Thursday, December 26, 2019

Existentialism, The Lottery, And Good Country People

As I sat in the desk of my afternoon class, â€Å"Intro to Philosophy 1101,† I longed to be outside with my fellow colleagues enjoying the winter air as it turned to spring. Instead of sitting on the grassy lawn, I sat confined behind the jail-resembling cinder block walls of the classroom. My professor’s lesson contradicts the atmosphere of the classroom as she mumbles about, â€Å"Existentialism† and how it is â€Å"a philosophy emphasizing individual existence, freedom, and choice that influenced many diverse writers in the 19th and 20th centuries.† (Funk Wagnalls 1.) At the time, I did not notice a significance to the lesson, but while reading pieces of literature in English, I understand the purpose of existentialism and how apparent it is in written works. Writings such as â€Å"Raj Bohemian,† â€Å"The Lottery,† and â€Å"Good Country People† all show evidence of an attitude of choice. The term itself suggests one major theme: the stress on the concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. (Funk Wagnalls 1.) The use of existentialism shapes the characters’ such as the Narrator in â€Å"Raj Bohemian,† Mr. Summers in â€Å"The Lottery,† and Manly Pointer in â€Å"Good Country People;† and explains the motives behind their heroic behavior because they each remain true to who they are. The narrator of Hari Kunzuru’s short story, â€Å"Raj Bohemian† faces an existential crisis when he is introduced to a scheming manipulator. The story revolves around an urbanShow MoreRelatedPhilosophical And Sociocultural Influences On Educational Theory And Practice954 Words   |  4 Pagesfocused on ethics, rhetoric, natural science, and psychology. Furthermore, he aimed for education to produce good and virtuous citizens. Unlike Socrates emphasis on questioning, Aristotle felt students should be lead systematically and repetition should be used to acquire knowledge. During the Renaissance, Michel de Montaigne challenged the educational system and that some caste systems held people who were smarter and wiser than others. As time continued, John Lock e began shifting the view and roleRead MoreThe Philosophical And Sociocultural Influences On Educational Theory And Practice958 Words   |  4 Pagesquestioning, Aristotle felt students should be lead systematically and repetition should be used to acquire knowledge. Aristotle’s realism period focused on ethics, rhetoric, natural science, and psychology. Furthermore, he aimed for education to produce good and virtuous citizens. During the Renaissance, Michel de Montaigne challenged the educational system and felt that some caste systems contained who were smarter and wiser than others. As time continued, John Locke began shifting the view and roleRead MoreAn Existentialist Meaning of Life Essay2565 Words   |  11 Pagesin modern existentialism provide the necessary framework for establishing a so-called â€Å"meaning of life†. Marcel, Sartre, Heidegger and Camus, refer to the theoretical frameworks of subjectivity, freedom, responsibility and purpose, in modern e xistentialism. With reference to the theoretical frameworks, established by these reputable thinkers, one could propose an answer to the age old question, â€Å"What is the meaning of life?†. That being, the meaning of life is â€Å"to live a good a good life†.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Analysis Of Michael Francis Moore s The Columbine High...

Born in 1954, Michael Francis Moore is an American documentary filmmaker. His opening documentary, Roger Me, â€Å"launched his career as one of America’s best-known and most controversial documentarians† (In IMDB). However, his documentary that studies the events of the Columbine high school massacre is what put him on the map. Bowling for Columbine won the Academy Award for Documentary feature in 2002. His notable films also include Fahrenheit 9/11, the highest-grossing documentary of all time that presents a contentious view on the presidency of George W. Bush. His latest documentary, Where to Invade Next, premiered in the US on October 2, 2015. Apparent in all his films, Moore is unafraid to make use of entertainment to discuss political, economic, industrial, cultural, and social concerns that informs, provokes, and sometimes, manipulates its audience. Moore utilizes the documentary form of filmmaking that adapts to the shifts in popular culture where entertainment value is crucial. Though his chosen subject matter are commonly treated in a scholarly and profound manner, he remains critical by treating these topics in a comedic and sardonic manner. Apart from being a filmmaker, Moore is also a television screenwriter through his political comedy show TV Nation, an author of eight books, journalist, actor, and a political activist. Perhaps Fahrenheit 9/11 is considered Moore’s most intriguing documentary. Premiered in the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Fahrenheit 9/11 is

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

In Twilight of the Idols Nietzsche discusses his views on Christianity, other philosophers, and authors of his time Essay Example For Students

