Enlightenment Established by the Community Essay -- Philosophy, Socra

Sophocles’ Oedipus, Plato’s ship owner, and Plato’s prisoner in the cave share a common theme of reluctance to learn from the truth, and show the role that others play in facing self-identity. All three, Oedipus, the ship owner, and the prisoner in the cave illustrate the theme of deliberation manifested by a society. Enlightened by others, Oedipus finally learns that he has committed murder and incest. Similarly, the ship owner is shown his limitations and thus understands that he is not qualified to navigate his vessel when the sailors quarrel over who would be next in command. Furthermore, the prisoner in the cave is dragged out by others (community of enlightened individuals) and given the opportunity to view the real world for the first time. Therefore, with the assistance of others (community), Oedipus, the ship owner, and the prisoner in the cave are able to acknowledge their identities and face the truth about their erroneous behavior. Through Sophocles a nd Plato, civic deliberation comes into these three approaches: (1) with the evidence given to him by the public, Oedipus learns the truth of his identity, and accepts the judgment and punishment he had imposed on the culprit before he knew; (2) through the violent actions of the sailors, the ship owner acknowledges his limitations; and (3) the prisoner is dragged from the cave into the world of sunlight, exposed to the truth and returns to the cave to deliberate with others to come out. Hence, all three cases show the process of civic deliberation is achieved through community. Oedipus at first finds the implications of killing his father and sleeping with his mother difficult to tolerate as a factual manifestation of his past. He disputes the fact that he had caused suc... ...liance with the truth. Socrates states, â€Å"The truth of the matter is that it makes no difference whether you’re rich or poor: if you fell ill, you’re bound to dance attendance on a doctor, and if you need to accept authority, you must dance attendance on someone in authority who is capable of providing it† (Plato 209-210), in order to convey that a individual requires a society or a third party to become enlightened. Oedipus ultimately becomes aware of his errors when the community shows them to him. The ship owner becomes aware of his incapability when the sailors threaten to overthrow him. The prisoner in the cave acknowledges the truth when others force him out of the cave. Thus Socrates serves as a model of civic deliberation when he illustrates their behavior and, questions through dialogue with his interlocutors, the ability to find truth and be enlightened.

Animal Farm/V for Vendetta Essay

In many great texts concerning the politics, it can be observed that the context in which the piece was created greatly influences the ways in which values and themes are presented and the form in which it is produced. Major ground shaking events have the power to transform paradigms of individuals and whole societies, and in turn morph and influence the themes a text created in the same time period implores. Warner Brother’s 2005 film â€Å"V for Vendetta† and George Orwell’s 1945 novelette â€Å"Animal Farm† both deal with concepts present in the political climates of their times and the problems associated with them; the cost of apathy towards injustice, propaganda and its influence, and the crippling aspect of fear. The representation of the themes present in the two texts contrast and compare in many ways due to the diversity in the contexts under which each was created and the universal continuity of the themes present. Read more: Us constitution tyranny essay Orwell’s 1945 text was created at the end of the Russian social revolution that left the once optimistic Russian people in tatters and under the boot of a brutal fascist regime, while the Hollywood movie was created post 9/11 in a time where people turned to their government for protection from unknown threats, willing to sacrifice their liberty for safety. It was situated in a future dystopia as opposed to Animal Farm’s historical setting and warned of what could be the outcome of choosing to blindly follow the neo-conservative politics of film’s time such as Bush’s and Thatcher’s parties. Both texts make political statements that are influenced by the historical and personal context of their creation and contrast and compare greatly in form and values. Primarily, the theme of apathy, and the cost of silence is explored similarly in the two cross-generational texts. Written after the solemn failure of socialism when applied to a practical setting, Orwell pessimistically recounts the outcome of the apathy that Russian citizens expressed in the face of blatant corruption in his fable, â€Å"Animal Farm†. Orwell’s novel is written in the form of an allegory, which recounts the events of the Russian revolution as though it took place on a British farm, and uses various types  of animals to symbolize the different classes of the soviet union (Molly the horse represents the bourgeoisie, Boxer, the proletariats). Animal farm sets out to become a utopia where â€Å"all animals are equal†; working together under the inspiration of a Marxist boar named major (who represents the revolutionary leader Lenin), the animals drive out their human oppressors in a violent rebellion. The pigs take power on the farm due to their à ¢â‚¬Å"superior knowledge† and leadership qualities. Though as the pigs become corrupted by their power, it soon becomes clear to the animals smart enough to comprehend the concept of corruption, that things aren’t as they should be. They become aware of the pig’s greed; they hoard food that should be shared evenly amongst all animals, they twist the truth to better suit their political