized Meiji dynasty. This change can be attributed to an American naval officer by the name Matthew Calbrath Perry whom ultimately changed the complexity of Japanese culture. In the eyes of an American, Commodore Perry is seen as one of the greatest influential figures in international history. However, what most people don’t understand is how the very own citizens of Japan perceived Commodore Perry. There are many ways in which, the Japanese may have perceived Perry. However, a fascinating aspect to think about is if he was perceived as a hero or a villain.
In order to think about if Commodore Perry was considered a hero or a villain, it’s important to consider what qualities are involved in these antonymous figures. Villains violate accepted moral principles to complete their goals, they have a way of making things bend to their own will, and they lead a life of secrets and a...
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
In the early 1800’s, Japan had blocked off all trade from other countries. Foreign whaling ships could not even reload or repair their ships in Japan territory. This offended many other countries. In 1852, Matthew Perry was sent to Japan to negotiate open trade. Japan felt threatened by the United States, and gave in to their demands. Japan was frightened by their stipulations, and immediately began to reform. They developed a new education system that was similar to America and Europe’s. They also developed a Western style judiciary system.
When you think of the name Andrew Carnegie, does the words hero, or non-heroic come after it?
Starting in the Post-Civil War period, The Great Wave brings to light a cultural schism and pivot to the, at the time, unknown East. As Commodore Perry’s ships pried open Japan to the outside world, out with it came the cultural interactions that make up most of these stories. These make up a cultural wave, much like the title implies, of which all characters seem to be riding upon in one way or another. In a way it can be viewed as two separate waves. First, the surge of the Japanese characters who newly exposed to modernity, seek to process, learn and move forward with these foreign interactions and experiences. Then there is the American wave, an unguided movement of sorts driven by disillusionment with the industrial west, which finds hope and solace in old Japanese culture. The intersections of these two waves is what makes up the two-hundred some pages of Benfey’s book but ultimately it is the unspoken single wave, on the forward path to modernity, that encompasses them both and is the true backbone of the stories.
Musui’s Story is the exciting tale of a low class samurai’s life towards the end of the Tokugawa era. Although one would normally imagine a samurai to be a noble illustrious figure, Musui’s Story portrays the rather ignominious life of an unemployed samurai. Nonetheless, this primary account demonstrates the tenacity of samurai values and privileges present at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The social status of samurai had been elevated to such a state that even someone like Musui was easily able to gain influence in everyday affairs with his privileges. Not only that, but he had retained his values as a warrior and still kept great pride for his arts in weaponry.
Feifer, George. Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe, and American Imperialism in 1853. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2006. pp. xx, 389 p.: ill., maps; 24 cm. ISBN: 0060884320 (hardcover: alk. paper). Format: Book. Subjects: Japan Foreign relations United States /United States Foreign relations Japan.
Andrew Carnegie, a philanthropist who has helped hundreds. But there is a side of him that not many knew. Is Andrew Carnegie a hero? Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. He and his family were in poverty, living in an attic of a weavers cottage. For a better life, his family moved to America. There Carnegie started working as a bobbin boy. Carnegie later became locally famous, and was later given a well paying job. Andrew Carnegie was not a hero because he was greedy, and prideful. In the Andrew Carnegie,“Wealth” North American Review, June 1889 text it states that Carnegie did not leave much fortune to his own family, because he believed it to be “misguided affection” This was selfish of him to give his own family enough money, the money that they deserve. In addition in the Cartoon Published in The Saturday Globe it shows that while Andrew Carnegie was giving money to other countries, his workers needed the money the most to be able to support their families.
Japanese immigration created the same apprehension and intolerance in the mind of the Americans as was in the case of Chinese migration to the U.S at the turn of the 19th century. They developed a fear of being overwhelmed by a people having distinct ethnicity, skin color and language that made them “inassimilable.” Hence they wanted the government to restrict Asian migration. Japan’s military victories over Russia and China reinforced this feeling that the Western world was facing what came to be known as “yellow peril”. This was reflected in the media, movies and in literature and journalism.4 Anti-Oriental public opinion gave way to several declarations and laws to restrict Japanese prosperity on American land. Despite the prejudice and ineligibility to obtain citizenship the ...
Andrew Carnegie, an inventor, philosopher, and entrepreneur, helped create the age of industrialization; also known as the Gilded Age. With his steel, he turned the U.S from an agricultural and commercial nation to an industrial nation. Being one of the forward-thinking men of his time, he helped cities expand bringing urbanization. Although many people consider him a hero, he is considered an antagonist because of his atrocious working conditions coupled with the long hour and the wages. So was he a hero? A hero is generally defined as someone who is admired or idealized usually for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. On the other hand, an anti-hero is someone who lacks the traits of a traditional hero but still has the greater good of the people in mind. Though Carnegie did the best he could for the people of the future, I cannot say the same for the people of his time. Andrew Carnegie is in between a hero and a villain; he is an anti-hero.
Andrew Carnegie and his philanthropy made him a hero because he helped more people than harm in the long run, by this I mean he helped other countries. He also sets a great example to everyone that helping others or someone is not something you need to wait to do when you are no longer living. If someone needed help and even a stable person had the choice to help but until they are no longer alive has little meaning. Perhaps it would be too late when the person isn’t around anymore. Its about what someone can do to help when they are around, it is about what a person can do in the time of need even if it is not much but a little of anything can go a long way. In (Doc C) there is a list of amounts of money that Carnegie has donated to various places which in total he has donated well over $271m but aside from that his corporation is giving out about $100m a year, most of it to education (Doc C)
Should Napoleon Bonaparte Be Considered A Hero? What is a hero? A hero can be defined as a common man who rises to greatness on the basis of sheer talent. Should Napoleon Bonaparte be considered a hero?
According to John Steinbeck, "Heroes are innocent; villains are cunning." This statement likely regards the internal aspects of characters, such as intellect, reasoning/motivation, and morality/responsibility, as indicated by consistency in action and/or articulation, as in direct speech or soliloquy. An examination of the heroes and villains in Measure for Measure, Othello, and Hamlet can determine whether Steinbeck's generalization is applicable.
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. “Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman and the Surrender of Japan.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 289-298.
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...
For a time, the main characters in a story, poem, or narrative were easily classified as either being a hero or a villain. A hero would be easy to identify by the traits he'd possess, such as bravery, honesty, selflessness, trustworthiness, courage, leadership, and more. The villain would be easy to identify as well, possessing traits such as maliciousness, deceitfulness, immorality, dark, wishing harm upon others, and more. But what if the character lacked the natural heroic qualities but wasn't a villain either? What if the person displayed personality flaws that would traditionally be associated with a villain, but has heroic intentions? These questions were finally answered with the emergence of the anti-hero in literature.