Monday, November 11, 2019
Can society fully control individuals?
Although society sets a myriad of rules and regulations that ostensibly circumscribes your actions, it is our choice whether or not to conform to these rules. Convincing examples to demonstrates this founds are found in A Dollââ¬â¢s House by Henrik Ibsen, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Galileoââ¬â¢s choices of defying norms in the field of science. Noraââ¬â¢s decision to leave Torvald and seek her independence in the play A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen explicitly demonstrates that, regardless of what society dictates, choices are always present ot the individual. Nora was one of many women who suffered from the male supremacy during the Victorian Era. Her husband, Torvald, would call her demeaning names such as ââ¬Å"squirrelâ⬠and ââ¬Å"petâ⬠and expects her to obey every command because society dictates that she should. However, Nora defied her ââ¬Å"social normsâ⬠and left Torvald to achieve her independence: an act considered to be unthinkable at the time. Thus demonstrates that decisions are contingent upon individuals, not society. Another example which shows that our choices area solely determined by ourselves is that of Atticus and his decision to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, who lives in a town inhabited by a racist, white community, decided to do what he thinks is right and defended a black man named Tom Robinson, who was spurious accused of raping a white girl. Despite Atticusââ¬â¢s cognizance of the vicious calumny that he will be subjected to by society, he nevertheless made the decision which he considered is right and defended Tom Robinson. This further shows that decision are purely based on the individual. In addition, the fact that decisions of the individual can never be fully controlled by society is shown in the field of science, particularly through Galileoââ¬â¢s choice of having a heliocentric view on the universe. Galileo was a scientist who, after adequate research into the field, maintained that, contrary to what the church and Aristotle believed, the sun is in the center of the universe. At the time, society strongly believed that the earth is the center of the universe and considered every other scientist who said otherwise to be mocking religion and thus deserving punishment. Because of his theory, Galileo was convicted of heresy and consequently sentence to home imprisonment. Surely, it was Galileoââ¬â¢s decision to voice his theory which, rather interestingly, happened to be correct all along! The aforementioned examples are just three a vast number of people who decided to go against society wishes. If anything, these people exemplify the human nature of exploring the unknown, of thinking critical outside the box and of seeking dreams regardless of the perils and obstacles on the way, these are the people who make progress possible; without such individuals, society would be a collection of robots that operate based on norms and that would never be able to think, speak or act out anything that does not fit this ââ¬Å"normâ⬠. Quite simply, it is these people that liberated the oppressed and illuminated the path of knowledge.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Jewish Insight of Holocaust
Jewish Insight of Holocaust Holocaust, the extermination of Jews from the European land was the example of brutality and viciousness of the Nazi Germany. The post holocaust era was one of the remarkable eras in the Jewish history. It did not only jolt the Jewish history but also the world history. In order to interpret the results different Jewish responses came out and evaluated the issue according to their personal psychological aspect.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Jewish Insight of Holocaust specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More About 80,000 survivors of the holocaust immigrated to the United States only between the years 1945 and 1952. On one hand, they had to complete the thorny task of rebuilding their demolished lives and on the other hand they were trying hard to get back the previous normal state of their retarded minds which got hurt after the terrible incident. Meanwhile, many historians were observing the situation critically and want ed to present their ideas about the Holocaust and the injustice of the Nazi Germany. All the Jewish responses are of course negative and sour but they also differ with respect to their difference in vision which makes us to mention those evaluations in this paper. We can find a great deal of literature about the evaluation of Holocaust by different Jewish historians and by which we will be able to present our evaluation about the matter. In this paper, we will be discussing the evaluation of two Jewish historians which are considered as the masters of the Holocaust studies on their part respectively. We are going to elaborate the ideas of the post Holocaust era by the two famous historians Richard L. Rubenstein and Emil Ludwig Fackenheim. Rubenstein is regarded as one of the excellent religious writers of the past. He was an educator and an eminent writer in the American Jewish community. His study related to the Holocaust studies is commendable[1]. On the other hand, if we talk abo ut the Fackenheimââ¬â¢s contribution towards the Holocaust study we can say that his contributions should be noted. He considered Holocaust as the one incident who brought a remarkable change in the Jewish history[2]. Both the writers have elaborated their ideas in a different way but on few points