The task of defining citizenship is an difficult endeavor which takes much thought and careful examination in order to make sense of what constitutes the ideals of citizenship. Previously, I never gave much thought to what citizenship is and what it means to me. My first inclinations were that citizenship was related to politics and practicing the rule of law. From whot I have learned in class, I can confidently say that my views of citizenship have changed for the better to include a broader vision than just the politically involved law-abiding citizen. Citizenship is, at its least, the individual’s practice of civic engagement in the forms of political participation, critiquing government, instituting change through democratic process while abiding by the rule of law, contributing to society as an economically efficient/skilled worker, building the local/national community through means of financial donation and/or active participation, being environmentally conscious, and recognizing the valuable cost of freedom while exercising in civic engagement with a global vision incorporating the voice of the youth.
Political involvement is not always seen as appealing to the community, especially to those individuals who feel that they have been betrayed by the politicians and government they have elected. The first step to understanding citizenship is to define the concept of social contract. Social contract is an agreement shared by both the government and the people in which both parties operate and institute change by abiding by the rules and regulations that are stipulated within the contract itself. The first step to citizenship should be to vote because by not voting for state and national representatives, the individual is...
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... Wealth of Nations. . Selections from Book Four Chapter II and Chapter IX.
Wagner, W. & Owen. J. E. (In press). Situating service-learning in the contexts of civic engagement and the engaged campus. In B. Jacoby (Ed.)., Establishing and Sustaining the Community Service-Learning Professional: A Guide for Self-Directed Learning. Providence, R.I.: Campus Compact.
West, C. (2004). The Necessary Engagement With Youth Culture. In Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism. New York: Penguin.
Rousseau, J. J. (1762). The Social Contract: Book I. . 1. Subject of the First Book, 2. The First Societies, 3. The Right of the Strongest, 4. Slavery, 5. That We Must Always Go Back to a First Convention, 6. The Social Compact, 7. The Sovereign, 8. The Civil State, and 9. Real Property.
According to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, a tragic hero must be born from a high social class and his or her downfall must be caused by a fatal flaw of that character. Aristotle also mentioned that a tragic hero is someone that is between two extremes. Neither good nor bad, just their fatal flaws brining misfortune to themselves. The purpose of a tragic hero is to create catharsis for the audience by empathising with the protagonist. Therefore a proper tragedy
The social pact comes down to this; “Each one of us puts into the community his person and all his powers under the supreme direction of the general will; and as a body, we incorporate every member as an indivisible part of the whole (Rousseau: 61)”. The general will can itself direct the forces of the state with the intention of the whole’s primary goal - which is the common good. The general will does not allow private opinions to prevail. The union of the people, in its passive role is known as the State and is referred to as the Sovereign in its active state. Associates of the body politic are communally known as the people, and individually referred to as citizens or subjects. The primary problem to which the social contract holds the solution is based on the total alienation of each associate to the entire community. Rousseau proposes that every individual give himself absolutely and apply the same conditions for each and every one to result in an agreement where it is in no ones interest to make the conditions burdensome for others. The critiques of this contract are so specifically determined by ones actions, that the slightest amendment must make the agreement invalid; it is crucial to obtain a unanimous recognition and admittance by the whole. If the social pact is desecrated, every man regains his inborn rights to recover his natural freedom, and loses the civil freedom in which he bargained for. Stop. The existence of natural freedom is the argument in which I intend to pursue against Rousseau. This thought shall be revisited in a short while. Rousseau implies upon freedom the definition of the sovereign; it is a reason; a collaboration with others; a civil expression of the general will.
Defined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero, in literature, is the main character in a story or piece of writing who has one flaw that brings them to their demise. In William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet, throughout the tragedy there is one character above all the others that fits the part of a tragic hero. The misfortunate protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark who constantly shows the viewers his flaw of procrastination and which ultimately leads him and many other characters to their unfortunate and preventable death.
In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants" the author addresses a subject that was thought to be taboo in the 1920's. The subject that the author addresses is that of abortion. During the roaring 20's people were consumed with having a good time and living a care free lifestyle. As it is evident in the great American classic "The Great Gatsby" which gives a depiction of the lifestyle that people led in the 1920's. During the decade that the story was written for abortion was not talked about nationally nor was there any education on it. Abortion was only talked about amongst friends and their inner circles. The couples of the time, especially the couple in our story, seemed to be more concerned with enjoying their care free lifestyle and not wanting anything to change that. In the 1920's the emotions or feelings couples go through when making a life altering decision, like having an abortion, are the same back then as they are today. This can be seen through different examples found in the main character's conversation through out the story.
