Roth: The Stain of Mankind Essay

Primatology is the scientific study of non-human primate behaviors among wild apes, monkeys and other related animals in natural settings or in laboratories by conducting lab experiments and studies on captive primates. A person who studies primatology is a primatologist. There are many reasons for studying primates, but possibly the most significant reason is to learn about the origins of humans. When studying primatology, one can easily observe the behavioral similarities primates share with humans, and probably begin to understand how humans got to where they are today. The reason anthropology studies primates over any other animal is because primates are the closest living relatives to humans. One primatologist, who significantly surpassed many others in her field, was Jane Goodall. Jane Goodall studied the behaviors of primates and other animals as well, but she specifically studied chimpanzees. Goodall in her book, In the Shadows of Man, shared her three groundbreaking discoveries she achieved through her extensive observations and research. Goodall’s three major discoveries were the complex social system chimps had lived, the hunting and meat consumption process and the usage of tools. Goodall’s research lead to massive evolution in primatology because her research was the starting point that allowed other primatologist to conduct other important researches on chimpanzees and other primates. They managed to study primates in a

A famous philosopher Socrates once said, 'the unexamined life is not worth living.' With that idea, the question 'Are Human Beings Intrinsically Evil?' has been asked by philosophers for many years. It is known as one of the unanswerable questions. Determinists have come to the conclusion that we are governed by the laws of science, that there is nothing we can do about ourselves being evil because we naturally are. Evil is simply the act of causing pain. In this essay I will argue that human beings are born with a natural reaction to 'fear and chaos' to be instinctively evil.

Victor Frankl once said, “Any person, regardless of the circumstances, can decide what shall become of them – mentally and spiritually.” This is true for Oskar Schindler and Amon Goeth, who both had very different reactions to World War II. Human goodness is when one sees the truth, accepts it, and makes rational decisions based on the truth. Human evil is irrational decision-making, and when a person sees and understands the truth but choses to defy it. In Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, philosophers Kant and Rahner would agree that Schindler is a representation of human goodness, and Goeth represents human evil.

Racism is an issue that blacks face, and have faced throughout history directly and indirectly. Ralph Ellison has done a great job in demonstrating the effects of racism on individual identity through a black narrator. Throughout the story, Ellison provides several examples of what the narrator faced in trying to make his-self visible and acceptable in the white culture. Ellison engages the reader so deeply in the occurrences through the narrator’s agony, confusion, and ambiguity. In order to understand the narrators plight, and to see things through his eyes, it is important to understand that main characters of the story which contributes to his plight as well as the era in which the story takes place.

Imagine a person being labeled as inferior because of a complexion they cannot control. African Americans have been treated unfairly solely because of the color of their skin throughout history. The idea behind this is what is defined as colorism, which is the prejudice or discrimination against individual with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic group (Oxford Dictionary). Colorism has been prominent throughout history, allowing discrimination and hatred towards people with darker skin, more specifically African Americans. In a world filled with racism, prejudice, discrimination, colorism is another factor that has similar effects when it comes to the treatment of African Americans. Martin Luther Kings Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man both connect to the role that colorism plays in the lives of African Americans. Martin Luther King’s letter explicitly explains how society influences colorism and how it creates injustices. Ellison’s novel gives further insight on the more psychological and personal affect colorism has on Black people by using lots of symbolism in the novel throughout the novel to portray it. Constantly being put down because of how dark someone is will eventually lower an individual’s confidence, knowing that they will miss out on opportunities simply because they have darker skin. Colorism negatively affects how people treat African Americans and also how African Americans feel about themselves.

Ralph Ellison narrates the portions of his earliest days in the semi-autobiography “On Being the Target of Discrimination”, where he recalls the effects of racism had on his life. Though his chronological writing, he uses the timeline of his childhood as personal evidence of the effects of racism in the upbringing of an African American child in a Post-Reconstruction Era America. A creative narrative written in second-person, all his arguments are supported primarily through anecdotal examples that inspire emotions instead of statistics or other hard proofs. His work has two central arguments: discrimination is an institute supported by the actions of adults, and the best solution to the issue of discrimination is with laughter and

Throughout history, many people have been oppressed because of their race, religion and gender, resulting in the loss of their rights and freedom. Despite the fact that freedom is an inherent rights of any human being, many examples have proven that these rights often require rebellious acts to obtain said rights. Although human rights have evolved over the years, humans still fail to learn from their mistakes, resulting in history repeating itself. Through storytelling and novels, people show depictions of history to honour those who have died and to educate younger generations to prevent unfortunate events from occurring again. In this same vein, Lawrence Hill and Alice Walker display oppression through abuse, structural inequality and gender stereotypes. Although the novels, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill and The Colour Purple by Alice Walker were written in different time periods and revolved around different cultural influences, each demonstrates the theme of oppression throughout various events.