they also agree with each other. We are going to discuss the perceptions and ideas of both the writers and then we will derive our evaluation[3]. If we talk about Rubenstein than he was the one writer who had not experience the Holocaust but the issue compelled him to write about it. He has observed the incident religiously. In his book ââ¬Å"After Auschwitzâ⬠Rubenstein has in a way negotiated about the Jewish concept of religion in which people are observed by God and He will decide the punishment and reward of their sins or good deeds. He said that the Holocaust event has nothing to do with the personal doings of the Jews. The incident cannot be considered as the negative reac tion of Jewish sins and Hitler cannot be regarded as their Lord who is observing their acts and is ready to punish them. Rubenstein strongly oppose the Jewish ideology. He wants them not to follow such belief. This was actually due to His past bitter experiences of meeting Ruth Gruber (An American journalist) and of course the drastic Holocaust incident[4].Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After the destructive incident of Holocaust which ruined the lives of many Jews, Rubenstein was cleared about his ideas that Jews should no longer worship their Gods because in his opinion there is nothing named as God. God is not present around the people. If He did than he could not allow the Nazis to slaughter His innocent people, if God was there He could not bear the mayhem in those horrifying concentration camps and if God was there He was not treating the people like the Nazis did. Fur ther he said that the Jews should forget about all their religious lives and the exchange of their prayers with their God because it is totally useless to worship a thing which does not exist[5]. He considered that God is dead and He is not there for the people so people are making them fools if they are thinking that someone is listening to them. By the realization of the Protestantââ¬â¢s Death-of-God movement Rubenstein was more confirmed and convinced about his thinking that God does not exist. But originally it does not mean that God is not present[6]. It was just a hyperbolic statement by those who cannot accept the truth of God. They have basically overstated the matter that they donââ¬â¢t believe in God just to convince people and draw their attention towards their view. The people should not be disappointed by the Rubensteinââ¬â¢s ideology about the existence of God. He just wants to depict the thought that if people want to understand the horrifying incident of Hol ocaust than they must realize his ideology. Furthermore, Rubenstein stated that Jews will have to rebuild their ethics. They will have to establish a thought which will connect them with their land. He suggested that the Jews should continue to worship nature and they should not carry on the old preaching. However, most of the Jews preferred not to get back to Israel as many were killed during the migration towards Poland. Many Jews lost their faith too and adopted secular Judaism rather than converting themselves to any other religion. Thus, Rubensteinââ¬â¢s views about the existence of God were only due to his numerous confrontations with Him in the past so nobody should set any expectation from him as he is only conveying his thoughts[7]. The other side of the view is given by Emil L.Fackenheim who has a little bit same idea that the Holocaust event should not be considered as the punishment of Jewish sins. But his concepts differ immensely when he defines his idea about the e xistence of God. Basically Fackenheim has a positive sight. He visualizes the Holocaust in an optimistic manner. He said that although Jews had faced problems but they also fought with the difficulties. Also he mentioned his believe that God is Omni-potent and Omni-present. He sees his people and help them too when they are in trouble. Fackenheim was of the view that God is present and it is up to the believer that he/she accepts His presence or not. Fackenheim also believed that many people will deny his saying by saying that if God was there than why He could not stop the barbarism which was going on in the camps but he has elaborated this in a different and positive way.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Jewish Insight of Holocaust specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He said that if we can assume Godââ¬â¢s presence on the Mount Sinai then why we canââ¬â¢t consider His presence in those camps? The Jews had served as the personification of gallantry and bravery in that throbbing time. Despite of the butchery carried on in those concentration camps the Jews continued their prayer life and religious practices. They set the example of patience and humanity by their courageous behavior. So, in this way they lived like heroes and died with dignity[8]. This portrays that after the 613 commandments given to the Jews in Torah this example of grit appeared to be the new 614th commandment for the Jews which was exposed to the innocent people in those camps by God. By having a precise over view on Fackenheimââ¬â¢s ideology of the Holocaust we can conclude that he was of the view that Jews should have to remember all the miseries, all the sorrows and all the pains they suffered in those camps during the Holocaust. They should learn this lesson that one day they will be taking the revenge of the destruction of precious lives of their people. If the Jews will not be able to fight and negotiate than the y cannot be considered as Jews. They should not lose the dignity and