motives, and they change the constitution of animal farm without public consent. Few animals possess the ability to comprehend that the pigs do not wish to help the public, and Benjamin the donkey comes to be the most prominent advocate for apathy in the novelette. He is one of the smartest animals on the farm and is not fooled for a second by any of the pig’s ruses that work so effectively on the others. He remains neutral to any conflict seen in animal farm; when the hens stage a coup to stand up against their oppression and are subsequently executed, not a word of protest is spoken, and when asked for his opinion on any debate only replies â€Å"donkeys live a long time† to cryptically cynical way of saying â€Å"it all ends up the same†. Benjamin is passive to any change whether it is good or bad; in the honeymoon phase of the revolution in which the pigs express plans for equality and freedom for all, he remains sceptical. He is cynical to any positive outcome as he has believes only that the cycle of power and corruption will repeat its elf, as it has in the past. His silence in the face of the pig’s corruption is broken only at the novel’s climax as his friend Boxer is driven off to the â€Å"knackers† in a truck the other animals believe to be transporting him to the vet. â€Å"Fools! Fools!† he shouts furiously, â€Å"Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?† The animals can’t read the writing of course, but Benjamin could all along, as he could read Animal Farm’s constitution being changed overnight. Benjamin saw the dark path that the revolution was taking and in its early phases had the ability to turn it around. But the apathy he showed landed all of animal farm manipulated and trapped in a position where resistance  was futile and the pigs could rule with an iron fist. Benjamin was cynical with his belief that â€Å"Life would go on as it had always gone on – that is, badly† but in the same way he was a realist, as in the end of animal farm things di d continue as they always had – badly. It is questionable whether Animal Farm’s revolution, and the revolution of its allegory counterpart would have reached a different outcome in Benjamin, and those smart enough to sense the corruption had discarded their apathy and made their awareness known. V for Vendetta similarly deals with the concept of public apathy in the face of social injustice. Set in a future dystopian England, where a totalitarian government has come to power and dominates all aspects of their citizen’s lives, the film’s protagonist â€Å"V† addresses the masses to stir guilt and inspiration in the hearts of the masses in a public service announcement. On a velvet backdrop to the sound of a nationalistic anthem, he speaks powerfully in a direct mid shot behind a podium to enforce the power of his speech. He outlines the myriad of problems plaguing England in an uncensored speech the likes of which many people in London hadn’t heard since the rise of the Norsefire party, and after asking the rhetorical question of â€Å"How did this happen?† answers â€Å"truth be told†¦if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror†. V blames the oppressed for letting themselves reach their situation with hopes for gaining order in a world of instability. V for Vendetta’s dystopian London fell to the control of the â€Å"Norsefire† dictatorship by letting itself sacrifice liberty in hopes of safety from unknown threats. The context in which V for Vendetta was created is reflected in the film; a wave of neo-conservative politics had embraced the U.S and Britain under the Bush and Thatcher governments, and it could be seen that post 9/11, xenophobia and prejudice had started to consume and fear monger in society. The film warns of the dark outcome that could eventuate if the populous chose to give in to their fear of the unknown and sacrifice free will for a stable yet domineering establishment. Although diverse in contexts, Animal Farm and V for Vendetta approach the issue of apathy and silence similarly. They both criticise the concept by the portrayal of extremely negative outcomes that lead to create oppressive  dystopias, devoid of free will and justice. Furthermore, Animal Farm and V for Vendetta both deal with the political concepts of propaganda and exploitation in similar ways although hailing from diverse time periods. Animal Farm sees the corruption of an idyllic utopia into and oppressive dictatorship, in which the animals are exploited by their pig oppressors, and influenced strongly by their convincing propaganda. The novel once again aligns itself with factual events that occurred in the midst of the Russian revolution and symbolises them respectively. In the novel, Squealer is â€Å"a brilliant talker† with â€Å"the ability to turn black into white†. The pigs utilize squealer’s persuasive talents to convince the rest of the animals of Napoleons benevolence, justify their monopolization of the farm, and turn Snowball into a public enemy that could be pinned with all of the farm’s failures. Squealer uses the memory and intelligence of the animals against them to exploit them by reinforcing a series of convincing lies, and instilling a powerful maxim; â€Å"four legs good, two legs bad†, in the minds of the less intelligent animals, that could be used as a chant to drown out any logical argument. Squealer’s character corresponds with the Russian newspaper, â€Å"Pravda† which at the time held the power to turn black into white the same way as the pig. George Orwell is making a statement on the power of language to exploit and manipulate the masses in the form of propaganda, and warns us to be critical of political media in light of the events from his life. Similarly, V for Vendetta comments on the media’s power to sway the opinions of the public, and the ways in which governments