King Louis XIV reign of France was exampled by an absolute monarchy, which gave him the ultimate governing authority over his sovereign state and subjects. Louis was a believer in dictatorship by devine right, and viewed himself as God’s representative on earth. In Bossuet’s Holy Writ, he speaks of how, “Rulers then act as the ministers of God and as his lieutenants on earth, it is through them that God exercises his empire” (www.history.hanover.edu). Bossuet lets the people know that as God is the ruler of everything, he has a king who he uses on earth to rule over them while they are on earth to guide their decisions. Louis, in the early stages of his reign as the sole ruler of France, after the death of Cardinal Mazarin, showed strong determination to be a real king.
“The Truth about the Justice System in King Arthur’s Court” In both Lanval and Wife of Bath’s Tale, the justice system of the Arthurian court is featured as a crucial part of the story. Chaucer, a male author having grown up in service to the crown, and Marie De France, who was a member of the court of Henry II, both were likely educated and inspired toward their observations of justice and injustice within their contemporary courts. As it clearly would have been dangerous to criticize their current courts, the authors likely used Arthur’s court, still regarded with some nostalgic mystique as an avenue for expression of their ideas related to justice within a royal court. Both authors, despite their different backgrounds, present King Arthur as passive concerning the decisions pertaining to justice. Within the trials featured in Lanval and Wife of Bath’s Tale, the queens use their power and position to influence the court’s decision both directly and indirectly.
Enlightenment Thinkers The scientific revolution caused a breakthrough for the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century, giving great examples of social and political methods as a form of stepping stones for new theories and ideas. A selected few Enlightenment thinkers pressed on their suggestions of natural rights and human powers strongly. These thinkers created new viewpoints for everyone to see reason and understand that every person is of equal importance. John Locke stated that the people and the government have an imaginary form of contract; stating that if the government is not fulfilling their part, then the people can overthrow the government and create a new one. The Frenchman, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, opinioned that in order for
The Ugly Duckling is well renowned for creation of self-esteem in children. Sorrows of Werter is a great example of romanticism, as emotion is always chosen over reason. In the book, Werter seeks to understand his place in the world. The book would actually be pretty good for bibliotherapy except for two elements: suicide and inquisitiveness. The introduction of suicide to any person or being is not good.
A Reality Check With the use of symbolism, Aldous Huxley creates a beautiful novel that in essence warns his audience of the future. Huxley’s clever use of symbols in the Brave New World, is often apparent, but just as often, they are deeper and less apparent. With his satirical references to sex, drugs, technology and the naming of his characters, Huxley relates his novel back to his readers and their future. Without recognizing these symbols, the readers could find this novel confusing and ridiculous; but with each symbolic object and person comes a clearer picture of what Huxley us really trying to convey. When reading the Brave New World, the sexual references are often the first things that stand out to the audience.
Cultivate Our Gardens Voltaire’s Candide is a Juvenalian satire first published in 1759. Candide is about a young, naive man, Candide, who journeys with his mentor Pangloss overcoming various obstacles. Voltaire uses this satiric novel to criticize the philosophical mindset of his time. Voltaire depicts the worst of this cruel and selfish world, and his hero’s desperate effort to fit it into an optimistic outlook. Questions about life and its purpose are brought out in this book.
A hero can be a role model for people and be loved by everyone. A hero's abilities must be employed for a good cause, usually the protection of the weak. Ray Bradbury’s novel entitled Fahrenheit 451 (1953) challenges the reader to rethink what it means to be a hero: even though Montag promotes and continues his thoughts and freewill and to make people to remember the past. Sometimes Montag behaves irrationally and even commits murder to achieve his goal. Unconventional hero through the character Guy Montag with following events Montage’s act very unorthodox.
Sophocles’ stories are full of moral and life lessons through a tragic downfall. With clever choice of words, he uses his characters’ personalities and relationships to lay out his lessons and teachings. In one of Sophocles plays Antigone, he dramatizes the pragmatism of Creons’ ego as well as the passions of his unconsciously mind and the causes and effects of his egos’ quest for divine power. In Antigone, Creon obtains power after the death of his two nephews; however he becomes consumed by the notion of being king. He acknowledges his new status as he says “I have succeeded the full power of the throne” (1.1).
The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Jay Gatsby Jay Gatsby is a character from the novel “The Great Gatsby,” who strives endlessly in pursuit of his own version of the American Dream. At first Jay Gatsby is a very mysterious character but then we soon find out about his interesting personality. In order to achieve his American Dream he must reinvent himself as a person. His hasty acquisition of wealth and the lack of revelation with respect to his past inspire the curiosity of all characters in the novel. This lack of knowledge provided the novel with great suspense until the motives of Gatsby and his envisioned idea of the American Dream surfaced later in the novel.
“The handling of the father-son relationship, with all its frustrations and misunderstandings, nevertheless rings true with tenderness and truth. In the sense that Amir, the narrator, is the one who struggles to master his fatal flaw, he is the hero of the book” is how this highly acclaimed novel has been described. Khaled Hosseini gifts us with a very honest portrayal of a parent-child relationship; the development and believability of these relationships, which we are introduced to right at the beginning through Baba and Amir, have many characteristics. Along with the sad love-hate tensions between Baba and Amir, some of these relationships include Ali and Hassan, the complicated, cautious affection Baba has for Hassan and how Rahim Khan takes on a fatherly role to Amir. The connection between parent and child is not one that is easily broken and it is not something that can be taken for granted, just like the connection between Baba and Amir.