self-esteem. So, they must proud of what they did[9]. In short, both the historians have presented the Holocaust incident on the basis of religion. They differ in ideas but the level of analysis is similar. They have given clarifications about Holocaust by presenting the conflict in ideas about the existence of God. They have tried to compare the theory of Holocaust to the idea of Godââ¬â¢s existence. One of the theologies supports the idea that God is dead and he is nowhere. While the other theology tries to evident the divine presence of God by the courage of Jewish people who were surviving in those brutal camps. They have basically focused a single side but also they have given the positive and negative sides of the matter. Basically the writers have tried to completely clarify their point of view and also have convinced people to an extent but if have to evaluate their theologies than I must say that they h ave only mentioned their thoughts about the religion, their thoughts about the presence of God not the Holocaust. Actually they wanted to impose their religious concept about the existence of God on people so they took the example of Holocaust incident which is wrong. Because by this one of the writers has shown that he has a bad approach of emphasizing the people emotionally.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More He has done this just to compel the people towards his thoughts due to the fact that in the past he had some awful experiences by which he drew himself towards the thought that God is nowhere. Similarly on the other hand Fackenheim although has not given the negative idea infect he showed a positive aspect related to the ideology of Death-of-God but he is basically negating the idea of Rubenstein and has only talked about the religious aspect[10]. But if I have to make a choice between two of the theologies on the basis of perspectives only than I will obviously second the Fackenheimââ¬â¢s perspective because he has a positive and sensible thought about the incident. He has talked about the optimistic view that God has surely a divine presence on Earth. He is there for His people whether anyone accepts this or not. He has also specified a constructive view by saying that the presence of Jewish courage, dignity and bravery was evident of the presence of God as God provided them th at zeal and enthusiasm to fight for their lives. Fackenheim has elaborated this thought and his emphasize was on the fact that if can assume the presence of God and worship Him throughout our lives than why we cannot accept His presence on those camps. We know it really well that in our day to day life we experience different evidences about the presence of God and various acts which cannot be done by an ordinary person than why we raise questions over this. Itââ¬â¢s noticeable and obvious[11]. So, it is cleared that God is present and He is there to see the on doings of His people. Also, the incident of Holocaust tells about the celestial existence of God by the Jewish acts of heroism which was a God gifted aspect of Jews at the time of sufferings. So, people should realize that answers can be easily given to the questions on presence of God. We donââ¬â¢t need to look into complications because it is cleared from the evidences we get in our daily lives. If God was not there w ith His people in those camps then the Jews could not have survived to such extent. They could not be able to face those difficulties if they were not provided by the faith in God. Their ultimate faith and loyalty to their God is the brilliant example of their valor. The Jews have basically showed the world that they have these strong basis and faith in the religion which made them to live like heroes and die like a martyrs. Various scholars, historians and writers have conflicted in their ideas of religion and Holocaust. Many failed in conveying their views and many got able to clarify themselves but among the two of the historians, Fackenheimââ¬â¢s idea was close to the originality. Implications of understanding Judaism as more concerned with Orthodox than Orthopraxis: The two terms Orthodox and Orthopraxis define two ideas: Firm Belief and Good, Effective Behavior. Orthodox is derived from Greek words ââ¬Å"orthosâ⬠means Truthful and ââ¬Å"doxaâ⬠means Belief. Whi le on the other hand Orthopraxis is the other word which is derived from the combination of ââ¬Å"orthoâ⬠as previously defined as Truthful and ââ¬Å"praxisâ⬠means Behavior[12]. There has been a number of literature regarding the Orthodox and Orthopraxis in the western ideology in which the matter is supposed to be highlighted between Christians and Jews[13] The Christians support the Orthodoxââ¬â¢s camp while Jews are related to the camp of Orthopraxis. Christians are of the view that firm Belief in anything can lead them to the top. While, Jews have the instinct that behavior and actions are very necessary in every situation[14]. Christians and Jews have depicted this in many occasions. If we want to know about the implications of understanding Judaism then we will come to know that Jews have always followed their idea of Orthopraxis. We can take example of the Holocaust incident when Jews were in a deep chaos. They had shown their support to the idea of positive a ctions and behavior by fighting with the terrible situation in an historic way[15] Bibliography Braiterman, Z. ââ¬Å"(God) After Auschwitzâ⬠[1998] Princeton University Press: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s6415.html Edwards, J. ââ¬Å"Orthodox c.