Donne Island No Man Is an Island

Donne Island

No man is an island unto himself," a line written during the Renaissance by poet John Donne, reflects the brotherhood of all men. While this line was written at the height of the Renaissance, it has remained meaningful in both public and private spheres in the decades since. Today, contemporary attitudes in society often reflect this theme of the brotherhood of man, including the humanitarian reasons that George Bush gave for the invasion of Iraq. In my personal experience, the idea of brotherhood put forth by Donne, plays an important role in personal hopes for the future of my generation. Ultimately, both Donne's poem itself and the ideas about brotherhood that it espoused have had a lasting influence in western history and culture that remains valid today.

Donne's Mediation XVII

Meditation XVII is a poem that delves into the theme of the brotherhood of man. In Meditation XVII, Donne writes:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were.

Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Meditations XVII chronicles the thoughts of the poet who is confined to his bed with illness. He hears church bells in the distance, and is reminded of the fleeting nature of human life, and the inevitability of death.

In the poem, Donne's famous line "No man is an island, entire of itself" is representative of the overarching theme of the poem: brotherhood. In his later description of the tolling bells, he notes that the bells that indicate death toll for all men, and that all men are ultimately connected in life and in death. He argues that the death of any man diminishes mankind, but that death is not as fearsome since all men must one day die. Thus men are brothers both in life and in death itself.

Donne's famous poem was written in the time of the Renaissance, and represents a typical Renaissance concept that mankind is interconnected. In addition, the poem brings up the Renaissance theme of the awareness of human mortality and death. During the time the poem was written, people died commonly at a young age of illness and disease, making the transience of human life a fact of life for almost everyone.

Donne himself was born in 1572 in London into a Roman Catholic Family. Many of his early poems revealed that the Renaissance's political, scientific, and philosophical doubts played upon his traditionally Catholic belief in the medieval order of things. He was ordained at the wishes of King James I in 1615, as his poems subsequently took on an even more somber and religious tone (Wikipedia).

George Bush and John Donne

Today, contemporary attitudes in society often reflect Donne's theme of the brotherhood of man, including the humanitarian reasons that George Bush gave for the invasion of Iraq. The ideas of brotherhood that are given in Donne's poem, especially the line "No man is an island, entire of itself" could easily have been one of the reasons that the Bush administration invaded Iraq.

It is important to note that there is a great deal of controversy over the need for the invasion of Iraq itself, and much speculation about the real reason that Bush invaded Iraq. Many critics argue that Bush invaded Iraq in order to secure America's oil supply in a region torn by instability and war. Other critics note that Bush was motivated to invade Iraq out of an over-reaction to the dangers of the Hussein Regime. George Bush's administration itself has given a number of reasons for invading Iraq. While looking for the weapons of mass destruction is certainly one of the most well publicized, Bush also argued that he sought to seek the liberty of the Iraqi people, and to free them from abuse and tyranny.

Again, there is a great deal of debate as to whether Bush's humanitarian reasons were the real reasons he invaded Iraq. However, the truth of Bush's reasoning to invade Iraq is not necessarily of the utmost importance here.

Instead, simply the assertion of the American president gave for invading Iraq illustrates the power of the theme of brotherhood. Whether we believe him or not, Bush said that he was invading Iraq in order to "save" the people of the country. Such an action clearly implies that the idea of all people living as brothers in a global world has become commonly accepted by a large number of people in America.

At one time, the globalization of the idea of brotherhood was far less common. Even during the Cold War, nations were fiercely nationalistic and protectionist, a feeling that had persisted from earlier human history. While we may have considered our friends and other people within our nations in our definitions of brotherhood, through most of human history people in other continents or nations were excluded from this definition. Further, people of other races and languages, and often even other genders or sexual orientations were excluded. Thus, George Bush's assertion that he invaded Iraq to "save" the Iraqi people is simply an extension of a common ideal of brotherhood that reflects Donne's assertion that "no man is an island."

Donne and the Future

In my personal experience, the idea of brotherhood put forth by Donne plays an important role in personal hopes for the future of my generation. We live in a world that is increasingly globalized. Today, American software jobs are outsourced to India, immigration and travel are common, democracy is spreading, and multiculturalism is increasing around the world. More than ever before, we are becoming a true brotherhood, in cultural, social, political, and even in economic turns.

Given increasing globalization, it is more important than ever for citizens of the world to understand and adopt the themes of brotherhood contained within Donne's Meditations XVII. In fact, the future of my generation may depend on the ability of humankind to see itself as part of a greater whole. Today, the speed of air travel and communication, intertwined economies, and the threat of terrorism and warfare mean that the actions of any one country or group can be felt almost immediately by the whole. Today, more than ever before "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."