David And Goliath: Chapter Analysis

History has a tendency to repeat itself.  One of humanity’s most popular ways of getting its point across is through violence.  When words are no longer enough to argue a point, human casualties not only directly solve the problem, but symbolically send a message to all those affected as well.  Just as the American colonies fought against the British for Freedom when their voice was no longer heard, and just as the Islamic extremists used terrorism to send an evil message to America, both V and Chancellor Sutler used violence to gain a voice in a world of chaos.

Q. "Anthony Eaton portrays the issues of the abuse of authority and power through chracterisation". Discuss this statement providing close references to the novel.

In Chapter 2 of Encountering the New Testament the author talks about a few of the different practices that unified the Jews as well the different religious groups that had different beliefs. Judaism was unified in the beliefs that they had been chosen by God, they were waiting for the messiah to come, they respect the synagogues, they shared the same laws and traditions of elder. Although these beliefs were unifying there were seperate religious groups and leaders that held different beliefs. Probably the most well known group of religious leaders were the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a small group of religious leaders that believed in God, and the coming messiah. Although many of the Pharisees did live good lives many of them were

The community has a set behavior, good or bad, that is demanded of its citizens. Gladwell has an explanation of why this is so by saying that “the impetus to engage in a certain kind of behavior is not coming from a certain kind of person but from a feature of the environment” (152). The Citadel, which is the military college Faludi talks about, epitomizes this. Faludi explains a hidden pact in school: “The Citadel assures that any desire on the part of a cadet to speak out about the mounting violence will usually be squelched by the threat of ostracism and shame” (81). In this case, the environment, which is The Citadel, has a set behavior and anyone who comes within that community becomes stripped of their individuality, and also become a reflection of the “certain kind of behavior” that the community demands (Gladwell 152). Notice that there is no board of students or group of officers in charge of this; “The Citadel assures” it (81). It shows that the community as a whole wants to maintain the violence, and anybody against it would not be a part of that community. By applying Gladwell’s theory, it is seen that if someone wants to be a part of such a community they must accept the violence. This is a problem as, internally, this system will continue to thrive. More people in the community leads to more followers of the

Part One of Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath was a wonderful read that I connected to greatly, probably more so than the other sections. This segment dealt with our perception of advantages and disadvantages. This was due to the fact that Gladwell used stories that I related to more and found most interesting as a whole. I especially loved Chapter Three’s subject dealing with a student by the name of Caroline Sacks and her choice between going to a large university versus going to a small one because it was a conflict that I myself had. I have since been very happy with my choice to go with a smaller school and was surprised to see how many statistics supported the idea. As someone who loves studying history, one of my favorite ways Gladwell structures his narrative is when he uses historical events to make his very personal points. He begins the Caroline Sacks chapter with an anecdote about the French Impressionists and how they decided that it was “better to be a Big Fish in a Little Pond that a Little Fish in a Big Pond” (Gladwell 74). This, of course, ties into Caroline Sacks’ decision,

The world that is overrun with tyranny creates the capacity for people to be forced to live in inhumane conditions. This often involves a leader who silences people by restricting their power and limiting them to a lifestyle that is unsatisfactory compared to the elite in society. Through the novel 1984 and short story 2081, authors George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut introduce readers to the idea of inhumanity by means of mentally incapacitating citizens and holding them at equal rankings through means of oppression.

This quote exemplifies the extent to which the Party hijacks the mental processes of people to gain power, and how that is more crucial to unopposed power than physical control already established. Thus, Orwell presents a perspective on power through exploring the restriction of free thought and movement, and how that benefits a totalitarian government.

Any government with total control is worth being feared and having a group of individuals who go against their government. With complete control, a government is capable of committing acts against their citizens, which can be perceived as “something good” from the government’s point of view. In 1984 by George Orwell, and “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut, the main characters, Winston and Harrison, feel oppressed by the government's acts and events, try to overthrow their government, and go through a realization of hopelessness and defeat.