â⬠[2011, February 1] christiansincontext.org/ Gray, J. ââ¬Å"On Orthodoxy and Orthopraxyâ⬠[2007, Novemmber 18] religioustolerance.org: religioustolerance.org/gray01.htm Irvine, A. ââ¬Å"Liberation Theology in Late Modernity: An Argument for a Symbolic Approachâ⬠[2011] Journal of American Academy of Religion , 1. Jackson, T. ââ¬Å"The priority of love: Christian charity and social justiceâ⬠[2003] Princeton University Press. Morgan, M. ââ¬Å"13 Emil Fackenheim, the Holocaust, and Philosophyâ⬠[2011] cco.cambridge.org: http://cco.cambridge.org/extract?id=ccol0521813123_CCOL0521813123A013 Olachea, P. ââ¬Å"A Dangerous Separationâ⬠[2009, March 15] http://simplychristianity.com/2009/03/15/a-dang erous-separation/ Patterson, D. ââ¬Å"Emil L. Fackenheim: a Jewish philosophers response to the Holocaustâ⬠[2008] New York: Syracuse University Press Ratzinger, C. ââ¬Å"Eucharist, Communion And Solidarityâ⬠[2002, June 2] ewtn.com/library/CURIA/RATZRELA.HTM Rubenstein, R. Richard Rubenstein [2011] Worldlingo worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Richard_Rubenstein. Rubenstein, R. ââ¬Å"Richard Rubensteins Theology on Holocaustâ⬠[2009, April 14] http://relijournal.com/judaism/richard-rubenstein%E2%80%99s-theology-on-the-holocaust/ Schwartzberg, S. ââ¬Å"A Century of Recording and Making Historyâ⬠[2010, September 10] forward.com: forward.com/articles/130887/ Time. ââ¬Å"Theology: The God Is Dead Movementâ⬠Time: time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941410,00.html Wallaston, I. ââ¬Å"The Possibility and Plausibility of Divine Abusiveness Fackenheim, E.â⬠[2000] http://socyberty.com: http://socyberty.com/history/emil-fackenheim%E2%80%99s-post-holocaust-the ology/ Footnotes Rubenstein, R. Richard Rubenstein [2011] Worldlingo worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Richard_Rubenstein. Morgan, M. ââ¬Å"13 Emil Fackenheim, the Holocaust, and Philosophyâ⬠[2011] cco.cambridge.org: http://cco.cambridge.org/extract?id=ccol0521813123_CCOL0521813123A013 Braiterman, Z. ââ¬Å"(God) After Auschwitzâ⬠[1998] Princeton University Press: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s6415.html Schwartzberg, S. ââ¬Å"A Century of Recording and Making Historyâ⬠[2010, September 10] forward.com: forward.com/articles/130887/ Edwards, J. ââ¬Å"Orthodox c.â⬠[2011, February 1] christiansincontext.org/ Time. ââ¬Å"Theology: The God Is Dead Movementâ⬠Time: time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941410,00.html Rubenstein, R. ââ¬Å"Richard Rubensteins Theology on Holocaustâ⬠[2009, April 14] http://relijournal.com/judaism/richard-rubenstein%E2%80%99s-theology-on-the-holocaust/ Patterson, D. ââ¬Å"Emil L. Fackenheim: a Jewish philosophers respo nse to the Holocaustâ⬠[2008] New York: Syracuse University Press Jackson, T. ââ¬Å"The priority of love: Christian charity and social justiceâ⬠[2003] Princeton University Press. Wallaston, I. ââ¬Å"The Possibility and Plausibility of Divine Abusiveness Fackenheim, E.â⬠[2000] http://socyberty.com: http://socyberty.com/history/emil-fackenheim%E2%80%99s-post-holocaust-theology/ Irvine, A. ââ¬Å"Liberation Theology in Late Modernity: An Argument for a Symbolic Approachâ⬠[2011] Journal of American Academy of Religion , 1. [5] Olachea, P. ââ¬Å"A Dangerous Separationâ⬠[2009, March 15] http://simplychristianity.com/2009/03/15/a-dangerous-separation/ Ratzinger, C. ââ¬Å"Eucharist, Communion And Solidarityâ⬠[2002, June 2] ewtn.com/library/CURIA/RATZRELA.HTM Gray, J. ââ¬Å"On Orthodoxy and Orthopraxyâ⬠[2007, Novemmber 18] religioustolerance.org: religioustolerance.org/gray01.htm
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Abraham Lincoln 10pg paper essays
Abraham Lincoln 10pg paper essays How has Abraham Lincoln impacted American history? Abraham Lincoln was an important part of American history. He ended slavery and helped America through the civil war. Abraham Lincoln was one of the truly great men of all time. Even as a boy, Lincoln showed ability as a speaker. He often amused himself and others by imitating some preacher or politician who had spoken in the area. People liked to gather at the general store in the crossroads village of Gentryville. Lincoln's gift for telling stories made him a favorite with the people there. In spite of his youth, he was well known in his neighborhood. In 1834, Lincoln again ran for the legislature. He had become better known by this time, and won election as a Whig. He served four successive two-year terms in the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. During his first term, he met a young Democratic legislator, Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln quickly came to the front in the legislature. He was witty and ready in debate. His skill in party management enabled him to become the Whig floor leader at the beginning of his second term. He took leading parts in the establishment of the Bank of Illinois and in the adoption of a plan for a system of railroads and canals. This plan broke down after the Panic of 1837. Lincoln also led a successful campaign for moving the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. While in the legislature, Lincoln made his first public statement on slavery. In 1837, the legislature passed by an overwhelming majority resolutions condemning abolition societies. These societies urged freedom for slaves. Lincoln and another legislator, Dan Stone, filed a protest. They admitted that Congress had no power to interfere with slavery in the states where it existed. They believed "the promulgation of abolition doctrines tend rather to increase than abate its evils."*1 Their protest arose from the legislature's failure to call slavery an evi...
