Like all true religious figures, Merrick is faced with both internal and external conflict in his religious education. He for example faces the hostility of Gomm when the latter debates the merits of science vs. religion with Bishop How. Merrick is also faced with fundamental religious negativity by his mentor, Treves. Treves for example relates to Merrick a story regarding the afterlife: a patient who died and was subsequently revived told Treves that the afterlife was not spectacular at all, but rather the contrary.
Internally, Merrick shows the fundamental traits of a suffering religious figure. Throughout the play, he never protests anything that happens to him, or his suffering. He accepts it as best he can and is often both despised and adored by society as a whole. The recurring phrase, "it is done" is also indicative of Merrick in his religious capacity.
Either because or regardless of his suffering, Merrick…...
Only toward the end of Merrick's life do Merrick's rescuers come to recognize that he is of normal or even superior intelligence after overhearing him reciting the 23rd Psalm. Prior to that, Merrick had not revealed that he could understand complex thought or even speak. It is likely that his utter lack of self-esteem held him back from trying to communicate with others because he assumed that nobody cared what he had to say anyway. Merrick's rescuers eventually do come to recognize that he is intelligent and articulate and they begin to treat him in a manner that is more appropriate and conducive to the development of self-esteem. In fact, Merrick becomes something of a celebrity in London society and comes to enjoy the company and appreciation of others.
After having experienced the dignity that he (and all human beings) deserved, Merrick is once again returned to his former life as…...
The hideous ugliness of normalcy is perhaps best demonstrated in the mob scene where Merrick is trapped in an underground station, and cries out that he is not an animal, but a human being. In truth, the so-called normal persons have been acting like a stampede rather than compassionate creatures, unlike Merrick who still retains the individualism, that is humanity's truest birthright. This reversal or world upside down where the persons dehumanized with animal or medical names actually exhibit the values that make human beings distinct from animals validates the suggestion that the way that both popular and medical culture celebrates health, symmetry, and beauty is profoundly misguided.
In her essay, "From The Crooked Timber of Humanity, Beautiful Things Can Be Made," Anita Silvers makes a profound call that the standards of symmetry and wholeness be rewritten as a standard for human health in a way that is sounded like a…...
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Works Cited
The Elephant Man." Directed by David Lynch. 1980.
Silvers, Anita. "From The Crooked Timber of Humanity, Beautiful Things Can Be Made." From Beauty Matters. Edited by Peg Brand. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2000.
He hates what he has become and what he does. He confesses that he secretly roots for the Burmese and roots against "their oppressors (335). He admits he is "stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible" (335). He is like those in oppression in that he is not free to do what he actually wants to do. His reputation is on the line and he acts to defend it. A man in his position "mustn't be frightened in front of 'natives'" (339), he writes even though he knows that in order to impress those natives, he must act of line with his conscious. He does the "right thing" (340) according to the law he did also killed the elephant "solely to avoid looking like a fool" (340). Asker asserts that wrapped within…...
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Works Cited
Asker, David Barry. Aspects of Metamorphosis. Atlanta: Rodopi. 2001.
Kenneth Keskinen, "Shooting an Elephant.' An Essay to Teach." English Journal. 1996 GALE
Resource Database. Information Retrieved March 28, 2009.
However, when his assistance is needed by the townspeople, the two very different populations show similar responses to the bloody scene of shooting an elephant, "It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat," (Orwell, 649).
Orwell furthers this blend of modern and primitive as seen through the use of his language. The narrator describes the scene of the village as using the native terms, yet juxtaposes this with eloquent English adjectives, "It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palmleaf, winding all over a steep hillside," (Orwell, 650). It is the description of a scene as witness from an outsider, (Rodden, 390). The narrator's response to the eastern village is combined with his own distain based on being familiar with more "civilized" representations of society. This is also apparent through the…...
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Works Cited
Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." Mixing the Methods.
Rodden, John. George Orwell. Transaction Publishers. 2002.
" For this reason, "Shooting an Elephant" is a bold political essay. Colonialism and imperialism were waning trends when the essay was written, but the author understood that the structures of political and economic power put in place by colonial governments were long lasting. From the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company to British Petroleum, the ravages of colonialism are felt at ever level of every society worldwide.
Poverty and political disenfranchisement cannot in all cases be traced directly to British or European colonialism. However, most cases do reveal some indirect or direct influence of colonialism on prevailing social, economic, and political oppression. Orwell's essay is also about the way colonialism damages not just the societies that are oppressed and ruled over, but the rulers too. He states, for instance, "my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be…...
He still has his pride, even if his pride does not trickle down to his work. He is anything but ambivalent about the reaction he will get from the people, and so, he must shoot the elephant to save face, rather than to "serve and protect." This illustrates his ambivalence to everything but his own reputation in front of the people. However, he discovers he has lost more than just is reputation.
Finally, the narrator comes to understand that he has essentially given up his freedom in his support of the tyrannical British government. Orwell states, "I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys" (Orwell). Thus, the narrator becomes even more ambivalent about his duties because he realizes just what he has lost in protecting his reputation, supporting the empire (at least in front of the people), and…...
In this case, the language, perpetrated by a few, is becoming pervasive in society, and so, it is taking over many aspects of society. However, for the most part, society seems to be resisting much of this doublespeak type of language. It is not prominent in the media, (perhaps in the government), and is seems that language, in general, is about the same as it always has been, full of slang and "fad" words, but in everyday use, doublespeak is not as common as some might thought it might be. This might make society stronger than a prevailing use of the language, but it may also mean that people like Lutz, in their zeal to remove doublespeak from the language, have actually made a difference and created more public awareness about something that needs to be changed. In this case, perhaps one person is not able to stand up…...