A story that still sticks with me from the book was when a young girl pinched the man and he responded with, “Ouch, have you lost your mind?” The girl responded, “That did not hurt you, you can’t feel” (Thurman). She looked at him as if he was not human, like he was not capable of feeling pain. I wonder if it was from so many stories like this that African Americans didn’t think whites were capable of love. This girl’s worldview effected on how she treated a person. Multiple factors play into worldview and how one defines a human.

Everyone has heard the expression "curiosity killed the cat." That is to say, the search for new wisdom can often have unpleasant consequences; a child curious about the kitchen stove is bound to get burned. This is exactly what Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates in Cat's Cradle with the example of ice-nine, which is developed by the fictional creator of the atom bomb, Felix Hoenikker. It is symbolic of the atom bomb in that it has the power to end human life. Hoenikker is obviously an exceedingly smart man; however, it can be inferred from his inventions that he does not always consider the negative consequences of his new discoveries. He is merely on a quest for further knowledge, not a quest to better our society. The game of cat's cradle,

The Federalist Papers provide priceless insight into the spirits of both human government and human nature. In fact, The Federalist Papers repeatedly acknowledge a basic truth of human existence: humans are naturally selfish, hostile, and full of such characteristics that hinder the continuation of peaceful, harmonious existence. The corruption of the human race permeates even the strongest governments, as history has shown time and again. Ironic as it is, governments must take precautions to guard themselves, even from their very own members, from the very thing that all governments are meant to remedy: the shortcomings of human nature. The means by which The Federalists

Coleman was described as a man who had worked hard to get to where he was before the ‘spooks’ incident took away his career and wife. Then the reader learns that Coleman comes from a colored family and has been living his life as a white man since joining the U.S. Navy. I could understand why Coleman made that decision but when I learned that he had denounced his own mother and family I found Coleman to be completely despicable. Coleman’s parents had worked to educate Coleman and his siblings well and Coleman was not even grateful for all they gave him. Coleman was so consumed with not being seen as inferior that he did not even hesitate to break his mother’s heart. It was here in the novel that Coleman’s narcissism, superior complex and ability

As most people would agree, the 20th century contained some of the bloodiest and most gruesome events ever recorded in history. Why do words such as Hiroshima, Rwanda, The Final Solution, A Great Leap Forward, The Great Purge and so many more spark such vivid images of blood, torture and murder in our minds? And despite those horrific images, what is it that causes us humans time and time again to commit such crimes against humanity? Those are the kinds of questions Jonathan Glover, a critically acclaimed ethics philosopher, tries to answer in the book he had spent over ten years writing, Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century. Through Humanity Glover tries to answer those questions in a way which will give a solution as how we can

The two novels “The Bluest Eye” and “Bastard Out of Carolina” touches on issues dealing with race, class, and abuse. The two main characters in the novels, Pecola Breedlove and Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright are completely opposite in looks, but suffer from the same trauma as a child. Throughout this analysis, I will show how similar and different Pecola and Bone are and how each one affects different parts of how they view themselves. Last, I will explore why child abuse is still a problem that affects several children and how our society encourages certain behaviors towards children that reinforces abuse. Sexual, physical, and emotional abuse does not have a specific identity.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” The previous words were spoken by our Lord, Jesus Christ. His words teach us to treat others the way we want to be treated and we will be rewarded for our efforts. Everything you do to another person will be done onto you. Everything you give will be given to you by God through another person within time. This verifies how Jesus was and is a generous man, one who helps us through thick and thin and one who repays us

The human race has advanced a great deal over the course of recent history, particularly so since the 18th century. Countless of these developments in society can be attributed to the achievements of engineers - however, despite this, many do not realise their contribution and importance. One of the fundamental bases behind these engineering feats is the harnessing of energy sources, such as electrical and heat energy. This has allowed for many innovations, for example power stations, transportation, communications and computers, which have all become critical to society and the modern world in which we live.