Hypocrisy Essays (Examples)

Hypocrisy of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, has often been accused of racism and double standards. Jefferson paradoxically emphasized the concept of personal liberty but acted contrary to his own writings. In the famous Declaration of Independence, Jefferson advocated for fairness and equality but a bulk of evidence showed that he was in support of slavery and racial discrimination against Blacks. He continued to own slaves and engage in slave trade even after his very own declaration, which was widely thought to have marked the beginning of the Enlightenment Period. Unlike his contemporaries who released (freed) their slaves during the Enlightenment Period, Jefferson held on to his; and literally used his influence to undermine any efforts aimed at ending slave ownership. Jefferson considered Black Americans, whether free or slaves, 'pests' and even pushed for the enactment of a law that would make them outlaws.…

We see demonstrators using religious slogans to gain political influence, and Supreme Court justices questioned over whether the Ten Commandments should display on government property.

The issue of separating church and state is one of the biggest conflicts in today's society. According to Cherniss (1998): "For all of the secularization and liberalization of society, religion continues to be a driving force in people's beliefs and behavior. In our own times, in our own country, religion has lost none of its inspiring and disruptive power. It has not, as some critics of American society have claimed, receded from the public sphere, scorned by secularists, mourned by the virtuous, and ignored by the majority. It is present everywhere, and both sustains our societies and threatens our liberties."

While religion and the clergy no longer have the same authority as it did a century ago, religious and quasi-religious leaders and communities remain central…

Dickens and Hypocrisy

An Analysis of Dickens' Use of Arbitrary and Hypocritical Societies in His orks

Jerome Meckier observes that "David Copperfield's lifestory could have been included among the hymns to self-advancement in Samuel Smiles's Self-Help" (Meckier 537). hile Smiles' work was about the virtue of perseverance, Dickens did more than merely provide a literary backdrop for the sanctimonious espousal of Romantic/Enlightenment era virtue. Dickens used, rather, the arbitrary and hypocritical societies of these eras to underscore the necessity for Christian virtue. A Tale of Two Cities, for example, begins by juxtaposing the idea that his age had created "the best of times" with the fact that his age had also created "the worst of times" (1). Both David Copperfield and Pip, moreover, are certainly born into the worst of circumstances. Their survival in a Victorian England, plagued by arbitrary and hypocritical societal conventions, forms the essence of Dickensian conflict:…

In the Crito, Socrates discusses the differentiation between the injustice of laws and human beings, and his ability to still obey the law despite flawed human action (Rafferty, 2001). "ut, Socrates, obey us, your nurturers, and do not regard children or living or anything else as more important than justice...If you depart now, you will depart having been done injustice not by us laws, but by human beings" (54b-c)

Even though the actions of the men who sentenced him to death were unjust, Socrates realized that the law was still worthy of high regard (Rafferty, 2001). "And even he who has been done injustice, then, must not do injustice in return, as the many suppose, since one must in no way do injustice" (49b). While he may have felt that the court's decision was unjust, he could not take it upon himself to now do injustice for the sake of…

This program Apple needs to create to drive suppliers including Foxconn into compliance include ensuring workers who are sick have the right to stay out of the factory until they are recovered from their illness. As of today at Foxconn, illness and sick time is often subtracted from the checks of workers (Jorgensen, 1615).

3. Apple needs to require all members of the healthcare professional networks supporting production workers to pass screening and achieve at least a 95% score on all testing. In addition, all training programs completed must show overall an 80% success rate for each factory or production center. If this is not achieved, the supplier must file a corrective action strategy immediately with Apple's CS Department, stating how and when they will bring the score for training effectiveness to 80% or greater. Apple needs to hold suppliers including Foxconn to a series of benchmarks of how well…

The dug catels will lose money if maijuana is legalized, thee's no question. Othe entities also stand to make a lot of money if the plant and ug is legalized, and some of these entities could eally put it to good use. As one of the biggest cash cops in the county (the biggest by fa, accoding to some measues), the tax evenues that could potentially be eaned fom the sale of maijuana easily stetch into the billions, while seveal moe billions of taxpaye dollas could be saved evey yea simply by ceasing to aest o posecute maijuana possession cases. Budget shotfalls could be significantly impacted by a move that many see as the only pactical solution anyway.

In the fou decades since Pesident Richad Nixon fied the fist shot in the Wa on Dugs, dug abuse has dastically inceased instead of being educed. The one-hunded million dollas that the…

Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" set the tone for the kind of religious liberty that the Protestants/Puritans sought in America: all for them, none for the Catholics or the Native Americans. It was the same hypocritical sense of liberty that dominated Enlightenment thought and the Founders of America: liberty was for them -- the wealthy elitist land owners -- not for the slaves they held. Thus, one sees in both the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening a myopic vision of life, which starts at stops at the end of the "great thinkers'" noses.

This is not to say they didn't value liberty more or less in the limited capacity that they idealized it. They wanted liberty for themselves -- some from sin (many of the Enlightenment thinkers disavowed the very concept of God that those of the Great Awakening upheld), some from government (the American and…

Most fundamentally, virtually everything associated with Hip-Hop culture as it pertains to males relates to the portrayal of masculinity and a high degree of self-esteem, a positive self-image, and to being a powerful person on every level. This is portrayed in numerous specific ways, including the lyrics of songs, the adoption of certain physical mannerisms, manner of dress, and to inferences of social and physical dominance of men, particularly toward women (Price, 2006).