use it to influence citizens. V for Vendetta is based in a society where free speech is non-existent and censorship washes over all aspects of the media. The single minded force of the media, represented by the bold and domineering â€Å"Voice of London†, allows the government to impose only one â€Å"truth† on the public; only one perspective to any event so that it is the only one to believe. After V’s first November 5th bombing and hijacking of the television station in order to instil hope for a revolution in the populous, Sutler’s government begins to twist and re-fabricate the entire event to make it appear as though V were a terrorist meaning to harm the public. Using  emotive and connotative language; â€Å"A psychotic terrorist†, â€Å"Attacked unarmed civilians†, â€Å"to spread a message of hate†, to attach fear and stigma to the vigilante, whilst glorifying the police force; â€Å"during this heroic raid the terrorist was shot and killed† to inspire loyalty and pride in citizens. The propaganda aims to turn public the public opinion from anarchy to fear and in turn compliance. V for Vendetta was composed at a time in which xenophobia allowed politicians to blame many faults on â€Å"Terrorists† typically associated with people of Muslim belief. The labelling of someone that the government believes to be a social deviant as a â€Å"terrorist† was a solution to political issues, and this can be seen reflectively in V for Vendetta. Both texts, written in entirely different contexts, deal with the issue of propaganda and manipulation, and have been strongly influenced by historical examples of gov ernment use of these political tools. Both texts in their respective contexts suggest that fear incapacitates the masses from revolting against oppression. They suggest that fear cripples the hearts and wills of those it dominates, and convinces it’s victims that nothing is worth fighting for. Animal farm reflects the tyrannical reign of Joseph Stalin, Russia’s communist dictator that controlled his people through a network of fear tactics that among many things entailed the murder of millions of civilians he believed to be â€Å"enemies of the state†. In the Russian revolution, the oppressed became the oppressors; Stalin’s government rose to power on a just and fair cause, but sullied it by becoming an oppressive dictatorship, hardly different to the one that the people primarily fought to escape from. In Animal Farm, violence and the fear of violence bends the animals of the farm into submission; Napoleon orders the mass execution of those conspiring against him, and by its end â€Å"the ai r was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones†. It is ironic that things seem to be just as bad on animal farm as they were in the days of jones, yet Squealer’s propaganda still continues to loom the omnipresent fear of the farmer’s return over their heads as if to say; â€Å"No matter how bad things get, they could never be as bad as they were,† and continually states the rhetorical question â€Å"surely you wouldn’t want jones to come back?†. The Fear of Jones’s return keeps the animals of the farm in submission, and once discarded the animals become  capable of great deeds. Major’s speech inspires and motivates the animals to stand up to their oppressor, by morphing their fear into fury. He does this by declaring that once Benjamin becomes too old he will be sent to the â€Å"knackers†. Orwell criticises fear’s power to cripple and paralyse and suggests that once discarded, people become capable of great feats of justice. Animal Farm expresses the representation o f fear and its ability to cripple by aligning it with the contextual events of the Russian revolution. V for Vendetta addresses the concept of fear and violence in a very similar way in its representation of the totalitarian state of England under the â€Å"Norsefire† party. In light of recent events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the film details an alternate timeline in which the western world has let governments turn their fear of the unknown against them, and let them unwittingly sacrifice their liberty for promises of stability and freedom. The â€Å"Norsefire† government uses threats of terrorism and disease to reduce the populace into a state of fear, and convince them that they â€Å"need† the government in order to protect them from the outside world, when in fact all they want is absolute power. An example of the Norsefire government’s use of fear to manipulate the public is when they feel their power slipping away in favour of the masked revolutionary â€Å"V† High Chancellor Sutler says â€Å"what we need right now is a clear messag e to the people of this country this message must be read in every newpaper heard on every radio and seen on every television, I want everyone to realize how close we stand to the edge of oblivion. I want every man woman and child to know how close we are to chaos. I want everyone to remember why the need us!† The message resounds with a series of dreamatic television reports showing the chaos of the outside world, water shortage, civil war, disease. The reports however fail to influence public opinion, as they have already been convinced by V that the government will lie excessively to prove their points. V for Vendetta’s representation of the governments use of fear tactics to attempt to persuade public opinions and elude from real issues resonates with political ploys used to convince the public of the threat of terrorism in the early 2000’s by the Bush and Thatcher governments. When support from the public was needed to justify the invasion of Iraq, they used the media to fear monger and persuade the masses. The contexts of animal farm and V for Vendetta deal  similarly with the issue of fear and it’s use by governments to coerce the public.