In the classic short story, "Hills like White Elephants,” by Earnest Hemingway, Hemingway tackles a subject that has plagued society for decades. Though throughout the story it remains unspoken, the subject of the story is abortion. The story was written in 1927 at a time when abortion was illegal. Abortion was something that nobody talked about openly. It was a something that would be looked down upon. Hemingway writes “Hills Like White Elephants” with multiple metaphors to mask the idea of abortion.
Citizenship is something that largely defines many of us. Our citizenship comes with a community, a group of people and land to which we belong, as well as a sense of pride. Citizens of a community must coexist and cooperate with one another for the community to thrive and prosper. The idea of individuals within a community forming a mutual trust and respect for one another, is a concept Danielle Allen introduces as “political friendship.” Political friendship extends beyond the immediate reaches of one’s community, but to strangers entering one’s own community, or to those of another community with which you seek to enter. It is not friendship in the sense that a bond is formed or that there is deep rooted affection present, but rather one
Charity. Selflessness. Abnegation. Benevolence. Humanity. These are the words that come to attention when the thought of citizenship comes to mind. Doing the right thing, all the time. Acting not in one’s own self-interest, but in the interest of others. But if one is to truly understand the concept of citizenship, one must be willing to acknowledge that citizenship has much more depth than just the good deeds you do. Sometimes you are left with having to choose the lesser of two evils. Such choices, like those referenced in the novel “Citizen Vince” by local Spokane author Jess Walter, are what truly define citizenship. The novel, which takes place in the 1980’s, is centered mainly around a young man by the name of Vince Camden. Throughout the book the author incorporates many denotations behind the term citizenship through Vince’s thoughts, actions and struggles to bring to light the deeper meaning behind the term and how one can truly attain citizenship, symbolically that is.
SparkNotes: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778): The Social Contract. (n.d.). SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/rousseau/section2.rhtml
One of the main ideas Hawthorne presents in The Scarlet Letter, is the nature of sin. The main three characters--Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth--all commit a great sin, some resulting worse than the others. Sin can be and is committed by anyone and everyone at some point in their lives. Although in God’s eyes all sin is equal, I believe some sin has greater consequences than other sin. As humans, we look at sin on different levels. For example, murder being worse than theft. Each person throughout the novel received some sort of consequence for the sin they had committed. Some of them accepted it and lived with what they had done while others turned it into their whole life.
In literature, a tragic hero is a virtuous character who is destined for downfall, suffering or defeat. Most tragic heroes are prominent social figures, which makes their fall even harder. These tragic heros may also have a tragic flaw. Brutus is a prime example of a tragic hero.
A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error in judgment that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. Macbeth has a tragic flaw of ambition that forces him to destroy anyone who presents an obstacle between him and his crown. Macbeth is a tragic hero.
My citizenship project is in the form of a recipe for the perfect pie. My citizenship pie holds the information about the recipe to become the best citizen you can be. The first piece of my project were the ingredients of my pie. I chose to use freedom, rights, voting, liberty, free speech, rights to bear arms, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly. I chose these because in the passage The pale king, David Foster Wallace said, “We think of ourselves as citizens when it comes to our rights and privileges, but not our responsibilities.”. I put civic responsibilities in my ingredients because if you do some or all of these, it will make you a great citizen. I also put a few optional things in my ingredients such as
Tragic heroes represent a more realistic approach at the classic hero tales. The original hero’s tale involves a perfect super human saving the day and fighting for justice like Beowulf. The underlying trait of a tragic hero is his tragic flaw that makes him more relatable to the audience and often allows him to demonstrate that downsides of a certain negative quality or overall negative idea of society. Shakespeare uses tragic heroes to display that even people who are considered strong or are expected to be strong fall victim to life’s dark desires. Macbeth and Hamlet typify the idea of an unpreventable evil that affects everyone including the strong and righteous.
A tragic hero is a character in a tragedy whose tragic flaw leads to their inevitable downfall. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello bears the title of a tragic hero. Othello is a tragic hero because he has the fatal flaw of jealousy, he is liked by the audience and Othello changes society.
Within his research, Aaron T. Sigauke (2013) described how in some nations citizenship education is taught school-wide in all subjects and school activities, but this approach is the exception rather than the rule (p. 11). Traditionally, the teaching of citizenship is generally reserved for social studies classes and is not directly taught as a separate subject. Although the reasons vary as to why it should not be its own course, most educators and politicians agree that it should be indirectly taught in the social studies curriculum because it can be incorporated into the study of history and civics, as well as an analysis of the great citizens (military leaders, politicians, scientists, et al.) that contributed to the nation’s chronicle (Keating, 2011, pp. 762-765). When this practice is combined with national holidays and other local or state celebrations, then the study of civilization becomes more significant and meaningful for all of the students (Keating, 2011, p.