In many respects, these images completely contradict reality. For example, Hip-Hop artists have frequently appeared on prominent cable television programs profiling their success through guided tours of multi-million-dollar mansions and expansive estates complete with several brand new Lamborghinis, Ferraris, olls oyce, and Bentleys in their driveways. Aside from the social irresponsibility of promoting ostentatious displays of luxury to impressionable youth, in many cases, the portrayals are themselves largely phony (Price, 2006).

That is simply because much more…

On its own, Matthew 23 offers rich opportunities for an expository sermon or homily. Biblical commentaries enhance the original text and offer new angles and fresh ways of approaching the material. All commentaries on Matthew 23 will offer some fruitful information that can be incorporated into a sermon or bible study. Depending on the angle the preacher or theologian wishes to take, a commentary should focus on one or more elements contained in scripture, also taking into account historical and cultural contexts.

Harrington (1991), Pilch (1995), Senior (1998), and Witherington (2006) each offer unique perspectives on Matthew 23. Of these, the most thorough and enriching seems to be Donald Senior’s, because the author includes correspondences and also places Matthew 23 within the context of prophetic wisdom. Harrington (1991) also describes the passages clearly and in great detail, allowing for a greater understanding of the role of the Pharisees, and why…

After establishing that it is conceded that African-Americans are humans, Douglass moves on to the proposition that he should not be called upon to prove that humans are entitled to liberty. He points out that Americans have already declared that man is entitled to liberty and freedom. He points out that all men resist slavery and feel it is wrong for another person to claim ownership of them. He also points out the brutal side of slavery, and argues that no person could argue that those things were somehow right including: beatings, lashings, shackling, hunting them with dogs, split out families, knocking out their teeth, selling them at auction, and starvation. He believes that it is ridiculous to expect him to argue that a system that includes all of these horrors is wrong.

Douglass' also tackles the common argument during the time that slavery was a divinely ordained condition or…

Douglass asks, "Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? That point is conceded already. Nobody doubts it" (Douglass, 1852). However, this statement was simply not true; the humanity of blacks was a seriously debated point at that period of time. He repeats this phrase in two more phrases, "For the present it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race" and "the manhood of the slave is conceded" (Douglass, 1852). Furthermore, he provides a significant amount of evidence that supports his proposition, but those statements only highlight his circular argument, because he always begins not with the proposition that a slave is human, but with the proposition that nobody doubts that slaves are human.

The third fallacy that Douglass employs is the appeal to belief. "Appeal to Belief is a fallacy that has this general pattern: Most people believe that a claim, X,…

Scarlet and Black by Stendhal is, on the surface a love story. It is, however, raised to the status of a classic by virtue of the author's talent in providing the reader with sharp insights into the multifaceted aspects of his characters and thereby human nature, and secondly the manner in which the political and social conditions of France are used during the period in which the novel is set.

It is the very nature of Stendhal's highlighting of the multifaceted aspects of his characters' personalities that results in hypocrisy being such a strong central theme in Scarlet and Black. This is probably why that many critics have interpreted the title itself as an indication of the two sides of the hero's character - scarlet for passion and black for evil, or, at least, manipulative and scheming.

Julien Sorel, the novel's central protagonist, is born in rather humble circumstances as…

Pre-teens will inevitably get into trouble but understanding and non-judgmental adults can minimize tis trouble by frequently catting wit teir preteen about life, about teir problems in scool, and about wat may be botering tem (O'Donnle, About.com ).

Te University of Alabama Parenting Assistance line (PAL) recommends practicing te 3 W's namely knowing at all times "were your cildren are, know wat tey are doing, and wo tey are wit! "

All cildren -- as do all people -- like and need structure and need consequences for violating and adering to structure. Pre-teens and teens are no different. Pre-teens sould be given a clear set of rules as well as consequences for violating tose rules. Pre-Teens, in fact, may be involved in creating tese rules. Tey are more likely to follow tem if tey are involved.

Effective rules need clear limits and clearly communicating tese limits. Adults sould specify details…

Francois Truffaut's film Les quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows) details the life of a boy frustrated by authoritarian teachers and insensitive parents. The film traces Antoine's development and maturation, as he channels his frustration increasingly into his writing. The semi-autobiographical picture offers a wealth of insight into the changing roles of children in modern society.

The opening scene reveals the structural issues in intergenerational conflict. Antoine did nothing wrong, and was one of many boys passing around the pinup picture. He was singled out, leading him to internalize a sense that authority figures target him unfairly. Moreover, the filmmaker establishes the structural problems in the adult-child and parent-child relationship. In a paternalistic society, children are not offered respect. Without respect, they struggle to develop self-respect and self-awareness. Adults are not communicative with children. The problems that Antoine has at school are mirrors of the problems he has at home.…

" (Zemsky, 1)

Null Hypothesis

The null hypothesis of the research endeavor is that online professors will report no perceptible connection between post-tenure review and job performance.

Alternate Hypothesis


The alternate hypothesis of the research endeavor is that online professors will report that post-tenure review improves job performance.


