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How violence is used as a tool in literature
Negative impact of civil war
How violence is used as a tool in literature
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Synthesis Essay
Peace Succeeds Violence is at that core of every civilization to date, every nation has been forged from the loss of another group. However the question has always been whether or not it's necessary to really accomplish a set goal. Most people would agree that a violent path is not always ideal and typically ends with significant losses to both sides. The question is why do we continue to use violence if we have known that the consequences are high no matter what. Why can’t we find a new way, a better way to accomplish our goals as a society? Why must all rebellions end with loss and suffering for one side? In Benito Cereno by Herman Melville, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, and the poem “O captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman,
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In the story, slaves revolt against their masters while at sea, and as a result many of the crew are killed and the rest live in fear on the boat while the slaves establish their power, “slain by command of the negro Babo”(Benito Cereno 108). The amount of violence depicted in this rebellion shows why it immediately had some major affect on the events that transpired. However this initial success of the rebellion was quickly quenched, as another ship came into view and a charade of sorts was needed to continue the success mentioned before. This led to a somewhat concealed rebellion that carried on until the departure of the visiting captain, and this charade worked well for the slaves without the use of any hardcore violence against the spaniards. However some acts of aggression were used to enforce the new rules, “the two blacks dashed him to the deck and jumped upon him”(73). For the most part this section of the rebellion went off without a hitch and would have continued to work had one of the spaniards not spoken out. The result of the insubordinance was more violence, “ See, master- you shook so- here’s Babo’s first blood”(86). These acts of violence unfortunately were not nearly as successful for the underdogs as they were during the initial revolt. In fact the result was worse than could be imagined with several of the …show more content…
My Captain!” by Walt Whitman, shows the devastation that violence in a rebellion can have, and how a whole nation was shaken when a rebellion took a violent turn for the worst. The poem was written post civil war and after the death of Abraham Lincoln, and the emotional turmoil that Whitman feels over the events that transpired during the war are expressed throughout the poem. Whitman took the loss of the nation's unity and of the president very hard as he himself firmly believed in the nation, “But O heart! heart! heart!”(5). Whitman expressed the joy part of the nation felt having made it through a very violent bloody war that changed the nation forever, but he also acknowledged the loss many felt including himself. Whitman was especially adamant about the loss of President Lincoln, which was the main point of the poem, and how important he was to the nation and to himself. As said by Whitman, “our fearful trip is done”(1) refers to the conflict that was the civil war, that led to the death of Lincoln. Whitman references Lincoln’s death heavily every time he references that the captain has died, “ Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead”(7-8). The other definition of a rebellion according to dictionary.cambridge.org is as follows “violent action organized by a group of people who refuse to accept their government’s power and are willing to use force to oppose it”. Which is exactly what happened in the civil war that happened prior to the death
¬¬¬Though most American people claim to seek peace, the United States remains entwined with both love and hate for violence. Regardless of background or personal beliefs, the vast majority of Americans enjoy at least one activity that promotes violence whether it be professional fighting or simply playing gory video games. Everything is all well and good until this obsession with violence causes increased frequency of real world crimes. In the article, “Is American Nonviolence Possible” Todd May proposes a less standard, more ethical, fix to the problem at hand. The majority of the arguments brought up make an appeal to the pathos of the reader with a very philosophical overall tone.
As these sources have illustrated due to the high demand for free labor, slavery became a prominent problem through this era. However, African enslaved did not simply obey their capture. The primary source The Slaves Mutiny written by in 1730 by William Snelgrave focuses on another aspect of slavery that the other sources didn’t quite touch on, or go into much depth, and that would be slave revolt or mutiny. Author Snelgrave explains that “several voyages proved unsuccessful by mutinies.”# As author Snelgrave states upon ““what induced them (the African slaves) to mutiny? They answered, “I was a rogue to buy them, in order to carry them away form their own country, and that they were resolved to regain their liberty if possible.”# Author Snelgrave states, “They had forfeited their freedom before I bought them, either by crimes or by being taken in war, according to the custom of their country, and they now being my
Around the time of the Massacre in Mexico, there were a number of books written based on the brutal killings. Three popular books that were written by Mexican writers and addressed the movement of Mexican students, during that era, were Massacre in Mexico (by Elena Poniatowska), ’68 (by Paco Ignacio Taibo II), and Palinuro of Mexico (by Fernando de Paso). Their literature presented a disturbing look into a student movement, which culminated in hundreds of student protestors being massacred on October 2, 1968, in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas/Tlatelolco of Mexico City. This event led Pablo Ignacio Taibo II to write in the preface of his book ’68, “There are no countries without fairy tales lurking in their shadows.” His book is a collection of fragments that records what took place during that infamous year. And when Taibo addresses countries having fairy tales, it has nothing to do with a happy ending. Instead, he points out how countries present a positive, false image to cover up the negativity that continues to exist.
Every story had its reason why it happened, and these reasons have changed drastically since older days with the world evolving. The development of the world's technology and advancement humans contribute different aspects to life, the good and the bad. The evolution of the world is a result of violence because of the newer technology and having cruel, destructive sources at one's fingertips. With these and other contributions, the final results change every time it occurs, being for better or for worse. The results have changed over time as well, with it being land and freedom dominating the reason for violence, it is now becoming more of trying to fit in or get back at someone. Jodi's book is not like great literature since it follows violence as its plot line, but it does give a strong message about violence not being the
There are three things in the article that is very compelling to me as a reader, the living conditions of the slaves in the ships, the rape the women faced, and the punishment styles the rebellious slaves had to endure. What they endured was almost like hell on earth, it was almost genocide, but without the intention of genocide.
