Viva La Vida By Theodore Dumas Analysis

The “good life” is one of stability and the failure to be affected by forces and circumstances beyond the control of the individual. This has been clearly stated beginning with Socrates, stating how each life should be lived with self-purpose: no outside influences. The artificial “goods” represent that of wealth, status, and political power, whereas what an individual should cherish is their own personal beliefs and convictions. All items that society has taught a person to hold and respect create more damage and disruption than they benefit as they can easily be taken from oneself. A fortune can be lost, the President will run out of terms, but the moral holding of each person is something that cannot be lost or stripped by a force outside

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This illustrates the theme in the historical play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Julius Caesar was a man full of arrogance and he had a sense of being self-absorbed. This kind of personality lead to bad things, it eventually led to death. Caesar was a well-known man in Rome. The people of Rome didn 't care what he did. Everyone thought he was perfect. I ii 273 He was married to a woman named Calpurnia. She lived in Rome. At the beginning of the play, Caesar just had defeated Pompey. I i 53 Some of the people in Rome knew that Caesar was getting into deep trouble. Brutus had to make a big decision towards the end. Everyone wanted Brutus to kill Caesar because he was never going to change his personality. He didn 't know what he should do, he didn 't know what is best for Rome.

Machiavelli is unapologetic about the asserted inevitability of a ruler committing immoral, or even evil, deeds to obtain power, but advises that the suffering should be minimized and the injured party should eventually profit. He writes, “Well-used cruelty (if one can speak well of evil) one may call these atrocities that are committed at a stroke, in order to secure one’s

In the essay, “Joyas Voladoras,” the author, Brian Doyle, wrote about the emotional heart and the biology of a heart. He starts the book off talking about hummingbirds’ hearts and the amazing things they can do. After talking about hummingbirds, he changes the subject to whales and how big they are and how big their hearts are. After the subject of whales, he talks about how different types of living creatures have different amounts of heart chambers and hearts and how every living thing has liquid moving inside. After talking about the heart chambers and functions, he started talking about the heart as in emotions. Doyle’s son, Liam, was born with three chambers in his heart, so he probably wrote “Joyas Voladoras” to convey that all hearts no matter how many chambers are in it, all work the same.

The moon, wind, and ocean shape and sculpt the earth. The moon gives the tides, and lights the earth at night. The wind molds the landscape of the earth, carrying dust, seed, and storm. The ocean erodes the earth, making sand where dirt and water meet. These different forces of nature make the earth what it is. In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Maria and Gabriel make Antonio who he is, playing essential roles in his development as a person. Maria and Gabriel give Antonio inner conflicts that are resolved by Ultima and Gabriel.

The Other is configured in the two writers’ works as victims of power play, their unjust mistreatment subsequently exposing underlying social inequalities. Through adopting the Gothic medium characteristic of Romanticism, the texts induce within the reader emotions of terror and pity towards the marginalised, leaving a profound effect which impactfully conveys the intended social criticism.

Brian Doyle's Joyas Voladoras first appeared in The American Scholar in 2004 and was later selected for Best American Essays in 2005. Doyle’s intended audience is the general population, though his writing style attracts both the logical reader and the hopeless romantics who seek metaphors pointing to love in any way. The beginning of the essay provides insight to general information about the hummingbird, which holds the smallest, capable, and fragile heart in the world. He then explains the significance of the blue whale’s heart with comparisons, indicating that the blue whale holds a heart the size of a room. He ends his essay by expressing that a human’s heart is always closed due to the fear of it breaking, remaining constantly

“I don’t know how I survived; I was weak, rather shy; I did nothing to save myself. A miracle? Certainly not. … It was nothing more than chance”(Weisel vii-viii). Many people believe that Elie Wiesel survived the Holocaust in order to write his memoir on his experiences being a Jewish boy in Auschwitz, but he believes that he just got lucky. Elie Wiesel went to Auschwitz when he was fifteen years old. In his memoir he writes about his experiences during Holocaust, which are not too pleasant. Roberto Benigni grew up in Italy with his father who worked in a camp during the Holocaust. Roberto retells the stories of the Holocaust in his movie Life is Beautiful where he acts, directs and produces. In the movie he, his child Giosue, and his wife

In Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story by Daniel H. Birman the viewers are introduced to a sixteen year old girl who worked as a prostitute and was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of forty-three old, Johnny Allen, whom she believed was going to kill her, while being alone with him in his home. Brown was tried as an adult and received the maximum sentencing for her charges. The problem at the heart of the matter is the stigmas surrounding prostitution. Poor Cyntoia didn’t stand a chance of receiving a fair trial.

“The Arrogance of Cruelty of Power,” by Robert H. Jackson is an excerpt from the U.N’s trial against the Nazis. Caesar, like the Nazis, left a footprint on history with their ambition and abuse of power. Ambition is a powerful thing. Some people even destroy others to gain the power they want. Ambition is defined as the earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction.

Humans, in their nature, seek connection to others. It is a desire so deeply entrenched in all human beings: no one wants to be lonely. Often in society, we are broken up into groups, those who have it all, and those who have nothing and those in the middle. In Always Running, La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez, we hear from an outcast of society, a young man so far removed from the opportunity this country promises. Rodriguez spent his formative years living a life of crime, drugs, and sex, completely on the margins of society, not out of choice but out of necessity to survive, being left with limited options.

“Even the noblest men can be seduced by power; it has the power to kill, to distort, and to corrupt” Through this passage, Matthew Sims captures in essence how individuals often turn to betrayal and deception in order to gain their heart’s desires. This characteristic is not only present in life, but can also be seen in modern and classical literature, including the well known work of Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the lust for power transcends any one individual and ultimately leads to death and corruption of not only Caesar, but also of Brutus and Cassius. The play begins with Caesar parading through the streets of Rome as he triumphs in his victory over Pompey. However, Brutus, Cassius, and many others hatch a plot to

In Machiavelli’s depiction of virtu, regarding the womanly fortuna, he proves the need for the virtuous man to use his freewill to exercise ruthlessness over Fortune in order to control the partial sphere of influence he has over her. For at times, when having the end in mind while picking the means, a resistor to Fortune may be required to pick a cruel means in order to obtain successful resistance against Fortune. For instance, an admiral of Machiavelli’s virtu may see it proper to use a blitzkrieg tactic in order to defeat an enemy. He would realize the likelihood of the military operation ending in great causalities for his troupes, but would also see the bloodbath necessary to defeating his enemy. If the admiral were too cautious or fearful as to make such a bold move, he could face lesser odds of victory. Machiavelli shows this approach to be successful more often than not backed by his reference to Pope Julius II, who acted impetuously in his dealings, and deemed successful. So we see that resisting Fortune can require a level of virtu that is able to make tough and risky decisions in an unflinching manor; Virtu that is unafraid of the possible injuring

When reading Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, one can’t help but grasp Machiavelli’s argument that morality and politics can not exist in the same forum. However, when examining Machiavelli’s various concepts in depth, one can conclude that perhaps his suggested violence and evil is fueled by a moral end of sorts. First and foremost, one must have the understanding that this book is aimed solely at the Prince or Emperor with the express purpose of aiding him in maintaining power. Therefore, it is essential to grasp his concepts of fortune and virtue. These two contrary concepts reflect the manner in which a Prince should govern while minimizing all chance and uncertainty. This kind of governing demands violence to be taken, however this

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas is an adventure and historical fiction novel that encompasses forgiveness, power, and vengeance. The story follows the adventure of Edmond Dantès, who dedicated the rest of his life to getting vengeance on the men who crossed him. Critics Justin Kaplan and Bryan Aubrey both explain their views on Dumas’ work, in great detail. Kaplan, in Treasure and Vengeance, speaks of his own life, and connects it with Dumas’ work. Aubrey, in his critical essay, on the other hand analyzes Dumas’ piece strictly based upon Edmond’s morality.