Nature of the Study

Significance of the Study

The significance of the proposed research is based in the need for greater study of online instruction in higher education with relation to post tenure review. As with all other elements of this research process, we can initiate a discussion on the significance of the research with a reiteration of the fact that amongst educators without classification, the perspective on post-tenure review is generally hostile. This is because tenure is considered by most educators to be an important feature of the profession demanding of protection. To this end, Ceci et al. (2006) indicate that…

Yacoubian Building

Often a writer goes about the process of adapting a story from one type of media to another certain components of the original story have to be altered. This is particularly true when adapting a book into a screenplay and then into a film, all the more so when that novel has gained a great deal of financial and critical success. The difficulty of this process is that the adaptation forces a medium where the reader has to utilize their own imagination and modifies the work into a format where the director and actors choose how the words are to be interpreted. It is a far less personal experience because the film version will have someone else's vision of the story instead of a creation of the images between reader and author. The interpretation is also dependant on the culture of the interpreter. In looking at the film…

The already shaky relationship between the Qatar state and Iranian society was further undermined by the Western exploitation of Iranian resources during the second half of the nineteenth century.

From 1918 until 1921 "British subsidies kept the government afloat, and British military and administrative advisers attempted to reorganize Iran's army and to manipulate the various political factions within the country to British advantage" (Cleveland, 185)*. When Britain added insult to injury by offering Iran a loan in exchange for exclusive advisory privileges, anti-imperial demonstrations broke out in several cities. Widespread discontent grew further. The Qatar government was regarded as ineffective and pro-British. A determined military commander finally took action and put a stop to the chaos.

Reza Khan used the political climate to advance from the position of commander and chief of the army in 1921 to that of the shah of Iran in 1925. His election overthrew the Qatar…

extend the lines, if necessary, without being wordy.

Three specific instances of irony in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" are:

a) ____The title: no one ever asks Connie these questions.

b) ____Connie is the one preyed upon in this tale, but she invites in this demonic provocation.

c) Arnold Friend's remark about holding her so tight she won't try to get away because it will be impossible, is an ironic remark as it represents much of the symbolism at work throughout the story.

In "Young Goodman Brown," a) Brown represents ____The easily corruptible human.

b) the forest represents ____The practice of evil.

c) the peeling, cacophonous sounds represent ____Temptation

3. Explain the mother's attitude towards Emily in "I Stand Here Ironing"; what specific EVIDENCE supports your position? ____The mother's attitude towards Emily in the story is one of distance, rather than motherly attention. She regards Emily as…

The lack of self-respect in particular characters in the play, like Lady Sneerwell and Joseph, sends the message that some people have higher priorities than self-respect. Lady Sneerwell's deep desire to gain Charles to marry her leads her to a chain of unrespectable acts of intrigues and backbiting, in the process, conspiring with equally dubious characters like Joseph and Snake who also follow selfish and destructive agendas of their own. Forming a derogatory School for Scandal all alone speaks against self-respect as against all of those perpetuating that School. While it seems outwardly pleasurable to prey on other people's mistakes, misfortunes and weaknesses, perpetrators of scandals and hypocrisy do not gain the superiority they want among themselves. Lady Sneerwell, Sir and Lady ackbite, Mrs. Candour and Joseph may share a common objective of destroying relationships and reputation but this destructiveness does not build them up in the real sense, but…

They give their best, trying not to do anything wrong in the eyes of the people of the church, not God, so that they may say to themselves that they are living their lives well. And in the case that they fail, meaning that they "sinned," they take comfort from the thought of having other people from the church who they know also sinned. They totally missed the point of doing the things they do… which is to live their lives as worship to God. They easily see other people's fault, but never theirs. It is not wrong to correct other people in the church as long as you also "do what you preach" (Fredrick Crawford, 2004: 1). But these people advise other people what must be done, appearing to be concerned for the other's welfare but deep inside their minds, they are only concerned for their own glory.

The…

Machiavelli, Luther, And Muntzer

Must a good politician be morally bad? In the context of the Reformation, this question revolves around how Christians would define what is "morally bad" had become suddenly and seriously complicated by competing definitions of what constitutes "morally good" behavior. The rhetoric very often yielded more heat than light: Luther's and Muntzer's apparently sincere eschatological belief that the Vatican was to be identified with the hore of Babylon in the Book of Revelations made the question of cooperation with wicked temporal powers more than a purely academic one. Yet it is arguably the religious situation of Roman Catholicism in the first place that leads to the ethical differences in the political philosophies of Machiavelli, Luther and Muntzer. Indeed, the religious distinction that Luther upheld against the Vatican -- insisting on salvation sola fide, by faith alone, rather than by deeds -- indicates that in response to…

Obstacle omen Face in Pursuit of Equality

hen it comes to overcoming obstacles, two essays, "Ain't I a oman" and "atching Oprah infrey" from Behind the Veil," clearly show that women are encountering hindrances in chase of impartiality all over the world. However, although both essays touch on the same type of injustice which is gender inequality, they each have different themes. For instance, one delves into a country where the sexes are thoroughly kept apart from each other, where topics like sex and race are just about banned for even discussing them openly and where a severe enigma of public morality is imposed by police that are religious. However, the other touches on a period that goes back over a hundred of years where women of color were treated as cattle. Basically bought and sold by a society ran by men. Although these essays are worlds apart, they are…

