THE CREATIVE PROCESS By James Baldwin from Creative America, Ridge Press, 1962. Perhaps the primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid; the state of being alone. That all men are, when the chips are down, alone, is a banality—a banality because it is very frequently stated, but very rarely, on the evidence, believed. Most of us are not compelled to linger with the knowledge of our aloneness, for it is a knowledge that can paralyze all action in this world. There are, forever, swamps to be drained, cities to be created, mines to be exploited, children to be fed.
But seasoned intelligence and national security analysts would argue that our ultimate objective -- to establish an Islamic democracy in the cradle of the Islamic world in order to protect our vital national interests -- is as critical, if not more so today, as it was in 2003. The United States of America is the last best hope of Western civilization, and we fight because we know our way of life is worth defending to the last man. As we reflect back upon the events of September 11, 2001, let us humbly remind ourselves why it is that we fight. Let us remember that no great civilization is defeated from without until it is first defeated from
Schlesinger points out that many came to view the unifying American melting pot phenomenon as an Anglocentric conspiracy to undermine and devalue other ethnicities. Although there was one glaring failure of American democracy; the racist exclusion of blacks from the promise of the American creed. Mr. Schlesinger goes on to enumerate the events which took place over the past half century which, from the springboard of the new creed of cultural pluralism, have brought America to what he sees as a dangerous era of multiculturalism with the potential to rend the nation . He begins with the culmination of World War II and its effect of confronting Americans with their own bigotry in light of the Germans' racially motivated atrocities toward the Jews. Soon thereafter came the collapse of white colonialism.
Lauren Slater states ''The fact is,'' Emler says, ''we've put antisocial men through every self-esteem test we have, and there's no evidence for the old psychodynamic concept that they secretly feel bad about themselves. These men are racist or violent because they don't feel bad enough about themselves. ''(Slater 860) Lauren Slater also met with Roy Baumeister of Case Western Reserve University. Essentially, Roy believes that the unexpected notion that self-esteem is overrated and to suggest that it may even is a culprit, not a cure. In Lauren Slater’s “Trouble with Self-Esteem” Baumeister and his colleagues write: ''People who believe themselves to be among the top 10 percent on any dimension may be insulted and threatened whenever anyone asserts that they are in the 80th or 50th or 25th percentile.
Encountering Conflict Essay: ‘One can survive and not survive conflict’ “It is through conflict that our true nature is revealed.” Conflict is usually seen as just the physical damage or destruction of someone or something, but it goes much deeper. Conflict can result in physical damage and what is sometimes overlooked psychological and emotional damage. Sometimes no matter what is done the events of the past can never be erased and that can kill even the strongest of men. An understanding of the nature of conflict and the irony of being a joyful survivor of war is acquired through close study of the extraordinary memoir ‘Every man in this village is a liar’ written by Megan stack. This text reveals that inner conflict can be catalyzed by conflict within war and the poor living environments of which many children and families struggle to survive in everyday.
"Patriotism," a wise man once observed, "is the last refuge of scoundrels." And the braided, he might of added. Braided Scoundrel-in-Chief, George Junior, lacking even the sense to be careful what he wished for, has teamed up with a gaggle of fundamentalist Christian clerics like Billy Graham to proclaim a "New Crusade" called "Infinite Justice" aimed at "ridding the world of evil." One could easily make light of such rhetoric, remarking upon how unseemly it is for a son to threaten his father in such fashion – or a president to so publicly contemplate the murder/suicide of himself and his cabinet – but the matter is deadly serious. They are preparing once again to sally forth for the purpose of roasting brown-skinned children by the scores of thousands.
Okonkwo and Macbeth are both heavily influenced by other characters, fuelled by the expectations of their societies, and driven to act based on their tragic flaw. The reason behind all the actions Okonkwo takes can be traced back to one person; his father. Okonkwo grew up hating Unoka’s laziness and he “was ruled by one passion- to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved” (Achebe 13). This led him to rule “his household with a heavy hand” (Achebe 13), and treat his family poorly. He is afraid to show affection, as seen with Ezinma and Ikemefuna.
“Hereby it is a manifest, that during the time man live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war…” This quote, from the 16th century philosopher, Hobbes, states that mankind is naturally evil. Moreover, Hobbes believes that without a leader, everything would be chaos. For example, in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, there are many prime examples of Hobbes’ theory. The novel’s plot involves a group of English school boys who become stranded on a deserted island, but arrive in a good state of mind. As the novel progresses, the boys become chaotic after not having a dependable leader.
The twin who shows more love and devotion towards his father is the twin who ends up the most hurt by his father’s lack of love. This is one of the many examples that Steinbeck uses to illustrate the idea of rejection and how it effects people and how it causes them to reject others in turn. This continuing circle of rejection, or original sin, is shown by Steinbeck to have originated from the garden of Eden, with the rejection of Adam and Eve, to the original Cain and Able story in which Cain was rejected, and now finally comes to Cain and Able representatives in the more modern world, Caleb and
It was a reflex, a “survival of the fittest” reaction that Gene did out of anger, fear, and confusion. He is already the “odd one out” and Finny seems to be his only real friend. This secret would destroy Gene’s rekindled friendship with Finny that has reached a happy, placid level. Gene recalls, “I shoved my foot against the rung of his chair and kicked,” (145). He loses himself in his emotions, but he struggles to control himself while “evolving the right way” (125) in order to survive.