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Recommended: Morality essay
The first half of the twentieth century was a remarkable period in the history of the world. This is arguable since historians can say that other times have been remarkable in their own right. But from a moral standpoint, the world was grappling with a host of issues that were hard to deal with. The 1986 movie entitled Platoon directed by Oliver Stone, the novel entitled The Portrait of the artist as a young man by James Joyce and the lengthy poem by T.S Elliot entitled Waste Land have a common theme of the moral confusion that engulfed the world at this juncture in history. With evidence from these three different genres, this essay will show that moral confusion was indeed the issue at hand during this time. One may argue that this was the time that man attained moral clarity, but as the evidence obtained from these works will show, a number of actions were being done as a way of creating a better world, but at the end of the day the actions themselves turned out to be ill conceived and morally questionable.
To begin with, the Platoon represents the most profound attempt to create a peaceful world using the wrong means, and this is a clear sign of moral cloudiness or confusion. There is a clear problem in Vietnam, and regardless of the extent to which people are suffering, the wisdom of sending American troops as a remedy leads to more war and more deaths, thus lengthening the time of suffering and the number of people who are killed in Vietnam. This scenario adds to the age-old question of whether by going to war man creates peace or more insecurity. Vietnam does not become any secure with the entry of American troops. All that happens is an escalation of fighting with both the Vietcong and the Americans losing their soldier...
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...nt is characterized by confusion. When the question at hand is moral, then there is definitely moral confusion.
In conclusion, it is evident that the Portrait of an Artist a Young Man as by James Joyce, the Platoon by Oliver Stone and Waste Land by T.S.Elliot have details that point to a moment of moral confusion right from the first world war to the end of the cold war. It is not possible to state in this essay that the moral confusion is over, but as per the texts and the film, this is the nature of the period that is covered in these genres.
Works Cited
Elliot, T.S. (1922) “Waste Land.” in The Norton Anthology of English Literature,(1993), (6th ed.), vol. 2, New York: Norton.
Joyce, J. (1993). The Portrait of the artist as a young man. New York: Penguin Classics.
Stone, O. (Director), Kopelson, A. (Producer). (1986), Platoon.Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Angeles.
In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien demonstrates how exposure to the atrocities of nations at war leads to the soldiers having skewed perspectives on what is right and wrong, predominantly at times when the purpose of the war itself appears elusive. The ambiguity that consumes the stories of “The Things They Carried” and “How to Tell a True War Story” is displayed with irony, for the ‘moral’ of such war stories is that there is no moral at all. O’Brien portrays the character Mitchell Sanders as an observer who seeks the morals to be found through the war fatalities; however, he depicts these morals in a manner that actually stresses the impiety of the situations above all else. The characters in this novel are at the forefront of the Vietnam War, thus blinded by carnage that soon begins to obscure any prior notions held about what is moralistic and what is not.
The United States became frustrated with the death of wounded prisoners in Vietnam War. This is so deleterious John F Kennedy sends a warning to the west. Tim O’Brien Story about Vietnam could have been a biography because he played a role and it is based on a somewhat a true Story. O’Brien didn’t go through with this because of what he wrote is what he did see, what could have happened, and what he kept from being told. In the book simple themes guilt, shame, and innocence play a vital role in the soldier’s life.
For the great lesson which history imprints on the mind…is the tragic certainty that all wars gain their ultimate ends, whether great or petty, by the violation of personality, by the destruction of homes, by the paralysis of art and industry and letters…even wars entered on from high motives must rouse greed, cupidity, and blind hatred; that even in defensive warfare a people can defend its rights only by inflicting new wrongs; and that chivalrous no less than self-seeking war entails relentless destruction.
...sided fashion, one in which we have no sorrow for the "communists." But what we see is that Vietnamese soldiers were not fighting for communism, they were fighting because the government ordered them to. "The ones who loved war were not the young men but the others like the politicians, middle-aged men with fat bellies and short legs." (75) Repeatedly The Sorrow of War reveals the deep suffering of Vietnam. One can not say, however, that American soldiers returned unscathed. The most important thing we see when we read the two aforementioned works is not the differences, but the similarities. War is hellish and unnatural for both sides. In the aftermath, our common humanity becomes evident in universal suffering.
Eliot, T.S. The wasteland. In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume II. Edited by Paul Lauter et al. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991: 1447-1463.
Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land and Other Poems, New York, London, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1988
Often, one may sense a conflict that one must fight against an intangible enemy that one feels is there. The temptation of competition, envy, or peer pressure can cause one to change one’s actions and ideals, even when this conflict only prevails in one’s own mind. When the mind generates a war that does not even exist, the premise is most likely an incomprehension of the subject matter, leading to assumption about the situation based on one’s knowledge, creating a self-waged war. These controlling cranial concoctions remain an important theme in literature, especially literary compositions on the subject of historical wars themselves. One such example lies in A Separate Peace by John Knowles, a novel on the subject of World War II from the perspective of prep school students. In the novel, the protagonist Gene creates his own wars based on the ignorant presumption that his associates compete with him, his personal battles reflect the large-scale wars fought by adults, and Knowles utilizes these personal wars to convey a moral lessson to the reader.
Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain tells the story of Huck Finn who constantly finds himself surrounded by morally strong people and others who go without morals.After Living with widow Douglas and then leaving with Jim, he feels that superstition provides proof where as christianity does not. Living on the river with Jim influences him. He looks up to Jim and feels that he is his true friend. Cohen Ralph said, “… in their relationship, a love and respect for persons regardless of color or knowledge or beliefs.” In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain illuminates the shortcomings of organized religion.
1.Q:What do I find interesting, revealing, or strange about my topic? In what ways are my observations significant?
Most of the soldiers did not know what the overall purpose was of fighting the Vietnamese (Tessein). The young men “carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place” (O’Brien 21). The soldiers did not go to war for glory or honor, but simply to avoid the “blush of dishonor” (21). In fact, O’Brien states “It was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather, they were to...
The influence of World War I was also seen in Eliot’s work. According to Johnson, “…artists clung to the shards of classical culture as a buffer against nihilistic disillusionment. "These fragments I have shored against my ruins," T.S. Eliot wrote in "The Waste Land" (1922)” (1). Eliot’s writing in “The Waste Land” depicts scenes of war and also ties into the destruction of western culture.
I can imagine a perfect world. A world where morality is of upmost importance in our dealings with each other, where morals are critically examined, and debated with reason as well as passion. This world would be a pinnacle of human achievement. A pinnacle that we are nowhere near. Why is this? Well, in today's society, morals are often associated with obeying the law, and since laws are legislated by politicians, they are subject to politics. Laws are not right in and of themselves, and morals are not a matter of a majority's opinion. Some matters that are in the domain of charity are done through politics, often citing morality as a reason. Where exactly does charity fit in with morals? With politics? In this paper I will explore the meaning of morality, its justification, and its scope as it pertains to our lives. I will also spend some time explaining how politics, laws, and charity relate to morality, and how politics often assume charitable roles.
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
Levin, Harry. "The Artist." James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Text, Criticism, and Notes. Ed. Chester G. Anderson. New York: Penguin, 1968. 399-415.
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. 1916. New York: Penguin,1993.