Victorian Period Literature- Status of Women

Women in English literature have always found a subservient place akin to that of a second-class citizen. It was more pronounced in the Victorian period when it was believed that marriage was the only possible career for women. They were expected to prepare themselves for courtship, make themselves skillful enough to be liked by men and finally land themselves a good husband. That was the be-all and end-all of their lives. However not everyone subscribed to that viewpoint and some tried to raise a voice against the status of women in the society and how it was contributing to their poor standard of lives and deteriorating lot. Interestingly one such person was Elizabeth Barrett Browning whose ballad "Lord Walter's Wife" was refused publication in 1861 on the grounds that it could lead to public outcry since it talked of man's love for a woman.…

His followers claimed He had risen as He said He would, bodily appeared to them and then bodily ascended into Heaven, as Elijah prophesied. This experience emboldened them to come out of hiding and they gathered at the upper room of the Cenacle on the Day of the Pentecost. From then on, they openly preached the radical ethic taught by Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus is the origin of Christian worship and prayer and it directly links Jesus to God and Jesus has been called Lord, the Christ, the faithful and true witness. His followers who observed and advocated His teachings of the Good News were called Christians. Christianity was later founded and spread by the Roman soldier, Saul, who persecuted the Christians but was converted into an apostle by a direct encounter with Christ on Saul's way to Damascus. He was later renamed Paul.

Jesus as a Jew demanded…

Exegetical Analysis of 1st Peter 2:1-10

The New Testament's two documents, ascribed to Peter, represent a work in contrasts. Peter's first letter depicts a writing style, which reflects most of his letters. A reason behind this statement appears in 1 Pet. 5:12, where it is stated that the brief letter is written through Silvanus, who is regarded as a devoted brother, for encouraging readers and testifying that this truly is God's grace. This implies that the letter was not written by Peter himself, but by Silvanus (Latin name for Silas), who wrote it as directed by Peter. An ancient universal system for writing formal letters was through an amanuensis (Latin for writing secretary). Predictably, an individual who spent the major part of his adulthood traveling with Paul, the apostle, and had most probably also written some letters of Paul, would write Peter's ideas with a distinct Pauline quality to them.…

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They are not keeping the day of fasting holy. Verses 4 and 5 give us further information as to how the Israelites are observing fasting. We find that they are fasting to appear pious to other men. They are fasting so that everyone will know that they fasted, not necessarily out of commitment to God. The Israelites are keeping the ceremony of fasting, but they are doing it for selfish reasons. They are "showing off" their religiousness without feeling anything in their hearts. This is what God sees in their actions.

'4 ehold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down…

interbourne is no doubt attracted to Daisy and is proud to be seen with her on the way to the Chillon. He simply cannot allow himself to be with her because he is too concerned with what others might be thinking. For example, he considers what others are thinking as they look at her "hard" (111) but is overcome with "satisfaction in his pretty companion's distinguished air" (111). However, interbourne cannot completely escape his social training, which is illustrated in his concern over the prospect that Daisy might "talk loud" (111) or "laugh overmuch" (111). Here we see that interbourne cannot relax and enjoy the company of this girl that seems to attract so much undesired attention. interbourne also has outside influences working against him in the area of snobbery. His aunt wastes no time telling him that she disapproves of Daisy, believing her to be "dreadful" (124) and that…

The exploitation of women depicted by her experiences in the exotic dancing industry, especially in the upscale venues, illustrates the degree to which women are subject to societal rejection and to duplicitous moral values.

Her rejection and castigation by her mother provides even more of an insight into the hypocrisies that pertain to social values when it comes to women and sexuality, precisely because her mother is a famous advocate of and sympathizer with the plight of street prostitutes at the farthest end of the spectrum of sexual deviance according to contemporary social values. Nevertheless, when it comes to her daughter instead of strangers, she is utterly incapable of transcending her own prejudices, preconceptions, and her selfish and egocentric preoccupation with her own reputation in the same society whose unfair treatment of street prostitutes is her life's calling. The profound irony of this hypocrisy is underscored both by the fact…

Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron

The Black Death of 1348 forms the background to Boccaccio's Decameron; a group of ten young high-born citizens of Florence -- seven women and three men -- flee the city to escape the disease and take refuge in the villas outside the city walls. The idea of refuge lies behind the form of the text, and the place of refuge is not only an escape but a viewpoint from which the real world can be analysed, criticized, and rendered harmless through mockery (Forni, 54). The refugees from the plague pass the time in their refuge by telling stories, with each person telling one story each day to make a total of one hundred tales. The Decameron thus arises from and reflects a society afflicted by the overwhelming catastrophe of the Black Death, a catastrophe which, in the 1340s, reduced the population of the city by up…

Candide

In his signature work Candide, French author Voltaire offers an extensive criticism of seventeenth and eighteenth-century social, cultural, and political realities. Aiming the brunt of his satirical attack on the elite strata of society, Voltaire simultaneously criticizes some liberal Enlightenment philosophies. Voltaire mocks the authority of both Church and State, showing the corruption inherent in each. Similarly, the novel points out the insipid arrogance of the aristocracy, especially via his relationship with the Baron and his family, all of whom except for his beloved Cunegonde remain farcically nameless throughout the novel. Although Voltaire sympathizes with the core values of Enlightenment thought such as social justice, reason, and egalitarianism, his novel demonstrates disappointment with the distortion of those values. Excess optimism, represented clearly by Pangloss, and excess pessimism, represented by Martin, are portrayed as the two impractical extremes of Enlightenment values in Candide. Furthermore, while Voltaire appreciates the burgeoning rationalism…