Monday, November 4, 2019
Economic Recovery of Greece Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Economic Recovery of Greece - Research Paper Example The state made efforts to keep the economy going by spending a lot which consequently increased the countryââ¬â¢s debt level in the eurozone. Further efforts were made to reduce the impact of the economic crisis where the Greek State borrowed a loan of â⠬45 billion on 23 April, 2010 from the European Union and the IMF. This was in attempt to cater for its financial requirements for the remaining period of 2010. Their efforts were futile as standard and Poorââ¬â¢s cut the countryââ¬â¢s debt rating to junk status a few days after acquiring the loan. The move was in fear of a possible default by the country where the investors were likely to lose 30-50% of their savings. As a result the securities market in the world and the entire euro currency went dipped low in reaction to the S & P downgrade (Stein, 2006). Below is an explanation as to why the European Central Bank must keep the level of interests low with the intention of rescuing Greece. Justification as to why the i nterest rates must be kept low to help Greece The lowering of the interest rates will give some relief to Greece particularly with its delicate Southern tier. The banks in Greece will eventually borrow heavily from the European Central Bank since the bank will find it difficult to hold more cash in the central bank when borrowing is low. Lending in the private markets will also increase which will enable the households and business free up their cash for more expenditure and investment that can improve the economy of the country. The interest rates of the loans are closely pegged on the formal policy rate hence in one quarter point European Central Bank decrease will eventually reflect into â⠬2.5 billion less yearly payment of interests as approximated by economists (Stein, 2011). Efforts have been by the eurozone monetary policy through the European central bank to help in rescuing Greece which has been coordinated by several actions. This is in response to the escalating thre at of the worldââ¬â¢s economy as a result of the crisis in Greece. First and foremost, the European Central Bank made a cut on the interest rates to a record low of 0.75%. This was an urgent move to counter the extreme run of the economic information. However, this has driven the strong shift in recuperating the Stateââ¬â¢s bond purchase policies or flooding banks with a long lasting liquidity term (Bartha, 2011). According to Butler (2010), the European Central Bank is also anticipated to make a further cut with more measures to enable the Greece economy to come back to its feet. Consequently, the Bank of England whose lending rates are currently hitting low of 0.5% has intentions of rejuvenating its printing procedures and purchasing of US$ 78 billion of its assets. This is in line with its freshly established monetary guidelines to assist in lifting the eurozone out of downturn. The reaction by the European Central Bank to ease the market tension has been implemented throug h cutting of borrowing costs for debts by 25 basis units. The interestsââ¬â¢ rate record low of 0.75% has the main purpose of promoting the declining eurozone economy. The justification for this move was instigated by the increased pressure on European Central Bank by the investors and other stakeholders such as the IMF to take bolder steps in countering the economic downturn. Hence the European Central Bank had to buy back most of the sovereign debt securities for Greece distressed economy. Besides, the cuts and the
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Social Issue about Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2
Social Issue about Abortion - Essay Example Boonin finally highlights a number of arguments that oppose abortion. In doing this, he focuses on arguments which do not depend on the notion that all human fetuses have the right to live. This book is relevant to this topic because it critically examines abortion as a social issue. The book is also relevant because it discusses the moral permissibility of abortion according to peopleââ¬â¢s different terms. The book is a credible source for this topic because it is written by a reputable author who is a renowned professor of philosophy. Dworkin, a highly reputable and distinguished scholar, successfully shows how abortion and euthanasia are social dilemmas. In the process, he explains how the two issues provoke eruptive controversy. Dworkinââ¬â¢s approach is philosophical in nature and his arguments are concise moral overviews of the issues of abortion and euthanasia. The character of human dignity and the meaning of life are a major focus of the author. Dworkinââ¬â¢s book is an excellent piece that is very relevant to this topic because it examines all sides of the arguments that either support or are against abortion. In