Melville's Moby Dick: Defining Violence in Literature
Two stories were recently told to me, independently of one another, and although I was struck by each, it was a third story that emerged from the collision of the first two that most challenged me. The first story is about the violence of literature: "That's my current definition of literature: a cataclysmic event, one that disrupts what we think we so-settle-edly-know..." (Dalke). The second story is a definition of violence that I heard used in the context of a conversation about racism. "Violence is the denial of humanity." Although the implication seemed to be that humanity is denied to the victim of violence, I also suggest that violence diminishes the humanity of the perpetrator.
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By clinging we become reliant on something that is unreliable and we therefore inevitably experience rending, deconstruction- violence. The implication that follows is that in order to survive we must drift, release. But what is the difference between being out to sea (drifting) and being unmoored (the inevitable fate of clingers)? A circularity emerges in which we ask: What is the value of survival in the absence of meaning and what is the reason for clinging if it is …show more content…
Ishmael's dissipated, reabsorbed self is the epitome of drift and release. At the end of the book, Ahab dies (I would argue that the other deaths are part of Ahab's - the characters and ship all serve as lenses to focus Ahab's monomania) and Ishmael survives. But what we know of survival is very changed. Survival is the immutability of an invisible, infinitely expanded character who has gradually and almost imperceptibly divested himself of meaning in the course of the story. Meaning survives only if it continues to dissipate, to spread and percolate and become ungraspable yet malleable. Meaning which is clung to becomes a grave, as Ahab so magnificently
Violence is regularly used in novels because, “It can be symbolic, thematic, biblical, Shakespearean, Romantic, allegorical, transcendent. ...Violence in literature, though, while it is literal, is usually also something else. That...punch in the nose may be a metaphor,” (Foster 49). There are two types of violence found in literature: intentional violence and authorial violence. The first type of violence is typical violence such as shootings, stabbings, drownings, and hit-and-run accidents to name a few. In this category, characters will inflict this type of behavior on themselves or on another character. The second type of violence, however, is meant solely to further the plot without another character’s intention. An example of this “narrative violence” is a death resulting from natural causes or a tragic accident that did not involve another character. Violence created by a specific injury that authors cause characters to visit on one another or on themselves. Both types of violence have similarities and differences. In both, the characters are killed off with the same goals of furthering plot or creating stressful situations for the characters. A difference between the intentional violence and narrative violence is that narrative violence does not involve a guilty party like intentional violence does. To Kill a
The French Revolution, the American Civil War, the constant civil conflicts in certain parts of Africa in recent history and even today; these are all historical clashes of countrymen. They all also contain stories of immense atrocities. The violence, bloodshed, and ruthlessness that were seen throughout these events were appalling. They were made perhaps even more so by the fact that theses horrors were inflicted upon one another by countrymen, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. The civil war or stasis at Corcyra during the Peloponnesian War was no different. This paper will detail the events surrounding the conflict and attempt to give scope to it as a mirror into the rest of the conflict.
Inadequate rest which results in fatigue has major implications on the health and safety of registered nurses and can compromise patient care. Nurses often work three to four 12 hour shift a week without taking any breaks while on duty. They often have difficult workloads and challenges which can take a toll and impact patient care. I will be taking a look at nurse fatigue and the impact it has on the nurse’s wellbeing, work, and patient care.
...ion of their retreat; Demosthenes wanted to leave and save his troops, while Nicias' was afraid of the embarrassment he will have to suffer if they left. However, the vote was in favor of leaving, just as they were about to do so, a lunar eclipse occurred. A Thucydides tell us ."..most of the Athenians took the eclipse to heart and called on the generals to stop",a wise leader would have order his troops to keep going. Yet " Nicias who put to much faith in divination and such practices said he wouldn't consider moving..untill they waited twenty seven days prescribed by the soothsayers" . If the leaders were wise they could have escaped army and the losses would have not been so drastic. The outcome was that the procrastination of the Athenian army is what gave Syracuse and its allies the time to beat them at sea and on land, and there eventual crushing defeat.
My presentation will be about the depiction and meaning of violence and human nature, in C.M.’s novels.