Originally the non-fictional basis of this text is on the memoir of the once alive Amasa Delano who wrote of a slave revolt on the Spanish ship Tryall. While "Benito Cereño" is a strong and entertaining story of a slave revolt on a Spanish ship, one may not see the message Melville may be trying to express to his readers. Published in 1855, the United States on the brink of the Civil War with the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, this story speaks the horror and nightmare many abolitionist feared may happen if the s...
However, through a more careful and close observation of this segment, this revolt goes beyond the simple cultural divide and exposes the deeper, underlying theme of the entire novel as a whole: tyranny. Through this act, the slaves set forth a brutal cycle of tyranny and oppression, which, upon first glance, appears to be likely to lead to their liberation. And, although they do eventually receive ‘freedom’ from their imperial masters, the black inhabitants of the island are continually held down by whomever is in power at the time. In terms of this segment and chapter, the slaves see an opportunity to seize the freedom they so desperately desire and believe they deserve. However, when they do achieve this sense of freedom, which can be represented by their successful raid of the plantation house, they immediately engage in the vices of the white men by drinking the liquor in the basement and acting in an uncivil manner.
Conflict is constant. It is everywhere. It exists within one’s own mind, different desires fighting for dominance. It exists outside in nature, different animals fighting for the limited resources available, and it exists in human society, in the courts. It can occur subtly, making small changes that do not register consciously, and it can occur directly and violently, the use of pure strength, whether physical, social, economic, or academic, to assert dominance and achieve one’s goals; this is the use of force. Yet, with the use of force, the user of force is destined to be one day felled by it. “He who lives by the sword will die by the sword.”
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton proves the point that violence can be justified if necessary. To inflict change in their lives people often fight with violence instead of peace to evoke change. The world strives for change everyday whether or not you like it. How the people create a change in society whether they use peace or war, it is up to them to decide how to modify our ever changing world. Violence and fight between the Socs and Greasers tells us that both can be justified if it inflicts positive change in society. ‘
The role of violence in the fight against injustice is a tricky one. If an oppressor is willing to use violence to maintain control should not the oppressed use violence to achieve liberation? Franz Fanon would argue that the pent up anger and frustration must be released in violent action to tear down the oppressor’s regime. However, there is a better way and that is through non-violence and understanding that Martin Luther King, Jr. champions. Only through creating tension around injustice via non-violent direct action can the conversation begin around mutual understanding and justice. It is this justice achieved through non-violent means that will last as violent action is ultimately unjust in nature.
Chris McCandless was a young man who gave up his belongings to live in the wild away from society, and his journey was to find fulfillment and the meaning of life through nature. In the nonfiction book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer writes about the details of Chris McCandless’s journey to find and reinvent himself as he lives off the land in the Alaskan wilderness. Throughout the book, Krakauer portrays McCandless as a hero for rejecting society and falling victim to this bravery. However, Chris McCandless’s death is not an example of heroism and he did not fall victim to his courage. Instead, McCandless died as a result of ignorance and overconfidence that clouded his self-perception and ultimately led to his downfall.
Captain Lincoln Steers the Ship to victory. “Where on the deck my captain lies Fallen cold and dead.”(7-8) This quote from the story refers to the assassination of President Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was President during the Civil War, and is considered to be one of the greatest presidents of all time. President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14,1865 and was in a coma for 9 hours before he died. With the death of the President the nation lost it’s most important man and a great father and husband. The elegy “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman is an extended metaphor about President Lincoln’s presidency because it compares Lincoln to a ships captain, the Union Army to a ship, and the Civil War to a trip.
my Captain! rise up and hear the bells Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning"; The country as a whole was mourning the death of an amazing man. Walt Whitman and Abe Lincoln held an actually personal and friendly relationship. When Whitman heard that Lincoln took the office of the President, he was recorded saying “[The President] had “canny shrewdness” and “horse-sense.” He seemed the down-home, average American, with his drab looks and his humor, redolent of barnyards and barrooms. Whitman commented on the “somewhat rusty and dusty appearance” of Lincoln, who “looks about as ordinary in attire, etc. as the commonest man.”” (Gilder Lehrman). Abe Lincoln was more than a man to Walt Whitman, he was a friend. And that friend was being honored by the whole country.
The film gives an overall accurate picture of these events, though it adds and takes away some pieces of it. The Africans had been captured in Africa, then smuggled into Cuba. At the time the trading of slaves was illegal due to a treaty signed in 1817. The treaty forbid the trading of slaves between Britain and Spain. The mutiny itself occurred in July, 1839 just north of Cuba. La Amistad, the ship they were being carried on, was soon taken captive by them. Those they did not kill were...
This poem is an extended metaphor; the fallen captain the writer mentions is Abraham Lincoln. That being said Lincoln is the captain who has “fallen cold and dead”, “On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln's death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died” (Freidel,Sidey). Whitman speaks of a “fearful trip,” and by this he means the civil war. Lincoln and Whitman both thought that the preservation of the union was a supreme reason for fighting the war, in fact Whitman served as a volunteer nurse in army hospitals during the American Civil War. When he says “the prize we sought is won” he is actually referring to the civil war being won and the union now preserved.