Wu Zhao is not only a record setting emperor in the prosperity she brought to china and her gender, but also in her ruthlessness. Wu Zhao is one of the best known emperors of China for a reason. She brought great prosperity. Wu Zhao also was very strategic in plotting her rise to power. She used and manipulated people and then disposed of anyone who got in her way. Wu Zhao did all it took to get to the top, making her successful, but exceptionally controversial.…
The first example the readers can relate their lives to in The Good Earth is Wang Lung’s determination with his land. This determination is caused by his thirst for wealth and will to survive. The readers are able to relate to Wang’s determination because everyone at one point in their lives have had the feeling of wanting to succeed in something for their own purposes. Lastly, the land means the world to Wang just like how everyone in the world has something that means the world to them.…
In Pearl Buck's, The Good Earth, more dynamic characters come into play throughout the book. O-lan takes the role of an obedient yet strong-minded housewife who was a former slave and is now controlled by her husband, Wang Lung. In this position she doesn't have much of a choice in her actions or decisions and remains loyal to Wang Lung. Her passive behavior causes a lack of emotion and dialogue in the book. Due to this absence of context, she remains a flat character. Although little is known about O-lan’s thoughts, throughout the book small glimpses of her past are shown which give an overall greater meaning, and importance, to her character.…
Buck matures greatly in chapter one. He learned that humans were to be trusted, but also respected. That is the law of club that the man in the red sweater taught Buck before selling him to Perrault and François. It’s a very important lesson in this chapter. Buck’s life changes gradually here; Manuel, the gambling grounds keeper, sells Buck to men who are traveling up North for the Arctic gold rush, Buck is starved for days before meeting the man in the red sweater, who beats Buck with a club to show that man must be obeyed and respected, then gives Buck food and water to show him that man can also be trusted. This is the law of club that Buck will live by during his life in Alaska.…
“What is morally acceptable?” That question is enough to stump the philosopher and the peasant alike. Two years ago, my English class read Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck’s book has made an impact not just on my life, but my entire mental psyche, because of his concept of morality. Lennie, the essence of innocence and ignorance, represents the childlike concept that morality has very clear “black and white” lines. George, the idealist, sees the world for what it is—gray. Decisions will not always have a clear and easy answer. Just as George is portrayed as the adult, so is morality. It is simple for a child to wonder “It is right to jump on the couch?” but the judgments we make as adults are difficult, and there often is no right answer. George had to make the decision to kill Lennie, because Lennie had become a detrimental and fatal threat. George’s struggle symbolizes the struggles of mankind throughout our history; we have made hard decisions, and sometimes they have been the wrong ones, but those hard decisions will never stop coming.…
2. Buck’s life on the farm in Santa Clara Valley was pleasurable and abundant. On the farm, the hierarchy consisted of Buck as the aristocrat and then all of the other kennel and house dogs. Buck treated men he knew with trust and respect.…
Created by Confucius, the Confucian ethical system there are thought to be six different basics known as xi, zhi, li, yi, wen, and ren. Xi is, ‘the original good, evil or nothing’ that man is born with. In Confucianism, xi does not contain any original goodness or badness because of this Confucius believes that people must learn to act ethically since it is not an original part of their nature. Zhi is the natural substance of which a person is made, but it is not naturally received, people is acquire zhi through education.There is an inference that an individual acquiring li has a sense of fairness or equity. Li not only shapes character, but motivates the individual to behave. Yi is the standard by which all acts must be judged, yi represents mortally. Wen is something that one does for fun, such as music, poetry, and art. Ren is considered the highest virtue in Confucianism, a person who acquires ren is mastering the way of virtue, morality, compassion and love. This person is reaching the highest levels of moral perfection in a specific aspect of life.…
Hsun Tzu's philosophy is built from the idea that human beings are by nature inherently evil, and the good they produce will only come through their conscious activity. Hsun Tzu believes that if man follows his nature and indulges in his natural desires, without transforming himself by conscious activity he is doomed to fall victim to his evil nature. "Any man who follows his nature will inevitably become involved in wrangling and strife, will violate the forms and rules of society, and will end as a criminal." Despite the pessimistic tone of Hsun Tzu's message he does propose conscious activity as a solution to man's evil. This paper will examine Hsun Tzu's perspective in light of both Mencius and Lao Tzu, and the path it proposes for man to raise from his evil nature and become good.…