Of nursing home staff interviewed in 2004, nearly 40% admitted to committing at least one psychologically abusive act toward a resident and 10% admitted to physically abusing a resident in the preceding year.[1] Not only are nursing home residents at risk of being abused by their caretakers but they are also at risk of being restrained, which may lead to a form of abuse. With five percent of the elderly population, or one to two million instances of elder abuse occurring yearly there is no doubt that elder abuse deserves serious consideration.[2]
Witkoski Stimpfel, Amy , Douglas M. Sloane, and Linda H. Aiken. "The Loger the shifts for hosital nurses, the higher the levels of burnout and patient disstisfaction." Health Affairs 31.11 (2012): 2501-2509. Proquest. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
...ork shifts depending on their ability. In addition, it is important for nurses to understand that it is their ethical responsibility to only practice when they are fit to do so. Moreover, nurses should take responsibility for self care and take adequate time to rest and recover after shifts. In general, nurses should be aware of their mental and physical capabilities and only work when they are well enough to do so.
Now, you can see that Nursing Home abuse is a big problem in America. You might want to get involved in our local program against nursing home abuse. I will leave you with one last statistic, 1 out of every 8 nursing home patients are abused in some way. Wouldn’t you like to help them?
...s of the war itself, there are a number of crucial points which set the course of the tide, and I have tried to illustrate those which I consider to be most important and influential. In any case, it seems that if Athens would have continued with the policy of Pericles, she might not have been so weakened by the destruction of her superior naval forces, which, it seems, can largely be accounted for by Alcibiades and his supporters.
There have been several different court cases that have challenged the practices that are conducted in the women’s prison. These cases include Barefield v. Leach, Glover v. Johnson, Todaro v. Ward, Cooper v. Morin, and Carnterino v. Wilson. Barefield v. Leach occurred in 1974 was important for women because it set the standard through which the courts could measure whether women received a lower standard of treatment compared to men. Todaro v. Ward followed in 1977 this case declared that the failure to provide access to health care for incarcerated women was a violation of the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Glover v. Johnson was next in 1979 it held that the state must provide the same opportunities for education, rehabilitation, and vocational training for females as provided for male offenders. Finally the last major court case that challenged the practices in a women’s prison is Cooper v. Morin which occurred in 1980. This particular case held that the equal protection clause prevents prison administrators from justifying the disparate treatment of women on the grounds that provided such services for women is inconvenient. At the end of the day theses court case stated that “males and females must be treated equally unless there is a substantial reason which requires a distinction to be made”. (Canterino v.
As can be expected from pioneer governmental institutions, Athenian democracy was not perfect. In fact it was far from it. It resulted in the establishment of poor policies by aggressive populists who sought "...private ambition and private profit...which were bad both for the Athenians themselves and their allies." (Thucydides). These self interested populist leaders with personal gain in mind established extensive internal political instability "...by quarrelling among themselves [and] began to bring confusion into the policy of the state." (Thucydides). Repeated opportunities to accept terms of peace after the battles of Pylos (425), Arginusae (406) and Aegospotami (405) were ignored by the inefficient Athenian demos eventually resulting in the devastation of the once dominant city-state. Internal political strife can also be attribu...
The causes of the Peloponnesian War proved to be too great between the tension-filled stubborn Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. As Thucydides says in Karl Walling’s article, “Never had so many human beings been exiled, or so much human blood been shed” (4). The three phases of the war, which again, are the Archidamian war, the Sicilian Expedition and the Decelean war, show the events that followed the causes of the war, while also showing the forthcoming detrimental effects that eventually consumed both Athens and eventually Sparta effectively reshaping Greece.
Notably, having higher proportions of nurses working shorter shifts—8–9 hours or 10–11 hours—resulted in decreases in patient dissatisfaction” (Stimpfel et al.). This is essentially saying that the longer the shift length, the more negative outcomes result. This study proves that eight to nine-hour shifts are more effective, and should, in turn, be worked more than longer shifts. This is a problem because hospitals are likely to continue to schedule nurses for twelve hours shifts out of
Literature is an essential part of society in the present day and enables the communication between multiple parties in a written form. Texts can provide a vast knowledge on subjects dependent on content whereas novels are often seen as being purely for leisure and enjoyment. However it can often be seen that prose