doing so, Dworkin breaks down both arguments and gives convincing reasons behind them. He further explains why people fail to even understand their own arguments about the issues of abortion and euthanasia. The author concludes by advising society on how to reconcile its values of individual liberty and life. Lee addresses the moral issue of abortion by focusing on unborn human life. One question that is brought to the forefront by the author is whether unborn human beings are only considered persons after birth. The author brings forth the debate of when individual humans come into being. In the process, he discusses whether to consider unborn human beings as persons during gestation or after birth. The book is relevant to this topic because it
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Documenting the Crime Scene Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Documenting the Crime Scene - Research Paper Example The responding offer must assess the scene and treat it as a crime scene through remaining cautious and observing events, potential evidence, persons, and vehicles (Horswell, 2010). According to Orthmann & Hess (2012), the initial responding officer is expected to take not of the physical location, time, address and date of the crime and make observations such as smell and sounds at the scene. Accordingly, the responding officer must take protective and safety measures by remaining attentive while scanning the area for any dangers such as natural gas, gasoline or hazardous chemicals that entail smells and sounds (Pepper, 2010). The next step is provision of medical attention to the victims of the crime without contaminating the scene and minimizing contact with the evidence such as knife tears and bullet holes (Orthmann & Hess, 2012). The officer can take statements from witnesses, the victim and suspects that are at the crime scene and victims or suspects that are sent to health facilities must be accompanied by enforcement officials in order to preserve the evidence (Ogle, 2011). The next step is securing and controlling the scene through limiting the access and movements and separating the suspects and witnesses, removing bystanders, family members and medical personnel in order to prevent scene contamination and destruction of evidence (Dale & Becker, 2007). The responding offers will then put physical barriers to the points of entry and document all people entering the scene.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Animal Farm-Power Corrpts Essay Example for Free
Animal Farm-Power Corrpts Essay Animal Farm is an allegorical novel about the Russian Revolution and the resulting political system of the Soviet Union. Through this story which appears to be a simple fable on the surface, we see George Orwellââ¬â¢s beliefs about the nature of power and its seemingly inevitable corruption of noble ideas. Educated authority figures in the book bend the principles of communism to suit their own selfish needs and desires, all the while taking advantage of the uneducated masses, and easily manipulated them through propaganda and persuasion. Through this allegory of communism turned to totalitarianism, Orwell explores the dangers of a political system where leaders have no sense of social responsibility toward their subjects. The first instance of corruption among the ruling class appears shortly after the revolution. The pigs, the new rulers of Animal Farm after the ousting of the tyrant farmer Jones, milk the cows to relieve them from of their discomfort. The animals, remembering how Jones would mix some of the milk into their mash, look forward to at least similar treatment from the pigs. However, the milk soon disappears and it is discovered later that the pigs have mixed it into their own mash without sharing it with the other animals, just as the windfall apples have been consumed exclusively by the pigs. Squealer, the political propagandist for the pigs, justifies this to the other animals by saying that the pigs need the extra brain energy, and then bolsters his argument with some fear mongering: ââ¬Å" Do you know what would happen if w pigs failed in our duty? Jones would be back!â⬠(32). The fact that this incident occurs so quickly after the revolution and at a time when all of the pigs are still present on the farm shows Orwellââ¬â¢s belief that the corruption is not only inevitable in a society where the ruling sector of the population is so much better educated than the rest, but that all of these members of the ruling class were potentially corruptible. As the story moves on Orwell shows us how power is corrupting more. Another of the major instance that occurs after the milk and apples is the ruling class moving in the farmhouse. As the commandment says no animal shall sleep in a bed. Some of the other animals were confused but as usual squealer came with his propaganda.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)