Diligence and dedication, two qualities that most people would consider quite admirable. In In Dubious Battle, Mac McLeod radiates both of these traits and although these traits are admirable as aforementioned, Mac’s motives and actions cause some of his better qualities to be overlooked. For Mac, most of what he does is to benefit his cause and what he is working towards, which is ultimately a massive strike by thousands of workers on an apple farm. However, there are points throughout the novel in which we see Mac force others to give up something, possibly even their life for “the cause” which is what he deems to be the greater good. We see this when he uses Anderson’s farm, knowing that in all likelihood the farm would be damaged or destroyed one way or another. Mac exudes a disregard for the well being of others as long as it benefits himself and his cause, which he knows is bound to fail. He uses this cause as a cover to benefit himself further making him selfish. Throughout the novel we see Mac continuously disregard the effects that his actions will have on others. As aforementioned, Mac simply doesn't care that Anderson’s farm will get burned and destroyed at no fault of Mr. Anderson which we see when he tell Doc Burton that the cause is worth the sacrifice. On top of this he consistently called upon others to perform dangerous acts and missions, knowing well that there was a good chance they would get arrested, beaten, or killed. Though Mac does show concern for
Before Macbeth meets with Macduff, he thinks of ways to handle Macduff so he would no longer be a problem. Macduff was considered to be a problem because he left the kingdom in order to assist an opposing force. Macbeth states “Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee? But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, and take a bond of fate.” (Act IV scn i, ln 82-84) He wants to make sure Macduff will not be a problem; he wants to keep Macduff out of his way. In this scene Macbeth is attempting to discover ways to inforce his superiority through the phrase “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls.” (Act IV scn i, ln 150-152) He hired men to kill Macduff’s family, so he will be depressed and will grieve; he wants to keep Macduff out of the way of him still being King. The main reason he did this, however, was to exert his leadership over Macduff and send a message. This paragraph explains how Macbeth was disloyal to Macduff and how he did anything to keep Macduff out of his way, but things did not turn out as he
Macduff is also a character that deals with guilt. He is guilty of leaving his entire family behind in Scotland which is eventually why they are killed. He uses this guilt to drive him to bring Macbeth down. If Macduff would have thought to bring his wife and children they wouldn't have died. This shows that every action has consequences and those consequences must be taken into consideration.
There is a constant war waging between good and evil in everyday life. It may be a war between two fractions that feel they are both in the right or an internal battle of good and evil. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth the titular character and his wife are battling against the true nature of themselves and in each other. Although they are known and seen by others as virtuous, their unsatisfactory greed and ambition lead both characters to become immoral.
Gwendolyn Brooks' "First fight. Then Fiddle." initially seems to argue for the necessity of brutal war in order to create a space for the pursuit of beautiful art. The poem is more complex, however, because it also implies both that war cannot protect art and that art should not justify war. Yet if Brooks seems, paradoxically, to argue against art within a work of art, she does so in order create an artwork that by its very recognition of art's costs would justify itself.
Another reason we find Mac and Pat to be less evil is because of their real-world disposition that most college kids can relate to – they are “…not bad people – we’re just underachievers that have to make up for lost time.” This puts a comedic spin on their situation and consequently, the crimes they commit. Not to mention they are struggling for the seat of power over (DUN DUN DUN..) a local fast food restaurant that, for the most part, they deserve. Their manager is incompetent and incapable of accepting responsibility. This is illustrated immediately during the first scene in the restaurant where he is instructing Pat on how to make an ice cream cone. Kids in the store engage in a food fight and he sneaks into the bathroom to avoid the situation. Macbeth, who practically runs the store anyway, quickly throws the kids out to the applaud of the rest of the patrons. The slow motion dramatics in this scene made it hilarious and should be noted.
Mahatma Gandhi believed that all the world’s problems can be solved without violence. But, is that the case in our world or in the world created by Shakespeare in the play Macbeth? Shakespeare’s Macbeth exhibits both honourable and dishonourable violence. Macbeth is told that he will become King and does whatever it takes to gain and keep the throne until his eventual downfall. There are numerous occurrences of violence throughout the play; there are circumstances where violence can be distinguished to be honourable and there are also circumstances where violence can be distinguished to be dishonourable. To distinguish violence as honourable or dishonourable, one would have to examine the cause and outcome.