Mrs. Warrant's Profession: The Intellectual, the Victim, and the Conventional Woman

Mrs. Warren's Profession" by George ernard Shaw was a play written more than a hundred years ago in 1894

The roles that women play in this masterpiece show that Shaw was far ahead of his time in his thoughts about what women should do and be. He presented a new vision of an intellectual, entrepreneurial woman and challenged the conventional roles imposed by society. He also included accounts of women victimized by a capitalist society and defended their rights to take whatever actions they had to in order to changer their circumstances even if that meant prostitution. In fact, Shaw's beliefs are consistent with modern-day feminism with only one exception. Shaw seemed to fear that a woman's independence and choice of a career had to come at the expense of something else, namely love and family. Nonetheless, "Mrs. Warren's…

Renaissance of Europe

The European Renaissance is characterized, in part, by the sweeping changes that took place with regards to religion, in particular, in the Catholic Church. The papacy was becoming increasingly corrupt during this time and was full of hypocrisy. This ultimately led to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. This paper will examine just how corrupt the church was at this time and how this led to its own downfall, thereby paving the way for people like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Erasmus to put forth new ways of thinking and advances in religion, science, and so on.

In 1500, corruption and hypocrisy in the Catholic Church were rampant. For example, indulgences were used as means of coercion and manipulation rather than for the original purposes they were intended. An indulgence is the full or partial remission before God of temporal punishment for sins that have been forgiven.…

Voltaire's "Candide" (lake and Kazin, 1976) contain aspects of anti-religious sentiments. oth epics are quasi-historical -- they provide a commentary on the prevailing times; both works also provide a view into lake and Voltaire's personal opinions and leanings. Voltaire was educated by the Jesuits -- priests belonging to the society of Jesuits. Voltaire railed against the prevailing cultural and religious mores that sought to forget socio-economic conditions to satisfy some pre-ordained, religious (mis)interpretations of divine mandates. lake, similarly, was mortified by the dualism practiced by the religious of the time. He did not like or appreciate the way in which every thing was seen from the point of black or white. If the Church deemed something unfit, the practitioner of that aspect of life came under severe remonstrations and even met the ultimate penalty of death. oth authors struggle against the fact that these rules were beneficial to those in…

All human beings are, however, impure and imperfect, which does not make it very difficult to rise above the rest in terms of self-perceived perfection. In comparison to God, however, this changes. The human being who is never dissatisfied with him- or herself, however, never becomes aware that there is a contrast to be made with God.

This is what Calvin appears to mean by piety. People with true knowledge of themselves as imperfect and unholy in comparison with God are those who are most pious. They are aware that there are imperfections to be addressed and aspire to do so by contemplating the nature of Gold. Instead, impious and hypocritical human beings are never aware that there is much wrong with them. They create a type of cycle by only contemplating other human beings to compare with themselves. By doing this, they become aware only of their excellence and…

At which point, he would escape and settle in New edford, Massachusetts. This would mark the beginning of the long fight that Douglas would have in the abolition of slavery and campaign for civil rights. This awakening would lead to the publishing of the book, The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, An American Slave. Where, he would print the different speeches on the abolition of slavery. This would become a best seller and make Douglas famous. However, he was wanted by southern slave hunters and began to campaign in ritain against the evils of slavery. This allowed for sympathetic friends to buy Douglas's freedom, which helped him to return to America.

The different events that were described by Frederick Douglas were a testament of his desire to obtain his freedom at any cost. Where, he would endure suffering and brutality at the hands of slave masters. These incidents…

In this regard, Meyers concludes that, "As for Flory, environment has been too much for him, for he is not really alcoholic or crapulous by nature, and he regrets it when a girl from England arrives to stay at Kyauktada; she is a poverty-stricken little snob on the look-out for a husband, but he has not seen a spinster for a decade, and he succumbs on the spot whereupon his discarded Burmese mistress makes a scene in front of her and every one else, and he ends by committing suicide" (Meyers 52). hile it may seem that Flory simply got what he deserved given his wishy-washy nature and lack of fortitude when it came to standing up for his friend, Dr. Veraswami when put to the test, but the suicide of the protagonist provides a useful literary vehicle whereby Orwell advances the plot and highlights just how shallow the friendship…

S. is the world's leading producer of pornographic media. The Reagan dministration was obsessed with prosecuting pornographers, and eventually convicted one of the industry's earliest producers, a man named Reuben Sturman, on charges of tax evasion. Ironically, the dministration claimed to worship dam Smith and free enterprise -- except, of course, when it conflicted with its ideals of Christian morality.

Republican administrations have felt less uncomfortable with the prospect of illegal labor, as Schlosser's chronicles of the conditions of strawberry pickers illustrate. Children, men, and women work at the back-breaking labor for $6.75-$10 a day (Schlosser 2003, p. 92). gain, hypocrisy is evident -- the same right-wing advertisers who created the Willie Horton ad campaign that defeated Michael Dukakis have fought unionization of the migrant workers, and local authorities have refused to set up low-income housing (Schlosser 2003, p. 106). The market rewards only efficiency, Schlosser muses: "every other human…

His decision that Jim is worthy of the same consideration as any other man is not only a sign of Huck's growth, but a direct statement that Twain was making to the people reading his book in a very racially divisive time.