The Legacy Of The Civil War Essay - 1593 Words

â€Å"Despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.† (Maya Angelou , n.d.) Angelou says it best; you can’t live until you have lived. Also you never want the future to relive the past of segregation and pain. Veteran William Lloyd Garrison describes few of many changes that occurred after the Civil War, including the abolishment of slavery and the African American being granted for the first time in history the right to vote. As the civil war came to an end, the United States began to establish an undivided nation. This era known as the reconstruction era is described as â€Å"meaning literally the rebuilding of a shattered nation. (verterans of the civil movment, n.d.) Reconstruction’s main goal was to reintroduce the South into the Union and to make sure new laws coming out of the war were being followed. At this time, the country was in such a fragile state that changes needed to be made for the people to come together and form one strong nation. During the Reconstruction era in 1865, even though many may think only African Americans were impacted by the economic changes that were occurring, it altered the country as a whole. At this time, not only in the economy, but laws were modified to also include African Americans. The Reconstruction Era in that affected the economy; the freedom of the former slaves gave them entitlement to the same privileges as the white Americans. Even though few results of the era wereShow MoreRelatedThe Legacy Of The Civil War1556 Words   |  7 Pagesthan providing all the information in words, adding visual effects were a relief to the eyes. Both the American Christianity and the legacy of the Civil War led to the development of modern republican government. The federal government declared the Civil War. They waged it both in effort to end slavery and in hopes of reuniting the split nation. Following the Civil War, the central government withdrew again - the South, in turmoil and confusion, threatened to break up into riotous anarchy and the federalRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War1827 Words   |  8 Pagesto preserve its institution eventually brought our country into a period of bloodshed. The obvious answer is that the war brought along freedom of around four million people in which altered the lives of Americans, however there is a great deal more to be said about the legacy of the Civil War. Even now, the war creates a lasting shadow that continues to impact America. The war transformed the political, social, and economic scene, and led to advancements in technology and health-care that createdRead MoreThe Leg acy Of The Civil War Essay1471 Words   |  6 Pages The year is 1865, Lincoln is dead, and through some convoluted, insane process I am now the President. God help us all. I am faced with the challenge of uniting a fractured nation, war-torn, weary, and directionless. For all the guff Lincoln gave about preserving the union, he did a terrible job. Yes, we are physically one nation, but dominion under continual threat of violence is precisely what our forefathers fought against in the Revolution. If I had been president, this would never have beenRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War2375 Words   |  10 PagesAfter the following victory of the Northern Unionist over the Confederate forces in the Civil War, the current president of USA Abraham Lincoln had followed through with his Emancipation Proclamation this time of period was soon to be known as the Reconstruction era. Through these actions of Abraham Lincoln this had resulted in the passing of amendments to the constitution in which where 13th,14th, 15th these amendments had given African Americans the one thing they had been long aching for and workedRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War2131 Words   |  9 PagesThe Civil War left the entire nation in disarray. Over six hundred thousand soldiers were dead, reconstruction was to be started, and the nation was further divided. During this time, Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States and he was going to make the Union whole once again. His plans were cut sho rt however, by the tragic and sudden assassination at Ford’s Theatre in 1865. Abraham Lincoln was the most influential leader in United States history; his death impacted millions of peopleRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War1508 Words   |  7 Pagesmore than 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were massacred. In only four years America annihilated the number of American soldiers killed in all other wars combined. America experienced her first full scale house division. The people were in such confusion, Reconstruction Acts had to be used to bring the country back together. Civil War introduced a split country, breaks of states from the union, the South denying rights to emancipated slaves, improving the lifestyle for African Americans, deathRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War Essay1488 Words   |  6 PagesThe Civil War was one of the most bloody and divisive conflicts in United States’ history. While the conflict may have spanned over four years, its origins d ate back to the birth of the nation. The fracturing of the early political system on the basis of location, party, economic visions were the beginning of fundamental differences between the states. As the political, social, and economic patterns developed throughout the nation, the regional and ideological differences only deepened, leading toRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War907 Words   |  4 PagesThe Civil War was one of the most controversial periods in American history. As a result of the controversy, there have been many theories that explain the cause of the war. Most theories state the causes of this conflict arose from geographic, economic, political, and even social differences. Tensions over slavery had been building for decades, and every time a new state in the West was added, there was an extremely tense debate over whether or not slavery would be permitted in the new state. AmericansRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War1422 Words   |  6 Pages​The devasta ting years of the Civil War finally came to an end. African Americans becoming enslaved and having freedom was a huge development during reconstruction. Freedom had important changes in African American lives, education and religious practices. Due to Abraham Lincoln emancipation of slavery, freedom became a reality for many slaves. The republicans had a great impact on the reconstruction of the Civil War by creating Freedmen’s Bureau, passing the fourteen and fifteenth amendment andRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War1755 Words   |  8 PagesTimes of war often debut new technology that shapes the future. Seeing as how the Civil War was known as the first modern war, it is appropriate to say that much new technological advancement was made. Behind every piece of new technology or idea, there is a person or team that dedicated their time to the development. When it comes to the Civil War aeronautics and much other future advancement, Thaddeus S. C. Lowe is the man behind it. Lowe was an integral part in the success of the aeronautics division