Through behaviors towards one's beliefs become the outcome of who they really are in a stance of self reliance. Morals are what every character in To Kill a Mockingbird went through, by experiences, knowledge, and help from others. Some morals even changed for the better. As society changed the people changed, it’s all about being true to yourself and what you believe…
Choosing what morality is determined by, may be the problem in its own-self. Great men have contemplated where morality really lies, though many of them have took another's work to serve as the guide to strive for their own progression. Through the progression of these studies one can conclude that happiness is a focal point in the works of many great men. It seems to be one of the basis of which humanity uses as their definition of morality.…
Morality is personal or cultural values, codes of conduct, and social principles that determine right and wrong in the human society. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes Believes that Everyone is a savage without law or morality, and that there are good men only because of society, without society everyone would be savage. while Jean-Jacques Rousseau believes that humans are innately noble savages. The two different ideas these philosophers have about morality and what makes a person moral leads us to ask; what causes humans to abandon moral behavior? In the book, Lord of the Flies, author William Golding uses many characters and motifs such as jack, Roger, and fear to show how morality can be abandoned.…
But no matter how different opinions are in contrasting lives, the overall culture is similar. Greed and selfishness lead to rough lives in all ways of life. The Native American story The Coyote and the Buffalo displays these morals. In this myth, after the buffalo tries to kill the coyote, the coyote compromises and builds the buffalo a new set of horns. He gives the coyote a buffalo cow for his help, but tells him to never kill the buffalo, just cut off a little meat from his leg. Coyote then decided he wanted to eat the bones, so he goes against his direction and kills the buffalo cow. He has consequences for his greed, being that a woman steals his bones, leaving him with nothing. His selfishness influenced the rest of his life. “Coyote had to return to his own country without a buffalo. And that is why there have never been any buffalo along the swah-netk-qhu” (line 93-96 pg. 52), the coyote never had a buffalo cow again, and neither did the river. Today, the world will give you consequences for your actions. Like this story, if you do what you are told not to do, out of greed or selfishness, you will be punished. Having good morals and values will give you a good life, today and in Native American…
Bucks civilized life begins to crumble even before he is sent to the great north, when his gardener needs money. Blinded by his pampered life, he does not realize that things start to change. When Buck is brought to his first owner, and is beaten, he realizes for the first time that human beings can be the enemy. “He was beaten (he knew that); but he was not broken. He saw, once for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. He had learned the lesson, and in all his afterlife he never forgot it. That club was a revelation. It was his introduction to the reign of primitive law, and he met the introduction halfway. The facts of life took on a fiercer aspect and, while he faced that aspect uncowed, he faced it with all the latent cunning of his nature aroused” (8). Each time Buck is clubbed, he jumps up at his attacker until he is finally knocked unconscious by the man with the club. This…
Plato put to writing what Socrates’ view of the good life was throughout several of his dialogues. Much of what Socrates’ view of the necessary requirements for the good life correspond to what are necessary requirements for the good life in the modern, western world. However, the ancient Chinese philosopher, Chuang Tzu, would have various criticisms of Socrates. Yet, these criticisms would not so much be in the essence of the good life, but in the particulars. As demonstrated below, the essentials of a good life for Socrates are primarily piety, morality, and justice. Chuang Tzu would not differ in the broad scope of this assessment, but in the particulars of what constitutes these. An analysis of the contrasting perspectives indicates that…
Buck’s life with his original owner, Judge Miller, is very relaxed and straightforward while living in the wild is brutal and unforgiving. These two environments seem to be conflicting; both have similar codes for hierarchy. Although the extremes of the two worlds do differ vastly, in either it is general knowledge that the rules must be followed or consequences will ensue. “The novel seems to say that the wild does not allow chaos or wanton behavior but institutes a strict social and natural order different from, but not inferior to, that of the civilized world” (SparkNotes…