Twain also makes many broader statements about humanity in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The book is full of many characters who take advantage of others, like the Duke and the King, people who hate and fight senselessly, like the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons, and even honorable seeming men like Colonel Sherburn, who despite an eloquent speech about honor and the common man's cowardice shot and killed a defenseless drunk. Huck has a major epiphany when he sees the Duke and King, who have betrayed Huck and everyone else they met, tarred and feathered. Despite their actions against him and their obvious lack of regard for others, Huck…

Compare and contrast their approaches to the question of faith.

One of the features of the age of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky was the emergence of philosophical and religious thoughts that promoted spirituality without religion. The tendency to reject organized religion in favor of personal spirituality or a direct relationship with God gained prominence at this age in ussia because of widespread disillusionment with the state-supported religion, corruption and hypocrisy of the official clergy. None perhaps popularized such spirituality in ussia more than Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Both of these figures had a complicated relationship with the official Orthodox Christianity. Tolstoy was excommunicated by the Holy Synod of the ussian Patriarch in 1901. But while Dostoevsky's criticism of organized religion remained subtle and he emphasized the importance of faith, Tolstoy was scathing in his attacks on ussian Orthodox religion and at times he directly questioned the existence of God. Tolstoy was a…

In fact, the American evolution may have served to assert the natural rights of some people, but those people were limited to a class of white males.

It is important to keep in mind that one of the ideological underpinnings of the evolution was a challenge to imperialist ideals, and race-based oppression and slavery had long been major parts of the imperial system. Despite that, it is unfair to characterize Britain as pro-slavery, as the British began to embrace abolitionist sentiments prior to the evolution. In fact, British Imperialists struggled with the concept of slavery, because of the fact that denying the right to own slaves was viewed as economic oppression by many white colonists, because, without slavery, the cash crops that made colonies profitable were difficult, if not impossible, to harvest (Brown, 1999). They began by attempting to limit the import of slaves into the colonies, something that they…

Alice Walker & Ralph Ellison

Character Analysis of Dee in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" and the Narrator in Ralph Ellison's "attle Royal"

Works of literature by black American writers have evoked feelings of hopelessness and suffering of their fellow black Americans by putting them into context with the social changes happening in the American society. Take as an example the short stories "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker and "attle Royal" by Ralph Ellison. oth stories depict racial discrimination in subtle, yet meaningful ways. In Walker's short story, discrimination is subtly expressed by through symbolic representations of the characters' demonstrated disregard or value put into their African heritage. In Ellison's work, years of racial prejudice and discrimination are depicted in a pseudo-battle where the harsh realities faced by black Americans are uncovered and laid bare for the Narrator to see and witness.

These manners of discussing racial prejudice and discrimination are…

These descriptions have indeed demonstrated that the Lawyer is the bastion of justice for his society. However, not even halfway through the Narrator's description of this interesting character, the narrative is already interspersed with negative images of the Lawyer as a corrupt and insincere professional in his society.

The portrait that Chaucer draws up in the Lawyer's tale is reflected in the following lines of narrative in the Tales: "He took large fees...So great a purchase was never known...Belted in silken sash, with little bars, but of his dress no more particulars." In this passage, Chaucer, through the Narrator of the Tales, offer a comic portrait of the Lawyer as a corrupt individual, as explicated in the line "So great a purchase was never known." It is also evident that the Narrator centers on the Lawyer's physical appearance in order to create the impression that despite his gallant and respectable…

.. Anyone who has considerably meditated on man, by profession or vocation, is led to feel nostalgia for the primates. They at least don't have any ulterior motives." (Camus, 4) Passion as well might make one authentic, or a true and mindless embrace of any aspect of life. Truthfully, the story does little to present us with true authenticity, because the narrator himself never discovers it.

The meaning of this story may seem very difficult to grasp if one makes the assumption that the narrator speaks for the author as a voice of wisdom and reason. Actually, no such assumption needs to be made. Camus is well-known for writing ironic works in which the speaker is not a mouth-piece for virtue. A key to this work may be found in something which Camus wrote shortly before-hand regarding his falling-out with Sartre. "Existentialists! henever they accuse themselves, you can be sure…

Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) centers on a coming-of-age story in a contemporary context used to satirize aspects of modern life and to highlight the conflict between generations that marked the late 1960s. The changes that come over the central character can be seen as a vision of the creation of a revolutionary, though a revolutionary without a clear cause to support and one who in the end has no idea what to do next. The film was highly influential: "The Graduate dealt explicitly with American middle-class sexual mores and spawned a series of youth-oriented films about sex, protest, and the generation gap" (Man 33).

The film can be divided into sections according to the way the plot unfolds. Brackman states: "The tensions of the first third of the movie -- ending with Benjamin's phone call to Mrs. Robinson -- arise from the question: hat is Benjamin going to do with…

Huckleberry Finn and What Makes an American

What Makes Twain's Huckleberry Finn American?

"Those canonic ideals -- self-government, equal opportunity, freedom of speech and association, a belief in progress, were first proclaimed during the era of the evolution and the early republic and have developed more expansive meanings since then," these are the basic core ideals which make something truly American (Kazin & McCartin 1). The freedom to live as we want, say what we want, and govern ourselves -- these are what make us Americans in culture and ideology. In literature, these core elements are also often what define a book or character as truly American. Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn adheres to the very ideals of what it is to be an American, which is what makes the work and its author truly Americanized in style and content.