In Twilight of the Idols Nietzsche discusses his views on Christianity, other philosophers, and authors of his time Essay In Twilight of the Idols Nietzsche discusses his views on Christianity, other philosophers, and authors of his time. Nietzsches main focus, however, is on Christianity and how its actions and views are means to an end. He uses eloquent diction that sometimes loses the reader he makes up for his articulate word usage with elementary sentences which describe his views very efficiently along with syntax which is very informal for the time to describe his views on subjects quite exquisitely. His logic is the logic which is always right; he never contradicts himself or makes a statement without support. Nietzsches use of rhetorical strategies helps him to make his points and support them in a style which help him attain his underlying goal: to make the reader think. Nietzsche uses an elevated level of diction to help him achieve his purpose, he uses Latin in many passages to make the reader look to the bottom of the page and thus think about what he is proposing. His combination of elevated diction along with deductive reasoning can sometimes lose the reader, but just as fast as the reader is lost Nietzsche offers forth a formula which helps the reader follow his thinking. Nietzsche believes that a persons virtue is the consequence of happiness, or that a persons emotions are the product of their beliefs. Nietzsches uses consequence to mean something more like cause than effect. He interchanges monosyllabic and polysyllabic in the form of metaphors words in connotation to sometimes differ the reader from the beaten track of thinking. He believes in a set course that he became ill, that he failed to resist the illness, for humans and that they cannot deter from it this is very far left in a time of conservative Europeans, late 19th century. Even in his formulas Nietzsches meaning is not as straight forward as it seems. It seems that he believes that individuals genetically are means to an end, but this is more of a metaphor for humanity, or that humanity is their own means to an end. Nietzsche use interesting syntax to evoke thought from his reader. His dependent clauses in this excerpt, but not in others relate back to the main clauses causing the reader to re-read the sentence or begin to formulate their own ideas based upon what they just read. Everything goodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ relates perfectly to his previously mentioned view that the church and morality are forcing people to think and react in a certain way. He writes in a deductive, repetitious way that helps the reader to slowly understand what he is saying. He starts with a general statement The most general formulaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which goes into his idea that the church and religion kills instinct and ends the piece with Everything good is instinctà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which shows Nietzsche repeating his beginning formula [although there is one more sentence after this beginning with Effort is an objection, the sentence is foreshadowing the next section about what people can do to retain their individuality. He uses repetition only to build emphasis that he sees the losing of instinct as the evil religion has done to humanity and that humanity without religion would be instinctual. Nietzsche also uses parallel structure, in the form of italics, to make his point ring clear. He believes himself to be the only German with intelligence and proves himself with My restored reason:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which shows he is arrogant and self righteous. The fact that he was arrogant doesnt do much to defer from his point, although it does add some irony to his words. Nietzsche uses antithesis as his basis for writing. He heavily contrasts any point he makes with the flaws of Christianity. .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 , .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .postImageUrl , .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 , .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44:hover , .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44:visited , .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44:active { border:0!important; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44:active , .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44 .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u66b19b6c13fc9159e13386309bcfae44:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: AENEAS A DEVOTED HERO EssayHe makes points that refute the divinity of Christianity by pointing out The Church and morality say:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and then My restored reason:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which heavily shows contrast between his reasoning and the churchs. Nietzsche further uses non-traditional figures of speech to get his reader to formulate ideas based on his writing. Nietzsche employs analogies, which are sometimes hard to follow, to help his views to impress the reader over his opposition. Such is the case in His friends say:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I say:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which is an analogy about human existence. He means that the church is killing mankind because it is taking away mans instinct and because of that man wont survive. In the passage Nietzsche equally states his opponents views with his own which has an effect of making the reader think that he is trying to be equal. For every view he presents he offers the churchs version then offers his view and why he think that way. Every moralityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ comes after a statement of what religions paradigm is he refutes with equal exposure for both his position and the opposition. Nietzsche uses oxymoron to show how religion is actually hurting the people it thinks is doing good. He points out that the church isnt necessarily suppressing its members, but moreover it is slowly weakening its members instinct. Nietzsche points out that the party will ruin itselfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and means that is religions paradigm of the atheist. Nietzsche doesnt necessarily try to make the reader think that his way is right, as pointed out in the introduction. His goal is to make the reader think, even if its against his views. Nietzsche is successful in making his reader think, any reader would agree. He meets his goal most successfully because he was an outstanding author who could make his points in a very effective way.

Monday, December 2, 2019

English 30 Essay Example

English 30 Essay 10/7/2013 Kay Gendron-Guest Turkle By. David Carpenter Guilt is not a simple feeling but is a past event attached with a lesson in a persons life. In the short story Turkle by David Carpenter, Elmer the farmer felt tremendous guilt after he told his wife, Elsie that he would be taking the children to school no matter the weather. This foolish action not only put his three children in danger but himself as well, resulting in the four almost all losing their lives. The character I personally admire would be Elsie Foster. Elsie was smart enough o know her family shouldnt have gone out into the blizzard, although she couldnt stop them she did try. Shortly after the blizzard when Elsie had discovered her family freezing practically to death, she did not even utter the words l told you so or any other uncouth or sarcastic remarks, but instead showed nothing but compassion and love towards her frozen family. I admire Elsie as although she was proven right she did not gloat about her notion but instead took full responsibility and care towards her family, nursing them all back to health and good temperature. The character I dislike the strongest would be Elmer Foster. I believe he is uppity and lacks common sense. Although Elmer is the man of the house I disbelieve he wears the pants in the relationship between him and Elsie. I strongly believe Elmer likes to always present himself as right but mostly always is wrong. We will write a custom essay sample on English 30 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on English 30 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on English 30 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The event of the Fosters could have simply been avoided if Elmer wasnt so pigheaded towards his wife. In the end Elmer comes to the conclusion that bad choices produce bad outcomes, and this was a bad outcome. As I read the short story Turkle I felt as if I had a strong connection nderstanding that decisions that are believed to be small can have a strong, large impactful conclusion. Although a decision may seem simple at the time, it is to be judged by the possible outcomes. This short story has taught me that all decisions in action is put into place. This short story has helped me personally understand to take my time when pondering what I believe the be a simple decision more closely and judge more constructively. It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. -Thomas Sowell