An Analysis of Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw Essay

Station Eleven explores many viewpoints to further the plot of the novel. This method of explanation begs the question - Who is the main character?

In Lasallian schools the core principle of concern for the poor and social justice invites students and staff to be in solidarity with the poor and advocate for those suffering injustices. This means that people should have awareness of the poor and those who are victims of injustices and respond to their needs by means of community service and advocacy. This core principle is illustrated in the novella, “Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr” by Miguel de Unamuno. The main character, Don Emmanuel is the parson of the city of Valverde. The congregation of this parish look up to Don Emmanuel, admire him, and are overtaken by his words in mass. However, the narrator reveals that Don Emmanuel was not a man of faith. “Metamorphosis” by Kafka, presents a story of a young man who one day wakes up and is transformed into a bug. As a result of this transformation, he is mistreated by his family and considered useless in society. In the case of Saint Emmanuel the Good Martyr, there is a character that does not believe in God, yet practices concern for the poor and social justice on a daily basis. On the other hand, we have a character that yearns what Don Emmanuel gives to the citizens in Valverde, care and concern.

It did not take long before Joan decided that she needed to assist in the war. She was merely 17 years old, still a young teenager that was ready to leave home, her family, and anything else that tried to stop her behind. With a claim that she heard voices, she convinced her jury and the English that she was God’s Chosen one and that this worthy voice told her that she must go to France (p. 24). Taylor details the conversations that took place during Joan’s trials, allowing the reader to make their own judgement of why Joan decided to go into war and if she was actually guided by angels or if she was simply talented in fabricating stories.

Freedom of thinking, a different way of seeing things can be hard for some. In George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, the Inquisitor gives a powerful speech, which demonizes Joan and her heresy. The Inquisitor uses his speech to persuade the church of Joan of the arc’s heresy. In his entreaty, he uses many rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos. He even uses similes and analogies to make his case. The Inquisitor keeps an intense and serious tone throughout the speech, while the situation being a grave one. He makes the plea a dying matter as if Joan killed someone.

In Joan Didion's essay "Slouching Towards Bethlehem", she writes her observations of the people in the Haight-Ashbury district as she interviews people there. She demonstrates sound critical reasoning by using the personalizing lens, distancing lens, ethos and pathos and does a decent job of doing so.

There are different kinds of power. There is, of course, the power over another person. A power in superiority, in dominance that makes people afraid. There’s power in acceptance too. Any person who has been welcomed by their peers has more power than one that has not. In my own life, I struggle with power, and what kind of power I should want. My need for power likely stems from a fundamental desire to fit in. Some days the power I crave is simply in acceptance. Acceptance from peers, friends, or family. On other, less agreeable days, the power I desire is in superiority, dominance, the power to make people listen to what you have to say. In the short story Saint Marie by Louise Erdrich, Marie, like me, seeks power. However, the power she craves is in relation to God and the convent she has been raised to look up to. At the convent, Marie struggles between wanting acceptance from the Sisters and desiring superiority over them, especially Leopolda. The first, acceptance, Marie mentions before joining the convent: “I was going up there to pray as good as they could” (1). Marie strives to be as good: as holy as the Sisters. Once she joins the convent, she hopes to be accepted by them. Superiority, the second kind of power, she uses as a threat to Leopolda. Marie threatened that she would “get to heaven first,” and when Leopolda arrived, she would “shut the gate” (5). Here, she strives for superiority over Leopolda by blocking her out of heaven rather than

Sadly Baudricourt, “did not take the 16-year-old and her visions seriously, and she returned home”(britannica.com). Getting respect in a man’s world was stemmed nearly impossible to the young heroine at the time. But Joan was not going to let anything get in the way.

The introductory and concluding paragraphs of Joan Didion’s essays provides context for its entirety. She opens her first essay declaring “This is a story about love and death in the golden land, and it begins with the country” (3). In reality, this sums up every single essay within the collection. A majority of the texts deal with the theme of love such as “John Wayne: A Love Song” and “Marrying Absurd” (29, 79). Additionally, many of the texts deal with the theme of death, such as “Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream” and “On Morality” (3, 157). But, every single essay deals with the theme of environment. Didion describes Los Angeles as both an alien place and haunted. This statement is ironic after readers complete the text, due to her eventual

Joan of Arc is credited with leading the French army to victory over England during the 100 years war, which actually lasted around 116 years. She believed she was a messenger of god and was born to bring an end to the war. With permission from the king, Joan of Arc, lacking military and tactical training, led the french army against the English in the city of Orléans. Joan met a tragic end when she was captured by the Anglo-Burgundian and tried as a witch. She was called guilty as a witch and a heretic which led to her untimely demise being burned at the stake at age 19.

For Joan of Arc, 1428 was the start of a new life and journey. In the May of that year, Joan makes her first trip to Vacouleurs to meet with Robert de Baudricourt asking him to send her to the king. He had initially rejected her but her strong willingness to pursue what she wanted led to her attracting a small group of followers who believedthat she truly was destined to save France according to a prophecy. Baudricort finally gave in to her and she set out to Chinon, the site of the prince’s fortress. With the help of Charles, she led an army to Orleans in March of 1429 wearing white armor on her white horse. Joan had led several French attacks and drove the Anglo-Burgundians from their fortess and forced them to leave and cross the Loire River.

Joan of Arc was born in XXXX in the French town of Domrémy. Her family was well-off farmers. From a young age, Joan was a devout Christian. At the age of 13, Joan reported she received her divine mission where she saw a bright light and heard the voice of God commanding her she would lift the siege of Orleans and she must go to Robert de Baudricourt for an escort. She claimed to be visited by Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, who gave her advice on how to proceed in her divine mission. Around the time of her birth, France was in despair. Before Joan of Arc’s campaign, the French had lost several major battles to the English including the annihilation of the French army at Agincourt with a loss of 10,000 French soldiers. France had also been devastated by the Black plague from 1348 to 1349 resulting in the halt of the war for nearly a decade and a significantly reduced army. After multiple losses, morale was low and

St. Joan of Arc was born around 1412, in Domremy, France, which is now known as ‘Domremy-la-Pucelle’, which means ‘Domremy, [of] the maiden’ after Joan of Arc. Joan lived in Domremy village with her peasant family, father: Jacques of Arc, mother: Isabelle Romee. Joan also had four siblings, three brothers: Jacquemin, Pierre, and Jean, and a sister: Catherine.

As the book describes, Joan ran away to Vaucouleurs. Somehow, she had talked relatives into taking her to the governor who wasn’t thrilled to speak to Joan. When she told the governor of her mission and about her God, he laughed in her face. After a while,

Between 1428 and 1429 during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, the city of Orleans was besieged by English forces. The 5000 English soldiers lead by Thomas de Montecute, attacked for months. Around this time, Joan of Arc Appeared in at the court of Charles, and lifted the siege in 1429. This was the major turning point for the French in the war.

Saints are always different from everyday people, thus no one understands them in their lives, only a lot of years after their death. Joan of Arc was a saint like this as well, she was too far ahead of her times and was killed by her fellow men, because they didn’t know what else to do. She was canonized in 1920, after 489 years of her death. In my opinion, she was not only a saint, but meant to be an angel and showed a good example to all of us, how to behave ourselves in the name of honour, honesty, and glory.