One of the most important ideals in the concept of Americanism…

Metallica "Blackened"

At first glance, a heavy metal band like Metallica may not be an obvious candidate to be promoting good-for-you, good-for-the-earth causes like reducing pollution and saving the Earth from destruction at the hands of lazy humans. And yet, hidden deep within the rock guitar and tough-guy exterior of the band lies a group of artists who are passionate about how humankind treats the Earth. Like many other musicians, the members of Metallica use their art to talk about what they believe in and to try to influence their fans to care about the projects they support. Some artists use their music to talk about politics, family, or moral issues, and some use it to talk about causes they support. The Metallica song Blackened, released in 1988, is one example of music meant to expose the band's thoughts on how humans could be close to destroying the earth, and…

Goodman Brown/Lottery

Literature is frequently employed as a device for social and political commentary. This is certainly true in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." Both these stories darkly satirize the rigid social conventions that define small town American life. Even though they wrote about a century apart, Hawthorne and Jackson drew similar conclusions about American religious life and culture. Throughout his career, Nathaniel Hawthorne remained concerned about the hypocritical nature of puritanism. Stories like "Young Goodman Brown" darkly satirize religious fundamentalism and mob mentality. "Young Goodman Brown" is about a man who believes he might have dreamed of a strange pagan ritual set deep in the woods. Even his wife, ironically named Faith, attends the ritual. Faith's presumed faith in Christianity is proven false by her attending a Satanic rite in the woods. atching the ritual shocks Goodman Brown literally to death. In "The Lottery,"…

Devil on the Cross, War?

nga exhibits meekness and self-hatred. Her self-loathing prompts her to bleach her black skin and iron her hair. When she interacts with her fellow passengers in the taxi, War?

nga lacks the resolve she has following her encounter with the Devil on the golf course immediately prior to the Njeruca revolt. Witnessing the circumstances and listening to the speeches at the Devil's Feast was not enough to spur her on to eventually wield a deadly weapon. War?

nga needed her visions to empower her and awaken her to the injustices of her people and her nation. War?

nga kills the Rich Old Man, her fiance's father, for five solid reasons: her conversation with the Devil alerted her to the realities of life; M-turi's call to arms and his entrusting War?

nga with the gun; her newfound self-confidence and transformed personality; War?

nga's anger at the…

in "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a circus acrobat father -- Edith learns to fend for herself from the very beginning. As a natural consequence of her surroundings, she makes the acquaintance of several ne'er do wells. She rises above the lifestyles of the girls she grows up with who prostitute themselves for a living in the hope that they will eventually meet a benefactor with whom they can settle. Edith has a talent for singing and she indulges this interest by singing loudly in the streets.…

Religious Criticism and Idealization of Women in Giovanni occaccio's "Decameron"

In the world of medieval literature, Giovanni occaccio is renowned for his timeless contributions in the form of "Decameron," also translated as "Ten Day's Work." This literary piece by occaccio chronicles the short stories and narratives of ten (10) people who sought refuge from the city that is being affected with lack Plague, a disease that left Europe's developing human civilization to ruin and destruction. "Decameron" is created to provide people with a venue for discussion of the social ills that "plague" the 13th and 14th century society of Europe, particularly occaccio's homeland, Italy. These social ills are parallel to the disease that is ravaging Europe's cities during the lack Plague, and occaccio uses this event to discuss and criticize the dysfunctions that he found to exist in his society. Thus, with this in mind, Giovanni occaccio set out to…

devout Catholic peering critically at Southern evangelical Protestant culture, Flannery O'Connor never separates faith and place from her writings. Her upbringing and her life story become inextricably intertwined with her fiction, especially in her short stories. O'Connor was born Mary Flannery O'Connor on March 25, 1925, the only daughter of Regina Cline and Edwin Francis. Having grown up in Savannah and living most of her life in Georgia, Flannery possessed a uniquely disturbing yet reverential perspective on Southern life and culture. Moreover, her Catholic belief and upbringing lent the overtly Biblical symbolism to her stories, many of which twist the sacred into the profane and vice-versa. Flannery, who dropped her first name when she attended the University of Iowa, wrote throughout her entire life, in spite having a debilitating disease called disseminated lupus, which caused her early death in 1964. However, even in her weakest physical conditions, O'Connor discovered the…

Journalists, Their Terminology and Terrorism

In the age of terrorism and in the age of the Internet, journalists are coming under more and more intensive scrutiny and are increasingly urged to act more sensitively to the power they have and the power which they can wield when it comes to reporting current events -- particularly those related to terrorism. As some scholars have illuminated, journalists are indeed arbitrators of rhetoric, and ones which have limited success: "Evidence of arbitration is seen in comparisons between how media personnel describe terrorist events and their perpetrators and how government officials make similar descriptions. Journalists serve as creators of rhetoric whenever they report terrorist events. The rhetorical tradition employed determines the nature of that rhetoric. The role of formats, the presentation conventions that are used to package information and determine the significance and the information that news packages carry, are also important" (Picard 1989).…

