The writer of this article talks about how the basement isn’t just a hiding place for a Jew or a refuge to learn but it is a place to rebel against authority when Max transforms it into a setting for creative/political activity by painting over Hitler’s Mein Kampf erasing Hitler’s authority and becoming his own authority. Maslin, Janet. “Stealing to Settle a Score with Life.” New York Times, Published by Janet Maslin, Monday 27 March 2006. Wednesday 30 April 2014. This article is a review on the book itself; however the article also talks about important points involving the main character Liesel Meminger “the book thief” and how they dealt with life during the war.
In this selection from the autobiography of Malcolm X titled “My First Conk”, readers will find out about Malcolm X's first real step towards what he calls “self-degradation”. Although there is no exact thesis stated in the excerpt there are still clear points stated throughout the reading. When Malcolm X wrote this piece the idea was to show the reader how society can make one feel like they must change to be considered better than who and what an individual really is. It is also expressed that one's individuality can be taken away and the negative outcomes one can struggle with after that change. It is described that society can be a truly horrifying thing and the ways men and women try to fit in can be both shameful in the long
Communism in the Cold War "The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want, they spread and grow in the evil soil of the poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive." as said by Harry S. Truman on march 12, 1947 in The Truman Doctrine. While Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all had the same same Cold War intention of ending communism, their ways of achieving their goal were different.The Cold War was an angry dispute between the United States and the Soviet Union about whether we should spread or contain communism (Ayres 817).
Democracy: Useful or repetitive as through the eyes of Big Brother The novel 1984, written in 1949, is a fictional story of a ruthless and all controlling totalitarian government and how one man challenges the ways of life and the ideas of the government he is strictly bound by. This story is famous for its ideas on government and what humanity truly is. One notices that despite being written many years ago, the setting could essentially take place in any modern time period. Readers also find themselves questioning their own beliefs on government due to the questions and reasoning that the book raises. Questions such as- Is democracy actually stable?
I tend to think that the United States view the world as a political area and it is just a mere battle of principles of state governance. This democracy was expressed during the World Wars and the Post-world war where the United States struggled to fight against Fascism, Socialism and Communism. United States also view war as necessary in protecting Democracy the only difference it had with the wars fought by ancient Athens is that United States was successful. Fascism was destroyed and the practice of communism was lessened. United States together with its Allies have influenced many countries just like India and the Philippines.
In the literature review, “1984: Enigmas of Power,” by Irving Howe, an American literary and social critic, claims that the Oceania had some pretty keen resemblances to the immediate past of England, WWII, and he also argues that the patrols have more freedom than they should. He supports this claim by first describing the commonalities between the ways authorities treated the citizens, he says that the cruel way Winston was tortured, “the alternation between physical beatings and sympathetic conversations, and the appearance of O’Brian” with all that power, were methods used in the Soviet secret police. For example the “Two Minutes’ Hate,” was based on Stalinism’s routine demonization for his enemies, and Big Brother physically resembles Stalin.
Atwood, Kesey and Plath reflect the balances and imbalances of power in contemporary history, each producing works which became symbols of rebellion against conformity. Keasy’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest has been depicted as ‘holey successful as an indictment of modern society ’. The reciprocally dependent bond between power and resistance in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest reflect the progressive nature of the late 1950’s. Keasy’s novel demonstrates as a reflection upon his time working with mental patients, it serves as a critique of
A Dystopian Society: The Chrysalids and V for Vendetta After viewing the film V for Vendetta and reading the novel The Chrysalids, it is evident that these two pieces are perfect examples of a dystopian society. This type of society could be defined as a futuristic imagined universe in which oppressive social control and the illusion of a perfect society is maintained through many different ways. Ways such as propaganda, appalling treatment of thoughts who are different, and a controlling government that puts its people under constant surveillance, and uses social fear to maintain its grip on society. Propaganda is a main controlling factor within these societies. In the chrysalides, at a young age children are embedded with stories
Famous American novelist, William Gaddis once said, “Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.” This quote states that it’s humanity that is corrupting the value of power and not the other way around. This quote shows what happened with the leaders in the dystopian novels “Examination Day”, The Giver, and “Harrison Bergeron” who were and are normal people, like every other person, until they got a truckload of influence and power and they realized they could do whatever they want and use it against humanity and take control. They don’t know what to do with their power so they use it to create a society that is equal but as time passes the idea becomes more extreme and this results in oppressive societies that do not value and appreciate
The Stranger: Tone In Albert Camus’ novel, The Stranger, various rhetorical strategies are employed to more effectively enhance the novel. The main attitude the novel emits, the tone, dictates the way the piece is perceived by readers. The apathetic attitude radiating from the protagonist of the novel, Meursault, derives from the existentialist philosophy. This philosophy heavily focuses on indifference, detachment, and the irrationality of the universe. A sense of detachment is detected immediately at the start of the novel, when Meursault first hears word of his mother’s death.