Similarly to Napoleon’s training of the puppies, the Party trains children to follow their rules and report thoughtcriminals. Children fill parents with the dread that they shall be determined a thoughtcriminal and taken away to the Ministry of Love. Inner and Outer Party members therefore aim to obediently conform to Big Brother’s laws. Fright of rebellious acts’ punishment cause members to discard opposing thoughts, permitting tyrannical authority to continue controlling citizens. The Party slogans are another insightful factor to examine. “Ignorance is Strength,” “War is Peace,” and “Slavery is Freedom” all induce fear and control the populace of Oceania. Power is gained and sustained by citizen’s ignorance to government manipulation. Lack of knowledge is retained by enslaving the citizens to obey laws without questioning. Citizens’ ignorance causes them to accept the atmosphere of apprehension that war creates. Together, the regulations control citizen’s education and stimulate fear, both of which promote totalitarian government’s power. Each of George Orwell’s novels, Animal Farm and 1984, simulate societies in which the government uses the next generation and laws to

He uses the themes of excessive power, surveillance, manipulation, and the like to describe a totalitarian regime that cannot fall. One of the most interesting themes in the book was portrayed in the ruling party’s use of manipulation. The ruling party uses constant bombardment of propaganda to diminish a person’s potential hate for the party. The idea was to twist a person’s hate of the party into hate to a wanted rebel (although it is never clear whether this rebel truly exists). They would lie and say that the rebel (who was known as Goldstein) wanted to hurt the people and cause havoc. The party would hold rallies for people to scream and yell and hate Goldstein, thereby focusing their rage on something besides the party. They knew that if you gave the people a common enemy, they would cooperate. The party would even lie about how lucky the population was compared to the rest of the world due to the auspices of “the Party”. The regime would also consistently monitor everyone, to make sure no one was speaking out, or even thinking of speaking out (which is considered a “thought crime”, and when noticed, the “thought police” will immediately be dispatched to punish the “criminal”). They would use the people to do unbelievable amounts of labor to provide

This appeasement is central to the broader context of the short story and provides irony to it’s title, as the town 's population must not only act content with the situation when near him, but also think they are happy at all times. Anthony’s shows characteristics of ruthlessness and adulation with his encounter of Hollis and the partygoers, the reader can compare that historical dictators such as Stalin and Hitler had been similarly “quite ruthless…and the object of as much adulation” (Spender, 218).

George Orwell’s novel 1984 focuses on totalitarianism in its most true and purest form. As seen on pages 191-192, Orwell narrows down that focus to display how much influence The Party wields on its subjects, the masses. The masses, or the citizens of Oceania, are powerless as they obey each and every command given to them by The Party. As a result, the citizens live a life in fear, constant awareness, and unknowledgeable. Orwell argues that war is the main factor that keeps the goods produced by human labor an infinitesimal cycle, thus making the masses impotent, helpless, and under total control.

The book begins with the author, Friedrich Hayek, talking about the state of his society. He says they are threatened by many evils that they have tried to overcome in the past but to no avail. The people have tried to blame their shortcomings on anything or anyone they can, except for themselves. And because of this, totalitarianism has found a place in his country. He says that the people may not be completely aware that this is happening either, that they still think everything is alright and they are being governed the way they want to be. But in reality, that is not the case.

In the article, “Syrian Massacres: World Has No Appetite For Intervention,” published in the YaleGlobal on January 23, 2012, Fahad Nazer reminds us that power corrupts those who possess it. Thus paralleling Orwell’s same argument which is evident through Napoleon’s actions in the novel, Animal Farm.

When studying any piece of literature there are many different methods and techniques that can be used. The Bible, in specific, is often referred to as a source of moral code, hope, and answers to social, ethical, and political questions. However, this incredibly influential book can also be read as if it were any other novel. The events, settings, and characters can all be evaluated for what they are, forgetting the notion that they are from a religious text. This approach is called narrative criticism. When regarding to the Bible in this way, we do not need to know any historical information or focus on seeking a deeper theological meaning. Instead, the stories are evaluated in terms of how