Hidden Revolution

In his analysis of the American Revolution, Nash refers to the "enshrined, mythic form" the event has taken on in human consciousness (59). Like the creation myths of religion, the story of the founding of the United States of America has become what Nash calls a "sacralized story" that nearly deifies the founding fathers (59). Taught to children in schools and propagated beyond the borders of the Untied States, this version of the American Revolution in which a unified group of colonists rose up together against the mean British tyrants is little more than a "fable," (Nash 59). The real story behind the American Revolution is far more complex and nuanced, testimony to the already diverse and heterogeneous population dwelling throughout the colonies. Even when the emphasis remains squarely on the events taking place in Massachusetts that precipitated the Revolution, it is clear that there was no one…

campaign financing in the election of judges and cites numerous studies which illustrate correlation between campaign donations and favorable court rulings. The point of the article is to highlight a possibly damaging policy that could be creating a perverse criminal justice system. Skaggs offers a number of solutions to the issue, each of which could conceivably address the problem. The best solution is to make elections dependent upon public financing, which would eliminate Big Money from the process; or it should be necessary for judges to show who has contributed to their election so that bias could be determined by litigants before a case goes to trial. This would ensure that the criminal justice system is kept honorably above board and it would also promote a more Christian sense of propriety on the judiciary's part, as the idea of judges being "bribed" by campaign donors would become obsolete along with…

Black ay, Kinloch, and the Spirit of the Los Angeles Renaissance

In Chapter One of the The Great Black ay: L.A. in the 1940s and the Lost African-American Renaissance, R. J. Smith describes John Kinloch, the up-and-coming young African-American editor of the California Eagle. A charming personality with erudite expression and a radio gig to boot, Kinloch made a particular impression on Los Angeles in the 1940s. He had the ears and eyes of society and his goal was to report what he saw and report it in such a way that people actually took notice. The thesis that Smith uses to frame the book is that L.A. was a thriving Mecca of black culture -- imported to some extent from the East, but completely moving in a unique direction that was more grassroots and organic than the elitist-led and white patronized Renaissance in Harlem had been. This thesis is…

Ethics, Hypocrisy, and Transformation in the Film Jerry Maguire

Jerry Maguire is a film set in the 1990's which shows the clear differences between idealism and ethical thinking and the hypocrisy of the workplace, where lip service is paid to doing the right thing, but actions contradict the rhetoric. A clear theme in this film is therefore hypocrisy, with the feel good factor of redemption through transformation (Gayules & Bird, 2005). This romantic comedy -- drama is set in the 1990s, starring Tom Cruise as the title character who evolves though the film, who has difficult in adopting ethical perspectives as they undermine his business position, making tis film an interesting anthropological study of the world of the sports agent (Gayles & Bird, 2005).

Jerry is a sports agent, in the movie he is portrayed as being at the top of his game, he is making a lot of money…

Introduction
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949 as part of the post-war effort among the nations of the West to work together to establish the peace. Throughout the Cold War, NATO was more of a symbol than an actual military alliance. It was not until the Cold War ended that the first joint military NATO operations were conducted. The first was in 1990 and the second in 1991—Anchor Guard and Ace Guard were NATO’s response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. The Gulf War that followed, based on Bush’s trumpeting of the same kind of unsubstantiated claims that his son would make with U.S.’s second Middle Eastern intervention, was the first demonstration of NATO’s force[footnoteRef:2]—i.e., NATO as a wing of the U.S. military and a kind of political and international justification and show of support for what Bush wanted to do to Saddam Hussein. Bush used NATO…

When Pete betrayed her by leaving her for Nellie, that was when Maggie could no longer continue to tell herself (and believe herself) that things were going to get better. Her judgmental, hypocritical family would not take her back in after she left Pete's home and she basically had no choice but to feel completely abandoned and alone.

Crane uses a great deal of imagery to portray the mood he is trying to set, and to foreshadow coming events. For example, when describing Pete's bar he mentions that "Upon its shelves rested pyramids of shimmering glasses that were never disturbed. Mirrors set in the face of the sideboard multiplied them" (p. 87). The fragile nature of glass represents Maggie and Pete's fragile relationship and the mirrors represent the reflection of all that she longs for. The fact that Crane mentions that the glasses and mirrors are undisturbed gives the reader…

In the face of this awareness of human decline and despair the protagonist pledges love to his partner. This love is described as "true," which implies a love that is faithful and enduring and which can transcend the loss of faith in the world.

This vision or poetic image of loss of faith in human nature can be seen, albeit in a different light, in the work of Browning. An example would be the poem "Fra Lippon Lippi." In this poem the poet questions the nature of art and whether it should be true-to -- life or idealistic. The question is related to the way that art can best serve religious purposes and also refers to the gap between ordinary life and religious faith. The argument that runs throughout the poem is that the religious authorities are more concerned with appearances than expressing deep religious convictions.

Many of Browning's poems…

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Finally, in that regard, it seems that the author's choice of Christopher as Tituba's betrayer may suggest that while racial, religious, and ethnic prejudices may have subsided substantially in modern Western society, a fundamental conflict still exists in which men cannot be trusted by women.

The Significance of the Book

The significance of the book is that it provides a personal account, albeit fictionalized, of the horrors of slavery, violent oppression, gender inequality that characterized Western civilization in the 17th century. The narrative illustrates the humanity and the personal experiences of slavery from the perspective of the slave instead of the usual historical perspective. It effectively highlights the state of injustice and fear that were the everyday reality of countless individuals who were ripped fro their families and societies, sold into slavery, and usually brutalized for the rest of their lives in servitude of those regarded as the founders…