E.M. Forster's the Life to Come, on the other hand, is a tale divided into four parts: Night, Evening, Day and Morning. Its main character is a young missionary by the name of Paul Pinmay who is sent to spread the word of Christ to the native people. All prior attempts to proselytise these people have failed. During his attempt he meets with the tribal chief, who approaches him to learn more about "this god whose name is Love." The two then sleep together and the tribe becomes Christian.
This leads to Pinmay being appointed by the Bishop to become the minister of the new district. The chief again asks Pinmay to sleep with him, and Pinmay orders the chief not to mention the night ever again. This causes the chief to question the new religion. Eventually this relationship dissolves and the story ends with the chief killing Pinmay.
Bible Dinosaurs
The Bible is an interesting book when it comes to trying to explain the existence of beasts on the planet prior to the time of the making of all that is "very good," namely the shaping of Adam and Eve their role in shaping humanity's nature. Not surprisingly, some of that interest when it comes to the beasts that we know of as dinosaurs, real problems exist. Math problems exist, for example, as there seem to be many more numbers of types of such creatures than biblical translations account for. Science problems also exist, given the ways in which fossils are aged and time is documented. Medical problems exist, since the remains of the once living beings contain evidence of diseases and unhealthy biological designs, which weren't supposed to happen. And even logistical problems arise, such as whether dinosaurs could fit on the Ark.
movie, quote directly paraphrase proof film. To paraphrase describe scene point making memory words .
Marginalization in The Elephant Man
David Lynch's 1980 motion picture The Elephant Man puts across an episode in nineteenth century England involving discrimination based on social class and appearance. The storyline revolves around Frederick Treves, a surgeon who had come across a curious case and who expresses particular interest in finding out more regarding it. John Merrick suffers from an intriguing medical condition and it stands as the reason for which he is harshly treated by most of the people that he interacts with. In spite of showing obvious discrepancy between social classes, the film demonstrates that lower and upper class people are united by their bizarre determination to observe and discriminate individuals displaying a visible disability.
From the very first scenes of the motion pictures viewers are presented with the difference between Treves and ytes (the…...
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Bibliography:
Dir. David Lynch. The Elephant Man. Paramount Pictures, 1980.
movie, quote directly paraphrase proof film. To paraphrase describe scene point making memory words .
Jack Merrick's suicide
Jack Merrick, the central character in David Lynch's "The Elephant Man," is meant to express a series of feelings, most of them related to marginalization and seclusion. Merrick's principal role in nineteenth century London was that of entertaining people by allowing them to see his physical disabilities. It is not difficult to understand society made him feel about himself, considering that mostly everyone perceived him as a freak of nature. John Hurt, the actor playing Merrick, managed to present viewers with an astonishing performance, particularly considering the fact that he had to wear a mask while acting. The general plot of the film introduces the audience with the concept of hopelessness, despite Treves' determination to prove otherwise. Merrick's suicide is an act of liberation and viewers are most likely to sympathize with the…...
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Bibliography:
Dir. David Lynch. The Invisible Man. Paramount Pictures, 1980.
Elephantiasis
The disease commonly known as "Elephantitis" is actually scientifically termed Elephantiasis. It is a disease of the skin that is caused by a number of crucial factors which, when working in conjunction with one another, cause human tissue to thicken and swell. This paper will examine Elephantiasis, provide a background of the disease, and describe current methods of treatment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Elephantiasis cannot occur without the help of a small parasite, which may be passed into the blood stream through contact with mosquito carriers. Such parasites which assist in the onset of Elephantiasis are B. timori, uchereria bancrofti, and Brugia malayi ("Lymphatic Filariasis"). Yet, while these parasites help in the onset of the disease, they are not the sole cause. On the contrary, Elephantiasis requires a number of factors before it can actually develop. First, it requires the introduction of the parasite into the…...
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Works Cited
Hajdu, Steven. "A Note from History: Elephantiasis." Annals of Clinical & Laboratory
Science, vol. 32, no. 2 (2002): 207-209. Web.
"Lymphatic Filariasis." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008. Web. 6
Hughes and Orwell
hen looking for similarities between authors, it is not immediately brought to mind to look at Langston Hughes and George Orwell. The former was a major writer during the Harlem Renaissance. Most of his work focused on explorations of the black experience in the United States and how African-Americans were mistreated by the white majority. Orwell was an English writer and most of his writing dealt with social commentary on the dangers of fascism and totalitarian governments. However, in two works by these very different men, a parallel can be viewed. Langston Hughes' "Salvation" and George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" both deal with a first-person narrator who is forced by those around him into becoming an outsider, someone outside of the group opinion, and is forced to lie about his true self and his own beliefs in order to fulfill the desires of those who surround him.
The shots in the scene reuniting Indy and Marian are impersonal, long shots and medium shots.
The scene introducing the relationship between Indy and Marian quickly cuts in to the Nazi whose expertise is one of torture. He has come for the same thing Indy has, and the close ups are Marian's facial expression of fear as she's about to lose her eye to a red hot poker. Indy comes to the rescue and the final Nepal scene is a montage of dynamic action where Indy and Marian make their escape.
The film cuts to the Middle East, where Indy and Marian have traveled, as have the Nazis, in search of the ark. The first part of this Act II, so to speak, introduces Indy's good friend and his Middle Eastern contact. The scenes in the Act II employ a series of medium and long shots as Indy and Marion make…...
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