Orwell portrays the convict as being a conscious and rational man who is capable of reform. Through this symbolic portrayal, Orwell highlights the inhumanity of killing a man in his prime. The man, whose body was striving to survive and whose conscious was determined to defy even death, as can be seen in the repetitive and unwavering invocation by the convict, before the death sentence, of his god.
Country of the Cruel Damon Knight’s “Country of the Kind” takes readers into the mind of a man who is born violent in a society that has surpassed violence. Readers are shown a man who commits an unforgivably violent crime and then is severely punished, but in the “kindest” way possible. The solution of the subdued society is that if the criminal is forced, mentally and physically, into isolation forever all their problems will be solved. Though, the society’s “kind” solution of what is essentially solitary confinement isn’t so kind at all. The “Dull” town’s criminal cannot help the fact that he has violent tendencies; he is mentally different than everyone else, yet he is punished anyway.
Dumas showed the readers that forgiveness ultimately leaves one feeling more satisfied than revenge. The theme of fate vs. free will is dealt with mostly by the count, but also by others seeking to control the fate of themselves and those around them. The count thinks he is sent as an instrument of God, and the only reason he was freed from prison, was to give the men who wronged him their deserved fate. Even the count realizes he can’t control fate once an innocent boy is killed because of his actions. Mercedes is also, when talking to Edmond, talking about how fate has turned her old, and her lack of faith his why it did so.
The lawyer’s problem stems from the fact that he doesn’t know how to deal with and eventually get rid of Bartleby. The issue is not ignorance but confrontation between the lawyer and Bartleby. Delano on the other hand, succumbed to his well-natured obliviousness and overlooks clues of a mutiny right under his nose. However, because of his social conditioning leading him to believe that these events could not possibly occur, even though they crossed his mind, he nearly leads himself and his entire crew to their demise. Captain Delano can be shortly described as “a person of a singularly undistrustful good nature” (2695).
Hobbes named this condition as ‘war’ which also meant that every man is enemy to every man. Hobbes exposed that man in the state of nature lived with an authoritarian logic of fear and man has always been on the defensive side to protect himself and his position in the society. Hobbes said that man has always wanted to escape from the state of nature and war by following the path towards safety which allocates man to soften feelings of fear. A social contract is an agreement where people gave up their evil state and entered an organized society, which was controlled by the powerful government to preserve safety. Locke viewed human as innately good.
In the assertion ‘all people are good, but it’s the external forces of society that make a man evil’ I immediately think of the ‘Ballad of Joe Meek’. Joe Meek was generally a ‘good’ person before his encounter with the police officers. He had good intentions by telling the police officers they were wrong for putting their hands on the young woman, but the blatant disrespect the police officers showed him changed his outlook. The actions taken by the police officers stand as the external forces or catalysts for Joe Meek’s violent rampage. Back in our ‘Rise of Man’ unit, many people in the class agreed that the quality that makes man is the ability to be shaped by our experiences.
Because fear and pain does not play a role on this utopian society, let alone death, the term “Release” was created to veil the true meaning of death. When Jonas found out the true meaning of Release through watching his father release a baby, he felt so angry and confused that his own father killed a baby with his own hands. However, the Giver calmed him and explained to him: “Listen to me, Jonas. They can’t help it. They know nothing….
Specifically self awareness was destroyed by forcing the least reformed prisoner to be tied up and left to depend on the other inmates to help them perform normal daily human functions. That type of social alienation would make the most hardened criminal loose self-respect. This was their way of making him learn the “truth” about himself and to confess. 4. What mechanisms do people use, and mechanisms could prisoners of war have used, to resist a change in their self-concepts?
The film portrays love, grace, law and forgiveness. Hence, focuses on the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean in finding redemption along with the unwavering principles of Inspector Javert who tracks him down to serve the law. Two men have their own cruel past. One renounced his parents for doing earthly courses. He became a man of power; learnt that there’s only black or white; even calls himself “The Law” for doing what he thinks is righteous.
He sees himself as the superior man to all the other people, with a mentality like that he finds that he cannot relate to anyone, or that no one is to his level. As a person, he has several problems, he seems to be an individual that sees other people as tools and uses them for his own personal gain/needs. After he commits the murders we see that he is overthrown by the immense feelings of guilt. When offered help or consolation Ralskanikov pushes away the people who are trying to help him. Not only that but we may also take into consideration that Ralskanikov is in a state of ultimate poverty, resorting to hiding from his landlady to avoid the topic of payment, that adds fuel to his alienation.