This week I decided to tackle the Battle of Moultrie that occurred n June 28th, 1776. This battle is also named the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, which occurred between the British and American Continentals and militia.1 The British were led by General Sir Henry Clinton and the Americans were under the overall command of General Lee and his subordinate, General William Moultrie.2 The British began make preparations for their southern operations during the war in January 1776 and assigned General Clinton as overall commander.3
If I had to pick one out of the many stories that we have read and say
Rory Turner is Formerly Program Director for Folk and Traditional Arts and Program Initiative Specialist at the Maryland States Arts Concil. In Turner’s review “Bloodless Battles,” he iniciates the research with an ending of the American Civil War; “The American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. Over 600,000 died in this multilevel conflict between the Northern states (the Union) and the southern states (the Confederacy)”. As the author explain much else in the United States, after a period of time when the war was over; each year there are many events all over the country, in memorial of The American Civil War and in continues to this day. Civil War reenactments are not just symbolic text that express culture meanings to analytically
Authors use different genres of writing to portray their literary messages amongst these genres there are poems and short stories. Battle Royal written by Ralph Ellison is a short story about an African American boy who receives some cryptic advice from his grandfather that ultimately causes him to discover that he must stand up for African Americans and not be a coward like his grandfather was. The poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Dunbar is about dishonesty and deception, lying about ones feelings and in a sense hiding ones true emotions with a “mask.” Both of these forms of writing convey an overall message that people do not always speak the truth because they are afraid to do so. They hide behind a façade pretending to be something they are not, thinking they are doing what is best but in reality are only hurting themselves. The poem, “We Wear the Mask” does an overall better job at conveying this message than the short story, Battle Royal. “We Wear the Mask” communicates this message in a much clearer and concise manner. While in Battle Royal, the reader would have to do some research on the time period in order to fully understand the grandfather’s true meaning behind his words. Poetry uses symbolism, tone, and punctuation to provide deeper knowledge behind the author’s words and can give the reader a better understanding of the authors message in a few short stanza’s than a story could in a few pages.
In gaining ambition, Macdonwald is referred to as, "a rebel, for to that/ The multiplying villainies of nature/ Do swarm upon him" (Shakespeare 1.2.12-13). After he was supplied by Duncan with the necessary resources, it can be inferred that this is when he chooses to rebel. Due to Duncan's lack of cruelty, he is not able to enforce himself until it's too late. Unable to hold his kingdom together and oblivious of traitors, Shakespeare uses the influence of Machiavelli to demonstrate a weak king. One who chooses to be loved than feared, using to much clemency and little cruelty. Muir and
The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est
In the story The Last Duel by Eric Jager, fourteenth century in medieval France, a knight by the name of Jean de Carrouges challenges a squire, Jacques Le Gris, to a duel. The reason for this trial by combat, a court-ordered duel intended by fate of God to determine the truth, was to seek vengeance for the sake of his own honor. The wife of Jean Carrouges was the "young, beautiful, good, sensible, and modest" Marguerite. She was expected to maintain a ladylike mannerism and remain loyal to her husband. When the couple traveled to Capomensil to visit Carrouges mother-in-law Marguerite stayed under her watch while Carrouges set out on a journey in desperate need of cash. While away on his journey
Ralph Ellison’s excerpt “Battle Royal” from his novel “Invisible Man” reveals the African American’s struggle for social equality. It was written during the Cold War and Civil Rights movement and made an impact in the literature world and won an award. Ellison never provides a name for the narrator who refers to himself as the invisible man. The story begins with the narrator’s grandfather on his death bed instructing on how to deal with white people. The narrator felt this advice was more of a curse than helpful. The determination exhibited by the narrator during his encounter at Battle Royal is impressive. The level of abuse endured in his pursuit to deliver his graduation speech is both baffling and admiring.
The author, Sean Gregory, in “The Perilous Fight,” talks about the political issue that has been going on for the past year, the issue started when a professional football player from the San Francisco 49ers team, also known as Colin Kaepernick, kneeled down when the National anthem for the United States of America was played at the beginning of a game. Kaepernick’s justification for this, was that this was his way of protesting unfair treatment of individuals because of racial characteristics. Since racism, discrimination, and gender inequalities have been going on for centuries, I agree on the matter of sports players being able to kneel down when the anthem, “Star spangled Banner,” is being played because these people are trying to stand up for what they believe is right, and they should be allowed to protest because it is serving as a peaceful way to protest for people who are being unjustly treated. Racism and discrimination often leads to these individuals who are suffering to be judged, killed, and many other harsh things that should not be taking place in the “land of the free.” We as Americans are given so many great things, and people think about the United States they usually think of freedom, pursuit of happiness, and the rights of being a U.S. citizen, but how can we exercise those given rights properly, when t the government does not let us by putting limitations and restrictions on how we use our rights? When it's